Isaiah 1:18

1:18 ¹ Come, let’s consider your options,” ²  says the Lord.

“Though your sins have stained you like the color red,

you can become ³  white like snow;

though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,

you can become ⁴  white like wool. ⁵ 

Genesis 32:12

32:12 But you ⁶  said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper ⁷  and will make ⁸  your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” ⁹ 

Job 16:21

16:21 and ¹⁰  he contends with God on behalf of man

as a man ¹¹  pleads ¹²  for his friend.

Job 23:3-6

23:3 O that I knew ¹³  where I might find him, ¹⁴ 

that I could come ¹⁵  to his place of residence! ¹⁶ 

23:4 I would lay out my case ¹⁷  before him

and fill my mouth with arguments.

23:5 I would know with what words ¹⁸  he would answer me,

and understand what he would say to me.

23:6 Would he contend ¹⁹  with me with great power?

No, he would only pay attention to me. ²⁰ 

Job 40:4-5

40:4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy ²¹  – how could I reply to you?

I put ²²  my hand over my mouth to silence myself. ²³ 

40:5 I have spoken once, but I cannot answer;

twice, but I will say no more.” ²⁴ 

Psalms 141:2

141:2 May you accept my prayer like incense,

my uplifted hands like the evening offering! ²⁵ 

Jeremiah 2:21-35

2:21 I planted you in the land

like a special vine of the very best stock.

Why in the world have you turned into something like a wild vine

that produces rotten, foul-smelling grapes? ²⁶ 

2:22 You can try to wash away your guilt with a strong detergent.

You can use as much soap as you want.

But the stain of your guilt is still there for me to see,” ²⁷ 

says the Lord God. ²⁸ 

2:23 “How can you say, ‘I have not made myself unclean.

I have not paid allegiance to ²⁹  the gods called Baal.’

Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! ³⁰ 

Think about the things you have done there!

You are like a flighty, young female camel

that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path. ³¹ 

2:24 You are like a wild female donkey brought up in the wilderness.

In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male. ³² 

No one can hold her back when she is in heat.

None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her.

At mating time she is easy to find. ³³ 

2:25 Do not chase after other gods until your shoes wear out

and your throats become dry. ³⁴ 

But you say, ‘It is useless for you to try and stop me

because I love those foreign gods ³⁵  and want to pursue them!’

2:26 Just as a thief has to suffer dishonor when he is caught,

so the people of Israel ³⁶  will suffer dishonor for what they have done. ³⁷ 

So will their kings and officials,

their priests and their prophets.

2:27 They say to a wooden idol, ³⁸  ‘You are my father.’

They say to a stone image, ‘You gave birth to me.’ ³⁹ 

Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. ⁴⁰ 

Yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’

2:28 But where are the gods you made for yourselves?

Let them save you when you are in trouble.

The sad fact is that ⁴¹  you have as many gods

as you have towns, Judah.

2:29 “Why do you try to refute me? ⁴² 

All of you have rebelled against me,”

says the Lord.

2:30 “It did no good for me to punish your people.

They did not respond to such correction.

You slaughtered your prophets

like a voracious lion.” ⁴³ 

2:31 You people of this generation,

listen to what the Lord says.

“Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel?

Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you? ⁴⁴ 

Why then do you ⁴⁵  say, ‘We are free to wander. ⁴⁶ 

We will not come to you any more?’

2:32 Does a young woman forget to put on her jewels?

Does a bride forget to put on her bridal attire?

But my people have forgotten me

for more days than can even be counted.

2:33 “My, how good you have become

at chasing after your lovers! ⁴⁷ 

Why, you could even teach prostitutes a thing or two! ⁴⁸ 

2:34 Even your clothes are stained with

the lifeblood of the poor who had not done anything wrong;

you did not catch them breaking into your homes. ⁴⁹ 

Yet, in spite of all these things you have done, ⁵⁰ 

2:35 you say, ‘I have not done anything wrong,

so the Lord cannot really be angry with me any more.’

But, watch out! ⁵¹  I will bring down judgment on you

because you say, ‘I have not committed any sin.’

