Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 1:13-17
Context1:13 Select wise and practical 1 men, those known among your tribes, whom I may appoint as your leaders.” 1:14 You replied to me that what I had said to you was good. 1:15 So I chose 2 as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials. 1:16 I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they 3 should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens 4 and judge fairly, 5 whether between one citizen and another 6 or a citizen and a resident foreigner. 7 1:17 They 8 must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly 9 and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.
Deuteronomy 16:18
Context16:18 You must appoint judges and civil servants 10 for each tribe in all your villages 11 that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly. 12
Deuteronomy 16:2
Context16:2 You must sacrifice the Passover animal 13 (from the flock or the herd) to the Lord your God in the place where he 14 chooses to locate his name.
Deuteronomy 19:5-10
Context19:5 Suppose he goes with someone else 15 to the forest to cut wood and when he raises the ax 16 to cut the tree, the ax head flies loose 17 from the handle and strikes 18 his fellow worker 19 so hard that he dies. The person responsible 20 may then flee to one of these cities to save himself. 21 19:6 Otherwise the blood avenger will chase after the killer in the heat of his anger, eventually overtake him, 22 and kill him, 23 though this is not a capital case 24 since he did not hate him at the time of the accident. 19:7 Therefore, I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities. 19:8 If the Lord your God enlarges your borders as he promised your ancestors 25 and gives you all the land he pledged to them, 26 19:9 and then you are careful to observe all these commandments 27 I am giving 28 you today (namely, to love the Lord your God and to always walk in his ways), then you must add three more cities 29 to these three. 19:10 You must not shed innocent blood 30 in your land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, for that would make you guilty. 31
Psalms 14:4
Context14:4 All those who behave wickedly 32 do not understand – 33
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to the Lord.
Psalms 82:1-5
ContextA psalm of Asaph.
82:1 God stands in 35 the assembly of El; 36
in the midst of the gods 37 he renders judgment. 38
82:2 He says, 39 “How long will you make unjust legal decisions
and show favoritism to the wicked? 40 (Selah)
82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! 41
Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!
82:4 Rescue the poor and needy!
Deliver them from the power 42 of the wicked!
82:5 They 43 neither know nor understand.
They stumble 44 around in the dark,
while all the foundations of the earth crumble. 45
Jeremiah 5:4-5
Context5:4 I thought, “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way. 46
They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands. 47
They do not know what their God requires of them. 48
5:5 I will go to the leaders 49
and speak with them.
Surely they know what the Lord demands. 50
Surely they know what their God requires of them.” 51
Yet all of them, too, have rejected his authority
and refuse to submit to him. 52
Jeremiah 5:1
Context“Go up and down 54 through the streets of Jerusalem. 55
Look around and see for yourselves.
Search through its public squares.
See if any of you can find a single person
who deals honestly and tries to be truthful. 56
If you can, 57 then I will not punish this city. 58
Colossians 1:5
Context1:5 Your faith and love have arisen 59 from the hope laid up 60 for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel 61
[1:13] 1 tn The Hebrew verb נְבֹנִים (nÿvonim, from בִּין [bin]) is a Niphal referring to skill or intelligence (see T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:652-53).
[1:15] 2 tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.”
[1:16] 3 tn Or “you.” A number of English versions treat the remainder of this verse and v. 17 as direct discourse rather than indirect discourse (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[1:16] 4 tn Heb “brothers.” The term “brothers” could, in English, be understood to refer to siblings, so “fellow citizens” has been used in the translation.
[1:16] 5 tn The Hebrew word צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “fairly”) carries the basic idea of conformity to a norm of expected behavior or character, one established by God himself. Fair judgment adheres strictly to that norm or standard (see D. Reimer, NIDOTTE 3:750).
[1:16] 6 tn Heb “between a man and his brother.”
[1:16] 7 tn Heb “his stranger” or “his sojourner”; NAB, NIV “an alien”; NRSV “resident alien.” The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger) commonly means “foreigner.”
[1:17] 8 tn Heb “you,” and throughout the verse (cf. NASB, NRSV).
[1:17] 9 tn Heb “the small,” but referring to social status, not physical stature.
[16:18] 10 tn The Hebrew term וְשֹׁטְרִים (vÿshoterim), usually translated “officers” (KJV, NCV) or “officials” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), derives from the verb שֹׁטֵר (shoter, “to write”). The noun became generic for all types of public officials. Here, however, it may be appositionally epexegetical to “judges,” thus resulting in the phrase, “judges, that is, civil officers,” etc. Whoever the שֹׁטְרִים are, their task here consists of rendering judgments and administering justice.
[16:18] 12 tn Heb “with judgment of righteousness”; ASV, NASB “with righteous judgment.”
[16:2] 13 tn Heb “sacrifice the Passover” (so NASB). The word “animal” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[16:2] 14 tn Heb “the
[19:5] 15 tn Heb “his neighbor” (so NAB, NIV); NASB “his friend.”
[19:5] 16 tn Heb “and he raises his hand with the iron.”
[19:5] 17 tn Heb “the iron slips off.”
[19:5] 19 tn Heb “his neighbor.”
[19:5] 20 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the person responsible for his friend’s death) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:6] 22 tn Heb “and overtake him, for the road is long.”
[19:6] 23 tn Heb “smite with respect to life,” that is, fatally.
[19:6] 24 tn Heb “no judgment of death.”
