Genesis 31:19

31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, ¹  Rachel stole the household idols ²  that belonged to her father.

Genesis 31:30

31:30 Now I understand that ³  you have gone away ⁴  because you longed desperately ⁵  for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” ⁶ 

Genesis 31:32

31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! ⁷  In the presence of our relatives ⁸  identify whatever is yours and take it.” ⁹  (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) ¹⁰ 

Genesis 35:2

35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. ¹¹  Purify yourselves and change your clothes. ¹² 

Deuteronomy 27:15

27:15 ‘Cursed is the one ¹³  who makes a carved or metal image – something abhorrent ¹⁴  to the Lord, the work of the craftsman ¹⁵  – and sets it up in a secret place.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ ¹⁶ 

Jude 1:4-5

1:4 For certain men ¹⁷  have secretly slipped in among you ¹⁸  – men who long ago ¹⁹  were marked out ²⁰  for the condemnation I am about to describe ²¹  – ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil ²²  and who deny our only Master ²³  and Lord, ²⁴  Jesus Christ.

1:5 Now I desire to remind you (even though you have been fully informed of these facts ²⁵  once for all ²⁶ ) that Jesus, ²⁷  having saved the ²⁸  people out of the land of Egypt, later ²⁹  destroyed those who did not believe.

Jude 1:24

Final Blessing

1:24 Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, ³⁰  and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, ³¹  without blemish ³²  before his glorious presence, ³³ 

Ezekiel 8:12

8:12 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the chamber of his idolatrous images? ³⁴  For they think, ‘The Lord does not see us! The Lord has abandoned the land!’”

[31:19]  ¹ tn This disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new scene. In the English translation it may be subordinated to the following clause.

[31:19]  ² tn Or “household gods.” Some translations merely transliterate the Hebrew term תְּרָפִים (tÿrafim) as “teraphim,” which apparently refers to household idols. Some contend that possession of these idols guaranteed the right of inheritance, but it is more likely that they were viewed simply as protective deities. See M. Greenberg, “Another Look at Rachel’s Theft of the Teraphim,” JBL 81 (1962): 239-48.

[31:30]  ³ tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[31:30]  ⁴ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.

[31:30]  ⁵ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.

[31:30]  ⁶ sn Yet why did you steal my gods? This last sentence is dropped into the speech rather suddenly. See C. Mabee, “Jacob and Laban: The Structure of Judicial Proceedings,” VT 30 (1980): 192-207, and G. W. Coats, “Self-Abasement and Insult Formulas,” JBL 91 (1972): 90-92.

[31:32]  ⁷ tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”

[31:32]  ⁸ tn Heb “brothers.”

[31:32]  ⁹ tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”

[31:32]  ¹⁰ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, it has been placed in parentheses in the translation.

[35:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “which are in your midst.”

[35:2]  ¹² sn The actions of removing false gods, becoming ritually clean, and changing garments would become necessary steps in Israel when approaching the Lord in worship.

[27:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “man,” but in a generic sense here.

[27:15]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated here “abhorrent” (תּוֹעֵבָה, to’evah) speaks of attitudes and/or behaviors so vile as to be reprehensible to a holy God. See note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

[27:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “craftsman’s hands.”

[27:15]  ¹⁶ tn Or “So be it!” The term is an affirmation expressing agreement with the words of the Levites.

[1:4]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “people.” However, if Jude is indeed arguing that Peter’s prophecy about false teachers has come true, these are most likely men in the original historical and cultural setting. See discussion of this point in the note on the phrase “these men” in 2 Pet 2:12.

[1:4]  ¹⁸ tn “Among you” is not in the Greek text, but is obviously implied.

[1:4]  ¹⁹ tn Or “in the past.” The adverb πάλαι (palai) can refer to either, though the meaning “long ago” is more common.

[1:4]  ²⁰ tn Grk “written about.”

