Deuteronomy 4:28-31

4:28 There you will worship gods made by human hands – wood and stone that can neither see, hear, eat, nor smell. 4:29 But if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find him, if, indeed, you seek him with all your heart and soul. ¹  4:30 In your distress when all these things happen to you in the latter days, ²  if you return to the Lord your God and obey him ³  4:31 (for he ⁴  is a merciful God), he will not let you down ⁵  or destroy you, for he cannot ⁶  forget the covenant with your ancestors that he confirmed by oath to them.

Nehemiah 1:9

1:9 But if you repent ⁷  and obey ⁸  my commandments and do them, then even if your dispersed people are in the most remote location, ⁹  I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen for my name to reside.’

Isaiah 55:6-7

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ¹⁰ 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ¹¹ 

and sinful people their plans. ¹² 

They should return ¹³  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ¹⁴ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ¹⁵ 

Lamentations 3:32

3:32 Though he causes us ¹⁶  grief, he then has compassion on us ¹⁷ 

according to the abundance of his loyal kindness. ¹⁸ 

Lamentations 3:40

נ (Nun)

3:40 Let us carefully examine our ways, ¹⁹ 

and let us return to the Lord.

Hosea 3:5

3:5 Afterward, the Israelites will turn and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king. ²⁰  Then they will submit to the Lord in fear and receive his blessings ²¹  in the future. ²² 

Hosea 6:1-2

Superficial Repentance Breeds False Assurance of God’s Forgiveness

6:1 “Come on! Let’s return to the Lord!

He himself has torn us to pieces,

but he will heal us!

He has injured ²³  us,

but he will bandage our wounds!

6:2 He will restore ²⁴  us in a very short time; ²⁵ 

he will heal us in a little while, ²⁶ 

so that we may live in his presence.

Hosea 14:1-3

Prophetic Call to Genuine Repentance

14:1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,

for your sin has been your downfall! ²⁷ 

14:2 Return to the Lord and repent! ²⁸ 

Say to him: “Completely ²⁹  forgive our iniquity;

accept ³⁰  our penitential prayer, ³¹ 

that we may offer the praise of our lips as sacrificial bulls. ³² 

14:3 Assyria cannot save us;

we will not ride warhorses.

We will never again say, ‘Our gods’

to what our own hands have made.

For only you will show compassion to Orphan Israel!” ³³ 

Joel 2:12-13

An Appeal for Repentance

2:12 “Yet even now,” the Lord says,

“return to me with all your heart –

with fasting, weeping, and mourning.

Tear your hearts, ³⁴ 

not just your garments!”

2:13 Return to the Lord your God,

for he is merciful and compassionate,

slow to anger and boundless in loyal love ³⁵  – often relenting from calamitous punishment. ³⁶ 

Zechariah 12:10

12:10 “I will pour out on the kingship ³⁷  of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, ³⁸  the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn. ³⁹ 

Zechariah 12:2

12:2 “I am about to make Jerusalem ⁴⁰  a cup that brings dizziness ⁴¹  to all the surrounding nations; indeed, Judah will also be included when Jerusalem is besieged.

Colossians 3:16

3:16 Let the word of Christ ⁴²  dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace ⁴³  in your hearts to God.

Colossians 3:1

Exhortations to Seek the Things Above

3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 1:9

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ⁴⁴  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ⁴⁵  to fill ⁴⁶  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

[4:29]  ¹ tn Or “mind and being.” See Deut 6:5.

[4:30]  ² sn The phrase is not used here in a technical sense for the eschaton, but rather refers to a future time when Israel will be punished for its sin and experience exile. See Deut 31:29.

[4:30]  ³ tn Heb “hear his voice.” The expression is an idiom meaning “obey,” occurring in Deut 8:20; 9:23; 13:18; 21:18, 20; 26:14, 17; 27:10; 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62; 30:2, 8, 10, 20.

[4:31]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 4:3.

[4:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “he will not drop you,” i.e., “will not abandon you” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[4:31]  ⁶ tn Or “will not.” The translation understands the imperfect verbal form to have an added nuance of capability here.

[1:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “turn to me.”

[1:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “keep.” See the note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.

[1:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “at the end of the heavens.”

[55:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ¹² tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ¹⁴ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ¹⁵ sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.

[3:32]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Although he has caused grief.” The word “us” is added in the translation.

[3:32]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “He will have compassion.” The words “on us” are added in the translation.

[3:32]  ¹⁸ tc The Kethib preserves the singular form חַסְדּוֹ (khasdo, “his kindness”), also reflected in the LXX and Aramaic Targum. The Qere reads the plural form חֲסָדָיו (khasadayv, “his kindnesses”) which is reflected in the Latin Vulgate.

[3:40]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Let us test our ways and examine.” The two verbs וְנַחְקֹרָה…נַחְפְּשָׂה (nakhpÿsah…vÿnakhqorah, “Let us test and let us examine”) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal force: “Let us carefully examine our ways.”

[3:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “David their king”; cf. NCV “the king from David’s family”; TEV “a descendant of David their king”; NLT “David’s descendant, their king.”

[3:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “his goodness”; NLT “his good gifts.”

[3:5]  ²² tn Heb “in the end of the days.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, NLT “in the last days.”

[6:1]  ²³ tn “has struck”; NRSV “struck down.”

[6:2]  ²⁴ tn The Piel of חָיָה (khayah) may mean: (1) to keep/preserve persons alive from the threat of premature death (1 Kgs 20:31; Ezek 13:18; 18:27); (2) to restore the dead to physical life (Deut 32:39; 1 Sam 2:6; cf. NCV “will put new life in us”); or (3) to restore the dying back to life from the threat of death (Ps 71:20; BDB 311 s.v. חָיָה).

