Exodus 1:17

1:17 But ¹  the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. ² 

Exodus 1:21

1:21 And because the midwives feared God, he made ³  households ⁴  for them.

Exodus 23:1-2

Justice

23:1 ⁵ “You must not give ⁶  a false report. ⁷  Do not make common cause ⁸  with the wicked ⁹  to be a malicious ¹⁰  witness.

23:2 “You must not follow a crowd ¹¹  in doing evil things; ¹²  in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, ¹³ 

Leviticus 19:15

Justice, Love, and Propriety

19:15 “‘You ¹⁴  must not deal unjustly in judgment: ¹⁵  you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. ¹⁶  You must judge your fellow citizen fairly. ¹⁷ 

Leviticus 19:1

Religious and Social Regulations

19:1 The Lord spoke to Moses:

Leviticus 22:17

Regulations for Offering Votive and Freewill Offerings

22:17 The Lord spoke to Moses:

Leviticus 23:20

23:20 and the priest is to wave them – the two lambs ¹⁸  – along with the bread of the first fruits, as a wave offering before the Lord; they will be holy to the Lord for the priest.

Leviticus 23:2

23:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘These are the Lord’s appointed times which you must proclaim as holy assemblies – my appointed times: ¹⁹ 

Leviticus 10:6-7

10:6 Then Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his other two sons, “Do not ²⁰  dishevel the hair of your heads ²¹  and do not tear your garments, so that you do not die and so that wrath does not come on the whole congregation. Your brothers, all the house of Israel, are to mourn the burning which the Lord has caused, ²²  10:7 but you must not go out from the entrance of the Meeting Tent lest you die, for the Lord’s anointing oil is on you.” So they acted according to the word of Moses.

Leviticus 10:2

10:2 So fire went out from the presence of the Lord ²³  and consumed them so that they died before the Lord.

Leviticus 24:21

24:21 One who beats an animal to death ²⁴  must make restitution for it, but ²⁵  one who beats a person to death must be put to death.

Proverbs 29:12

29:12 If a ruler listens to ²⁶  lies, ²⁷ 

all his ministers ²⁸  will be wicked. ²⁹ 

Proverbs 29:26

29:26 Many people seek the face ³⁰  of a ruler,

but it is from the Lord that one receives justice. ³¹ 

Daniel 3:18-25

3:18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

3:19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and his disposition changed ³²  toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders ³³  to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was normally heated. 3:20 He ordered strong ³⁴  soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. 3:21 So those men were tied up while still wearing their cloaks, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, ³⁵  and were thrown into the furnace ³⁶  of blazing fire. 3:22 But since the king’s command was so urgent, and the furnace was so excessively hot, the men who escorted ³⁷  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were killed ³⁸  by the leaping flames. ³⁹  3:23 But those three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell into the furnace ⁴⁰  of blazing fire while still securely bound. ⁴¹ 

God Delivers His Servants

3:24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was startled and quickly got up. He said to his ministers, “Wasn’t it three men that we tied up and threw ⁴²  into ⁴³  the fire?” They replied to the king, “For sure, O king.” 3:25 He answered, “But I see four men, untied and walking around in the midst of the fire! No harm has come to them! And the appearance of the fourth is like that of a god!” ⁴⁴ 

Hosea 5:11

5:11 Ephraim will be oppressed, ⁴⁵  crushed ⁴⁶  under judgment, ⁴⁷ 

because he was determined to pursue worthless idols. ⁴⁸ 

Micah 6:16

6:16 You implement the regulations of Omri,

and all the practices of Ahab’s dynasty; ⁴⁹ 

you follow their policies. ⁵⁰ 

Therefore I will make you an appalling sight, ⁵¹ 

the city’s ⁵²  inhabitants will be taunted derisively, ⁵³ 

and nations will mock all of you.” ⁵⁴ 

Matthew 2:12

2:12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, ⁵⁵  they went back by another route to their own country.

Matthew 2:16

2:16 When Herod ⁵⁶  saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men ⁵⁷  to kill all the children in Bethlehem ⁵⁸  and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.

Acts 4:19

4:19 But Peter and John replied, ⁵⁹  “Whether it is right before God to obey ⁶⁰  you rather than God, you decide,

Acts 5:29

5:29 But Peter and the apostles replied, ⁶¹  “We must obey ⁶²  God rather than people. ⁶³ 

[1:17]  ¹ tn Heb “and they [fem. pl.] feared”; the referent (the midwives) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ² tn The verb is the Piel preterite of חָיָה (khaya, “to live”). The Piel often indicates a factitive nuance with stative verbs, showing the cause of the action. Here it means “let live, cause to live.” The verb is the exact opposite of Pharaoh’s command for them to kill the boys.

[1:21]  ³ tn The temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) focuses attention on the causal clause and lays the foundation for the main clause, namely, “God made households for them.” This is the second time the text affirms the reason for their defiance, their fear of God.

[1:21]  ⁴ tn Or “families”; Heb “houses.”

