Ezra 7:25

7:25 “Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess, ¹  appoint judges ²  and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in Trans-Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught.

Deuteronomy 33:10

33:10 They will teach Jacob your ordinances

and Israel your law;

they will offer incense as a pleasant odor,

and a whole offering on your altar.

Deuteronomy 33:2

33:2 He said:

A Historical Review

The Lord came from Sinai

and revealed himself ³  to Israel ⁴  from Seir.

He appeared in splendor ⁵  from Mount Paran,

and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. ⁶ 

With his right hand he gave a fiery law ⁷  to them.

Deuteronomy 17:8-9

Appeal to a Higher Court

17:8 If a matter is too difficult for you to judge – bloodshed, ⁸  legal claim, ⁹  or assault ¹⁰  – matters of controversy in your villages ¹¹  – you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. ¹²  17:9 You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict.

Deuteronomy 30:1

The Results of Covenant Reaffirmation

30:1 “When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses ¹³  I have set before you, you will reflect upon them ¹⁴  in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you.

Nehemiah 8:1-9

8:1 all the people gathered together ¹⁵  in the plaza which was in front of the Water Gate. They asked ¹⁶  Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had commanded Israel. 8:2 So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly which included men and women and all those able to understand what they heard. (This happened on the first day of the seventh month.) 8:3 So he read it before the plaza in front of the Water Gate from dawn till noon ¹⁷  before the men and women and those children who could understand. ¹⁸  All the people were eager to hear ¹⁹  the book of the law.

8:4 Ezra the scribe stood on a towering wooden platform ²⁰  constructed for this purpose. Standing near him on his right were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Masseiah. On his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 8:5 Ezra opened the book in plain view ²¹  of all the people, for he was elevated above all the people. When he opened the book, ²²  all the people stood up. 8:6 Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people replied “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

8:7 Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah – all of whom were Levites ²³  – were teaching the people the law, as the people remained standing. 8:8 They read from the book of God’s law, explaining it ²⁴  and imparting insight. Thus the people ²⁵  gained understanding from what was read.

8:9 Then Nehemiah the governor, ²⁶  Ezra the priestly scribe, ²⁷  and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them, ²⁸  “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the law.

Malachi 2:7

2:7 For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge of sacred things, and people should seek instruction from him ²⁹  because he is the messenger of the Lord who rules over all.

Acts 1:1

Jesus Ascends to Heaven

1:1 I wrote ³⁰  the former ³¹  account, ³²  Theophilus, ³³  about all that Jesus began to do and teach

Acts 1:1

Jesus Ascends to Heaven

1:1 I wrote ³⁴  the former ³⁵  account, ³⁶  Theophilus, ³⁷  about all that Jesus began to do and teach

Acts 3:2

3:2 And a man lame ³⁸  from birth ³⁹  was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called “the Beautiful Gate” every day ⁴⁰  so he could beg for money ⁴¹  from those going into the temple courts. ⁴² 

Acts 3:2

3:2 And a man lame ⁴³  from birth ⁴⁴  was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called “the Beautiful Gate” every day ⁴⁵  so he could beg for money ⁴⁶  from those going into the temple courts. ⁴⁷ 

Acts 4:2

4:2 angry ⁴⁸  because they were teaching the people and announcing ⁴⁹  in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

Titus 2:1

Conduct Consistent with Sound Teaching

2:1 But as for you, communicate the behavior that goes with ⁵⁰  sound teaching.

Titus 2:15

2:15 So communicate these things with the sort of exhortation or rebuke ⁵¹  that carries full authority. ⁵²  Don’t let anyone look down ⁵³  on you.

[7:25]  ¹ tn Aram “in your hand.”

[7:25]  ² tc For the MT reading שָׁפְטִין (shoftim, “judges”) the LXX uses the noun γραμματεῖς (grammatei", “scribes”).

[33:2]  ³ tn Or “rose like the sun” (NCV, TEV).

[33:2]  ⁴ tc Heb “to him.” The LXX reads “to us” (לָנוּ [lanu] for לָמוֹ [lamo]), the reading of the MT is acceptable since it no doubt has in mind Israel as a collective singular.

[33:2]  ⁵ tn Or “he shone forth” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[33:2]  ⁶ tc With slight alteration (מִמְרִבַת קָדֵשׁ [mimrivat qadesh] for the MT’s מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ [merivvot qodesh]) the translation would be “from Meribah Kadesh” (cf. NAB, NLT; see Deut 32:51). However, the language of holy war in the immediate context favors the reading of the MT, which views the Lord as accompanied by angelic hosts.

[33:2]  ⁷ tc The mispointed Hebrew term אֵשְׁדָּת (’eshdat) should perhaps be construed as אֵשְׁהַת (’eshhat) with Smr.

[17:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “between blood and blood.”

[17:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “between claim and claim.”

[17:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “between blow and blow.”

[17:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “gates.”

[17:8]  ¹² tc Several Greek recensions add “to place his name there,” thus completing the usual formula to describe the central sanctuary (cf. Deut 12:5, 11, 14, 18; 16:6). However, the context suggests that the local Levitical towns, and not the central sanctuary, are in mind.

[30:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “the blessing and the curse.”

[30:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and you bring (them) back to your heart.”

[8:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “like one man.”

[8:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “said [to].”

[8:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from the light till the noon of the day.”

[8:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “all who could hear with understanding.” The word “children” is understood to be implied here by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, TEV, NLT).

[8:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the ears of all the people were toward.”

[8:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a tower of wood.”

[8:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “to the eyes.”

