Proverbs 8:14

8:14 Counsel and sound wisdom belong to me; ¹ 

I possess understanding and might.

Isaiah 40:13-14

40:13 Who comprehends ²  the mind ³  of the Lord,

or gives him instruction as his counselor? ⁴ 

40:14 From whom does he receive directions? ⁵ 

Who ⁶  teaches him the correct way to do things, ⁷ 

or imparts knowledge to him,

or instructs him in skillful design? ⁸ 

Isaiah 46:10

46:10 who announces the end from the beginning

and reveals beforehand ⁹  what has not yet occurred,

who says, ‘My plan will be realized,

I will accomplish what I desire,’

Romans 11:34

11:34 For who has known the mind of the Lord,

or who has been his counselor? ¹⁰ 

Ephesians 1:8

1:8 that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.

Ephesians 1:11

1:11 In Christ ¹¹  we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, ¹²  since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will

[8:14]  ¹ tc In the second half of v. 14 instead of אֲנִי (’ani) the editors propose reading simply לִי (li) as the renderings in the LXX, Latin, and Syriac suggest. Then, in place of the לִי that comes in the same colon, read וְלִי (vÿli). While the MT is a difficult reading, it can be translated as it is. It would be difficult to know exactly what the ancient versions were reading, because their translations could have been derived from either text. They represent an effort to smooth out the text.

[40:13]  ² tn Perhaps the verb is used metonymically here in the sense of “advises” (note the following line).

[40:13]  ³ tn In this context רוּחַ (ruakh) likely refers to the Lord’s “mind,” or mental faculties, rather than his personal Spirit (see BDB 925 s.v.).

[40:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “or [as] the man of his counsel causes him to know?”

[40:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “With whom did he consult, so that he gave discernment to him?”

[40:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “and taught him.” The vav (ו) consecutive with prefixed verbal form continues the previous line. The translation employs an interrogative pronoun for stylistic reasons.

[40:14]  ⁷ tn The phrase אֹרַח מִשְׁפָּט (’orakh mishpat) could be translated “path of justice” (so NASB, NRSV), but in this context, where creative ability and skill is in view, the phrase is better understood in the sense of “the way that is proper or fitting” (see BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 6); cf. NIV, NCV “the right way.”

[40:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “or the way of understanding causes him to know?”

[46:10]  ⁹ tn Or “from long ago”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “from ancient times.”

[11:34]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Isa 40:13.

[1:11]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in whom,” as a continuation of the previous verse.

[1:11]  ¹² tn Grk “we were appointed by lot.” The notion of the verb κληρόω (klhrow) in the OT was to “appoint a portion by lot” (the more frequent cognate verb κληρονομέω [klhronomew] meant “obtain a portion by lot”). In the passive, as here, the idea is that “we were appointed [as a portion] by lot” (BDAG 548 s.v. κληρόω 1). The words “God’s own” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this sense of the verb. An alternative interpretation is that believers receive a portion as an inheritance: “In Christ we too have been appointed a portion of the inheritance.” See H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 226-27, for discussion on this interpretive issue.