2 Chronicles 29:1--31:21

Hezekiah Consecrates the Temple

29:1 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. ¹  His mother was Abijah, ²  the daughter of Zechariah. 29:2 He did what the Lord approved, just as his ancestor David had done. ³ 

29:3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the Lord’s temple and repaired them. 29:4 He brought in the priests and Levites and assembled them in the square on the east side. 29:5 He said to them: “Listen to me, you Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, so you can consecrate the temple of the Lord God of your ancestors! ⁴  Remove from the sanctuary what is ceremonially unclean! 29:6 For our fathers were unfaithful; they did what is evil in the sight of ⁵  the Lord our God and abandoned him! They turned ⁶  away from the Lord’s dwelling place and rejected him. ⁷  29:7 They closed the doors of the temple porch and put out the lamps; they did not offer incense or burnt sacrifices in the sanctuary of the God of Israel. 29:8 The Lord was angry at Judah and Jerusalem and made them an appalling object of horror at which people hiss out their scorn, ⁸  as you can see with your own eyes. 29:9 Look, our fathers died violently ⁹  and our sons, daughters, and wives were carried off ¹⁰  because of this. 29:10 Now I intend ¹¹  to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that he may relent from his raging anger. ¹²  29:11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to serve in his presence and offer sacrifices.” ¹³ 

29:12 The following Levites prepared to carry out the king’s orders: ¹⁴ 

From the Kohathites: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah;

from the Merarites: Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel;

from the Gershonites: Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;

29:13 from the descendants of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel;

from the descendants of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah;

29:14 from the descendants of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei;

from the descendants of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel.

29:15 They assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves. Then they went in to purify the Lord’s temple, just as the king had ordered, in accordance with the word ¹⁵  of the Lord. 29:16 The priests then entered the Lord’s temple to purify it; they brought out to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple every ceremonially unclean thing they discovered inside. ¹⁶  The Levites took them out to the Kidron Valley. 29:17 On the first day of the first month they began consecrating; by the eighth day of the month they reached the porch of the Lord’s temple. ¹⁷  For eight more days they consecrated the Lord’s temple. On the sixteenth day of the first month they were finished. 29:18 They went to King Hezekiah and said: “We have purified the entire temple of the Lord, including the altar of burnt sacrifice and all its equipment, and the table for the Bread of the Presence and all its equipment. 29:19 We have prepared and consecrated all the items that King Ahaz removed during his reign when he acted unfaithfully. They are in front of the altar of the Lord.”

29:20 Early the next morning King Hezekiah assembled the city officials and went up to the Lord’s temple. 29:21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. ¹⁸  The king ¹⁹  told the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer burnt sacrifices on the altar of the Lord. 29:22 They slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and splashed it on the altar. Then they slaughtered the rams and splashed the blood on the altar; next they slaughtered the lambs and splashed the blood on the altar. 29:23 Finally they brought the goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they placed their hands on them. 29:24 Then the priests slaughtered them. They offered their blood as a sin offering on the altar to make atonement for all Israel, because the king had decreed ²⁰  that the burnt sacrifice and sin offering were for all Israel.

29:25 King Hezekiah ²¹  stationed the Levites in the Lord’s temple with cymbals and stringed instruments, just as David, Gad the king’s prophet, ²²  and Nathan the prophet had ordered. (The Lord had actually given these orders through his prophets.) 29:26 The Levites had ²³  David’s musical instruments and the priests had trumpets. 29:27 Hezekiah ordered the burnt sacrifice to be offered on the altar. As they began to offer the sacrifice, they also began to sing to the Lord, accompanied by the trumpets and the musical instruments of King David of Israel. 29:28 The entire assembly worshiped, as the singers sang and the trumpeters played. They continued until the burnt sacrifice was completed.

29:29 When the sacrifices were completed, the king and all who were with him bowed down and worshiped. 29:30 King Hezekiah and the officials told the Levites to praise the Lord, using the psalms ²⁴  of David and Asaph the prophet. ²⁵  So they joyfully offered praise and bowed down and worshiped. 29:31 Hezekiah said, “Now you have consecrated yourselves ²⁶  to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings ²⁷  to the Lord’s temple.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and whoever desired to do so ²⁸  brought burnt sacrifices.

