Isaiah 40:31

40:31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help ¹  find renewed strength;

they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, ² 

they run without growing weary,

they walk without getting tired.

Hosea 2:15

2:15 From there I will give back her vineyards to her,

and turn the “Valley of Trouble” ³  into an “Opportunity ⁴  for Hope.”

There she will sing as she did when she was young, ⁵ 

when ⁶  she came up from the land of Egypt.

Hosea 2:2

Idolatrous Israel Will Be Punished Like a Prostitute

2:2 Plead earnestly ⁷  with your ⁸  mother

(for ⁹  she is not my wife, and I am not her husband),

so that ¹⁰  she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle, ¹¹ 

and turn away from her sexually immoral behavior. ¹² 

Colossians 4:16

4:16 And after ¹³  you have read this letter, have it read ¹⁴  to the church of Laodicea. In turn, read the letter from Laodicea ¹⁵  as well.

[40:31]  ¹ tn The words “for the Lord’s help” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[40:31]  ² tn Heb “they rise up [on] wings like eagles” (TEV similar).

[2:15]  ³ tn Heb “Valley of Achor,” so named because of the unfortunate incident recorded in Josh 7:1-26 (the name is explained in v. 26; the Hebrew term Achor means “disaster” or “trouble”). Cf. TEV, CEV “Trouble Valley.”

[2:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “door” or “doorway”; cf. NLT “gateway.” Unlike the days of Joshua, when Achan’s sin jeopardized Israel’s mission and cast a dark shadow over the nation, Israel’s future return to the land will be marked by renewed hope.

[2:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “as in the days of her youth” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[2:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “as in the day when” (so KJV, NASB).

[2:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “Plead with your mother, plead!” The imperative רִיבוּ (rivu, “plead!”) is repeated twice in this line for emphasis. This rhetorical expression is handled in a woodenly literal sense by most English translations: NASB “Contend…contend”; NAB “Protest…protest!”; NIV “Rebuke…rebuke”; NRSV “Plead…plead”; CEV “Accuse! Accuse your mother!”

[2:2]  ⁸ sn The suffix on the noun אִמְּכֶם (’immékhem, “your mother”) is a plural form (2nd person masculine). The children of Gomer represent the “children” (i.e., people) of Israel; Gomer represents the nation as a whole.

[2:2]  ⁹ tn The particle כִּי (ki) introduces a parenthetical explanatory clause (however, cf. NCV “because”).

[2:2]  ¹⁰ tn The dependent volitive sequence of imperative followed by vav + jussive (רִיבוּ, rivu followed by וְתָסֵר, vétaser) creates a purpose clause: “so that she might turn away from” (= “put an end to”); cf. NRSV “that she put away”; KJV “let her therefore put away.” Many English translations begin a new sentence here, presumably to improve the English style (so NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT), but this obscures the connection with the preceding clause.

[2:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “put away her adulteries from her face.” The plural noun זְנוּנֶיהָ (zénuneha, “adulteries”) is an example of the plural of repeated (or habitual) action: she has had multiple adulterous affairs.

[2:2]  ¹² tn Heb “[put away] her immoral behavior from between her breasts.” Cf. KJV “her adulteries”; NIV “the unfaithfulness.”

[4:16]  ¹³ tn Grk “when.”

[4:16]  ¹⁴ tn The construction beginning with the imperative ποιήσατε ἵνα…ἀναγνωσθῇ (poihsate Jina…anagnwsqh) should be translated as “have it read” where the conjunction ἵνα functions to mark off its clause as the direct object of the imperative ποιήσατε. The content of the clause (“reading the letter”) is what Paul commands with the imperative ποιήσατε. Thus the translation “have it read” has been used here.

[4:16]  ¹⁵ sn This letter is otherwise unknown, but some have suggested that it is the letter known today as Ephesians.