Luke 12:7

12:7 In fact, even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; ¹  you are more valuable than many sparrows.

Luke 12:30-32

12:30 For all the nations of the world pursue ²  these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 12:31 Instead, pursue ³  his ⁴  kingdom, ⁵  and these things will be given to you as well.

12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased ⁶  to give you the kingdom.

Job 35:11

35:11 who teaches us ⁷  more than ⁸  the wild animals of the earth,

and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’

Matthew 10:31

10:31 So do not be afraid; ⁹  you are more valuable than many sparrows.

¹ sn Do not be afraid. One should respect and show reverence to God (v. 5), but need not fear his tender care.

² tn Grk “seek.”

³ tn Grk “seek,” but in the sense of the previous verses.

⁴ tc Most mss (Ì⁴⁵ A D¹ Q W Θ 070 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy) read τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou, “of God”) instead of αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”; found in א B D* L Ψ 579 892 pc co). But such a clarifying reading is suspect. αὐτοῦ is superior on both internal and external grounds. Ì⁷⁵ includes neither and as such would support the translation above since the article alone can often be translated as a possessive pronoun.

⁵ sn His (that is, God’s) kingdom is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

⁶ tn Or perhaps, “your Father chooses.”

⁷ tn The form in the text, the Piel participle from אָלַף (’alaf, “teach”) is written in a contracted form; the full form is מְאַלְּפֵנוּ (mÿ’allÿfenu).

⁸ tn Some would render this “teaches us by the beasts.” But Elihu is stressing the unique privilege humans have.

⁹ sn Do not be afraid. One should respect and show reverence to God, but need not fear his tender care.