Jeremiah 23:28-29

23:28 Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! ¹  I, the Lord, affirm it! ²  23:29 My message is like a fire that purges dross! ³  It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces! ⁴  I, the Lord, so affirm it! ⁵ 

Luke 5:1

The Call of the Disciples

5:1 Now ⁶  Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, ⁷  and the crowd was pressing around him ⁸  to hear the word of God.

Luke 8:11

8:11 “Now the parable means ⁹  this: The seed is the word of God.

Luke 8:21

8:21 But he replied ¹⁰  to them, “My mother and my brothers are those ¹¹  who hear the word of God and do it.” ¹² 

Luke 11:28

11:28 But he replied, ¹³  “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey ¹⁴  it!”

Acts 8:14

8:14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem ¹⁵  heard that Samaria had accepted the word ¹⁶  of God, they sent ¹⁷  Peter and John to them.

Acts 13:44

13:44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city assembled together to hear the word of the Lord. ¹⁸ 

Acts 13:46

13:46 Both Paul and Barnabas replied courageously, ¹⁹  “It was necessary to speak the word of God ²⁰  to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy ²¹  of eternal life, we ²²  are turning to the Gentiles. ²³ 

Romans 10:17

10:17 Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word ²⁴  of Christ. ²⁵ 

Hebrews 4:12

4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart.

Hebrews 4:1

God’s Promised Rest

4:1 Therefore we must be wary ²⁶  that, while the promise of entering his rest remains open, none of you may seem to have come short of it.

Hebrews 1:1-2

Introduction: God Has Spoken Fully and Finally in His Son

1:1 After God spoke long ago ²⁷  in various portions ²⁸  and in various ways ²⁹  to our ancestors ³⁰  through the prophets, 1:2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, ³¹  whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. ³² 

Hebrews 1:1

Introduction: God Has Spoken Fully and Finally in His Son

1:1 After God spoke long ago ³³  in various portions ³⁴  and in various ways ³⁵  to our ancestors ³⁶  through the prophets,

[23:28]  ¹ tn Heb “What to the straw with [in comparison with] the grain?” This idiom represents an emphatic repudiation or denial of relationship. See, for example, the usage in 2 Sam 16:10 and note BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d(c).

[23:28]  ² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:29]  ³ tn Heb “Is not my message like a fire?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer that is made explicit in the translation. The words “that purges dross” are not in the text but are implicit to the metaphor. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “Is it not like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” See preceding note.

[23:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “Now it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[5:1]  ⁷ sn The Lake of Gennesaret is another name for the Sea of Galilee. Cf. the parallel in Matt 4:18.

[5:1]  ⁸ sn The image of the crowd pressing around him suggests the people leaning forward to catch Jesus’ every word.

[8:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “is,” but in this context it is clearly giving an explanation of the parable.

[8:21]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “answering, he said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “he replied.”

[8:21]  ¹¹ tn There is some discussion about the grammar of this verse in Greek. If “these” is the subject, then it reads, “These are my mother and brothers, those who.” If “these” is a nominative absolute, which is slightly more likely, then the verse more literally reads, “So my mother and brothers, they are those who.” The sense in either case is the same.

[8:21]  ¹² sn Hearing and doing the word of God is another important NT theme: Luke 6:47-49; Jas 1:22-25.

[11:28]  ¹³ tn Grk “said.”

[11:28]  ¹⁴ sn This is another reference to hearing and doing the word of God, which here describes Jesus’ teaching; see Luke 8:21.

[8:14]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:14]  ¹⁶ tn Or “message.”

[8:14]  ¹⁷ sn They sent. The Jerusalem church with the apostles was overseeing the expansion of the church, as the distribution of the Spirit indicates in vv. 15-17.

[13:44]  ¹⁸ tc Most mss (B* C E Ψ Ï sy bo) read θεοῦ (qeou, “of God”) here instead of κυρίου (kuriou, “of the Lord”). Other mss, among them some important early witnesses (Ì⁷⁴ א A B² 33 81 323 945 1175 1739 al sa), read κυρίου. The external evidence favors κυρίου, though not decisively. Internally, the mention of “God” in v. 43, and especially “the word of God” in v. 46, would provide some temptation for scribes to assimilate the wording in v. 44 to these texts.

