Isaiah 46:10-11

46:10 who announces the end from the beginning

and reveals beforehand ¹  what has not yet occurred,

who says, ‘My plan will be realized,

I will accomplish what I desire,’

46:11 who summons an eagle ²  from the east,

from a distant land, one who carries out my plan.

Yes, I have decreed, ³ 

yes, I will bring it to pass;

I have formulated a plan,

yes, I will carry it out.

Isaiah 55:10-11

55:10 ⁴ The rain and snow fall from the sky

and do not return,

but instead water the earth

and make it produce and yield crops,

and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.

55:11 In the same way, the promise that I make

does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. ⁵ 

No, it is realized as I desire

and is fulfilled as I intend.” ⁶ 

Psalms 119:89-91

ל (Lamed)

119:89 O Lord, your instructions endure;

they stand secure in heaven. ⁷ 

119:90 You demonstrate your faithfulness to all generations. ⁸ 

You established the earth and it stood firm.

119:91 Today they stand firm by your decrees,

for all things are your servants.

Zechariah 1:6

1:6 But have my words and statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, not outlived your fathers? ⁹  Then they paid attention ¹⁰  and confessed, ‘The Lord who rules over all has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.’”

Matthew 5:18

5:18 I ¹¹  tell you the truth, ¹²  until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter ¹³  will pass from the law until everything takes place.

Matthew 24:35

24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ¹⁴ 

Mark 13:31

13:31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ¹⁵ 

John 10:35

10:35 If those people to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’ (and the scripture cannot be broken), ¹⁶ 

John 12:34

12:34 Then the crowd responded, ¹⁷  “We have heard from the law that the Christ ¹⁸  will remain forever. ¹⁹  How ²⁰  can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

Romans 3:1-3

3:1 Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision? 3:2 Actually, there are many advantages. ²¹  First of all, ²²  the Jews ²³  were entrusted with the oracles of God. ²⁴  3:3 What then? If some did not believe, does their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God?

Romans 3:1

3:1 Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision?

Romans 1:25

1:25 They ²⁵  exchanged the truth of God for a lie ²⁶  and worshiped and served the creation ²⁷  rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

[46:10]  ¹ tn Or “from long ago”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “from ancient times.”

[46:11]  ² tn Or, more generally, “a bird of prey” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV; see 18:6).

[46:11]  ³ tn Heb “spoken”; KJV “I have spoken it.”

[55:10]  ⁴ tn This verse begins in the Hebrew text with כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר (ki ka’asher, “for, just as”), which is completed by כֵּן (ken, “so, in the same way”) at the beginning of v. 11. For stylistic reasons, this lengthy sentence is divided up into separate sentences in the translation.

[55:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “so is the word which goes out from my mouth, it does not return to empty.” “Word” refers here to divine promises, like the ones made just prior to and after this (see vv. 7b, 12-13).

[55:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “but it accomplishes what I desire, and succeeds [on the mission] which I send it.”

[119:89]  ⁷ tn Heb “Forever, O Lord, your word stands firm in heaven,” or “Forever, O Lord, [is] your word; it stands firm in heaven.” The translation assumes that “your word” refers here to the body of divine instructions contained in the law (note the frequent references to the law in vv. 92-96). See vv. 9, 16-17, 57, 101, 105, 130, 139 and 160-61. The reference in v. 86 to God’s law being faithful favors this interpretation. Another option is that “your word” refers to God’s assuring word of promise, mentioned in vv. 25, 28, 42, 65, 74, 81, 107, 114, 147 and 169. In this case one might translate, “O Lord, your promise is reliable, it stands firm in heaven.”

[119:90]  ⁸ tn Heb “to a generation and a generation [is] your faithfulness.”

[1:6]  ⁹ tc BHS suggests אֶתְכֶם (’etkhem, “you”) for the MT אֲבֹתֵיכֶם (’avotekhem, “your fathers”) to harmonize with v. 4. In v. 4 the ancestors would not turn but in v. 6 they appear to have done so. The subject in v. 6, however, is to be construed as Zechariah’s own listeners.

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they turned” (so ASV). Many English versions have “they repented” here; cf. CEV “they turned back to me.”

[5:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “For I tell.” Here an explanatory γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[5:18]  ¹² tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[5:18]  ¹³ tn Grk “Not one iota or one serif.”

[24:35]  ¹⁴ sn The words that Jesus predicts here will never pass away. They are more stable and lasting than creation itself. For this kind of image, see Isa 40:8; 55:10-11.

[13:31]  ¹⁵ sn The words that Jesus predicts here will never pass away. They are more stable and lasting than creation itself! For this kind of image, see Isa 40:8; 55:10-11.

[10:35]  ¹⁶ sn The parenthetical note And the scripture cannot be broken belongs to Jesus’ words rather than the author’s. Not only does Jesus appeal to the OT to defend himself against the charge of blasphemy, but he also adds that the scripture cannot be “broken.” In this context he does not explain precisely what is meant by “broken,” but it is not too hard to determine. Jesus’ argument depended on the exact word used in the context of Ps 82:6. If any other word for “judge” had been used in the psalm, his argument would have been meaningless. Since the scriptures do use this word in Ps 82:6, the argument is binding, because they cannot be “broken” in the sense of being shown to be in error.

[12:34]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Then the crowd answered him.”

[12:34]  ¹⁸ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[12:34]  ¹⁹ tn Probably an allusion to Ps 89:35-37. It is difficult to pinpoint the passage in the Mosaic law to which the crowd refers. The ones most often suggested are Ps 89:36-37, Ps 110:4, Isa 9:7, Ezek 37:25, and Dan 7:14. None of these passages are in the Pentateuch per se, but “law” could in common usage refer to the entire OT (compare Jesus’ use in John 10:34). Of the passages mentioned, Ps 89:36-37 is the most likely candidate. This verse speaks of David’s “seed” remaining forever. Later in the same psalm, v. 51 speaks of the “anointed” (Messiah), and the psalm was interpreted messianically in both the NT (Acts 13:22, Rev 1:5, 3:14) and in the rabbinic literature (Genesis Rabbah 97).

[12:34]  ²⁰ tn Grk “And how”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.

[3:2]  ²¹ tn Grk “much in every way.”

[3:2]  ²² tc ‡ Most witnesses (א A D² 33 Ï) have γάρ (gar) after μέν (men), though some significant Alexandrian and Western witnesses lack the conjunction (B D* G Ψ 81 365 1506 2464* pc latt). A few mss have γάρ, but not μέν (6 1739 1881). γάρ was frequently added by scribes as a clarifying conjunction, making it suspect here. NA²⁷ has the γάρ in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[3:2]  ²³ tn Grk “they were.”

[3:2]  ²⁴ tn The referent of λόγια (logia, “oracles”) has been variously understood: (1) BDAG 598 s.v. λόγιον takes the term to refer here to “God’s promises to the Jews”; (2) some have taken this to refer more narrowly to the national promises of messianic salvation given to Israel (so S. L. Johnson, Jr., “Studies in Romans: Part VII: The Jews and the Oracles of God,” BSac 130 [1973]: 245); (3) perhaps the most widespread interpretation sees the term as referring to the entire OT generally.

[1:25]  ²⁵ tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:25]  ²⁶ tn Grk “the lie.”

[1:25]  ²⁷ tn Or “creature, created things.”