7:5 And Noah did all 1 that the Lord commanded him.
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 5 and circumcised them 6 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do.
12:32 (13:1) 13 You 14 must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it! 15
7:24 “Everyone 16 who hears these words of mine and does them is like 17 a wise man 18 who built his house on rock. 7:25 The rain fell, the flood 19 came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock. 7:26 Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 7:27 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed; it was utterly destroyed!” 20
11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.
11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.
1 tn Heb “according to all.”
2 tn The Hebrew text of vv. 8-9a reads, “From the clean animal[s] and from the animal[s] which are not clean and from the bird[s] and everything that creeps on the ground, two two they came to Noah to the ark, male and female.”
3 tn Heb “Noah”; the pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
4 tn Heb “Those that went in, male and female from all flesh they went in.”
5 tn Heb “Ishmael his son and all born in his house and all bought with money, every male among the men of the house of Abraham.”
6 tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.
7 tn Heb “set up,” if it includes more than the curtain.
8 tn Or “shielding” (NIV); Heb “the veil of the covering” (cf. KJV).
9 tn Heb uses a cognate accusative construction, “he arranged the arrangement.”
10 tn The construction is the infinitive construct with the temporal preposition and the suffixed subjective genitive. This temporal clause indicates that the verb in the preceding verse was frequentative.
11 tn This is another infinitive construct in a temporal clause.
12 tn In this explanatory verse the verb is a customary imperfect.
13 sn Beginning with 12:32, the verse numbers through 13:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 12:32 ET = 13:1 HT, 13:1 ET = 13:2 HT, 13:2 ET = 13:3 HT, etc., through 13:18 ET = 13:19 HT. With 14:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
14 tn This verse highlights a phenomenon found throughout Deuteronomy, but most especially in chap. 12, namely, the alternation of grammatical singular and plural forms of the pronoun (known as Numeruswechsel in German scholarship). Critical scholarship in general resolves the “problem” by suggesting varying literary traditions – one favorable to the singular pronoun and the other to the plural – which appear in the (obviously rough) redacted text at hand. Even the ancient versions were troubled by the lack of harmony of grammatical number and in this verse, for example, offered a number of alternate readings. The MT reads “Everything I am commanding you (plural) you (plural) must be careful to do; you (singular) must not add to it nor should you (singular) subtract form it.” Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate suggest singular for the first two pronouns but a few Smr
15 sn Do not add to it or subtract from it. This prohibition makes at least two profound theological points: (1) This work by Moses is of divine origination (i.e., it is inspired) and therefore can tolerate no human alteration; and (2) the work is complete as it stands (i.e., it is canonical).
16 tn Grk “Therefore everyone.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.
17 tn Grk “will be like.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.
18 tn Here and in v. 26 the Greek text reads ἀνήρ (anhr), while the parallel account in Luke 6:47-49 uses ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") in vv. 48 and 49.
19 tn Grk “the rivers.”
20 tn Grk “and great was its fall.”
21 tn The pronoun “it” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.
22 sn This verse really explains John 15:10 in another way. Those who keep Jesus’ commandments are called his friends, those friends for whom he lays down his life (v. 13). It is possible to understand this verse as referring to a smaller group within Christianity as a whole, perhaps only the apostles who were present when Jesus spoke these words. Some have supported this by comparing it to the small group of associates and advisers to the Roman Emperor who were called “Friends of the Emperor.” Others would see these words as addressed only to those Christians who as disciples were obedient to Jesus. In either case the result would be to create a sort of “inner circle” of Christians who are more privileged than mere “believers” or average Christians. In context, it seems clear that Jesus’ words must be addressed to all true Christians, not just some narrower category of believers, because Jesus’ sacrificial death, which is his act of love toward his friends (v. 13) applies to all Christians equally (cf. John 13:1).
23 tn Cf. BDAG 407 s.v. εὐλαβέομαι 2, “out of reverent regard (for God’s command).”
24 sn Honor refers here to the honor of the high priesthood.
25 tn Grk “by himself, on his own.”
26 tn Grk “being called by God.”