Deuteronomy 33:9

33:9 He said to his father and mother, “I have not seen him,” ¹ 

and he did not acknowledge his own brothers

or know his own children,

for they kept your word,

and guarded your covenant.

Deuteronomy 33:1

Introduction to the Blessing of Moses

33:1 This is the blessing Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.

Deuteronomy 10:8

10:8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi ²  to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to formulate blessings ³  in his name, as they do to this very day.

Psalms 27:4

27:4 I have asked the Lord for one thing –

this is what I desire!

I want to live ⁴  in the Lord’s house ⁵  all the days of my life,

so I can gaze at the splendor ⁶  of the Lord

and contemplate in his temple.

Psalms 84:10-12

84:10 Certainly ⁷  spending just one day in your temple courts is better

than spending a thousand elsewhere. ⁸ 

I would rather stand at the entrance ⁹  to the temple of my God

than live ¹⁰  in the tents of the wicked.

84:11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector. ¹¹ 

The Lord bestows favor ¹²  and honor;

he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity. ¹³ 

84:12 O Lord who rules over all, ¹⁴ 

how blessed are those who trust in you! ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 3:3

3:3 Do not let truth and mercy ¹⁶  leave you;

bind them around your neck,

write them on the tablet of your heart. ¹⁷ 

Proverbs 3:14

3:14 For her ¹⁸  benefit ¹⁹  is more profitable ²⁰  than silver,

and her ²¹  gain ²²  is better ²³  than gold.

Proverbs 8:34

8:34 Blessed is the one ²⁴  who listens to me,

watching ²⁵  at my doors day by day,

waiting ²⁶  beside my doorway. ²⁷ 

Proverbs 10:21

10:21 The teaching ²⁸  of the righteous feeds ²⁹  many,

but fools die ³⁰  for lack of wisdom. ³¹ 

Proverbs 13:20

13:20 The one who associates ³²  with the wise grows wise,

but a companion of fools suffers harm. ³³ 

Luke 10:39-42

10:39 She ³⁴  had a sister named Mary, who sat ³⁵  at the Lord’s feet ³⁶  and listened to what he said. 10:40 But Martha was distracted ³⁷  with all the preparations she had to make, ³⁸  so ³⁹  she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care ⁴⁰  that my sister has left me to do all the work ⁴¹  alone? Tell ⁴²  her to help me.” 10:41 But the Lord ⁴³  answered her, ⁴⁴  “Martha, Martha, ⁴⁵  you are worried and troubled ⁴⁶  about many things, 10:42 but one thing ⁴⁷  is needed. Mary has chosen the best ⁴⁸  part; it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 11:28

11:28 But he replied, ⁴⁹  “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey ⁵⁰  it!”

[33:9]  ¹ sn This statement no doubt alludes to the Levites’ destruction of their own fellow tribesmen following the golden calf incident (Exod 32:25-29).

[10:8]  ² sn The Lord set apart the tribe of Levi. This was not the initial commissioning of the tribe of Levi to this ministry (cf. Num 3:11-13; 8:12-26), but with Aaron’s death it seemed appropriate to Moses to reiterate Levi’s responsibilities. There is no reference in the Book of Numbers to this having been done, but the account of Eleazar’s succession to the priesthood there (Num 20:25-28) would provide a setting for this to have occurred.

[10:8]  ³ sn To formulate blessings. The most famous example of this is the priestly “blessing formula” of Num 6:24-26.

[27:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “my living.”

[27:4]  ⁵ sn The Lord’s house. This probably refers to the tabernacle (if one accepts Davidic authorship) or the temple (see Judg 19:18; 1 Sam 1:7, 24; 2 Sam 12:20; 1 Kgs 7:12, 40, 45, 51).

[27:4]  ⁶ tn Or “beauty.”

[84:10]  ⁷ tn Or “for.”

[84:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”

[84:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).

[84:10]  ¹⁰ tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.

[84:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[is] a sun and a shield.” The epithet “sun,” though rarely used of Israel’s God in the OT, was a well-attested royal title in the ancient Near East. For several examples from Ugaritic texts, the Amarna letters, and Assyrian royal inscriptions, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 131, n. 2.

[84:11]  ¹² tn Or “grace.”

[84:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “he does not withhold good to those walking in integrity.”

[84:12]  ¹⁴ tn Traditionally “Lord of hosts.”

[84:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man [who] trusts in you.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to here is representative of all followers of God, as the use of the plural form in v. 12b indicates.

[3:3]  ¹⁶ tn The two words חֶסֶד וֶאֶמֶת (khesed ve’emet, “mercy and truth”) form a nominal hendiadys, the second word becoming an adjective: “faithful covenant love” or “loyal [covenant] love and faithfulness.”

[3:3]  ¹⁷ sn This involves two implied comparisons (hypocatastasis). One is a comparison of living out the duties and responsibilities taught with binding a chain around the neck, and the other is a comparison of the inward appropriation of the teachings with writing them on a tablet. So the teachings are not only to become the lifestyle of the disciple but his very nature.

[3:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “her profit.” The 3rd person feminine singular suffix on the noun is probably a genitive of source: “from her.”

