Exodus 13:8-9

13:8 You are to tell your son ¹  on that day, ²  ‘It is ³  because of what ⁴  the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 13:9 ⁵  It ⁶  will be a sign ⁷  for you on your hand and a memorial ⁸  on your forehead, ⁹  so that the law of the Lord may be ¹⁰  in your mouth, ¹¹  for ¹²  with a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.

Exodus 13:14-15

13:14 ¹³ In the future, ¹⁴  when your son asks you ¹⁵  ‘What is this?’ ¹⁶  you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand ¹⁷  the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the land of slavery. ¹⁸  13:15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused ¹⁹  to release us, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of people to the firstborn of animals. ²⁰  That is why I am sacrificing ²¹  to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.’

Exodus 13:22

13:22 He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. ²² 

Deuteronomy 6:7

6:7 and you must teach ²³  them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, ²⁴  as you lie down, and as you get up.

Deuteronomy 11:19

11:19 Teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, ²⁵  as you lie down, and as you get up.

Deuteronomy 32:7

32:7 Remember the ancient days;

bear in mind ²⁶  the years of past generations. ²⁷ 

Ask your father and he will inform you,

your elders, and they will tell you.

Joshua 4:6-7

4:6 The stones ²⁸  will be a reminder to you. ²⁹  When your children ask someday, ‘Why are these stones important to you?’ 4:7 tell them how the water of the Jordan stopped flowing ³⁰  before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the water of the Jordan stopped flowing. ³¹  These stones will be a lasting memorial for the Israelites.”

Joshua 4:21-24

4:21 He told the Israelites, “When your children someday ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones represent?’ ³²  4:22 explain ³³  to your children, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan River ³⁴  on dry ground.’ 4:23 For the Lord your God dried up the water of the Jordan before you while you crossed over. It was just like when the Lord your God dried up the Red Sea before us while we crossed it. ³⁵  4:24 He has done this so ³⁶  all the nations ³⁷  of the earth might recognize the Lord’s power ³⁸  and so you might always obey ³⁹  the Lord your God.”

Psalms 78:3-6

78:3 What we have heard and learned ⁴⁰  –

that which our ancestors ⁴¹  have told us –

78:4 we will not hide from their ⁴²  descendants.

We will tell the next generation

about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts, ⁴³ 

about his strength and the amazing things he has done.

78:5 He established a rule ⁴⁴  in Jacob;

he set up a law in Israel.

He commanded our ancestors

to make his deeds known to their descendants, ⁴⁵ 

78:6 so that the next generation, children yet to be born,

might know about them.

They will grow up and tell their descendants about them. ⁴⁶ 

Psalms 145:4

145:4 One generation will praise your deeds to another,

and tell about your mighty acts! ⁴⁷ 

Isaiah 38:19

38:19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,

as I do today.

A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.

Ephesians 6:4

6:4 Fathers, ⁴⁸  do not provoke your children to anger, ⁴⁹  but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

[13:8]  ¹ tn The form is the Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the sequence forward: “and you will declare to your son.”

[13:8]  ² tn Heb “day, saying.” “Tell…saying” is redundant, so “saying” has not been included in the translation here.

[13:8]  ³ tn “it is” has been supplied.

[13:8]  ⁴ tn The text uses זֶה (zeh), which Gesenius classifies as the use of the pronoun to introduce a relative clause after the preposition (GKC 447 §138.h) – but he thinks the form is corrupt. B. S. Childs, however, sees no reason to posit a corruption in this form (Exodus [OTL], 184).

[13:9]  ⁵ sn This passage has, of course, been taken literally by many devout Jews, and portions of the text have been encased in phylacteries and bound on the arm and forehead. B. Jacob (Exodus, 368), weighing the pros and cons of the literal or the figurative meaning, says that those who took it literally should not be looked down on for their symbolic work. In many cases, he continues, it is the spirit that kills and the letter makes alive – because people who argue against a literal usage do so to excuse lack of action. This is a rather interesting twist in the discussion. The point of the teaching was obviously meant to keep the Law of Yahweh in the minds of the people, to remind them of their duties.

[13:9]  ⁶ tn That is, this ceremony.

[13:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “for a sign.”

[13:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “for a memorial.”

[13:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “between your eyes” (KJV and ASV both similar); the same expression occurs in v. 16.

[13:9]  ¹⁰ tn The purpose of using this ceremony as a sign and a memorial is that the Law might be in their mouth. The imperfect tense, then, receives the classification of final imperfect in the purpose clause.

[13:9]  ¹¹ sn “Mouth” is a metonymy of cause; the point is that they should be ever talking about the Law as their guide as they go about their duties (see Deut 6:7; 11:19; Josh 1:8).

