Genesis 20:7

20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ¹  he is a prophet ²  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ³  But if you don’t give her back, ⁴  know that you will surely die ⁵  along with all who belong to you.”

Genesis 20:1

Abraham and Abimelech

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ⁶  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ⁷  in Gerar,

Genesis 17:9-15

17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep ⁸  the covenantal requirement ⁹  I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: ¹⁰  Every male among you must be circumcised. ¹¹  17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder ¹²  of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old ¹³  must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, ¹⁴  whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant ¹⁵  will be visible in your flesh as a permanent ¹⁶  reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male ¹⁷  who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off ¹⁸  from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” ¹⁹ 

17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; ²⁰  Sarah ²¹  will be her name.

Genesis 17:20-24

17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. ²²  I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. ²³  He will become the father of twelve princes; ²⁴  I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. ²⁵ 

17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) ²⁶  and circumcised them ²⁷  on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old ²⁸  when he was circumcised; ²⁹ 

Genesis 18:3-4

18:3 He said, “My lord, ³⁰  if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. ³¹  18:4 Let a little water be brought so that ³²  you may all ³³  wash your feet and rest under the tree.

Genesis 18:2

18:2 Abraham ³⁴  looked up ³⁵  and saw ³⁶  three men standing across ³⁷  from him. When he saw them ³⁸  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ³⁹  to the ground. ⁴⁰ 

Genesis 4:8-10

4:8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” ⁴¹  While they were in the field, Cain attacked ⁴²  his brother ⁴³  Abel and killed him.

4:9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” ⁴⁴  And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?” ⁴⁵  4:10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? ⁴⁶  The voice ⁴⁷  of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!

Genesis 4:16-17

4:16 So Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and lived in the land of Nod, ⁴⁸  east of Eden.

The Beginning of Civilization

4:17 Cain had marital relations ⁴⁹  with his wife, and she became pregnant ⁵⁰  and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after ⁵¹  his son Enoch.

Genesis 4:1

The Story of Cain and Abel

4:1 Now ⁵²  the man had marital relations with ⁵³  his wife Eve, and she became pregnant ⁵⁴  and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created ⁵⁵  a man just as the Lord did!” ⁵⁶ 

Acts 16:15

16:15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, ⁵⁷  “If ⁵⁸  you consider me to be a believer in the Lord, ⁵⁹  come and stay in my house.” And she persuaded ⁶⁰  us.

Romans 16:1-4

Personal Greetings

16:1 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant ⁶¹  of the church in Cenchrea, 16:2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and provide her with whatever help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many, including me.

16:3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, ⁶²  my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 16:4 who risked their own necks for my life. Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

Romans 16:23

16:23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus the city treasurer and our brother Quartus greet you.

Romans 16:2

16:2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and provide her with whatever help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many, including me.

Romans 1:16-18

The Power of the Gospel

1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ⁶³  1:17 For the righteousness ⁶⁴  of God is revealed in the gospel ⁶⁵  from faith to faith, ⁶⁶  just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.” ⁶⁷ 

The Condemnation of the Unrighteous

1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people ⁶⁸  who suppress the truth by their ⁶⁹  unrighteousness, ⁷⁰ 

Hebrews 6:10

6:10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name, in having served and continuing to serve the saints.

Hebrews 6:3

6:3 And this is what we intend to do, ⁷¹  if God permits.

Hebrews 1:5-8

The Son Is Superior to Angels

1:5 For to which of the angels did God ⁷²  ever say, “You are my son! Today I have fathered you”? ⁷³  And in another place ⁷⁴  he says, ⁷⁵  “I will be his father and he will be my son.” ⁷⁶  1:6 But when he again brings ⁷⁷  his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all the angels of God worship him!” ⁷⁸  1:7 And he says ⁷⁹  of the angels, “He makes ⁸⁰  his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire,” ⁸¹  1:8 but of ⁸²  the Son he says, ⁸³ 

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, ⁸⁴ 

and a righteous scepter ⁸⁵  is the scepter of your kingdom.

