Exodus 30:34

30:34 The Lord said to Moses: “Take ¹  spices, gum resin, ²  onycha, ³  galbanum, ⁴  and pure frankincense ⁵  of equal amounts ⁶ 

Psalms 14:1-2

Psalm 14 ⁷ 

For the music director; by David.

14:1 Fools say to themselves, ⁸  “There is no God.” ⁹ 

They sin and commit evil deeds; ¹⁰ 

none of them does what is right. ¹¹ 

14:2 The Lord looks down from heaven ¹²  at the human race, ¹³ 

to see if there is anyone who is wise ¹⁴  and seeks God. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 141:2

141:2 May you accept my prayer like incense,

my uplifted hands like the evening offering! ¹⁶ 

Hebrews 5:7

5:7 During his earthly life ¹⁷  Christ ¹⁸  offered ¹⁹  both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion.

Hebrews 7:25

7:25 So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Revelation 8:3-4

8:3 Another ²⁰  angel holding ²¹  a golden censer ²²  came and was stationed ²³  at the altar. A ²⁴  large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne. 8:4 The ²⁵  smoke coming from the incense, ²⁶  along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.

[30:34]  ¹ tn The construction is “take to you,” which could be left in that literal sense, but more likely the suffix is an ethical dative, stressing the subject of the imperative.

[30:34]  ² sn This is from a word that means “to drip”; the spice is a balsam that drips from a resinous tree.

[30:34]  ³ sn This may be a plant, or it may be from a species of mollusks; it is mentioned in Ugaritic and Akkadian; it gives a pungent odor when burnt.

[30:34]  ⁴ sn This is a gum from plants of the genus Ferula; it has an unpleasant odor, but when mixed with others is pleasant.

[30:34]  ⁵ tn The word “spice is repeated here, suggesting that the first three formed half of the ingredient and this spice the other half – but this is conjecture (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 400).

[30:34]  ⁶ tn Heb “of each part there will be an equal part.”

[14:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 14. The psalmist observes that the human race is morally corrupt. Evildoers oppress God’s people, but the psalmist is confident of God’s protection and anticipates a day when God will vindicate Israel.

[14:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “a fool says in his heart.” The singular is used here in a collective or representative sense; the typical fool is envisioned.

[14:1]  ⁹ sn “There is no God.” The statement is probably not a philosophical assertion that God does not exist, but rather a confident affirmation that God is unconcerned about how men live morally and ethically (see Ps 10:4, 11).

[14:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they act corruptly, they make a deed evil.” The verbs describe the typical behavior of the wicked. The subject of the plural verbs is “sons of man” (v. 2). The entire human race is characterized by sinful behavior. This practical atheism – living as if there is no God who will hold them accountable for their actions – makes them fools, for one of the earmarks of folly is to fail to anticipate the long range consequences of one’s behavior.

[14:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[14:2]  ¹² sn The picture of the Lord looking down from heaven draws attention to his sovereignty over the world.

[14:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “upon the sons of man.”

[14:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “acts wisely.” The Hiphil is exhibitive.

[14:2]  ¹⁵ sn Anyone who is wise and seeks God refers to the person who seeks to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him.

[141:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “may my prayer be established [like] incense before you, the uplifting of my hands [like] an evening offering.”

[5:7]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “in the days of his flesh.”

[5:7]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:7]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “who…having offered,” continuing the description of Christ from Heb 5:5-6.

[8:3]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[8:3]  ²¹ tn Grk “having.”

[8:3]  ²² sn A golden censer was a bowl in which incense was burned. The imagery suggests the OT role of the priest.

[8:3]  ²³ tn The verb “to station” was used to translate ἑστάθη (Jestaqh) because it connotes the idea of purposeful arrangement in English, which seems to be the idea in the Greek.

[8:3]  ²⁴ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[8:4]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[8:4]  ²⁶ tn The expression τῶν θυμιαμάτων (twn qumiamatwn) is taken as a “genitive of producer,” i.e., the noun in the genitive produces the head noun.