Matthew 10:29-31

10:29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? ¹  Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ²  10:30 Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. 10:31 So do not be afraid; ³  you are more valuable than many sparrows.

Genesis 1:29-31

1:29 Then God said, “I now ⁴  give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ⁵  1:30 And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give ⁶  every green plant for food.” It was so.

1:31 God saw all that he had made – and it was very good! ⁷  There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.

Job 35:11

35:11 who teaches us ⁸  more than ⁹  the wild animals of the earth,

and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’

Job 38:41

38:41 Who prepares prey for the raven,

when its young cry out to God

and wander about ¹⁰  for lack of food?

Psalms 104:11-12

104:11 They provide water for all the animals in the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

104:12 The birds of the sky live beside them;

they chirp among the bushes. ¹¹ 

Psalms 104:27-28

104:27 All of your creatures ¹²  wait for you

to provide them with food on a regular basis. ¹³ 

104:28 You give food to them and they receive it;

you open your hand and they are filled with food. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 145:15-16

145:15 Everything looks to you in anticipation, ¹⁵ 

and you provide them with food on a regular basis. ¹⁶ 

145:16 You open your hand,

and fill every living thing with the food they desire. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 147:9

147:9 He gives food to the animals,

and to the young ravens when they chirp. ¹⁸ 

Luke 12:6-7

12:6 Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? ¹⁹  Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. 12:7 In fact, even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; ²⁰  you are more valuable than many sparrows.

Luke 12:24-31

12:24 Consider the ravens: ²¹  They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds ²²  them. How much more valuable are you than the birds! 12:25 And which of you by worrying ²³  can add an hour to his life? ²⁴  12:26 So if ²⁵  you cannot do such a very little thing as this, why do you worry about ²⁶  the rest? 12:27 Consider how the flowers ²⁷  grow; they do not work ²⁸  or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 12:28 And if ²⁹  this is how God clothes the wild grass, ³⁰  which is here ³¹  today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ³²  how much more ³³  will he clothe you, you people of little faith! 12:29 So ³⁴  do not be overly concerned about ³⁵  what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not worry about such things. ³⁶  12:30 For all the nations of the world pursue ³⁷  these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 12:31 Instead, pursue ³⁸  his ³⁹  kingdom, ⁴⁰  and these things will be given to you as well.

[10:29]  ¹ sn The penny refers to an assarion, a small Roman copper coin. One of them was worth one-sixteenth of a denarius or less than a half hour’s average wage. Sparrows were the cheapest items sold in the market. God knows about even the most financially insignificant things; see Isa 49:15.

[10:29]  ² tn Or “to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your Father.”

[10:31]  ³ sn Do not be afraid. One should respect and show reverence to God, but need not fear his tender care.

[1:29]  ⁴ tn The text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh), often archaically translated “behold.” It is often used to express the dramatic present, the immediacy of an event – “Look, this is what I am doing!”

[1:29]  ⁵ sn G. J. Wenham (Genesis [WBC], 1:34) points out that there is nothing in the passage that prohibits the man and the woman from eating meat. He suggests that eating meat came after the fall. Gen 9:3 may then ratify the postfall practice of eating meat rather than inaugurate the practice, as is often understood.

[1:30]  ⁶ tn The phrase “I give” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:31]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text again uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) for the sake of vividness. It is a particle that goes with the gesture of pointing, calling attention to something.

[35:11]  ⁸ tn The form in the text, the Piel participle from אָלַף (’alaf, “teach”) is written in a contracted form; the full form is מְאַלְּפֵנוּ (mÿ’allÿfenu).

[35:11]  ⁹ tn Some would render this “teaches us by the beasts.” But Elihu is stressing the unique privilege humans have.

[38:41]  ¹⁰ tn The verse is difficult, making some suspect that a line has dropped out. The little birds in the nest hardly go wandering about looking for food. Dhorme suggest “and stagger for lack of food.”

[104:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “among the thick foliage they give a sound.”

[104:27]  ¹² tn Heb “All of them.” The pronoun “them” refers not just to the sea creatures mentioned in vv. 25-26, but to all living things (see v. 24). This has been specified in the translation as “all of your creatures” for clarity.

[104:27]  ¹³ tn Heb “to give their food in its time.”

[104:28]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] good.”

[145:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the eyes of all wait for you.”

[145:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and you give to them their food in its season” (see Ps 104:27).

[145:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[with what they] desire.”

[147:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “which cry out.”

[12:6]  ¹⁹ sn The pennies refer to the assarion, a small Roman copper coin. One of them was worth one sixteenth of a denarius or less than a half hour’s average wage. Sparrows were the cheapest thing sold in the market. God knows about even the most financially insignificant things; see Isa 49:15.

[12:7]  ²⁰ sn Do not be afraid. One should respect and show reverence to God (v. 5), but need not fear his tender care.

[12:24]  ²¹ tn Or “crows.” Crows and ravens belong to the same family of birds. English uses “crow” as a general word for the family. Palestine has several indigenous members of the crow family.

[12:24]  ²² tn Or “God gives them food to eat.” L&N 23.6 has both “to provide food for” and “to give food to someone to eat.”

[12:25]  ²³ tn Or “by being anxious.”

[12:25]  ²⁴ tn Or “a cubit to his height.” A cubit (πῆχυς, phcu") can measure length (normally about 45 cm or 18 inches) or time (a small unit, “hour” is usually used [BDAG 812 s.v.] although “day” has been suggested [L&N 67.151]). The term ἡλικία (Jhlikia) is ambiguous in the same way as πῆχυς. Most scholars take the term to describe age or length of life here, although a few refer it to bodily stature (see BDAG 435-36 s.v. 1.a for discussion). Worry about length of life seems a more natural figure than worry about height. However, the point either way is clear: Worrying adds nothing to life span or height.

[12:26]  ²⁵ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[12:26]  ²⁶ tn Or “why are you anxious for.”

[12:27]  ²⁷ tn Traditionally, “lilies.” According to L&N 3.32, “Though traditionally κρίνον has been regarded as a type of lily, scholars have suggested several other possible types of flowers, including an anemone, a poppy, a gladiolus, and a rather inconspicuous type of daisy.” In view of the uncertainty, the more generic “flowers” has been used in the translation.

[12:27]  ²⁸ tn Traditionally, “toil.” Although it might be argued that “work hard” would be a more precise translation of κοπιάω (kopiaw) here, the line in English scans better in terms of cadence with a single syllable.

[12:28]  ²⁹ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[12:28]  ³⁰ tn Grk “grass in the field.”

[12:28]  ³¹ tn Grk “which is in the field today.”

[12:28]  ³² tn Grk “into the oven.” The expanded translation “into the fire to heat the oven” has been used to avoid misunderstanding; most items put into modern ovens are put there to be baked, not burned.

[12:28]  ³³ sn The phrase how much more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he will care for the more important things.

[12:29]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion drawn from the previous illustrations.

[12:29]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ tn Grk “seek.”

[12:31]  ³⁸ tn Grk “seek,” but in the sense of the previous verses.

[12:31]  ³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰ 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.