2 Samuel 12:13

12:13 Then David exclaimed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord!” Nathan replied to David, “Yes, and the Lord has forgiven ¹  your sin. You are not going to die.

2 Samuel 24:10

24:10 David felt guilty ²  after he had numbered the army. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, O Lord, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

Job 33:27

33:27 That person sings ³  to others, ⁴  saying:

‘I have sinned and falsified what is right,

but I was not punished according to what I deserved. ⁵ 

Psalms 51:4

51:4 Against you – you above all ⁶  – I have sinned;

I have done what is evil in your sight.

So ⁷  you are just when you confront me; ⁸ 

you are right when you condemn me. ⁹ 

Luke 15:18-21

15:18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned ¹⁰  against heaven ¹¹  and against ¹²  you. 15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me ¹³  like one of your hired workers.”’ 15:20 So ¹⁴  he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home ¹⁵  his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; ¹⁶  he ran and hugged ¹⁷  his son ¹⁸  and kissed him. 15:21 Then ¹⁹  his son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven ²⁰  and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²¹ 

[12:13]  ¹ tn Heb “removed.”

[24:10]  ² tn Heb “and the heart of David struck him.”

[33:27]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “to men.”

[33:27]  ⁵ 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.”

[51:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “only you,” as if the psalmist had sinned exclusively against God and no other. Since the Hebrew verb חָטָא (hata’, “to sin”) is used elsewhere of sinful acts against people (see BDB 306 s.v. 2.a) and David (the presumed author) certainly sinned when he murdered Uriah (2 Sam 12:9), it is likely that the psalmist is overstating the case to suggest that the attack on Uriah was ultimately an attack on God himself. To clarify the point of the hyperbole, the translation uses “especially,” rather than the potentially confusing “only.”

[51:4]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) normally indicates purpose (“in order that”), but here it introduces a logical consequence of the preceding statement. (Taking the clause as indicating purpose here would yield a theologically preposterous idea – the psalmist purposely sinned so that God’s justice might be vindicated!) For other examples of לְמַעַן indicating result, see 2 Kgs 22:17; Jer 27:15; Amos 2:7, as well as IBHS 638-40 §38.3.

[51:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “when you speak.” In this context the psalmist refers to God’s word of condemnation against his sin delivered through Nathan (cf. 2 Sam 12:7-12).

[51:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “when you judge.”

[15:18]  ¹⁰ sn In the confession “I have sinned” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”

[15:18]  ¹¹ sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.

[15:18]  ¹² tn According to BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνωπιον 4.a, “in relation to ἁμαρτάνειν ἐ. τινος sin against someone Lk 15:18, 21 (cf. Jdth 5:17; 1 Km 7:6; 20:1).”

[15:19]  ¹³ tn Or “make me.” Here is a sign of total humility.

[15:20]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the son’s decision to return home. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[15:20]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “a long way off from [home].” The word “home” is implied (L&N 85.16).

[15:20]  ¹⁶ tn Or “felt great affection for him,” “felt great pity for him.”

[15:20]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “he fell on his neck,” an idiom for showing special affection for someone by throwing one’s arms around them. The picture is of the father hanging on the son’s neck in welcome.

[15:20]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:21]  ¹⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:21]  ²⁰ sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God. 1st century Judaism tended to minimize use of the divine name out of reverence.

[15:21]  ²¹ sn The younger son launches into his confession just as he had planned. See vv. 18-19.