[8:5]  ²² tn Heb “it”; the referent (the book) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:7]  ²³ tc The MT reads “and the Levites.” The conjunction (“and”) should be deleted, following the LXX, Aquila, and the Vulgate. That the vav (ו) of the MT is the vav explicativum (“even the Levites”) is unlikely here.

[8:8]  ²⁴ tn The exact meaning of the pual participle מְפֹרָשׁ (mÿforash) in this verse is uncertain. The basic sense of the Hebrew word seems to be “to make distinct.” The word may also have the sense of “to divide in parts,” “to interpret,” or “to translate.” The context of Neh 8:8 does not decisively clarify how the participle is to be understood here. It probably refers to the role of the Levites as those who explained or interpreted the portions of biblical text that had been publicly read on this occasion. A different option, however, is suggested by the translation distincte (“distinctly”) of the Vulgate (cf. KJV, ASV). If the Hebrew word means “distinctly” here, it would imply that the readers paid particular attention to such things as word-grouping and pronunciation so as to be sure that the listeners had every opportunity to understand the message that was being read. Yet another view is found in the Talmud, which understands translation of the Hebrew text into Aramaic to be what is in view here. The following explanation of Neh 8:8 is found in b. Megillah 3a: “‘And they read in the book, in the law of God’: this indicates the [Hebrew] text; ‘with an interpretation’: this indicates the targum; ‘and they gave the sense’: this indicates the verse stops; ‘and caused them to understand the reading’: this indicates the accentuation, or, according to another version, the Masoretic notes.” However, this ancient rabbinic view that the origins of the Targum are found in Neh 8:8 is debatable. It is not clear that the practice of paraphrasing the Hebrew biblical text into Aramaic in order to accommodate the needs of those Jews who were not at home in the Hebrew language developed this early. The translation of מְפֹרָשׁ adopted above (i.e., “explaining it”) understands the word to have in mind an explanatory function (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, NLT) rather than one of translation.

[8:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:9]  ²⁶ tc The unexpected reference to Nehemiah here has led some scholars to suspect that the phrase “Nehemiah the governor” is a later addition to the text and not original.

[8:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.”

[8:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the people.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

[2:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “from his mouth” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[1:1]  ³⁰ tn Or “produced,” Grk “made.”

[1:1]  ³¹ tn Or “first.” The translation “former” is preferred because “first” could imply to the modern English reader that the author means that his previous account was the first one to be written down. The Greek term πρῶτος (prwtos) does not necessarily mean “first” in an absolute sense, but can refer to the first in a set or series. That is what is intended here – the first account (known as the Gospel of Luke) as compared to the second one (known as Acts).

[1:1]  ³² tn The Greek word λόγος (logos) is sometimes translated “book” (NRSV, NIV) or “treatise” (KJV). A formal, systematic treatment of a subject is implied, but the word “book” may be too specific and slightly misleading to the modern reader, so “account” has been used.

[1:1]  ³³ tn Grk “O Theophilus,” but the usage of the vocative in Acts with ὦ (w) is unemphatic, following more the classical idiom (see ExSyn 69).

[1:1]  ³⁴ tn Or “produced,” Grk “made.”

[1:1]  ³⁵ tn Or “first.” The translation “former” is preferred because “first” could imply to the modern English reader that the author means that his previous account was the first one to be written down. The Greek term πρῶτος (prwtos) does not necessarily mean “first” in an absolute sense, but can refer to the first in a set or series. That is what is intended here – the first account (known as the Gospel of Luke) as compared to the second one (known as Acts).

[1:1]  ³⁶ tn The Greek word λόγος (logos) is sometimes translated “book” (NRSV, NIV) or “treatise” (KJV). A formal, systematic treatment of a subject is implied, but the word “book” may be too specific and slightly misleading to the modern reader, so “account” has been used.

[1:1]  ³⁷ tn Grk “O Theophilus,” but the usage of the vocative in Acts with ὦ (w) is unemphatic, following more the classical idiom (see ExSyn 69).

[3:2]  ³⁸ tn Or “crippled.”

[3:2]  ³⁹ tn Grk “from his mother’s womb.”

[3:2]  ⁴⁰ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

[3:2]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “alms.” The term “alms” is not in common use today, so what the man expected, “money,” is used in the translation instead. The idea is that of money given as a gift to someone who was poor. Giving alms was viewed as honorable in Judaism (Tob 1:3, 16; 12:8-9; m. Pe’ah 1:1). See also Luke 11:41; 12:33; Acts 9:36; 10:2, 4, 31; 24:17.

[3:2]  ⁴² tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[3:2]  ⁴³ tn Or “crippled.”

[3:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “from his mother’s womb.”

[3:2]  ⁴⁵ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

[3:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “alms.” The term “alms” is not in common use today, so what the man expected, “money,” is used in the translation instead. The idea is that of money given as a gift to someone who was poor. Giving alms was viewed as honorable in Judaism (Tob 1:3, 16; 12:8-9; m. Pe’ah 1:1). See also Luke 11:41; 12:33; Acts 9:36; 10:2, 4, 31; 24:17.

[3:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[4:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “greatly annoyed,” “provoked.”

[4:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “proclaiming.”

[2:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “say what is fitting for sound teaching” (introducing the behavior called for in this chapter.).

[2:15]  ⁵¹ tn Or “reproof,” “censure.” The Greek word ἐλέγχω (elencw) implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.

[2:15]  ⁵² tn Grk “speak these things and exhort and rebuke with all authority.”

[2:15]  ⁵³ tn Or “let anyone despise you”; or “let anyone disregard you.”