Deuteronomy 6:3-4

6:3 Pay attention, Israel, and be careful to do this so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in number ¹  – as the Lord, God of your ancestors, ²  said to you, you will have a land flowing with milk and honey.

The Essence of the Covenant Principles

6:4 Listen, Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! ³ 

Deuteronomy 32:39

The Vindication of the Lord

32:39 “See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the Lord, ⁴ 

“and there is no other god besides me.

I kill and give life,

I smash and I heal,

and none can resist ⁵  my power.

Isaiah 37:16

37:16 “O Lord who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! ⁶  You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky ⁷  and the earth.

Isaiah 37:20

37:20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.” ⁸ 

Isaiah 44:6-8

The Absurdity of Idolatry

44:6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says,

their protector, ⁹  the Lord who commands armies:

“I am the first and I am the last,

there is no God but me.

44:7 Who is like me? Let him make his claim! ¹⁰ 

Let him announce it and explain it to me –

since I established an ancient people – ¹¹ 

let them announce future events! ¹² 

44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! ¹³ 

Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?

You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?

There is no other sheltering rock; ¹⁴  I know of none.

Mark 12:29

12:29 Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Mark 12:1

The Parable of the Tenants

12:1 Then ¹⁵  he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. ¹⁶  He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then ¹⁷  he leased it to tenant farmers ¹⁸  and went on a journey.

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ¹⁹  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

Ephesians 4:6

4:6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

[6:3]  ¹ tn Heb “may multiply greatly” (so NASB, NRSV); the words “in number” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:3]  ² tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 10, 18, 23).

[6:4]  ³ tn Heb “the Lord, our God, the Lord, one.” (1) One option is to translate: “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone” (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT). This would be an affirmation that the Lord was the sole object of their devotion. This interpretation finds support from the appeals to loyalty that follow (vv. 5, 14). (2) Another option is to translate: “The Lord is our God, the Lord is unique.” In this case the text would be affirming the people’s allegiance to the Lord, as well as the Lord’s superiority to all other gods. It would also imply that he is the only one worthy of their worship. Support for this view comes from parallel texts such as Deut 7:9 and 10:17, as well as the use of “one” in Song 6:8-9, where the starstruck lover declares that his beloved is unique (literally, “one,” that is, “one of a kind”) when compared to all other women.

[32:39]  ⁴ tn Verses 39-42 appear to be a quotation of the Lord and so the introductory phrase “says the Lord” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[32:39]  ⁵ tn Heb “deliver from” (so NRSV, NLT).

[37:16]  ⁶ sn Cherubim (singular “cherub”) refers to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.

[37:16]  ⁷ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[37:20]  ⁸ tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:19 reads, “that you, Lord, are the only God.”

[44:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “his kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “let him call” or “let him proclaim” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “Let him stand up and speak.”

[44:7]  ¹¹ tc The Hebrew text reads, “from (the time) I established an ancient people, and the coming things.” Various emendations have been proposed. One of the options assumes the reading מַשְׁמִיעִים מֵעוֹלָם אוֹתִיּוֹת (mashmi’im me’olam ’otiyyot); This literally reads “the ones causing to hear from antiquity coming things,” but more idiomatically would read “as for those who predict from antiquity what will happen” (cf. NAB, NEB, REB). The emendation directs the attention of the reader to those who claim to be able to predict the future, challenging them to actually do what they claim they can do. The MT presents Yahweh as an example to whom these alleged “predictors of the future” can compare themselves. Since the ancient versions are unanimous in their support of the MT, the emendations should be set aside.

[44:7]  ¹² tn Heb and those things which are coming let them declare for themselves.”

[44:8]  ¹³ tn BDB 923 s.v. רָהָה derives this verb from an otherwise unattested root, while HALOT 403 s.v. יָרָה defines it as “be stupefied” on the basis of an Arabic cognate. The form is likely a corruption of תיראו, the reading attested in the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a.

[44:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “rock” or “rocky cliff,” a title that depicts God as a protective refuge in his role as sovereign king; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”

[12:1]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ¹⁶ sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.

[12:1]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ¹⁸ sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.

[1:4]  ¹⁹ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).