Exodus 7:2

7:2 You are to speak ¹  everything I command you, ²  and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh that he must release ³  the Israelites from his land.

Exodus 7:10

7:10 When ⁴  Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, they did so, just as the Lord had commanded them – Aaron threw ⁵  down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants and it became a snake. ⁶ 

Exodus 12:28

12:28 and the Israelites went away and did exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁷ 

Exodus 39:43

39:43 Moses inspected ⁸  all the work – and ⁹  they had done it just as the Lord had commanded – they had done it exactly – and Moses blessed them. ¹⁰ 

Exodus 40:16

40:16 This is what Moses did, according to all the Lord had commanded him – so he did.

Genesis 6:22

6:22 And Noah did all ¹¹  that God commanded him – he did indeed. ¹² 

Genesis 22:18

22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ¹³  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹⁴  using the name of your descendants.’”

Psalms 119:4

119:4 You demand that your precepts

be carefully kept. ¹⁵ 

John 15:10

15:10 If you obey ¹⁶  my commandments, you will remain ¹⁷  in my love, just as I have obeyed ¹⁸  my Father’s commandments and remain ¹⁹  in his love.

John 15:14

15:14 You are my friends ²⁰  if you do what I command you.

[7:2]  ¹ tn The imperfect tense here should have the nuance of instruction or injunction: “you are to speak.” The subject is singular (Moses) and made emphatic by the presence of the personal pronoun “you.”

[7:2]  ² tn The phrase translated “everything I command you” is a noun clause serving as the direct object of the verb “speak.” The verb in the clause (אֲצַוֶּךָ, ’atsavvekha) is the Piel imperfect. It could be classified as a future: “everything that I will command you.” A nuance of progressive imperfect also fits well: “everything that I am commanding you.”

[7:2]  ³ tn The form is וְשִׁלַּח (vÿshillakh), a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. Following the imperfects of injunction or instruction, this verb continues the sequence. It could be taken as equal to an imperfect expressing future (“and he will release”) or subordinate to express purpose (“to release” = “in order that he may release”).

[7:10]  ⁴ tn The clause begins with the preterite and the vav (ו) consecutive; it is here subordinated to the next clause as a temporal clause.

[7:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “and Aaron threw.”

[7:10]  ⁶ tn The noun used here is תַּנִּין (tannin), and not the word for “serpent” or “snake” used in chap. 4. This noun refers to a large reptile, in some texts large river or sea creatures (Gen 1:21; Ps 74:13) or land creatures (Deut 32:33). This wonder paralleled Moses’ miracle in 4:3 when he cast his staff down. But this is Aaron’s staff, and a different miracle. The noun could still be rendered “snake” here since the term could be broad enough to include it.

[12:28]  ⁷ tn Heb “went away and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.” The final phrase “so they did,” which is somewhat redundant in English, has been represented in the translation by the adverb “exactly.”

[39:43]  ⁸ tn Or “examined” (NASB, TEV); NCV “looked closely at.”

[39:43]  ⁹ tn The deictic particle draws attention to what he saw in such a way as to give the reader Moses’ point of view and a sense of his pleasure: “and behold, they…”

[39:43]  ¹⁰ sn The situation and wording in Exod 39:43 are reminiscent of Gen 1:28 and 31, with the motifs of blessing people and inspecting what has been made.

[6:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “according to all.”

[6:22]  ¹² tn The last clause seems redundant: “and thus (כֵּן, ken) he did.” It underscores the obedience of Noah to all that God had said.

[22:18]  ¹³ tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.

[22:18]  ¹⁴ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[119:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “you, you commanded your precepts, to keep, very much.”

[15:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “keep.”

[15:10]  ¹⁷ tn Or “reside.”

[15:10]  ¹⁸ tn Or “kept.”

[15:10]  ¹⁹ tn Or “reside.”

[15:14]  ²⁰ sn This verse really explains John 15:10 in another way. Those who keep Jesus’ commandments are called his friends, those friends for whom he lays down his life (v. 13). It is possible to understand this verse as referring to a smaller group within Christianity as a whole, perhaps only the apostles who were present when Jesus spoke these words. Some have supported this by comparing it to the small group of associates and advisers to the Roman Emperor who were called “Friends of the Emperor.” Others would see these words as addressed only to those Christians who as disciples were obedient to Jesus. In either case the result would be to create a sort of “inner circle” of Christians who are more privileged than mere “believers” or average Christians. In context, it seems clear that Jesus’ words must be addressed to all true Christians, not just some narrower category of believers, because Jesus’ sacrificial death, which is his act of love toward his friends (v. 13) applies to all Christians equally (cf. John 13:1).