John 11:41-42

11:41 So they took away ¹  the stone. Jesus looked upward ²  and said, “Father, I thank you that you have listened to me. ³  11:42 I knew that you always listen to me, ⁴  but I said this ⁵  for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

Genesis 18:23-33

18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare ⁶  the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge ⁷  of the whole earth do what is right?” ⁸ 

18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord ⁹  (although I am but dust and ashes), ¹⁰  18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy ¹¹  the whole city because five are lacking?” ¹²  He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

18:29 Abraham ¹³  spoke to him again, ¹⁴  “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”

18:30 Then Abraham ¹⁵  said, “May the Lord not be angry ¹⁶  so that I may speak! ¹⁷  What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

18:31 Abraham ¹⁸  said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

18:32 Finally Abraham ¹⁹  said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

18:33 The Lord went on his way ²⁰  when he had finished speaking ²¹  to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. ²² 

Genesis 19:29

19:29 So when God destroyed ²³  the cities of the region, ²⁴  God honored ²⁵  Abraham’s request. He removed Lot ²⁶  from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed ²⁷  the cities Lot had lived in.

Genesis 20:7

20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ²⁸  he is a prophet ²⁹  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ³⁰  But if you don’t give her back, ³¹  know that you will surely die ³²  along with all who belong to you.”

Genesis 20:1

Abraham and Abimelech

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ³³  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ³⁴  in Gerar,

Genesis 17:20-22

17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. ³⁵  I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. ³⁶  He will become the father of twelve princes; ³⁷  I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. ³⁸ 

Genesis 18:1-2

Three Special Visitors

18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham ³⁹  by the oaks ⁴⁰  of Mamre while ⁴¹  he was sitting at the entrance ⁴²  to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham ⁴³  looked up ⁴⁴  and saw ⁴⁵  three men standing across ⁴⁶  from him. When he saw them ⁴⁷  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ⁴⁸  to the ground. ⁴⁹ 

Genesis 32:20-21

32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ⁵⁰  Jacob thought, ⁵¹  “I will first appease him ⁵²  by sending a gift ahead of me. ⁵³  After that I will meet him. ⁵⁴  Perhaps he will accept me.” ⁵⁵  32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him ⁵⁶  while he spent that night in the camp. ⁵⁷ 

Psalms 99:6

99:6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests;

Samuel was one of those who prayed to him. ⁵⁸ 

They ⁵⁹  prayed to the Lord and he answered them.

Psalms 106:23

106:23 He threatened ⁶⁰  to destroy them,

but ⁶¹  Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him ⁶² 

and turned back his destructive anger. ⁶³ 

Jeremiah 15:1

15:1 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for ⁶⁴  these people, I would not feel pity for them! ⁶⁵  Get them away from me! Tell them to go away! ⁶⁶ 

James 5:15-18

5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up – and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ⁶⁷  5:16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. ⁶⁸  5:17 Elijah was a human being ⁶⁹  like us, and he prayed earnestly ⁷⁰  that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months! 5:18 Then ⁷¹  he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.

[11:41]  ¹ tn Or “they removed.”

[11:41]  ² tn Grk “lifted up his eyes above.”

[11:41]  ³ tn Or “that you have heard me.”

[11:42]  ⁴ tn Grk “that you always hear me.”

[11:42]  ⁵ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[18:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).

[18:25]  ⁷ tn Or “ruler.”

[18:25]  ⁸ sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.

[18:27]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[18:27]  ¹⁰ tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the Lord.

[18:28]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.

[18:28]  ¹² tn Heb “because of five.”

[18:29]  ¹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:29]  ¹⁴ tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”

[18:30]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:30]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “let it not be hot to the Lord.” This is an idiom which means “may the Lord not be angry.”

[18:30]  ¹⁷ tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.

[18:31]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:32]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:33]  ²⁰ tn Heb “And the Lord went.”

[18:33]  ²¹ tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”

[18:33]  ²² tn Heb “to his place.”

[19:29]  ²³ tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.

[19:29]  ²⁴ tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:29]  ²⁵ tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the Lord not destroy the righteous with the wicked. While the requisite minimum number of righteous people (ten, v. 32) needed for God to spare the cities was not found, God nevertheless rescued the righteous before destroying the wicked.

[19:29]  ²⁶ sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.

[19:29]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”

[20:7]  ²⁸ tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.

[20:7]  ²⁹ sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.

[20:7]  ³⁰ tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.

[20:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.

[20:7]  ³² tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.

[20:1]  ³³ tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”

[20:1]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and he sojourned.”

[17:20]  ³⁵ sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.

[17:20]  ³⁶ tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:20]  ³⁷ tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.

[17:22]  ³⁸ tn Heb “And when he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.” The sequence of pronouns and proper names has been modified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[18:1]  ³⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “terebinths.”

[18:1]  ⁴¹ tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.

[18:1]  ⁴² tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.

[18:2]  ⁴³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[18:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.

[18:2]  ⁴⁶ tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.

[18:2]  ⁴⁷ tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

[18:2]  ⁴⁸ tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).

[18:2]  ⁴⁹ sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the Lord and two angels (see Gen 19:1). It is not certain how soon Abraham recognized the true identity of the visitors. His actions suggest he suspected this was something out of the ordinary, though it is possible that his lavish treatment of the visitors was done quite unwittingly. Bowing down to the ground would be reserved for obeisance of kings or worship of the Lord. Whether he was aware of it or not, Abraham’s action was most appropriate.

[32:20]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”

[32:20]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”

[32:20]  ⁵² tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than five hundred and fifty animals.

[32:20]  ⁵³ tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”

[32:20]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “I will see his face.”

[32:20]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.

[32:21]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”

[32:21]  ⁵⁷ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.

[99:6]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “among those who called on his name.”

[99:6]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “those who.” The participle is in apposition to the phrase “those who called on his name” in the preceding line.

[106:23]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and he said.”

[106:23]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “if not,” that is, “[and would have] if [Moses] had not.”

[106:23]  ⁶² tn Heb “stood in the gap before him.”

[106:23]  ⁶³ tn Heb “to turn back his anger from destroying.”

[15:1]  ⁶⁴ tn The words “pleading for” have been supplied in the translation to explain the idiom (a metonymy). For parallel usage see BDB 763 s.v. עָמַד Qal.1.a and compare usage in Gen 19:27, Deut 4:10.

[15:1]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “my soul would not be toward them.” For the usage of “soul” presupposed here see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 6 in the light of the complaints and petitions in Jeremiah’s prayer in 14:19, 21.

[15:1]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “Send them away from my presence and let them go away.”

[5:15]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “it will be forgiven him.”

[5:16]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “the fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful”; Grk “is very powerful in its working.”

[5:17]  ⁶⁹ tn Although it is certainly true that Elijah was a “man,” here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") has been translated as “human being” because the emphasis in context is not on Elijah’s masculine gender, but on the common humanity he shared with the author and the readers.

[5:17]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “he prayed with prayer” (using a Hebrew idiom to show intensity).

[5:18]  ⁷¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events.