Proverbs 26:3

26:3 A whip for the horse and a bridle for the donkey,

and a rod for the backs of fools! ¹ 

Jeremiah 31:18

31:18 I have indeed ²  heard the people of Israel ³  say mournfully,

‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. ⁴ 

You disciplined us and we learned from it. ⁵ 

Let us come back to you and we will do so, ⁶ 

for you are the Lord our God.

James 3:3

3:3 And if we put bits into the mouths of horses to get them to obey us, then we guide their entire bodies. ⁷ 

James 4:7-10

4:7 So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. 4:8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. ⁸  4:9 Grieve, mourn, ⁹  and weep. Turn your laughter ¹⁰  into mourning and your joy into despair. 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

[26:3]  ¹ sn A fool must be disciplined by force like an animal – there is no reasoning. The fool is as difficult to manage as the donkey or horse.

[31:18]  ² tn The use of “indeed” is intended to reflect the infinitive absolute which precedes the verb for emphasis (see IBHS 585-86 §35.3.1f).

[31:18]  ³ tn Heb “Ephraim.” See the study note on 31:9. The more familiar term is used, the term “people” added to it, and plural pronouns used throughout the verse to aid in understanding.

[31:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “like an untrained calf.” The metaphor is that of a calf who has never been broken to bear the yoke (cf. Hos 4:16; 10:11).

[31:18]  ⁵ tn The verb here is from the same root as the preceding and is probably an example of the “tolerative Niphal,” i.e., “I let myself be disciplined/I responded to it.” See IBHS 389-90 §23.4g and note the translation of some of the examples there, especially Isa 19:22; 65:1.

[31:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “Bring me back in order that I may come back.” For the use of the plural pronouns see the marginal note at the beginning of the verse. The verb “bring back” and “come back” are from the same root in two different verbal stems and in the context express the idea of spiritual repentance and restoration of relationship not physical return to the land. (See BDB 999 s.v. שׁוּב Hiph.2.a for the first verb and 997 s.v. Qal.6.c for the second.) For the use of the cohortative to express purpose after the imperative see GKC 320 §108.d or IBHS 575 §34.5.2b.

[3:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “their entire body.”

[4:8]  ⁸ tn Or “two-minded” (the same description used in 1:8).

[4:9]  ⁹ tn This term and the following one are preceded by καί (kai) in the Greek text, but contemporary English generally uses connectives only between the last two items in such a series.

[4:9]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “let your laughter be turned.”