Exodus 4:22-23

4:22 You must say ¹  to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says ²  the Lord, “Israel is my son, my firstborn, ³  4:23 and I said to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve ⁴  me,’ but since you have refused to let him go, ⁵  I will surely kill ⁶  your son, your firstborn!”’”

Isaiah 1:2

Obedience, not Sacrifice

1:2 Listen, O heavens,

pay attention, O earth! ⁷ 

For the Lord speaks:

“I raised children, ⁸  I brought them up, ⁹ 

but ¹⁰  they have rebelled ¹¹  against me!

Isaiah 64:8

64:8 Yet, ¹²  Lord, you are our father.

We are the clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the product of your labor. ¹³ 

Jeremiah 31:9

31:9 They will come back shedding tears of contrition.

I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance. ¹⁴ 

I will lead them besides streams of water,

along smooth paths where they will never stumble. ¹⁵ 

I will do this because I am Israel’s father;

Ephraim ¹⁶  is my firstborn son.’”

Matthew 6:9

6:9 So pray this way: ¹⁷ 

Our Father ¹⁸  in heaven, may your name be honored, ¹⁹ 

Matthew 6:14-15

6:14 “For if you forgive others ²⁰  their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 6:15 But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins.

Luke 6:36

6:36 Be merciful, ²¹  just as your Father is merciful.

Luke 6:46

6:46 “Why ²²  do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ ²³  and don’t do what I tell you? ²⁴ 

Luke 6:1

Lord of the Sabbath

6:1 Jesus ²⁵  was going through the grain fields on ²⁶  a Sabbath, ²⁷  and his disciples picked some heads of wheat, ²⁸  rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. ²⁹ 

Luke 1:17

1:17 And he will go as forerunner before the Lord ³⁰  in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ³¹  to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

[4:22]  ¹ tn The sequence of the instruction from God uses the perfect tense with vav (ו), following the preceding imperfects.

[4:22]  ² tn The instantaneous use of the perfect tense fits well with the prophetic announcement of what Yahweh said or says. It shows that the words given to the prophet are still binding.

[4:22]  ³ sn The metaphor uses the word “son” in its connotation of a political dependent, as it was used in ancient documents to describe what was intended to be a loyal relationship with well-known privileges and responsibilities, like that between a good father and son. The word can mean a literal son, a descendant, a chosen king (and so, the Messiah), a disciple (in Proverbs), and here, a nation subject to God. If the people of Israel were God’s “son,” then they should serve him and not Pharaoh. Malachi reminds people that the Law said “a son honors his father,” and so God asked, “If I am a father, where is my honor?” (Mal 1:6).

[4:23]  ⁴ tn The text uses the imperative, “send out” (שַׁלַּח, shallakh) followed by the imperfect or jussive with the vav (ו) to express purpose.

[4:23]  ⁵ tn The Piel infinitive serves as the direct object of the verb, answering the question of what Pharaoh would refuse to do. The command and refusal to obey are the grounds for the announcement of death for Pharaoh’s son.

[4:23]  ⁶ tn The construction is very emphatic. The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) gives it an immediacy and a vividness, as if God is already beginning to act. The participle with this particle has the nuance of an imminent future act, as if God is saying, “I am about to kill.” These words are not repeated until the last plague.

[1:2]  ⁷ sn The personified heavens and earth are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people. Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).

[1:2]  ⁸ tn Or “sons” (NAB, NASB).

[1:2]  ⁹ sn The normal word pair for giving birth to and raising children is יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”) and גָּדַל (gadal, “to grow, raise”). The pair גָּדַל and רוּם (rum, “to raise up”) probably occur here to highlight the fact that Yahweh made something important of Israel (cf. R. Mosis, TDOT 2:403).

[1:2]  ¹⁰ sn Against the backdrop of Yahweh’s care for his chosen people, Israel’s rebellion represents abhorrent treachery. The conjunction prefixed to a nonverbal element highlights the sad contrast between Yahweh’s compassionate care for His people and Israel’s thankless rebellion.

