Leviticus 22:20

22:20 You must not present anything that has a flaw, ¹  because it will not be acceptable for your benefit. ² 

Numbers 19:2-21

19:2 “This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded: ‘Instruct ³  the Israelites to bring ⁴  you a red ⁵  heifer ⁶  without blemish, which has no defect ⁷  and has never carried a yoke. 19:3 You must give it to Eleazar the priest so that he can take it outside the camp, and it must be slaughtered before him. ⁸  19:4 Eleazar the priest is to take ⁹  some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of the blood seven times ¹⁰  directly in front of the tent of meeting. 19:5 Then the heifer must be burned ¹¹  in his sight – its skin, its flesh, its blood, and its offal is to be burned. ¹²  19:6 And the priest must take cedar wood, hyssop, ¹³  and scarlet wool and throw them into the midst of the fire where the heifer is burning. ¹⁴  19:7 Then the priest must wash ¹⁵  his clothes and bathe himself ¹⁶  in water, and afterward he may come ¹⁷  into the camp, but the priest will be ceremonially unclean until evening. 19:8 The one who burns it ¹⁸  must wash his clothes in water and bathe himself in water. He will be ceremonially unclean until evening.

19:9 “‘Then a man who is ceremonially clean must gather up the ashes of the red heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept ¹⁹  for the community of the Israelites for use in the water of purification ²⁰  – it is a purification for sin. ²¹  19:10 The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer must wash his clothes and be ceremonially unclean until evening. This will be a permanent ordinance both for the Israelites and the resident foreigner who lives among them.

Purification from Uncleanness

19:11 “‘Whoever touches ²²  the corpse ²³  of any person ²⁴  will be ceremonially unclean ²⁵  seven days. 19:12 He must purify himself ²⁶  with water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and the seventh day, then he will not be clean. 19:13 Anyone who touches the corpse of any dead person and does not purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. And that person must be cut off from Israel, ²⁷  because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him. He will be unclean; his uncleanness remains on him.

19:14 “‘This is the law: When a man dies ²⁸  in a tent, anyone who comes into the tent and all who are in the tent will be ceremonially unclean seven days. 19:15 And every open container that has no covering fastened on it is unclean. 19:16 And whoever touches the body of someone killed with a sword in the open fields, ²⁹  or the body of someone who died of natural causes, ³⁰  or a human bone, or a grave, will be unclean seven days. ³¹ 

19:17 “‘For a ceremonially unclean person you must take ³²  some of the ashes of the heifer ³³  burnt for purification from sin and pour ³⁴  fresh running ³⁵  water over them in a vessel. 19:18 Then a ceremonially clean person must take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all its furnishings, and on the people who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, or one killed, or one who died, or a grave. 19:19 And the clean person must sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he must purify him, ³⁶  and then he must wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and he will be clean in the evening. 19:20 But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person must be cut off from among the community, because he has polluted the sanctuary of the Lord; the water of purification was not sprinkled on him, so he is unclean.

19:21 “‘So this will be a perpetual ordinance for them: The one who sprinkles ³⁷  the water of purification must wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening. ³⁸ 

Numbers 28:3

28:3 You will say to them, ‘This is the offering made by fire which you must offer to the Lord: two unblemished lambs one year old each day for a continual ³⁹  burnt offering.

Numbers 28:9

Weekly Offerings

28:9 “‘On the Sabbath day, you must offer ⁴⁰  two unblemished lambs a year old, and two-tenths of an ephah ⁴¹  of finely ground flour as a grain offering, mixed with olive oil, along with its drink offering.

Numbers 28:11

Monthly Offerings

28:11 “‘On the first day of each month ⁴²  you must offer as a burnt offering to the Lord two young bulls, one ram, and seven unblemished lambs a year old,

Deuteronomy 15:21

15:21 If they have any kind of blemish – lameness, blindness, or anything else ⁴³  – you may not offer them as a sacrifice to the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 17:1

17:1 You must not sacrifice to him ⁴⁴  a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive ⁴⁵  to the Lord your God.

