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 

Isaiah 55:7

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ⁶ 

and sinful people their plans. ⁷ 

They should return ⁸  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ⁹ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ¹⁰ 

Ezekiel 33:11

33:11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior ¹¹  and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! ¹²  Why should you die, O house of Israel?’

Ezekiel 33:1

Ezekiel Israel’s Watchman

33:1 The word of the Lord came to me:

Ezekiel 1:13-15

1:13 In the middle ¹³  of the living beings was something like ¹⁴  burning coals of fire ¹⁵  or like torches. It moved back and forth among the living beings. It was bright, and lightning was flashing out of the fire. 1:14 The living beings moved backward and forward as quickly as flashes of lightning. ¹⁶ 

1:15 Then I looked, ¹⁷  and I saw one wheel ¹⁸  on the ground ¹⁹  beside each of the four beings.

Hebrews 6:4

6:4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit,

Hebrews 10:26

10:26 For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us, ²⁰ 

Hebrews 10:29

10:29 How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for ²¹  the Son of God, and profanes ²²  the blood of the covenant that made him holy, ²³  and insults the Spirit of grace?

Hebrews 10:1

Concluding Exposition: Old and New Sacrifices Contrasted

10:1 For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship. ²⁴ 

Hebrews 1:9

1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.

So God, your God, has anointed you over your companions ²⁵  with the oil of rejoicing.” ²⁶ 

Hebrews 2:1-2

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2:2 For if the message spoken through angels ²⁷  proved to be so firm that every violation ²⁸  or disobedience received its just penalty,

[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.

[55:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ⁹ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ¹⁰ sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.

[33:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “turn from his way.”

[33:11]  ¹² tn Heb “ways.” This same word is translated “behavior” earlier in the verse.

[1:13]  ¹³ tc The MT reads “and the form of the creatures” (וּדְמוּת הַחַיּוֹת, udÿmut hakhayyot). The LXX reads “and in the midst of the creatures,” suggesting an underlying Hebrew text of וּמִתּוֹךְ הַחַיּוֹת (umittokh hakhayyot). The subsequent description of something moving among the creatures supports the LXX.

[1:13]  ¹⁴ tc The MT reads “and the form of the creatures – their appearance was like burning coals of fire.” The LXX reads “in the midst of the creatures was a sight like burning coals of fire.” The MT may have adjusted “appearance” to “their appearance” to fit their reading of the beginning of the verse (see the tc note on “in the middle”). See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:46.

[1:13]  ¹⁵ sn Burning coals of fire are also a part of David’s poetic description of God’s appearance (see 2 Sam 22:9, 13; Ps 18:8).

[1:14]  ¹⁶ tc The LXX omits v. 14 and may well be correct. The verse may be a later explanatory gloss of the end of v. 13 which was copied into the main text. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:46.

[1:15]  ¹⁷ tc The MT adds “at the living beings” which is absent from the LXX.

[1:15]  ¹⁸ sn Another vision which includes wheels on thrones occurs in Dan 7:9. Ezek 10 contains a vision similar to this one.

[1:15]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew word may be translated either “earth” or “ground” in this context.

[10:26]  ²⁰ tn Grk “is left,” with “for us” implied by the first half of the verse.

[10:29]  ²¹ tn Grk “tramples under foot.”

[10:29]  ²² tn Grk “regarded as common.”

[10:29]  ²³ tn Grk “by which he was made holy.”

[10:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “those who approach.”

[1:9]  ²⁵ sn God…has anointed you over your companions. God’s anointing gives the son a superior position and authority over his fellows.

[1:9]  ²⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 45:6-7.

[2:2]  ²⁷ sn The message spoken through angels refers to the OT law, which according to Jewish tradition was mediated to Moses through angels (cf. Deut 33:2; Ps 68:17-18; Acts 7:38, 53; Gal 3:19; and Jub. 1:27, 29; Josephus, Ant. 15.5.3 [15.136]).

[2:2]  ²⁸ tn Grk “through angels became valid and every violation.”