1 sn Merciful is a characteristic of God often noted in the OT: Exod 34:6; Deut 4:31; Joel 2:31; Jonah 4:2; 2 Sam 24:14. This remark also echoes the more common OT statements like Lev 19:2 or Deut 18:13: “you must be holy as I am holy.”
2 tn Or “student.”
3 tn Or “significantly different.” The idea, as the next phrase shows, is that teachers build followers who go the same direction they do.