[6:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “after two days” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV). The expression “after two days” is an idiom meaning “after a short time” (see, e.g., Judg 11:4; BDB 399 s.v. יוֹם 5.a).

[6:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “on the third day” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV), which parallels “after two days” and means “in a little while.” The “2-3” sequence is an example of graded numerical parallelism (Prov 30:15-16, 18-19, 21-23, 24-28, 29-31). This expresses the unrepentant overconfidence of Israel that the Lord’s discipline of Israel would be relatively short and that he would restore them quickly.

[14:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “For you have stumbled in your iniquity”; NASB, NRSV “because of your iniquity.”

[14:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Take words with you and return to the Lord” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[14:2]  ²⁹ tn The word order כָּל־תִּשָּׂא עָוֹן (kol-tisa’ ’avon) is syntactically awkward. The BHS editors suggest rearranging the word order: תִּשָּׂא כָּל־עוֹן (“Forgive all [our] iniquity!”). However, Gesenius suggests that כָּל (“all”) does not function as the construct in the genitive phrase כָּל־עוֹן (“all [our] iniquity”); it functions adverbially modifying the verb תִּשָּׂא (“Completely forgive!”; see GKC 415 §128.e).

[14:2]  ³⁰ sn The repetition of the root לָקַח (laqakh) creates a striking wordplay in 14:2. If Israel will bring (לָקַח) its confession to God, he will accept (לָקַח) repentant Israel and completely forgive its sin.

[14:2]  ³¹ tn Heb “and accept [our] speech.” The word טוֹב (tov) is often confused with the common homonymic root I טוֹב (tov, “good”; BDB 373 s.v. I טוֹב). However, this is probably IV טוֹב (tov, “word, speech”; HALOT 372 s.v. IV טוֹב), a hapax legomenon that is related to the verb טבב (“to speak”; HALOT 367 s.v. טבב) and the noun טִבָּה (tibbah, “rumor”; HALOT 367 s.v. טִבָּה). The term טוֹב (“word; speech”) refers to the repentant prayer mentioned in 14:1-3. Most translations relate it to I טוֹב and treat it as (1) accusative direct object: “accept that which is good” (RSV, NJPS), “Accept our good sacrifices” (CEV), or (2) adverbial accusative of manner: “receive [us] graciously” (KJV, NASB, NIV). Note TEV, however, which follows the suggestion made here: “accept our prayer.”

[14:2]  ³² tc The MT reads פָרִים (farim, “bulls”), but the LXX reflects פְּרִי (pÿri, “fruit”), a reading followed by NASB, NIV, NRSV: “that we may offer the fruit of [our] lips [as sacrifices to you].” Although the Greek expression in Heb 13:15 (καρπὸν χειλέων, karpon xeilewn, “the fruit of lips”) reflects this LXX phrase, the MT makes good sense as it stands; NT usage of the LXX should not be considered decisive in resolving OT textual problems. The noun פָרִים (parim, “bulls”) functions as an adverbial accusative of state.

[14:3]  ³³ tn Heb “For the orphan is shown compassion by you.” The present translation takes “orphan” as a figurative reference to Israel, which is specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:12]  ³⁴ sn The figurative language calls for genuine repentance, and not merely external ritual that goes through the motions.

[2:13]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and great of loyal love.”

[2:13]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and he relents from calamity.”

[12:10]  ³⁷ tn Or “dynasty”; Heb “house.”

[12:10]  ³⁸ tc Because of the difficulty of the concept of the mortal piercing of God, the subject of this clause, and the shift of pronoun from “me” to “him” in the next, many mss read אַלֵי אֵת אֲשֶׁר (’ale ’et ’asher, “to the one whom,” a reading followed by NAB, NRSV) rather than the MT’s אֵלַי אֵת אֲשֶׁר (’ela ’et ’asher, “to me whom”). The reasons for such alternatives, however, are clear – they are motivated by scribes who found such statements theologically objectionable – and they should be rejected in favor of the more difficult reading (lectio difficilior) of the MT.

[12:10]  ³⁹ tn The Hebrew term בְּכוֹר (bÿkhor, “firstborn”), translated usually in the LXX by πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos), has unmistakable messianic overtones as the use of the Greek term in the NT to describe Jesus makes clear (cf. Col 1:15, 18). Thus, the idea of God being pierced sets the stage for the fatal wounding of Jesus, the Messiah and the Son of God (cf. John 19:37; Rev 1:7). Note that some English translations supply “son” from the context (e.g., NIV, TEV, NLT).

[12:2]  ⁴⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[12:2]  ⁴¹ sn The image of a cup that brings dizziness is that of drunkenness. The Lord will force the nations to drink of his judgment and in doing so they will become so intoxicated by his wrath that they will stumble and become irrational.

[3:16]  ⁴² tc Since “the word of Christ” occurs nowhere else in the NT, two predictable variants arose: “word of God” and “word of the Lord.” Even though some of the witnesses for these variants are impressive (κυρίου [kuriou, “of the Lord”] in א* I 1175 pc bo; θεοῦ [qeou, “of God”] in A C* 33 104 323 945 al), the reading Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “of Christ”) is read by an excellent cross-section of witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א² B C² D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï lat sa). On both internal and external grounds, Χριστοῦ is strongly preferred.

[3:16]  ⁴³ tn Grk “with grace”; “all” is supplied as it is implicitly related to all the previous instructions in the verse.

[1:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ⁴⁵ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ⁴⁶ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.