Isaiah 53:9

53:9 They intended to bury him with criminals, ⁴⁶ 

but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb, ⁴⁷ 

because ⁴⁸  he had committed no violent deeds,

nor had he spoken deceitfully.

Daniel 9:24-26

9:24 “Seventy weeks ⁴⁹  have been determined

concerning your people and your holy city

to put an end to ⁵⁰  rebellion,

to bring sin ⁵¹  to completion, ⁵² 

to atone for iniquity,

to bring in perpetual ⁵³  righteousness,

to seal up ⁵⁴  the prophetic vision, ⁵⁵ 

and to anoint a most holy place. ⁵⁶ 

9:25 So know and understand:

From the issuing of the command ⁵⁷  to restore and rebuild

Jerusalem ⁵⁸  until an anointed one, a prince arrives, ⁵⁹ 

there will be a period of seven weeks ⁶⁰  and sixty-two weeks.

It will again be built, ⁶¹  with plaza and moat,

but in distressful times.

9:26 Now after the sixty-two weeks,

an anointed one will be cut off and have nothing. ⁶² 

As for the city and the sanctuary,

the people of the coming prince will destroy ⁶³  them.

But his end will come speedily ⁶⁴  like a flood. ⁶⁵ 

Until the end of the war that has been decreed

there will be destruction.

Daniel 9:2

9:2 in the first year of his reign ⁶⁶  I, Daniel, came to understand from the sacred books ⁶⁷  that, according to the word of the LORD ⁶⁸  disclosed to the prophet Jeremiah, the years for the fulfilling of the desolation of Jerusalem ⁶⁹  were seventy in number.

Colossians 1:21

Paul’s Goal in Ministry

1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your ⁷⁰  minds ⁷¹  as expressed through ⁷²  your evil deeds,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁷³  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:19

1:19 For God ⁷⁴  was pleased to have all his ⁷⁵  fullness dwell ⁷⁶  in the Son ⁷⁷ 

Colossians 2:22

2:22 These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are ⁷⁸  on human commands and teachings. ⁷⁹ 

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ⁸⁰  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ⁸¹ 

Colossians 3:5

3:5 So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: ⁸²  sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion, ⁸³  evil desire, and greed which is idolatry.

[22:20]  ¹ tn Heb “all which in it [is] a flaw.” Note that the same term is used for physical flaws of people in Lev 21:17-24. Cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “blemish”; NASB, NIV, TEV “defect”; NLT “with physical defects.”

[22:20]  ² tn Heb “not for acceptance shall it be for you”; NIV “it will not be accepted on your behalf” (NRSV and NLT both similar).

[19:2]  ³ tn Heb “speak to.”

[19:2]  ⁴ tn The line literally reads, “speak to the Israelites that [and] they bring [will bring].” The imperfect [or jussive] is subordinated to the imperative either as a purpose clause, or as the object of the instruction – speak to them that they bring, or tell them to bring.

[19:2]  ⁵ tn The color is designated as red, although the actual color would be a tanned red-brown color for the animal (see the usage in Isa 1:18 and Song 5:10). The reddish color suggested the blood of ritual purification; see J. Milgrom, “The Paradox of the Red Cow (Num 19),” VT 31 (1981): 62-72.

[19:2]  ⁶ sn Some modern commentators prefer “cow” to “heifer,” thinking that the latter came from the influence of the Greek. Young animals were usually prescribed for the ritual, especially here, and so “heifer” is the better translation. A bull could not be given for this purification ritual because that is what was given for the high priests or the community according to Lev 4.

[19:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “wherein there is no defect.”

[19:3]  ⁸ tc The clause is a little ambiguous. It reads “and he shall slaughter it before him.” It sounds as if someone else will kill the heifer in the priest’s presence. Since no one is named as the subject, it may be translated as a passive. Some commentators simply interpret that Eleazar was to kill the animal personally, but that is a little forced for “before him.” The Greek text gives a third person plural sense to the verb; the Vulgate follows that reading.

