Jeremiah 2:7

2:7 I brought you ¹  into a fertile land

so you could enjoy ²  its fruits and its rich bounty.

But when you entered my land, you defiled it; ³ 

you made the land I call my own ⁴  loathsome to me.

Jeremiah 3:25

3:25 Let us acknowledge ⁵  our shame.

Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve. ⁶ 

For we have sinned against the Lord our God,

both we and our ancestors.

From earliest times to this very day

we have not obeyed the Lord our God.’

Jeremiah 7:22-26

7:22 Consider this: ⁷  When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices. 7:23 I also explicitly commanded them: ⁸  “Obey me. If you do, I ⁹  will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you ¹⁰  and things will go well with you.” 7:24 But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They followed the stubborn inclinations of their own wicked hearts. They acted worse and worse instead of better. ¹¹  7:25 From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now, ¹²  I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again, ¹³  day after day. ¹⁴  7:26 But your ancestors ¹⁵  did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate ¹⁶  and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”

Deuteronomy 9:7-12

The History of Israel’s Stubbornness

9:7 Remember – don’t ever forget ¹⁷  – how you provoked the Lord your God in the desert; from the time you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place you were constantly rebelling against him. ¹⁸  9:8 At Horeb you provoked him and he was angry enough with you to destroy you. 9:9 When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you, I remained there ¹⁹  forty days and nights, eating and drinking nothing. 9:10 The Lord gave me the two stone tablets, written by the very finger ²⁰  of God, and on them was everything ²¹  he ²²  said to you at the mountain from the midst of the fire at the time of that assembly. 9:11 Now at the end of the forty days and nights the Lord presented me with the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant. 9:12 And he said to me, “Get up, go down at once from here because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have sinned! They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a cast metal image.” ²³ 

Deuteronomy 9:22-24

9:22 Moreover, you continued to provoke the Lord at Taberah, ²⁴  Massah, ²⁵  and Kibroth-Hattaavah. ²⁶  9:23 And when he ²⁷  sent you from Kadesh-Barnea and told you, “Go up and possess the land I have given you,” you rebelled against the Lord your God ²⁸  and would neither believe nor obey him. 9:24 You have been rebelling against him ²⁹  from the very first day I knew you!

Deuteronomy 9:2

9:2 They include the Anakites, ³⁰  a numerous ³¹  and tall people whom you know about and of whom it is said, “Who is able to resist the Anakites?”

Deuteronomy 17:9-20

17:9 You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict. 17:10 You must then do as they have determined at that place the Lord chooses. Be careful to do just as you are taught. 17:11 You must do what you are instructed, and the verdict they pronounce to you, without fail. Do not deviate right or left from what they tell you. 17:12 The person who pays no attention ³²  to the priest currently serving the Lord your God there, or to the verdict – that person must die, so that you may purge evil from Israel. 17:13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and not be so presumptuous again.

Provision for Kingship

17:14 When you come to the land the Lord your God is giving you and take it over and live in it and then say, “I will select a king like all the nations surrounding me,” 17:15 you must select without fail ³³  a king whom the Lord your God chooses. From among your fellow citizens ³⁴  you must appoint a king – you may not designate a foreigner who is not one of your fellow Israelites. ³⁵  17:16 Moreover, he must not accumulate horses for himself or allow the people to return to Egypt to do so, ³⁶  for the Lord has said you must never again return that way. 17:17 Furthermore, he must not marry many ³⁷  wives lest his affections turn aside, and he must not accumulate much silver and gold. 17:18 When he sits on his royal throne he must make a copy of this law ³⁸  on a scroll ³⁹  given to him by the Levitical priests. 17:19 It must be with him constantly and he must read it as long as he lives, so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and observe all the words of this law and these statutes and carry them out. 17:20 Then he will not exalt himself above his fellow citizens or turn from the commandments to the right or left, and he and his descendants will enjoy many years ruling over his kingdom ⁴⁰  in Israel.

Nehemiah 9:16-37

9:16 “But they – our ancestors ⁴¹  – behaved presumptuously; they rebelled ⁴²  and did not obey your commandments. 9:17 They refused to obey and did not recall your miracles that you had performed among them. Instead, they rebelled and appointed a leader to return to their bondage in Egypt. ⁴³  But you are a God of forgiveness, merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and unfailing in your loyal love. ⁴⁴  You did not abandon them, 9:18 even when they made a cast image of a calf for themselves and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’ or when they committed atrocious ⁴⁵  blasphemies.

