Genesis 41:51

41:51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, ¹  saying, ²  “Certainly ³  God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s house.”

Proverbs 31:7

31:7 let them ⁴  drink and forget ⁵  their poverty,

and remember their misery no more.

Ecclesiastes 5:20

5:20 For he does not think ⁶  much about the fleeting ⁷  days of his life

because God keeps him preoccupied ⁸  with the joy he derives from his activity. ⁹ 

Isaiah 54:4

54:4 Don’t be afraid, for you will not be put to shame!

Don’t be intimidated, ¹⁰  for you will not be humiliated!

You will forget about the shame you experienced in your youth;

you will no longer remember the disgrace of your abandonment. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 65:16

65:16 Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth ¹² 

will do so in the name of the faithful God; ¹³ 

whoever makes an oath in the earth

will do so in the name of the faithful God. ¹⁴ 

For past problems will be forgotten;

I will no longer think about them. ¹⁵ 

John 16:21

16:21 When a woman gives birth, she has distress ¹⁶  because her time ¹⁷  has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being ¹⁸  has been born into the world. ¹⁹ 

Revelation 7:14-17

7:14 So ²⁰  I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” ²¹  Then ²²  he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They ²³  have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb! 7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve ²⁴  him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. ²⁵  7:16 They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat, ²⁶  7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” ²⁷ 

[41:51]  ¹ sn The name Manasseh (מְנַשֶּׁה, mÿnasheh) describes God’s activity on behalf of Joseph, explaining in general the significance of his change of fortune. The name is a Piel participle, suggesting the meaning “he who brings about forgetfulness.” The Hebrew verb נַשַּׁנִי (nashani) may have been used instead of the normal נִשַּׁנִי (nishani) to provide a closer sound play with the name. The giving of this Hebrew name to his son shows that Joseph retained his heritage and faith; and it shows that a brighter future was in store for him.

[41:51]  ² tn The word “saying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:51]  ³ tn Or “for.”

[31:7]  ⁴ tn The subjects and suffixes are singular (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). Most other English versions render this as plural for stylistic reasons, in light of the preceding context.

[31:7]  ⁵ tn The king was not to “drink and forget”; the suffering are to “drink and forget.”

[5:20]  ⁶ tn The verb זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) may be nuanced “to call to mind; to think about,” that is, “to reflect upon” (e.g., Isa 47:7; Lam 1:9; Job 21:6; 36:24; 40:32; Eccl 11:8); cf. BDB 270 s.v. זָכַר 5; HALOT 270 s.v. I זכר 2.

[5:20]  ⁷ tn The word “fleeting” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:20]  ⁸ tn The term מַעֲנֵה (ma’aneh, Hiphil participle ms from II עָנָה, ’anah, “to be occupied”) refers to activity that keeps a person physically busy and mentally preoccupied, e.g., Eccl 1:13; 3:10; 5:19 (HALOT 854; BDB 775 s.v. עָנָה II). The related noun עִנְיַן (’inyan,“business; occupation; task”) refers to activity that keeps man busy and occupies his time, e.g., Eccl 1:13; 2:26; 3:10 (HALOT 857; BDB 775 s.v. עִנְיָן). The participle form is used to emphasize durative, uninterrupted, continual action.

[5:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “with the joy of his heart.” The words “he derives from his activity” do not appear in the Hebrew, but they are added to clarify the Teacher’s point in light of what he says right before this.

[54:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “embarrassed”; NASB “humiliated…disgraced.”

[54:4]  ¹¹ tn Another option is to translate, “the disgrace of our widowhood” (so NRSV). However, the following context (vv. 6-7) refers to Zion’s husband, the Lord, abandoning her, not dying. This suggests that an אַלְמָנָה (’almanah) was a woman who had lost her husband, whether by death or abandonment.

[65:16]  ¹² tn Or “in the land” (NIV, NCV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs again later in this verse, with the same options.

[65:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “will pronounce a blessing by the God of truth.”

[65:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “will take an oath by the God of truth.”

[65:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for the former distresses will be forgotten, and they will be hidden from my eyes.”

[16:21]  ¹⁶ sn The same word translated distress here has been translated sadness in the previous verse (a wordplay that is not exactly reproducible in English).

[16:21]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “her hour.”

[16:21]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “that a man” (but in a generic sense, referring to a human being).

[16:21]  ¹⁹ sn Jesus now compares the situation of the disciples to a woman in childbirth. Just as the woman in the delivery of her child experiences real pain and anguish (has distress), so the disciples will also undergo real anguish at the crucifixion of Jesus. But once the child has been born, the mother’s anguish is turned into joy, and she forgets the past suffering. The same will be true of the disciples, who after Jesus’ resurrection and reappearance to them will forget the anguish they suffered at his death on account of their joy.

[7:14]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous question.

[7:14]  ²¹ tn Though the expression “the answer” is not in the Greek text, it is clearly implied. Direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context.

[7:14]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[7:14]  ²³ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[7:15]  ²⁴ tn Or “worship.” The word here is λατρεύω (latreuw).

[7:15]  ²⁵ tn Grk “will spread his tent over them,” normally an idiom for taking up residence with someone, but when combined with the preposition ἐπί (epi, “over”) the idea is one of extending protection or shelter (BDAG 929 s.v. σκηνόω).

[7:16]  ²⁶ tn An allusion to Isa 49:10. The phrase “burning heat” is one word in Greek (καῦμα, kauma) that refers to a burning, intensely-felt heat. See BDAG 536 s.v.

[7:17]  ²⁷ sn An allusion to Isa 25:8.