Isaiah 8:20

8:20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. ¹  Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. ² 

Jeremiah 8:7-9

8:7 Even the stork knows

when it is time to move on. ³ 

The turtledove, swallow, and crane ⁴ 

recognize ⁵  the normal times for their migration.

But my people pay no attention

to ⁶  what I, the Lord, require of them. ⁷ 

8:8 How can you say, “We are wise!

We have the law of the Lord”?

The truth is, ⁸  those who teach it ⁹  have used their writings

to make it say what it does not really mean. ¹⁰ 

8:9 Your wise men will be put to shame.

They will be dumbfounded and be brought to judgment. ¹¹ 

Since they have rejected the word of the Lord,

what wisdom do they really have?

Hosea 6:6

6:6 For I delight in faithfulness, not simply in sacrifice;

I delight ¹²  in acknowledging God, not simply in whole burnt offerings. ¹³ 

Hosea 8:12

8:12 I spelled out my law for him in great detail,

but they regard it as something totally unknown ¹⁴  to them!

Matthew 22:29

22:29 Jesus ¹⁵  answered them, “You are deceived, ¹⁶  because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God.

John 5:39

5:39 You study the scriptures thoroughly ¹⁷  because you think in them you possess eternal life, ¹⁸  and it is these same scriptures ¹⁹  that testify about me,

John 20:9

20:9 (For they did not yet understand ²⁰  the scripture that Jesus ²¹  must rise from the dead.) ²² 

Acts 17:11

17:11 These Jews ²³  were more open-minded ²⁴  than those in Thessalonica, ²⁵  for they eagerly ²⁶  received ²⁷  the message, examining ²⁸  the scriptures carefully every day ²⁹  to see if these things were so.

Romans 15:4

15:4 For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope.

Romans 15:2

15:2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up.

Romans 3:15-17

3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,

3:16 ruin and misery are in their paths,

3:17 and the way of peace they have not known.” ³⁰ 

[8:20]  ¹ tn Heb “to [the] instruction and to [the] testimony.” The words “then you must recall” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20a are one long sentence, reading literally, “When they say to you…, to the instruction and to the testimony.” On the identity of the “instruction” and “testimony” see the notes at v. 16.

[8:20]  ² tn Heb “If they do not speak according to this word, [it is] because it has no light of dawn.” The literal translation suggests that “this word” refers to the instruction/testimony. However, it is likely that אִם־לֹא (’im-lo’) is asseverative here, as in 5:9. In this case “this word” refers to the quotation recorded in v. 19. For a discussion of the problem see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 230, n. 9. The singular pronoun in the second half of the verse is collective, referring back to the nation (see v. 19b).

[8:7]  ³ tn Heb “its appointed time.” The translation is contextually motivated to avoid lack of clarity.

[8:7]  ⁴ tn There is debate in the commentaries and lexicons about the identification of some of these birds, particularly regarding the identification of the “swallow” which is more likely the “swift” and the “crane” which some identify with the “thrush.” For a discussion see the Bible encyclopedias and the UBS handbook Fauna and Flora of the Bible. The identity of the individual birds makes little difference to the point being made and “swallow” is more easily identifiable to the average reader than the “swift.”

[8:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “keep.” Ironically birds, which do not think, obey the laws of nature, but Israel does not obey the laws of God.

[8:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “do not know.” But here as elsewhere the word “know” is more than an intellectual matter. It is intended here to summarize both “know” and “follow” (Heb “observe”) in the preceding lines.

[8:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “the ordinance/requirement of the Lord.”

[8:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “Surely, behold!”

[8:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “the scribes.”

[8:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “The lying pen of the scribes have made [it] into a lie.” The translation is an attempt to make the most common interpretation of this passage understandable for the average reader. This is, however, a difficult passage whose interpretation is greatly debated and whose syntax is capable of other interpretations. The interpretation of the NJPS, “Assuredly, for naught has the pen labored, for naught the scribes,” surely deserves consideration within the context; i.e. it hasn’t done any good for the scribes to produce a reliable copy of the law, which the people have refused to follow. That interpretation has the advantage of explaining the absence of an object for the verb “make” or “labored” but creates a very unbalanced poetic couplet.

[8:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “be trapped.” However, the word “trapped” generally carries with it the connotation of divine judgment. See BDB 540 s.v. לָכַד Niph.2, and compare usage in Jer 6:11 for support. The verbs in the first two lines are again the form of the Hebrew verb that emphasizes that the action is as good as done (Hebrew prophetic perfects).

[6:6]  ¹² tn The phrase “I delight” does not appear in the Hebrew text a second time in this verse, but is implied from the parallelism in the preceding line.

[6:6]  ¹³ sn Contrary to popular misunderstanding, Hosea does not reject animal sacrifice nor cultic ritual, and advocate instead obedience only. Rather, God does not delight in ritual sacrifice without the accompanying prerequisite moral obedience (1 Sam 15:22; Pss 40:6-8; 51:16-17; Prov 21:3; Isa 1:11-17; Jer 7:21-23; Hos 6:6; Mic 6:6-8). However, if prerequisite moral obedience is present, he delights in sacrificial worship as an outward expression (Ps 51:19). Presented by a repentant obedient worshiper, whole burnt offerings were “an aroma pleasing” to the Lord (Lev 1:9, 13).

[8:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “foreign” or “alien”; NASB, NRSV “as a strange thing.”

[22:29]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[22:29]  ¹⁶ tn Or “mistaken” (cf. BDAG 822 s.v. πλανάω 2.c.γ).

[5:39]  ¹⁷ tn Or “Study the scriptures thoroughly” (an imperative). For the meaning of the verb see G. Delling, TDNT 2:655-57.

[5:39]  ¹⁸ sn In them you possess eternal life. Note the following examples from the rabbinic tractate Pirqe Avot (“The Sayings of the Fathers”): Pirqe Avot 2:8, “He who has acquired the words of the law has acquired for himself the life of the world to come”; Pirqe Avot 6:7, “Great is the law for it gives to those who practice it life in this world and in the world to come.”

[5:39]  ¹⁹ tn The words “same scriptures” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the referent (“these”).

[20:9]  ²⁰ tn Or “yet know.”

[20:9]  ²¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:9]  ²² sn Verse 9 is a parenthetical note by the author. The author does not explicitly mention what OT scripture is involved (neither does Paul in 1 Cor 15:4, for that matter). The resurrection of the Messiah in general terms may have been seen in Isa 53:10-12 and Ps 16:10. Specific references may have been understood in Jonah 1:17 and Hos 6:2 because of the mention of “the third day.” Beyond this it is not possible to be more specific.

[17:11]  ²³ tn Grk “These”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue at Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:11]  ²⁴ tn Or “more willing to learn.” L&N 27.48 and BDAG 404 s.v. εὐγενής 2 both use the term “open-minded” here. The point is that they were more receptive to Paul’s message.

[17:11]  ²⁵ sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).

[17:11]  ²⁶ tn Or “willingly,” “readily”; Grk “with all eagerness.”

[17:11]  ²⁷ tn Grk “who received.” Here the relative pronoun (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“they”) preceded by a semicolon, which is less awkward in contemporary English than a relative clause at this point.

[17:11]  ²⁸ tn This verb (BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω 1) refers to careful examination.

[17:11]  ²⁹ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[3:17]  ³⁰ sn Rom 3:15-17 is a quotation from Isa 59:7-8.