29:32 The assembly brought a total of 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs as burnt sacrifices to the Lord, ²⁹  29:33 and 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep ³⁰  were consecrated. 29:34 But there were not enough priests to skin all the animals, ³¹  so their brothers, the Levites, helped them until the work was finished and the priests could consecrate themselves. (The Levites had been more conscientious about consecrating themselves than the priests.) ³²  29:35 There was a large number of burnt sacrifices, as well as fat from the peace offerings and drink offerings that accompanied the burnt sacrifices. So the service of the Lord’s temple was reinstituted. ³³  29:36 Hezekiah and all the people were happy about what God had done ³⁴  for them, ³⁵  for it had been done quickly. ³⁶ 

Hezekiah Observes the Passover

30:1 Hezekiah sent messages throughout Israel and Judah; he even wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, summoning them to come to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem ³⁷  and observe a Passover celebration for the Lord God of Israel. 30:2 The king, his officials, and the entire assembly in Jerusalem decided to observe the Passover in the second month. 30:3 They were unable to observe it at the regular ³⁸  time because not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem. 30:4 The proposal seemed appropriate to ³⁹  the king and the entire assembly. 30:5 So they sent an edict ⁴⁰  throughout Israel from Beer Sheba to Dan, summoning the people ⁴¹  to come and observe a Passover for the Lord God of Israel in Jerusalem, for they had not observed it on a nationwide scale as prescribed in the law. ⁴²  30:6 Messengers ⁴³  delivered the letters from the king and his officials throughout Israel and Judah.

This royal edict read: ⁴⁴  “O Israelites, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so he may return ⁴⁵  to you who have been spared from the kings of Assyria. ⁴⁶  30:7 Don’t be like your fathers and brothers who were unfaithful to the Lord God of their ancestors, ⁴⁷  provoking him to destroy them, ⁴⁸  as you can see. 30:8 Now, don’t be stubborn ⁴⁹  like your fathers! Submit ⁵⁰  to the Lord and come to his sanctuary which he has permanently consecrated. Serve the Lord your God so that he might relent from his raging anger. ⁵¹  30:9 For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and sons will be shown mercy by their captors and return to this land. The Lord your God is merciful and compassionate; he will not reject you ⁵²  if you return to him.”

30:10 The messengers journeyed from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but people mocked and ridiculed them. ⁵³  30:11 But some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 30:12 In Judah God moved the people to unite and carry out the edict the king and the officers had issued at the Lord’s command. ⁵⁴  30:13 A huge crowd assembled in Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month. ⁵⁵  30:14 They removed the altars in Jerusalem; they also removed all the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley. ⁵⁶ 

30:15 They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, so they consecrated themselves and brought burnt sacrifices to the Lord’s temple. 30:16 They stood at their posts according to the regulations outlined in the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests were splashing the blood as the Levites handed it to them. ⁵⁷  30:17 Because many in the assembly had not consecrated themselves, the Levites slaughtered ⁵⁸  the Passover lambs of all who were ceremonially unclean and could not consecrate their sacrifice to the Lord. ⁵⁹  30:18 The majority of the many people from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun were ceremonially unclean, yet they ate the Passover in violation of what is prescribed in the law. ⁶⁰  For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying: “May the Lord, who is good, forgive ⁶¹  30:19 everyone who has determined to follow God, ⁶²  the Lord God of his ancestors, even if he is not ceremonially clean according to the standards of the temple.” ⁶³  30:20 The Lord responded favorably ⁶⁴  to Hezekiah and forgave ⁶⁵  the people.

30:21 The Israelites who were in Jerusalem observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy. The Levites and priests were praising the Lord every day with all their might. ⁶⁶  30:22 Hezekiah expressed his appreciation to all the Levites, ⁶⁷  who demonstrated great skill in serving the Lord. ⁶⁸  They feasted for the seven days of the festival, ⁶⁹  and were making peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord God of their ancestors.

