Luke 18:27
18:27 He replied, “What is impossible
1 for mere humans
2 is possible for God.”
Genesis 18:14
18:14 Is anything impossible
3 for the
Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.”
4
Numbers 11:23
11:23 And the
Lord said to Moses, “Is the
Lord’s hand shortened?
5 Now you will see whether my word to you will come true
6 or not!”
Job 13:2
13:2 What you know, 7 I 8 know also;
I am not inferior 9 to you!
Jeremiah 32:17
32:17 ‘Oh, Lord
God,
10 you did indeed
11 make heaven and earth by your mighty power and great strength.
12 Nothing is too hard for you!
Jeremiah 32:27
32:27 “I am the
Lord, the God of all humankind. There is, indeed, nothing too difficult for me.
13
Zechariah 8:6
8:6 And,’ says the
Lord who rules over all, ‘though such a thing may seem to be difficult in the opinion of the small community of those days, will it also appear difficult to me?’ asks the
Lord who rules over all.
Matthew 19:26
19:26 Jesus
14 looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans,
15 but for God all things are possible.”
Mark 10:27
10:27 Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans,
16 but not for God; all things are possible for God.”
Philippians 3:21
3:21 who will transform these humble bodies of ours
17 into the likeness of his glorious body by means of that power by which he is able to subject all things to himself.
1 sn The term impossible is in the emphatic position in the Greek text. God makes the impossible possible.
2 tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποις (anqrwpois) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NASB 1995 update, “people”). Because of the contrast here between mere mortals and God (“impossible for men…possible for God”) the phrase “mere humans” has been used in the translation.
3 tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”
4 sn Sarah will have a son. The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the Lord fixed an exact date for the birth of the child, the promise became rather overwhelming to Abraham and Sarah. But then this was the Lord of creation, the one they had come to trust. The point of these narratives is that the creation of Abraham’s offspring, which eventually became Israel, is no less a miraculous work of creation than the creation of the world itself.
5 sn This anthropomorphic expression concerns the power of God. The “hand of the Lord” is idiomatic for his power, what he is able to do. The question is rhetorical; it is affirming that his hand is not shortened, i.e., that his power is not limited. Moses should have known this, and so this is a rebuke for him at this point. God had provided the manna, among all the other powerful acts they had witnessed. Meat would be no problem. But the lack of faith by the people was infectious.
6 tn Or “will happen” (TEV); KJV “shall come to pass unto thee.”
7 tn Heb “Like your knowledge”; in other words Job is saying that his knowledge is like their knowledge.
8 tn The pronoun makes the subject emphatic and stresses the contrast: “I know – I also.”
9 tn The verb “fall” is used here as it was in Job 4:13 to express becoming lower than someone, i.e., inferior.
10 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” For an explanation of the rendering here see the study note on 1:6.
11 tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle normally translated “behold.” See the translator’s note on 1:6 for the usage of this particle.
12 tn Heb “by your great power and your outstretched arm.” See 21:5; 27:5 and the marginal note on 27:5 for this idiom.
13 tn Heb “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” The question is rhetorical expecting an emphatic negative answer (cf. E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949, citing the parallel in Gen 18:14). The Hebrew particle “Behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh) introduces the grounds for this rhetorical negative (cf. T. O. Lambdin, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew, 170, §135 [3]), i.e., “Since I am the Lord, the God of all mankind, there is indeed nothing too hard for me [or is there anything too hard for me?].”
14 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
15 tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποις (anqrwpois) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NASB 1995 update, “people”). Because of the contrast here between mere mortals and God (“impossible for men, but for God all things are possible”) the phrase “mere humans” has been used in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” in v. 28.
16 tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποις (anqrwpois) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NASB 1995 update, “people”). Because of the contrast here between mere mortals and God (“impossible for men…all things are possible for God”) the phrase “mere humans” has been used in the translation.
17 tn Grk “transform the body of our humility.”