Genesis 17:20

17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. ¹  I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. ²  He will become the father of twelve princes; ³  I will make him into a great nation.

Genesis 28:15

28:15 I am with you! ⁴  I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”

Genesis 39:2-3

39:2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful ⁵  and lived ⁶  in the household of his Egyptian master. 39:3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful. ⁷ 

Genesis 39:21

39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. ⁸  He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden. ⁹ 

Jude 1:12

1:12 These men are ¹⁰  dangerous reefs ¹¹  at your love feasts, ¹²  feasting without reverence, ¹³  feeding only themselves. ¹⁴  They are ¹⁵  waterless ¹⁶  clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit ¹⁷  – twice dead, ¹⁸  uprooted;

Jude 1:24-25

Final Blessing

1:24 Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, ¹⁹  and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, ²⁰  without blemish ²¹  before his glorious presence, ²²  1:25 to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

Luke 1:80

1:80 And the child kept growing ²³  and becoming strong ²⁴  in spirit, and he was in the wilderness ²⁵  until the day he was revealed ²⁶  to Israel.

Luke 2:40

2:40 And the child grew and became strong, ²⁷  filled with wisdom, ²⁸  and the favor ²⁹  of God ³⁰  was upon him.

[17:20]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:20]  ³ 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.

[28:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “Look, I [am] with you.” The clause is a nominal clause; the verb to be supplied could be present (as in the translation) or future, “Look, I [will be] with you” (cf. NEB).

[39:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he was a prosperous man.” This does not mean that Joseph became wealthy, but that he was successful in what he was doing, or making progress in his situation (see 24:21).

[39:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he was.”

[39:3]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “in his hand,” a phrase not included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he extended to him loyal love.”

[39:21]  ⁹ tn Or “the chief jailer” (also in the following verses).

[1:12]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “these are the men who are.”

[1:12]  ¹¹ tn Though σπιλάδες (spilades) is frequently translated “blemishes” or “stains,” such is actually a translation of the Greek word σπίλοι (spiloi). The two words are quite similar, especially in their root or lexical forms (σπιλάς [spila"] and σπίλος [spilos] respectively). Some scholars have suggested that σπιλάδες in this context means the same thing as σπίλοι. But such could be the case only by a stretch of the imagination (see BDAG 938 s.v. σπιλάς for discussion). Others suggest that Jude’s spelling was in error (which also is doubtful). One reason for the tension is that in the parallel passage, 2 Pet 2:13, the term used is indeed σπίλος. And if either Jude used 2 Peter or 2 Peter used Jude, one would expect to see the same word. Jude, however, may have changed the wording for the sake of a subtle wordplay. The word σπιλάς was often used of a mere rock, though it normally was associated with a rock along the shore or one jutting out in the water. Thus, the false teachers would appear as “rocks” – as pillars in the community (cf. Matt 16:18; Gal 2:9), when in reality if a believer got too close to them his faith would get shipwrecked. Some suggest that σπιλάδες here means “hidden rocks.” Though this meaning is attested for the word, it is inappropriate in this context, since these false teachers are anything but hidden. They are dangerous because undiscerning folks get close to them, thinking they are rocks and pillars, when they are really dangerous reefs.

[1:12]  ¹² tc Several witnesses (A C^vid 1243 1846 al), influenced by the parallel in 2 Pet 2:13, read ἀπάταις (apatai", “deceptions”) for ἀγάπαις (agapai", “love-feasts”) in v. 12. However, ἀγάπαις has much stronger and earlier support and should therefore be considered original.

[1:12]  ¹³ tn Or “fearlessly.” The term in this context, however, is decidedly negative. The implication is that these false teachers ate the Lord’s Supper without regarding the sanctity of the meal. Cf. 1 Cor 11:17-22.

[1:12]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “shepherding themselves.” The verb ποιμαίνω (poimainw) means “shepherd, nurture [the flock].” But these men, rather than tending to the flock of God, nurture only themselves. They thus fall under the condemnation Paul uttered when writing to the Corinthians: “For when it comes time to eat [the Lord’s Supper,] each one goes ahead with his own meal” (1 Cor 11:21). Above all, the love-feast was intended to be a shared meal in which all ate and all felt welcome.

[1:12]  ¹⁵ tn “They are” is not in Greek, but resumes the thought begun at the front of v. 12. There is no period before “They are.” English usage requires breaking this into more than one sentence.

[1:12]  ¹⁶ tn Cf. 2 Pet 2:17. Jude’s emphasis is slightly different (instead of waterless springs, they are waterless clouds).

[1:12]  ¹⁷ sn The imagery portraying the false teachers as autumn trees without fruit has to do with their lack of productivity. Recall the statement to the same effect by Jesus in Matt 7:16-20, in which false prophets will be known by their fruits. Like waterless clouds full of false hope, these trees do not yield any harvest even though it is expected.

[1:12]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “having died twice.”

[1:24]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “without blemish” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ²² tn Or “in the presence of his glory,” “before his glory.”

[1:80]  ²³ tn This verb is imperfect.

[1:80]  ²⁴ tn This verb is also imperfect.

[1:80]  ²⁵ tn Or “desert.”

[1:80]  ²⁶ tn Grk “until the day of his revealing.”

[2:40]  ²⁷ tc Most mss (A Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï) read πνεύματι (pneumati, “in spirit”) after “became strong,” but this looks like an assimilation to Luke 1:80. The better witnesses (א B D L N W pc lat co) lack the word.

[2:40]  ²⁸ sn With the description grew and became strong, filled with wisdom Luke emphasizes the humanity of Jesus and his growth toward maturity.

[2:40]  ²⁹ tn Or “grace.”

[2:40]  ³⁰ sn On the phrase the favor of God see Luke 1:66.