Isaiah 11:9

11:9 They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain. ¹ 

For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty,

just as the waters completely cover the sea. ² 

Isaiah 37:20

37:20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.” ³ 

Isaiah 55:5

55:5 Look, you will summon nations ⁴  you did not previously know;

nations ⁵  that did not previously know you will run to you,

because of the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, ⁶ 

for he bestows honor on you.

Isaiah 55:1

The Lord Gives an Invitation

55:1 “Hey, ⁷  all who are thirsty, come to the water!

You who have no money, come!

Buy and eat!

Come! Buy wine and milk

without money and without cost! ⁸ 

Isaiah 17:1

The Lord Will Judge Damascus

17:1 Here is a message about Damascus:

“Look, Damascus is no longer a city,

it is a heap of ruins!

Isaiah 17:1

The Lord Will Judge Damascus

17:1 Here is a message about Damascus:

“Look, Damascus is no longer a city,

it is a heap of ruins!

Isaiah 8:1

A Sign-Child is Born

8:1 The Lord told me, “Take a large tablet ⁹  and inscribe these words ¹⁰  on it with an ordinary stylus: ¹¹  ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’ ¹² 

Psalms 67:2

67:2 Then those living on earth will know what you are like;

all nations will know how you deliver your people. ¹³ 

Psalms 98:2-3

98:2 The Lord demonstrates his power to deliver; ¹⁴ 

in the sight of the nations he reveals his justice.

98:3 He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel. ¹⁵ 

All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us. ¹⁶ 

Habakkuk 2:14

2:14 For recognition of the Lord’s sovereign majesty will fill the earth

just as the waters fill up the sea. ¹⁷ 

John 17:3

17:3 Now this ¹⁸  is eternal life ¹⁹  – that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, ²⁰  whom you sent.

Galatians 4:8-9

Heirs of Promise Are Not to Return to Law

4:8 Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all. ²¹  4:9 But now that you have come to know God (or rather to be known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless ²²  basic forces? ²³  Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? ²⁴ 

[11:9]  ¹ tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” In the most basic sense the Lord’s “holy mountain” is the mountain from which he rules over his kingdom (see Ezek 28:14, 16). More specifically it probably refers to Mount Zion/Jerusalem or to the entire land of Israel (see Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; Isa 56:7; 57:13; Ezek 20:40; Ob 16; Zeph 3:11). If the Lord’s universal kingdom is in view in this context (see the note on “earth” at v. 4), then the phrase would probably be metonymic here, standing for God’s worldwide dominion (see the next line).

[11:9]  ² tn Heb “for the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” The translation assumes that a universal kingdom is depicted here, but אֶרֶץ (’erets) could be translated “land” (see the note at v. 4). “Knowledge of the Lord” refers here to a recognition of the Lord’s sovereignty which results in a willingness to submit to his authority. See the note at v. 2.

[37:20]  ³ tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:19 reads, “that you, Lord, are the only God.”

[55:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “a nation,” but the singular is collective here, as the plural verbs in the next line indicate (note that both “know” and “run” are third plural forms).

[55:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “a nation,” but the singular is collective here, as the plural verbs that follow indicate.

[55:5]  ⁶ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[55:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments and is often prefixed to judgment oracles for rhetorical effect. But here it appears to be a simple interjection, designed to grab the audience’s attention. Perhaps there is a note of sorrow or pity. See BDB 223 s.v.

[55:1]  ⁸ sn The statement is an oxymoron. Its ironic quality adds to its rhetorical impact. The statement reminds one of the norm (one must normally buy commodities) as it expresses the astounding offer. One might paraphrase the statement: “Come and take freely what you normally have to pay for.”

[8:1]  ⁹ sn Probably made of metal, wood, or leather. See HALOT 193 s.v. גִּלָּיוֹן.

[8:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “write” (so KJV, ASV, NIV, NRSV).

[8:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “with the stylus of a man.” The significance of the qualifying genitive “a man” is uncertain. For various interpretations see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:219, n. 1.

[8:1]  ¹² tn Heb “quickly, [the] plunder; it hurries, [the] loot.” The first word (מַהֵר, maher) is either a Piel imperative (“hurry [to]”) or infinitive (“hurrying,” or “quickly”). The third word (חָשׁ, khash) is either a third masculine singular perfect or a masculine singular participle, in either case from the root חוּשׁ (khush, “hurry”). Perhaps it is best to translate, “One hastens to the plunder, one hurries to the loot.” In this case מַהֵר is understood as an infinitive functioning as a verb, the subject of חוּשׁ is taken as indefinite, and the two nouns are understood as adverbial accusatives. As we discover in v. 3, this is the name of the son to be born to Isaiah through the prophetess.

[67:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “to know in the earth your way, among all nations your deliverance.” The infinitive with -לְ (lamed) expresses purpose/result. When God demonstrates his favor to his people, all nations will recognize his character as a God who delivers. The Hebrew term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) refers here to God’s characteristic behavior, more specifically, to the way he typically saves his people.

[98:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “makes known his deliverance.”

[98:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he remembers his loyal love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel.”

[98:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the deliverance of our God,” with “God” being a subjective genitive (= God delivers).

[2:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, just as the waters cover over the sea.”

[17:3]  ¹⁸ tn Using αὕτη δέ (Jauth de) to introduce an explanation is typical Johannine style; it was used before in John 1:19, 3:19, and 15:12.

[17:3]  ¹⁹ sn This is eternal life. The author here defines eternal life for the readers, although it is worked into the prayer in such a way that many interpreters do not regard it as another of the author’s parenthetical comments. It is not just unending life in the sense of prolonged duration. Rather it is a quality of life, with its quality derived from a relationship with God. Having eternal life is here defined as being in relationship with the Father, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom the Father sent. Christ (Χριστός, Cristos) is not characteristically attached to Jesus’ name in John’s Gospel; it occurs elsewhere primarily as a title and is used with Jesus’ name only in 1:17. But that is connected to its use here: The statement here in 17:3 enables us to correlate the statement made in 1:18 of the prologue, that Jesus has fully revealed what God is like, with Jesus’ statement in 10:10 that he has come that people might have life, and have it abundantly. These two purposes are really one, according to 17:3, because (abundant) eternal life is defined as knowing (being in relationship with) the Father and the Son. The only way to gain this eternal life, that is, to obtain this knowledge of the Father, is through the Son (cf. 14:6). Although some have pointed to the use of know (γινώσκω, ginwskw) here as evidence of Gnostic influence in the Fourth Gospel, there is a crucial difference: For John this knowledge is not intellectual, but relational. It involves being in relationship.

[17:3]  ²⁰ tn Or “and Jesus the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[4:8]  ²¹ tn Grk “those that by nature…” with the word “beings” implied. BDAG 1070 s.v. φύσις 2 sees this as referring to pagan worship: “Polytheists worship…beings that are by nature no gods at all Gal 4:8.”

[4:9]  ²² tn Or “useless.” See L&N 65.16.

[4:9]  ²³ tn See the note on the phrase “basic forces” in 4:3.

[4:9]  ²⁴ tn Grk “basic forces, to which you want to be enslaved…” Verse 9 is a single sentence in the Greek text, but has been divided into two in the translation because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence.