Exodus 34:6-7

34:6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: ¹  “The Lord, the Lord, ²  the compassionate and gracious ³  God, slow to anger, ⁴  and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, ⁵  34:7 keeping loyal love for thousands, ⁶  forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression ⁷  of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

Exodus 34:2

34:2 Be prepared ⁸  in the morning, and go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and station yourself ⁹  for me there on the top of the mountain.

Exodus 7:19

7:19 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over Egypt’s waters – over their rivers, over their canals, ¹⁰  over their ponds, and over all their reservoirs ¹¹  – so that it becomes ¹²  blood.’ There will be blood everywhere in ¹³  the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.”

Psalms 86:5

86:5 Certainly ¹⁴  O Lord, you are kind ¹⁵  and forgiving,

and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you.

Psalms 86:15

86:15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.

You are patient ¹⁶  and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 103:11-13

103:11 For as the skies are high above the earth,

so his loyal love towers ¹⁸  over his faithful followers. ¹⁹ 

103:12 As far as the eastern horizon ²⁰  is from the west, ²¹ 

so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions ²²  from us.

103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, ²³ 

so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. ²⁴ 

Isaiah 49:15

49:15 Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? ²⁵ 

Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? ²⁶ 

Even if mothers ²⁷  were to forget,

I could never forget you! ²⁸ 

Isaiah 55:8-9

55:8 “Indeed, ²⁹  my plans ³⁰  are not like ³¹  your plans,

and my deeds ³²  are not like ³³  your deeds,

55:9 for just as the sky ³⁴  is higher than the earth,

so my deeds ³⁵  are superior to ³⁶  your deeds

and my plans ³⁷  superior to your plans.

Hosea 11:8-9

The Divine Dilemma: Judgment or Mercy?

11:8 How can I give you up, ³⁸  O Ephraim?

How can I surrender you, O Israel?

How can I treat you like Admah?

How can I make you like Zeboiim?

I have had a change of heart! ³⁹ 

All my tender compassions are aroused! ⁴⁰ 

11:9 I cannot carry out ⁴¹  my fierce anger!

I cannot totally destroy Ephraim!

Because I am God, and not man – the Holy One among you –

I will not come in wrath!

Micah 7:18

7:18 There is no other God like you! ⁴² 

You ⁴³  forgive sin

and pardon ⁴⁴  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ⁴⁵ 

You do not remain angry forever, ⁴⁶ 

but delight in showing loyal love.

Malachi 1:6

The Sacrilege of Priestly Service

1:6 “A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects ⁴⁷  his master. If I am your ⁴⁸  father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The Lord who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, ‘How have we made light of your name?’

Luke 11:11-13

11:11 What father among you, if your ⁴⁹  son asks for ⁵⁰  a fish, will give him a snake ⁵¹  instead of a fish? 11:12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ⁵²  11:13 If you then, although you are ⁵³  evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit ⁵⁴  to those who ask him!”

John 3:16

3:16 For this is the way ⁵⁵  God loved the world: He gave his one and only ⁵⁶  Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish ⁵⁷  but have eternal life. ⁵⁸ 

Romans 5:8-10

5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 5:9 Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous ⁵⁹  by his blood, ⁶⁰  we will be saved through him from God’s wrath. ⁶¹  5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life?

Romans 8:32

8:32 Indeed, he who ⁶²  did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things?

Ephesians 2:4-5

2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 2:5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved! ⁶³  –

Ephesians 2:1

New Life Individually

2:1 And although you were ⁶⁴  dead ⁶⁵  in your transgressions and sins,

Ephesians 3:1

Paul's Relationship to the Divine Mystery

3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus ⁶⁶  for the sake of you Gentiles –

Ephesians 4:10

4:10 He, the very one ⁶⁷  who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.

[34:6]  ¹ tn Here is one of the clearest examples of what it means “to call on the name of the Lord,” as that clause has been translated traditionally (וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יְהוָה, vayyiqra’ vÿshem yÿhvah). It seems more likely that it means “to make proclamation of Yahweh by name.” Yahweh came down and made a proclamation – and the next verses give the content of what he said. This cannot be prayer or praise; it is a proclamation of the nature or attributes of God (which is what his “name” means throughout the Bible). Attempts to make Moses the subject of the verb are awkward, for the verb is repeated in v. 6 with Yahweh clearly doing the proclaiming.

[34:6]  ² sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 439) suggests that these two names be written as a sentence: “Yahweh, He is Yahweh.” In this manner it reflects “I am that I am.” It is impossible to define his name in any other way than to make this affirmation and then show what it means.

[34:6]  ³ tn See Exod 33:19.

[34:6]  ⁴ sn This is literally “long of anger.” His anger prolongs itself, allowing for people to repent before punishment is inflicted.

[34:6]  ⁵ sn These two words (“loyal love” and “truth”) are often found together, occasionally in a hendiadys construction. If that is the interpretation here, then it means “faithful covenant love.” Even if they are left separate, they are dual elements of a single quality. The first word is God’s faithful covenant love; the second word is God’s reliability and faithfulness.