30:23 The entire assembly then decided to celebrate for seven more days; so they joyfully celebrated for seven more days. 30:24 King Hezekiah of Judah supplied 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep ⁷⁰  for the assembly, while the officials supplied them ⁷¹  with 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. Many priests consecrated themselves. 30:25 The celebration included ⁷²  the entire assembly of Judah, the priests, the Levites, the entire assembly of those who came from Israel, the resident foreigners who came from the land of Israel, and the residents of Judah. 30:26 There was a great celebration in Jerusalem, unlike anything that had occurred in Jerusalem since the time of King Solomon son of David of Israel. ⁷³  30:27 The priests and Levites got up and pronounced blessings on the people. The Lord responded favorably to them ⁷⁴  as their prayers reached his holy dwelling place in heaven.

31:1 When all this was over, the Israelites ⁷⁵  who were in the cities of Judah went out and smashed the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and demolished ⁷⁶  all the high places and altars throughout Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. ⁷⁷  Then all the Israelites returned to their own homes in their cities. ⁷⁸ 

The People Contribute to the Temple

31:2 Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and Levites to do their assigned tasks ⁷⁹  – to offer burnt sacrifices and present offerings and to serve, give thanks, and offer praise in the gates of the Lord’s sanctuary. ⁸⁰ 

31:3 The king contributed ⁸¹  some of what he owned for burnt sacrifices, including the morning and evening burnt sacrifices and the burnt sacrifices made on Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and at other appointed times prescribed ⁸²  in the law of the Lord. 31:4 He ordered ⁸³  the people living in Jerusalem ⁸⁴  to contribute the portion prescribed for the priests and Levites so they might be obedient ⁸⁵  to the law of the Lord. 31:5 When the edict was issued, ⁸⁶  the Israelites freely contributed ⁸⁷  the initial portion of their grain, wine, olive oil, honey, and all the produce of their fields. They brought a tenth of everything, which added up to a huge amount. 31:6 The Israelites and people of Judah ⁸⁸  who lived in the cities of Judah also contributed a tenth of their cattle and sheep, as well as a tenth of the holy items consecrated to the Lord their God. They brought them and placed them in many heaps. ⁸⁹  31:7 In the third month they began piling their contributions in heaps ⁹⁰  and finished in the seventh month. 31:8 When Hezekiah and the officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the Lord and pronounced blessings on his people Israel. ⁹¹ 

31:9 When Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps, 31:10 Azariah, the head priest from the family of Zadok, said to him, “Since the contributions began arriving in the Lord’s temple, we have had plenty to eat and have a large quantity left over. For the Lord has blessed his people, and this large amount remains.” 31:11 Hezekiah ordered that storerooms be prepared in the Lord’s temple. When this was done, ⁹²  31:12 they brought in the contributions, tithes, ⁹³  and consecrated items that had been offered. ⁹⁴  Konaniah, a Levite, was in charge of all this, assisted by his brother Shimei. 31:13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath, and Benaiah worked under the supervision of Konaniah and his brother Shimei, as directed by King Hezekiah and Azariah, the supervisor of God’s temple.

31:14 Kore son of Imnah, a Levite and the guard on the east side, was in charge of the voluntary offerings made to God and disbursed the contributions made to the Lord and the consecrated items. 31:15 In the cities of the priests, Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah faithfully assisted him in making disbursements to their fellow priests ⁹⁵  according to their divisions, regardless of age. ⁹⁶  31:16 They made disbursements to all the males three years old and up who were listed in the genealogical records – to all who would enter the Lord’s temple to serve on a daily basis and fulfill their duties as assigned to their divisions. ⁹⁷  31:17 They made disbursements to the priests listed in the genealogical records by their families, and to the Levites twenty years old and up, according to their duties as assigned to their divisions, 31:18 and to all the infants, wives, sons, and daughters of the entire assembly listed in the genealogical records, for they faithfully consecrated themselves. 31:19 As for the descendants of Aaron, the priests who lived in the outskirts of all their cities, ⁹⁸  men were assigned ⁹⁹  to disburse portions to every male among the priests and to every Levite listed in the genealogical records.

