Jeremiah 8:12

8:12 Are they ashamed because they have done such disgusting things?

No, they are not at all ashamed!

They do not even know how to blush!

So they will die just like others have died. ¹ 

They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,

says the Lord.

Exodus 9:17

9:17 You are still exalting ²  yourself against my people by ³  not releasing them.

Exodus 10:3

10:3 So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and told him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: ‘How long do you refuse ⁴  to humble yourself before me? ⁵  Release my people so that they may serve me!

Exodus 10:1

The Eighth Blow: Locusts

10:1 ⁶ The Lord said ⁷  to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display ⁸  these signs of mine before him, ⁹ 

Exodus 21:29

21:29 But if the ox had the habit of goring, and its owner was warned, ¹⁰  and he did not take the necessary precautions, ¹¹  and then it killed a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned and the man must be put to death.

Exodus 21:2

Hebrew Servants

21:2 ¹² “If you buy ¹³  a Hebrew servant, ¹⁴  he is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year he will go out free ¹⁵  without paying anything. ¹⁶ 

Exodus 12:6-12

12:6 You must care for it ¹⁷  until the fourteenth day of this month, and then the whole community ¹⁸  of Israel will kill it around sundown. ¹⁹  12:7 They will take some of the blood and put it on the two side posts and top of the doorframe of the houses where they will eat it. 12:8 They will eat the meat the same night; ²⁰  they will eat it roasted over the fire with bread made without yeast ²¹  and with bitter herbs. 12:9 Do not eat it raw ²²  or boiled in water, but roast it over the fire with its head, its legs, and its entrails. 12:10 You must leave nothing until morning, but you must burn with fire whatever remains of it until morning. 12:11 This is how you are to eat it – dressed to travel, ²³  your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. ²⁴ 

12:12 I will pass through ²⁵  the land of Egypt in the same ²⁶  night, and I will attack ²⁷  all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, ²⁸  and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. ²⁹  I am the Lord.

Exodus 32:26

32:26 So Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come ³⁰  to me.” ³¹  All the Levites gathered around him,

Exodus 33:12

33:12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you have been saying to me, ‘Bring this people up,’ ³²  but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. But you said, ‘I know you by name, ³³  and also you have found favor in my sight.’

Exodus 33:19

33:19 And the Lord ³⁴  said, “I will make all my goodness ³⁵  pass before your face, and I will proclaim the Lord by name ³⁶  before you; I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.” ³⁷ 

Exodus 34:27

34:27 The Lord said to Moses, “Write down ³⁸  these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

Daniel 5:20-22

5:20 And when his mind ³⁹  became arrogant ⁴⁰  and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him. 5:21 He was driven from human society, his mind ⁴¹  was changed to that of an animal, he lived ⁴²  with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.

5:22 “But you, his son ⁴³  Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, ⁴⁴  although you knew all this.

James 4:6-10

4:6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” ⁴⁵  4:7 So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. 4:8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. ⁴⁶  4:9 Grieve, mourn, ⁴⁷  and weep. Turn your laughter ⁴⁸  into mourning and your joy into despair. 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

James 4:1

Passions and Pride

4:1 Where do the conflicts and where ⁴⁹  do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, ⁵⁰  from your passions that battle inside you? ⁵¹ 

James 5:6

5:6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you. ⁵² 

[8:12]  ¹ tn Heb “They will fall among the fallen.”

[9:17]  ² tn מִסְתּוֹלֵל (mistolel) is a Hitpael participle, from a root that means “raise up, obstruct.” So in the Hitpael it means to “raise oneself up,” “elevate oneself,” or “be an obstructionist.” See W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:363; U. Cassuto, Exodus, 116.

[9:17]  ³ tn The infinitive construct with lamed here is epexegetical; it explains how Pharaoh has exalted himself – “by not releasing the people.”

[10:3]  ⁴ tn The verb is מֵאַנְתָּ (me’anta), a Piel perfect. After “how long,” the form may be classified as present perfect (“how long have you refused), for it describes actions begun previously but with the effects continuing. (See GKC 311 §106.g-h). The use of a verb describing a state or condition may also call for a present translation (“how long do you refuse”) that includes past, present, and potentially future, in keeping with the question “how long.”

[10:3]  ⁵ tn The clause is built on the use of the infinitive construct to express the direct object of the verb – it answers the question of what Pharaoh was refusing to do. The Niphal infinitive construct (note the elision of the ה [hey] prefix after the preposition [see GKC 139 §51.l]) is from the verb עָנָה (’anah). The verb in this stem would mean “humble oneself.” The question is somewhat rhetorical, since God was not yet through humbling Pharaoh, who would not humble himself. The issue between Yahweh and Pharaoh is deeper than simply whether or not Pharaoh will let the Israelites leave Egypt.