9:19 “Due to your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. The pillar of cloud did not stop guiding them in the path by day, ⁴⁶  nor did the pillar of fire stop illuminating for them by night the path on which they should travel. 9:20 You imparted your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths; you provided water for their thirst. 9:21 For forty years you sustained them. Even in the desert they never lacked anything. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

9:22 “You gave them kingdoms and peoples, and you allocated them to every corner of the land. ⁴⁷  They inherited the land of King Sihon of Heshbon ⁴⁸  and the land of King Og of Bashan. 9:23 You multiplied their descendants like the stars of the sky. You brought them to the land you had told their ancestors to enter in order to possess. 9:24 Their descendants ⁴⁹  entered and possessed the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites who were the inhabitants of the land. You delivered them into their hand, together with their kings and the peoples of the land, to deal with as they pleased. 9:25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took possession of houses full of all sorts of good things – wells previously dug, vineyards, olive trees, and fruit trees in abundance. They ate until they were full ⁵⁰  and grew fat. They enjoyed to the full your great goodness.

9:26 “Nonetheless they grew disobedient and rebelled against you; they disregarded your law. ⁵¹  They killed your prophets who had solemnly admonished them in order to cause them to return to you. They committed atrocious blasphemies. 9:27 Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who oppressed them. But in the time of their distress they called to you, and you heard from heaven. In your abundant compassion you provided them with deliverers to rescue them from ⁵²  their adversaries.

9:28 “Then, when they were at rest again, they went back to doing evil before you. Then you abandoned them to ⁵³  their enemies, and they gained dominion over them. When they again cried out to you, in your compassion you heard from heaven and rescued them time and again. 9:29 And you solemnly admonished them in order to return them to your law, but they behaved presumptuously and did not obey your commandments. They sinned against your ordinances – those by which an individual, if he obeys them, ⁵⁴  will live. They boldly turned from you; ⁵⁵  they rebelled ⁵⁶  and did not obey. 9:30 You prolonged your kindness ⁵⁷  with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, ⁵⁸  so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. ⁵⁹  9:31 However, due to your abundant mercy you did not do away with them altogether; you did not abandon them. For you are a merciful and compassionate God.

9:32 “So now, our God – the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity ⁶⁰  – do not regard as inconsequential ⁶¹  all the hardship that has befallen us – our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people – from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day! 9:33 You are righteous with regard to all that has happened to us, for you have acted faithfully. ⁶²  It is we who have been in the wrong! 9:34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law. They have not paid attention to your commandments or your testimonies by which you have solemnly admonished them. 9:35 Even when they were in their kingdom and benefiting from your incredible ⁶³  goodness that you had lavished ⁶⁴  on them in the spacious and fertile land you had set ⁶⁵  before them, they did not serve you, nor did they turn from their evil practices.

9:36 “So today we are slaves! In the very land you gave to our ancestors to eat its fruit and to enjoy ⁶⁶  its good things – we are slaves! 9:37 Its abundant produce goes to the kings you have placed over us due to our sins. They rule over our bodies and our livestock as they see fit, ⁶⁷  and we are in great distress!

Psalms 106:6-7

106:6 We have sinned like ⁶⁸  our ancestors; ⁶⁹ 

we have done wrong, we have done evil.

106:7 Our ancestors in Egypt failed to appreciate your miraculous deeds,

they failed to remember your many acts of loyal love,

and they rebelled at the sea, by the Red Sea. ⁷⁰ 

Isaiah 63:10

63:10 But they rebelled and offended ⁷¹  his holy Spirit, ⁷² 

so he turned into an enemy

and fought against them.

Ezekiel 16:15-22

16:15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every man who passed by so that your beauty ⁷³  became his. 16:16 You took some of your clothing and made for yourself decorated high places; you engaged in prostitution on them. You went to him to become his. ⁷⁴  16:17 You also took your beautiful jewelry, made of my gold and my silver I had given to you, and made for yourself male images and engaged in prostitution ⁷⁵  with them. 16:18 You took your embroidered clothing and used it to cover them; you offered my olive oil and my incense to them. 16:19 As for my food that I gave you – the fine flour, olive oil, and honey I fed you – you placed it before them as a soothing aroma. That is exactly what happened, declares the sovereign Lord.

16:20 “‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them ⁷⁶  as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough, 16:21 you slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols. ⁷⁷  16:22 And with all your abominable practices and prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, kicking around in your blood.

Ezekiel 20:8

20:8 But they rebelled against me, and refused to listen to me; no one got rid of their detestable idols, ⁷⁸  nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I decided to pour out ⁷⁹  my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

Ezekiel 20:28

20:28 I brought them to the land which I swore ⁸⁰  to give them, but whenever they saw any high hill or leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices there and presented the offerings that provoke me to anger. They offered their soothing aroma there and poured out their drink offerings.