31:20 This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what the Lord his God considered good and right and faithful. 31:21 He wholeheartedly and successfully reinstituted service in God’s temple and obedience to the law, in order to follow his God. ¹⁰⁰ 

Proverbs 30:6

30:6 Do not add to his words,

lest he reprove you, and prove you to be a liar. ¹⁰¹ 

Matthew 15:2-6

15:2 “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their ¹⁰²  hands when they eat.” ¹⁰³  15:3 He answered them, ¹⁰⁴  “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? 15:4 For God said, ¹⁰⁵  ‘Honor your father and mother’ ¹⁰⁶  and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ ¹⁰⁷  15:5 But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,” ¹⁰⁸  15:6 he does not need to honor his father.’ ¹⁰⁹  You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.

Mark 7:2-13

7:2 And they saw that some of Jesus’ disciples ate their bread with unclean hands, that is, unwashed. 7:3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing, ¹¹⁰  holding fast to the tradition of the elders. 7:4 And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. They hold fast to many other traditions: the washing of cups, pots, kettles, and dining couches. ¹¹¹ ) ¹¹²  7:5 The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat ¹¹³  with unwashed hands?” 7:6 He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart ¹¹⁴  is far from me.

7:7 They worship me in vain,

teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.’ ¹¹⁵ 

7:8 Having no regard ¹¹⁶  for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.” ¹¹⁷  7:9 He also said to them, “You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up ¹¹⁸  your tradition. 7:10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ ¹¹⁹  and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ ¹²⁰  7:11 But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you would have received from me is corban’ ¹²¹  (that is, a gift for God), 7:12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother. 7:13 Thus you nullify ¹²²  the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.”

Colossians 2:22

2:22 These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are ¹²³  on human commands and teachings. ¹²⁴ 

[29:1]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[29:1]  ² tn The parallel passage in 2 Kgs 18:2 has “Abi.”

[29:2]  ³ tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which David his father had done.”

[29:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “fathers.”

[29:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[29:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “turned their faces.”

[29:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “and turned the back.”

[29:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he made them [an object] of dread and devastation and hissing.”

[29:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “fell by the sword.”

[29:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “are in captivity.”

[29:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “now it is with my heart.”

[29:10]  ¹² tn Heb “so that the rage of his anger might turn from us.” The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding statement of intention.

[29:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “to stand before him to serve him and to be his servants and sacrificers.”

[29:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the Levites arose.”

[29:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “words” (plural).

[29:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the temple of the Lord.”

[29:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “porch of the Lord.”

[29:21]  ¹⁸ sn Perhaps these terms refer metonymically to the royal court, the priests and Levites, and the people, respectively.

[29:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:24]  ²⁰ tn Heb “said.”

[29:25]  ²¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (King Hezekiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:25]  ²² tn Or “seer.”

[29:26]  ²³ tn Heb “stood with” (i.e., stood holding).

[29:30]  ²⁴ tn Heb “with the words.”

[29:30]  ²⁵ tn Or “seer.”

[29:31]  ²⁶ tn Heb “filled your hand.”

[29:31]  ²⁷ tn Or “tokens of thanks.”

[29:31]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and all who were willing of heart.”

[29:32]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and the number of burnt sacrifices which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, two hundred lambs; for a burnt sacrifice to the Lord were all these.”

[29:33]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew term צֹאן (ts’on) denotes smaller livestock in general; depending on context it can refer to sheep only or goats only, but there is nothing in the immediate context here to specify one or the other.

[29:34]  ³¹ tn Heb “the burnt sacrifices.”

[29:34]  ³² tn Heb “for the Levites were more pure of heart to consecrate themselves than the priests.”

[29:35]  ³³ tn Or “established.”

[29:36]  ³⁴ tn Heb “prepared.”

[29:36]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the people.” The pronoun “they” has been used here for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

[29:36]  ³⁶ tn Heb “for quickly was the matter.”

[30:1]  ³⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[30:3]  ³⁸ tn Heb “at that time.”

[30:4]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and the thing was proper in the eyes of.”

[30:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and they caused to stand a word to cause a voice to pass through.”