[19:8] 26 tn Heb “he said to give to your ancestors.” The pronoun has been used in the translation instead for stylistic reasons.
[19:9] 27 tn Heb “all this commandment.” This refers here to the entire covenant agreement of the Book of Deuteronomy as encapsulated in the Shema (Deut 6:4-5).
[19:9] 28 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today.”
[19:9] 29 sn You will add three more cities. Since these are alluded to nowhere else and thus were probably never added, this must be a provision for other cities of refuge should they be needed (cf. v. 8). See P. C. Craigie, Deuteronomy (NICOT), 267.
[19:10] 30 tn Heb “innocent blood must not be shed.” The Hebrew phrase דָּם נָקִי (dam naqiy) means the blood of a person to whom no culpability or responsibility adheres because what he did was without malice aforethought (HALOT 224 s.v דָּם 4.b).
[19:10] 31 tn Heb “and blood will be upon you” (cf. KJV, ASV); NRSV “thereby bringing bloodguilt upon you.”
[14:4] 32 tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8.
[14:4] 33 tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question (rendered in the translation as a positive affirmation) expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-7).
[82:1] 34 sn Psalm 82. The psalmist pictures God standing in the “assembly of El” where he accuses the “gods” of failing to promote justice on earth. God pronounces sentence upon them, announcing that they will die like men. Having witnessed the scene, the psalmist then asks God to establish his just rule over the earth.
[82:1] 35 tn Or “presides over.”
[82:1] 36 tn The phrase עֲדַת אֵל (’adat ’el, “assembly of El”) appears only here in the OT. (1) Some understand “El” to refer to God himself. In this case he is pictured presiding over his own heavenly assembly. (2) Others take אֵל as a superlative here (“God stands in the great assembly”), as in Pss 36:6 and 80:10. (3) The present translation assumes this is a reference to the Canaanite high god El, who presided over the Canaanite divine assembly. (See Isa 14:13, where El’s assembly is called “the stars of El.”) In the Ugaritic myths the phrase ’dt ’ilm refers to the “assembly of the gods,” who congregate in King Kirtu’s house, where Baal asks El to bless Kirtu’s house (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). If the Canaanite divine assembly is referred to here in Ps 82:1, then the psalm must be understood as a bold polemic against Canaanite religion. Israel’s God invades El’s assembly, denounces its gods as failing to uphold justice, and announces their coming demise. For an interpretation of the psalm along these lines, see W. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” EBC 5:533-36.
[82:1] 37 sn The present translation assumes that the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “gods”) here refers to the pagan gods who supposedly comprise El’s assembly according to Canaanite religion. Those who reject the polemical view of the psalm prefer to see the referent as human judges or rulers (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to officials appointed by God, see Exod 21:6; 22:8-9; Ps 45:6) or as angelic beings (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to angelic beings, see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5).
[82:1] 38 sn The picture of God rendering judgment among the gods clearly depicts his sovereign authority as universal king (see v. 8, where the psalmist boldly affirms this truth).
[82:2] 39 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to indicate that the following speech is God’s judicial decision (see v. 1).
[82:2] 40 tn Heb “and the face of the wicked lift up.”
[82:3] 41 tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 94:6; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).
[82:5] 43 sn Having addressed the defendants, God now speaks to those who are observing the trial, referring to the gods in the third person.
[82:5] 44 tn Heb “walk.” The Hitpael stem indicates iterative action, picturing these ignorant “judges” as stumbling around in the darkness.
[82:5] 45 sn These gods, though responsible for justice, neglect their duty. Their self-imposed ignorance (which the psalmist compares to stumbling around in the dark) results in widespread injustice, which threatens the social order of the world (the meaning of the phrase all the foundations of the earth crumble).
[5:4] 46 tn Heb “Surely they are poor.” The translation is intended to make clear the explicit contrasts and qualifications drawn in this verse and the next.
[5:4] 47 tn Heb “the way of the
[5:4] 48 tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”
[5:5] 49 tn Or “people in power”; Heb “the great ones.”
[5:5] 50 tn Heb “the way of the
[5:5] 51 tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”
[5:5] 52 tn Heb “have broken the yoke and torn off the yoke ropes.” Compare Jer 2:20 and the note there.
[5:1] 53 tn These words are not in the text, but since the words at the end are obviously those of the
[5:1] 54 tn It is not clear who is being addressed here. The verbs are plural so they are not addressed to Jeremiah per se. Since the passage is talking about the people of Jerusalem, it is unlikely they are addressed here except perhaps rhetorically. Some have suggested that the heavenly court is being addressed here as in Job 1:6-8; 2:1-3. It is clear from Jer 23:18, 22; Amos 3:7 that the prophets had access to this heavenly counsel through visions (cf. 1 Kgs 22:19-23), so Jeremiah could have been privy to this speech through that means. Though these are the most likely addressee, it is too presumptuous to supply such an explicit addressee without clearer indication in the text. The translation will just have to run the risk of the probable erroneous assumption by most English readers that the addressee is Jeremiah.
[5:1] 55 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[5:1] 56 tn Heb “who does justice and seeks faithfulness.”
[5:1] 57 tn Heb “squares. If you can find…if there is one person…then I will…”
[5:1] 58 tn Heb “forgive [or pardon] it.”
[1:5] 59 tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.
[1:5] 60 tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.
[1:5] 61 tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.