Ezekiel 23:43-44

23:43 Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will commit immoral acts with her.’ 23:44 They had sex with her ⁸¹  as one does with a prostitute. In this way they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, promiscuous women.

Acts 7:51-53

7:51 “You stubborn ⁸²  people, with uncircumcised ⁸³  hearts and ears! ⁸⁴  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors ⁸⁵  did! 7:52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors ⁸⁶  not persecute? ⁸⁷  They ⁸⁸  killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, ⁸⁹  whose betrayers and murderers you have now become! ⁹⁰  7:53 You ⁹¹  received the law by decrees given by angels, ⁹²  but you did not obey ⁹³  it.” ⁹⁴ 

[2:7]  ¹ sn Note how contemporary Israel is again identified with her early ancestors. See the study note on 2:2.

[2:7]  ² tn Heb “eat.”

[2:7]  ³ sn I.e., made it ceremonially unclean. See Lev 18:19-30; Num 35:34; Deut 21:23.

[2:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “my inheritance.” Or “the land [i.e., inheritance] I gave you,” reading the pronoun as indicating source rather than possession. The parallelism and the common use in Jeremiah of the term to refer to the land or people as the Lord’s (e.g., 12:7, 8, 9; 16:18; 50:11) make the possessive use more likely here.

[3:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “Let us lie down in….”

[3:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “Let us be covered with disgrace.”

[7:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “For” but this introduces a long explanation about the relative importance of sacrifice and obedience.

[7:23]  ⁸ tn Verses 22-23a read in Hebrew, “I did not speak with your ancestors and I did not command them when I brought them out of Egypt about words/matters concerning burnt offering and sacrifice, but I commanded them this word:” Some modern commentators have explained this passage as an evidence for the lateness of the Pentateuchal instruction regarding sacrifice or a denial that sacrifice was practiced during the period of the wilderness wandering. However, it is better explained as an example of what R. de Vaux calls a dialectical negative, i.e., “not so much this as that” or “not this without that” (Ancient Israel, 454-56). For other examples of this same argument see Isa 1:10-17; Hos 6:4-6; Amos 5:21-25.

[7:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “Obey me and I will be.” The translation is equivalent syntactically but brings out the emphasis in the command.

[7:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Walk in all the way that I command you.”

[7:24]  ¹¹ tn Or “They went backward and not forward”; Heb “They were to the backward and not to the forward.” The two phrases used here appear nowhere else in the Bible and the latter preposition plus adverb elsewhere is used temporally meaning “formerly” or “previously.” The translation follows the proposal of J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 57. Another option is “they turned their backs to me, not their faces,” understanding the line as a variant of a line in 2:27.

[7:25]  ¹² tn Heb “from the day your ancestors…until this very day.” However, “day” here is idiomatic for “the present time.”

[7:25]  ¹³ tn On the Hebrew idiom see the note at 7:13.

[7:25]  ¹⁴ tc There is some textual debate about the legitimacy of this expression here. The text reads merely “day” (יוֹם, yom). BHS suggests the word is to be deleted as a dittography of the plural ending of the preceding word. The word is in the Greek and Latin, and the Syriac represents the typical idiom “day after day” as though the noun were repeated. Either יוֹם has dropped out by haplography or a ם (mem) has been left out, i.e., reading יוֹמָם (yomam, “daily”).

[7:26]  ¹⁵ tn Or “But your predecessors…”; Heb “But they….” There is a confusing interchange in the pronouns in vv. 25-26 which has led to some leveling in the ancient versions and the modern English versions. What is involved here are four levels of referents, the “you” of the present generation (vv. 21-22a), the ancestors who were delivered from Egypt (i.e., the “they” of vv. 22b-24), the “you” of v. 25 which involves all the Israelites from the Exodus to the time of speaking, and the “they” of v. 26 which cannot be the ancestors of vv. 22-24 (since they cannot be more wicked than themselves) but must be an indefinite entity which is a part of the “you” of v. 25, i.e., the more immediate ancestors of the present generation. If this is kept in mind, there is no need to level the pronouns to “they” and “them” or to “you” and “your” as some of the ancient versions and modern English versions have done.

[7:26]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “hardened [or made stiff] their neck.”

[9:7]  ¹⁷ tn By juxtaposing the positive זְכֹר (zekhor, “remember”) with the negative אַל־תִּשְׁכַּח (’al-tishÿkakh, “do not forget”), Moses makes a most emphatic plea.

[9:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the Lord” (likewise in the following verse with both “him” and “he”). See note on “he” in 9:3.

