Job 5:8

Blessings for the One Who Seeks God ¹ 

5:8 “But ²  as for me, ³  I would seek ⁴  God, ⁵ 

and to God ⁶  I would set forth my case. ⁷ 

Psalms 37:4-5

37:4 Then you will take delight in the Lord, ⁸ 

and he will answer your prayers. ⁹ 

37:5 Commit your future to the Lord! ¹⁰ 

Trust in him, and he will act on your behalf. ¹¹ 

Psalms 55:22

55:22 Throw your burden ¹²  upon the Lord,

and he will sustain you. ¹³ 

He will never allow the godly to be upended. ¹⁴ 

Matthew 6:25-34

Do Not Worry

6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry ¹⁵  about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? 6:26 Look at the birds in the sky: ¹⁶  They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds ¹⁷  them. Aren’t you more valuable ¹⁸  than they are? 6:27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? ¹⁹  6:28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers ²⁰  of the field grow; they do not work ²¹  or spin. 6:29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 6:30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, ²²  which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ²³  won’t he clothe you even more, ²⁴  you people of little faith? 6:31 So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 6:32 For the unconverted ²⁵  pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 6:33 But above all pursue his kingdom ²⁶  and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 6:34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own. ²⁷ 

Luke 12:22

Exhortation Not to Worry

12:22 Then ²⁸  Jesus ²⁹  said to his ³⁰  disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry ³¹  about your ³²  life, what you will eat, or about your ³³  body, what you will wear.

Philippians 4:6

4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.

Philippians 4:1

Christian Practices

4:1 So then, my brothers and sisters, ³⁴  dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!

Philippians 1:7

1:7 For ³⁵  it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, ³⁶  since both in my imprisonment ³⁷  and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s grace ³⁸  together with me.

[5:8]  ¹ sn Eliphaz affirms that if he were in Job’s place he would take refuge in God, but Job has to acknowledge that he has offended God and accept this suffering as his chastisement. Job eventually will submit to God in the end, but not in the way that Eliphaz advises here, for Job does not agree that the sufferings are judgments from God.

[5:8]  ² tn The word אוּלָם (’ulam) is a strong adversative “but.” This forms the contrast with what has been said previously and so marks a new section.

[5:8]  ³ tn The independent personal pronoun here adds emphasis to the subject of the verb, again strengthening the contrast with what Job is doing (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 22, §106).

[5:8]  ⁴ tn The imperfect verbs in this verse express not so much what Eliphaz does as what he would do if he were in Job’s place (even though in 13:3 we have the affirmation). The use fits the category of the imperfect used in conditional clauses (see GKC 319 §107.x).

[5:8]  ⁵ tn The verb דָּרַשׁ (darash, “to seek”) followed by the preposition אֶל (’el, “towards”) has the meaning of addressing oneself to (God). See 8:19 and 40:10.

[5:8]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew employs אֵל (’el) in the first line and אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) in the second for “God”, but the LXX uses κύριος (kurio", “Lord”) in both places in this verse. However, in the second colon it also has “Lord of all.” This is replaced in the Greek version of Aquila by παντοκράτωρ (pantokratwr, traditionally translated “Almighty”). On the basis of this information, H. M. Orlinsky suggests that the second name for God in the verses should be “Shaddai” (JQR 25 [1934/35]: 271).

[5:8]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew simply has “my word”; but in this expression that uses שִׂים (sim) with the meaning of “lay before” or “expound a cause” in a legal sense, “case” or “cause” would be a better translation.

[37:4]  ⁸ tn Following the imperatives of v. 3 the prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) in v. 4 indicate result. Faith and obedience (v. 3) will bring divine blessing (v. 4).

[37:4]  ⁹ tn Or “and he will give you what you desire most.” Heb “and he will grant to you the requests of your heart.”

[37:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “roll your way upon the Lord.” The noun “way” may refer here to one’s activities or course of life.

[37:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he will act.” Verse 6 explains what is meant; the Lord will vindicate those who trust in him.

[55:22]  ¹² tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here.

[55:22]  ¹³ tn The pronoun is singular; the psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually.

[55:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he will never allow swaying for the righteous.”

[6:25]  ¹⁵ tn Or “do not be anxious,” and so throughout the rest of this paragraph.

[6:26]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[6:26]  ¹⁷ tn Or “God gives them food to eat.” L&N 23.6 has both “to provide food for” and “to give food to someone to eat.”

