Deuteronomy 12:30

12:30 After they have been destroyed from your presence, be careful not to be ensnared like they are; do not pursue their gods and say, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do the same.”

Deuteronomy 12:2

12:2 You must by all means destroy ¹  all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods – on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. ² 

Deuteronomy 28:23-25

28:23 The ³  sky ⁴  above your heads will be bronze and the earth beneath you iron. 28:24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; it will come down on you from the sky until you are destroyed.

Curses by Defeat and Deportation

28:25 “The Lord will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an object of terror ⁵  to all the kingdoms of the earth.

Jeremiah 10:2

10:2 The Lord says,

“Do not start following pagan religious practices. ⁶ 

Do not be in awe of signs that occur ⁷  in the sky

even though the nations hold them in awe.

Ezekiel 23:16-17

23:16 When she saw them, ⁸  she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ⁹  23:17 The Babylonians crawled into bed with her. ¹⁰  They defiled her with their lust; after she was defiled by them, she ¹¹  became disgusted with them.

Romans 12:2

12:2 Do not be conformed ¹²  to this present world, ¹³  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ¹⁴  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:1

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ¹⁵  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ¹⁶  – which is your reasonable service.

Romans 1:18

The Condemnation of the Unrighteous

1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people ¹⁷  who suppress the truth by their ¹⁸  unrighteousness, ¹⁹ 

[12:2]  ¹ tn Heb “destroying you must destroy”; KJV “Ye shall utterly (surely ASV) destroy”; NRSV “must demolish completely.” The Hebrew infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by the words “by all means.”

[12:2]  ² sn Every leafy tree. This expression refers to evergreens which, because they keep their foliage throughout the year, provided apt symbolism for nature cults such as those practiced in Canaan. The deity particularly in view is Asherah, wife of the great god El, who was considered the goddess of fertility and whose worship frequently took place at shrines near or among clusters (groves) of such trees (see also Deut 7:5). See J. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:569-70; J. DeMoor, TDOT 1:438-44.

[28:23]  ³ tc The MT reads “Your.” The LXX reads “Heaven will be to you.”

[28:23]  ⁴ tn Or “heavens” (also in the following verse). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[28:25]  ⁵ tc The meaningless MT reading זַעֲוָה (za’avah) is clearly a transposition of the more commonly attested Hebrew noun זְוָעָה (zÿva’ah, “terror”).

[10:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “Do not learn the way of the nations.” For this use of the word “ways” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) compare for example Jer 12:16 and Isa 2:6.

[10:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “signs.” The words “that occur” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “at the appearance of her eyes.”

[23:16]  ⁹ sn The Chaldeans were prominent tribal groups of Babylonia. The imagery is reminiscent of events in the reigns of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:12-15) and Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:1).

[23:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “The sons of Babel came to her on a bed of love.”

[23:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “her soul.”

[12:2]  ¹² tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

[12:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “to this age.”

[12:2]  ¹⁴ sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

[12:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[12:1]  ¹⁶ tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

[1:18]  ¹⁷ tn The genitive ἀνθρώπων could be taken as an attributed genitive, in which case the phase should be translated “against all ungodly and unrighteous people” (cf. “the truth of God” in v. 25 which is also probably an attributed genitive). C. E. B. Cranfield takes the section 1:18-32 to refer to all people (not just Gentiles), while 2:1-3:20 points out that the Jew is no exception (Romans [ICC], 1:104-6; 1:137-38).

[1:18]  ¹⁸ tn “Their” is implied in the Greek, but is supplied because of English style.

[1:18]  ¹⁹ tn Or “by means of unrighteousness.” Grk “in (by) unrighteousness.”