John 2:6

2:6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, ¹  each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ² 

Genesis 35:2

35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. ³  Purify yourselves and change your clothes. ⁴ 

Exodus 19:10

19:10 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them ⁵  today and tomorrow, and make them wash ⁶  their clothes

Exodus 19:14-15

19:14 Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 19:15 He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not go near your wives.” ⁷ 

Numbers 9:6

9:6 It happened that some men ⁸  who were ceremonially defiled ⁹  by the dead body of a man ¹⁰  could not keep ¹¹  the Passover on that day, so they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.

Numbers 9:1

Passover Regulations

9:1 ¹² The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out ¹³  of the land of Egypt:

Numbers 16:5

16:5 Then he said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning the Lord will make known who are his, and who is holy. He will cause that person ¹⁴  to approach him; the person he has chosen he will cause to approach him.

Numbers 16:2

16:2 and rebelled against Moses, along with some of the Israelites, 250 leaders ¹⁵  of the community, chosen from the assembly, ¹⁶  famous men. ¹⁷ 

Numbers 30:1

Vows Made by Men

30:1 ¹⁸ Moses told the leaders ¹⁹  of the tribes concerning the Israelites, “This is what ²⁰  the Lord has commanded:

Job 1:5

1:5 When ²¹  the days of their feasting were finished, ²²  Job would send ²³  for them and sanctify ²⁴  them; he would get up early ²⁵  in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to ²⁶  the number of them all. For Job thought, “Perhaps ²⁷  my children ²⁸  have sinned and cursed ²⁹  God in their hearts.” This was Job’s customary practice. ³⁰ 

Psalms 26:6

26:6 I maintain a pure lifestyle, ³¹ 

so I can appear before your altar, ³²  O Lord,

Acts 24:18

24:18 which I was doing when they found me in the temple, ritually purified, ³³  without a crowd or a disturbance. ³⁴ 

Acts 24:1

The Accusations Against Paul

24:1 After five days the high priest Ananias ³⁵  came down with some elders and an attorney ³⁶  named ³⁷  Tertullus, and they ³⁸  brought formal charges ³⁹  against Paul to the governor.

Colossians 1:28

1:28 We proclaim him by instructing ⁴⁰  and teaching ⁴¹  all people ⁴²  with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature ⁴³  in Christ.

Hebrews 9:13-14

9:13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity, ⁴⁴  9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our ⁴⁵  consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

James 4:8

4:8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. ⁴⁶ 

[2:6]  ¹ tn Grk “for the purification of the Jews.”

[2:6]  ² tn Grk “holding two or three metretes” (about 75 to 115 liters). Each of the pots held 2 or 3 μετρηταί (metrhtai). A μετρητῆς (metrhths) was about 9 gallons (40 liters); thus each jar held 18-27 gallons (80-120 liters) and the total volume of liquid involved was 108-162 gallons (480-720 liters).

[35:2]  ³ tn Heb “which are in your midst.”

[35:2]  ⁴ sn The actions of removing false gods, becoming ritually clean, and changing garments would become necessary steps in Israel when approaching the Lord in worship.

[19:10]  ⁵ tn This verb is a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the force of the imperative preceding it. This sanctification would be accomplished by abstaining from things that would make them defiled or unclean, and then by ritual washings and ablutions.

[19:10]  ⁶ tn The form is a perfect 3cpl with a vav (ו) consecutive. It is instructional as well, but now in the third person it is like a jussive, “let them wash, make them wash.”

[19:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “do not go near a woman”; NIV “Abstain from sexual relations.”

[9:6]  ⁸ tn In the Hebrew text the noun has no definite article, and so it signifies “some” or “certain” men.

[9:6]  ⁹ tn The meaning, of course, is to be ceremonially unclean, and therefore disqualified from entering the sanctuary.

[9:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “a human corpse” (so NAB, NKJV). So also in v.7; cf. v. 10.