[30:5]  ⁴¹ tn The words “summoning the people” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:5]  ⁴² tn Heb “because not for abundance had they done as written.”

[30:6]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the runners.”

[30:6]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and according to the command of the king, saying.”

[30:6]  ⁴⁵ tn The jussive with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[30:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “to the survivors who are left to you from the palm of the kings of Assyria.”

[30:7]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 19, 22).

[30:7]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and he made them a devastation” (or, perhaps, “an object of horror”).

[30:8]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “don’t stiffen your neck” (a Hebrew idiom for being stubborn).

[30:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “give a hand.” On the meaning of the idiom here, see HALOT 387 s.v. I יָד 2.

[30:8]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “so that the rage of his anger might turn from you.” The jussive with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[30:9]  ⁵² tn Heb “turn [his] face from you.”

[30:10]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and they were mocking them and ridiculing them.”

[30:12]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “also in Judah the hand of God was to give to them one heart to do the command of the king and the officials by the word of the Lord.”

[30:13]  ⁵⁵ tn The Hebrew text adds here, “a very large assembly.” This has not been translated to avoid redundancy with the expression “a huge crowd” at the beginning of the verse.

[30:14]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and they arose and removed the altars which were in Jerusalem, and all the incense altars they removed and threw into the Kidron Valley.”

[30:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “from the hand of the Levites.”

[30:17]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “were over the slaughter of.”

[30:17]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “of everyone not pure to consecrate to the Lord.”

[30:18]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “without what is written.”

[30:18]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “make atonement for.”

[30:19]  ⁶² tn Heb “everyone [who] has prepared his heart to seek God.”

[30:19]  ⁶³ tn Heb “and not according to the purification of the holy place.”

[30:20]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “listened.”

[30:20]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “healed.”

[30:21]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “and they were praising the Lord day by day, the Levites and the priests with instruments of strength to the Lord.” The phrase בִּכְלֵי־עֹז (bikhley-’oz, “with instruments of strength”) might refer to loud sounding musical instruments (NASB “with loud instruments”; NEB “with unrestrained fervour”). The present translation assumes an emendation to בְּכָל־עֹז (bÿkhol-’oz, “with all strength”); see 1 Chr 13:8, as well as HALOT 805 s.v. I עֹז and BDB 739 s.v. עֹז).

[30:22]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “and Hezekiah spoke to the heart of all the Levites.” On the meaning of the idiom “speak to the heart of” here, see HALOT 210 s.v. II דבר 8.d.

[30:22]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “who demonstrated skill [with] good skill for the Lord.”

[30:22]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “and they ate [during] the appointed time [for] seven days.” מוֹעֵד (mo’ed, “appointed time”) is probably an adverbial accusative of time referring to the festival. However, some understand it as metonymically referring to the food eaten during the festival. See BDB 417 s.v.

[30:24]  ⁷⁰ tn The Hebrew term צֹאן (ts’on, translated “sheep” twice in this verse) denotes smaller livestock in general; depending on context it can refer to sheep only or goats only, but their is nothing in the immediate context here to specify one or the other.

[30:24]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “the assembly.” The pronoun “them” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

[30:25]  ⁷² tn Heb “they rejoiced.”

[30:26]  ⁷³ tn Heb “and there was great joy in Jerusalem, for from the days of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, there was nothing like this in Jerusalem.”

[30:27]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “and it was heard with their voice.” BDB 1034 s.v. שָׁמַע Niph.4 interprets this to mean “hearing was granted to their voice.” It is possible that the name יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) has been accidentally omitted.

[31:1]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “all Israel.”

[31:1]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “tore down.”

[31:1]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “the high places and the altars from all Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and in Manasseh until finished.”

[31:1]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “and the sons of Israel returned, each to his possession to their cities.”

[31:2]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “and Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites according to their divisions, each in accordance with his service for the priests and for the Levites.”

[31:2]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “in the gates of the encampments of the Lord.”

[31:3]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “the portion of the king [was].”

[31:3]  ⁸² tn Heb “as written.”

[31:4]  ⁸³ tn Heb “said to.”

[31:4]  ⁸⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[31:4]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “might hold firmly.”

