Deuteronomy 8:5

8:5 Be keenly aware that just as a parent disciplines his child, ¹  the Lord your God disciplines you.

Deuteronomy 8:2

8:2 Remember the whole way by which he ²  has brought you these forty years through the desert ³  so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not.

Deuteronomy 7:14

7:14 You will be blessed beyond all peoples; there will be no barrenness ⁴  among you or your livestock.

Job 5:17

5:17 “Therefore, ⁵  blessed ⁶  is the man whom God corrects, ⁷ 

so do not despise the discipline ⁸  of the Almighty. ⁹ 

Psalms 6:1

Psalm 6 ¹⁰ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments, according to the sheminith style; ¹¹  a psalm of David.

6:1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger!

Do not discipline me in your raging fury! ¹² 

Psalms 39:11

39:11 You severely discipline people for their sins; ¹³ 

like a moth you slowly devour their strength. ¹⁴ 

Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)

Psalms 94:10

94:10 Does the one who disciplines the nations not punish?

He is the one who imparts knowledge to human beings!

Proverbs 3:11-12

3:11 My child, do not despise discipline from the Lord, ¹⁵ 

and do not loathe ¹⁶  his rebuke.

3:12 For the Lord disciplines ¹⁷  those he loves,

just as a father ¹⁸  disciplines ¹⁹  the son in whom he delights.

Proverbs 15:10

15:10 Severe discipline ²⁰  is for the one who abandons the way;

the one who hates reproof ²¹  will die.

Proverbs 15:32

15:32 The one who refuses correction despises himself, ²² 

but whoever hears ²³  reproof acquires understanding. ²⁴ 

Proverbs 22:15

22:15 Folly is bound up ²⁵  in the heart of a child, ²⁶ 

but the rod of discipline ²⁷  will drive it far from him.

Isaiah 26:16

26:16 O Lord, in distress they looked for you;

they uttered incantations because of your discipline. ²⁸ 

Jeremiah 2:30

2:30 “It did no good for me to punish your people.

They did not respond to such correction.

You slaughtered your prophets

like a voracious lion.” ²⁹ 

Jeremiah 7:28

7:28 So tell them: ‘This is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord their God and has not accepted correction. Faithfulness is nowhere to be found in it. These people do not even profess it anymore. ³⁰ 

Jeremiah 10:24

10:24 Correct us, Lord, but only in due measure. ³¹ 

Do not punish us in anger or you will reduce us to nothing. ³² 

Jeremiah 30:11

30:11 For I, the Lord, affirm ³³  that

I will be with you and will rescue you.

I will completely destroy all the nations where I scattered you.

But I will not completely destroy you.

I will indeed discipline you, but only in due measure.

I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.” ³⁴ 

Jeremiah 31:18

31:18 I have indeed ³⁵  heard the people of Israel ³⁶  say mournfully,

‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. ³⁷ 

You disciplined us and we learned from it. ³⁸ 

Let us come back to you and we will do so, ³⁹ 

for you are the Lord our God.

Zephaniah 3:2

3:2 She is disobedient; ⁴⁰ 

she refuses correction. ⁴¹ 

She does not trust the Lord;

she does not seek the advice of ⁴²  her God.

Zephaniah 3:1

Jerusalem is Corrupt

3:1 The filthy, ⁴³  stained city is as good as dead;

the city filled with oppressors is finished! ⁴⁴ 

Colossians 1:1-2

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁴⁵  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁴⁶  brothers and sisters ⁴⁷  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁴⁸  from God our Father! ⁴⁹ 

Colossians 1:9

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ⁵⁰  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ⁵¹  to fill ⁵²  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Hebrews 12:5-11

12:5 And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons?

“My son, do not scorn ⁵³  the Lord’s discipline

or give up when he corrects ⁵⁴  you.

12:6 “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts.” ⁵⁵ 

12:7 Endure your suffering ⁵⁶  as discipline; ⁵⁷  God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? 12:8 But if you do not experience discipline, ⁵⁸  something all sons ⁵⁹  have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons. 12:9 Besides, we have experienced discipline from ⁶⁰  our earthly fathers ⁶¹  and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life? ⁶²  12:10 For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness. 12:11 Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful. ⁶³  But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness ⁶⁴  for those trained by it.

