Job 10:4

Motivations of God

10:4 “Do you have eyes of flesh, ¹ 

or do you see ²  as a human being sees? ³ 

Isaiah 55:8-9

55:8 “Indeed, ⁴  my plans ⁵  are not like ⁶  your plans,

and my deeds ⁷  are not like ⁸  your deeds,

55:9 for just as the sky ⁹  is higher than the earth,

so my deeds ¹⁰  are superior to ¹¹  your deeds

and my plans ¹²  superior to your plans.

Luke 16:15

16:15 But ¹³  Jesus ¹⁴  said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, ¹⁵  but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized ¹⁶  among men is utterly detestable ¹⁷  in God’s sight.

Luke 16:1

The Parable of the Clever Steward

16:1 Jesus ¹⁸  also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations ¹⁹  that his manager ²⁰  was wasting ²¹  his assets.

Luke 2:4

2:4 So ²²  Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth ²³  in Galilee to Judea, to the city ²⁴  of David called Bethlehem, ²⁵  because he was of the house ²⁶  and family line ²⁷  of David.

Luke 3:4

3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice ²⁸  of one shouting in the wilderness: ²⁹ 

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make ³⁰  his paths straight.

[10:4]  ¹ tn Here “flesh” is the sign of humanity. The expression “eyes of flesh” means essentially “human eyes,” i.e., the outlook and vision of humans.

[10:4]  ² sn The verb translated “see” could also include the figurative category of perceive as well. The answer to Job’s question is found in 1 Sam 16:7: “The Lord sees not as a man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

[10:4]  ³ sn In this verse Job asks whether or not God is liable to making mistakes or errors of judgment. He wonders if God has no more insight than his friends have. Of course, the questions are rhetorical, for he knows otherwise. But his point is that God seems to be making a big mistake here.

[55:8]  ⁴ tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).

[55:8]  ⁵ tn Or “thoughts” (so many English versions).

[55:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.

[55:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “ways” (so many English versions).

[55:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.

[55:9]  ⁹ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[55:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “ways” (so many English versions).

[55:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “are higher than.”

[55:9]  ¹² tn Or “thoughts” (so many English versions).

[16:15]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[16:15]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:15]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “before men.” The contrast is between outward appearance (“in people’s eyes”) and inward reality (“God knows your hearts”). Here the Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used twice in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, but “men” has been retained in the text to provide a strong verbal contrast with “God” in the second half of the verse.

[16:15]  ¹⁶ tn Or “exalted.” This refers to the pride that often comes with money and position.

[16:15]  ¹⁷ tn Or “is an abomination,” “is abhorrent” (L&N 25.187).

[16:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:1]  ¹⁹ tn These are not formal legal charges, but reports from friends, acquaintances, etc.; Grk “A certain man was rich who had a manager, and this one was reported to him as wasting his property.”

[16:1]  ²⁰ sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.

[16:1]  ²¹ tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).

[2:4]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

[2:4]  ²³ sn On Nazareth see Luke 1:26.

[2:4]  ²⁴ tn Or “town.” The translation “city” is used here because of its collocation with “of David,” suggesting its importance, though not its size.

[2:4]  ²⁵ sn The journey from Nazareth to the city of David called Bethlehem was a journey of about 90 mi (150 km). Bethlehem was a small village located about 7 miles south-southwest of Jerusalem.

[2:4]  ²⁶ sn Luke’s use of the term “house” probably alludes to the original promise made to David outlined in the Nathan oracle of 2 Sam 7:12-16, especially in light of earlier connections between Jesus and David made in Luke 1:32. Further, the mention of Bethlehem reminds one of the promise of Mic 5:2, namely, that a great king would emerge from Bethlehem to rule over God’s people.

[2:4]  ²⁷ tn Or “family,” “lineage.”

[3:4]  ²⁸ tn Or “A voice.”

[3:4]  ²⁹ tn Or “desert.” The syntactic position of the phrase “in the wilderness” is unclear in both Luke and the LXX. The MT favors taking it with “Prepare a way,” while the LXX takes it with “a voice shouting.” If the former, the meaning would be that such preparation should be done “in the wilderness.” If the latter, the meaning would be that the place from where John’s ministry went forth was “in the wilderness.” There are Jewish materials that support both renderings: 1QS 8:14 and 9.19-20 support the MT while certain rabbinic texts favor the LXX (see D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:290-91). While it is not absolutely necessary that a call in the wilderness led to a response in the wilderness, it is not unlikely that such would be the case. Thus, in the final analysis, the net effect between the two choices may be minimal. In any case, a majority of commentators and translations take “in the wilderness” with “The voice of one shouting” (D. L. Bock; R. H. Stein, Luke [NAC], 129; I. H. Marshall, Luke [NIGTC], 136; NIV, NRSV, NKJV, NLT, NASB, REB).

[3:4]  ³⁰ tn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance as the verb ποιέω (poiew) reappears in vv. 8, 10, 11, 12, 14.