Numbers 22:18-20

22:18 Balaam replied ¹  to the servants of Balak, “Even if Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I could not transgress the commandment ²  of the Lord my God ³  to do less or more. 22:19 Now therefore, please stay ⁴  the night here also, that I may know what more the Lord might say to me.” ⁵  22:20 God came to Balaam that night, and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, get up and go with them; but the word that I will say to you, that you must do.”

Numbers 22:35

22:35 But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you may only speak ⁶  the word that I will speak to you.” ⁷  So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

Numbers 23:12

23:12 Balaam replied, ⁸  “Must I not be careful ⁹  to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?” ¹⁰ 

Numbers 23:26

23:26 But Balaam replied ¹¹  to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord speaks, ¹²  I must do’?”

Numbers 24:13

24:13 ‘If Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond ¹³  the commandment ¹⁴  of the Lord to do either good or evil of my own will, ¹⁵  but whatever the Lord tells me I must speak’?

Numbers 24:1

Balaam Prophesies Yet Again

24:1 ¹⁶ When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, ¹⁷  he did not go as at the other times ¹⁸  to seek for omens, ¹⁹  but he set his face ²⁰  toward the wilderness.

Numbers 22:14

22:14 So the princes of Moab departed ²¹  and went back to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

Jeremiah 23:28

23:28 Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! ²²  I, the Lord, affirm it! ²³ 

Jeremiah 42:4

42:4 The prophet Jeremiah answered them, “Agreed! ²⁴  I will indeed pray to the Lord your God as you have asked. I will tell you everything the Lord replies in response to you. ²⁵  I will not keep anything back from you.”

Ezekiel 2:7

2:7 You must speak my words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.

Micah 2:6-7

2:6 ‘Don’t preach with such impassioned rhetoric,’ they say excitedly. ²⁶ 

‘These prophets should not preach of such things;

we will not be overtaken by humiliation.’ ²⁷ 

2:7 Does the family ²⁸  of Jacob say, ²⁹ 

‘The Lord’s patience ³⁰  can’t be exhausted –

he would never do such things’? ³¹ 

To be sure, my commands bring a reward

for those who obey them, ³² 

Acts 20:27

20:27 For I did not hold back from ³³  announcing ³⁴  to you the whole purpose ³⁵  of God.

Acts 20:1

Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece

20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging ³⁶  them and saying farewell, ³⁷  he left to go to Macedonia. ³⁸ 

Colossians 1:23

1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, ³⁹  without shifting ⁴⁰  from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁴¹  brothers and sisters ⁴²  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁴³  from God our Father! ⁴⁴ 

Colossians 2:17

2:17 these are only ⁴⁵  the shadow of the things to come, but the reality ⁴⁶  is Christ! ⁴⁷ 

Galatians 1:10

1:10 Am I now trying to gain the approval of people, ⁴⁸  or of God? Or am I trying to please people? ⁴⁹  If I were still trying to please ⁵⁰  people, ⁵¹  I would not be a slave ⁵²  of Christ!

Galatians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁵³  an apostle (not from men, nor by human agency, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead)

Galatians 2:4

2:4 Now this matter arose ⁵⁴  because of the false brothers with false pretenses ⁵⁵  who slipped in unnoticed to spy on ⁵⁶  our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. ⁵⁷ 

[22:18]  ¹ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[22:18]  ² tn Heb “mouth.”

[22:18]  ³ sn In the light of subsequent events one should not take too seriously that Balaam referred to Yahweh as his God. He is referring properly to the deity for which he is acting as the agent.

[22:19]  ⁴ tn In this case “lodge” is not used, but “remain, reside” (שְׁבוּ, shÿvu).

[22:19]  ⁵ tn This clause is also a verbal hendiadys: “what the Lord might add to speak,” meaning, “what more the Lord might say.”

[22:35]  ⁶ tn The imperfect tense here can be given the nuance of permission.

[22:35]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew word order is a little more emphatic than this: “but only the word which I speak to you, it you shall speak.”

[23:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “he answered and said.” The referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:12]  ⁹ tn The verb שָׁמַר (shamar) means “to guard, watch, observe” and so here with a sense of “be careful” or even “take heed” (so KJV, ASV). The nuance of the imperfect tense would be obligatory: “I must be careful” – to do what? to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth. The infinitive construct “to speak” is therefore serving as the direct object of שָׁמַר.

[23:12]  ¹⁰ tn The clause is a noun clause serving as the direct object of “to speak.” It begins with the sign of the accusative, and then the relative pronoun that indicates the whole clause is the accusative.

[23:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[23:26]  ¹² tn This first clause, “all that the Lord speaks” – is a noun clause functioning as the object of the verb that comes at the end of the verse. It is something of an independent accusative case, since it is picked up with the sign of the accusative: “all that the Lord speaks, it I must do.”

[24:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “I am not able to go beyond.”

[24:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “mouth.”

[24:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from my heart.”

[24:1]  ¹⁶ sn For a thorough study of the arrangement of this passage, see E. B. Smick, “A Study of the Structure of the Third Balaam Oracle,” The Law and the Prophets, 242-52. He sees the oracle as having an introductory strophe (vv. 3, 4), followed by two stanzas (vv. 5, 6) that introduce the body (vv. 7b-9b) before the final benediction (v. 9b).

[24:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “it was good in the eyes of the Lord.”

[24:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “as time after time.”

[24:1]  ¹⁹ tn The word נְחָשִׁים (nÿkhashim) means “omens,” or possibly “auguries.” Balaam is not even making a pretense now of looking for such things, because they are not going to work. God has overruled them.