[6:26]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “of more value.”

[6:27]  ¹⁹ tn Or “a cubit to his height.” A cubit (πῆχυς, phcu") can measure length (normally about 45 cm or 18 inches) or time (a small unit, “hour” is usually used [BDAG 812 s.v.] although “day” has been suggested [L&N 67.151]). The term ἡλικία (Jhlikia) is ambiguous in the same way as πῆχυς (phcus). Most scholars take the term to describe age or length of life here, although a few refer it to bodily stature (see BDAG 436 s.v. 3 for discussion). Worry about length of life seems a more natural figure than worry about height. However, the point either way is clear: Worrying adds nothing to life span or height.

[6:28]  ²⁰ tn Traditionally, “lilies.” According to L&N 3.32, “Though traditionally κρίνον has been regarded as a type of lily, scholars have suggested several other possible types of flowers, including an anemone, a poppy, a gladiolus, and a rather inconspicuous type of daisy.” In view of the uncertainty, the more generic “flowers” has been used in the translation.

[6:28]  ²¹ tn Or, traditionally, “toil.” Although it might be argued that “work hard” would be a more precise translation of κοπιάω (kopiaw) here, the line in English reads better in terms of cadence with a single syllable.

[6:30]  ²² tn Grk “grass of the field.”

[6:30]  ²³ tn Grk “into the oven.” The expanded translation “into the fire to heat the oven” has been used to avoid misunderstanding; most items put into modern ovens are put there to be baked, not burned.

[6:30]  ²⁴ sn The phrase even more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he will care for the more important things.

[6:32]  ²⁵ tn Or “unbelievers”; Grk “Gentiles.”

[6:33]  ²⁶ tc ‡ Most mss (L W Θ 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy mae) read τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ (thn basileian tou qeou kai thn dikaiosunhn aujtou, “the kingdom of God and his righteousness”) here, but the words “of God” are lacking in א B pc sa bo Eus. On the one hand, there is the possibility of accidental omission on the part of these Alexandrian witnesses, but it seems unlikely that the scribe’s eye would skip over both words (especially since τοῦ θεοῦ is bracketed by first declension nouns). Intrinsically, the author generally has a genitive modifier with βασιλεία – especially θεοῦ or οὐρανῶν (ouranwn) – but this argument cuts both ways: Although he might be expected to use such an adjunct here, scribes might also be familiar with his practice and would thus naturally insert it if it were missing in their copy of Matthew. Although a decision is difficult, the omission of τοῦ θεοῦ is considered most likely to be original. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating doubt as to their authenticity.

[6:34]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Sufficient for the day is its evil.”

[12:22]  ²⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Jesus’ remarks to the disciples are an application of the point made in the previous parable.

[12:22]  ²⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:22]  ³⁰ tc αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) is lacking in Ì^45vid,75 B 1241 c e. Although the addition of clarifying pronouns is a known scribal alteration, in this case it is probably better to view the dropping of the pronoun as the alteration in light of its minimal attestation.

[12:22]  ³¹ tn Or “do not be anxious.”

[12:22]  ³² tc Most mss (Ì⁴⁵ Ψ 070 ˹³ 33 Ï) supply the pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here, although several important and early witnesses omit it (Ì⁷⁵ א A B D L Q W Θ Ë¹ 700 2542 al lat). Externally, the shorter reading is superior. Internally, the pronoun looks to be a scribal clarification. In context the article can be translated as a possessive pronoun anyway (ExSyn 215), as it has been done for this translation.

[12:22]  ³³ tc Some mss (B 070 ˹³ 33 1424 al) supply the pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here, although the witnesses for the omission are early, important, and varied (Ì^45vid,75 א A D L Q W Θ Ψ Ë¹ Ï lat). See previous tc note for more discussion.

[4:1]  ³⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[1:7]  ³⁵ tn Grk “Just as.” The sense here is probably, “So I give thanks (v. 3) just as it is right for me…”

[1:7]  ³⁶ tn Or possibly “because you have me in your heart.”

[1:7]  ³⁷ tn Grk “in my bonds.” The meaning “imprisonment” derives from a figurative extension of the literal meaning (“bonds,” “fetters,” “chains”), L&N 37.115.

[1:7]  ³⁸ tn The word “God’s” is supplied from the context (v. 2) to clarify the meaning.