[19:4]  ⁹ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it functions here as the equivalent of the imperfect of instruction.

[19:4]  ¹⁰ sn Seven is a number with religious significance; it is often required in sacrificial ritual for atonement or for purification.

[19:5]  ¹¹ tn Again, the verb has no expressed subject, and so is given a passive translation.

[19:5]  ¹² tn The imperfect tense is third masculine singular, and so again the verb is to be made passive.

[19:6]  ¹³ sn In addition to the general references, see R. K. Harrison, “The Biblical Problem of Hyssop,” EvQ 26 (1954): 218-24.

[19:6]  ¹⁴ sn There is no clear explanation available as to why these items were to be burned with the heifer. N. H. Snaith suggests that in accordance with Babylonian sacrifices they would have enhanced the rites with an aroma (Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 272). In Lev 14 the wood and the hyssop may have been bound together by the scarlet wool to make a sprinkling device. It may be that the symbolism is what is important here. Cedar wood, for example, is durable; it may have symbolized resistance to future corruption and defilement, an early acquired immunity perhaps (R. K. Harrison, Numbers [WEC], 256).

[19:7]  ¹⁵ tn The sequence continues with the perfect tense and vav (ו) consecutive.

[19:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his flesh.”

[19:7]  ¹⁷ tn This is the imperfect of permission.

[19:8]  ¹⁸ sn Here the text makes clear that he had at least one assistant.

[19:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “it will be.”

[19:9]  ²⁰ tn The expression לְמֵי נִדָּה (lÿme niddah) is “for waters of impurity.” The genitive must designate the purpose of the waters – they are for cases of impurity, and so serve for cleansing or purifying, thus “water of purification.” The word “impurity” can also mean “abhorrent” because it refers to so many kinds of impurities. It is also called a purification offering; Milgrom notes that this is fitting because the sacrificial ritual involved transfers impurity from the purified to the purifier (pp. 62-72).

[19:9]  ²¹ sn The ashes were to be stored somewhere outside the camp to be used in a water portion for cleansing someone who was defiled. This is a ritual that was enacted in the wilderness; it is something of a restoring rite for people alienated from community.

[19:11]  ²² tn The form is the participle with the article functioning as a substantive: “the one who touches.”

[19:11]  ²³ tn Heb “the dead.”

[19:11]  ²⁴ tn The expression is full: לְכָל־נֶפֶשׁ אָדָם (lÿkhol-nefesh ’adam) – of any life of a man, i.e., of any person.

[19:11]  ²⁵ tn The verb is a perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it follows only the participle used as the subject, but since the case is hypothetical and therefore future, this picks up the future time. The adjective “ceremonially” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[19:12]  ²⁶ tn The verb is the Hitpael of חָטָא (khata’), a verb that normally means “to sin.” But the Piel idea in many places is “to cleanse; to purify.” This may be explained as a privative use (“to un-sin” someone, meaning cleanse) or denominative (“make a sin offering for someone”). It is surely connected to the purification offering, and so a sense of purify is what is wanted here.

[19:13]  ²⁷ sn It is in passages like this that the view that being “cut off” meant the death penalty is the hardest to support. Would the Law prescribe death for someone who touches a corpse and fails to follow the ritual? Besides, the statement in this section that his uncleanness remains with him suggests that he still lives on.

[19:14]  ²⁸ tn The word order gives the classification and then the condition: “a man, when he dies….”

[19:16]  ²⁹ tn The expression for “in the open field” is literally “upon the face of the field” (עַל־פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה, ’al pÿne hassadeh). This ruling is in contrast now to what was contacted in the tent.

[19:16]  ³⁰ tn Heb “a dead body”; but in contrast to the person killed with a sword, this must refer to someone who died of natural causes.

