Daniel 9:4

9:4 I prayed to the LORD my God, confessing in this way:

“O Lord, ¹  great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant ²  with those who love him and keep his commandments,

Ecclesiastes 7:20

7:20 For ³  there is not one truly ⁴  righteous person on the earth

who continually does good and never sins.

Isaiah 6:5

6:5 I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, ⁵  for my lips are contaminated by sin, ⁶  and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. ⁷  My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.” ⁸ 

Romans 3:23

3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

James 3:2

3:2 For we all stumble ⁹  in many ways. If someone does not stumble ¹⁰  in what he says, ¹¹  he is a perfect individual, ¹²  able to control the entire body as well.

James 3:1

The Power of the Tongue

3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, ¹³  because you know that we will be judged more strictly. ¹⁴ 

James 1:8-10

1:8 since he is a double-minded individual, ¹⁵  unstable in all his ways.

1:9 Now the believer ¹⁶  of humble means ¹⁷  should take pride ¹⁸  in his high position. ¹⁹  1:10 But the rich person’s pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow. ²⁰ 

[9:4]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 7, 9, 15, 16, and 19 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[9:4]  ² tn Heb “who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[7:20]  ³ tn The introductory particle כִּי (ki) is rendered variously: “for” (KJV); “indeed” (NASB); not translated (NIV); “for” (NJPS). The particle functions in an explanatory sense, explaining the need for wisdom in v. 19. Righteousness alone cannot always protect a person from calamity (7:15-16); therefore, something additional, such as wisdom, is needed. The need for wisdom as protection from calamity is particularly evident in the light of the fact that no one is truly righteous (7:19-20).

[7:20]  ⁴ tn The term “truly” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. Qoheleth does not deny the existence of some people who are relatively righteous.

[6:5]  ⁵ tn Isaiah uses the suffixed (perfect) form of the verb for rhetorical purposes. In this way his destruction is described as occurring or as already completed. Rather than understanding the verb as derived from דָּמַה (damah, “be destroyed”), some take it from a proposed homonymic root דמה, which would mean “be silent.” In this case, one might translate, “I must be silent.”

[6:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “a man unclean of lips am I.” Isaiah is not qualified to praise the king. His lips (the instruments of praise) are “unclean” because he has been contaminated by sin.

[6:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and among a nation unclean of lips I live.”

[6:5]  ⁸ tn Perhaps in this context, the title has a less militaristic connotation and pictures the Lord as the ruler of the heavenly assembly. See the note at 1:9.

[3:2]  ⁹ tn Or “fail.”

[3:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “fail.”

[3:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in speech.”

[3:2]  ¹² tn The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person,” as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2).

[3:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “will receive a greater judgment.”

[1:8]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “a man of two minds,” continuing the description of the person in v. 7, giving the reason that he cannot expect to receive anything. The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person,” as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2).

[1:9]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “brother.” Here the term “brother” means “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. TEV, NLT “Christians”; CEV “God’s people”). The term broadly connotes familial relationships within the family of God (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a).

[1:9]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the lowly brother,” but “lowly/humble” is clarified in context by the contrast with “wealthy” in v. 10.

[1:9]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “let him boast.”

[1:9]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “his height,” “his exaltation.”

[1:10]  ²⁰ tn Grk “a flower of grass.”