James 1:12

1:12 Happy is the one ⁶⁵  who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God ⁶⁶  promised to those who love him.

[8:5]  ¹ tn Heb “just as a man disciplines his son.” The Hebrew text reflects the patriarchal idiom of the culture.

[8:2]  ² tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:2]  ³ tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NRSV, NLT); likewise in v. 15.

[7:14]  ⁴ sn One of the ironies about the promises to the patriarchs concerning offspring was the characteristic barrenness of the wives of the men to whom these pledges were made (cf. Gen 11:30; 25:21; 29:31). Their affliction is in each case described by the very Hebrew word used here (עֲקָרָה, ’aqarah), an affliction that will no longer prevail in Canaan.

[5:17]  ⁵ tn The particle “therefore” links this section to the preceding; it points this out as the logical consequence of the previous discussion, and more generally, as the essence of Job’s suffering.

[5:17]  ⁶ tn The word אַשְׁרֵי (’ashre, “blessed”) is often rendered “happy.” But “happy” relates to what happens. “Blessed” is a reference to the heavenly bliss of the one who is right with God.

[5:17]  ⁷ tn The construction is an implied relative clause. The literal rendering would simply be “the man God corrects him.” The suffix on the verb is a resumptive pronoun, completing the use of the relative clause. The verb יָכַח (yakhakh) is a legal term; it always has some sense of a charge, dispute, or conflict. Its usages show that it may describe a strife breaking out, a charge or quarrel in progress, or the settling of a dispute (Isa 1:18). The derived noun can mean “reproach; recrimination; charge” (13:6; 23:4). Here the emphasis is on the consequence of the charge brought, namely, the correction.

[5:17]  ⁸ tn The noun מוּסַר (musar) is parallel to the idea of the first colon. It means “discipline, correction” (from יָסַר, yasar). Prov 3:11 says almost the same thing as this line.

[5:17]  ⁹ sn The name Shaddai occurs 31 times in the book. This is its first occurrence. It is often rendered “Almighty” because of the LXX and some of the early fathers. The etymology and meaning of the word otherwise remains uncertain, in spite of attempts to connect it to “mountains” or “breasts.”

[6:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 6. The psalmist begs the Lord to withdraw his anger and spare his life. Having received a positive response to his prayer, the psalmist then confronts his enemies and describes how they retreat.

[6:1]  ¹¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit, “sheminith”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.

[6:1]  ¹² sn The implication is that the psalmist has sinned, causing God to discipline him by bringing a life-threatening illness upon him (see vv. 2-7).

[39:11]  ¹³ tn “with punishments on account of sin you discipline a man.”

[39:11]  ¹⁴ tc Heb “you cause to dissolve, like a moth, his desired [thing].” The translation assumes an emendation of חֲמוּדוֹ (khamudo, “his desirable [thing]”) to חֶמְדוֹ (khemdo, “his loveliness” [or “beauty”]), a reading that is supported by a few medieval Hebrew mss.

[3:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the discipline of the Lord.”

[3:11]  ¹⁶ tn The verb קוּץ (quts) has a two-fold range of meaning: (1) “to feel a loathing; to abhor” and (2) “to feel a sickening dread” (BDB 880 s.v.). The parallelism with “do not despise” suggests the former nuance here. The common response to suffering is to loathe it; however, the righteous understand that it refines one’s moral character and that it is a means to the blessing.

[3:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “chastens.” The verb יָכַח (yakhakh) here means “to chasten; to punish” (HALOT 410 s.v. יכח 1) or “to correct; to rebuke” (BDB 407 s.v. 6). The context suggests some kind of corporeal discipline rather than mere verbal rebuke or cognitive correction. This verse is quoted in Heb 12:5-6 to show that suffering in the service of the Lord is a sign of membership in the covenant community (i.e., sonship).