[31:5]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “and when the word spread out.”

[31:5]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “the sons of Israel multiplied.”

[31:6]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “and the sons of Israel and Judah.”

[31:6]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “heaps, heaps.” Repetition of the noun draws attention to the large number of heaps.

[31:7]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “they began the heaps, to establish.”

[31:8]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “they blessed the Lord and his people Israel.”

[31:11]  ⁹² tn Heb “and they prepared.”

[31:12]  ⁹³ tn Heb “tenth.”

[31:12]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “and holy things in faithfulness.”

[31:15]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “to their brothers.”

[31:15]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “like great, like small” (i.e., old and young alike).

[31:16]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “in addition enrolling them by males from a son of three years and upwards, to everyone who enters the house of the Lord for a matter of a day in its day, for their service by their duties according to their divisions.”

[31:19]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “the priests in the fields of the pastureland of their cities in every city and city.”

[31:19]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “designated by names.”

[31:21]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “and in all the work which he began with regard to the service of the house of God and with respect to the law and with respect to the commandment, to seek his God; with all his heart he acted and he succeeded.”

[30:6]  ¹⁰¹ tn The form of the verb is a Niphal perfect tense with a vav consecutive from the root כָּזַב (kazav, “to lie”). In this stem it has the ideas of “been made deceptive,” or “shown to be false” or “proved to be a liar.” One who adds to or changes the word of the Lord will be seen as a liar.

[15:2]  ¹⁰² tc ‡ Although most witnesses read the genitive plural pronoun αὐτῶν (autwn, “their”), it may have been motivated by clarification (as it is in the translation above). Several other authorities do not have the pronoun, however (א B Δ 073 ˹ 579 700 892 1424 pc f g¹); the lack of an unintentional oversight as the reason for omission strengthens their combined testimony in this shorter reading. NA²⁷ has the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[15:2]  ¹⁰³ tn Grk “when they eat bread.”

[15:3]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.”

[15:4]  ¹⁰⁵ tc Most mss (א*^,2 C L W 0106 33 Ï) have an expanded introduction here; instead of “For God said,” they read “For God commanded, saying” (ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, Jo gar qeo" eneteilato legwn). But such expansions are generally motivated readings; in this case, most likely it was due to the wording of the previous verse (“the commandment of God”) that caused early scribes to add to the text. Although it is possible that other witnesses reduced the text to the simple εἶπεν (eipen, “[God] said”) because of perceived redundancy with the statement in v. 3, such is unlikely in light of the great variety and age of these authorities (א¹ B D Θ 073 Ë^1,13 579 700 892 pc lat co, as well as other versions and fathers).

[15:4]  ¹⁰⁶ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

[15:4]  ¹⁰⁷ sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

[15:5]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Grk “is a gift,” that is, something dedicated to God.

[15:6]  ¹⁰⁹ tc The logic of v. 5 would seem to demand that both father and mother are in view in v. 6. Indeed, the majority of mss (C L W Θ 0106 ˹ Ï) have “or his mother” (ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, h thn mhtera autou) after “honor his father” here. However, there are significant witnesses that have variations on this theme (καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ [kai thn mhtera autou, “and his mother”] in Φ 565 1241 pc and ἢ τὴν μητέρα [“or mother”] in 073 ˹³ 33 579 700 892 pc), which is usually an indication of a predictable addition to the text rather than an authentic reading. Further, the shorter reading (without any mention of “mother”) is found in early and important witnesses (א B D sa). Although it is possible that the shorter reading came about accidentally (due to the repetition of –ερα αὐτοῦ), the evidence more strongly suggests that the longer readings were intentional scribal alterations.

[7:3]  ¹¹⁰ tn Grk “except they wash the hands with a fist,” a ceremonial washing (though the actual method is uncertain).

