Luke 11:28

11:28 But he replied, ¹  “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey ²  it!”

Job 23:11-12

23:11 My feet ³  have followed ⁴  his steps closely;

I have kept to his way and have not turned aside. ⁵ 

23:12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion. ⁶ 

Psalms 1:1-3

Book 1
(Psalms 1-41)

Psalm 1 ⁷ 

1:1 How blessed ⁸  is the one ⁹  who does not follow ¹⁰  the advice ¹¹  of the wicked, ¹² 

or stand in the pathway ¹³  with sinners,

or sit in the assembly ¹⁴  of scoffers! ¹⁵ 

1:2 Instead ¹⁶  he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; ¹⁷ 

he meditates on ¹⁸  his commands ¹⁹  day and night.

1:3 He is like ²⁰  a tree planted by flowing streams; ²¹ 

it ²²  yields ²³  its fruit at the proper time, ²⁴ 

and its leaves never fall off. ²⁵ 

He succeeds in everything he attempts. ²⁶ 

Psalms 119:11

119:11 In my heart I store up ²⁷  your words, ²⁸ 

so I might not sin against you.

Psalms 119:127-129

119:127 For this reason ²⁹  I love your commands

more than gold, even purest gold.

119:128 For this reason I carefully follow all your precepts. ³⁰ 

I hate all deceitful actions. ³¹ 

פ (Pe)

119:129 Your rules are marvelous.

Therefore I observe them.

Proverbs 3:1

Exhortations to Seek Wisdom and Walk with the Lord ³² 

3:1 My child, ³³  do not forget my teaching,

but let your heart keep ³⁴  my commandments,

Jeremiah 15:16

15:16 As your words came to me I drank them in, ³⁵ 

and they filled my heart with joy and happiness

because I belong to you. ³⁶ 

John 14:15

Teaching on the Holy Spirit

14:15 “If you love me, you will obey ³⁷  my commandments. ³⁸ 

John 14:21-24

14:21 The person who has my commandments and obeys ³⁹  them is the one who loves me. ⁴⁰  The one ⁴¹  who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal ⁴²  myself to him.”

14:22 “Lord,” Judas (not Judas Iscariot) ⁴³  said, ⁴⁴  “what has happened that you are going to reveal ⁴⁵  yourself to us and not to the world?” 14:23 Jesus replied, ⁴⁶  “If anyone loves me, he will obey ⁴⁷  my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him. ⁴⁸  14:24 The person who does not love me does not obey ⁴⁹  my words. And the word ⁵⁰  you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me.

John 15:10

15:10 If you obey ⁵¹  my commandments, you will remain ⁵²  in my love, just as I have obeyed ⁵³  my Father’s commandments and remain ⁵⁴  in his love.

John 15:1

The Vine and the Branches

15:1 “I am the true vine ⁵⁵  and my Father is the gardener. ⁵⁶ 

Colossians 1:19

1:19 For God ⁵⁷  was pleased to have all his ⁵⁸  fullness dwell ⁵⁹  in the Son ⁶⁰ 

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

James 1:22-25

1:22 But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves. 1:23 For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone ⁶¹  who gazes at his own face ⁶²  in a mirror. 1:24 For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets ⁶³  what sort of person he was. 1:25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, ⁶⁴  and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – he ⁶⁵  will be blessed in what he does. ⁶⁶ 

James 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From James, ⁶⁷  a slave ⁶⁸  of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. ⁶⁹  Greetings!

James 2:3

2:3 do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, ⁷⁰  “You sit here in a good place,” ⁷¹  and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”? ⁷² 

[11:28]  ¹ tn Grk “said.”

[11:28]  ² sn This is another reference to hearing and doing the word of God, which here describes Jesus’ teaching; see Luke 8:21.

[23:11]  ³ tn Heb “my foot.”

[23:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “held fast.”

[23:11]  ⁵ tn The last clause, “and I have not turned aside,” functions adverbially in the sentence. The form אָט (’at) is a pausal form of אַתֶּה (’atteh), the Hiphil of נָטָה (natah, “stretch out”).

[23:12]  ⁶ tc The form in the MT (מֵחֻקִּי, mekhuqqi) means “more than my portion” or “more than my law.” An expanded meaning results in “more than my necessary food” (see Ps 119:11; cf. KJV, NASB, ESV). HALOT 346 s.v. חֹק 1 indicates that חֹק (khoq) has the meaning of “portion” and is here a reference to “what is appointed for me.” The LXX and the Latin versions, along with many commentators, have בְּחֵקִי (bÿkheqi, “in my bosom”).

[1:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 1. In this wisdom psalm the author advises his audience to reject the lifestyle of the wicked and to be loyal to God. The psalmist contrasts the destiny of the wicked with that of the righteous, emphasizing that the wicked are eventually destroyed while the godly prosper under the Lord’s protective care.

