Job 11:6

11:6 and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom –

for true wisdom has two sides ¹  –

so that you would know ² 

that God has forgiven some of your sins. ³ 

Deuteronomy 29:29

29:29 Secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those that are revealed belong to us and our descendants ⁴  forever, so that we might obey all the words of this law.

Psalms 25:14

25:14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance, ⁵ 

and he reveals his covenantal demands to them. ⁶ 

Proverbs 3:32

3:32 for one who goes astray ⁷  is an abomination ⁸  to the Lord,

but he reveals ⁹  his intimate counsel ¹⁰  to the upright.

Jeremiah 23:18

23:18 Yet which of them has ever stood in the Lord’s inner circle ¹¹ 

so they ¹²  could see and hear what he has to say? ¹³ 

Which of them have ever paid attention or listened to what he has said?

Amos 3:7

3:7 Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

Matthew 11:25

Jesus’ Invitation

11:25 At that time Jesus said, ¹⁴  “I praise ¹⁵  you, Father, Lord ¹⁶  of heaven and earth, because ¹⁷  you have hidden these things from the wise ¹⁸  and intelligent, and revealed them to little children.

Matthew 13:11

13:11 He replied, ¹⁹  “You have been given ²⁰  the opportunity to know ²¹  the secrets ²²  of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.

Matthew 13:35

13:35 This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: ²³ 

“I will open my mouth in parables,

I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.” ²⁴ 

John 15:15

15:15 I no longer call you slaves, ²⁵  because the slave does not understand ²⁶  what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything ²⁷  I heard ²⁸  from my Father.

Romans 11:34

11:34 For who has known the mind of the Lord,

or who has been his counselor? ²⁹ 

Romans 16:25-26

16:25 ³⁰ Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that had been kept secret for long ages, 16:26 but now is disclosed, and through the prophetic scriptures has been made known to all the nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith –

Romans 16:1

Personal Greetings

16:1 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant ³¹  of the church in Cenchrea,

Colossians 2:9-11

2:9 For in him all the fullness of deity lives ³²  in bodily form, 2:10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. 2:11 In him you also were circumcised – not, however, ³³  with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal ³⁴  of the fleshly body, ³⁵  that is, ³⁶  through the circumcision done by Christ.

Colossians 2:16

2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days –

[11:6]  ¹ tn The text seems to be saying “that it [wisdom] is double in understanding.” The point is that it is different than Job conceived it – it far exceeded all perception. But some commentators have thought this still too difficult, and so have replaced the word כִפְלַיִם (khiflayim, “two sides”) with כִפְלָאִים (khifla’im, “like wonders,” or, more simply, “wonders” without the preposition). But it is still a little strange to talk about God’s wisdom being like wonders. Others have had more radical changes in the text; J. J. Slotki has “for sound wisdom is his. And know that double [punishment] shall God exact of you” (“Job 11:6,” VT 35 [1985]: 229-30).

[11:6]  ² tn The verb is the imperative with a ו (vav). Following the jussive, this clause would be subordinated to the preceding (see GKC 325 §110.i).

[11:6]  ³ tn Heb “God causes to be forgotten for you part of your iniquity.” The meaning is that God was exacting less punishment from Job than Job deserved, for Job could not remember all his sins. This statement is fitting for Zophar, who is the cruelest of Job’s friends (see H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 88). Others in an attempt to improve the text make too many unwarranted changes. Some would read יִשְׁאָלְךָ (yish’alkha, “he asks of you”) instead of יַשֶּׂה לְךָ (yasseh lÿka, “he causes to be forgotten for you”). This would mean that God demands an account of Job’s sin. But, as D. J. A. Clines says, this change is weak and needless (Job [WBC], 254-55).

[29:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV, NIV, NRSV “children.”

[25:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “the advice of the Lord belongs to those who fear him.”

[25:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “and his covenant, to make them know.”

