Deuteronomy 10:16

10:16 Therefore, cleanse ¹  your heart and stop being so stubborn! ² 

Deuteronomy 30:6

30:6 The Lord your God will also cleanse ³  your heart and the hearts of your descendants ⁴  so that you may love him ⁵  with all your mind and being and so that you may live.

Deuteronomy 30:1

The Results of Covenant Reaffirmation

30:1 “When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses ⁶  I have set before you, you will reflect upon them ⁷  in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you.

Deuteronomy 29:19

29:19 When such a person ⁸  hears the words of this oath he secretly ⁹  blesses himself ¹⁰  and says, “I will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit.” ¹¹  This will destroy ¹²  the watered ground with the parched. ¹³ 

Psalms 51:6

51:6 Look, ¹⁴  you desire ¹⁵  integrity in the inner man; ¹⁶ 

you want me to possess wisdom. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 51:10

51:10 Create for me a pure heart, O God! ¹⁸ 

Renew a resolute spirit within me! ¹⁹ 

Psalms 73:1

Book 3
(Psalms 73-89)

Psalm 73 ²⁰ 

A psalm by Asaph.

73:1 Certainly God is good to Israel, ²¹ 

and to those whose motives are pure! ²² 

Isaiah 11:6-9

11:6 A wolf will reside ²³  with a lamb,

and a leopard will lie down with a young goat;

an ox and a young lion will graze together, ²⁴ 

as a small child leads them along.

11:7 A cow and a bear will graze together,

their young will lie down together. ²⁵ 

A lion, like an ox, will eat straw.

11:8 A baby ²⁶  will play

over the hole of a snake; ²⁷ 

over the nest ²⁸  of a serpent

an infant ²⁹  will put his hand. ³⁰ 

11:9 They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain. ³¹ 

For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty,

just as the waters completely cover the sea. ³² 

Isaiah 66:7-9

66:7 Before she goes into labor, she gives birth!

Before her contractions begin, she delivers a boy!

66:8 Who has ever heard of such a thing?

Who has ever seen this?

Can a country ³³  be brought forth in one day?

Can a nation be born in a single moment?

Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor she gives birth to sons!

66:9 “Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and then not deliver it?”

asks the Lord.

“Or do I bring a baby to the point of delivery and then hold it back?”

asks your God. ³⁴ 

Jeremiah 31:33

31:33 “But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel ³⁵  after I plant them back in the land,” ³⁶  says the Lord. ³⁷  “I will ³⁸  put my law within them ³⁹  and write it on their hearts and minds. ⁴⁰  I will be their God and they will be my people. ⁴¹ 

Jeremiah 32:39-40

32:39 I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for ⁴²  their own good and the good of the children who descend from them. 32:40 I will make a lasting covenant ⁴³  with them that I will never stop doing good to them. ⁴⁴  I will fill their hearts and minds with respect for me so that ⁴⁵  they will never again turn ⁴⁶  away from me.

Ezekiel 11:19

11:19 I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; ⁴⁷  I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies ⁴⁸  and I will give them tender hearts, ⁴⁹ 

Ezekiel 18:31-32

18:31 Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! ⁵⁰  Why should you die, O house of Israel? 18:32 For I take no delight in the death of anyone, ⁵¹  declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

Ezekiel 36:25-27

36:25 I will sprinkle you with pure water ⁵²  and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols. 36:26 I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone ⁵³  from your body and give you a heart of flesh. ⁵⁴  36:27 I will put my Spirit within you; ⁵⁵  I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes ⁵⁶  and carefully observe my regulations. ⁵⁷ 

Ezekiel 37:23-24

37:23 They will not defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness ⁵⁸  by which they sinned. I will purify them; they will become my people and I will become their God.

37:24 “‘My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow ⁵⁹  my regulations and carefully observe my statutes. ⁶⁰ 

Romans 2:28

2:28 For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something that is outward in the flesh,

Philippians 3:3

3:3 For we are the circumcision, ⁶¹  the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, ⁶²  exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on human credentials ⁶³ 

Colossians 2:11

2:11 In him you also were circumcised – not, however, ⁶⁴  with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal ⁶⁵  of the fleshly body, ⁶⁶  that is, ⁶⁷  through the circumcision done by Christ.

