John 1:17

1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but ¹  grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ.

Exodus 4:9

4:9 And if ²  they do not believe even these two signs or listen to you, ³  then take ⁴  some water from the Nile and pour it out on the dry ground. The water you take out of the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.” ⁵ 

Exodus 7:19-21

7:19 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over Egypt’s waters – over their rivers, over their canals, ⁶  over their ponds, and over all their reservoirs ⁷  – so that it becomes ⁸  blood.’ There will be blood everywhere in ⁹  the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.” 7:20 Moses and Aaron did so, ¹⁰  just as the Lord had commanded. Moses raised ¹¹  the staff ¹²  and struck the water that was in the Nile right before the eyes ¹³  of Pharaoh and his servants, ¹⁴  and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. ¹⁵  7:21 When the fish ¹⁶  that were in the Nile died, the Nile began ¹⁷  to stink, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood ¹⁸  everywhere in the land of Egypt!

Ecclesiastes 9:7

Life is Brief, so Cherish its Joys

9:7 Go, eat your food ¹⁹  with joy,

and drink your wine with a happy heart,

because God has already approved your works.

Malachi 2:2

2:2 If you do not listen and take seriously ²⁰  the need to honor my name,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will send judgment ²¹  on you and turn your blessings into curses – indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart.

Malachi 2:2

2:2 If you do not listen and take seriously ²²  the need to honor my name,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will send judgment ²³  on you and turn your blessings into curses – indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart.

Colossians 4:17

4:17 And tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the ministry you received in the Lord.”

Galatians 3:10-13

3:10 For all who ²⁴  rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.” ²⁵  3:11 Now it is clear no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous one will live by faith. ²⁶  3:12 But the law is not based on faith, ²⁷  but the one who does the works of the law ²⁸  will live by them. ²⁹  3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming ³⁰  a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) ³¹ 

[1:17]  ¹ tn “But” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the implied contrast between the Mosaic law and grace through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 seems to indicate clearly that the Old Covenant (Sinai) was being contrasted with the New. In Jewish sources the Law was regarded as a gift from God (Josephus, Ant. 3.8.10 [3.223]; Pirqe Avot 1.1; Sifre Deut 31:4 §305). Further information can be found in T. F. Glasson, Moses in the Fourth Gospel (SBT).

[4:9]  ² tn Heb “and it will be if.”

[4:9]  ³ tn Heb “listen to your voice.”

[4:9]  ⁴ tn The verb form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it functions then as the equivalent of the imperfect tense – here as an imperfect of instruction.

[4:9]  ⁵ sn This is a powerful sign, for the Nile was always known as the source of life in Egypt, but now it will become the evidence of death. So the three signs were alike, each consisting of life and death. They would clearly anticipate the struggle with Egypt through the plagues. The point is clear that in the face of the possibility that people might not believe, the servants of God must offer clear proof of the power of God as they deliver the message of God. The rest is up to God.

[7:19]  ⁶ tn Or “irrigation rivers” of the Nile.

[7:19]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew term means “gathering,” i.e., wherever they gathered or collected waters, notably cisterns and reservoirs. This would naturally lead to the inclusion of both wooden and stone vessels – down to the smallest gatherings.

[7:19]  ⁸ tn The imperfect tense with vav (ו) after the imperative indicates the purpose or result: “in order that they [the waters] be[come] blood.”

[7:19]  ⁹ tn Or “in all.”

[7:20]  ¹⁰ sn Both Moses and Aaron had tasks to perform. Moses, being the “god” to Pharaoh, dealt directly with him and the Nile. He would strike the Nile. But Aaron, “his prophet,” would stretch out the staff over the rest of the waters of Egypt.

[7:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And he raised”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:20]  ¹² tn Gesenius calls the preposition on “staff” the בְּ (bet) instrumenti, used to introduce the object (GKC 380-81 §119.q). This construction provides a greater emphasis than an accusative.

[7:20]  ¹³ tn The text could be rendered “in the sight of,” or simply “before,” but the literal idea of “before the eyes of” may stress how obvious the event was and how personally they were witnesses of it.

[7:20]  ¹⁴ sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 98) notes that the striking of the water was not a magical act. It signified two things: (1) the beginning of the sign, which was in accordance with God’s will, as Moses had previously announced, and (2) to symbolize actual “striking,” wherewith the Lord strikes Egypt and its gods (see v. 25).

[7:20]  ¹⁵ sn There have been various attempts to explain the details of this plague or blow. One possible suggestion is that the plague turned the Nile into “blood,” but that it gradually turned back to its normal color and substance. However, the effects of the “blood” polluted the water so that dead fish and other contamination left it undrinkable. This would explain how the magicians could also do it – they would not have tried if all water was already turned to blood. It also explains why Pharaoh did not ask for the water to be turned back. This view was put forward by B. Schor; it is summarized by B. Jacob (Exodus, 258), who prefers the view of Rashi that the blow affected only water in use.

[7:21]  ¹⁶ tn The first clause in this verse begins with a vav disjunctive, introducing a circumstantial clause to the statement that the water stank. The vav (ו) consecutive on the next verb shows that the smell was the result of the dead fish in the contaminated water. The result is then expressed with the vav beginning the clause that states that they could not drink it.

[7:21]  ¹⁷ tn The preterite could be given a simple definite past translation, but an ingressive past would be more likely, as the smell would get worse and worse with the dead fish.

[7:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and there was blood.”

[9:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “your bread.”

[2:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and if you do not place upon [the] heart”; KJV, NAB, NRSV “lay it to heart.”

[2:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “the curse” (so NASB, NRSV); NLT “a terrible curse.”

[2:2]  ²² tn Heb “and if you do not place upon [the] heart”; KJV, NAB, NRSV “lay it to heart.”

[2:2]  ²³ tn Heb “the curse” (so NASB, NRSV); NLT “a terrible curse.”

[3:10]  ²⁴ tn Grk “For as many as.”

[3:10]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things written in the book of the law, to do them.”

[3:11]  ²⁶ tn Or “The one who is righteous by faith will live” (a quotation from Hab 2:4).

[3:12]  ²⁷ tn Grk “is not from faith.”

[3:12]  ²⁸ tn Grk “who does these things”; the referent (the works of the law, see 3:5) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:12]  ²⁹ sn A quotation from Lev 18:5. The phrase the works of the law is an editorial expansion on the Greek text (see previous note); it has been left as normal typeface to indicate it is not part of the OT text.

[3:13]  ³⁰ tn Grk “having become”; the participle γενόμενος (genomenos) has been taken instrumentally.

[3:13]  ³¹ sn A quotation from Deut 21:23. By figurative extension the Greek word translated tree (ζύλον, zulon) can also be used to refer to a cross (L&N 6.28), the Roman instrument of execution.