[34:7]  ⁶ tn That is, “for thousands of generations.”

[34:7]  ⁷ sn As in the ten commandments (20:5-6), this expression shows that the iniquity and its punishment will continue in the family if left unchecked. This does not go on as long as the outcomes for good (thousands versus third or fourth generations), and it is limited to those who hate God.

[34:2]  ⁸ tn The form is a Niphal participle that means “be prepared, be ready.” This probably means that Moses was to do in preparation what the congregation had to do back in Exod 19:11-15.

[34:2]  ⁹ sn The same word is used in Exod 33:21. It is as if Moses was to be at his post when Yahweh wanted to communicate to him.

[7:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “irrigation rivers” of the Nile.

[7:19]  ¹¹ sn The Hebrew term means “gathering,” i.e., wherever they gathered or collected waters, notably cisterns and reservoirs. This would naturally lead to the inclusion of both wooden and stone vessels – down to the smallest gatherings.

[7:19]  ¹² tn The imperfect tense with vav (ו) after the imperative indicates the purpose or result: “in order that they [the waters] be[come] blood.”

[7:19]  ¹³ tn Or “in all.”

[86:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “for.”

[86:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “good.”

[86:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “slow to anger.”

[86:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and great of loyal love and faithfulness.”

[103:11]  ¹⁸ tn For this sense of the verb גָבַר (gavar), see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.

[103:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[103:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “sunrise.”

[103:12]  ²¹ tn Or “sunset.”

[103:12]  ²² tn The Hebrew term פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, rebellious act”) is here used metonymically for the guilt such actions produce.

[103:13]  ²³ tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.

[103:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[49:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “her suckling”; NASB “her nursing child.”

[49:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb?”

[49:15]  ²⁷ tn Heb “these” (so ASV, NASB).

[49:15]  ²⁸ sn The argument of v. 15 seems to develop as follows: The Lord has an innate attachment to Zion, just like a mother does for her infant child. But even if mothers were to suddenly abandon their children, the Lord would never forsake Zion. In other words, the Lord’s attachment to Zion is like a mother’s attachment to her infant child, but even stronger.

[55:8]  ²⁹ tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).

[55:8]  ³⁰ tn Or “thoughts” (so many English versions).

[55:8]  ³¹ tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.

[55:8]  ³² tn Heb “ways” (so many English versions).

[55:8]  ³³ tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.

[55:9]  ³⁴ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[55:9]  ³⁵ tn Heb “ways” (so many English versions).

[55:9]  ³⁶ tn Heb “are higher than.”

[55:9]  ³⁷ tn Or “thoughts” (so many English versions).

[11:8]  ³⁸ tn The imperfect verbs in 11:8 function as imperfects of capability. See IBHS 564 §34.1a.

[11:8]  ³⁹ tn The phrase נֶהְפַּךְ עָלַי לִבִּי (nehpakh ’alay libbi) is an idiom that can be taken in two ways: (1) emotional sense: to describe a tumult of emotions, not just a clash of ideas, that are afflicting a person (Lam 1:20; HALOT 253 s.v. הפך 1.c) and (2) volitional sense: to describe a decisive change of policy, that is, a reversal of sentiment from amity to hatred (Exod 14:5; Ps 105:25; BDB 245 s.v. הָפַךְ 1; HALOT 253 s.v. 3). The English versions alternate between these two: (1) emotional discomfort and tension over the prospect of destroying Israel: “mine heart is turned within me” (KJV), “my heart recoils within me” (RSV, NRSV), “My heart is turned over within Me” (NASB), “My heart is torn within me” (NLT); and (2) volitional reversal of previous decision to totally destroy Israel: “I have had a change of heart” (NJPS), “my heart is changed within me” (NIV), and “my heart will not let me do it!” (TEV). Both BDB 245 s.v. 1.b and HALOT 253 s.v. 3 suggest that the idiom describes a decisive change of heart (reversal of decision to totally destroy Israel once and for all) rather than emotional turbulence of God shifting back and forth between whether to destroy or spare Israel. This volitional nuance is supported by the modal function of the 1st person common singular imperfects in 11:8 (“I will not carry out my fierce anger…I will not destroy Ephraim…I will not come in wrath”) and by the prophetic announcement of future restoration in 11:10-11. Clearly, a dramatic reversal both in tone and in divine intention occurs between 11:5-11.

[11:8]  ⁴⁰ tn The Niphal of כָּמַר (kamar) means “to grow warm, tender” (BDB 485 s.v. כָּמַר), as its use in a simile with the oven demonstrates (Lam 5:10). It is used several times to describe the arousal of the most tender affection (Gen 43:30; 1 Kgs 3:26; Hos 11:8; BDB 485 s.v. 1; HALOT 482 s.v. כמר 1). Cf. NRSV “my compassion grows warm and tender.”

[11:9]  ⁴¹ tn The three imperfect verbs function as imperfects of capability, similar to the imperfects of capability in 11:8. See IBHS 564 §34.1a.