[20:7]  ¹ tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.

[20:7]  ² sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.

[20:7]  ³ tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.

[20:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.

[20:7]  ⁵ tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.

[20:1]  ⁶ tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”

[20:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he sojourned.”

[17:9]  ⁸ tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.

[17:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “my covenant.” The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) can refer to (1) the agreement itself between two parties (see v. 7), (2) the promise made by one party to another (see vv. 2-3, 7), (3) an obligation placed by one party on another, or (4) a reminder of the agreement. In vv. 9-10 the word refers to a covenantal obligation which God gives to Abraham and his descendants.

[17:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”

[17:10]  ¹¹ sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.

[17:11]  ¹² tn Or “sign.”

[17:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “the son of eight days.”

[17:13]  ¹⁴ tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.

[17:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.

[17:13]  ¹⁶ tn Or “an eternal.”

[17:14]  ¹⁷ tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.

[17:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (bÿrit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.

[17:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”

[17:15]  ²¹ sn Sarah. The name change seems to be a dialectical variation, both spellings meaning “princess” or “queen.” Like the name Abram, the name Sarai symbolized the past. The new name Sarah, like the name Abraham, would be a reminder of what God intended to do for Sarah in the future.

[17:20]  ²² sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.

[17:20]  ²³ tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:20]  ²⁴ tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.

[17:22]  ²⁵ tn Heb “And when he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.” The sequence of pronouns and proper names has been modified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:23]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Ishmael his son and all born in his house and all bought with money, every male among the men of the house of Abraham.”

[17:23]  ²⁷ tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.

[17:24]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”

[17:24]  ²⁹ tn Heb “circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (also in v. 25).

[18:3]  ³⁰ tc The MT has the form אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Master”) which is reserved for God. This may reflect later scribal activity. The scribes, knowing it was the Lord, may have put the proper pointing with the word instead of the more common אֲדֹנִי (’adoni, “my master”).

[18:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”

[18:4]  ³² tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.

[18:4]  ³³ tn The word “all” has been supplied in the translation because the Hebrew verb translated “wash” and the pronominal suffix on the word “feet” are plural, referring to all three of the visitors.

[18:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:2]  ³⁵ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[18:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.

[18:2]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.

[18:2]  ³⁸ tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

[18:2]  ³⁹ tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).

[18:2]  ⁴⁰ sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the Lord and two angels (see Gen 19:1). It is not certain how soon Abraham recognized the true identity of the visitors. His actions suggest he suspected this was something out of the ordinary, though it is possible that his lavish treatment of the visitors was done quite unwittingly. Bowing down to the ground would be reserved for obeisance of kings or worship of the Lord. Whether he was aware of it or not, Abraham’s action was most appropriate.

[4:8]  ⁴¹ tc The MT has simply “and Cain said to Abel his brother,” omitting Cain’s words to Abel. It is possible that the elliptical text is original. Perhaps the author uses the technique of aposiopesis, “a sudden silence” to create tension. In the midst of the story the narrator suddenly rushes ahead to what happened in the field. It is more likely that the ancient versions (Samaritan Pentateuch, LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac), which include Cain’s words, “Let’s go out to the field,” preserve the original reading here. After writing אָחִיו (’akhiyv, “his brother”), a scribe’s eye may have jumped to the end of the form בַּשָּׂדֶה (basadeh, “to the field”) and accidentally omitted the quotation. This would be an error of virtual homoioteleuton. In older phases of the Hebrew script the sequence יו (yod-vav) on אָחִיו is graphically similar to the final ה (he) on בַּשָּׂדֶה.

[4:8]  ⁴² tn Heb “arose against” (in a hostile sense).

[4:8]  ⁴³ sn The word “brother” appears six times in vv. 8-11, stressing the shocking nature of Cain’s fratricide (see 1 John 3:12).

[4:9]  ⁴⁴ sn Where is Abel your brother? Again the Lord confronts a guilty sinner with a rhetorical question (see Gen 3:9-13), asking for an explanation of what has happened.