[23:1]  ⁵ sn People who claim to worship and serve the righteous judge of the universe must preserve equity and justice in their dealings with others. These verses teach that God’s people must be honest witnesses (1-3); God’s people must be righteous even with enemies (4-5); and God’s people must be fair in dispensing justice (6-9).

[23:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “take up, lift, carry” (נָשָׂא, nasa’). This verb was also used in the prohibition against taking “the name of Yahweh in vain.” Sometimes the object of this verb is physical, as in Jonah 1:12 and 15. Used in this prohibition involving speech, it covers both originating and repeating a lie.

[23:1]  ⁷ tn Or “a groundless report” (see Exod 20:7 for the word שָׁוְא, shav’).

[23:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “do not put your hand” (cf. KJV, ASV); NASB “join your hand.”

[23:1]  ⁹ tn The word “wicked” (רָשָׁע, rasha’) refers to the guilty criminal, the person who is doing something wrong. In the religious setting it describes the person who is not a member of the covenant and may be involved in all kinds of sin, even though there is the appearance of moral and spiritual stability.

[23:1]  ¹⁰ tn The word חָמָס (khamas) often means “violence” in the sense of social injustices done to other people, usually the poor and needy. A “malicious” witness would do great harm to others. See J. W. McKay, “Exodus 23:1-43, 6-8: A Decalogue for Administration of Justice in the City Gate,” VT 21 (1971): 311-25.

[23:2]  ¹¹ tn The word רָבִּים (rabbim), here rendered “crowd,” is also used infrequently to refer to the “mighty,” people of importance in society (Job 35:9; cf. Lev 19:15).

[23:2]  ¹² tn For any individual to join a group that is bent on acting wickedly would be a violation of the Law and would incur personal responsibility.

[23:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “you will not answer in a lawsuit to turn after the crowd to turn.” The form translated “agrees with” (Heb “to turn after”) is a Qal infinitive construct from נָטָה (natah); the same root is used at the end of the verse but as a Hiphil infinitive construct, “to pervert [justice].”

[19:15]  ¹⁴ tc Smr has the singular rather than the plural “you” of the MT, which brings this verb form into line with the ones surrounding it.

[19:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “You shall not do injustice in judgment” (NASB similar); cf. NIV “do not pervert justice.”

[19:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “You shall not lift up faces of poor [people] and you shall not honor faces of great.”

[19:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “In righteousness you shall judge your fellow citizen.”

[23:20]  ¹⁸ tn Smr and LXX have the Hebrew article on “lambs.” The syntax of this verse is difficult. The object of the verb (two lambs) is far removed from the verb itself (shall wave) in the MT, and the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”), rendered “along with” in this verse, is also added to the far removed subject (literally, “upon [the] two lambs”; see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 159). It is clear, however, that the two lambs and the loaves (along with their associated grain and drink offerings) constituted the “wave offering,” which served as the prebend “for the priest.” Burnt and sin offerings (vv. 18-19a) were not included in this (see Lev 7:11-14, 28-36).

[23:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “these are them, my appointed times.”

[10:6]  ²⁰ tc Smr has “you must not” (לֹא, lo’) rather than the MT’s “do not” (אַל, ’al; cf. the following negative לֹא, lo’, in the MT).

[10:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “do not let free your heads.” Some have taken this to mean, “do not take off your headgear” (cf. NAB, NASB), but it probably also involves leaving one’s hair unkempt as a sign of mourning (see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:608-9; cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[10:6]  ²² tn Heb “shall weep [for] the burning which the Lord has burned”; NIV “may mourn for those the Lord has destroyed by fire.”

[10:2]  ²³ tn See the note on 9:24a.

[24:21]  ²⁴ sn See the note on v. 18 above.

[24:21]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and,” but here the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) is adversative, contrasting the consequences of beating an animal to death with those of beating a person to death.

[29:12]  ²⁶ tn The Hiphil participle מַקְשִׁיב (maqshiv) means “to give attention to; to regard; to heed.” Cf. NASB, NCV, TEV “pays attention to.”

[29:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “word of falsehood” or “lying word.” Cf. TEV “false information.”

[29:12]  ²⁸ tn The verb שָׁרַת (sharat) means “to minister; to serve.” The Piel plural participle here refers to servants of the king who attend to him – courtiers and ministers (cf. NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV “officials”; NLT “advisers”). This, his entourage, will have to resort to evil practices to gain his favor if he is swayed by such lies.

[29:12]  ²⁹ sn The servants of the monarch adjust to their ruler; when they see that court flattery and deception are effective, they will begin to practice it and in the end become wicked (e.g., Prov 16:10; 20:8; 25:2).

[29:26]  ³⁰ sn The idiom seek the face means to try to obtain favor from someone. According to the proverb, many people assume that true justice depends on the disposition of some earthly ruler.

[29:26]  ³¹ tn Heb “but from the Lord [is] justice of a man.” The last part uses the construct state followed by the genitive, which here shows the advantage – it is justice for the person. The implication of the matter is that people should seek the Lord’s favor (rather than a human ruler’s) if they want true justice.

