Discovery Box2 Chronicles 6:14-16
Context6:14 and prayed: 1 “O Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth! You maintain covenantal loyalty 2 to your servants who obey you with sincerity. 3 6:15 You have kept your word to your servant, my father David; 4 this very day you have fulfilled what you promised. 5 6:16 Now, O Lord God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said, ‘You will never fail to have a successor ruling before me on the throne of Israel, 6 provided that your descendants watch their step and obey my law as you have done.’ 7
Isaiah 1:11-20
Context1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” 8
says the Lord.
“I am stuffed with 9 burnt sacrifices
of rams and the fat from steers.
The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats
I do not want. 10
1:12 When you enter my presence,
do you actually think I want this –
animals trampling on my courtyards? 11
1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless 12 offerings;
I consider your incense detestable! 13
You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,
but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! 14
1:14 I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies;
they are a burden
that I am tired of carrying.
1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I look the other way; 15
when you offer your many prayers,
I do not listen,
because your hands are covered with blood. 16
1:16 17 Wash! Cleanse yourselves!
Remove your sinful deeds 18
from my sight.
Stop sinning!
1:17 Learn to do what is right!
Promote justice!
Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! 19
Take up the cause of the orphan!
Defend the rights of the widow! 20
1:18 21 Come, let’s consider your options,” 22 says the Lord.
“Though your sins have stained you like the color red,
you can become 23 white like snow;
though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,
you can become 24 white like wool. 25
1:19 If you have a willing attitude and obey, 26
then you will again eat the good crops of the land.
1:20 But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be devoured 27 by the sword.”
Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. 28
Jeremiah 7:4-11
Context7:4 Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, 29 “We are safe! 30 The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!” 31 7:5 You must change 32 the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly. 33 7:6 Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. 34 Stop killing innocent people 35 in this land. Stop paying allegiance to 36 other gods. That will only bring about your ruin. 37 7:7 If you stop doing these things, 38 I will allow you to continue to live in this land 39 which I gave to your ancestors as a lasting possession. 40
7:8 “‘But just look at you! 41 You are putting your confidence in a false belief 42 that will not deliver you. 43 7:9 You steal. 44 You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to 45 other gods whom you have not previously known. 7:10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own 46 and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! 47 7:11 Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own 48 is to be a hideout for robbers? 49 You had better take note! 50 I have seen for myself what you have done! says the Lord.
John 18:28
Context18:28 Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor’s residence. 51 (Now it was very early morning.) 52 They 53 did not go into the governor’s residence 54 so they would not be ceremonially defiled, but could eat the Passover meal.
John 18:1
Context18:1 When he had said these things, 55 Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley. 56 There was an orchard 57 there, and he and his disciples went into it.
John 1:5-6
Context1:5 And the light shines on 58 in the darkness, 59 but 60 the darkness has not mastered it. 61
[6:14] 2 tn Heb “one who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.”
[6:14] 3 tn Heb “who walk before you with all their heart.”
[6:15] 4 tn Heb “[you] who kept to your servant David my father that which you spoke to him.”
[6:15] 5 tn Heb “you spoke by your mouth and by your hand you fulfilled, as this day.”
[6:16] 6 tn Heb “there will not be cut off from you a man from before me sitting on the throne of Israel.”
[6:16] 7 tn Heb “guard their way by walking in my law as you have walked before me.”
[1:11] 8 tn Heb “Why to me the multitude of your sacrifices?” The sarcastic rhetorical question suggests that their many sacrifices are of no importance to the Lord. This phrase answers the possible objection that an Israelite could raise in response to God’s indictment: “But we are offering the sacrifices you commanded!”
[1:11] 9 tn The verb שָׂבַע (sava’, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע. Here sacrifices are viewed, in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion, as food for the deity. God here declares that he has eaten and drunk, as it were, his fill.
[1:11] 10 sn In the chiastic structure of the verse, the verbs at the beginning and end highlight God’s displeasure, while the heaping up of references to animals, fat, and blood in the middle lines hints at why God wants no more of their sacrifices. They have, as it were, piled the food on his table and he needs no more.
[1:12] 11 tn Heb “When you come to appear before me, who requires this from your hand, trampling of my courtyards?” The rhetorical question sarcastically makes the point that God does not require this parade of livestock. The verb “trample” probably refers to the eager worshipers and their sacrificial animals walking around in the temple area.
[1:13] 12 tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”
[1:13] 13 sn Notice some of the other practices that Yahweh regards as “detestable”: homosexuality (Lev 18:22-30; 20:13), idolatry (Deut 7:25; 13:15), human sacrifice (Deut 12:31), eating ritually unclean animals (Deut 14:3-8), sacrificing defective animals (Deut 17:1), engaging in occult activities (Deut 18:9-14), and practicing ritual prostitution (1 Kgs 14:23).