[3:12]  ¹⁸ tc MT reads וּכְאָב (ukh’av, “and like a father”) but the LXX reflects the Hiphil verb וְיַכְאִב (vÿyakh’iv, “and scourges every son he receives”). Both readings fit the parallelism; however, it is unnecessary to emend MT which makes perfectly good sense. The fact that the writer of Hebrews quotes this passage from the LXX and it became part of the inspired NT text does not mean that the LXX reflects the original Hebrew reading here.

[3:12]  ¹⁹ tn The verb “disciplines” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[15:10]  ²⁰ tn The two lines are parallel synonymously, so the “severe discipline” of the first colon is parallel to “will die” of the second. The expression מוּסָר רָע (musar ra’, “severe discipline”) indicates a discipline that is catastrophic or harmful to life.

[15:10]  ²¹ sn If this line and the previous line are synonymous, then the one who abandons the way also refuses any correction, and so there is severe punishment. To abandon the way means to leave the life of righteousness which is the repeated subject of the book of Proverbs.

[15:32]  ²² sn To “despise oneself” means to reject oneself as if there was little value. The one who ignores discipline is not interested in improving himself.

[15:32]  ²³ tn Or “heeds” (so NAB, NIV); NASB “listens to.”

[15:32]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew text reads קוֹנֶה לֵּב (qoneh lev), the participle of קָנָה (qanah, “to acquire; to possess”) with its object, “heart.” The word “heart” is frequently a metonymy of subject, meaning all the capacities of the human spirit and/or mind. Here it refers to the ability to make judgments or discernment.

[22:15]  ²⁵ sn The passive participle is figurative (implied comparison with “binding”); it means that folly forms part of a child’s nature (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 238).

[22:15]  ²⁶ tn The “heart of a child” (לֶב־נָעַר, lev-na’ar) refers here to the natural inclination of a child to foolishness. The younger child is meant in this context, but the word can include youth. R. N. Whybray suggests that this idea might be described as a doctrine of “original folly” (Proverbs [CBC], 125). Cf. TEV “Children just naturally do silly, careless things.”

[22:15]  ²⁷ tn The word “rod” is a metonymy of adjunct; it represents physical chastening for direction or punishment, to suppress folly and develop potential. The genitive (“discipline”) may be taken as an attributive genitive (“a chastening rod”) or an objective genitive, (“a rod [= punishment] that brings about correction/discipline”).

[26:16]  ²⁸ tn The meaning of this verse is unclear. It appears to read literally, “O Lord, in distress they visit you, they pour out [?] an incantation, your discipline to them.” פָּקַד (paqad) may here carry the sense of “seek with interest” (cf. Ezek 23:21 and BDB 823 s.v.) or “seek in vain” (cf. Isa 34:16), but it is peculiar for the Lord to be the object of this verb. צָקוּן (tsaqun) may be a Qal perfect third plural form from צוּק (tsuq, “pour out, melt”), though the verb is not used of pouring out words in its two other occurrences. Because of the appearance of צַר (tsar, “distress”) in the preceding line, it is tempting to emend the form to a noun and derive it from צוּק (“be in distress”) The term לַחַשׁ (lakhash) elsewhere refers to an incantation (Isa 3:3; Jer 8:17; Eccl 10:11) or amulet (Isa 3:20). Perhaps here it refers to ritualistic prayers or to magical incantations used to ward off evil.

[2:30]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Your sword devoured your prophets like a destroying lion.” However, the reference to the sword in this and many similar idioms is merely idiomatic for death by violent means.

[7:28]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Faithfulness has vanished. It is cut off from their lips.”

[10:24]  ³¹ tn Heb “with justice.”

[10:24]  ³² tn The words, “to almost nothing” are not in the text. They are implicit from the general context and are supplied by almost all English versions.

[30:11]  ³³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[30:11]  ³⁴ tn The translation “entirely unpunished” is intended to reflect the emphatic construction of the infinitive absolute before the finite verb.

[31:18]  ³⁵ tn The use of “indeed” is intended to reflect the infinitive absolute which precedes the verb for emphasis (see IBHS 585-86 §35.3.1f).

