Luke 12:29-31

12:29 So ¹  do not be overly concerned about ²  what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not worry about such things. ³  12:30 For all the nations of the world pursue ⁴  these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 12:31 Instead, pursue ⁵  his ⁶  kingdom, ⁷  and these things will be given to you as well.

Genesis 48:15

48:15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my fathers

Abraham and Isaac walked –

the God who has been my shepherd ⁸ 

all my life long to this day,

Deuteronomy 8:2-3

8:2 Remember the whole way by which he ⁹  has brought you these forty years through the desert ¹⁰  so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not. 8:3 So he humbled you by making you hungry and then feeding you with unfamiliar manna. ¹¹  He did this to teach you ¹²  that humankind ¹³  cannot live by bread ¹⁴  alone, but also by everything that comes from the Lord’s mouth. ¹⁵ 

Deuteronomy 8:16

8:16 fed you in the desert with manna (which your ancestors had never before known) so that he might by humbling you test you ¹⁶  and eventually bring good to you.

Psalms 23:1

Psalm 23 ¹⁷ 

A psalm of David.

23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, ¹⁸ 

I lack nothing. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 34:9-10

34:9 Remain loyal to ²⁰  the Lord, you chosen people of his, ²¹ 

for his loyal followers ²²  lack nothing!

34:10 Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,

but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Psalms 37:3

37:3 Trust in the Lord and do what is right!

Settle in the land and maintain your integrity! ²³ 

Matthew 6:31-33

6:31 So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 6:32 For the unconverted ²⁴  pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 6:33 But above all pursue his kingdom ²⁵  and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

[12:29]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion drawn from the previous illustrations.

[12:29]  ² tn Grk “do not seek,” but this could be misunderstood to mean that people should make no attempt to obtain their food. The translation “do not be overly concerned” attempts to reflect the force of the original.

[12:29]  ³ tn The words “about such things” have been supplied to qualify the meaning; the phrase relates to obtaining food and drink mentioned in the previous clause.

[12:30]  ⁴ tn Grk “seek.”

[12:31]  ⁵ tn Grk “seek,” but in the sense of the previous verses.

[12:31]  ⁶ tc Most mss (Ì⁴⁵ A D¹ Q W Θ 070 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy) read τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou, “of God”) instead of αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”; found in א B D* L Ψ 579 892 pc co). But such a clarifying reading is suspect. αὐτοῦ is superior on both internal and external grounds. Ì⁷⁵ includes neither and as such would support the translation above since the article alone can often be translated as a possessive pronoun.

[12:31]  ⁷ sn His (that is, God’s) kingdom is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[48:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “shepherded me.” The verb has been translated as an English noun for stylistic reasons.

[8:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NRSV, NLT); likewise in v. 15.

[8:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “manna which you and your ancestors did not know.” By popular etymology the word “manna” comes from the Hebrew phrase מָן הוּא (man hu’), i.e., “What is it?” (Exod 16:15). The question remains unanswered to this very day. Elsewhere the material is said to be “white like coriander seed” with “a taste like honey cakes” (Exod 16:31; cf. Num 11:7). Modern attempts to associate it with various desert plants are unsuccessful for the text says it was a new thing and, furthermore, one that appeared and disappeared miraculously (Exod 16:21-27).

[8:3]  ¹² tn Heb “in order to make known to you.” In the Hebrew text this statement is subordinated to what precedes, resulting in a very long sentence in English. The translation makes this statement a separate sentence for stylistic reasons.

[8:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “the man,” but in a generic sense, referring to the whole human race (“mankind” or “humankind”).

[8:3]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term may refer to “food” in a more general sense (cf. CEV).

[8:3]  ¹⁵ sn Jesus quoted this text to the devil in the midst of his forty-day fast to make the point that spiritual nourishment is incomparably more important than mere physical bread (Matt 4:4; cf. Luke 4:4).

[8:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in order to humble you and in order to test you.” See 8:2.

[23:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 23. In vv. 1-4 the psalmist pictures the Lord as a shepherd who provides for his needs and protects him from danger. The psalmist declares, “The Lord is my shepherd,” and then extends and develops that metaphor, speaking as if he were a sheep. In vv. 5-6 the metaphor changes as the psalmist depicts a great royal banquet hosted by the Lord. The psalmist is a guest of honor and recipient of divine favor, who enjoys unlimited access to the divine palace and the divine presence.

[23:1]  ¹⁸ sn The LORD is my shepherd. The opening metaphor suggests the psalmist is assuming the role of a sheep. In vv. 1b-4 the psalmist extends the metaphor and explains exactly how the LORD is like a shepherd to him. At the surface level the language can be understood in terms of a shepherd’s relationship to his sheep. The translation of vv. 1-4 reflects this level. But, of course, each statement also points to an underlying reality.

[23:1]  ¹⁹ tn The imperfect verbal form is best understood as generalizing; the psalmist highlights his typical or ongoing experience as a result of having the LORD as his shepherd (habitual present use). The next verse explains more specifically what he means by this statement.

[34:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “fear.”

[34:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “O holy ones of his.”

[34:9]  ²² tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[37:3]  ²³ tn Heb “tend integrity.” The verb רָעָה (ra’ah, “tend, shepherd”) is probably used here in the sense of “watch over, guard.” The noun אֱמוּנָה (’emunah, “faithfulness, honesty, integrity”) is understood as the direct object of the verb, though it could be taken as an adverbial accusative, “[feed] securely,” if the audience is likened to a flock of sheep.

[6:32]  ²⁴ tn Or “unbelievers”; Grk “Gentiles.”

[6:33]  ²⁵ tc ‡ Most mss (L W Θ 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy mae) read τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ (thn basileian tou qeou kai thn dikaiosunhn aujtou, “the kingdom of God and his righteousness”) here, but the words “of God” are lacking in א B pc sa bo Eus. On the one hand, there is the possibility of accidental omission on the part of these Alexandrian witnesses, but it seems unlikely that the scribe’s eye would skip over both words (especially since τοῦ θεοῦ is bracketed by first declension nouns). Intrinsically, the author generally has a genitive modifier with βασιλεία – especially θεοῦ or οὐρανῶν (ouranwn) – but this argument cuts both ways: Although he might be expected to use such an adjunct here, scribes might also be familiar with his practice and would thus naturally insert it if it were missing in their copy of Matthew. Although a decision is difficult, the omission of τοῦ θεοῦ is considered most likely to be original. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating doubt as to their authenticity.