[9:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in the mountain.” The demonstrative pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:10]  ²⁰ sn The very finger of God. This is a double figure of speech (1) in which God is ascribed human features (anthropomorphism) and (2) in which a part stands for the whole (synecdoche). That is, God, as Spirit, has no literal finger nor, if he had, would he write with his finger. Rather, the sense is that God himself – not Moses in any way – was responsible for the composition of the Ten Commandments (cf. Exod 31:18; 32:16; 34:1).

[9:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “according to all the words.”

[9:10]  ²² tn Heb “the Lord” (likewise at the beginning of vv. 12, 13). See note on “he” in 9:3.

[9:12]  ²³ tc Heb “a casting.” The MT reads מַסֵּכָה (massekhah, “a cast thing”) but some mss and Smr add עֵגֶל (’egel, “calf”), “a molten calf” or the like (Exod 32:8). Perhaps Moses here omits reference to the calf out of contempt for it.

[9:22]  ²⁴ sn Taberah. By popular etymology this derives from the Hebrew verb בָעַר (ba’ar, “to burn”), thus, here, “burning.” The reference is to the Lord’s fiery wrath against Israel because of their constant complaints against him (Num 11:1-3).

[9:22]  ²⁵ sn Massah. See note on this term in Deut 6:16.

[9:22]  ²⁶ sn Kibroth-Hattaavah. This place name means in Hebrew “burial places of appetite,” that is, graves that resulted from overindulgence. The reference is to the Israelites stuffing themselves with the quail God had provided and doing so with thanklessness (Num 11:31-35).

[9:23]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

[9:23]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord your God,” that is, against the commandment that he had spoken.

[9:24]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

[9:2]  ³⁰ sn Anakites. See note on this term in Deut 1:28.

[9:2]  ³¹ tn Heb “great and tall.” Many English versions understand this to refer to physical size or strength rather than numbers (cf. “strong,” NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT).

[17:12]  ³² tn Heb “who acts presumptuously not to listen” (cf. NASB).

[17:15]  ³³ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, indicated in the translation by the words “without fail.”

[17:15]  ³⁴ tn Heb “your brothers,” but not referring to siblings (cf. NIV “your brother Israelites”; NLT “a fellow Israelite”). The same phrase also occurs in v. 20.

[17:15]  ³⁵ tn Heb “your brothers.” See the preceding note on “fellow citizens.”

[17:16]  ³⁶ tn Heb “in order to multiply horses.” The translation uses “do so” in place of “multiply horses” to avoid redundancy (cf. NAB, NIV).

[17:17]  ³⁷ tn Heb “must not multiply” (cf. KJV, NASB); NLT “must not take many.”

[17:18]  ³⁸ tn Or “instruction.” The LXX reads here τὸ δευτερονόμιον τοῦτο (to deuteronomion touto, “this second law”). From this Greek phrase the present name of the book, “Deuteronomy” or “second law” (i.e., the second giving of the law), is derived. However, the MT’s expression מִשְׁנֶה הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת (mishneh hattorah hazzo’t) is better rendered “copy of this law.” Here the term תּוֹרָה (torah) probably refers only to the book of Deuteronomy and not to the whole Pentateuch.

[17:18]  ³⁹ tn The Hebrew term סֵפֶר (sefer) means a “writing” or “document” and could be translated “book” (so KJV, ASV, TEV). However, since “book” carries the connotation of a modern bound book with pages (an obvious anachronism) it is preferable to render the Hebrew term “scroll” here and elsewhere.

[17:20]  ⁴⁰ tc Heb “upon his kingship.” Smr supplies כִּסֵא (kise’, “throne”) so as to read “upon the throne of his kingship.” This overliteralizes what is a clearly understood figure of speech.

[9:16]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and our fathers.” The vav is explicative.

[9:16]  ⁴² tn Heb “they stiffened their neck” (so also in the following verse).

[9:17]  ⁴³ tc The present translation follows a few medieval Hebrew MSS and the LXX in reading בְּמִצְרָיִם (bÿmitsrayim, “in Egypt”; so also NAB, NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT) rather than the MT reading בְּמִרְיָם (bÿmiryam, “in their rebellion”).

[9:17]  ⁴⁴ tc The translation follows the Qere reading חֶסֶד (khesed, “loyal love”) rather than the Kethib reading וְחֶסֶד (vÿkhesed, “and loyal love”) of the MT.

[9:18]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “great.”

[9:19]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “did not turn from them by day to guide them in the path.”

[9:22]  ⁴⁷ tn The words “of the land” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:22]  ⁴⁸ tc Most Hebrew MSS read “the land of Sihon and the land of the king of Heshbon.” The present translation (along with NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, CEV, NLT) follows the reading of one Hebrew MS, the LXX, and the Vulgate.