[3:32]  ⁷ tn The basic meaning of the verb לוּז (luz) is “to turn aside; to depart” (BDB 531 s.v.). The Niphal stem is always used figuratively of moral apostasy from the path of righteousness: (1) “to go astray” (Prov 2:15; 3:32; 14:2) and (2) “crookedness” in action (Isa 30:12; see HALOT 522 s.v. לוז nif; BDB 531 s.v. Niph).

[3:32]  ⁸ tn Heb “abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) functions as a genitive of respect: “abomination to the Lord.” It is loathsome or detestable to him. Things that are repugnant to the Lord are usually the most heinous of crimes and gross violations of rituals.

[3:32]  ⁹ tn Heb “but with the upright is his intimate counsel.” The phrase “he reveals” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and clarity.

[3:32]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his counsel.” The noun סוֹד (sod) can refer to (1) “intimate circle” of friends and confidants, (2) “confidential discussion” among friends and confidants, or “secret counsel” revealed from one confidant to another and kept secret and (3) relationship of “intimacy” with a person (BDB 691 s.v.; HALOT 745 s.v.). God reveals his secret counsel to the heavenly assembly (Job 15:8; Jer 23:18, 22) and his prophets (Amos 3:7). God has brought the angels into his “intimate circle” (Ps 89:8). Likewise, those who fear the Lord enjoy an intimate relationship with him (Job 29:4; Ps 25:14; Prov 3:32). The perverse are repugnant to the Lord, but he takes the upright into his confidence and brings him into his intimate circle.

[23:18]  ¹¹ tn Or “has been the Lord’s confidant.”

[23:18]  ¹² tn The form here is a jussive with a vav of subordination introducing a purpose after a question (cf. GKC 322 §109.f).

[23:18]  ¹³ tc Heb “his word.” In the second instance (“what he has said” at the end of the verse) the translation follows the suggestion of the Masoretes (Qere) and many Hebrew mss rather than the consonantal text (Kethib) of the Leningrad Codex.

[11:25]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “At that time, answering, Jesus said.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[11:25]  ¹⁵ tn Or “thank.”

[11:25]  ¹⁶ sn The title Lord is an important name for God, showing his sovereignty, but it is interesting that it comes next to a reference to the Father, a term indicative of God’s care. The two concepts are often related in the NT; see Eph 1:3-6.

[11:25]  ¹⁷ tn Or “that.”

[11:25]  ¹⁸ sn See 1 Cor 1:26-31.

[13:11]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And answering, he said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:11]  ²⁰ tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

[13:11]  ²¹ tn Grk “to you it has been given to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.

[13:11]  ²² tn Grk “the mysteries.”

[13:35]  ²³ tc A few important mss (א* Θ Ë^1,13 33) identify the prophet as Isaiah, a reading that is significantly harder than the generic “prophet” because the source of this prophecy is not Isaiah but Asaph in Ps 78. Jerome mentioned some mss that had “Asaph” here, though none are known to exist today. This problem is difficult because of the temptation for scribes to delete the reference to Isaiah in order to clear up a discrepancy. Indeed, the vast majority of witnesses have only “the prophet” here (א¹ B C D L W 0233 0242 Ï lat sy co). However, as B. M. Metzger points out, “if no prophet were originally named, more than one scribe might have been prompted to insert the name of the best known prophet – something which has, in fact, happened elsewhere more than once” (TCGNT 27). In light of the paucity of evidence for the reading ᾿Ησαΐου, as well as the proclivity of scribes to add his name, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic.

[13:35]  ²⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 78:2.

[15:15]  ²⁵ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[15:15]  ²⁶ tn Or “does not know.”

[15:15]  ²⁷ tn Grk “all things.”

[15:15]  ²⁸ tn Or “learned.”

[11:34]  ²⁹ sn A quotation from Isa 40:13.