Ezekiel 36:37

36:37 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will allow the house of Israel to ask me to do this for them: ⁵²  I will multiply their people like sheep. ⁵³ 

Romans 11:35

11:35 Or who has first given to God, ⁵⁴ 

that God ⁵⁵  needs to repay him? ⁵⁶ 

[1:18]  ¹ sn The Lord concludes his case against Israel by offering them the opportunity to be forgiven and by setting before them the alternatives of renewed blessing (as a reward for repentance) and final judgment (as punishment for persistence in sin).

[1:18]  ² tn Traditionally, “let us reason together,” but the context suggests a judicial nuance. The Lord is giving the nation its options for the future.

[1:18]  ³ tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.

[1:18]  ⁴ tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.

[1:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “though your sins are like red, they will become white like snow; though they are red like scarlet, they will be like wool.” The point is not that the sins will be covered up, though still retained. The metaphorical language must be allowed some flexibility and should not be pressed into a rigid literalistic mold. The people’s sins will be removed and replaced by ethical purity. The sins that are now as obvious as the color red will be washed away and the ones who are sinful will be transformed.

[32:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[32:12]  ⁷ tn Or “will certainly deal well with you.” The infinitive absolute appears before the imperfect, underscoring God’s promise to bless. The statement is more emphatic than in v. 9.

[32:12]  ⁸ tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.

[32:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.

[16:21]  ¹⁰ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 240) alters this slightly to read “Would that” or “Ah! if only.”

[16:21]  ¹¹ tn This is the simple translation of the expression “son of man” in Job. But some commentators wish to change the word בֵּן (ben, “son”) to בֵּין (ben, “between”). It would then be “[as] between a man and [for] his friend.” Even though a few mss have this reading, it is to be rejected. But see J. Barr, “Some Notes on ‘ben’ in Classical Hebrew,” JSS 23 (1978): 1-22.

[16:21]  ¹² tn The verb is supplied from the parallel clause.

[23:3]  ¹³ tn The optative here is again expressed with the verbal clause, “who will give [that] I knew….”

[23:3]  ¹⁴ tn The form in Hebrew is וְאֶמְצָאֵהוּ (vÿ’emtsa’ehu), simply “and I will find him.” But in the optative clause this verb is subordinated to the preceding verb: “O that I knew where [and] I might find him.” It is not unusual to have the perfect verb followed by the imperfect in such coordinate clauses (see GKC 386 §120.e). This could also be translated making the second verb a complementary infinitive: “knew how to find him.”

[23:3]  ¹⁵ tn This verb also depends on מִי־יִתֵּן (mi-yitten, “who will give”) of the first part, forming an additional clause in the wish formula.

[23:3]  ¹⁶ tn Or “his place of judgment.” The word is from כּוּן (kun, “to prepare; to arrange”) in the Polel and the Hiphil conjugations. The noun refers to a prepared place, a throne, a seat, or a sanctuary. A. B. Davidson (Job, 169) and others take the word to mean “judgment seat” or “tribunal” in this context.

[23:4]  ¹⁷ tn The word מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) is normally “judgment; decision.” But in these contexts it refers to the legal case that Job will bring before God. With the verb עָרַךְ (’arakh, “to set in order; to lay out”) the whole image of drawing up a lawsuit is complete.

[23:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the words he would answer me.”

[23:6]  ¹⁹ tn The verb is now רִיב (riv) and not יָכַח (yakhakh, “contend”); רִיב (riv) means “to quarrel; to dispute; to contend,” often in a legal context. Here it is still part of Job’s questioning about this hypothetical meeting – would God contend with all his power?

[23:6]  ²⁰ tn The verbal clause יָשִׂם בִּי (yasim bi) has been translated “he would pay [attention] to me.” Job is saying that God will not need all his power – he will just have pay attention to Job’s complaint. Job does not need the display of power – he just wants a hearing.

[40:4]  ²¹ tn The word קַלֹּתִי (qalloti) means “to be light; to be of small account; to be unimportant.” From this comes the meaning “contemptible,” which in the causative stem would mean “to treat with contempt; to curse.” Dhorme tries to make the sentence a conditional clause and suggests this meaning: “If I have been thoughtless.” There is really no “if” in Job’s mind.

[40:4]  ²² tn The perfect verb here should be classified as an instantaneous perfect; the action is simultaneous with the words.