[4:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “The one guarding my brother [am] I?”

[4:10]  ⁴⁶ sn What have you done? Again the Lord’s question is rhetorical (see Gen 3:13), condemning Cain for his sin.

[4:10]  ⁴⁷ tn The word “voice” is a personification; the evidence of Abel’s shed blood condemns Cain, just as a human eyewitness would testify in court. For helpful insights, see G. von Rad, Biblical Interpretations in Preaching; and L. Morris, “The Biblical Use of the Term ‘Blood,’” JTS 6 (1955/56): 77-82.

[4:16]  ⁴⁸ sn The name Nod means “wandering” in Hebrew (see vv. 12, 14).

[4:17]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

[4:17]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “she conceived.”

[4:17]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “according to the name of.”

[4:1]  ⁵² tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new episode in the ongoing narrative.

[4:1]  ⁵³ tn Heb “the man knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

[4:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “she conceived.”

[4:1]  ⁵⁵ tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) reflects the sound of the name Cain in Hebrew (קַיִן, qayin) and gives meaning to it. The saying uses the Qal perfect of קָנָה (qanah). There are two homonymic verbs with this spelling, one meaning “obtain, acquire” and the other meaning “create” (see Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13; Prov 8:22). The latter fits this context very well. Eve has created a man.

[4:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “with the Lord.” The particle אֶת־ (’et) is not the accusative/object sign, but the preposition “with” as the ancient versions attest. Some take the preposition in the sense of “with the help of” (see BDB 85 s.v. אֵת; cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV), while others prefer “along with” in the sense of “like, equally with, in common with” (see Lev 26:39; Isa 45:9; Jer 23:28). Either works well in this context; the latter is reflected in the present translation. Some understand אֶת־ as the accusative/object sign and translate, “I have acquired a man – the Lord.” They suggest that the woman thought (mistakenly) that she had given birth to the incarnate Lord, the Messiah who would bruise the Serpent’s head. This fanciful suggestion is based on a questionable allegorical interpretation of Gen 3:15 (see the note there on the word “heel”).

[16:15]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “urged us, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[16:15]  ⁵⁸ tn This is a first class condition in Greek, with the statement presented as real or true for the sake of the argument.

[16:15]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “faithful to the Lord.” BDAG 821 s.v. πίστος 2 states concerning this verse, “Of one who confesses the Christian faith believing or a believer in the Lord, in Christ, in God πιστ. τῷ κυρίῳ Ac 16:15.” L&N 11.17 has “one who is included among the faithful followers of Christ – ‘believer, Christian, follower.’”

[16:15]  ⁶⁰ tn Although BDAG 759 s.v. παραβιάζομαι has “urge strongly, prevail upon,” in contemporary English “persuade” is a more frequently used synonym for “prevail upon.”

[16:1]  ⁶¹ tn Or “deaconess.” It is debated whether διάκονος (diakonos) here refers to a specific office within the church. One contextual argument used to support this view is that Phoebe is associated with a particular church, Cenchrea, and as such would therefore be a deacon of that church. In the NT some who are called διάκονος are related to a particular church, yet the scholarly consensus is that such individuals are not deacons, but “servants” or “ministers” (other viable translations for διάκονος). For example, Epaphras is associated with the church in Colossians and is called a διάκονος in Col 1:7, but no contemporary translation regards him as a deacon. In 1 Tim 4:6 Paul calls Timothy a διάκονος; Timothy was associated with the church in Ephesus, but he obviously was not a deacon. In addition, the lexical evidence leans away from this view: Within the NT, the διακον- word group rarely functions with a technical nuance. In any case, the evidence is not compelling either way. The view accepted in the translation above is that Phoebe was a servant of the church, not a deaconess, although this conclusion should be regarded as tentative.

[16:3]  ⁶² sn On Prisca and Aquila see also Acts 18:2, 18, 26; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19. In the NT “Priscilla” and “Prisca” are the same person. The author of Acts uses the full name Priscilla, while Paul uses the diminutive form Prisca.

