Ezekiel 18:7

18:7 does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, ¹  does not commit robbery, ²  but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked,

Matthew 7:21-27

Judgment of Pretenders

7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ ³  will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 7:22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do ⁴  many powerful deeds?’ 7:23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’ ⁵ 

Hearing and Doing

7:24 “Everyone ⁶  who hears these words of mine and does them is like ⁷  a wise man ⁸  who built his house on rock. 7:25 The rain fell, the flood ⁹  came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock. 7:26 Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 7:27 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed; it was utterly destroyed!” ¹⁰ 

Luke 11:28

11:28 But he replied, ¹¹  “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey ¹²  it!”

John 13:17

13:17 If you understand ¹³  these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

John 15:14

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

Philippians 4:9

4:9 And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

James 2:17

2:17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.

James 2:1

Prejudice and the Law of Love

2:1 My brothers and sisters, ¹⁵  do not show prejudice ¹⁶  if you possess faith ¹⁷  in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ 

James 3:1

The Power of the Tongue

3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, ¹⁹  because you know that we will be judged more strictly. ²⁰ 

Revelation 22:14

22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can have access ²¹  to the tree of life and can enter into the city by the gates.

[18:7]  ¹ tn Heb “restores to the debtor his pledge.” The root occurs in Exod 22:25 in reference to restoring a man’s garment as a pledge before nightfall.

[18:7]  ² tn The Hebrew term refers to seizure of property, usually by the rich (Isa 3:14; 10:2; Mic 2:2 [see Lev 5:21, 22]).

[7:21]  ³ sn The double use of the vocative is normally used in situations of high emotion or emphasis. Even an emphatic confession without action means little.

[7:22]  ⁴ tn Grk “and in your name do.” This phrase was not repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “workers of lawlessness.”

[7:24]  ⁶ tn Grk “Therefore everyone.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

[7:24]  ⁷ tn Grk “will be like.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.

[7:24]  ⁸ tn Here and in v. 26 the Greek text reads ἀνήρ (anhr), while the parallel account in Luke 6:47-49 uses ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") in vv. 48 and 49.

[7:25]  ⁹ tn Grk “the rivers.”

[7:27]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and great was its fall.”

[11:28]  ¹¹ tn Grk “said.”

[11:28]  ¹² sn This is another reference to hearing and doing the word of God, which here describes Jesus’ teaching; see Luke 8:21.

[13:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “If you know.”

[15:14]  ¹⁴ 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).

[2:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “partiality.”

[2:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “do not have faith with personal prejudice,” with emphasis on the last phrase.

[2:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “our Lord Jesus Christ of glory.” Here δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[3:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “will receive a greater judgment.”

[22:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “so that there will be to them authority over the tree of life.”