Proverbs 16:3

16:3 Commit ¹  your works ²  to the Lord,

and your plans will be established. ³ 

Proverbs 23:17

23:17 Do not let your heart envy ⁴  sinners,

but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord ⁵  all the time.

Proverbs 23:1

23:1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

consider carefully ⁶  what ⁷  is before you,

Proverbs 4:11-12

4:11 I will guide you ⁸  in the way of wisdom

and I will lead you in upright paths. ⁹ 

4:12 When you walk, your steps ¹⁰  will not be hampered, ¹¹ 

and when you run, ¹²  you will not stumble.

Proverbs 30:8

30:8 Remove falsehood and lies ¹³  far from me;

do not give me poverty or riches,

feed me with my allotted portion ¹⁴  of bread, ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 30:1

The Words of Agur ¹⁶ 

30:1 The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh; an oracle: ¹⁷ 

This ¹⁸  man says ¹⁹  to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ukal: ²⁰ 

Proverbs 28:9

28:9 The one who turns away his ear ²¹  from hearing the law,

even his prayer ²²  is an abomination. ²³ 

Ezra 7:27

7:27 ²⁴ Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who so moved in the heart of the king to so honor the temple of the Lord which is in Jerusalem!

Ezra 8:22-23

8:22 I was embarrassed to request soldiers and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy ²⁵  along the way, because we had said to the king, “The good hand of our God is on everyone who is seeking him, but his great anger ²⁶  is against everyone who forsakes him.” 8:23 So we fasted and prayed to our God about this, and he answered us.

Nehemiah 1:11

1:11 Please, ²⁷  O Lord, listen attentively ²⁸  to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take pleasure in showing respect ²⁹  to your name. Grant your servant success today and show compassion to me ³⁰  in the presence of this man.”

Now ³¹  I was cupbearer for the king.

Nehemiah 2:4

2:4 The king responded, ³²  “What is it you are seeking?” Then I quickly prayed to the God of heaven

Nehemiah 2:1

Nehemiah Is Permitted to Go to Jerusalem

2:1 Then in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought to me, ³³  I took the wine and gave it to the king. Previously ³⁴  I had not been depressed ³⁵  in the king’s presence. ³⁶ 

Colossians 1:1-2

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³⁷  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 1:2 to the saints, the faithful ³⁸  brothers and sisters ³⁹  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁴⁰  from God our Father! ⁴¹ 

Colossians 1:16

1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, ⁴²  whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.

Philippians 4:6

4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.

Colossians 3:17

3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:23

3:23 Whatever you are doing, ⁴³  work at it with enthusiasm, ⁴⁴  as to the Lord and not for people, ⁴⁵ 

[16:3]  ¹ tc The MT reads גֹּל (gol, “commit”) from the root גָּלַל (galal, “to roll”). The LXX and Tg. Prov 16:3 have “reveal” as if the root were גָּלָה (galah, “to reveal”).

[16:3]  ² tn The suffix on the plural noun would be a subjective genitive: “the works you are doing,” or here, “the works that you want to do.”

[16:3]  ³ tn The syntax of the second clause shows that there is subordination: The vav on וְיִכֹּנוּ (vÿyikonu) coming after the imperative of the first clause expresses that this clause is the purpose or result. People should commit their works in order that the Lord may establish them. J. H. Greenstone says, “True faith relieves much anxiety and smoothens many perplexities” (Proverbs, 172).

[23:17]  ⁴ tn The verb in this line is אַל־יְקַנֵּא (’al-yÿqanne’), the Piel jussive negated. The verb means “to be jealous, to be zealous”; it describes passionate intensity for something. In English, if the object is illegitimate, it is called “envy”; if it is correct, it is called “zeal.” Here the warning is not to envy the sinners. The second colon could use the verb in the positive sense to mean “but rather let your passion burn for the fear of the Lord.”

[23:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This expression features an objective genitive: “fearing the Lord.”

[23:1]  ⁶ tn The construction uses the imperfect tense of instruction with the infinitive absolute to emphasize the careful discernment required on such occasions. Cf. NIV “note well”; NLT “pay attention.”

[23:1]  ⁷ tn Or “who,” referring to the ruler (so ASV, NAB, TEV).

[4:11]  ⁸ tn The form הֹרֵתִיךָ (horetikha) is the Hiphil perfect with a suffix from the root יָרָה (yarah, “to guide”). This and the parallel verb should be taken as instantaneous perfects, translated as an English present tense: The sage is now instructing or pointing the way.

[4:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the tracks of uprightness”; cf. NAB “on straightforward paths.” Both the verb and the object of the preposition make use of the idiom – the verb is the Hiphil perfect from דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, related to “road; way”) and the object is “wagon tracks, paths.”