[10:16]  ¹ tn Heb “circumcise the foreskin of” (cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV). Reference to the Abrahamic covenant prompts Moses to recall the sign of that covenant, namely, physical circumcision (Gen 17:9-14). Just as that act signified total covenant obedience, so spiritual circumcision (cleansing of the heart) signifies more internally a commitment to be pliable and obedient to the will of God (cf. Deut 30:6; Jer 4:4; 9:26).

[10:16]  ² tn Heb “your neck do not harden again.” See note on the word “stubborn” in Deut 9:6.

[30:6]  ³ tn Heb “circumcise” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “will give you and your descendents obedient hearts.” See note on the word “cleanse” in Deut 10:16.

[30:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).

[30:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “the blessing and the curse.”

[30:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “and you bring (them) back to your heart.”

[29:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the subject of the warning in v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “in his heart.”

[29:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “invokes a blessing on himself.” A formalized word of blessing is in view, the content of which appears later in the verse.

[29:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “heart.”

[29:19]  ¹² tn Heb “thus destroying.” For stylistic reasons the translation begins a new sentence here.

[29:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “the watered with the parched.” The word “ground” is implied. The exact meaning of the phrase is uncertain although it appears to be figurative. This appears to be a proverbial observation employing a figure of speech (a merism) suggesting totality. That is, the Israelite who violates the letter and even spirit of the covenant will harm not only himself but everything he touches – “the watered and the parched.” Cf. CEV “you will cause the rest of Israel to be punished along with you.”

[51:6]  ¹⁴ sn The juxtaposition of two occurrences of “look” in vv. 5-6 draws attention to the sharp contrast between the sinful reality of the psalmist’s condition and the lofty ideal God has for him.

[51:6]  ¹⁵ tn The perfect is used in a generalizing sense here.

[51:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the covered [places],” i.e., in the inner man.

[51:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in the secret [place] wisdom you cause me to know.” The Hiphil verbal form is causative, while the imperfect is used in a modal sense to indicate God’s desire (note the parallel verb “desire”).

[51:10]  ¹⁸ sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s motives and moral character.

[51:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and a reliable spirit renew in my inner being.”

[73:1]  ²⁰ sn Psalm 73. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist offers a personal testimony of his struggle with the age-old problem of the prosperity of the wicked. As he observed evil men prosper, he wondered if a godly lifestyle really pays off. In the midst of his discouragement, he reflected upon spiritual truths and realities. He was reminded that the prosperity of the wicked is only temporary. God will eventually vindicate his people.

[73:1]  ²¹ tn Since the psalm appears to focus on an individual’s concerns, not the situation of Israel, this introduction may be a later addition designed to apply the psalm’s message to the entire community. To provide a better parallel with the next line, some emend the Hebrew phrase לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֱלֹהִים (lÿyisra’el ’elohim, “to Israel, God”) to אֱלֹהִים [or אֵל] לָיָּשָׁר (’elohim [or ’el] lÿyyashar, “God [is good] to the upright one”).

[73:1]  ²² tn Heb “to the pure of heart.”

[11:6]  ²³ tn The verb גּוּר (gur) normally refers to living as a dependent, resident alien in another society.

[11:6]  ²⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads, “and an ox, and a young lion, and a fatling together.” Since the preceding lines refer to two animals and include a verb, many emend וּמְרִיא (umÿri’, “and the fatling”) to an otherwise unattested verb יִמְרְאוּ (yimrÿ’u, “they will graze”); cf. NAB, TEV, CEV. One of the Qumran copies of Isaiah confirms this suggestion (1QIsa^a). The present translation assumes this change.

[11:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and a cow and a bear will graze – together – they will lie down, their young.” This is a case of pivot pattern; יַחְדָּו (yakhddav, “together”) goes with both the preceding and following statements.

[11:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “one sucking,” i.e., still being nursed by his mother.

[11:8]  ²⁷ tn Or perhaps, “cobra” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV); KJV, ASV, NRSV “asp.”

[11:8]  ²⁸ tc The Hebrew text has the otherwise unattested מְאוּרַת (mÿ’urat, “place of light”), i.e., opening of a hole. Some prefer to emend to מְעָרַת (mÿ’arat, “cave, den”).

[11:8]  ²⁹ tn Heb “one who is weaned” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[11:8]  ³⁰ sn The transformation of the animal kingdom depicted here typifies what will occur in human society under the just rule of the ideal king (see vv. 3-5). The categories “predator-prey” (i.e., oppressor-oppressed) will no longer exist.

