Job 33:27-28

33:27 That person sings ¹  to others, ²  saying:

‘I have sinned and falsified what is right,

but I was not punished according to what I deserved. ³ 

33:28 He redeemed my life ⁴ 

from going down to the place of corruption,

and my life sees the light!’

Jeremiah 31:18-20

31:18 I have indeed ⁵  heard the people of Israel ⁶  say mournfully,

‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. ⁷ 

You disciplined us and we learned from it. ⁸ 

Let us come back to you and we will do so, ⁹ 

for you are the Lord our God.

31:19 For after we turned away from you we repented.

After we came to our senses ¹⁰  we beat our breasts in sorrow. ¹¹ 

We are ashamed and humiliated

because of the disgraceful things we did previously.’ ¹² 

31:20 Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children.

They are the children I take delight in. ¹³ 

For even though I must often rebuke them,

I still remember them with fondness.

So I am deeply moved with pity for them ¹⁴ 

and will surely have compassion on them.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹⁵ 

Luke 15:18

15:18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned ¹⁶  against heaven ¹⁷  and against ¹⁸  you.

[33:27]  ¹ tc The verb יָשֹׁר (yashor) is unusual. The typical view is to change it to יָשִׁיר (yashir, “he sings”), but that may seem out of harmony with a confession. Dhorme suggests a root שׁוּר (shur, “to repeat”), but this is a doubtful root. J. Reider reads it יָשֵׁיר (yasher) and links it to an Arabic word “confesses” (ZAW 24 [1953]: 275).

[33:27]  ² tn Heb “to men.”

[33:27]  ³ tn The verb שָׁוָה (shavah) has the impersonal meaning here, “it has not been requited to me.” The meaning is that the sinner has not been treated in accordance with his deeds: “I was not punished according to what I deserved.”

[33:28]  ⁴ sn See note on “him” in v. 24.

[31:18]  ⁵ tn The use of “indeed” is intended to reflect the infinitive absolute which precedes the verb for emphasis (see IBHS 585-86 §35.3.1f).

[31:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “Ephraim.” See the study note on 31:9. The more familiar term is used, the term “people” added to it, and plural pronouns used throughout the verse to aid in understanding.

[31:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “like an untrained calf.” The metaphor is that of a calf who has never been broken to bear the yoke (cf. Hos 4:16; 10:11).

[31:18]  ⁸ tn The verb here is from the same root as the preceding and is probably an example of the “tolerative Niphal,” i.e., “I let myself be disciplined/I responded to it.” See IBHS 389-90 §23.4g and note the translation of some of the examples there, especially Isa 19:22; 65:1.

[31:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “Bring me back in order that I may come back.” For the use of the plural pronouns see the marginal note at the beginning of the verse. The verb “bring back” and “come back” are from the same root in two different verbal stems and in the context express the idea of spiritual repentance and restoration of relationship not physical return to the land. (See BDB 999 s.v. שׁוּב Hiph.2.a for the first verb and 997 s.v. Qal.6.c for the second.) For the use of the cohortative to express purpose after the imperative see GKC 320 §108.d or IBHS 575 §34.5.2b.

[31:19]  ¹⁰ tn For this meaning of the verb see HAL 374 s.v. יָדַע Nif 5 or W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 129. REB translates “Now that I am submissive” relating the verb to a second root meaning “be submissive.” (See HALOT 375 s.v. II יָדַע and J. Barr, Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament, 19-21, for evidence for this verb. Other passages cited with this nuance are Judg 8:16; Prov 10:9; Job 20:20.)

[31:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I struck my thigh.” This was a gesture of grief and anguish (cf. Ezek 21:12 [21:17 HT]). The modern equivalent is “to beat the breast.”

[31:19]  ¹² tn Heb “because I bear the reproach of my youth.” For the plural referents see the note at the beginning of v. 18.

[31:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “Is Ephraim a dear son to me or a child of delight?” For the substitution of Israel for Ephraim and the plural pronouns for the singular see the note on v. 18. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.c the question is rhetorical having the force of an impassioned affirmation. See 1 Sam 2:27; Job 41:9 (41:1 HT) for parallel usage.

[31:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my stomach churns for him.” The parallelism shows that this refers to pity or compassion.

[31:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[15:18]  ¹⁶ sn In the confession “I have sinned” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”

[15:18]  ¹⁷ sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.

[15:18]  ¹⁸ tn According to BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνωπιον 4.a, “in relation to ἁμαρτάνειν ἐ. τινος sin against someone Lk 15:18, 21 (cf. Jdth 5:17; 1 Km 7:6; 20:1).”