Jeremiah 17:10

17:10 I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds.

I examine people’s hearts. ¹ 

I deal with each person according to how he has behaved.

I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.

Jeremiah 17:1

17:1 ² The sin of Judah is engraved with an iron chisel

on their stone-hard ³  hearts.

It is inscribed with a diamond ⁴  point

on the horns of their altars. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 8:1

8:1 The Lord says, “When that time comes, ⁶  the bones of the kings of Judah and its leaders, the bones of the priests and prophets and of all the other people who lived in Jerusalem will be dug up from their graves.

Psalms 62:12

62:12 and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love. ⁷ 

For you repay men for what they do. ⁸ 

Ecclesiastes 12:14

12:14 For God will evaluate every deed, ⁹ 

including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Matthew 16:27

16:27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. ¹⁰ 

John 5:29

5:29 and will come out – the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation. ¹¹ 

Romans 2:6-10

2:6 He ¹²  will reward ¹³  each one according to his works: ¹⁴  2:7 eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, 2:8 but ¹⁵  wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition ¹⁶  and do not obey the truth but follow ¹⁷  unrighteousness. 2:9 There will be ¹⁸  affliction and distress on everyone ¹⁹  who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek, ²⁰  2:10 but ²¹  glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, for the Jew first and also the Greek.

Romans 2:2

2:2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth ²²  against those who practice such things.

Colossians 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ²³  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ²⁴  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Revelation 2:23

2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ²⁵  with a deadly disease, ²⁶  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ²⁷  each one of you ²⁸  what your deeds deserve. ²⁹ 

Revelation 22:12

22:12 (Look! I am coming soon,

and my reward is with me to pay ³⁰  each one according to what he has done!

[17:10]  ¹ tn The term rendered “mind” here and in the previous verse is actually the Hebrew word for “heart.” However, in combination with the word rendered “heart” in the next line, which is the Hebrew for “kidneys,” it is best rendered “mind” because the “heart” was considered the center of intellect, conscience, and will and the “kidneys” the center of emotions.

[17:1]  ² tn The chapter division which was not a part of the original text but was added in the middle ages obscures the fact that there is no new speech here. The division may have resulted from the faulty identification of the “them” in the preceding verse. See the translator’s note on that verse.

[17:1]  ³ tn The adjective “stone-hard” is not in the Hebrew text. It is implicit in the metaphor and is supplied in the translation for clarity. Cf. Ezek 11:19; 36:26; and Job 19:24 for the figure.

[17:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “adamant.” The word “diamond” is an accommodation to modern times. There is no evidence that diamond was known in ancient times. This hard stone (perhaps emery) became metaphorical for hardness; see Ezek 3:9 and Zech 7:12. For discussion see W. E. Staples, “Adamant,” IDB 1:45.

[17:1]  ⁵ tn This verse has been restructured for the sake of the English poetry: Heb “The sin of Judah is engraved [or written] with an iron pen, inscribed with a point of a diamond [or adamant] upon the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.”

[8:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “At that time.”

[62:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “and to you, O Master, [is] loyal love.”

[62:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “for you pay back to a man according to his deed.” Another option is to understand vv. 11b and 12a as the first principle and v. 12b as the second. In this case one might translate, “God has declared one principle, two principles I have heard, namely, that God is strong, and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love, and that you repay men for what they do.”

[12:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “will bring every deed into judgment.”

[16:27]  ¹⁰ sn An allusion to Pss 28:4; 62:12; cf. Prov 24:12.

[5:29]  ¹¹ tn Or “a resurrection resulting in judgment.”

[2:6]  ¹² 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.

[2:6]  ¹³ tn Or “will render,” “will recompense.” In this context Paul is setting up a hypothetical situation, not stating that salvation is by works.

[2:6]  ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 62:12; Prov 24:12; a close approximation to Matt 16:27.

[2:8]  ¹⁵ tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:8]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “those who [are] from selfish ambition.”

[2:8]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “are persuaded by, obey.”

[2:9]  ¹⁸ tn No verb is expressed in this verse, but the verb “to be” is implied by the Greek construction. Literally “suffering and distress on everyone…”

[2:9]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “every soul of man.”

[2:9]  ²⁰ sn Paul uses the term Greek here and in v. 10 to refer to non-Jews, i.e., Gentiles.

[2:10]  ²¹ tn Grk “but even,” to emphasize the contrast. The second word has been omitted since it is somewhat redundant in English idiom.

[2:2]  ²² tn Or “based on truth.”

[1:10]  ²³ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ²⁴ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[2:23]  ²⁵ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

[2:23]  ²⁶ tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

[2:23]  ²⁷ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

[2:23]  ²⁸ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

[2:23]  ²⁹ tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”

[22:12]  ³⁰ tn The Greek term may be translated either “pay” or “pay back” and has something of a double meaning here. However, because of the mention of “wages” (“reward,” another wordplay with two meanings) in the previous clause, the translation “pay” for ἀποδοῦναι (apodounai) was used here.