[11:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” In the most basic sense the Lord’s “holy mountain” is the mountain from which he rules over his kingdom (see Ezek 28:14, 16). More specifically it probably refers to Mount Zion/Jerusalem or to the entire land of Israel (see Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; Isa 56:7; 57:13; Ezek 20:40; Ob 16; Zeph 3:11). If the Lord’s universal kingdom is in view in this context (see the note on “earth” at v. 4), then the phrase would probably be metonymic here, standing for God’s worldwide dominion (see the next line).

[11:9]  ³² tn Heb “for the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” The translation assumes that a universal kingdom is depicted here, but אֶרֶץ (’erets) could be translated “land” (see the note at v. 4). “Knowledge of the Lord” refers here to a recognition of the Lord’s sovereignty which results in a willingness to submit to his authority. See the note at v. 2.

[66:8]  ³³ tn Heb “land,” but here אֶרֶץ (’erets) stands metonymically for an organized nation (see the following line).

[66:9]  ³⁴ sn The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “Of course not!”

[31:33]  ³⁵ tn Heb “with the house of Israel.” All commentators agree that the term here refers to both the whole nation which was divided into the house of Israel and the house of Judah in v. 30.

[31:33]  ³⁶ tn Heb “after those days.” Commentators are generally agreed that this refers to the return from exile and the repopulation of the land referred to in vv. 27-28 and not to something subsequent to the time mentioned in v. 30. This is the sequencing that is also presupposed in other new covenant passages such as Deut 30:1-6; Ezek 11:17-20; 36:24-28.

[31:33]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:33]  ³⁸ tn Heb “‘But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days:’ says the Lord, ‘I will….’” The sentence has been reworded and restructured to avoid the awkwardness of the original style.

[31:33]  ³⁹ tn Heb “in their inward parts.” The Hebrew word here refers to the seat of the thoughts, emotions, and decisions (Jer 9:8 [9:7 HT]). It is essentially synonymous with “heart” in Hebrew psychological terms.

[31:33]  ⁴⁰ tn The words “and minds” is not in the text but is supplied in the translation to bring the English psychology more into line with the Hebrew where the “heart” is the center both of knowing/thinking/reflecting and deciding/willing.

[31:33]  ⁴¹ sn Compare Jer 24:7; 30:22; 31:1 and see the study note on 30:2.

[32:39]  ⁴² tn Heb “I will give to them one heart and one way to [= in order that they may] fear me all the days for good to them.” The phrase “one heart” refers both to unanimity of will and accord (cf. 1 Chr 12:38 [12:39 HT]; 2 Chr 30:12) and to singleness of purpose or intent (cf. Ezek 11:19 and see BDB 525 s.v. ֵלב 4 where reference is made to “inclinations, resolutions, and determinations of the will”). The phrase “one way” refers to one way of life or conduct (cf. BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a where reference is made to moral action and character), a way of life that is further qualified by the goal of showing “fear, reverence, respect” for the Lord. The Hebrew sentence has been broken up to avoid a long complex sentence in English which is contrary to contemporary English style. However, an attempt has been made to preserve all the connections of the original.

[32:40]  ⁴³ tn Heb “an everlasting covenant.” For the rationale for the rendering “agreement” and the nature of the biblical covenants see the study note on 11:2.

[32:40]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “stop being gracious to them” or “stop blessing them with good”; Heb “turn back from them to do good to them.”

[32:40]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “I will make them want to fear and respect me so much that”; Heb “I will put the fear of me in their hearts.” However, as has been noted several times, “heart” in Hebrew is more the center of the volition (and intellect) than the center of emotions as it is in English. Both translations are intended to reflect the difference in psychology.

[32:40]  ⁴⁶ tn The words “never again” are not in the text but are implicit from the context and are supplied not only by this translation but by a number of others.

[11:19]  ⁴⁷ tc The MT reads “you”; many Hebrew mss along with the LXX and other ancient versions read “within them.”

[11:19]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “their flesh.”

[11:19]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “heart of flesh.”

[18:31]  ⁵⁰ sn In Ezek 11:19, 36:26 the new heart and new spirit are promised as future blessings.

[18:32]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “the death of the one dying.”