[7:4]  ¹¹¹ tc Several important witnesses (Ì^45vid א B L Δ 28* pc) lack “and dining couches” (καὶ κλινῶν, kai klinwn), while the majority of mss (A D W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt) have the reading. Although normally the shorter reading is to be preferred, especially when it is backed by excellent witnesses as in this case, there are some good reasons to consider καὶ κλινῶν as authentic: (1) Although the addition of κλινῶν could be seen as motivated by a general assimilation to the purity regulations in Lev 15 (as some have argued), there are three problems with such a supposition: (a) the word κλίνη (klinh) does not occur in the LXX of Lev 15; (b) nowhere in Lev 15 is the furniture washed or sprinkled; and (c) the context of Lev 15 is about sexual impurity, while the most recent evidence suggests that κλίνη in Mark 7:4, in keeping with the other terms used here, refers to a dining couch (cf. BDAG 549 s.v. κλίνη 2). Thus, it is difficult to see καὶ κλινῶν as a motivated reading. (2) κλίνη, though a relatively rare term in the NT, is in keeping with Markan usage (cf. Mark 4:21; 7:30). (3) The phrase could have been dropped accidentally, at least in some cases, via homoioteleuton. (4) The phrase may have been deliberately expunged by some scribes who thought the imagery of washing a dining couch quite odd. The longer reading, in this case, can thus be argued as the harder reading. On balance, even though a decision is difficult (especially because of the weighty external evidence for the shorter reading), it is preferable to retain καὶ κλινῶν in the text.

[7:4]  ¹¹² sn Verses 3-4 represent parenthetical remarks by the author, giving background information.

[7:5]  ¹¹³ tn Grk “eat bread.”

[7:6]  ¹¹⁴ tn The term “heart” is a collective singular in the Greek text.

[7:7]  ¹¹⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 29:13.

[7:8]  ¹¹⁶ tn Grk “Having left the command.”

[7:8]  ¹¹⁷ tc The majority of mss, mostly Byzantine ([A] ˹³ 33 Ï), have at the end of v. 8 material that seems to have come from v. 4 and v. 13: “the washing of pots and cups, and you do many other similar things.” A slight variation on the wording occurs at the very beginning of v. 8 in mostly Western witnesses (D Θ 0131^vid 28 565 it). Such floating texts are usually signs of scribal emendations. The fact that the earliest and most reliable mss, as well as other important witnesses (Ì⁴⁵ א B L W Δ 0274 ˹ 2427 co), lacked this material also strongly suggests that the longer reading is secondary.

[7:9]  ¹¹⁸ tc The translation here follows the reading στήσητε (sthshte, “set up”) found in D W Θ Ë¹ 28 565 2542 it sy^s,p Cyp. The majority of mss here read τηρήσητε (thrhsete; א A L ˹³ 33 Ï co) or τηρῆτε (thrhte; B 2427), both translated “keep.” It is hard to know which reading is best: On the one hand, τηρήσητε/τηρῆτε has much stronger external support, but στήσητε is a more difficult reading. What makes “keep” suspect is that it appears in two different forms, suggesting independent alterations of a difficult reading. Further, scribes may have been influenced by the preceding “commandment of God” to change the text toward “keep” (TCGNT 81), a common enough expression (cf. Matt 19:17; John 14:15; 1 Tim 6:1; 1 John 5:3; Rev 14:12). Thus, the more difficult reading is “set up.” Also, the more natural opposite of “reject” (ἀθεῖτε [aqeite], literally “you set aside”) is “set up.” However, the Western reading may have been influenced by Exod 6:4 or Heb 10:9, but this likelihood seems remote. Thus, “set up” is more likely to be the original wording of Mark here.

[7:10]  ¹¹⁹ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

[7:10]  ¹²⁰ sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

[7:11]  ¹²¹ sn Corban is a Hebrew loanword (transliterated in the Greek text and in most modern English translations) referring to something that has been set aside as a gift to be given to God at some later date, but which is still in the possession of the owner (L&N 53.22). According to contemporary Jewish tradition the person who made this claim was absolved from responsibility to support or assist his parents, a clear violation of the Mosaic law to honor one’s parents (v. 10).

[7:13]  ¹²² tn Grk “nullifying.” This participle shows the results of the Pharisees’ command.

[2:22]  ¹²³ tn The expression “founded as they are” brings out the force of the Greek preposition κατά (kata).

[2:22]  ¹²⁴ tn Grk “The commands and teachings of men.”