1 Chronicles 5:20

5:20 They received divine help in fighting them, and the Hagrites and all their allies were handed over to them. They cried out to God during the battle; he responded to their prayers because they trusted in him. ¹ 

Ezra 8:23

8:23 So we fasted and prayed to our God about this, and he answered us.

Job 22:23

22:23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; ² 

if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent,

Job 22:27

22:27 You will pray to him and he will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows to him. ³ 

Job 33:16-30

33:16 Then he gives a revelation ⁴  to people,

and terrifies them with warnings, ⁵ 

33:17 to turn a person from his sin, ⁶ 

and to cover a person’s pride. ⁷ 

33:18 He spares a person’s life from corruption, ⁸ 

his very life from crossing over ⁹  the river.

33:19 Or a person is chastened ¹⁰  by pain on his bed,

and with the continual strife of his bones, ¹¹ 

33:20 so that his life loathes food,

and his soul rejects appetizing fare. ¹² 

33:21 His flesh wastes away from sight,

and his bones, which were not seen,

are easily visible. ¹³ 

33:22 He ¹⁴  draws near to the place of corruption,

and his life to the messengers of death. ¹⁵ 

33:23 If there is an angel beside him,

one mediator ¹⁶  out of a thousand,

to tell a person what constitutes his uprightness; ¹⁷ 

33:24 and if ¹⁸  God ¹⁹  is gracious to him and says,

‘Spare ²⁰  him from going down

to the place of corruption,

I have found a ransom for him,’ ²¹ 

33:25 then his flesh is restored ²²  like a youth’s;

he returns to the days of his youthful vigor. ²³ 

33:26 He entreats God, and God ²⁴  delights in him,

he sees God’s face ²⁵  with rejoicing,

and God ²⁶  restores to him his righteousness. ²⁷ 

33:27 That person sings ²⁸  to others, ²⁹  saying:

‘I have sinned and falsified what is right,

but I was not punished according to what I deserved. ³⁰ 

33:28 He redeemed my life ³¹ 

from going down to the place of corruption,

and my life sees the light!’

Elihu’s Appeal to Job ³² 

33:29 “Indeed, God does all these things,

twice, three times, in his dealings ³³  with a person,

33:30 to turn back his life from the place of corruption,

that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

Psalms 32:3-5

32:3 When I refused to confess my sin, ³⁴ 

my whole body wasted away, ³⁵ 

while I groaned in pain all day long.

32:4 For day and night you tormented me; ³⁶ 

you tried to destroy me ³⁷  in the intense heat ³⁸  of summer. ³⁹  (Selah)

32:5 Then I confessed my sin;

I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.

I said, “I will confess ⁴⁰  my rebellious acts to the Lord.”

And then you forgave my sins. ⁴¹  (Selah)

Psalms 86:5

86:5 Certainly ⁴²  O Lord, you are kind ⁴³  and forgiving,

and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you.

Isaiah 55:6-9

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ⁴⁴ 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ⁴⁵ 

and sinful people their plans. ⁴⁶ 

They should return ⁴⁷  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ⁴⁸ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ⁴⁹ 

55:8 “Indeed, ⁵⁰  my plans ⁵¹  are not like ⁵²  your plans,

and my deeds ⁵³  are not like ⁵⁴  your deeds,

55:9 for just as the sky ⁵⁵  is higher than the earth,

so my deeds ⁵⁶  are superior to ⁵⁷  your deeds

and my plans ⁵⁸  superior to your plans.

Jeremiah 29:12-13

29:12 When you call out to me and come to me in prayer, ⁵⁹  I will hear your prayers. ⁶⁰  29:13 When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, ⁶¹ 

Matthew 7:7-8

Ask, Seek, Knock

7:7 “Ask ⁶²  and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door ⁶³  will be opened for you. 7:8 For everyone who asks ⁶⁴  receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Luke 23:42-43

23:42 Then ⁶⁵  he said, “Jesus, remember me ⁶⁶  when you come in ⁶⁷  your kingdom.” 23:43 And Jesus ⁶⁸  said to him, “I tell you the truth, ⁶⁹  today ⁷⁰  you will be with me in paradise.” ⁷¹ 

John 4:10

4:10 Jesus answered ⁷²  her, “If you had known ⁷³  the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water ⁷⁴  to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ⁷⁵ 

[5:20]  ¹ tn Heb “and they were helped against them and they were given over into their hand, the Hagrites and all who were with them, for to God they cried out in the battle and he was entreated [or “allowed himself to be entreated”] by them for they trusted in him.”

