Isaiah 1:3

1:3 An ox recognizes its owner,

a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; ¹ 

but Israel does not recognize me, ² 

my people do not understand.”

Habakkuk 1:16

1:16 Because of his success ³  he offers sacrifices to his throw net

and burns incense to his dragnet; ⁴ 

for because of them he has plenty of food, ⁵ 

and more than enough to eat. ⁶ 

Acts 17:23-25

17:23 For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship, ⁷  I even found an altar with this inscription: ⁸  ‘To an unknown god.’ Therefore what you worship without knowing it, ⁹  this I proclaim to you. 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it, ¹⁰  who is ¹¹  Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands, ¹²  17:25 nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything, ¹³  because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone. ¹⁴ 

Romans 1:28

1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, ¹⁵  God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. ¹⁶ 

[1:3]  ¹ tn Heb “and the donkey the feeding trough of its owner.” The verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.

[1:3]  ² tn Although both verbs have no object, the parallelism suggests that Israel fails to recognize the Lord as the one who provides for their needs. In both clauses, the placement of “Israel” and “my people” at the head of the clause focuses the reader’s attention on the rebellious nation (C. van der Merwe, J. Naudé, J. Kroeze, A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar, 346-47).

[1:16]  ³ tn Heb “therefore.”

[1:16]  ⁴ sn The fishing implements (throw net and dragnet) represent Babylonian military might. The prophet depicts the Babylonians as arrogantly worshiping their own power (sacrifices…burns incense, see also v. 11b).

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “for by them his portion is full [or, “fat”].”

[1:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “and his food is plentiful [or, “fat”].”

[17:23]  ⁷ tn Or “your sanctuaries.” L&N 53.54 gives “sanctuary” (place of worship) as an alternate meaning for the word σεβάσματα (sebasmata).

[17:23]  ⁸ tn Grk “on which was written,” but since it would have been carved in stone, it is more common to speak of an “inscription” in English. To simplify the English the relative construction with a passive verb (“on which was inscribed”) was translated as a prepositional phrase with a substantive (“inscription”).

[17:23]  ⁹ tn BDAG 13 s.v. ἀγνοέω 1.b has “Abs. ὅ ἀγνοοῦντες εὐσεβεῖτε what you worship without knowing it (on the subject matter Maximus Tyr. 11, 5e: all sorts of philosophers ἴσασιν οὐκ ἑκόντες καὶ λέγουσιν ἄκοντες sc. τὸ θεῖον = they know and name God without intending to do so) Ac 17:23.” Paul, in typical Jewish Christian style, informs them of the true God, of whom their idols are an ignorant reflection.

[17:24]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “all the things that are in it.” The speech starts with God as Creator, like 14:15.

[17:24]  ¹¹ tn Or “because he is.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) could be either adjectival, modifying οὗτος (Joutos, “who is Lord…”) or adverbial of cause (“because he is Lord…”). Since the participle διδούς (didou") in v. 25 appears to be clearly causal in force, it is preferable to understand ὑπάρχων as adjectival in this context.

[17:24]  ¹² sn On the statement does not live in temples made by human hands compare Acts 7:48. This has implications for idols as well. God cannot be represented by them or, as the following clause also suggests, served by human hands.

[17:25]  ¹³ tn L&N 57.45 has “nor does he need anything more that people can supply by working for him.”

[17:25]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he himself gives to all [people] life and breath and all things.”

[1:28]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and just as they did not approve to have God in knowledge.”

[1:28]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the things that are improper.”