[1:1]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see v. 3; Pss 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[1:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” (Generic “he” is employed in vv. 2-3). Since the godly man described in the psalm is representative of followers of God (note the plural form צַדִּיקִים [tsadiqim, “righteous, godly”] in vv. 5-6), one could translate the collective singular with the plural “those” both here and in vv. 2-3, where singular pronouns and verbal forms are utilized in the Hebrew text (cf. NRSV). However, here the singular form may emphasize that godly individuals are usually outnumbered by the wicked. Retaining the singular allows the translation to retain this emphasis.

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “walk in.” The three perfect verbal forms in v. 1 refer in this context to characteristic behavior. The sequence “walk–stand–sit” envisions a progression from relatively casual association with the wicked to complete identification with them.

[1:1]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew noun translated “advice” most often refers to the “counsel” or “advice” one receives from others. To “walk in the advice of the wicked” means to allow their evil advice to impact and determine one’s behavior.

[1:1]  ¹² tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21).

[1:1]  ¹³ tn “Pathway” here refers to the lifestyle of sinners. To “stand in the pathway of/with sinners” means to closely associate with them in their sinful behavior.

[1:1]  ¹⁴ tn Here the Hebrew term מוֹשַׁב (moshav), although often translated “seat” (cf. NEB, NIV), appears to refer to the whole assembly of evildoers. The word also carries the semantic nuance “assembly” in Ps 107:32, where it is in synonymous parallelism with קָהָל (qahal, “assembly”).

[1:1]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew word refers to arrogant individuals (Prov 21:24) who love conflict (Prov 22:10) and vociferously reject wisdom and correction (Prov 1:22; 9:7-8; 13:1; 15:12). To “sit in the assembly” of such people means to completely identify with them in their proud, sinful plans and behavior.

[1:2]  ¹⁶ tn Here the Hebrew expression כִּי־אִם (ki-’im, “instead”) introduces a contrast between the sinful behavior depicted in v. 1 and the godly lifestyle described in v. 2.

[1:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “his delight [is] in the law of the Lord.” In light of the following line, which focuses on studying the Lord’s law, one might translate, “he finds pleasure in studying the Lord’s commands.” However, even if one translates the line this way, it is important to recognize that mere study and intellectual awareness are not ultimately what bring divine favor. Study of the law is metonymic here for the correct attitudes and behavior that should result from an awareness of and commitment to God’s moral will; thus “obeying” has been used in the translation rather than “studying.”

[1:2]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the characteristic behavior described here and lends support to the hyperbolic adverbial phrase “day and night.” The verb הָגָה (hagag) means “to recite quietly; to meditate” and refers metonymically to intense study and reflection.

[1:2]  ¹⁹ tn Or “his law.”

[1:3]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the same characteristic force as the imperfect in the preceding verse. According to the psalmist, the one who studies and obeys God’s commands typically prospers.

[1:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “channels of water.”

[1:3]  ²² tn Heb “which.”

[1:3]  ²³ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 draw attention to the typical nature of the actions/states they describe.

[1:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in its season.”

[1:3]  ²⁵ tn Or “fade”; “wither.”

[1:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and all which he does prospers”; or “and all which he does he causes to prosper.” (The simile of the tree does not extend to this line.) It is not certain if the Hiphil verbal form (יַצְלִיחַ, yatsliakh) is intransitive-exhibitive (“prospers”) or causative (“causes to prosper”) here. If the verb is intransitive, then כֹּל (kol, “all, everything”) is the subject. If the verb is causative, then the godly individual or the Lord himself is the subject and כֹּל is the object. The wording is reminiscent of Josh 1:8, where the Lord tells Joshua: “This law scroll must not leave your lips! You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper (literally, “cause your way to prosper”) and be successful.”

[119:11]  ²⁷ tn Or “hide.”

[119:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “your word.” Some medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX read the plural, “your words.”

[119:127]  ²⁹ tn “For this reason” connects logically with the statement made in v. 126. Because the judgment the psalmist fears (see vv. 119-120) is imminent, he remains loyal to God’s law.

[119:128]  ³⁰ tn Heb “for this reason all the precepts of everything I regard as right.” The phrase “precepts of everything” is odd. It is preferable to take the kaf (כ) on כֹּל (kol, “everything) with the preceding form as a pronominal suffix, “your precepts,” and the lamed (ל) with the following verb as an emphatic particle. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 138.

[119:128]  ³¹ tn Heb “every false path.”

[3:1]  ³² sn The chapter begins with an introductory exhortation (1-4), followed by an admonition to be faithful to the Lord (5-12). Wisdom is commended as the most valuable possession (13-18), essential to creation (19-20), and the way to a long and safe life (21-26). There then follows a warning to avoid unneighborliness (27-30) and emulating the wicked (31-35).