[1:2]  ¹¹ sn To rebel carries the idea of “covenant treachery.” Although an act of פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, “rebellion”) often signifies a breach of the law, the legal offense also represents a violation of an existing covenantal relationship (E. Carpenter and M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 3:707).

[64:8]  ¹² tn On the force of וְעַתָּה (vÿ’attah) here, see HALOT 902 s.v. עַתָּה.

[64:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “the work of your hand.”

[31:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “They will come with weeping; I will bring them with supplication.” The ideas of contrition and repentance are implicit from the context (cf. vv. 18-19) and are supplied for clarity.

[31:9]  ¹⁵ sn Jer 31:8-9 are reminiscent of the “New Exodus” motif of Isa 40-66 which has already been referred to in Jer 16:14-15; 23:7-8. See especially Isa 35:3-10; 40:3-5, 11; 41:17-20; 42:14-17; 43:16-21; 49:9-13. As there, the New Exodus will so outstrip the old that the old will pale in comparison and be almost forgotten (see Jer 23:7-8).

[31:9]  ¹⁶ sn Ephraim was the second son of Joseph who was elevated to a place of prominence in the family of Jacob by the patriarch’s special blessing. It was the strongest tribe in northern Israel and Samaria lay in its territory. It is often used as a poetic parallel for Israel as here. The poetry is not speaking of two separate entities here; it is a way of repeating an idea for emphasis. Moreover, there is no intent to show special preference for northern Israel over Judah. All Israel is metaphorically God’s son and the object of his special care and concern (Exod 4:22; Deut 32:6).

[6:9]  ¹⁷ sn Pray this way. What follows, although traditionally known as the Lord’s prayer, is really the disciples’ prayer. It represents how they are to approach God, by acknowledging his uniqueness and their need for his provision and protection.

[6:9]  ¹⁸ sn God is addressed in terms of intimacy (Father). The original Semitic term here was probably Abba. The term is a little unusual in a personal prayer, especially as it lacks qualification. It is not the exact equivalent of “daddy” (as is sometimes popularly suggested), but it does suggest a close, familial relationship.

[6:9]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “hallowed be your name.”

[6:14]  ²⁰ tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense: “people, others.”

[6:36]  ²¹ sn Merciful is a characteristic of God often noted in the OT: Exod 34:6; Deut 4:31; Joel 2:31; Jonah 4:2; 2 Sam 24:14. This remark also echoes the more common OT statements like Lev 19:2 or Deut 18:13: “you must be holy as I am holy.”

[6:46]  ²² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[6:46]  ²³ tn The double use of the vocative is normally used in situations of high emotion or emphasis. Even an emphatic confession without action means little.

[6:46]  ²⁴ sn Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do what I tell you? Respect is not a matter of mere words, but is reflected in obedient action. This short saying, which is much simpler than its more developed conceptual parallel in Matt 7:21-23, serves in this form to simply warn and issue a call to hear and obey, as the last parable also does in vv. 47-49.

[6:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “Now it happened that on.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[6:1]  ²⁷ tc Most later mss (A C D Θ Ψ [˹³] Ï lat) read ἐν σαββάτῳ δευτεροπρώτῳ (en sabbatw deuteroprwtw, “a second-first Sabbath”), while the earlier and better witnesses have simply ἐν σαββάτῳ (Ì⁴ א B L W ˹ 33 579 1241 2542 it sa). The longer reading is most likely secondary, though various explanations may account for it (for discussion, see TCGNT 116).

[6:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).

[6:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “picked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.” The participle ψώχοντες (ywconte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style, and the order of the clauses has been transposed to reflect the logical order, which sounds more natural in English.

[1:17]  ³⁰ tn Grk “before him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ³¹ sn These two lines cover all relationships: Turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children points to horizontal relationships, while (turn) the disobedient to the wisdom of the just shows what God gives from above in a vertical manner.