Isaiah 57:15-19

57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,

the one who rules ¹  forever, whose name is holy:

“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,

but also with the discouraged and humiliated, ² 

in order to cheer up the humiliated

and to encourage the discouraged. ³ 

57:16 For I will not be hostile ⁴  forever

or perpetually angry,

for then man’s spirit would grow faint before me, ⁵ 

the life-giving breath I created.

57:17 I was angry because of their sinful greed;

I attacked them and angrily rejected them, ⁶ 

yet they remained disobedient and stubborn. ⁷ 

57:18 I have seen their behavior, ⁸ 

but I will heal them and give them rest,

and I will once again console those who mourn. ⁹ 

57:19 I am the one who gives them reason to celebrate. ¹⁰ 

Complete prosperity ¹¹  is available both to those who are far away and those who are nearby,”

says the Lord, “and I will heal them.

Proverbs 15:23

15:23 A person has joy ¹²  in giving an appropriate answer, ¹³ 

and a word at the right time ¹⁴  – how good it is!

Proverbs 25:11

25:11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver, ¹⁵ 

so is a word skillfully spoken. ¹⁶ 

Matthew 11:28

11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 13:54

13:54 Then ¹⁷  he came to his hometown ¹⁸  and began to teach the people ¹⁹  in their synagogue. ²⁰  They ²¹  were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?

[57:15]  ¹ tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.

[57:15]  ² tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.

[57:15]  ³ tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”

[57:16]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “argue,” or “accuse” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[57:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “for a spirit from before me would be faint.”

[57:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “and I struck him, hiding, and I was angry.” פָּנַיִם (panayim, “face”) is the implied object of “hiding.”

[57:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he walked [as an] apostate in the way of his heart.”

[57:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “his ways” (so KJV, NASB, NIV); TEV “how they acted.”

[57:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “and I will restore consolation to him, to his mourners.”

[57:19]  ¹⁰ tc The Hebrew text has literally, “one who creates fruit of lips.” Perhaps the pronoun אֲנִי (’ani) should be inserted after the participle; it may have been accidentally omitted by haplography: נוּב שְׂפָתָיִם[אֲנִי] בּוֹרֵא (bore’ [’ani] nuv sÿfatayim). “Fruit of the lips” is often understood as a metonymy for praise; perhaps it refers more generally to joyful shouts (see v. 18).

[57:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Peace, peace.” The repetition of the noun emphasizes degree.

[15:23]  ¹² tn Heb “joy to the man” or “the man has joy.”

[15:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “in the answer of his mouth” (so ASV); NASB “in an apt answer.” The term “mouth” is a metonymy of cause for what he says. But because the parallelism is loosely synonymous, the answer given here must be equal to the good word spoken in season. So it is an answer that is proper or fitting.

[15:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in its season.” To say the right thing at the right time is useful; to say the right thing at the wrong time is counterproductive.

[25:11]  ¹⁵ sn The verse uses emblematic parallelism, stating the simile in the first part and the point in the second. The meaning of the simile is not entirely clear, but it does speak of beauty, value, and artistry. The “apples of gold” (possibly citrons, quinces, oranges, or apricots) may refer to carvings of fruit in gold on columns.

[25:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “on its wheels.” This expression means “aptly, fittingly.” The point is obviously about the immense value and memorable beauty of words used skillfully (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 148). Noting the meaning of the term and the dual form of the word, W. McKane suggests that the expression is metaphorical for the balancing halves of a Hebrew parallel wisdom saying: “The stichos is a wheel, and the sentence consisting of two wheels is a ‘well-turned’ expression” (Proverbs [OTL], 584). The line then would be describing a balanced, well-turned saying, a proverb; it is skillfully constructed, beautifully written, and of lasting value.

[13:54]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

[13:54]  ¹⁸ sn Jesus’ hometown (where he spent his childhood years) was Nazareth, about 20 miles (30 km) southwest of Capernaum.

[13:54]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:54]  ²⁰ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23. Jesus undoubtedly took the opportunity on this occasion to speak about his person and mission, and the relation of both to OT fulfillment.

[13:54]  ²¹ tn Grk “synagogue, so that they.” Here ὥστε (Jwste) has not been translated. Instead a new sentence was started in the translation.