Isaiah 57:12-13

57:12 I will denounce your so-called righteousness and your deeds, ¹ 

but they will not help you.

57:13 When you cry out for help, let your idols ²  help you!

The wind blows them all away, ³ 

a breeze carries them away. ⁴ 

But the one who looks to me for help ⁵  will inherit the land

and will have access to ⁶  my holy mountain.”

Isaiah 59:5-6

59:5 They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake

and spin a spider’s web.

Whoever eats their eggs will die,

a poisonous snake is hatched. ⁷ 

59:6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;

they cannot cover themselves with what they make.

Their deeds are sinful;

they commit violent crimes. ⁸ 

Isaiah 64:6

64:6 We are all like one who is unclean,

all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. ⁹ 

We all wither like a leaf;

our sins carry us away like the wind.

Isaiah 66:3-6

66:3 The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man; ¹⁰ 

the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck; ¹¹ 

the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it; ¹² 

the one who offers incense also praises an idol. ¹³ 

They have decided to behave this way; ¹⁴ 

they enjoy these disgusting practices. ¹⁵ 

66:4 So I will choose severe punishment ¹⁶  for them;

I will bring on them what they dread,

because I called, and no one responded,

I spoke and they did not listen.

They did evil before me; ¹⁷ 

they chose to do what displeases me.”

66:5 Hear the word of the Lord,

you who respect what he has to say! ¹⁸ 

Your countrymen, ¹⁹  who hate you

and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name,

say, “May the Lord be glorified,

then we will witness your joy.” ²⁰ 

But they will be put to shame.

66:6 The sound of battle comes from the city;

the sound comes from the temple!

It is the sound of the Lord paying back his enemies.

Jeremiah 7:8-10

7:8 “‘But just look at you! ²¹  You are putting your confidence in a false belief ²²  that will not deliver you. ²³  7:9 You steal. ²⁴  You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to ²⁵  other gods whom you have not previously known. 7:10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own ²⁶  and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! ²⁷ 

Romans 9:30-32

Israel’s Rejection Culpable

9:30 What shall we say then? – that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith, 9:31 but Israel even though pursuing ²⁸  a law of righteousness ²⁹  did not attain it. ³⁰  9:32 Why not? Because they pursued ³¹  it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. ³²  They stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ 

Romans 9:1

Israel’s Rejection Considered

9:1 ³⁴ I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me ³⁵  in the Holy Spirit –

Colossians 1:18

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ³⁶  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ³⁷ 

[57:12]  ¹ tn Heb “I, I will declare your righteousness and your deeds.”

[57:13]  ² tn The Hebrew text has קִבּוּצַיִךְ (qibbutsayikh, “your gatherings”), an otherwise unattested noun from the verbal root קָבַץ (qavats, “gather”). Perhaps this alludes to their religious assemblies and by metonymy to their rituals. Since idolatry is a prominent theme in the context, some understand this as a reference to a collection of idols. The second half of the verse also favors this view.

[57:13]  ³ tn Heb “all of them a wind lifts up.”

[57:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “a breath takes [them] away.”

[57:13]  ⁵ tn Or “seeks refuge in me.” “Seeking refuge” is a metonymy for “being loyal to.”

[57:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “possess, own.” The point seems to be that he will have free access to God’s presence, as if God’s temple mount were his personal possession.

[59:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “that which is pressed in hatches [as] a snake.”

[59:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “their deeds are deeds of sin, and the work of violence [is] in their hands.”

[64:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “and like a garment of menstruation [are] all our righteous acts”; KJV, NIV “filthy rags”; ASV “a polluted garment.”

[66:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “one who slaughters a bull, one who strikes down a man.” Some understand a comparison here and in the following lines. In God’s sight the one who sacrifices is like (i.e., regarded as) a murderer or one whose worship is ritually defiled or idolatrous. The translation above assumes that the language is not metaphorical, but descriptive of the sinners’ hypocritical behavior. (Note the last two lines of the verse, which suggests they are guilty of abominable practices.) On the one hand, they act pious and offer sacrifices; but at the same time they commit violent crimes against men, defile their sacrifices, and worship other gods.

[66:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “one who sacrifices a lamb, one who breaks a dog’s neck.” Some understand a comparison, but see the previous note.