[19:16]  ³¹ sn See Matt 23:27 and Acts 23:3 for application of this by the time of Jesus.

[19:17]  ³² tn The verb is the perfect tense, third masculine plural, with a vav (ו) consecutive. The verb may be worded as a passive, “ashes must be taken,” but that may be too awkward for this sentence. It may be best to render it with a generic “you” to fit the instruction of the text.

[19:17]  ³³ tn The word “heifer” is not in the Hebrew text, but it is implied.

[19:17]  ³⁴ tn Here too the verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; rather than make this passive, it is here left as a direct instruction to follow the preceding one. For the use of the verb נָתַן (natan) in the sense of “pour,” see S. C. Reif, “A Note on a Neglected Connotation of ntn,” VT 20 (1970): 114-16.

[19:17]  ³⁵ tn The expression is literally “living water.” Living water is the fresh, flowing spring water that is clear, life-giving, and not the collected pools of stagnant or dirty water.

[19:19]  ³⁶ tn The construction uses a simple Piel of חָטָא (khata’, “to purify”) with a pronominal suffix – “he shall purify him.” Some commentators take this to mean that after he sprinkles the unclean then he must purify himself. But that would not be the most natural way to read this form.

[19:21]  ³⁷ tn The form has the conjunction with it: וּמַזֵּה (umazzeh). The conjunction subordinates the following as the special law. It could literally be translated “and this shall be…that the one who sprinkles.”

[19:21]  ³⁸ sn This gives the indication of the weight of the matter, for “until the evening” is the shortest period of ritual uncleanness in the Law. The problem of contamination had to be taken seriously, but this was a relatively simple matter to deal with – if one were willing to obey the Law.

[28:3]  ³⁹ sn The sacrifice was to be kept burning, but each morning the priests would have to clean the grill and put a new offering on the altar. So the idea of a continual burnt offering is more that of a regular offering.

[28:9]  ⁴⁰ tn The words “you must offer” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. They have been supplied in the translation to make a complete English sentence.

[28:9]  ⁴¹ sn That is, about 4 quarts.

[28:11]  ⁴² tn Heb “of your months.”

[15:21]  ⁴³ tn Heb “any evil blemish”; NASB “any (+ other NAB, TEV) serious defect.”

[17:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[17:1]  ⁴⁵ tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “an abomination”; cf. NAB) describes persons, things, or practices offensive to ritual or moral order. See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:314-18; see also the note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

[53:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “one assigned his grave with criminals.” The subject of the singular is impersonal; English typically uses “they” in such constructions.

[53:9]  ⁴⁷ tn This line reads literally, “and with the rich in his death.” בְּמֹתָיו (bÿmotayv) combines a preposition, a plural form of the noun מוֹת (mot), and a third masculine singular suffix. The plural of the noun is problematic and the יו may be the result of virtual dittography. The form should probably be emended to בָּמָתוֹ (bamato, singular noun). The relationship between this line and the preceding one is uncertain. The parallelism appears to be synonymous (note “his grave” and “in his death”), but “criminals” and “the rich” hardly make a compatible pair in this context, for they would not be buried in the same kind of tomb. Some emend עָשִׁיר (’ashir, “rich”) to עָשֵׂי רָע (’ase ra’, “doers of evil”) but the absence of the ayin (ע) is not readily explained in this graphic environment. Others suggest an emendation to שְׂעִירִים (sÿ’irim, “he-goats, demons”), but the meaning in this case is not entirely transparent and the proposal assumes that the form suffered from both transposition and the inexplicable loss of a final mem. Still others relate עָשִׁיר (’ashir) to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “mob.” See HALOT 896 s.v. עָשִׁיר. Perhaps the parallelism is antithetical, rather than synonymous. In this case, the point is made that the servant’s burial in a rich man’s tomb, in contrast to a criminal’s burial, was appropriate, for he had done nothing wrong.