[22:23]  ² tc The MT has “you will be built up” (תִּבָּנֶה, tibbaneh). But the LXX has “humble yourself” (reading תְּעַנֶּה [tÿ’anneh] apparently). Many commentators read this; Dahood has “you will be healed.”

[22:27]  ³ tn The words “to him” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[33:16]  ⁴ tn The idiom is “he uncovers the ear of men.” This expression means “inform” in Ruth 4:4; 1 Sam 20:2, etc. But when God is the subject it means “make a revelation” (see 1 Sam 9:15; 2 Sam 7:27).

[33:16]  ⁵ tc Heb “and seals their bonds.” The form of the present translation, “and terrifies them with warnings,” is derived only by emending the text. Aquila, the Vulgate, Syriac, and Targum Job have “their correction” for “their bond,” which is what the KJV used. But the LXX, Aquila, and the Syriac have “terrifies” for the verb. This involves a change in pointing from יָחְתֹּם (yakhtom) to יְחִתֵּם (yÿkhittem). The LXX has “appearances of fear” instead of “bonds.” The point of the verse seems to be that by terrifying dreams God makes people aware of their ways.

[33:17]  ⁶ tc The MT simply has מַעֲשֶׂה (ma’aseh, “deed”). The LXX has “from his iniquity” which would have been מֵעַוְלָה (me’avlah). The two letters may have dropped out by haplography. The MT is workable, but would have to mean “[evil] deeds.”

[33:17]  ⁷ tc Here too the sense of the MT is difficult to recover. Some translations took it to mean that God hides pride from man. Many commentators changed יְכַסֶּה (yÿkhasseh, “covers”) to יְכַסֵּחַ (yÿkhasseakh, “he cuts away”), or יְכַלֶּה (yÿkhalleh, “he puts an end to”). The various emendations are not all that convincing.

[33:18]  ⁸ tn A number of interpreters and translations take this as “the pit” (see Job 17:14; cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[33:18]  ⁹ tc Here is another difficult line. The verb normally means “to pass through; to pass over,” and so this word would normally mean “from passing through [or over].” The word שֶׁלַח (shelakh) does at times refer to a weapon, but most commentators look for a parallel with “the pit [or corruption].” One suggestion is שְׁאוֹלָה (shÿ’olah, “to Sheol”), proposed by Duhm. Dhorme thought it was שַׁלַח (shalakh) and referred to the passageway to the underworld (see M. Tsevat, VT 4 [1954]: 43; and Svi Rin, BZ 7 [1963]: 25). See discussion of options in HALOT 1517-18 s.v. IV שֶׁלַח. The idea of crossing the river of death fits the idea of the passage well, although the reading “to perish by the sword” makes sense and was followed by the NIV.

[33:19]  ¹⁰ tc The MT has the passive form, and so a subject has to be added: “[a man] is chastened.” The LXX has the active form, indicating “[God] chastens,” but the object “a man” has to be added. It is understandable why the LXX thought this was active, within this sequence of verbs; and that is why it is the inferior reading.

[33:19]  ¹¹ tc The Kethib “the strife of his bones is continual,” whereas the Qere has “the multitude of his bones are firm.” The former is the better reading in this passage. It indicates that the pain is caused by the ongoing strife.

[33:20]  ¹² tn Heb “food of desire.” The word “rejects” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[33:21]  ¹³ tc Heb “are laid bare.” This is the Qere reading; the Kethib means “bare height.” Gordis reverses the word order: “his bones are bare [i.e., crushed] so that they cannot be looked upon.” But the sense of that is not clear.

[33:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh, “life”] draws near.”

[33:22]  ¹⁵ tn The MT uses the Hiphil participle, “to those who cause death.” This seems to be a reference to the belief in demons that brought about death, an idea not mentioned in the Bible itself. Thus many proposals have been made for this expression. Hoffmann and Budde divide the word into לְמוֹ מֵתִּים (lÿmo metim) and simply read “to the dead.” Dhorme adds a couple of letters to get לִמְקוֹם מֵתִּים (limqom metim, “to the place [or abode] of the dead”).

