Job 34:7-9

34:7 What man is like Job,

who ¹  drinks derision ²  like water!

34:8 He goes about ³  in company ⁴  with evildoers,

he goes along ⁵  with wicked men. ⁶ 

34:9 For he says, ‘It does not profit a man

when he makes his delight with God.’ ⁷ 

Job 35:3

35:3 But you say, ‘What will it profit you,’ ⁸ 

and, ‘What do I gain by not sinning?’ ⁹ 

Daniel 3:16-18

3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, ¹⁰  “We do not need to give you a reply ¹¹  concerning this. 3:17 If ¹²  our God whom we are serving exists, ¹³  he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well. 3:18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

Daniel 6:10

6:10 When Daniel realized ¹⁴  that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows ¹⁵  in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. ¹⁶  Three ¹⁷  times daily he was ¹⁸  kneeling ¹⁹  and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously.

Matthew 13:21

13:21 But he has no root in himself and does not endure; ²⁰  when ²¹  trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

Matthew 16:24

16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, ²²  he must deny ²³  himself, take up his cross, ²⁴  and follow me.

Acts 5:40-41

5:40 and they summoned the apostles and had them beaten. ²⁵  Then ²⁶  they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. 5:41 So they left the council rejoicing because they had been considered worthy ²⁷  to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. ²⁸ 

Hebrews 11:25

11:25 choosing rather to be ill-treated with the people of God than to enjoy sin’s fleeting pleasure.

Hebrews 11:1

People Commended for Their Faith

11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.

Hebrews 3:17

3:17 And against whom was God ²⁹  provoked for forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness? ³⁰ 

Hebrews 4:15-16

4:15 For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. 4:16 Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help. ³¹ 

[34:7]  ¹ tn Heb “he drinks,” but coming after the question this clause may be subordinated.

[34:7]  ² tn The scorn or derision mentioned here is not against Job, but against God. Job scorns God so much, he must love it. So to reflect this idea, Gordis has translated it “blasphemy” (cf. NAB).

[34:8]  ³ tn The perfect verb with the vav (ו) consecutive carries the sequence forward from the last description.

[34:8]  ⁴ tn The word חֶבְרַה (khevrah, “company”) is a hapax legomenon. But its meaning is clear enough from the connections to related words and this context as well.

[34:8]  ⁵ tn The infinitive construct with the ל (lamed) preposition may continue the clause with the finite verb (see GKC 351 §114.p).

[34:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “men of wickedness”; the genitive is attributive (= “wicked men”).

[34:9]  ⁷ tn Gordis, however, takes this expression in the sense of “being in favor with God.”

[35:3]  ⁸ tn The referent of “you” is usually understood to be God.

[35:3]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text merely says, “What do I gain from my sin?” But Job has claimed that he has not sinned, and so this has to be elliptical: “more than if I had sinned” (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 224). It could also be, “What do I gain without sin?”

[3:16]  ¹⁰ tc In the MT this word is understood to begin the following address (“answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar’”). However, it seems unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar’s subordinates would address the king in such a familiar way, particularly in light of the danger that they now found themselves in. The present translation implies moving the atnach from “king” to “Nebuchadnezzar.”

[3:16]  ¹¹ tn Aram “to return a word to you.”

[3:17]  ¹² tc The ancient versions typically avoid the conditional element of v. 17.

[3:17]  ¹³ tn The Aramaic expression used here is very difficult to interpret. The question concerns the meaning and syntax of אִיתַי (’itay, “is” or “exist”). There are several possibilities. (1) Some interpreters take this word closely with the participle later in the verse יָכִל (yakhil, “able”), understanding the two words to form a periphrastic construction (“if our God is…able”; cf. H. Bauer and P. Leander, Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramäischen, 365, §111b). But the separation of the two elements from one another is not an argument in favor of this understanding. (2) Other interpreters take the first part of v. 17 to mean “If it is so, then our God will deliver us” (cf. KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB). However, the normal sense of ’itay is existence; on this point see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 45, §95. The present translation maintains the sense of existence for the verb (“If our God…exists”), even though the statement is admittedly difficult to understand in this light. The statement may be an implicit reference back to Nebuchadnezzar’s comment in v. 15, which denies the existence of a god capable of delivering from the king’s power.

[6:10]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “knew.”

[6:10]  ¹⁵ sn In later rabbinic thought this verse was sometimes cited as a proof text for the notion that one should pray only in a house with windows. See b. Berakhot 34b.

[6:10]  ¹⁶ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:10]  ¹⁷ sn This is apparently the only specific mention in the OT of prayer being regularly offered three times a day. The practice was probably not unique to Daniel, however.

[6:10]  ¹⁸ tc Read with several medieval Hebrew MSS and printed editions הֲוָה (havah) rather than the MT הוּא (hu’).

[6:10]  ¹⁹ tn Aram “kneeling on his knees” (so NASB).

[13:21]  ²⁰ tn Grk “is temporary.”

[13:21]  ²¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[16:24]  ²² tn Grk “to come after me.”

[16:24]  ²³ tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.

[16:24]  ²⁴ sn To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.

[5:40]  ²⁵ sn Had them beaten. The punishment was the “forty lashes minus one,” see also Acts 22:19; 2 Cor 11:24; Mark 13:9. The apostles had disobeyed the religious authorities and took their punishment for their “disobedience” (Deut 25:2-3; m. Makkot 3:10-14). In Acts 4:18 they were warned. Now they are beaten. The hostility is rising as the narrative unfolds.

[5:40]  ²⁶ tn The word “Then” is supplied as the beginning of a new sentence in the translation. The construction in Greek has so many clauses (most of them made up of participles) that a continuous English sentence would be very awkward.

[5:41]  ²⁷ sn That is, considered worthy by God. They “gloried in their shame” of honoring Jesus with their testimony (Luke 6:22-23; 2 Macc 6:30).

[5:41]  ²⁸ sn The name refers to the name of Jesus (cf. 3 John 7).

[3:17]  ²⁹ tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.

[3:17]  ³⁰ sn An allusion to God’s judgment pronounced in Num 14:29, 32.

[4:16]  ³¹ tn Grk “for timely help.”