Proverbs 15:9

15:9 The Lord abhors ¹  the way of the wicked,

but he loves those ²  who pursue ³  righteousness.

Proverbs 21:21

21:21 The one who pursues righteousness and love ⁴ 

finds life, bounty, ⁵  and honor.

Isaiah 51:1

There is Hope for the Future

51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness, ⁶ 

who seek the Lord!

Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,

at the quarry ⁷  from which you were dug! ⁸ 

Romans 9:30

Israel’s Rejection Culpable

9:30 What shall we say then? – that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith,

Romans 14:19

14:19 So then, let us pursue what makes for peace and for building up one another.

Romans 14:1

Exhortation to Mutual Forbearance

14:1 Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions. ⁹ 

Romans 5:10

5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life?

Romans 6:11

6:11 So you too consider yourselves ¹⁰  dead to sin, but ¹¹  alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 12:14

Do Not Reject God’s Warning

12:14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, ¹²  for without it no one will see the Lord.

Hebrews 12:1

The Lord’s Discipline

12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, ¹³  we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us,

Hebrews 3:11-13

3:11 “As I swore in my anger, ‘They will never enter my rest!’” ¹⁴ 

3:12 See to it, ¹⁵  brothers and sisters, ¹⁶  that none of you has ¹⁷  an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes ¹⁸  the living God. ¹⁹  3:13 But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” that none of you may become hardened by sin’s deception.

Hebrews 3:3

3:3 For he has come to deserve greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves greater honor than the house itself!

Hebrews 1:11

1:11 They will perish, but you continue.

And they will all grow old like a garment,

[15:9]  ¹ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) functions as a subjective genitive: “the Lord abhors.”

[15:9]  ² tn Heb “the one who” (so NRSV).

[15:9]  ³ sn God hates the way of the wicked, that is, their lifestyle and things they do. God loves those who pursue righteousness, the Piel verb signifying a persistent pursuit. W. G. Plaut says, “He who loves God will be moved to an active, persistent, and even dangerous search for justice” (Proverbs, 170).

[21:21]  ⁴ sn These two attributes, “righteousness” (צְדָקָה, tsÿdaqah) and “loyal love” (חֶסֶד, khesed) depict the life style of the covenant-believer who is pleasing to God and a blessing to others. The first term means that he will do what is right, and the second means that he will be faithful to the covenant community.

[21:21]  ⁵ sn The Hebrew term translated “bounty” is צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) again, so there is a wordplay on the term in the verse. The first use of the word had the basic meaning of “conduct that conforms to God’s standard”; this second use may be understood as a metonymy of cause, indicating the provision or reward (“bounty”) that comes from keeping righteousness (cf. NIV “prosperity”; NCV “success”). The proverb is similar to Matt 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”

[51:1]  ⁶ tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “justice”; NLT “hope for deliverance.”

[51:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “the excavation of the hole.”

[51:1]  ⁸ sn The “rock” and “quarry” refer here to Abraham and Sarah, the progenitors of the nation.

[14:1]  ⁹ tn Grk “over opinions.” The qualifier “differing” has been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[6:11]  ¹⁰ tc ‡ Some Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (Ì^94vid א* B C 81 365 1506 1739 1881 pc) have the infinitive “to be” (εἶναι, einai) following “yourselves”. The infinitive is lacking from some mss of the Alexandrian and Western texttypes (Ì^46vid A D*^,c F G 33^vid pc). The infinitive is found elsewhere in the majority of Byzantine mss, suggesting a scribal tendency toward clarification. The lack of infinitive best explains the rise of the other readings. The meaning of the passage is not significantly altered by inclusion or omission, but on internal grounds omission is more likely. NA²⁷ includes the infinitive in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[6:11]  ¹¹ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[12:14]  ¹² sn The references to peace and holiness show the close connection between this paragraph and the previous one. The pathway toward “holiness” and the need for it is cited in Heb 12:10 and 14. More importantly Prov 4:26-27 sets up the transition from one paragraph to the next: It urges people to stay on godly paths (Prov 4:26, quoted here in v. 13) and promises that God will lead them in peace if they do so (Prov 4:27 [LXX], quoted in v. 14).

[12:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “having such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.”

[3:11]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “if they shall enter my rest,” a Hebrew idiom expressing an oath that something will certainly not happen.

[3:12]  ¹⁵ tn Or “take care.”

[3:12]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

[3:12]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “that there not be in any of you.”

[3:12]  ¹⁸ tn Or “deserts,” “rebels against.”

[3:12]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “in forsaking the living God.”