[1:13] 14 tn Heb “sin and assembly” (these two nouns probably represent a hendiadys). The point is that their attempts at worship are unacceptable to God because the people’s everyday actions in the socio-economic realm prove they have no genuine devotion to God (see vv. 16-17).
[1:15] 15 tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”
[1:15] 16 sn This does not just refer to the blood of sacrificial animals, but also the blood, as it were, of their innocent victims. By depriving the poor and destitute of proper legal recourse and adequate access to the economic system, the oppressors have, for all intents and purposes, “killed” their victims.
[1:16] 17 sn Having demonstrated the people’s guilt, the Lord calls them to repentance, which will involve concrete action in the socio-economic realm, not mere emotion.
[1:16] 18 sn This phrase refers to Israel’s covenant treachery (cf. Deut 28:10; Jer 4:4; 21:12; 23:2, 22; 25:5; 26:3; 44:22; Hos 9:15; Ps 28:4). In general, the noun ַמעַלְלֵיכֶם (ma’alleykhem) can simply be a reference to deeds, whether good or bad. However, Isaiah always uses it with a negative connotation (cf. 3:8, 10).
[1:17] 19 tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The translation assumes an emendation of חָמוֹץ (khamots, “oppressor [?]”) to חָמוּץ (khamuts, “oppressed”), a passive participle from II חָמַץ (khamats, “oppress”; HALOT 329 s.v. II חמץ) and takes the verb II אָשַׁר (’ashar) in the sense of “make happy” (the delocutive Piel, meaning “call/pronounce happy,” is metonymic here, referring to actually effecting happiness). The parallelism favors this interpretation, for the next two lines speak of positive actions on behalf of the destitute. The other option is to retain the MT pointing and translate, “set right the oppressor,” but the nuance “set right” is not clearly attested elsewhere for the verb I אשׁר. This verb does appear as a participle in Isa 3:12 and 9:16 with the meaning “to lead or guide.” If it can mean to “lead” or “rebuke/redirect” in this verse, the prophet could be contrasting this appeal for societal reformation (v. 17c) with a command to reorder their personal lives (v. 17a-b). J. A. Motyer (The Prophecy of Isaiah, 47) suggests that these three statements (v. 17a-c) provide “the contrast between the two ends of imperfect society, the oppressor and the needy, the one inflicting and the other suffering the hurt. Isaiah looks for a transformed society wherever it needs transforming.”
[1:17] 20 tn This word refers to a woman who has lost her husband, by death or divorce. The orphan and widow are often mentioned in the OT as epitomizing the helpless and impoverished who have been left without the necessities of life due to the loss of a family provider.
[1:18] 21 sn The Lord concludes his case against Israel by offering them the opportunity to be forgiven and by setting before them the alternatives of renewed blessing (as a reward for repentance) and final judgment (as punishment for persistence in sin).
[1:18] 22 tn Traditionally, “let us reason together,” but the context suggests a judicial nuance. The Lord is giving the nation its options for the future.
[1:18] 23 tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.
[1:18] 24 tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.
[1:18] 25 tn Heb “though your sins are like red, they will become white like snow; though they are red like scarlet, they will be like wool.” The point is not that the sins will be covered up, though still retained. The metaphorical language must be allowed some flexibility and should not be pressed into a rigid literalistic mold. The people’s sins will be removed and replaced by ethical purity. The sins that are now as obvious as the color red will be washed away and the ones who are sinful will be transformed.
[1:19] 26 tn Heb “listen”; KJV “obedient”; NASB “If you consent and obey.”
[1:20] 27 sn The wordplay in the Hebrew draws attention to the options. The people can obey, in which case they will “eat” v. 19 (תֹּאכֵלוּ [to’khelu], Qal active participle of אָכַל) God’s blessing, or they can disobey, in which case they will be devoured (Heb “eaten,” תְּאֻכְּלוּ, [tÿ’ukkÿlu], Qal passive/Pual of אָכַל) by God’s judgment.
[1:20] 28 tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the option chosen by the people will become reality (it is guaranteed by the divine word).
[7:4] 29 tn Heb “Stop trusting in lying words which say.”
[7:4] 30 tn The words “We are safe!” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[7:4] 31 tn Heb “The temple of the
[7:5] 32 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[7:5] 33 tn Heb “you must do justice between a person and his fellow/neighbor.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[7:6] 34 tn Heb “Stop oppressing foreigner, orphan, and widow.”
[7:6] 35 tn Heb “Stop shedding innocent blood.”
[7:6] 36 tn Heb “going/following after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.
[7:6] 37 tn Heb “going after other gods to your ruin.”
[7:7] 38 tn The translation uses imperatives in vv. 5-6 followed by the phrase, “If you do all this,” to avoid the long and complex sentence structure of the Hebrew sentence which has a series of conditional clauses in vv. 5-6 followed by a main clause in v. 7.
