1 Samuel 2:29-30

2:29 Why are you ¹  scorning my sacrifice and my offering that I commanded for my dwelling place? ²  You have honored your sons more than you have me by having made yourselves fat from the best parts of all the offerings of my people Israel.’

2:30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I really did say ³  that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve ⁴  me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May it never be! ⁵  For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed!

1 Samuel 2:2

2:2 No one is holy ⁶  like the Lord!

There is no one other than you!

There is no rock ⁷  like our God!

1 Samuel 29:1

David Is Rejected by the Philistine Leaders

29:1 The Philistines assembled all their troops ⁸  at Aphek, while Israel camped at the spring that is in Jezreel.

Isaiah 56:10-12

56:10 All their watchmen ⁹  are blind,

they are unaware. ¹⁰ 

All of them are like mute dogs,

unable to bark.

They pant, ¹¹  lie down,

and love to snooze.

56:11 The dogs have big appetites;

they are never full. ¹² 

They are shepherds who have no understanding;

they all go their own way,

each one looking for monetary gain. ¹³ 

56:12 Each one says, ¹⁴ 

‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!

Let’s guzzle some beer!

Tomorrow will be just like today!

We’ll have everything we want!’ ¹⁵ 

Malachi 1:10

1:10 “I wish that one of you would close the temple doors, ¹⁶  so that you no longer would light useless fires on my altar. I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and I will no longer accept an offering from you.

Philippians 2:21

2:21 Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:1

Christian Unity and Christ’s Humility

2:1 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, ¹⁷  any affection or mercy, ¹⁸ 

Philippians 1:2

1:2 Grace and peace to you ¹⁹  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

[2:29]  ¹ tc The MT has a plural “you” here, but the LXX and a Qumran ms have the singular. The singular may be the correct reading; the verb “you have honored” later in the verse is singular even in the MT. However, it is more probable that the Lord here refers to Eli and his sons. Note the plural in the second half of the verse (“you have made yourselves fat”).

[2:29]  ² tn Heb “which I commanded, dwelling place.” The noun is functioning as an adverbial accusative in relation to the verb. Since God’s dwelling place/sanctuary is in view, the pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation.

[2:30]  ³ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[2:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “walk about before.”

[2:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “may it be far removed from me.”

[2:2]  ⁶ sn In this context God’s holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.

[2:2]  ⁷ tn The LXX has “and there is none righteous like our God.” The Hebrew term translated “rock” refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people. Cf. TEV “no protector like our God”; CEV “We’re safer with you than on a high mountain.”

[29:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “camps.”

[56:10]  ⁹ sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.

[56:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”

[56:10]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text has הֹזִים (hozim), which appears to be derived from an otherwise unattested verbal root הָזָה (hazah). On the basis of alleged cognates, BDB 223 s.v. הָזָה offers the definition “dream, rave” while HALOT 243 s.v. הזה lists “pant.” In this case the dog metaphor of the preceding lines continues. The reference to dogs at the beginning of v. 11 favors the extension of the metaphor. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy.

[56:11]  ¹² sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.

[56:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”

[56:12]  ¹⁴ tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[56:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.

[1:10]  ¹⁶ sn The rhetorical language suggests that as long as the priesthood and people remain disobedient, the temple doors may as well be closed because God is not “at home” to receive them or their worship there.

[2:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “spiritual fellowship” if πνεύματος (pneumato") is an attributive genitive; or “fellowship brought about by the Spirit” if πνεύματος is a genitive of source or production.

[2:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “and any affection and mercy.” The Greek idea, however, is best expressed by “or” in English.

[1:2]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”