[16:25]  ³⁰ tc There is a considerable degree of difference among the mss regarding the presence and position of the doxology of 16:25-27. Five situations present themselves from the ms tradition. The doxology is found in the ancient witnesses in three separate locations: (1) here after 16:23 (Ì⁶¹ א B C D 81 365 630 1739 2464 al co), (2) after 14:23 (Ψ 0209^vid Ï), or (3) after 15:33 (Ì⁴⁶). The situation is further complicated in that some of the mss have these verses in two places: (4) after 14:23 and after 16:23 (A P 33 104 2805 pc); or (5) after 14:23 and after 15:33 (1506). The uncertain position of the doxology might suggest that it was added by later scribes. But since the mss containing the doxology are so early and widespread, it almost certainly belongs in Romans; it is only a question of where. Further, the witnesses that omit the doxology are few: F G 629 Hier^mss. (And of these, G has a blank space of several lines large enough for the doxology to belong there.) Only two positions (after chapter 14 only and at the end of the letter only) deserve particular notice because the situation of the mss showing the doxology in two places dates back to the 5th century. Later copyists, faced with the doxology in two different places in the mss they knew, may have decided to copy the doxology in both places, since they were unwilling to consciously omit any text. Because the textual disruption of the doxology is so early, TCGNT 472 suggests two possibilities: either (1) that Paul may have sent two different copies of Romans – a copy lacking chapter 16 and a copy with the full text of the epistle as we now have it, or (2) Marcion or some of his followers circulated a shortened form of the epistle that lacked chapters 15 and 16. Those mss that lacked chapters 15-16 would naturally conclude with some kind of doxology after chapter 14. On the other hand, H. Gamble (The Textual History of the Letter to the Romans [SD], 123-32) argues for the position of the doxology at 14:23, since to put the doxology at 16:25 would violate Paul’s normal pattern of a grace-benediction at the close of the letter. Gamble further argues for the inclusion of 16:24, since the mss that put the doxology after chapter 14 almost always present 16:24 as the letter’s closing, whereas most of the mss that put the doxology at its traditional position drop 16:24, perhaps because it would be redundant before 16:25-27. A decision is difficult, but the weight of external evidence, since it is both early and geographically widespread, suggests that the doxology belongs here after 16:23. For a full discussion, see TCGNT 470-73.

[16:1]  ³¹ tn Or “deaconess.” It is debated whether διάκονος (diakonos) here refers to a specific office within the church. One contextual argument used to support this view is that Phoebe is associated with a particular church, Cenchrea, and as such would therefore be a deacon of that church. In the NT some who are called διάκονος are related to a particular church, yet the scholarly consensus is that such individuals are not deacons, but “servants” or “ministers” (other viable translations for διάκονος). For example, Epaphras is associated with the church in Colossians and is called a διάκονος in Col 1:7, but no contemporary translation regards him as a deacon. In 1 Tim 4:6 Paul calls Timothy a διάκονος; Timothy was associated with the church in Ephesus, but he obviously was not a deacon. In addition, the lexical evidence leans away from this view: Within the NT, the διακον- word group rarely functions with a technical nuance. In any case, the evidence is not compelling either way. The view accepted in the translation above is that Phoebe was a servant of the church, not a deaconess, although this conclusion should be regarded as tentative.

[2:9]  ³² sn In him all the fullness of deity lives. The present tense in this verse (“lives”) is significant. Again, as was stated in the note on 1:19, this is not a temporary dwelling, but a permanent one. Paul’s point is polemical against the idea that the fullness of God dwells anywhere else, as the Gnostics believed, except in Christ alone. At the incarnation, the second person of the Trinity assumed humanity, and is forever the God-man.

[2:11]  ³³ tn The terms “however” and “but” in this sentence were supplied in order to emphasize the contrast.

[2:11]  ³⁴ tn The articular noun τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (th apekdusei) is a noun which ends in -σις (-sis) and therefore denotes action, i.e., “removal.” Since the head noun is a verbal noun, the following genitive τοῦ σώματος (tou swmatos) is understood as an objective genitive, receiving the action of the head noun.

[2:11]  ³⁵ tn Grk “in the removal of the body of flesh.” The genitive τῆς σαρκός (th" sarko") has been translated as an attributive genitive, “fleshly body.”

[2:11]  ³⁶ tn The second prepositional phrase beginning with ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ (en th peritomh) is parallel to the prepositional phrase ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (en th apekdusei) and gives a further explanation of it. The words “that is” were supplied to bring out this force in the translation.