[9:6]  ¹¹ tn This clause begins with the vav (ו) conjunction and negative before the perfect tense. Here is the main verb of the sentence: They were not able to observe the Passover. The first part of the verse provides the explanation for their problem.

[9:1]  ¹² sn The chapter has just the two sections, the observance of the Passover (vv. 1-14) and the cloud that led the Israelites in the wilderness (vv. 15-23). It must be remembered that the material in vv. 7-9 is chronologically earlier than vv. 1-6, as the notices in the text will make clear. The two main discussions here are the last major issues to be reiterated before dealing with the commencement of the journey.

[9:1]  ¹³ tn The temporal clause is formed with the infinitive construct of יָצָא (yatsa’, “to go out; to leave”). This verse indicates that a full year had passed since the exodus and the original Passover; now a second ruling on the Passover is included at the beginning of the second year. This would have occurred immediately after the consecration of the tabernacle, in the month before the census at Sinai.

[16:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “him.”

[16:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “princes” (so KJV, ASV).

[16:2]  ¹⁶ tn These men must have been counselors or judges of some kind.

[16:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “men of name,” or “men of renown.”

[30:1]  ¹⁸ sn Num 30 deals with vows that are different than the vows discussed in Lev 27 and Num 6. The material is placed here after all the rulings of the offerings, but it could have been revealed to Moses at any time, such as the Nazirite vows, or the question of the daughters’ inheritance. The logic of placing it here may be that a festival was the ideal place for discharging a vow. For additional material on vows, see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 465-66.

[30:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “heads.”

[30:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “This is the word which.”

[1:5]  ²¹ tn The verse begins with the temporal indicator “and it happened” or “and it came to pass,” which need not be translated. The particle כִּי (ki, “when”) with the initial verbal form indicates it is a temporal clause.

[1:5]  ²² tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect of נָקַף (naqaf, “go around”), here it means “to make the round” or “complete the circuit” (BDB 668-69 s.v. II נָקַף Hiph). It indicates that when the feasting had made its circuit of the seven sons, then Job would sanctify them.

[1:5]  ²³ tn The form is a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive. The same emphasis on repeated or frequent action continues here in this verse. The idea here is that Job would send for them, because the sanctification of them would have consisted of washings and changes of garments as well as the sacrifices (see Gen 35:2; 1 Sam 16:5).

[1:5]  ²⁴ tn Or “purify.”

[1:5]  ²⁵ tn The first verb could also be joined with the next to form a verbal hendiadys: “he would rise early and he would sacrifice” would then simply be “he would sacrifice early in the morning” (see M. Delcor, “Quelques cas de survivances du vocabulaire nomade en hébreu biblique,” VT 25 [1975]: 307-22). This section serves to explain in more detail how Job sanctified his children.

[1:5]  ²⁶ tn The text does not have “according to”; the noun “number” is an accusative that defines the extent of his actions (GKC 373-74 §118.e, h).

[1:5]  ²⁷ tn The clause stands as an accusative to the verb, here as the direct object introduced with “perhaps” (IBHS 645-46 §38.8d).

[1:5]  ²⁸ tn Heb “sons,” but since the three daughters are specifically mentioned in v. 4, “children” has been used in the translation. In this patriarchal culture, however, it is possible that only the sons are in view.

[1:5]  ²⁹ tn The Hebrew verb is בָּרַךְ (barakh), which means “to bless.” Here is a case where the writer or a scribe has substituted the word “curse” with the word “bless” to avoid having the expression “curse God.” For similar euphemisms in the ancient world, see K. A. Kitchen, Ancient Orient and Old Testament, 166. It is therefore difficult to know exactly what Job feared they might have done. The opposite of “bless” would be “curse,” which normally would convey disowning or removing from blessing. Some commentators try to offer a definition of “curse” from the root in the text, and noting that “curse” is too strong, come to something like “renounce.” The idea of blaspheming is probably not meant; rather, in their festivities they may have said things that renounced God or their interest in him. Job feared this momentary turning away from God in their festivities, perhaps as they thought their good life was more important than their religion.

