12:26 The righteous person is cautious in his friendship, 1
but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
14:12 There is a way that seems right to a person, 2
but its end is the way that leads to death. 3
28:15 For you say,
“We have made a treaty with death,
with Sheol 4 we have made an agreement. 5
When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by 6
it will not reach us.
For we have made a lie our refuge,
we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.” 7
28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:
“Look, I am laying 8 a stone in Zion,
an approved 9 stone,
set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. 10
The one who maintains his faith will not panic. 11
28:17 I will make justice the measuring line,
fairness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, 12
the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.
28:18 Your treaty with death will be dissolved; 13
your agreement 14 with Sheol will not last. 15
When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, 16
you will be overrun by it. 17
28:19 Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you;
indeed, 18 every morning it will sweep by,
it will come through during the day and the night.” 19
When this announcement is understood,
it will cause nothing but terror.
9:40 Some of the Pharisees 25 who were with him heard this 26 and asked him, 27 “We are not blind too, are we?” 28
26:2 “Regarding all the things I have been accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa, 31 I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today,
1 tn The line has several possible translations: (1) The verb יָתֵר (yater) can mean “to spy out; to examine,” which makes a good contrast to “lead astray” in the parallel colon. (2) יָתֵר could be the Hophal of נָתַר (natar, Hiphil “to set free”; Hophal “to be set free”): “the righteous is delivered from harm” [reading mera`ah] (J. A. Emerton, “A Note on Proverbs 12:26,” ZAW 76 [1964]: 191-93). (3) Another option is, “the righteous guides his friend aright” (cf. NRSV, NLT).
2 tn Heb “which is straight before a man.”
3 tn Heb “the ways of death” (so KJV, ASV). This construct phrase features a genitive of destiny: “ways that lead to [or, end in] death.” Here death means ruin (e.g., Prov 7:27; 16:25). The LXX adds “Hades,” but the verse seems to be concerned with events of this life.
4 sn Sheol is the underworld, land of the dead, according to the OT world view.
5 tn Elsewhere the noun חֹזֶה (khozeh) refers to a prophet who sees visions. In v. 18 the related term חָזוּת (khazut, “vision”) is used. The parallelism in both verses (note “treaty”) seems to demand a meaning “agreement” for both nouns. Perhaps חֹזֶה and חזוּת are used in a metonymic sense in vv. 15 and 18. Another option is to propose a homonymic root. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:514, and HALOT 301 s.v. II חֹזֶה.
6 tn Heb “the overwhelming scourge, when it passes by” (NRSV similar).
7 sn “Lie” and “deceitful word” would not be the terms used by the people. They would likely use the words “promise” and “reliable word,” but the prophet substitutes “lie” and “deceitful word” to emphasize that this treaty with death will really prove to be disappointing.
8 tc The Hebrew text has a third person verb form, which does not agree with the first person suffix that precedes. The form should be emended to יֹסֵד (yosed), a Qal active participle used in a present progressive or imminent future sense.
9 tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.
10 sn The reality behind the metaphor is not entirely clear from the context. The stone appears to represent someone or something that gives Zion stability. Perhaps the ideal Davidic ruler is in view (see 32:1). Another option is that the image of beginning a building project by laying a precious cornerstone suggests that God is about to transform Zion through judgment and begin a new covenant community that will experience his protection (see 4:3-6; 31:5; 33:20-24; 35:10).
11 tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.
12 tn Heb “[the] refuge, [the] lie.” See v. 15.
13 tn On the meaning of כָּפַר (kafar) in this context, see HALOT 494 s.v. I כפר and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:515, n. 9.
14 tn Normally the noun חָזוּת (khazut) means “vision.” See the note at v. 15.
15 tn Or “will not stand” (NIV, NRSV).
16 tn See the note at v. 15.
17 tn Heb “you will become a trampling place for it.”
18 tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
19 tn The words “it will come through” are supplied in the translation. The verb “will sweep by” does double duty in the parallel structure.
20 tn Grk “answered them.”
21 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “have you?”).
22 sn The chief priests and Pharisees (John 7:45) is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. Likewise the term ruler here denotes a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in John 3:1, and Nicodemus also speaks up in this episode (John 7:50).
23 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “have they?”).
24 tn Grk “crowd.” “Rabble” is a good translation here because the remark by the Pharisees is so derogatory.
25 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
26 tn Grk “heard these things.”
27 tn Grk “and said to him.”
28 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are we?”).
29 tn BDAG 737 s.v. οὖν 3 states, “It has been proposed that some traces of older Gk. usage in which οὖν is emphatic, = certainly, really, to be sure etc. (s. L-S-J-M s.v. 1) remain in the pap…and in the NT…indeed, of course Ac 26:9.”
30 tn Grk “I thought to myself.” BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.a has “ἔδοξα ἐμαυτῷ δεῖν πρᾶξαι = Lat. mihi videbar I was convinced that it was necessary to do Ac 26:9.”
31 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
32 tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.
33 tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.
34 tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.