[7:7] 39 tn Heb “live in this place, in this land.”
[7:7] 40 tn Heb “gave to your fathers [with reference to] from ancient times even unto forever.”
[7:8] 42 tn Heb “You are trusting in lying words.” See the similar phrase in v. 4 and the note there.
[7:8] 43 tn Heb “not profit [you].”
[7:9] 44 tn Heb “Will you steal…then say, ‘We are safe’?” Verses 9-10 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text.
[7:9] 45 tn Heb “You go/follow after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.
[7:10] 46 tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.
[7:10] 47 tn Or “‘We are safe!’ – safe, you think, to go on doing all those hateful things.” Verses 9-10 are all one long sentence in the Hebrew text. It has been broken up for English stylistic reasons. Somewhat literally it reads “Will you steal…then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe’ so as to/in order to do…” The Hebrew of v. 9 has a series of infinitives which emphasize the bare action of the verb without the idea of time or agent. The effect is to place a kind of staccato like emphasis on the multitude of their sins all of which are violations of one of the Ten Commandments. The final clause in v. 8 expresses purpose or result (probably result) through another infinitive. This long sentence is introduced by a marker (ה interrogative in Hebrew) introducing a rhetorical question in which God expresses his incredulity that they could do these sins, come into the temple and claim the safety of his protection, and then go right back out and commit the same sins. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 52) catches the force nicely: “What? You think you can steal, murder…and then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe…’ just so that you can go right on…”
[7:11] 48 tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.
[7:11] 49 tn Heb “Is this house…a den/cave of robbers in your eyes?”
[18:28] 51 tn Grk “to the praetorium.”
[18:28] 52 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[18:28] 53 tn Grk “And they.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
[18:28] 54 tn Grk “into the praetorium.”
[18:1] 55 sn When he had said these things appears to be a natural transition at the end of the Farewell Discourse (the farewell speech of Jesus to his disciples in John 13:31-17:26, including the final prayer in 17:1-26). The author states that Jesus went out with his disciples, a probable reference to their leaving the upper room where the meal and discourse described in chaps. 13-17 took place (although some have seen this only as a reference to their leaving the city, with the understanding that some of the Farewell Discourse, including the concluding prayer, was given en route, cf. 14:31). They crossed the Kidron Valley and came to a garden, or olive orchard, identified in Matt 26:36 and Mark 14:32 as Gethsemane. The name is not given in Luke’s or John’s Gospel, but the garden must have been located somewhere on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives.
[18:1] 56 tn Grk “the wadi of the Kidron,” or “the ravine of the Kidron” (a wadi is a stream that flows only during the rainy season and is dry during the dry season).
[1:5] 58 tn To this point the author has used past tenses (imperfects, aorists); now he switches to a present. The light continually shines (thus the translation, “shines on”). Even as the author writes, it is shining. The present here most likely has gnomic force (though it is possible to take it as a historical present); it expresses the timeless truth that the light of the world (cf. 8:12, 9:5, 12:46) never ceases to shine.
[1:5] 59 sn The author now introduces what will become a major theme of John’s Gospel: the opposition of light and darkness. The antithesis is a natural one, widespread in antiquity. Gen 1 gives considerable emphasis to it in the account of the creation, and so do the writings of Qumran. It is the major theme of one of the most important extra-biblical documents found at Qumran, the so-called War Scroll, properly titled The War of the Sons of Light with the Sons of Darkness. Connections between John and Qumran are still an area of scholarly debate and a consensus has not yet emerged. See T. A. Hoffman, “1 John and the Qumran Scrolls,” BTB 8 (1978): 117-25.
[1:5] 60 tn Grk “and,” but the context clearly indicates a contrast, so this has been translated as an adversative use of καί (kai).
[1:5] 61 tn Or “comprehended it,” or “overcome it.” The verb κατέλαβεν (katelaben) is not easy to translate. “To seize” or “to grasp” is possible, but this also permits “to grasp with the mind” in the sense of “to comprehend” (esp. in the middle voice). This is probably another Johannine double meaning – one does not usually think of darkness as trying to “understand” light. For it to mean this, “darkness” must be understood as meaning “certain people,” or perhaps “humanity” at large, darkened in understanding. But in John’s usage, darkness is not normally used of people or a group of people. Rather it usually signifies the evil environment or ‘sphere’ in which people find themselves: “They loved darkness rather than light” (John 3:19). Those who follow Jesus do not walk in darkness (8:12). They are to walk while they have light, lest the darkness “overtake/overcome” them (12:35, same verb as here). For John, with his set of symbols and imagery, darkness is not something which seeks to “understand (comprehend)” the light, but represents the forces of evil which seek to “overcome (conquer)” it. The English verb “to master” may be used in both sorts of contexts, as “he mastered his lesson” and “he mastered his opponent.”