[33:23]  ¹⁶ sn The verse is describing the way God can preserve someone from dying by sending a messenger (translated here as “angel”), who could be human or angelic. This messenger will interpret/mediate God’s will. By “one … out of a thousand” Elihu could have meant either that one of the thousands of messengers at God’s disposal might be sent or that the messenger would be unique (see Eccl 7:28; and cp. Job 9:3).

[33:23]  ¹⁷ tn This is a smoother reading. The MT has “to tell to a man his uprightness,” to reveal what is right for him. The LXX translated this word “duty”; the choice is adopted by some commentaries. However, that is too far from the text, which indicates that the angel/messenger is to call the person to uprightness.

[33:24]  ¹⁸ tn This verse seems to continue the protasis begun in the last verse, with the apodosis coming in the next verse.

[33:24]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:24]  ²⁰ tc The verb is either taken as an anomalous form of פָּדַע (pada’, “to rescue; to redeem,” or “to exempt him”), or it is emended to some similar word, like פָּרַע (para’, “to let loose,” so Wright).

[33:24]  ²¹ sn This verse and v. 28 should be compared with Ps 49:7-9, 15 (8-10, 16 HT) where the same basic vocabulary and concepts are employed.

[33:25]  ²² tc The word רֻטֲפַשׁ (rutafash) is found nowhere else. One suggestion is that it should be יִרְטַב (yirtav, “to become fresh”), connected to רָטַב (ratav, “to be well watered [or moist]”). It is also possible that it was a combination of רָטַב (ratav, “to be well watered”) and טָפַשׁ (tafash, “to grow fat”). But these are all guesses in the commentaries.

[33:25]  ²³ tn The word describes the period when the man is healthy and vigorous, ripe for what life brings his way.

[33:26]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  ²⁵ tn Heb “his face”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  ²⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  ²⁷ tc Many commentators think this line is superfluous and so delete it. The RSV changed the verb to “he recounts,” making the idea that the man publishes the news of his victory or salvation (taking “righteousness” as a metonymy of cause).

[33:27]  ²⁸ tc The verb יָשֹׁר (yashor) is unusual. The typical view is to change it to יָשִׁיר (yashir, “he sings”), but that may seem out of harmony with a confession. Dhorme suggests a root שׁוּר (shur, “to repeat”), but this is a doubtful root. J. Reider reads it יָשֵׁיר (yasher) and links it to an Arabic word “confesses” (ZAW 24 [1953]: 275).

[33:27]  ²⁹ tn Heb “to men.”

[33:27]  ³⁰ tn The verb שָׁוָה (shavah) has the impersonal meaning here, “it has not been requited to me.” The meaning is that the sinner has not been treated in accordance with his deeds: “I was not punished according to what I deserved.”

[33:28]  ³¹ sn See note on “him” in v. 24.

[33:29]  ³² sn Elihu will repeat these instructions for Job to listen, over and over in painful repetition. See note on the heading to 32:1.

[33:29]  ³³ tn The phrase “in his dealings” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[32:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “when I was silent.”

[32:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “my bones became brittle.” The psalmist pictures himself as aging and growing physically weak. Trying to cover up his sin brought severe physical consequences.

[32:4]  ³⁶ tn Heb “your hand was heavy upon me.”

[32:4]  ³⁷ tc Heb “my [?] was turned.” The meaning of the Hebrew term לְשַׁד (lÿshad) is uncertain. A noun לָשָׁד (lashad, “cake”) is attested in Num 11:8, but it would make no sense to understand that word in this context. It is better to emend the form to לְשֻׁדִּי (lÿshuddiy, “to my destruction”) and understand “your hand” as the subject of the verb “was turned.” In this case the text reads, “[your hand] was turned to my destruction.” In Lam 3:3 the author laments that God’s “hand” was “turned” (הָפַךְ, hafakh) against him in a hostile sense.

[32:4]  ³⁸ tn The translation assumes that the plural form indicates degree. If one understands the form as a true plural, then one might translate, “in the times of drought.”

[32:4]  ³⁹ sn Summer. Perhaps the psalmist suffered during the hot season and perceived the very weather as being an instrument of divine judgment. Another option is that he compares his time of suffering to the uncomfortable and oppressive heat of summer.

