Amos 3:14

3:14 “Certainly when ¹  I punish Israel for their ²  covenant transgressions, ³ 

I will destroy ⁴  Bethel’s ⁵  altars.

The horns ⁶  of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.

Ecclesiastes 11:9

Enjoy Life to the Fullest under the Fear of God

11:9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young, ⁷ 

and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.

Follow the impulses ⁸  of your heart and the desires ⁹  of your eyes,

but know that God will judge your motives and actions. ¹⁰ 

Ezekiel 20:39

20:39 “‘As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Each of you go and serve your idols, ¹¹  if you will not listen to me. ¹²  But my holy name will not be profaned ¹³  again by your sacrifices ¹⁴  and your idols.

Joel 3:9-12

Judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat

3:9 Proclaim this among the nations:

“Prepare for a holy war!

Call out the warriors!

Let all these fighting men approach and attack! ¹⁵ 

3:10 Beat your plowshares ¹⁶  into swords,

and your pruning hooks ¹⁷  into spears! ¹⁸ 

Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’ ¹⁹ 

3:11 Lend your aid ²⁰  and come,

all you surrounding nations,

and gather yourselves ²¹  to that place.”

Bring down, O Lord, your warriors! ²² 

3:12 Let the nations be roused and let them go up

to the valley of Jehoshaphat,

for there I will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations.

Matthew 23:32

23:32 Fill up then the measure of your ancestors!

Matthew 26:45

26:45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is approaching, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Mark 14:41

14:41 He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? ²³  Enough of that! ²⁴  The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

[3:14]  ¹ tn Heb “in the day.”

[3:14]  ² tn Heb “his.” With the referent “Israel” here, this amounts to a collective singular.

[3:14]  ³ tn Traditionally, “transgressions, sins,” but see the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3.

[3:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “punish” (so NASB, NRSV).

[3:14]  ⁵ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[3:14]  ⁶ sn The horns of an ancient altar projected upwards from the four corners and resembled an animal’s horns in appearance. Fugitives could seek asylum by grabbing hold of these corners (see Exod 21:14; 1 Kgs 1:50; 2:28). When the altar’s horns were cut off, there would be no place of asylum left for the Lord’s enemies.

[11:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “in your youth”; or “in your childhood.”

[11:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “walk in the ways of your heart.”

[11:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “the sight.”

[11:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and know that concerning all these God will bring you into judgment.” The point is not that following one’s impulses and desires is inherently bad and will bring condemnation from God. Rather the point seems to be: As you follow your impulses and desires, realize that all you think and do will eventually be evaluated by God. So one must seek joy within the boundaries of God’s moral standards.

[20:39]  ¹¹ sn Compare the irony here to Amos 4:4 and Jer 44:25.

[20:39]  ¹² tn Heb “and after, if you will not listen to me.” The translation leaves out “and after” for smoothness. The text is difficult. M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:374) suggests that it may mean “but afterwards, if you will not listen to me…” with an unspoken threat.

[20:39]  ¹³ sn A similar concept may be found in Lev 18:21; 20:3.

[20:39]  ¹⁴ tn Or “gifts.”

[3:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “draw near and go up.”

[3:10]  ¹⁶ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[3:10]  ¹⁷ sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.

[3:10]  ¹⁸ sn This conversion of farming instruments to instruments of war is the reverse of Isa 2:4 (cf. Mic 4:3), where military weapons are transformed into tools for farming. Isaiah describes a time of kingdom blessing and prosperity, whereas Joel describes a time of eschatological conflict and judgment.

[3:10]  ¹⁹ sn The “weak” individual mentioned here is apparently the farmer who has little or no military prowess or prior fighting experience. Under ordinary circumstances such a person would be ill-prepared for assuming the role of a soldier. However, in the scene that Joel is describing here even the most unlikely candidate will become a participant to be reckoned with in this final conflict.

[3:11]  ²⁰ tn This Hebrew verb is found only here in the OT; its meaning is uncertain. Some scholars prefer to read here עוּרוּ (’uru, “arouse”) or חוּשׁוּ (khushu, “hasten”).

[3:11]  ²¹ tc The present translation follows the reading of the imperative הִקָּבְצוּ (hiqqavÿtsu) rather than the perfect with vav (ו) consecutive וְנִקְבָּצוּ (vÿniqbbatsu) of the MT.

[3:11]  ²² tc Some commentators prefer to delete the line “Bring down, O Lord, your warriors,” understanding it to be a later addition. But this is unnecessary. Contrary to what some have suggested, a prayer for the Lord’s intervention is not out of place here.

[14:41]  ²³ tn Or “Sleep on, and get your rest.” This sentence can be taken either as a question or a sarcastic command.

[14:41]  ²⁴ tc Codex D (with some support with minor variation from W Θ Ë¹³ 565 2542 pc it) reads, “Enough of that! It is the end and the hour has come.” Evidently, this addition highlights Jesus’ assertion that what he had predicted about his own death was now coming true (cf. Luke 22:37). Even though the addition highlights the accuracy of Jesus’ prediction, it should not be regarded as part of the text of Mark, since it receives little support from the rest of the witnesses and because D especially is prone to expand the wording of a text.