Jeremiah 50:5

50:5 They will ask the way to Zion;

they will turn their faces toward it.

They will come and bind themselves to the Lord

in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten.

Deuteronomy 32:46

32:46 he said to them, “Keep in mind all the words I am solemnly proclaiming to you today; you must command your children to observe carefully all the words of this law.

Deuteronomy 32:1

Invocation of Witnesses

32:1 Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;

hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

Deuteronomy 29:3

29:3 Your eyes have seen the great judgments, those signs and mighty wonders.

Deuteronomy 29:2

The Exodus, Wandering, and Conquest Reviewed

29:2 Moses proclaimed to all Israel as follows: “You have seen all that the Lord did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, all his servants, and his land.

Deuteronomy 11:16

Exhortation to Instruction and Obedience

11:16 Make sure you do not turn away to serve and worship other gods!

Deuteronomy 20:3

20:3 “Listen, Israel! Today you are moving forward to do battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted. Do not fear and tremble or be terrified because of them,

Psalms 62:10

62:10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression!

Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery!

If wealth increases, do not become attached to it!

Psalms 84:5

84:5 How blessed are those who find their strength in you,

and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple! 10 

Proverbs 24:32

24:32 When I saw this, I gave careful consideration to it; 11 

I received instruction from what I saw: 12 

Ezekiel 40:4

40:4 The man said to me, “Son of man, watch closely, listen carefully, and pay attention 13  to everything I show you, for you have been brought here so that I can show it to you. 14  Tell the house of Israel everything you see.”

Haggai 1:5

1:5 Here then is what the Lord who rules over all says: ‘Think carefully about what you are doing. 15 

tc The translation here assumes that the Hebrew בֹּאוּ (bou; a Qal imperative masculine plural) should be read בָּאוּ (bau; a Qal perfect third plural). This reading is presupposed by the Greek version of Aquila, the Latin version, and the Targum (see BHS note a, which mistakenly assumes that the form must be imperfect).

sn See Jer 32:40 and the study note there for the nature of this lasting agreement.

tn Heb “testings.” This is a reference to the plagues; see note at 4:34.

tn The Hebrew text includes “to your eyes,” but this is redundant in English style (cf. the preceding “you have seen”) and is omitted in the translation.

tn Heb “Watch yourselves lest your heart turns and you turn aside and serve other gods and bow down to them.”

tn Heb “do not trust in oppression.” Here “oppression” stands by metonymy for the riches that can be gained by oppressive measures, as the final line of the verse indicates.

tn Heb “and in robbery do not place vain hope.” Here “robbery” stands by metonymy for the riches that can be gained by theft, as the next line of the verse indicates.

tn Heb “[as for] wealth, when it bears fruit, do not set [your] heart [on it].”

tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here was certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to in v. 5a is representative of followers of God, as the use of plural forms in vv. 5b-7 indicates.

10 tn Heb “roads [are] in their heart[s].” The roads are here those that lead to Zion (see v. 7).

11 sn Heb “I set my heart.” The “heart” represents the mind and the will combined; to “set” the mind and will means to give careful consideration to what was observed.

12 tn Heb “I looked, I received instruction.” There are four verbs in the two parts of this verse: “I saw…I set…I saw…I received.” It is clear that the first two verbs in each half verse are the foundation for the next two. At the beginning of the verse the form is the preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive; it can be subordinated as a temporal clause to the next verb, probably to be identified as a preterite with the vav – “when I saw, I put.” The next two verbs are both perfect tenses; their construction would parallel the first half of the verse, even though there are no conjunctions here – “[when] I saw, I received.”

13 tn Heb “look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and set your mind on.”

14 tn Heb “in order to show (it) to you.”

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