[3:1]  ³³ tn Heb “my son” (likewise in vv. 11, 21).

[3:1]  ³⁴ tn The verb יִצֹּר (yitsor) is a Qal jussive and the noun לִבֶּךָ (libbekha, “your heart”) functions as the subject: “let your heart keep my commandments.”

[15:16]  ³⁵ sn Heb “Your words were found and I ate them.” This along with Ezek 2:8–3:3 is a poetic picture of inspiration. The prophet accepted them, assimilated them, and made them such a part of himself that he spoke with complete assurance what he knew were God’s words.

[15:16]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Your name is called upon me.”

[14:15]  ³⁷ tn Or “will keep.”

[14:15]  ³⁸ sn Jesus’ statement If you love me, you will obey my commandments provides the transition between the promises of answered prayer which Jesus makes to his disciples in vv. 13-14 and the promise of the Holy Spirit which is introduced in v. 16. Obedience is the proof of genuine love.

[14:21]  ³⁹ tn Or “keeps.”

[14:21]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “obeys them, that one is the one who loves me.”

[14:21]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “And the one.” Here the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated to improve the English style.

[14:21]  ⁴² tn Or “will disclose.”

[14:22]  ⁴³ tn Grk “(not Iscariot).” The proper noun (Judas) has been repeated for clarity and smoothness in English style.

[14:22]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “said to him.”

[14:22]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “disclose.”

[14:23]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[14:23]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “will keep.”

[14:23]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “we will come to him and will make our dwelling place with him.” The context here is individual rather than corporate indwelling, so the masculine singular pronoun has been retained throughout v. 23. It is important to note, however, that the pronoun is used generically here and refers equally to men, women, and children.

[14:24]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “does not keep.”

[14:24]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “the message.”

[15:10]  ⁵¹ tn Or “keep.”

[15:10]  ⁵² tn Or “reside.”

[15:10]  ⁵³ tn Or “kept.”

[15:10]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “reside.”

[15:1]  ⁵⁵ sn I am the true vine. There are numerous OT passages which refer to Israel as a vine: Ps 80:8-16, Isa 5:1-7, Jer 2:21, Ezek 15:1-8, 17:5-10, 19:10-14, and Hos 10:1. The vine became symbolic of Israel, and even appeared on some coins issued by the Maccabees. The OT passages which use this symbol appear to regard Israel as faithless to Yahweh (typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT) and/or the object of severe punishment. Ezek 15:1-8 in particular talks about the worthlessness of wood from a vine (in relation to disobedient Judah). A branch cut from a vine is worthless except to be burned as fuel. This fits more with the statements about the disciples (John 15:6) than with Jesus’ description of himself as the vine. Ezek 17:5-10 contains vine imagery which refers to a king of the house of David, Zedekiah, who was set up as king in Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah allied himself to Egypt and broke his covenant with Nebuchadnezzar (and therefore also with God), which would ultimately result in his downfall (17:20-21). Ezek 17:22-24 then describes the planting of a cedar sprig which grows into a lofty tree, a figurative description of Messiah. But it is significant that Messiah himself is not described in Ezek 17 as a vine, but as a cedar tree. The vine imagery here applies to Zedekiah’s disobedience. Jesus’ description of himself as the true vine in John 15:1 ff. is to be seen against this background, but it differs significantly from the imagery surveyed above. It represents new imagery which differs significantly from OT concepts; it appears to be original with Jesus. The imagery of the vine underscores the importance of fruitfulness in the Christian life and the truth that this results not from human achievement, but from one’s position in Christ. Jesus is not just giving some comforting advice, but portraying to the disciples the difficult path of faithful service. To some degree the figure is similar to the head-body metaphor used by Paul, with Christ as head and believers as members of the body. Both metaphors bring out the vital and necessary connection which exists between Christ and believers.

[15:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “the farmer.”

[1:19]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ 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]  ⁵⁹ 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]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:23]  ⁶¹ tn The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[1:23]  ⁶² tn Grk “the face of his beginning [or origin].”

[1:24]  ⁶³ tn Grk “and he has gone out and immediately has forgotten.”

[1:25]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “continues.”

[1:25]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “this one.”

[1:25]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “in his doing.”

[1:1]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁶⁸ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.

[2:3]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “and you pay attention…and say,” continuing the “if” clauses from v. 2. In the Greek text, vv. 2-4 form one long sentence.

[2:3]  ⁷¹ tn Or “sit here, please.”

[2:3]  ⁷² tn Grk “sit under my footstool.” The words “on the floor” have been supplied in the translation to clarify for the modern reader the undesirability of this seating arrangement (so also TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). Another option followed by a number of translations is to replace “under my footstool” with “at my feet” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).