[3:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “profit.” The noun סַחַר (sakhar, “trading profit”) often refers to the financial profit of traveling merchants (Isa 23:3, 18; 45:14; HALOT 750 s.v.). The related participle describes a traveling “trader, dealer, wholesaler, merchant” (e.g., Gen 37:28; Prov 31:14; Isa 23:2; Ezek 27:36; HALOT 750 s.v. סחר qal.2). Here the noun is used figuratively to describe the moral benefit of wisdom.

[3:14]  ²⁰ tn The noun סַחַר (“profit”) is repeated in this line for emphasis. The two usages draw upon slightly different nuances, creating a polysemantic wordplay. The moral “benefit” of wisdom is more “profitable” than silver.

[3:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “her yield.” The 3rd person feminine singular suffix on the noun is probably a genitive of source: “from her.”

[3:14]  ²² tn Heb “yield.” The noun תְּבוּאָה (tÿvu’ah, “product; yield”) is normally used of crops and harvests (BDB 100 s.v. 1). Here it is figurative for the moral benefit of wisdom (BDB 100 s.v. 2.b).

[3:14]  ²³ tn The phrase “is better” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[8:34]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the man.”

[8:34]  ²⁵ tn The form לִשְׁקֹד (lishqod) is the infinitive construct serving epexegetically in the sentence. It explains how the person will listen to wisdom.

[8:34]  ²⁶ tn Heb “keeping” or “guarding.”

[8:34]  ²⁷ tn Heb “at the posts of my doors” (so KJV, ASV).

[10:21]  ²⁸ tn Heb “lips.” The term “lips” functions as a metonymy of cause for what is said (or in this case taught).

[10:21]  ²⁹ tn The verb רָעָה (ra’ah) means “to feed” or “to shepherd” (e.g., Gen 48:15). What they say will meet the needs of many.

[10:21]  ³⁰ tn In what sense the fool “dies” is unclear. Fools ruin their lives and the lives of others by their lack of discipline and knowledge. The contrast is between enhancing life and ruining life.

[10:21]  ³¹ tn Heb “heart.” The term לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as a metonymy of association for wisdom and knowledge (BDB 524 s.v. 3.a).

[13:20]  ³² tn Heb “walks.” When used with the preposition אֶת (’et, “with”), the verb הָלַךְ (halakh, “to walk”) means “to associate with” someone (BDB 234 s.v. הָלַךְ II.3.b; e.g., Mic 6:8; Job 34:8). The active participle of הָלַךְ (“to walk”) stresses continual, durative action. One should stay in close association with the wise, and move in the same direction they do.

[13:20]  ³³ tn The verb form יֵרוֹעַ (yeroa’) is the Niphal imperfect of רָעַע (ra’a’), meaning “to suffer hurt.” Several have attempted to parallel the repetition in the wordplay of the first colon. A. Guillaume has “he who associates with fools will be left a fool” (“A Note on the Roots רִיע, יָרַע, and רָעַע in Hebrew,” JTS 15 [1964]: 294). Knox translated the Vulgate thus: “Fool he ends that fool befriends” (cited by D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 104).

[10:39]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[10:39]  ³⁵ tn This reflexive makes it clear that Mary took the initiative in sitting by Jesus.

[10:39]  ³⁶ sn The description of Mary sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to him makes her sound like a disciple (compare Luke 8:35).

[10:40]  ³⁷ sn The term distracted means “to be pulled away” by something (L&N 25.238). It is a narrative comment that makes clear who is right in the account.

[10:40]  ³⁸ tn Grk “with much serving.”

[10:40]  ³⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the following was a result of Martha’s distraction.

[10:40]  ⁴⁰ tn The negative οὐ (ou) used with the verb expects a positive reply. Martha expected Jesus to respond and rebuke Mary.

[10:40]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “has left me to serve alone.”

[10:40]  ⁴² tn The conjunction οὖν (oun, “then, therefore”) has not been translated here.

[10:41]  ⁴³ tc Most mss (A B* C D W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï it) read “Jesus” instead of “the Lord” here, but κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) has the support of some weighty papyri, uncials, and other witnesses (Ì^3,[45],75 א B² L 579 892 pc lat sa).

[10:41]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “answering, said to her.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “answered her.”

[10:41]  ⁴⁵ sn The double vocative Martha, Martha communicates emotion.

[10:41]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “upset.” Here the meanings of μεριμνάω (merimnaw) and θορυβάζομαι (qorubazomai) reinforce each other (L&N 25.234).

[10:42]  ⁴⁷ tc Or, with some mss (̳ [א] B C² L 070^vid ˹ 33 [579] pc), “few things are needed – or only one” (as well as other variants). The textual problem here is a difficult one to decide. The shorter reading is normally preferred, but it is not altogether clear how the variants would arise from it. However, the reading followed in the translation has good support (with some internal variations) from a number of witnesses (Ì^45,75 A C* W Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï lat sa).

[10:42]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “better”; Grk “good.” This is an instance of the positive adjective used in place of the superlative adjective. According to ExSyn 298, this could also be treated as a positive for comparative (“better”).

[11:28]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “said.”

[11:28]  ⁵⁰ sn This is another reference to hearing and doing the word of God, which here describes Jesus’ teaching; see Luke 8:21.