Deuteronomy 30:1-10

The Results of Covenant Reaffirmation

30:1 “When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses ¹  I have set before you, you will reflect upon them ²  in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you. 30:2 Then if you and your descendants ³  turn to the Lord your God and obey him with your whole mind and being ⁴  just as ⁵  I am commanding you today, 30:3 the Lord your God will reverse your captivity and have pity on you. He will turn and gather you from all the peoples among whom he ⁶  has scattered you. 30:4 Even if your exiles are in the most distant land, ⁷  from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. 30:5 Then he ⁸  will bring you to the land your ancestors ⁹  possessed and you also will possess it; he will do better for you and multiply you more than he did your ancestors. 30:6 The Lord your God will also cleanse ¹⁰  your heart and the hearts of your descendants ¹¹  so that you may love him ¹²  with all your mind and being and so that you may live. 30:7 Then the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hate you and persecute you. 30:8 You will return and obey the Lord, keeping all his commandments I am giving ¹³  you today. 30:9 The Lord your God will make the labor of your hands ¹⁴  abundantly successful and multiply your children, ¹⁵  the offspring of your cattle, and the produce of your soil. For the Lord your God will once more ¹⁶  rejoice over you to make you prosperous ¹⁷  just as he rejoiced over your ancestors, 30:10 if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this scroll of the law. But you must turn to him ¹⁸  with your whole mind and being.

Ezekiel 18:30-31

18:30 “Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, ¹⁹  O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent ²⁰  and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. ²¹  18:31 Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! ²²  Why should you die, O house of Israel?

Daniel 9:13

9:13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify ²³  the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom ²⁴  from your reliable moral standards. ²⁵ 

Acts 2:36-39

2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt ²⁶  that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified ²⁷  both Lord ²⁸  and Christ.” ²⁹ 

The Response to Peter’s Address

2:37 Now when they heard this, ³⁰  they were acutely distressed ³¹  and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?” 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized ³²  in the name of Jesus Christ ³³  for ³⁴  the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁵  2:39 For the promise ³⁶  is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”

Acts 3:19

3:19 Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out,

Acts 3:26

3:26 God raised up ³⁷  his servant and sent him first to you, to bless you by turning ³⁸  each one of you from your iniquities.” ³⁹ 

Acts 26:20

26:20 but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, ⁴⁰  and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, ⁴¹  performing deeds consistent with ⁴²  repentance.

Titus 2:11-14

2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. ⁴³  2:12 It trains us ⁴⁴  to reject godless ways ⁴⁵  and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 2:13 as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing ⁴⁶  of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. ⁴⁷  2:14 He ⁴⁸  gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, ⁴⁹  who are eager to do good. ⁵⁰ 

Hebrews 12:14

Do Not Reject God’s Warning

12:14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, ⁵¹  for without it no one will see the Lord.

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

[30:1]  ² tn Heb “and you bring (them) back to your heart.”

[30:2]  ³ tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “children.”

[30:2]  ⁴ tn Or “heart and soul” (also in vv. 6, 10).

[30:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to all.”

[30:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[30:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “are at the farthest edge of the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[30:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “fathers” (also later in this verse and in vv. 9, 20).

[30:6]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).

[30:6]  ¹² tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I now enjoin on you.”

[30:9]  ¹⁴ tc The MT reads “hand” (singular). Most versions read the plural.

[30:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV); NRSV “of your body.”

[30:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “return and.” The Hebrew verb is used idiomatically here to indicate the repetition of the following action.

[30:9]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text includes “for good.”

[30:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[18:30]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “ways.”

[18:30]  ²⁰ tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.

[18:30]  ²¹ tn Or “leading to punishment.”

[18:31]  ²² sn In Ezek 11:19, 36:26 the new heart and new spirit are promised as future blessings.

[9:13]  ²³ tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”

[9:13]  ²⁴ tn Or “by gaining insight.”

[9:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “by your truth.” The Hebrew term does not refer here to abstract truth, however, but to the reliable moral guidance found in the covenant law. See vv 10-11.

[2:36]  ²⁶ tn Or “know for certain.” This term is in an emphatic position in the clause.

[2:36]  ²⁷ tn Grk “has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” The clause has been simplified in the translation by replacing the pronoun “him” with the explanatory clause “this Jesus whom you crucified” which comes at the end of the sentence.

[2:36]  ²⁸ sn Lord. This looks back to the quotation of Ps 110:1 and the mention of “calling on the Lord” in 2:21. Peter’s point is that the Lord on whom one calls for salvation is Jesus, because he is the one mediating God’s blessing of the Spirit as a sign of the presence of salvation and the last days.

[2:36]  ²⁹ tn Or “and Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:37]  ³⁰ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[2:37]  ³¹ tn Grk “they were pierced to the heart” (an idiom for acute emotional distress).

[2:38]  ³² tn The verb is a third person imperative, but the common translation “let each of you be baptized” obscures the imperative force in English, since it sounds more like a permissive (“each of you may be baptized”) to the average English reader.

