Isaiah 29:23

29:23 For when they see their children,

whom I will produce among them,

they will honor my name.

They will honor the Holy One of Jacob;

they will respect the God of Israel.

Isaiah 43:7

43:7 everyone who belongs to me,

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed – yes, whom I made!

Isaiah 45:11

45:11 This is what the Lord says,

the Holy One of Israel, the one who formed him,

concerning things to come:

“How dare you question me about my children!

How dare you tell me what to do with the work of my own hands!

Isaiah 61:3

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, 10  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, 11  instead of discouragement. 12 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, 13 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. 14 

Psalms 92:13

92:13 Planted in the Lord’s house,

they grow in the courts of our God.

Matthew 15:13

15:13 And he replied, 15  “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted.

John 15:2

15:2 He takes away 16  every branch that does not bear 17  fruit in me. He 18  prunes 19  every branch that bears 20  fruit so that it will bear more fruit.

Ephesians 2:10

2:10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them. 21 


tn Heb “for when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst.”

tn Or “treat as holy” (also in the following line); NASB, NRSV “will sanctify.”

sn Holy One of Jacob is similar to the phrase “Holy One of Israel” common throughout Isaiah; see the sn at Isa 1:4.

tn Or “fear,” in the sense of “stand in awe of.”

tn Heb “everyone who is called by my name” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

tc The Hebrew text reads “the one who formed him, the coming things.” Among various suggestions, some have proposed an emendation of יֹצְרוֹ (yotsÿro, “the one who formed him”) to יֹצֵר (yotser, “the one who forms”; the suffixed form in the Hebrew text may be influenced by vv. 9-10, where the same form appears twice) and takes “coming things” as the object of the participle (either objective genitive or accusative): “the one who brings the future into being.”

tn Heb “Ask me” The rhetorical command sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.

tn Heb “Do you command me about…?” The rhetorical question sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.

10 tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

11 tn Heb “garment of praise.”

12 tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

13 tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”

14 tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

15 tn Grk “And answering, he said.”

16 tn Or “He cuts off.”

17 tn Or “does not yield.”

18 tn Grk “And he”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

19 tn Or “trims”; Grk “cleanses” (a wordplay with “clean” in v. 3). Καθαίρει (kaqairei) is not the word one would have expected here, but it provides the transition from the vine imagery to the disciples – there is a wordplay (not reproducible in English) between αἴρει (airei) and καθαίρει in this verse. While the purpose of the Father in cleansing his people is clear, the precise means by which he does so is not immediately obvious. This will become clearer, however, in the following verse.

20 tn Or “that yields.”

21 tn Grk “so that we might walk in them” (or “by them”).