[31:18]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Ephraim.” See the study note on 31:9. The more familiar term is used, the term “people” added to it, and plural pronouns used throughout the verse to aid in understanding.

[31:18]  ³⁷ tn Heb “like an untrained calf.” The metaphor is that of a calf who has never been broken to bear the yoke (cf. Hos 4:16; 10:11).

[31:18]  ³⁸ tn The verb here is from the same root as the preceding and is probably an example of the “tolerative Niphal,” i.e., “I let myself be disciplined/I responded to it.” See IBHS 389-90 §23.4g and note the translation of some of the examples there, especially Isa 19:22; 65:1.

[31:18]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Bring me back in order that I may come back.” For the use of the plural pronouns see the marginal note at the beginning of the verse. The verb “bring back” and “come back” are from the same root in two different verbal stems and in the context express the idea of spiritual repentance and restoration of relationship not physical return to the land. (See BDB 999 s.v. שׁוּב Hiph.2.a for the first verb and 997 s.v. Qal.6.c for the second.) For the use of the cohortative to express purpose after the imperative see GKC 320 §108.d or IBHS 575 §34.5.2b.

[3:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “she does not hear a voice” Refusing to listen is equated with disobedience.

[3:2]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “she does not receive correction.” The Hebrew phrase, when negated, refers elsewhere to rejecting verbal advice (Jer 17:23; 32:33; 35:13) and refusing to learn from experience (Jer 2:30; 5:3).

[3:2]  ⁴² tn Heb “draw near to.” The present translation assumes that the expression “draw near to” refers to seeking God’s will (see 1 Sam 14:36).

[3:1]  ⁴³ tn The present translation assumes מֹרְאָה (mor’ah) is derived from רֹאִי (ro’i,“excrement”; see Jastrow 1436 s.v. רֳאִי). The following participle, “stained,” supports this interpretation (cf. NEB “filthy and foul”; NRSV “soiled, defiled”). Another option is to derive the form from מָרָה (marah, “to rebel”); in this case the term should be translated “rebellious” (cf. NASB, NIV “rebellious and defiled”). This idea is supported by v. 2. For discussion of the two options, see HALOT 630 s.v. I מרא and J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 206.

[3:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Woe, soiled and stained one, oppressive city.” The verb “is finished” is supplied in the second line. On the Hebrew word הוֹי (hoy, “ah, woe”), see the note on the word “dead” in 2:5.

[1:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁴⁹ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[1:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ⁵¹ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ⁵² tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[12:5]  ⁵³ tn Or “disregard,” “think little of.”

[12:5]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “reproves,” “rebukes.” The Greek verb ἐλέγχω (elencw) implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.

[12:6]  ⁵⁵ sn A quotation from Prov 3:11-12.

[12:7]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “endure,” with the object (“your suffering”) understood from the context.

[12:7]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “in order to become disciplined.”

[12:8]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “you are without discipline.”

[12:8]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “all”; “sons” is implied by the context.

[12:9]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “we had our earthly fathers as discipliners.”

[12:9]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “the fathers of our flesh.” In Hebrews, “flesh” is a characteristic way of speaking about outward, physical, earthly life (cf. Heb 5:7; 9:10, 13), as opposed to the inward or spiritual dimensions of life.

[12:9]  ⁶² tn Grk “and live.”

[12:11]  ⁶³ tn Grk “all discipline at the time does not seem to be of joy, but of sorrow.”

[12:11]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

[1:12]  ⁶⁵ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[1:12]  ⁶⁶ tc Most mss ([C] P 0246 Ï) read ὁ κύριος (Jo kurio", “the Lord”) here, while others have ὁ θεός (Jo qeo", “God”; 4 33^vid 323 945 1739 al). However, several important and early witnesses (̲³ א A B Ψ 81 co) have no explicit subject. In light of the scribal tendency toward clarification, and the fact that both κύριος and θεός are well represented, there can be no doubt that the original text had no explicit subject. The referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity, not because of textual basis.