[13:46]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out courageously and said.” The redundancy is removed in the translation and the verb “replied” is used in keeping with the logical sequence of events. The theme of boldness reappears: Acts 4:24-30; 9:27-28.

[13:46]  ²⁰ tn Grk “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken.” For smoothness and simplicity of English style, the passive construction has been converted to active voice in the translation.

[13:46]  ²¹ tn Or “and consider yourselves unworthy.”

[13:46]  ²² tn Grk “behold, we.” In this context ἰδού (idou) is not easily translated into English.

[13:46]  ²³ sn This turning to the Gentiles would be a shocking rebuke to 1st century Jews who thought they alone were the recipients of the promise.

[10:17]  ²⁴ tn The Greek term here is ῥῆμα (rJhma), which often (but not exclusively) focuses on the spoken word.

[10:17]  ²⁵ tc Most mss (א¹ A D¹ Ψ 33 1881 Ï sy) have θεοῦ (qeou) here rather than Χριστοῦ (Cristou; found in Ì^46vid א* B C D* 6 81 629 1506 1739 pc lat co). External evidence strongly favors the reading “Christ” here. Internal evidence is also on its side, for the expression ῥῆμα Χριστοῦ (rJhma Cristou) occurs nowhere else in the NT; thus scribes would be prone to change it to a known expression.

[4:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “let us fear.”

[1:1]  ²⁷ tn Or “spoke formerly.”

[1:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “parts.” The idea is that God’s previous revelation came in many parts and was therefore fragmentary or partial (L&N 63.19), in comparison with the final and complete revelation contained in God’s Son. However, some interpret πολυμερῶς (polumerw") in Heb 1:1 to mean “on many different occasions” and would thus translate “many times” (L&N 67.11). This is the option followed by the NIV: “at many times and in various ways.” Finally, this word is also understood to refer to the different manners in which something may be done, and would then be translated “in many different ways” (L&N 89.81). In this last case, the two words πολυμερῶς and πολυτρόπως (polutropw") mutually reinforce one another (“in many and various ways,” NRSV).

[1:1]  ²⁹ tn These two phrases are emphasized in Greek by being placed at the beginning of the sentence and by alliteration.

[1:1]  ³⁰ tn Grk “to the fathers.”

[1:2]  ³¹ tn The Greek puts an emphasis on the quality of God’s final revelation. As such, it is more than an indefinite notion (“a son”) though less than a definite one (“the son”), for this final revelation is not just through any son of God, nor is the emphasis specifically on the person himself. Rather, the focus here is on the nature of the vehicle of God’s revelation: He is no mere spokesman (or prophet) for God, nor is he merely a heavenly messenger (or angel); instead, this final revelation comes through one who is intimately acquainted with the heavenly Father in a way that only a family member could be. There is, however, no exact equivalent in English (“in son” is hardly good English style).

[1:2]  ³² tn Grk “the ages.” The temporal (ages) came to be used of the spatial (what exists in those time periods). See Heb 11:3 for the same usage.

[1:1]  ³³ tn Or “spoke formerly.”

[1:1]  ³⁴ tn Or “parts.” The idea is that God’s previous revelation came in many parts and was therefore fragmentary or partial (L&N 63.19), in comparison with the final and complete revelation contained in God’s Son. However, some interpret πολυμερῶς (polumerw") in Heb 1:1 to mean “on many different occasions” and would thus translate “many times” (L&N 67.11). This is the option followed by the NIV: “at many times and in various ways.” Finally, this word is also understood to refer to the different manners in which something may be done, and would then be translated “in many different ways” (L&N 89.81). In this last case, the two words πολυμερῶς and πολυτρόπως (polutropw") mutually reinforce one another (“in many and various ways,” NRSV).

[1:1]  ³⁵ tn These two phrases are emphasized in Greek by being placed at the beginning of the sentence and by alliteration.

[1:1]  ³⁶ tn Grk “to the fathers.”