10:2 I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn 1 me;
tell me 2 why you are contending 3 with me.’
33:11 Bless, O Lord, his goods,
and be pleased with his efforts;
undercut the legs 8 of any who attack him,
and of those who hate him, so that they cannot stand.
33:12 Of Benjamin he said:
The beloved of the Lord will live safely by him;
he protects him all the time,
and the Lord 9 places him on his chest. 10
33:13 Of Joseph he said:
May the Lord bless his land
with the harvest produced by the sky, 11 by the dew,
and by the depths crouching beneath;
94:12 How blessed is the one 12 whom you instruct, O Lord,
the one whom you teach from your law,
119:67 Before I was afflicted I used to stray off, 13
but now I keep your instructions. 14
119:71 It was good for me to suffer,
so that I might learn your statutes.
3:39 Why should any living person 15 complain
when punished for his sins? 16
נ (Nun)
3:40 Let us carefully examine our ways, 17
and let us return to the Lord.
15:1 Now all the tax collectors 24 and sinners were coming 25 to hear him.
1:1 From Paul, 26 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
1 tn The negated jussive is the Hiphil jussive of רָשַׁע (rasha’); its meaning then would be literally “do not declare me guilty.” The negated jussive stresses the immediacy of the request.
2 tn The Hiphil imperative of יָדַע (yada’) would more literally be “cause me to know.” It is a plea for God to help him understand the afflictions.
3 tn The verb is רִיב (riv), meaning “to dispute; to contend; to strive; to quarrel” – often in the legal sense. The precise words chosen in this verse show that the setting is legal. The imperfect verb here is progressive, expressing what is currently going on.
4 tn Heb “the
5 tn The Hebrew text includes “(as) an inheritance,” or “(as) a possession.”
6 tn Heb “this.” The translation uses “that” to avoid confusion; earlier in the verse Moses refers to Transjordan as “this land.”
7 tn Heb “commanding.”
8 tn Heb “smash the sinews [or “loins,” so many English versions].” This part of the body was considered to be center of one’s strength (cf. Job 40:16; Ps 69:24; Prov 31:17; Nah 2:2, 11). See J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy (JPSTC), 325.
9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
10 tn Heb “between his shoulders.” This suggests the scene in John 13:23 with Jesus and the Beloved Disciple.
11 tn Heb “from the harvest of the heavens.” The referent appears to be good crops produced by the rain that falls from the sky.
12 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is 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 more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in v. 2.
13 tn Heb “before I suffered, I was straying off.”
14 tn Heb “your word.”
15 tn The Hebrew word here is אָדָם (’adam) which can mean “man” or “person.” The second half of the line is more personalized to the speaking voice of the defeated soldier using גֶּבֶר (gever, “man”). See the note at 3:1.
16 tc Kethib reads the singular חֶטְאוֹ (khet’o, “his sin”), which is reflected in the LXX. Qere reads the plural חֲטָאָיו (khata’ayv, “his sins”) which is preserved in many medieval Hebrew
17 tn Heb “Let us test our ways and examine.” The two verbs וְנַחְקֹרָה…נַחְפְּשָׂה (nakhpÿsah…vÿnakhqorah, “Let us test and let us examine”) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal force: “Let us carefully examine our ways.”
18 tn Grk “came to himself” (an idiom).
19 tn Grk “bread,” but used figuratively for food of any kind (L&N 5.1).
20 sn In the confession “I have sinned” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”
21 sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.
22 tn According to BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνωπιον 4.a, “in relation to ἁμαρτάνειν ἐ. τινος sin against someone Lk 15:18, 21 (cf. Jdth 5:17; 1 Km 7:6; 20:1).”
23 tn Or “make me.” Here is a sign of total humility.
24 sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.
25 tn Grk “were drawing near.”
26 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.