[2:38]  ³³ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:38]  ³⁴ tn There is debate over the meaning of εἰς in the prepositional phrase εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν (eis afesin twn Jamartiwn Jumwn, “for/because of/with reference to the forgiveness of your sins”). Although a causal sense has been argued, it is difficult to maintain here. ExSyn 369-71 discusses at least four other ways of dealing with the passage: (1) The baptism referred to here is physical only, and εἰς has the meaning of “for” or “unto.” Such a view suggests that salvation is based on works – an idea that runs counter to the theology of Acts, namely: (a) repentance often precedes baptism (cf. Acts 3:19; 26:20), and (b) salvation is entirely a gift of God, not procured via water baptism (Acts 10:43 [cf. v. 47]; 13:38-39, 48; 15:11; 16:30-31; 20:21; 26:18); (2) The baptism referred to here is spiritual only. Although such a view fits well with the theology of Acts, it does not fit well with the obvious meaning of “baptism” in Acts – especially in this text (cf. 2:41); (3) The text should be repunctuated in light of the shift from second person plural to third person singular back to second person plural again. The idea then would be, “Repent for/with reference to your sins, and let each one of you be baptized…” Such a view is an acceptable way of handling εἰς, but its subtlety and awkwardness count against it; (4) Finally, it is possible that to a first-century Jewish audience (as well as to Peter), the idea of baptism might incorporate both the spiritual reality and the physical symbol. That Peter connects both closely in his thinking is clear from other passages such as Acts 10:47 and 11:15-16. If this interpretation is correct, then Acts 2:38 is saying very little about the specific theological relationship between the symbol and the reality, only that historically they were viewed together. One must look in other places for a theological analysis. For further discussion see R. N. Longenecker, “Acts,” EBC 9:283-85; B. Witherington, Acts, 154-55; F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 129-30; BDAG 290 s.v. εἰς 4.f.

[2:38]  ³⁵ tn Here the genitive τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (tou Jagiou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the gift consists of the Holy Spirit.

[2:39]  ³⁶ sn The promise refers to the promise of the Holy Spirit that Jesus received from the Father in 2:33 and which he now pours out on others. The promise consists of the Holy Spirit (see note in 2:33). Jesus is the active mediator of God’s blessing.

[3:26]  ³⁷ tn Grk “God raising up his servant, sent him.” The participle ἀναστήσας (anasthsa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Some translations (e.g., NIV, NRSV) render this participle as temporal (“when God raised up his servant”).

[3:26]  ³⁸ sn The picture of turning is again seen as the appropriate response to the message. See v. 19 above. In v. 19 it was “turning to,” here it is “turning away from.” The direction of the two metaphors is important.

[3:26]  ³⁹ tn For the translation of plural πονηρία (ponhria) as “iniquities,” see G. Harder, TDNT 6:565. The plural is important, since for Luke turning to Jesus means turning away from sins, not just the sin of rejecting Jesus.

[26:20]  ⁴⁰ tn BDAG 1093-94 s.v. χώρα 2.b states, “of the provincial name (1 Macc 8:3) ἡ χώρα τῆς ᾿Ιουδαίας Ac 26:20.”

[26:20]  ⁴¹ sn That they should repent and turn to God. This is the shortest summary of Paul’s message that he preached.

[26:20]  ⁴² tn BDAG 93 s.v. ἄξιος 1.b, “καρποὶ ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας fruits in keeping with your repentance…Lk 3:8; Mt 3:8. For this ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας ἔργα Ac 26:20.” Note how Paul preached the gospel offer and the issue of response together, side by side.

[2:11]  ⁴³ tn Grk “all men”; but ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpois) is generic here, referring to both men and women.

[2:12]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “training us” (as a continuation of the previous clause). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 by translating the participle παιδεύουσα (paideuousa) as a finite verb and supplying the pronoun “it” as subject.

[2:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “ungodliness.”

[2:13]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “the blessed hope and glorious appearing.”

[2:13]  ⁴⁷ tn The terms “God and Savior” both refer to the same person, Jesus Christ. This is one of the clearest statements in the NT concerning the deity of Christ. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. The only issue is whether terms such as “God” and “Savior” could be considered common nouns as opposed to proper names. Sharp and others who followed (such as T. F. Middleton in his masterful The Doctrine of the Greek Article) demonstrated that a proper name in Greek was one that could not be pluralized. Since both “God” (θεός, qeos) and “savior” (σωτήρ, swthr) were occasionally found in the plural, they did not constitute proper names, and hence, do fit Sharp’s rule. Although there have been 200 years of attempts to dislodge Sharp’s rule, all attempts have been futile. Sharp’s rule stands vindicated after all the dust has settled. For more information on Sharp’s rule see ExSyn 270-78, esp. 276. See also 2 Pet 1:1 and Jude 4.

[2:14]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

[2:14]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “a people who are his very own.”

[2:14]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “for good works.”

[12:14]  ⁵¹ sn The references to peace and holiness show the close connection between this paragraph and the previous one. The pathway toward “holiness” and the need for it is cited in Heb 12:10 and 14. More importantly Prov 4:26-27 sets up the transition from one paragraph to the next: It urges people to stay on godly paths (Prov 4:26, quoted here in v. 13) and promises that God will lead them in peace if they do so (Prov 4:27 [LXX], quoted in v. 14).