Proverbs 11:5

11:5 The righteousness of the blameless will make straight their way, ¹ 

but the wicked person will fall by his own wickedness. ² 

Psalms 119:59

119:59 I consider my actions ³ 

and follow ⁴  your rules.

Ezekiel 18:28

18:28 Because he considered ⁵  and turned from all the sins he had done, he will surely live; he will not die.

Haggai 1:5

1:5 Here then is what the Lord who rules over all says: ‘Think carefully about what you are doing. ⁶ 

Haggai 1:7

The Instruction of the People

1:7 “Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says: ‘Pay close attention to these things also. ⁷ 

Haggai 2:15

2:15 Now therefore reflect carefully on the recent past, ⁸  before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. ⁹ 

Haggai 2:18-19

2:18 ‘Think carefully about the past: ¹⁰  from today, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, ¹¹  to the day work on the temple of the Lord was resumed, ¹²  think about it. ¹³  2:19 The seed is still in the storehouse, isn’t it? And the vine, fig tree, pomegranate, and olive tree have not produced. Nevertheless, from today on I will bless you.’”

Luke 15:17-18

15:17 But when he came to his senses ¹⁴  he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have food ¹⁵  enough to spare, but here I am dying from hunger! 15:18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned ¹⁶  against heaven ¹⁷  and against ¹⁸  you.

Luke 15:1

The Parable of the Lost Sheep and Coin

15:1 Now all the tax collectors ¹⁹  and sinners were coming ²⁰  to hear him.

Luke 3:11

3:11 John ²¹  answered them, ²²  “The person who has two tunics ²³  must share with the person who has none, and the person who has food must do likewise.”

¹ tn Heb “his way.”

² sn The righteous will enjoy security and serenity throughout life. Righteousness makes the path straight; wickedness destroys the wicked.

³ tn Heb “my ways.”

⁴ tn Heb “and I turn my feet toward.”

⁵ tn Heb “he saw.”

⁶ tn Heb “Set your heart upon your ways” (see 2:15, 18); traditionally “Consider your ways” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB).

⁷ tn Heb “Set your heart upon your ways”; see v. 5.

⁸ tn Heb “and now set your heart from this day and upward.” The juxtaposition of מָעְלָה (ma’lah, “upward”) with the following מִטֶּרֶם (mitterem, “before”) demands a look to the past. Cf. ASV “consider from this day and backward.”

⁹ sn Before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple is best taken as referring to the laying of the present temple’s foundation, sixteen years earlier (536 b.c.; see Ezra 3:8). Cf. NCV “before you started laying stones”; TEV “before you started to rebuild”; NLT “before you began to lay (started laying CEV) the foundation.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “set your heart.” A similar expression occurs in v. 15.

¹¹ sn The twenty-fourth day of the ninth month was Kislev 24 or December 18, 520. See v. 10. Here the reference is to “today,” the day the oracle is being delivered.

¹² sn The day work…was resumed. This does not refer to the initial founding of the Jerusalem temple in 536 b.c. but to the renewal of construction three months earlier (see 1:15). This is clear from the situation described in v. 19 which accords with the food scarcities of that time already detailed in Hag 1:10-11.

¹³ tn Heb “set your heart.” A similar expression occurs in v. 15 and at the beginning of this verse.

¹⁴ tn Grk “came to himself” (an idiom).

¹⁵ tn Grk “bread,” but used figuratively for food of any kind (L&N 5.1).

¹⁶ sn In the confession “I have sinned” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”

¹⁷ sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.

¹⁸ 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).”

¹⁹ sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.

²⁰ tn Grk “were drawing near.”

²¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²² tn Grk “Answering, he said to them.” This construction with passive participle and finite verb is pleonastic (redundant) and has been simplified in the translation to “answered them.”

²³ tn Or “shirt” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). The name for this garment (χιτών, citwn) presents some difficulty in translation. Most modern readers would not understand what a ‘tunic’ was any more than they would be familiar with a ‘chiton.’ On the other hand, attempts to find a modern equivalent are also a problem: “Shirt” conveys the idea of a much shorter garment that covers only the upper body, and “undergarment” (given the styles of modern underwear) is more misleading still. “Tunic” was therefore employed, but with a note to explain its nature.