[13:9]  ¹² tn This causal clause gives the reason for what has just been instructed. Because Yahweh delivered them from bondage, he has the strongest claims on their life.

[13:14]  ¹³ sn As with v. 8, the Law now requires that the children be instructed on the meaning of this observance. It is a memorial of the deliverance from bondage and the killing of the firstborn in Egypt.

[13:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “tomorrow.”

[13:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and it will be when your son will ask you.”

[13:14]  ¹⁶ tn The question is cryptic; it simply says, “What is this?” but certainly refers to the custom just mentioned. It asks, “What does this mean?” or “Why do we do this?”

[13:14]  ¹⁷ tn The expression is “with strength of hand,” making “hand” the genitive of specification. In translation “strength” becomes the modifier, because “hand” specifies where the strength was. But of course the whole expression is anthropomorphic for the power of God.

[13:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “house of slaves.”

[13:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “dealt hardly in letting us go” or “made it hard to let us go” (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 110). The verb is the simple Hiphil perfect הִקְשָׁה (hiqshah, “he made hard”); the infinitive construct לְשַׁלְּחֵנוּ (lÿshallÿkhenu, “to release us”) could be taken epexegetically, meaning “he made releasing us hard.” But the infinitive more likely gives the purpose or the result after the verb “hardened himself.” The verb is figurative for “be stubborn” or “stubbornly refuse.”

[13:15]  ²⁰ tn The text uses “man” and “beast.”

[13:15]  ²¹ tn The form is the active participle.

[13:22]  ²² sn See T. W. Mann, “The Pillar of Cloud in the Reed Sea Narrative,” JBL 90 (1971): 15-30.

[6:7]  ²³ tn Heb “repeat” (so NLT). If from the root I שָׁנַן (shanan), the verb means essentially to “engrave,” that is, “to teach incisively” (Piel); note NAB “Drill them into your children.” Cf. BDB 1041-42 s.v.

[6:7]  ²⁴ tn Or “as you are away on a journey” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT); NAB “at home and abroad.”

[11:19]  ²⁵ tn Or “as you are away on a journey” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT); NAB “at home and abroad.”

[32:7]  ²⁶ tc The Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read 2nd person masculine singular whereas the MT has 2nd person masculine plural. The former is preferred, the latter perhaps being a misreading (בִּינוּ [binu] for בִּינָה [binah]). Both the preceding (“remember”) and following (“ask”) imperatives are singular forms in the Hebrew text.

[32:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “generation and generation.” The repetition of the singular noun here singles out each of the successive past generations. See IBHS 116 §7.2.3b.

[4:6]  ²⁸ tn Heb “that this may be”; the referent of “this” (the twelve stones) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “in order that this might be a sign among you.”

[4:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “were cut off from before.”

[4:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “how the waters descending from above stood still.”

[4:21]  ³² tn Heb “What are these stones?”

[4:22]  ³³ tn Heb “make known.”

[4:22]  ³⁴ tn Heb “crossed this Jordan”; the word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[4:23]  ³⁵ tn Heb “just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea when he dried [it] up before us while we crossed over.”

[4:24]  ³⁶ tn Heb “in order that.”

[4:24]  ³⁷ tn Or “peoples.”

[4:24]  ³⁸ tn Heb “know the hand of the Lord that it is strong.”

[4:24]  ³⁹ tn Heb “fear.”

[78:3]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “known.”

[78:3]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 5, 8, 12, 57).

[78:4]  ⁴² tn The pronominal suffix refers back to the “fathers” (“our ancestors,” v. 3).

[78:4]  ⁴³ tn Heb “to a following generation telling the praises of the Lord.” “Praises” stand by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt worship. Cf. Ps 9:14.

[78:5]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to God’s command that the older generation teach their children about God’s mighty deeds in the nation’s history (see Exod 10:2; Deut 4:9; 6:20-25).

[78:5]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “which he commanded our fathers to make them known to their sons.” The plural suffix “them” probably refers back to the Lord’s mighty deeds (see vv. 3-4).

[78:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “in order that they might know, a following generation, sons [who] will be born, they will arise and will tell to their sons.”

[145:4]  ⁴⁷ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 4 are understood as imperfects, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as jussives, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may one generation praise…and tell about.”

[6:4]  ⁴⁸ tn Or perhaps “Parents” (so TEV, CEV). The plural οἱ πατέρες (Joi patere", “fathers”) can be used to refer to both the male and female parent (BDAG 786 s.v. πατήρ 1.b).

[6:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “do not make your children angry.” BDAG 780 s.v. παροργίζω states “make angry.” The Greek verb in Col 3:21 is a different one with a slightly different nuance.