[3:19]  ³² tn Aram “the appearance of his face was altered”; cf. NLT “his face became distorted with rage”; NAB “[his] face became livid with utter rage.”

[3:19]  ³³ tn Aram “he answered and said.”

[3:20]  ³⁴ tn This is sometimes taken as a comparative: “[some of the] strongest.”

[3:21]  ³⁵ sn There is a great deal of uncertainty with regard to the specific nature of these items of clothing.

[3:21]  ³⁶ tn Aram “into the midst of the furnace.” For stylistic reasons the words “the midst of” have been left untranslated.

[3:22]  ³⁷ tn Aram “caused to go up.”

[3:22]  ³⁸ tn The Aramaic verb is active.

[3:22]  ³⁹ tn Aram “the flame of the fire” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); NRSV “the raging flames.”

[3:23]  ⁴⁰ tn Aram “into the midst of the furnace.” For stylistic reasons the words “the midst of” have been left untranslated.

[3:23]  ⁴¹ sn The deuterocanonical writings known as The Prayer of Azariah and The Song of the Three present at this point a confession and petition for God’s forgiveness and a celebration of God’s grace for the three Jewish youths in the fiery furnace. Though not found in the Hebrew/Aramaic text of Daniel, these compositions do appear in the ancient Greek versions.

[3:24]  ⁴² tn Aram “we threw…bound.”

[3:24]  ⁴³ tn Aram “into the midst of.”

[3:25]  ⁴⁴ sn The phrase like that of a god is in Aramaic “like that of a son of the gods.” Many patristic writers understood this phrase in a christological sense (i.e., “the Son of God”). But it should be remembered that these are words spoken by a pagan who is seeking to explain things from his own polytheistic frame of reference; for him the phrase “like a son of the gods” is equivalent to “like a divine being.”

[5:11]  ⁴⁵ tn The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq, “to oppress”) may refer to (1) oppressing the poor and defenseless (BDB 798 s.v. עָשַׁק 1), or more likely to (2) oppression of one nation by another as the judgment of God (Deut 28:29, 33; 1 Chr 16:21; Pss 105:14; 119:121, 122; Isa 52:4; Jer 50:33; Hos 5:11; BDB 798 s.v. 2). The Qal passive participles עָשׁוּק (’ashuq, “oppressed”) and רְצוּץ (rÿtsuts, “crushed”) might refer to a present situation (so KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); however, the context suggests that they refer to a future situation (so NLT). When a participle is used in reference to the future, it often denotes an imminent future situation and may be rendered, “about to” (e.g., Gen 6:17; 15:14; 20:3; 37:30; 41:25; 49:29; Exod 9:17-18; Deut 28:31; 1 Sam 3:11; 1 Kgs 2:2; 20:22; 2 Kgs 7:2). For functions of the participle, see IBHS 627-28 §37.6f.

[5:11]  ⁴⁶ sn The term רְצוּץ (rÿtsuts, “crushed”) is a metaphor for weakness (e.g., 2 Kgs 18:21; Isa 36:6; 42:3) and oppression (e.g., Deut 28:33; 1 Sam 12:3, 4; Amos 4:1; Isa 58:6). Here it is used as a figure to describe the devastating effects of the Lord’s judgment.

[5:11]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “crushed of judgment” (רְצוּץ מִשְׁפָּט, rÿtsuts mishpat). The second term is a genitive of cause (“crushed because of judgment” or “crushed under judgment”) rather than respect (“crushed in judgment,” as in many English versions).

[5:11]  ⁴⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term translated “worthless idols” is uncertain; cf. KJV “the commandment”; NASB “man’s command”; NAB “filth”; NRSV “vanity.”

[6:16]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “the edicts of Omri are kept, and all the deeds of the house of Ahab.”

[6:16]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and you walk in their plans.”

[6:16]  ⁵¹ tn The Hebrew term שַׁמָּה (shammah) can refer to “destruction; ruin,” or to the reaction it produces in those who witness the destruction.

[6:16]  ⁵² tn Heb “her”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:16]  ⁵³ tn Heb “[an object] of hissing,” which was a way of taunting someone.

[6:16]  ⁵⁴ tc The translation assumes an emendation of the MT’s עַמִּי (’ammi, “my people”) to עַמִּים (’ammim, “nations”).

[2:12]  ⁵⁵ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:16]  ⁵⁶ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Note the fulfillment of the prophecy given by the angel in 2:13.

[2:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “soldiers.”

[2:16]  ⁵⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[4:19]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[4:19]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “hear,” but the idea of “hear and obey” or simply “obey” is frequently contained in the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw; see L&N 36.14).

[5:29]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “apostles answered and said.”

[5:29]  ⁶² sn Obey. See 4:19. This response has Jewish roots (Dan 3:16-18; 2 Macc 7:2; Josephus, Ant. 17.6.3 [17.159].

[5:29]  ⁶³ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).