[7:18]  ⁴² tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ⁴³ tn Heb “one who.” The prayer moves from direct address (second person) in v. 18a to a descriptive (third person) style in vv. 18b-19a and then back to direct address (second person) in vv. 19b-20. Due to considerations of English style and the unfamiliarity of the modern reader with alternation of persons in Hebrew poetry, the entire section has been rendered as direct address (second person) in the translation.

[7:18]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “pass over.”

[7:18]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

[7:18]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”

[1:6]  ⁴⁷ tn The verb “respects” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. It is understood by ellipsis (see “honors” in the preceding line).

[1:6]  ⁴⁸ tn The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification (also a second time before “master” later in this verse).

[11:11]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[11:11]  ⁵⁰ tc Most mss (א A C D L W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy^c,p,h bo) have “bread, does not give him a stone instead, or” before “a fish”; the longer reading, however, looks like a harmonization to Matt 7:9. The shorter reading is thus preferred, attested by Ì^45,75 B 1241 pc sy^s sa.

[11:11]  ⁵¹ sn The snake probably refers to a water snake.

[11:12]  ⁵² sn The two questions of vv. 11-12 expect the answer, “No father would do this!”

[11:13]  ⁵³ tn The participle ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte") has been translated as a concessive participle.

[11:13]  ⁵⁴ sn The provision of the Holy Spirit is probably a reference to the wisdom and guidance supplied in response to repeated requests. Some apply it to the general provision of the Spirit, but this would seem to look only at one request in a context that speaks of repeated asking. The teaching as a whole stresses not that God gives everything his children want, but that God gives the good that they need. The parallel account in Matthew (7:11) refers to good things where Luke mentions the Holy Spirit.

[3:16]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “this is how much”; or “in this way.” The Greek adverb οὕτως (Joutws) can refer (1) to the degree to which God loved the world, that is, to such an extent or so much that he gave his own Son (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:133-34; D. A. Carson, John, 204) or (2) simply to the manner in which God loved the world, i.e., by sending his own son (see R. H. Gundry and R. W. Howell, “The Sense and Syntax of John 3:14-17 with Special Reference to the Use of Οὕτως…ὥστε in John 3:16,” NovT 41 [1999]: 24-39). Though the term more frequently refers to the manner in which something is done (see BDAG 741-42 s.v. οὕτω/οὕτως), the following clause involving ὥστε (Jwste) plus the indicative (which stresses actual, but [usually] unexpected result) emphasizes the greatness of the gift God has given. With this in mind, then, it is likely (3) that John is emphasizing both the degree to which God loved the world as well as the manner in which He chose to express that love. This is in keeping with John’s style of using double entendre or double meaning. Thus, the focus of the Greek construction here is on the nature of God's love, addressing its mode, intensity, and extent.

[3:16]  ⁵⁶ tn Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clement 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant. 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God (τέκνα θεοῦ, tekna qeou), Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).

[3:16]  ⁵⁷ tn In John the word ἀπόλλυμι (apollumi) can mean either (1) to be lost (2) to perish or be destroyed, depending on the context.

[3:16]  ⁵⁸ sn The alternatives presented are only two (again, it is typical of Johannine thought for this to be presented in terms of polar opposites): perish or have eternal life.

[5:9]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “having now been declared righteous.” The participle δικαιωθέντες (dikaiwqente") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[5:9]  ⁶⁰ tn Or, according to BDF §219.3, “at the price of his blood.”

[5:9]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as v. 10 shows.

[8:32]  ⁶² tn Grk “[he] who.” The relative clause continues the question of v. 31 in a way that is awkward in English. The force of v. 32 is thus: “who indeed did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – How will he not also with him give us all things?”

[2:5]  ⁶³ tn Or “by grace you have been saved.” The perfect tense in Greek connotes both completed action (“you have been saved”) and continuing results (“you are saved”).

[2:1]  ⁶⁴ tn The adverbial participle “being” (ὄντας, ontas) is taken concessively.

[2:1]  ⁶⁵ sn Chapter 2 starts off with a participle, although you were dead, that is left dangling. The syntax in Greek for vv. 1-3 constitutes one incomplete sentence, though it seems to have been done intentionally. The dangling participle leaves the readers in suspense while they wait for the solution (in v. 4) to their spiritual dilemma.

[3:1]  ⁶⁶ tc Several early and important witnesses, chiefly of the Western text (א* D* F G [365]), lack ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) here, while most Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (Ì⁴⁶ א¹ A B [C] D¹ Ψ 33 1739 [1881] Ï lat sy bo) have the word. However, because of the Western text’s proclivities to add or delete to the text, seemingly at whim, serious doubts should be attached to the shorter reading. It is strengthened, however, by א’s support. Nevertheless, since both א and D were corrected with the addition of ᾿Ιησοῦ, their testimony might be questioned. Further, in uncial script the nomina sacra here could have led to missing a word by way of homoioteleuton (cMuiMu). At the same time, in light of the rarity of scribal omission of nomina sacra (see TCGNT 582, n. 1), a decision for inclusion of the word here must be tentative. NA²⁷ rightly places ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets.

[4:10]  ⁶⁷ tn The Greek text lays specific emphasis on “He” through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos). This is reflected in the English translation through the use of “the very one.”