[10:1]  ⁶ sn The Egyptians dreaded locusts like every other ancient civilization. They had particular gods to whom they looked for help in such catastrophes. The locust-scaring deities of Greece and Asia were probably looked to in Egypt as well (especially in view of the origins in Egypt of so many of those religious ideas). The announcement of the plague falls into the now-familiar pattern. God tells Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh but reminds Moses that he has hardened his heart. Yahweh explains that he has done this so that he might show his power, so that in turn they might declare his name from generation to generation. This point is stressed so often that it must not be minimized. God was laying the foundation of the faith for Israel – the sovereignty of Yahweh.

[10:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

[10:1]  ⁸ tn The verb is שִׁתִי (shiti, “I have put”); it is used here as a synonym for the verb שִׂים (sim). Yahweh placed the signs in his midst, where they will be obvious.

[10:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “in his midst.”

[21:29]  ¹⁰ tn The Hophal perfect has the idea of “attested, testified against.”

[21:29]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he was not keeping it” or perhaps guarding or watching it (referring to the ox).

[21:2]  ¹² sn See H. L. Elleson, “The Hebrew Slave: A Study in Early Israelite Society,” EvQ 45 (1973): 30-35; N. P. Lemche, “The Manumission of Slaves – The Fallow Year – The Sabbatical Year – The Jobel Year,” VT 26 (1976): 38-59, and “The ‘Hebrew Slave,’ Comments on the Slave Law – Ex. 21:2-11,” VT 25 (1975): 129-44.

[21:2]  ¹³ tn The verbs in both the conditional clause and the following ruling are imperfect tense: “If you buy…then he will serve.” The second imperfect tense (the ruling) could be taken either as a specific future or an obligatory imperfect. Gesenius explains how the verb works in the conditional clauses here (see GKC 497 §159.bb).

[21:2]  ¹⁴ sn The interpretation of “Hebrew” in this verse is uncertain: (l) a gentilic ending, (2) a fellow Israelite, (3) or a class of mercenaries of the population (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:431). It seems likely that the term describes someone born a Hebrew, as opposed to a foreigner (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 210). The literature on this includes: M. P. Gray, “The Habiru-Hebrew Problem,” HUCA 29 (1958): 135-202.

[21:2]  ¹⁵ sn The word חָפְשִׁי (khofshi) means “free.” It is possible that there is some connection between this word and a technical term used in other cultures for a social class of emancipated slaves who were freemen again (see I. Mendelsohn, “New Light on the Hupsu,” BASOR 139 [1955]: 9-11).

[21:2]  ¹⁶ tn The adverb חִנָּם (hinnam) means “gratis, free”; it is related to the verb “to be gracious, show favor” and the noun “grace.”

[12:6]  ¹⁷ tn The text has וְהָיָה לָכֶם לְמִשְׁמֶרֶת (vÿhaya lakem lÿmishmeret, “and it will be for you for a keeping”). This noun stresses the activity of watching over or caring for something, probably to keep it in its proper condition for its designated use (see 16:23, 32-34).

[12:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “all the assembly of the community.” This expression is a pleonasm. The verse means that everyone will kill the lamb, i.e., each family unit among the Israelites will kill its animal.

[12:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “between the two evenings” or “between the two settings” (בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם, ben ha’arbayim). This expression has had a good deal of discussion. (1) Tg. Onq. says “between the two suns,” which the Talmud explains as the time between the sunset and the time the stars become visible. More technically, the first “evening” would be the time between sunset and the appearance of the crescent moon, and the second “evening” the next hour, or from the appearance of the crescent moon to full darkness (see Deut 16:6 – “at the going down of the sun”). (2) Saadia, Rashi, and Kimchi say the first evening is when the sun begins to decline in the west and cast its shadows, and the second evening is the beginning of night. (3) The view adopted by the Pharisees and the Talmudists (b. Pesahim 61a) is that the first evening is when the heat of the sun begins to decrease, and the second evening begins at sunset, or, roughly from 3-5 p.m. The Mishnah (m. Pesahim 5:1) indicates the lamb was killed about 2:30 p.m. – anything before noon was not valid. S. R. Driver concludes from this survey that the first view is probably the best, although the last view was the traditionally accepted one (Exodus, 89-90). Late afternoon or early evening seems to be intended, the time of twilight perhaps.

[12:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “this night.”

[12:8]  ²¹ sn Bread made without yeast could be baked quickly, not requiring time for the use of a leavening ingredient to make the dough rise. In Deut 16:3 the unleavened cakes are called “the bread of affliction,” which alludes to the alarm and haste of the Israelites. In later Judaism and in the writings of Paul, leaven came to be a symbol of evil or corruption, and so “unleavened bread” – bread made without yeast – was interpreted to be a picture of purity or freedom from corruption or defilement (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 90-91).

[12:9]  ²² sn This ruling was to prevent their eating it just softened by the fire or partially roasted as differing customs might prescribe or allow.

[12:11]  ²³ tn Heb “your loins girded.”