[1:4]  ²¹ tn Grk “for this condemnation.” τοῦτο (touto) is almost surely a kataphoric demonstrative pronoun, pointing to what follows in vv. 5-18. Otherwise, the condemnation is only implied (in v. 3b) or is merely a statement of their sinfulness (“ungodly” in v. 4b), not a judgment of it.

[1:4]  ²² tn Grk “debauchery.” This is the same word Peter uses to predict what the false teachers will be like (2 Pet 2:2, 7, 18).

[1:4]  ²³ tc Most later witnesses (P Ψ Ï sy) have θεόν (qeon, “God”) after δεσπότην (despothn, “master”), which appears to be a motivated reading in that it explicitly links “Master” to “God” in keeping with the normal NT pattern (see Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24; 2 Tim 2:21; Rev 6:10). In patristic Greek, δεσπότης (despoth") was used especially of God (cf. BDAG 220 s.v. 1.b.). The earlier and better witnesses (Ì^72,78 א A B C 0251 33 81 323 1241 1739 al co) lack θεόν; the shorter reading is thus preferred on both internal and external grounds.

[1:4]  ²⁴ tn The terms “Master and Lord” both refer to the same person. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. For more discussion see ExSyn 270-78. See also Titus 2:13 and 2 Pet 1:1

[1:5]  ²⁵ tn Grk “knowing all things.” The subject of the participle “knowing” (εἰδότας, eidota") is an implied ὑμᾶς (Jumas), though several ancient witnesses actually add it. The πάντα (panta) takes on an adverbial force in this context (“fully”), intensifying how acquainted the readers are with the following points.

[1:5]  ²⁶ tc ‡ Some translations take ἅπαξ (Japax) with the following clause (thus, “[Jesus,] having saved the people once for all”). Such a translation presupposes that ἅπαξ is a part of the ὅτι (Joti) clause. The reading of NA²⁷, πάντα ὅτι [ὁ] κύριος ἅπαξ (panta {oti [Jo] kurio" {apax), suggests this interpretation (though with “Lord” instead of “Jesus”). This particle is found before λαόν (laon) in the ὅτι clause in א C* Ψ 630 1241 1243 1505 1739 1846 1881 pc co. But ἅπαξ is found before the ὅτι clause in most witnesses, including several important ones (Ì⁷² A B C² 33 81 623 2344 Ï vg). What seems best able to explain the various placements of the adverb is that scribes were uncomfortable with ἅπαξ referring to the readers’ knowledge, feeling it was more appropriate to the theological significance of “saved” (σώσας, swsas).

[1:5]  ²⁷ tc ‡ The reading ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) is deemed too hard by several scholars, since it involves the notion of Jesus acting in the early history of the nation Israel. However, not only does this reading enjoy the strongest support from a variety of early witnesses (e.g., A B 33 81 1241 1739 1881 2344 pc vg co Or^1739mg), but the plethora of variants demonstrate that scribes were uncomfortable with it, for they seemed to exchange κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) or θεός (qeos, “God”) for ᾿Ιησοῦς (though Ì⁷² has the intriguing reading θεὸς Χριστός [qeos Cristos, “God Christ”] for ᾿Ιησοῦς). In addition to the evidence supplied in NA²⁷ for this reading, note also {88 322 323 424^c 665 915 2298 eth Cyr Hier Bede}. As difficult as the reading ᾿Ιησοῦς is, in light of v. 4 and in light of the progress of revelation (Jude being one of the last books in the NT to be composed), it is wholly appropriate.

[1:5]  ²⁸ tn Or perhaps “a,” though this is less likely.

[1:5]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the second time.”

[1:24]  ³⁰ tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “free from falling” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ³¹ tn Grk “with rejoicing.” The prepositional clause is placed after “his glorious presence” in Greek, but most likely goes with “cause you to stand.”

[1:24]  ³² tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “without blemish” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ³³ tn Or “in the presence of his glory,” “before his glory.”

[8:12]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the room of his images.” The adjective “idolatrous” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.