[36:25]  ⁵² sn The Lord here uses a metaphor from the realm of ritual purification. For the use of water in ritual cleansing, see Exod 30:19-20; Lev 14:51; Num 19:18; Heb 10:22.

[36:26]  ⁵³ sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is stubborn and unresponsive (see 1 Sam 25:37). In Rabbinic literature a “stone” was associated with an evil inclination (b. Sukkah 52a).

[36:26]  ⁵⁴ sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is responsive and obedient to God.

[36:27]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “in the midst of you.” The word “you” is plural.

[36:27]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and I will do that which in my statutes you will walk.” The awkward syntax (verb “to do, act” + accusative sign + relative clause + prepositional phrase + second person verb) is unique, though Eccl 3:14 contains a similar construction. In the last line of that verse we read that “God acts so that (relative pronoun) they fear before him.” However, unlike Ezek 36:27, the statement has no accusative sign before the relative pronoun.

[36:27]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and my laws you will guard and you will do them.” Jer 31:31-34 is parallel to this passage.

[37:23]  ⁵⁸ tc Heb “their dwellings.” The text as it stands does not make sense. Based on the LXX, a slight emendation of two vowels, including a mater, yields the reading “from their turning,” a reference here to their turning from God and deviating from his commandments. See BDB 1000 s.v. מְשׁוּבָה, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:407.

[37:24]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “walk [in].”

[37:24]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and my statutes they will guard and they will do them.”

[3:3]  ⁶¹ tn There is a significant wordplay here in the Greek text. In v. 2 a rare, strong word is used to describe those who were pro-circumcision (κατατομή, katatomh, “mutilation”; see BDAG 528 s.v.), while in v. 3 the normal word for circumcision is used (περιτομή, peritomh; see BDAG 807 s.v.). Both have τομή (the feminine form of the adjective τομός [tomo"], meaning “cutting, sharp”) as their root; the direction of the action of the former is down or off (from κατά, kata), hence the implication of mutilation or emasculation, while the direction of the action of the latter is around (from περί, peri). The similarity in sound yet wide divergence of meaning between the two words highlights in no uncertain terms the differences between Paul and his opponents.

[3:3]  ⁶² tc The verb λατρεύω (latreuw; here the participial form, λατρεύοντες [latreuonte"]) either takes a dative direct object or no object at all, bearing virtually a technical nuance of “worshiping God” (see BDAG 587 s.v.). In this text, πνεύματι (pneumati) takes an instrumental force (“by the Spirit”) rather than functioning as object of λατρεύοντες. However, the word after πνεύματι is in question, no doubt because of the collocation with λατρεύοντες. Most witnesses, including some of the earliest and best representatives of the Alexandrian, Western, and Byzantine texts (א* A B C D² F G 0278^vid 33 1739 1881 Ï co Ambr), read θεοῦ (qeou; thus, “worship by the Spirit of God”). But several other important witnesses (א² D* P Ψ 075 365 1175 lat sy Chr) have the dative θεῷ (qew) here (“worship God by the Spirit”). Ì⁴⁶ is virtually alone in its omission of the divine name, probably due to an unintentional oversight. The dative θεῷ was most likely a scribal emendation intended to give the participle its proper object, and thus avoid confusion about the force of πνεύματι. Although the Church came to embrace the full deity of the Spirit, the NT does not seem to speak of worshiping the Spirit explicitly. The reading θεῷ thus appears to be a clarifying reading. On external and internal grounds, then, θεοῦ is the preferred reading.

[3:3]  ⁶³ tn Grk “have no confidence in the flesh.”

[2:11]  ⁶⁴ tn The terms “however” and “but” in this sentence were supplied in order to emphasize the contrast.

[2:11]  ⁶⁵ tn The articular noun τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (th apekdusei) is a noun which ends in -σις (-sis) and therefore denotes action, i.e., “removal.” Since the head noun is a verbal noun, the following genitive τοῦ σώματος (tou swmatos) is understood as an objective genitive, receiving the action of the head noun.

[2:11]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “in the removal of the body of flesh.” The genitive τῆς σαρκός (th" sarko") has been translated as an attributive genitive, “fleshly body.”

[2:11]  ⁶⁷ tn The second prepositional phrase beginning with ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ (en th peritomh) is parallel to the prepositional phrase ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (en th apekdusei) and gives a further explanation of it. The words “that is” were supplied to bring out this force in the translation.