[24:1]  ²⁰ tn The idiom signifies that he had a determination and resolution to look out over where the Israelites were, so that he could appreciate more their presence and use that as the basis for his expressing of the oracle.

[22:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “rose up.”

[23:28]  ²² tn Heb “What to the straw with [in comparison with] the grain?” This idiom represents an emphatic repudiation or denial of relationship. See, for example, the usage in 2 Sam 16:10 and note BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d(c).

[23:28]  ²³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[42:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “I have heard” = “I agree.” For this nuance of the verb see BDB 1034 s.v. שָׁמַע Qal.1.j and compare the usage in Gen 37:27 and Judg 11:17 listed there.

[42:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “all the word which the Lord will answer you.

[2:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “‘Do not foam at the mouth,’ they foam at the mouth.” The verb נָטַף (nataf) means “to drip.” When used of speech it probably has the nuance “to drivel, to foam at the mouth” (HALOT 694 s.v. נטף). The sinful people tell the Lord’s prophets not to “foam at the mouth,” which probably refers in a derogatory way to their impassioned style of delivery. But the Lord (who is probably still speaking here, see v. 3) sarcastically refers to their impassioned exhortation as “foaming at the mouth.”

[2:6]  ²⁷ tc If one follows the MT as it stands, it would appear that the Lord here condemns the people for their “foaming at the mouth” and then announces that judgment is inevitable. The present translation assumes that this is a continuation of the quotation of what the people say. In this case the subject of “foam at the mouth” is the Lord’s prophets. In the second line יִסַּג (yissag, a Niphal imperfect from סוּג, sug, “to remove”) is emended to יַסִּגֵנוּ (yassigenu; a Hiphil imperfect from נָסַג/נָשַׂג, nasag/nasag, “to reach; to overtake”).

[2:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’

[2:7]  ²⁹ tc The MT has אָמוּר (’amur), an otherwise unattested passive participle, which is better emended to אָמוֹר (’amor), an infinitive absolute functioning as a finite verb (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמַר).

[2:7]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the Lord, but here it seems to have an abstract sense, “patience.” See BDB 925 s.v. 3.d.

[2:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “Has the patience of the Lord run short? Or are these his deeds?” The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “No, of course not.” The people contest the prophet’s claims that the Lord’s judgment is falling on the nation.

[2:7]  ³² tn Heb “Do not my words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they do!” The Lord begins his response to the claim of the house of Jacob that they are immune to judgment (see v. 7a). He points out that the godly are indeed rewarded, but then he goes on to show that those in the house of Jacob are not godly and can expect divine judgment, not blessing (vv. 8-11). Some emend “my words” to “his words.” In this case, v. 7b is a continuation of the immediately preceding quotation. The people, thinking they are godly, confidently ask, “Do not his [God’s] words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?”

[20:27]  ³³ tn Or “did not avoid.” BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 2.b has “shrink from, avoid implying fear…οὐ γὰρ ὑπεστειλάμην τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι I did not shrink from proclaiming Ac 20:27”; L&N 13.160 has “to hold oneself back from doing something, with the implication of some fearful concern – ‘to hold back from, to shrink from, to avoid’…‘for I have not held back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God’ Ac 20:27.”

[20:27]  ³⁴ tn Or “proclaiming,” “declaring.”

[20:27]  ³⁵ tn Or “plan.”

[20:1]  ³⁶ tn Or “exhorting.”

[20:1]  ³⁷ tn Or “and taking leave of them.”

[20:1]  ³⁸ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[1:23]  ³⁹ tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”

[1:23]  ⁴⁰ tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.

[1:2]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁴² tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ⁴³ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁴⁴ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[2:17]  ⁴⁵ tn The word “only,” though not in the Greek text, is supplied in the English translation to bring out the force of the Greek phrase.

[2:17]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “but the body of Christ.” The term body here, when used in contrast to shadow (σκιά, skia) indicates the opposite meaning, i.e., the reality or substance itself.

[2:17]  ⁴⁷ tn The genitive τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou) is appositional and translated as such: “the reality is Christ.”

[1:10]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “of men”; but here ἀνθρώπους (anqrwpou") is used in a generic sense of both men and women.

[1:10]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “men”; but here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") is used in a generic sense of both men and women.

[1:10]  ⁵⁰ tn The imperfect verb has been translated conatively (ExSyn 550).

[1:10]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “men”; but here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") is used in a generic sense of both men and women.

[1:10]  ⁵² 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]  ⁵³ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[2:4]  ⁵⁴ tn No subject and verb are expressed in vv. 4-5, but the phrase “Now this matter arose,” implied from v. 3, was supplied to make a complete English sentence.

[2:4]  ⁵⁵ tn The adjective παρεισάκτους (pareisaktou"), which relates to someone joining a group with false motives or false pretenses, applies to the “false brothers.” Although the expression “false brothers with false pretenses” is somewhat redundant, it captures the emphatic force of Paul’s expression, which labels both these “brothers” as false (ψευδαδέλφους, yeudadelfou") as well as their motives. See L&N 34.29 for more information.

[2:4]  ⁵⁶ tn The verb translated here as “spy on” (κατασκοπέω, kataskopew) can have a neutral nuance, but here the connotation is certainly negative (so F. F. Bruce, Galatians [NIGTC], 112-13, and E. Burton, Galatians [ICC], 83).

[2:4]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “in order that they might enslave us.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause with the subjunctive verb καταδουλώσουσιν (katadoulwsousin) has been translated as an English infinitival clause.