[1:5]  ³⁰ tn The imperfect expresses continual action in past time, i.e., a customary imperfect (GKC 315 §107.e).

[26:6]  ³¹ tn Heb “I wash my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The imperfect verbal emphasizes that this is his habit.

[26:6]  ³² tn Heb “so I can go around your altar” (probably in ritual procession). Following the imperfect of the preceding line, the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.

[24:18]  ³³ sn Ritually purified. Paul’s claim here is that he was honoring the holiness of God by being sensitive to issues of ritual purity. Not only was he not guilty of the charges against him, but he was thoroughly devout.

[24:18]  ³⁴ tn BDAG 458 s.v. θόρυβος 3.b has “μετὰ θορύβου…with a disturbance Ac 24:18.”

[24:1]  ³⁵ sn Ananias was in office from a.d. 47-59.

[24:1]  ³⁶ tn The term refers to a professional advocate (BDAG 905 s.v. ῥήτωρ).

[24:1]  ³⁷ tn Grk “an attorney, a certain Tertullus.”

[24:1]  ³⁸ tn Grk “who” (plural). Because in English the relative pronoun “who” could be understood to refer only to the attorney Tertullus and not to the entire group, it has been replaced with the third person plural pronoun “they.” “And” has been supplied to provide the connection to the preceding clause.

[24:1]  ³⁹ tn BDAG 326 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 3 has “ἐ. τινὶ κατά τινος bring formal charges against someone…Ac 24:1; 25:2.”

[1:28]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “admonishing,” or “warning.” BDAG 679 s.v. νουθετέω states, “to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct,, admonish, warn, instruct.” After the participle νουθετοῦντες (nouqetounte", “instructing”) the words πάντα ἄνθρωπον (panta anqrwpon, “all men”) occur in the Greek text, but since the same phrase appears again after διδάσκοντες (didaskontes) it was omitted in translation to avoid redundancy in English.

[1:28]  ⁴¹ tn The two participles “instructing” (νουθετοῦντες, nouqetounte") and “teaching” (διδάσκοντες, didaskonte") are translated as participles of means (“by”) related to the finite verb “we proclaim” (καταγγέλλομεν, katangellomen).

[1:28]  ⁴² tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon) is twice translated as a generic (“people” and “person”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.

[1:28]  ⁴³ tn Since Paul’s focus is on the present experience of the Colossians, “mature” is a better translation of τέλειον (teleion) than “perfect,” since the latter implies a future, eschatological focus.

[9:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “for the purifying of the flesh.” The “flesh” here is symbolic of outward or ritual purity in contrast to inner purity, that of the conscience (cf. Heb 9:9).

[9:14]  ⁴⁵ tc The reading adopted by the translation is attested by many authorities (A D* K P 365 1739* al). But many others (א D² 0278 33 1739^c 1881 Ï lat sa) read “your” instead of “our.” The diversity of evidence makes this a difficult case to decide from external evidence alone. The first and second person pronouns differ by only one letter in Greek, as in English, also making this problem difficult to decide based on internal evidence and transcriptional probability. In the context, the author’s description of sacrificial activities seems to invite the reader to compare his own possible participation in OT liturgy as over against the completed work of Christ, so the second person pronoun “your” might make more sense. On the other hand, TCGNT 599 argues that “our” is preferable because the author of Hebrews uses direct address (i.e., the second person) only in the hortatory sections. What is more, the author seems to prefer the first person in explanatory remarks or when giving the logical grounds for an assertion (cf. Heb 4:15; 7:14). It is hard to reach a definitive conclusion in this case, but the data lean slightly in favor of the first person pronoun.

[4:8]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “two-minded” (the same description used in 1:8).