Nehemiah 9:25

9:25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took possession of houses full of all sorts of good things – wells previously dug, vineyards, olive trees, and fruit trees in abundance. They ate until they were full ¹  and grew fat. They enjoyed to the full your great goodness.

Psalms 65:4

65:4 How blessed ²  is the one whom you choose,

and allow to live in your palace courts. ³ 

May we be satisfied with the good things of your house –

your holy palace. ⁴ 

Psalms 65:11

65:11 You crown the year with your good blessings, ⁵ 

and you leave abundance in your wake. ⁶ 

Isaiah 65:18-19

65:18 But be happy and rejoice forevermore

over what I am about to create!

For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem ⁷  to be a source of joy, ⁸ 

and her people to be a source of happiness. ⁹ 

65:19 Jerusalem will bring me joy,

and my people will bring me happiness. ¹⁰ 

The sound of weeping or cries of sorrow

will never be heard in her again.

Zechariah 9:17

9:17 How precious and fair! ¹¹  Grain will make the young men flourish and new wine the young women.

Philippians 3:3

3:3 For we are the circumcision, ¹²  the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, ¹³  exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on human credentials ¹⁴ 

Philippians 4:4

4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!

[9:25]  ¹ tn Heb “they ate and were sated.” This expression is a hendiadys. The first verb retains its full verbal sense, while the second functions adverbially: “they ate and were filled” = “they ate until they were full.”

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

[65:4]  ³ tn Heb “[whom] you bring near [so that] he might live [in] your courts.”

[65:4]  ⁴ tn Or “temple.”

[65:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “your good,” which refers here to agricultural blessings.

[65:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “and your paths drip with abundance.”

[65:18]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[65:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “Jerusalem, joy.” The next verse suggests the meaning: The Lord will create Jerusalem to be a source of joy to himself.

[65:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “her people, happiness.” See the preceding note.

[65:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and be happy in my people.”

[9:17]  ¹¹ sn This expostulation best fits the whole preceding description of God’s eschatological work on behalf of his people. His goodness is especially evident in his nurturing of the young men and women of his kingdom.

[3:3]  ¹² tn There is a significant wordplay here in the Greek text. In v. 2 a rare, strong word is used to describe those who were pro-circumcision (κατατομή, katatomh, “mutilation”; see BDAG 528 s.v.), while in v. 3 the normal word for circumcision is used (περιτομή, peritomh; see BDAG 807 s.v.). Both have τομή (the feminine form of the adjective τομός [tomo"], meaning “cutting, sharp”) as their root; the direction of the action of the former is down or off (from κατά, kata), hence the implication of mutilation or emasculation, while the direction of the action of the latter is around (from περί, peri). The similarity in sound yet wide divergence of meaning between the two words highlights in no uncertain terms the differences between Paul and his opponents.

[3:3]  ¹³ tc The verb λατρεύω (latreuw; here the participial form, λατρεύοντες [latreuonte"]) either takes a dative direct object or no object at all, bearing virtually a technical nuance of “worshiping God” (see BDAG 587 s.v.). In this text, πνεύματι (pneumati) takes an instrumental force (“by the Spirit”) rather than functioning as object of λατρεύοντες. However, the word after πνεύματι is in question, no doubt because of the collocation with λατρεύοντες. Most witnesses, including some of the earliest and best representatives of the Alexandrian, Western, and Byzantine texts (א* A B C D² F G 0278^vid 33 1739 1881 Ï co Ambr), read θεοῦ (qeou; thus, “worship by the Spirit of God”). But several other important witnesses (א² D* P Ψ 075 365 1175 lat sy Chr) have the dative θεῷ (qew) here (“worship God by the Spirit”). Ì⁴⁶ is virtually alone in its omission of the divine name, probably due to an unintentional oversight. The dative θεῷ was most likely a scribal emendation intended to give the participle its proper object, and thus avoid confusion about the force of πνεύματι. Although the Church came to embrace the full deity of the Spirit, the NT does not seem to speak of worshiping the Spirit explicitly. The reading θεῷ thus appears to be a clarifying reading. On external and internal grounds, then, θεοῦ is the preferred reading.

[3:3]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “have no confidence in the flesh.”