[32:5]  ⁴⁰ tn The Hiphil of ידה normally means “give thanks, praise,” but here, as in Prov 28:13, it means “confess.”

[32:5]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the wrongdoing of my sin.” By joining synonyms for “sin” in this way, the psalmist may be emphasizing the degree of his wrongdoing.

[86:5]  ⁴² tn Or “for.”

[86:5]  ⁴³ tn Heb “good.”

[55:6]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ⁴⁸ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ⁴⁹ sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.

[55:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).

[55:8]  ⁵¹ tn Or “thoughts” (so many English versions).

[55:8]  ⁵² tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.

[55:8]  ⁵³ tn Heb “ways” (so many English versions).

[55:8]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.

[55:9]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[55:9]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “ways” (so many English versions).

[55:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “are higher than.”

[55:9]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “thoughts” (so many English versions).

[29:12]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “come and pray to me.” This is an example of verbal hendiadys where two verb formally joined by “and” convey a main concept with the second verb functioning as an adverbial qualifier.

[29:12]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “You will call out to me and come to me in prayer and I will hear your prayers.” The verbs are vav consecutive perfects and can be taken either as unconditional futures or as contingent futures. See GKC 337 §112.kk and 494 §159.g and compare the usage in Gen 44:22 for the use of the vav consecutive perfects in contingent futures. The conditional clause in the middle of 29:13 and the deuteronomic theology reflected in both Deut 30:1-5 and 1 Kgs 8:46-48 suggest that the verbs are continent futures here. For the same demand for wholehearted seeking in these contexts which presuppose exile see especially Deut 30:2, 1 Kgs 8:48.

[29:13]  ⁶¹ tn Or “If you wholeheartedly seek me”; Heb “You will seek me and find [me] because you will seek me with all your heart.” The translation attempts to reflect the theological nuances of “seeking” and “finding” and the psychological significance of “heart” which refers more to intellectual and volitional concerns in the OT than to emotional ones.

[7:7]  ⁶² sn The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask…seek…knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.

[7:7]  ⁶³ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation here and in v. 8 for clarity.

[7:8]  ⁶⁴ sn The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are repeated here from v. 7 with the encouragement that God does respond.

[23:42]  ⁶⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:42]  ⁶⁶ sn Jesus, remember me is a statement of faith from the cross, as Jesus saves another even while he himself is dying. This man’s faith had shown itself when he rebuked the other thief. He hoped to be with Jesus sometime in the future in the kingdom.

[23:42]  ⁶⁷ tc ‡ The alternate readings of some mss make the reference to Jesus’ coming clearer. “Into your kingdom” – with εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν (ei" thn basileian), read by Ì⁷⁵ B L – is a reference to his entering into God’s presence at the right hand. “In your kingdom” – with ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ (en th basileia), read by א A C*^,2 W Θ Ψ 070 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy – looks at his return. It could be argued that the reading with εἰς is more in keeping with Luke’s theology elsewhere, but the contrast with Jesus’ reply, “Today,” slightly favors the reading “in your kingdom.” Codex Bezae (D), in place of this short interchange between the criminal and Jesus, reads “Then he turned to the Lord and said to him, ‘Remember me in the day of your coming.’ Then the Lord said in reply to [him], ‘Take courage; today you will be with me in paradise.’” This reading emphasizes the future aspect of the coming of Christ; it has virtually no support in any other mss.

[23:43]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “he.”

[23:43]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[23:43]  ⁷⁰ sn Jesus gives more than the criminal asked for, because the blessing will come today, not in the future. He will be among the righteous. See the note on today in 2:11.

[23:43]  ⁷¹ sn In the NT, paradise is mentioned three times. Here it refers to the abode of the righteous dead. In Rev 2:7 it refers to the restoration of Edenic paradise predicted in Isa 51:3 and Ezek 36:35. In 2 Cor 12:4 it probably refers to the “third heaven” (2 Cor 12:2) as the place where God dwells.

[4:10]  ⁷² tn Grk “answered and said to her.”

[4:10]  ⁷³ tn Or “if you knew.”

[4:10]  ⁷⁴ tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).

[4:10]  ⁷⁵ tn This is a second class conditional sentence in Greek.