Lamentations 3:21

3:21 But this I call ¹  to mind; ² 

therefore I have hope:

Ezekiel 37:11-14

37:11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ 37:12 Therefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to open your graves and will raise you from your graves, my people. I will bring you to the land of Israel. 37:13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. 37:14 I will place my breath ³  in you and you will live; I will give you rest in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord – I have spoken and I will act, declares the Lord.’”

Zechariah 9:12

9:12 Return to the stronghold, you prisoners, with hope; today I declare that I will return double what was taken from you.

John 10:9

10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, ⁴  and find pasture. ⁵ 

Acts 14:27

14:27 When they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported ⁶  all the things God ⁷  had done with them, and that he had opened a door ⁸  of faith for the Gentiles.

¹ tn Heb “I cause to return.”

² tn Heb “to my heart.” The noun לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) has a broad range of meanings, including its use as a metonymy of association, standing for thoughts and thinking = “mind” (e.g., Deut 32:46; 1 Chr 29:18; Job 17:11; Ps 73:7; Isa 10:7; Hag 1:5, 7; 2:15, 18; Zech 7:10; 8:17).

³ tn Or “spirit.” This is likely an allusion to Gen 2 and God’s breath which creates life.

⁴ tn Since the Greek phrase εἰσέρχομαι καὶ ἐξέρχομαι (eisercomai kai exercomai, “come in and go out”) is in some places an idiom for living or conducting oneself in relationship to some community (“to live with, to live among” [cf. Acts 1:21; see also Num 27:17; 2 Chr 1:10]), it may well be that Jesus’ words here look forward to the new covenant community of believers. Another significant NT text is Luke 9:4, where both these verbs occur in the context of the safety and security provided by a given household for the disciples. See also BDAG 294 s.v. εἰσέρχομαι 1.b.β.

⁵ sn That is, pasture land in contrast to cultivated land.

⁶ tn Or “announced.”

⁷ sn Note that God is the subject of the activity. The outcome of this mission is seen as a confirmation of the mission to the Gentiles.

⁸ sn On the image of opening, or of the door, see 1 Cor 16:9; 2 Cor 2:12; Col 4:3.