[66:3]  ¹² tn Heb “one who offers an offering, pig’s blood.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line.

[66:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “one who offers incense as a memorial offering, one who blesses something false.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line. אָוֶן (’aven), which has a wide variety of attested nuances, here refers metonymically to an idol. See HALOT 22 s.v. and BDB 20 s.v. 2.

[66:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “also they have chosen their ways.”

[66:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “their being [or “soul”] takes delight in their disgusting [things].”

[66:4]  ¹⁶ tn The precise meaning of the noun is uncertain. It occurs only here and in 3:4 (but see the note there). It appears to be derived from the verbal root עָלַל (’alal), which can carry the nuance “deal severely.”

[66:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”

[66:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “who tremble at his word.”

[66:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “brothers” (so NASB, NIV); NRSV “Your own people”; NLT “Your close relatives.”

[66:5]  ²⁰ tn Or “so that we might witness your joy.” The point of this statement is unclear.

[7:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “Behold!”

[7:8]  ²² tn Heb “You are trusting in lying words.” See the similar phrase in v. 4 and the note there.

[7:8]  ²³ tn Heb “not profit [you].”

[7:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Will you steal…then say, ‘We are safe’?” Verses 9-10 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text.

[7:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “You go/follow after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.

[7:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:10]  ²⁷ tn Or “‘We are safe!’ – safe, you think, to go on doing all those hateful things.” Verses 9-10 are all one long sentence in the Hebrew text. It has been broken up for English stylistic reasons. Somewhat literally it reads “Will you steal…then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe’ so as to/in order to do…” The Hebrew of v. 9 has a series of infinitives which emphasize the bare action of the verb without the idea of time or agent. The effect is to place a kind of staccato like emphasis on the multitude of their sins all of which are violations of one of the Ten Commandments. The final clause in v. 8 expresses purpose or result (probably result) through another infinitive. This long sentence is introduced by a marker (ה interrogative in Hebrew) introducing a rhetorical question in which God expresses his incredulity that they could do these sins, come into the temple and claim the safety of his protection, and then go right back out and commit the same sins. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 52) catches the force nicely: “What? You think you can steal, murder…and then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe…’ just so that you can go right on…”

[9:31]  ²⁸ tn Or “who pursued.” The participle could be taken adverbially or adjectivally.

[9:31]  ²⁹ tn Or “a legal righteousness,” that is, a righteousness based on law. This translation would treat the genitive δικαιοσύνης (dikaiosunh") as an attributed genitive (see ExSyn 89-91).

[9:31]  ³⁰ tn Grk “has not attained unto the law.”

[9:32]  ³¹ tn Grk “Why? Because not by faith but as though by works.” The verb (“they pursued [it]”) is to be supplied from the preceding verse for the sake of English style; yet a certain literary power is seen in Paul’s laconic style.

[9:32]  ³² tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א² D Ψ 33 Ï sy), read νόμου (nomou, “of the law”) here, echoing Paul’s usage in Rom 3:20, 28 and elsewhere. The qualifying phrase is lacking in א* A B F G 6 629 630 1739 1881 pc lat co. The longer reading thus is weaker externally and internally, being motivated apparently by a need to clarify.

[9:32]  ³³ tn Grk “the stone of stumbling.”

[9:1]  ³⁴ sn Rom 9:1–11:36. These three chapters are among the most difficult and disputed in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. One area of difficulty is the relationship between Israel and the church, especially concerning the nature and extent of Israel’s election. Many different models have been constructed to express this relationship. For a representative survey, see M. Barth, The People of God (JSNTSup), 22-27. The literary genre of these three chapters has been frequently identified as a diatribe, a philosophical discussion or conversation evolved by the Cynic and Stoic schools of philosophy as a means of popularizing their ideas (E. Käsemann, Romans, 261 and 267). But other recent scholars have challenged the idea that Rom 9–11 is characterized by diatribe. Scholars like R. Scroggs and E. E. Ellis have instead identified the material in question as midrash. For a summary and discussion of the rabbinic connections, see W. R. Stegner, “Romans 9.6-29 – A Midrash,” JSNT 22 (1984): 37-52.

[9:1]  ³⁵ tn Or “my conscience bears witness to me.”

[1:18]  ³⁶ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

[1:18]  ³⁷ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”