Job 33:27

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 

Jeremiah 31:18-20

31:18 I have indeed ⁴  heard the people of Israel ⁵  say mournfully,

‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. ⁶ 

You disciplined us and we learned from it. ⁷ 

Let us come back to you and we will do so, ⁸ 

for you are the Lord our God.

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

After we came to our senses ⁹  we beat our breasts in sorrow. ¹⁰ 

We are ashamed and humiliated

because of the disgraceful things we did previously.’ ¹¹ 

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

They are the children I take delight in. ¹² 

For even though I must often rebuke them,

I still remember them with fondness.

So I am deeply moved with pity for them ¹³ 

and will surely have compassion on them.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹⁴ 

Luke 15:20

15:20 So ¹⁵  he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home ¹⁶  his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; ¹⁷  he ran and hugged ¹⁸  his son ¹⁹  and kissed him.

John 1:47-48

1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, ²⁰  “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” ²¹  1:48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, ²²  “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, ²³  I saw 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.”

[31:18]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “my stomach churns for him.” The parallelism shows that this refers to pity or compassion.

[31:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[15:20]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the son’s decision to return home. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[15:20]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “a long way off from [home].” The word “home” is implied (L&N 85.16).

[15:20]  ¹⁷ tn Or “felt great affection for him,” “felt great pity for him.”

[15:20]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he fell on his neck,” an idiom for showing special affection for someone by throwing one’s arms around them. The picture is of the father hanging on the son’s neck in welcome.

[15:20]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:47]  ²⁰ tn Grk “said about him.”

[1:47]  ²¹ tn Or “treachery.”

[1:48]  ²² tn Grk “answered and said to him.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation to “replied.”

[1:48]  ²³ sn Many have speculated about what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree. Meditating on the Messiah who was to come? A good possibility, since the fig tree was used as shade for teaching or studying by the later rabbis (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 5:11). Also, the fig tree was symbolic for messianic peace and plenty (Mic 4:4, Zech 3:10.)