[40:4]  ²³ tn The words “to silence myself” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[40:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “I will not add.”

[141:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “may my prayer be established [like] incense before you, the uplifting of my hands [like] an evening offering.”

[2:21]  ²⁶ tc Heb “I planted you as a choice vine, all of it true seed. How then have you turned into a putrid thing to me, a strange [or wild] vine.” The question expresses surprise and consternation. The translation is based on a redivision of the Hebrew words סוּרֵי הַגֶּפֶן (sure haggefen) into סוֹרִיָּה גֶּפֶן (soriyyah gefen) and the recognition of a hapax legomenon סוֹרִיָּה (soriyyah) meaning “putrid, stinking thing.” See HALOT 707 s.v. סוֹרִי.

[2:22]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Even if you wash with natron/lye, and use much soap, your sin is a stain before me.”

[2:22]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” For an explanation of this title see the study notes on 1:6.

[2:23]  ²⁹ tn Heb “I have not gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for the meaning and usage of this idiom.

[2:23]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Look at your way in the valley.” The valley is an obvious reference to the Valley of Hinnom where Baal and Molech were worshiped and child sacrifice was practiced.

[2:23]  ³¹ sn The metaphor is intended to depict Israel’s lack of clear direction and purpose without the Lord’s control.

[2:24]  ³² tn The words “to get the scent of a male” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:24]  ³³ sn The metaphor is intended to depict Israel’s irrepressible desire to worship other gods.

[2:25]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Refrain your feet from being bare and your throat from being dry/thirsty.”

[2:25]  ³⁵ tn Heb “It is useless! No!” For this idiom, see Jer 18:12; NEB “No; I am desperate.”

[2:26]  ³⁶ tn Heb “house of Israel.”

[2:26]  ³⁷ tn The words “for what they have done” are implicit in the comparison and are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:27]  ³⁸ tn Heb “wood…stone…”

[2:27]  ³⁹ sn The reference to wood and stone is, of course, a pejorative reference to idols made by human hands. See the next verse where reference is made to “the gods you have made.”

[2:27]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “they have turned [their] backs to me, not [their] faces.”

[2:28]  ⁴¹ tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki, “for, indeed”) contextually.

[2:29]  ⁴² sn This is still part of the Lord’s case against Israel. See 2:9 for the use of the same Hebrew verb. The Lord here denies their counter claims that they do not deserve to be punished.

[2:30]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Your sword devoured your prophets like a destroying lion.” However, the reference to the sword in this and many similar idioms is merely idiomatic for death by violent means.

[2:31]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “a land of the darkness of Yah [= thick or deep darkness].” The idea of danger is an added connotation of the word in this context.

[2:31]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “my people.”

[2:31]  ⁴⁶ tn Or more freely, “free to do as we please.” There is some debate about the meaning of this verb (רוּד, rud) because its usage is rare and its meaning is debated in the few passages where it does occur. The key to its meaning may rest in the emended text (reading וְרַדְתִּי [vÿradti] for וְיָרַדְתִּי [vÿyaradti]) in Judg 11:37 where it refers to the roaming of Jephthah’s daughter on the mountains of Israel.

[2:33]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “How good you have made your ways to seek love.”

[2:33]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “so that even the wicked women you teach your ways.”

[2:34]  ⁴⁹ tn The words “for example” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarification. This is only one example of why their death was not legitimate.

[2:34]  ⁵⁰ tn KJV and ASV read this line with 2:34. The ASV makes little sense and the KJV again erroneously reads the archaic second person feminine singular perfect as first person common singular. All the modern English versions and commentaries take this line with 2:35.

[2:35]  ⁵¹ tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle often translated “behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh) in a meaningful way in this context. See further the translator’s note on the word “really” in 1:6.

[36:37]  ⁵² tn The Niphal verb may have a tolerative function here, “Again (for) this I will allow myself to be sought by the house of Israel to act for them.” Or it may be reflexive: “I will reveal myself to the house of Israel by doing this also.”

[36:37]  ⁵³ sn Heb “I will multiply them like sheep, human(s).”

[11:35]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:35]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:35]  ⁵⁶ sn A quotation from Job 41:11.