[9:24]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “the sons.”

[9:25]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “they ate and were sated.” This expression is a hendiadys. The first verb retains its full verbal sense, while the second functions adverbially: “they ate and were filled” = “they ate until they were full.”

[9:26]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “they cast your law behind their backs.”

[9:27]  ⁵² tn Heb “from the hand of” (so NASB, NIV); NAB “from the power of.”

[9:28]  ⁵³ tn Heb “in the hand of” (so KJV, ASV); NAB “to the power of.”

[9:29]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “if a man keep.” See note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.

[9:29]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “they gave a stubborn shoulder.”

[9:29]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “they stiffened their neck.”

[9:30]  ⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew expression here is elliptical. The words “your kindness” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:30]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “did not give ear to.”

[9:30]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

[9:32]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys. The second noun retains its full nominal sense, while the first functions adjectivally: “the covenant and loyalty” = covenant fidelity.

[9:32]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “do not let it seem small in your sight.”

[9:33]  ⁶² tn Heb “you have done truth.”

[9:35]  ⁶³ tn Heb “great.”

[9:35]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “given them.”

[9:35]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “given.”

[9:36]  ⁶⁶ tn The expression “to enjoy” is not included in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:37]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “according to their desire.”

[106:6]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “with.”

[106:6]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 7).

[106:7]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “Reed Sea” (also in vv. 9, 22). “Reed Sea” (or “Sea of Reeds”) is a more accurate rendering of the Hebrew expression יָם סוּף (yam suf), traditionally translated “Red Sea.” See the note on the term “Red Sea” in Exod 13:18.

[63:10]  ⁷¹ tn Or “grieved, hurt the feelings of.”

[63:10]  ⁷² sn The phrase “holy Spirit” occurs in the OT only here (in v. 11 as well) and in Ps 51:11 (51:13 HT), where it is associated with the divine presence.

[16:15]  ⁷³ tn Heb “it” (so KJV, ASV); the referent (the beauty in which the prostitute trusted, see the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:16]  ⁷⁴ tc The text as written in the MT is incomprehensible (“not coming [plural] and he will not”). Driver has suggested a copying error of similar-sounding words, specifically לֹא (lo’) for לוֹ (lo). The feminine participle בָאוֹת (va’ot) has also been read as the feminine perfect בָאת (va’t). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:228, n. 15.b, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:486, n. 137.

[16:17]  ⁷⁵ tn Or perhaps “and worshiped them,” if the word “prostitution” is understood in a figurative rather than a literal sense (cf. CEV, NLT).

[16:20]  ⁷⁶ sn The sacrifice of children was prohibited in Lev 18:21; 20:2; Deut 12:31; 18:10.

[16:21]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “and you gave them, by passing them through to them.” Some believe this alludes to the pagan practice of making children pass through the fire.

[20:8]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of their eyes did not throw away.”

[20:8]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”

[20:28]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “which I lifted up my hand.”

[23:44]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “and they came to her.”

[7:51]  ⁸² sn Traditionally, “stiff-necked people.” Now the critique begins in earnest.

[7:51]  ⁸³ tn The term ἀπερίτμητοι (aperitmhtoi, “uncircumcised”) is a NT hapax legomenon (occurs only once). See BDAG 101-2 s.v. ἀπερίτμητος and Isa 52:1.

[7:51]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “You stubborn and obstinate people!” (The phrase “uncircumcised hearts and ears” is another figure for stubbornness.)

[7:51]  ⁸⁵ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ⁸⁷ sn Which…persecute. The rhetorical question suggests they persecuted them all.

[7:52]  ⁸⁸ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[7:52]  ⁸⁹ sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ.

[7:52]  ⁹⁰ sn Whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. The harsh critique has OT precedent (1 Kgs 19:10-14; Neh 9:26; 2 Chr 36:16).

[7:53]  ⁹¹ tn Grk “whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, who received the law” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the pronoun “You” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.

[7:53]  ⁹² tn Traditionally, “as ordained by angels,” but εἰς (eis) with the accusative here should be understood as instrumental (a substitute for ἐν [en]); so BDAG 291 s.v. εἰς 9, BDF §206. Thus the phrase literally means “received the law by the decrees [orders] of angels” with the genitive understood as a subjective genitive, that is, the angels gave the decrees.

[7:53]  ⁹³ tn The Greek word φυλάσσω (fulassw, traditionally translated “keep”) in this context connotes preservation of and devotion to an object as well as obedience.

[7:53]  ⁹⁴ tn Or “did not obey it.”