[53:9]  ⁴⁸ tn If the second line is antithetical, then עַל (’al) is probably causal here, explaining why the servant was buried in a rich man’s tomb, rather than that of criminal. If the first two lines are synonymous, then עַל is probably concessive: “even though….”

[9:24]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “sevens.” Elsewhere the term is used of a literal week (a period of seven days), cf. Gen 29:27-28; Exod 34:22; Lev 12:5; Num 28:26; Deut 16:9-10; 2 Chr 8:13; Jer 5:24; Dan 10:2-3. Gabriel unfolds the future as if it were a calendar of successive weeks. Most understand the reference here as periods of seventy “sevens” of years, or a total of 490 years.

[9:24]  ⁵⁰ tc Or “to finish.” The present translation reads the Qere (from the root תָּמַם, tamam) with many witnesses. The Kethib has “to seal up” (from the root הָתַם, hatam), a confusion with a reference later in the verse to sealing up the vision.

[9:24]  ⁵¹ tc The present translation reads the Qere (singular), rather than the Kethib (plural).

[9:24]  ⁵² tn The Hebrew phrase לְכַלֵּא (lÿkhalle’) is apparently an alternative (metaplastic) spelling of the root כָּלָה (kalah, “to complete, finish”), rather than a form of כָּלָא (kala’, “to shut up, restrain”), as has sometimes been supposed.

[9:24]  ⁵³ tn Or “everlasting.”

[9:24]  ⁵⁴ sn The act of sealing in the OT is a sign of authentication. Cf. 1 Kgs 21:8; Jer 32:10, 11, 44.

[9:24]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “vision and prophecy.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[9:24]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “the most holy place” (NASB, NLT); or “a most holy one”; or “the most holy one,” though the expression is used of places or objects elsewhere, not people.

[9:25]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “decree” (NASB, NIV); or “word” (NAB, NRSV).

[9:25]  ⁵⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[9:25]  ⁵⁹ tn The word “arrives” is added in the translation for clarification.

[9:25]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “sevens” (also later in this line and in v. 26).

[9:25]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “it will return and be built.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.

[9:26]  ⁶² sn The expression have nothing is difficult. Presumably it refers to an absence of support or assistance for the anointed one at the time of his “cutting off.” The KJV rendering “but not for himself,” apparently suggesting a vicarious death, cannot be defended.

[9:26]  ⁶³ tc Some witnesses (e.g., the Syriac) understand a passive verb and the preposition עִם (’im, “with) rather than the noun עַם (’am, “people”), thus reading “the city and the sanctuary will be destroyed with the coming prince.”

[9:26]  ⁶⁴ tn The words “will come speedily” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[9:26]  ⁶⁵ sn Flood here is a metaphor for sudden destruction.

[9:2]  ⁶⁶ tc This phrase, repeated from v. 1, is absent in Theodotion.

[9:2]  ⁶⁷ tn The Hebrew text has “books”; the word “sacred” has been added in the translation to clarify that it is Scriptures that are referred to.

[9:2]  ⁶⁸ sn The tetragrammaton (the four Hebrew letters which constitute the divine Name, YHWH) appears eight times in this chapter, and nowhere else in the book of Daniel.

[9:2]  ⁶⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:21]  ⁷⁰ tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:21]  ⁷¹ tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.

[1:21]  ⁷² tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en toi" ergoi" toi" ponhroi") is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.

[1:1]  ⁷³ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:19]  ⁷⁴ tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen).

[1:19]  ⁷⁵ tn The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.

[1:19]  ⁷⁶ tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikhsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.

[1:19]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22]  ⁷⁸ tn The expression “founded as they are” brings out the force of the Greek preposition κατά (kata).

[2:22]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “The commands and teachings of men.”

[2:1]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[3:5]  ⁸² tn Grk “the members which are on the earth.” See BDAG 628 s.v. μέλος 1, “put to death whatever in you is worldly.”

[3:5]  ⁸³ tn Or “lust.”