[1:16]  ⁶³ sn Here the Greek refers to anyone who is not Jewish.

[1:17]  ⁶⁴ tn The nature of the “righteousness” described here and the force of the genitive θεοῦ (“of God”) which follows have been much debated. (1) Some (e.g. C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:98) understand “righteousness” to refer to the righteous status given to believers as a result of God’s justifying activity, and see the genitive “of God” as a genitive of source (= “from God”). (2) Others see the “righteousness” as God’s act or declaration that makes righteous (i.e., justifies) those who turn to him in faith, taking the genitive “of God” as a subjective genitive (see E. Käsemann, Romans, 25-30). (3) Still others see the “righteousness of God” mentioned here as the attribute of God himself, understanding the genitive “of God” as a possessive genitive (“God’s righteousness”).

[1:17]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “in it”; the referent (the gospel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “by faith for faith,” or “by faith to faith.” There are many interpretations of the phrase ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pistew" ei" pistin). It may have the idea that this righteousness is obtained by faith (ἐκ πίστεως) because it was designed for faith (εἰς πίστιν). For a summary see J. Murray, Romans (NICNT), 1:363-74.

[1:17]  ⁶⁷ sn A quotation from Hab 2:4.

[1:18]  ⁶⁸ tn The genitive ἀνθρώπων could be taken as an attributed genitive, in which case the phase should be translated “against all ungodly and unrighteous people” (cf. “the truth of God” in v. 25 which is also probably an attributed genitive). C. E. B. Cranfield takes the section 1:18-32 to refer to all people (not just Gentiles), while 2:1-3:20 points out that the Jew is no exception (Romans [ICC], 1:104-6; 1:137-38).

[1:18]  ⁶⁹ tn “Their” is implied in the Greek, but is supplied because of English style.

[1:18]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “by means of unrighteousness.” Grk “in (by) unrighteousness.”

[6:3]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “and we will do this.”

[1:5]  ⁷² tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:5]  ⁷³ tn Grk “I have begotten you.”

[1:5]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “And again,” quoting another OT passage.

[1:5]  ⁷⁵ tn The words “he says” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to make a complete English sentence. In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but English does not normally employ such long and complex sentences.

[1:5]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me.”

[1:6]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “And again when he brings.” The translation adopted in the text looks forward to Christ’s second coming to earth. Some take “again” to introduce the quotation (as in 1:5) and understand this as Christ’s first coming, but this view does not fit well with Heb 2:7. Others understand it as his exaltation/ascension to heaven, but this takes the phrase “into the world” in an unlikely way.

[1:6]  ⁷⁸ sn A quotation combining themes from Deut 32:43 and Ps 97:7.

[1:7]  ⁷⁹ sn The Greek correlative conjunctions μέν and δέ (men and de) emphasize the contrastive parallelism of vs. 7 (what God says about the angels) over against vv. 8-9 and vv. 10-12 (what God says about the son).

[1:7]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “He who makes.”

[1:7]  ⁸¹ sn A quotation from Ps 104:4.

[1:8]  ⁸² tn Or “to.”

[1:8]  ⁸³ tn The verb “he says” (λέγει, legei) is implied from the λέγει of v. 7.

[1:8]  ⁸⁴ tn Or possibly, “Your throne is God forever and ever.” This translation is quite doubtful, however, since (1) in the context the Son is being contrasted to the angels and is presented as far better than they. The imagery of God being the Son’s throne would seem to be of God being his authority. If so, in what sense could this not be said of the angels? In what sense is the Son thus contrasted with the angels? (2) The μέν…δέ (men…de) construction that connects v. 7 with v. 8 clearly lays out this contrast: “On the one hand, he says of the angels…on the other hand, he says of the Son.” Thus, although it is grammatically possible that θεός (qeos) in v. 8 should be taken as a predicate nominative, the context and the correlative conjunctions are decidedly against it. Hebrews 1:8 is thus a strong affirmation of the deity of Christ.

[1:8]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “the righteous scepter,” but used generically.