[12:11]  ²⁴ tn The meaning of פֶּסַח (pesakh) is debated. (1) Some have tried to connect it to the Hebrew verb with the same radicals that means “to halt, leap, limp, stumble.” See 1 Kgs 18:26 where the word describes the priests of Baal hopping around the altar; also the crippled child in 2 Sam 4:4. (2) Others connect it to the Akkadian passahu, which means “to appease, make soft, placate”; or (3) an Egyptian word to commemorate the harvest (see J. B. Segal, The Hebrew Passover, 95-100). The verb occurs in Isa 31:5 with the connotation of “to protect”; B. S. Childs suggests that this was already influenced by the exodus tradition (Exodus [OTL], 183, n. 11). Whatever links there may or may not have been that show an etymology, in Exod 12 it is describing Yahweh’s passing over or through.

[12:12]  ²⁵ tn The verb וְעָבַרְתִּי (vÿ’avarti) is a Qal perfect with vav (ו) consecutive, announcing the future action of God in bringing judgment on the land. The word means “pass over, across, through.” This verb provides a contextual motive for the name “Passover.”

[12:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “this night.”

[12:12]  ²⁷ tn The verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to strike, smite, attack”; it does not always mean “to kill,” but that is obviously its outcome in this context. This is also its use in 2:12, describing how Moses killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.

[12:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “from man and to beast.”

[12:12]  ²⁹ tn The phrase אֶעֱשֶׂה שְׁפָטִים (’e’eseh shÿfatim) is “I will do judgments.” The statement clearly includes what had begun in Exod 6:1. But the statement that God would judge the gods of Egypt is appropriately introduced here (see also Num 33:4) because with the judgment on Pharaoh and the deliverance from bondage, Yahweh would truly show himself to be the one true God. Thus, “I am Yahweh” is fitting here (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 312).

[32:26]  ³⁰ tn “come” is not in the text, but has been supplied.

[32:26]  ³¹ tn S. R. Driver suggests that the command was tersely put: “Who is for Yahweh? To me!” (Exodus, 354).

[33:12]  ³² tn The Hiphil imperative is from the same verb that has been used before for bringing the people up from Egypt and leading them to Canaan.

[33:12]  ³³ tn That is, “chosen you.”

[33:19]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:19]  ³⁵ sn The word “goodness” refers to the divine appearance in summary fashion.

[33:19]  ³⁶ tn The expression “make proclamation in the name of Yahweh” (here a perfect tense with vav [ו] consecutive for future) means to declare, reveal, or otherwise make proclamation of who Yahweh is. The “name of Yahweh” (rendered “the name of the Lord” throughout) refers to his divine attributes revealed to his people, either in word or deed. What will be focused on first will be his grace and compassion.

[33:19]  ³⁷ sn God declares his mercy and grace in similar terms to his earlier self-revelation (“I am that I am”): “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious.” In other words, the grace and mercy of God are bound up in his own will. Obviously, in this passage the recipients of that favor are the penitent Israelites who were forgiven through Moses’ intercession. The two words are at the heart of God’s dealings with people. The first is חָנַן (khanan, “to be gracious, show favor”). It means to grant favor or grace to someone, grace meaning unmerited favor. All of God’s dealings are gracious, but especially in forgiving sins and granting salvation it is critical. Parallel to this is רָחַם (rakham), a word that means “show compassion, tender mercy.” It is a word that is related to the noun “womb,” the connection being in providing care and protection for that which is helpless and dependent – a motherly quality. In both of these constructions the verbs simply express what God will do, without explaining why. See further, J. R. Lundbom, “God’s Use of the Idem per idem to Terminate Debate,” HTR 71 (1978): 193-201; and J. Piper, “Prolegomena to Understanding Romans 9:14-15: An Interpretation of Exodus 33:19,” JETS 22 (1979): 203-16.

[34:27]  ³⁸ tn Once again the preposition with the suffix follows the imperative, adding some emphasis to the subject of the verb.

[5:20]  ³⁹ tn Aram “heart.”

[5:20]  ⁴⁰ sn The point of describing Nebuchadnezzar as arrogant is that he had usurped divine prerogatives, and because of his immense arrogance God had dealt decisively with him.

[5:21]  ⁴¹ tn Aram “heart.”

[5:21]  ⁴² tn Aram “his dwelling.”

[5:22]  ⁴³ tn Or “descendant”; or “successor.”

[5:22]  ⁴⁴ tn Aram “your heart.”

[4:6]  ⁴⁵ sn A quotation from Prov 3:34.

[4:8]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “two-minded” (the same description used in 1:8).

[4:9]  ⁴⁷ tn This term and the following one are preceded by καί (kai) in the Greek text, but contemporary English generally uses connectives only between the last two items in such a series.

[4:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “let your laughter be turned.”

[4:1]  ⁴⁹ tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.

[4:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “from here.”

[4:1]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”

[5:6]  ⁵² tn Literally a series of verbs without connectives, “you have condemned, you have murdered…he does not resist.”