Isaiah 1:3

1:3 An ox recognizes its owner,

a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; ¹ 

but Israel does not recognize me, ² 

my people do not understand.”

Isaiah 5:12

5:12 They have stringed instruments, ³  tambourines, flutes,

and wine at their parties.

So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,

they do not perceive what he is bringing about. ⁴ 

Isaiah 41:20

41:20 I will do this so ⁵  people ⁶  will observe and recognize,

so they will pay attention and understand

that the Lord’s power ⁷  has accomplished this,

and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.” ⁸ 

Ezekiel 12:3

12:3 “Therefore, son of man, pack up your belongings as if for exile. During the day, while they are watching, pretend to go into exile. Go from where you live to another place. Perhaps they will understand, ⁹  although they are a rebellious house.

Ezekiel 18:28

18:28 Because he considered ¹⁰  and turned from all the sins he had done, he will surely live; he will not die.

Haggai 1:5

1:5 Here then is what the Lord who rules over all says: ‘Think carefully about what you are doing. ¹¹ 

Haggai 2:15

2:15 Now therefore reflect carefully on the recent past, ¹²  before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. ¹³ 

John 20:27

20:27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put ¹⁴  your finger here, and examine ¹⁵  my hands. Extend ¹⁶  your hand and put it ¹⁷  into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe.” ¹⁸ 

John 20:2

20:2 So she went running ¹⁹  to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

John 2:7

2:7 Jesus told the servants, ²⁰  “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the very top.

¹ tn Heb “and the donkey the feeding trough of its owner.” The verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.

² tn Although both verbs have no object, the parallelism suggests that Israel fails to recognize the Lord as the one who provides for their needs. In both clauses, the placement of “Israel” and “my people” at the head of the clause focuses the reader’s attention on the rebellious nation (C. van der Merwe, J. Naudé, J. Kroeze, A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar, 346-47).

³ tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).

⁴ tn Heb “the work of the Lord they do not look at, and the work of his hands they do not see.” God’s “work” can sometimes be his creative deeds, but in this context it is the judgment that he is planning to bring upon his people (cf. vv. 19, 26; 10:12; 28:21).

⁵ tn The words “I will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text has here simply, “in order that.”

⁶ tn Heb “they”; NAB, NRSV “that all may see”; CEV, NLT “Everyone will see.”

⁷ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

⁸ tn Or “created it” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “has made it happen.”

⁹ tn Heb “see.” This plays on the uses of “see” in v. 2. They will see his actions with their eyes and perhaps they will “see” with their mind, that is, understand or grasp the point.

¹⁰ tn Heb “he saw.”

¹¹ tn Heb “Set your heart upon your ways” (see 2:15, 18); traditionally “Consider your ways” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB).

¹² tn Heb “and now set your heart from this day and upward.” The juxtaposition of מָעְלָה (ma’lah, “upward”) with the following מִטֶּרֶם (mitterem, “before”) demands a look to the past. Cf. ASV “consider from this day and backward.”

¹³ sn Before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple is best taken as referring to the laying of the present temple’s foundation, sixteen years earlier (536 b.c.; see Ezra 3:8). Cf. NCV “before you started laying stones”; TEV “before you started to rebuild”; NLT “before you began to lay (started laying CEV) the foundation.”

¹⁴ tn Or “Extend” or “Reach out.” The translation “put” or “reach out” for φέρω (ferw) here is given in BDAG 1052 s.v. 4.

¹⁵ tn Grk “see.” The Greek verb ἴδε (ide) is often used like its cognate ἰδού (idou) in Hellenistic Greek (which is “used to emphasize the …importance of someth.” [BDAG 468 s.v. ἰδού 1.b.ε]).

¹⁶ tn Or “reach out” or “put.”

¹⁷ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

¹⁸ tn Grk “and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

¹⁹ tn Grk “So she ran and came.”

²⁰ tn Grk “them” (it is clear from the context that the servants are addressed).