[4:12]  ¹⁰ sn The noun צַעֲדֶךָ (tsa’adekha, “your steps”) and the temporal infinitive בְּלֶכְתְּךָ (belekhtÿkha, “when you walk”) use the idiom of walking to represent the course of life. On that course there will be no obstacles; the “path” will be straight – morally and practically.

[4:12]  ¹¹ sn The verb צָרַר (tsarar, “to be narrow; to be constricted”) refers to that which is narrow or constricted, signifying distress, trouble, adversity; that which was wide-open or broad represents freedom and deliverance.

[4:12]  ¹² sn The progression from walking to running is an idiom called “anabasis,” suggesting that as greater and swifter progress is made, there will be nothing to impede the progress (e.g., Isa 40:31).

[30:8]  ¹³ tn The two words might form a hendiadys: “falsehood and lies” being equivalent to “complete deception.” The word שָׁוְא means “false; empty; vain; to a false purpose.” The second word means “word of lying,” thus “a lying word.” Taken separately they might refer to false intentions and false words.

[30:8]  ¹⁴ tn The word חֹק (khoq) means “statute”; it is also used of a definite assignment in labor (Exod 5:14; Prov 31:15), or of a set portion of food (Gen 47:22). Here it refers to food that is the proper proportion for the speaker.

[30:8]  ¹⁵ sn Agur requested an honest life (not deceitful) and a balanced life (not self-sufficient). The second request about his provision is clarified in v. 9.

[30:1]  ¹⁶ sn This chapter has a title (30:1), Agur’s confession and petition (30:2-9), and a series of Agur’s admonitions (30:10-33).

[30:1]  ¹⁷ tn The title הַמַּשָּׂא (hammasa’) means “the burden,” a frequently used title in prophetic oracles. It may be that the word is a place name, although it is more likely that it describes what follows as an important revelation.

[30:1]  ¹⁸ tn The definite article is used here as a demonstrative, clarifying the reference to Agur.

[30:1]  ¹⁹ sn The word translated “says” (נְאֻם, nÿ’um) is a verbal noun; it is also a term that describes an oracle. It is usually followed by the subjective genitive: “the oracle of this man to Ithiel.”

[30:1]  ²⁰ tn There have been numerous attempts to reinterpret the first two verses of the chapter. The Greek version translated the names “Ithiel” and “Ukal,” resulting in “I am weary, O God, I am weary and faint” (C. C. Torrey, “Proverbs Chapter 30,” JBL 73 [1954]: 93-96). The LXX’s approach is followed by some English versions (e.g., NRSV, NLT). The Midrash tried through a clever etymologizing translation to attribute the works to Solomon (explained by W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 299). It is most likely that someone other than Solomon wrote these sayings; they have a different, almost non-proverbial, tone to them. See P. Franklyn, “The Sayings of Agur in Proverbs 30: Piety or Skepticism,” ZAW 95 (1983): 239-52.

[28:9]  ²¹ sn The expression “turn away the ear from hearing” uses a metonymy to mean that this individual will not listen – it indicates a deliberate refusal to follow the instruction of the law.

[28:9]  ²² sn It is hard to imagine how someone who willfully refuses to obey the law of God would pray according to the will of God. Such a person is more apt to pray for some physical thing or make demands on God. (Of course a prayer of repentance would be an exception and would not be an abomination to the Lord.)

[28:9]  ²³ sn C. H. Toy says, “If a man, on his part, is deaf to instruction, then God, on his part, is deaf to prayer” (Proverbs [ICC], 499). And W. McKane observes that one who fails to attend to God’s law is a wicked person, even if he is a man of prayer (Proverbs [OTL], 623).

[7:27]  ²⁴ sn At this point the language of the book reverts from Aramaic (7:12-26) back to Hebrew.

[8:22]  ²⁵ tn A number of modern translations regard this as a collective singular and translate “from enemies” (also in v. 31).

[8:22]  ²⁶ tn Heb “his strength and his anger.” The expression is a hendiadys (one concept expressed through two terms).

[1:11]  ²⁷ tn The interjection אָנָּא (’anna’) is an emphatic term of entreaty: “please!” (BDB 58 s.v.; HALOT 69-70 s.v.). This term is normally reserved for pleas for mercy from God in life-and-death situations (2 Kgs 20:3 = Isa 38:3; Pss 116:4; 118:25; Jonah 1:14; 4:2) and for forgiveness of heinous sins that would result or have resulted in severe judgment from God (Exod 32:31; Dan 9:4; Neh 1:5, 11).

[1:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “let your ear be attentive.”

[1:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “fear.”

[1:11]  ³⁰ tn Heb “grant compassion.” The words “to me” are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style in English.

[1:11]  ³¹ tn The vav (ו) on וַאֲנִי (va’ani, “Now, I”) introduces a disjunctive parenthetical clause that provides background information to the reader.

[2:4]  ³² tn Heb “said to me.”

[2:1]  ³³ tc The translation reads with the LXX וְיַיִן לְפָנַי (vÿyayin lÿfanay, “and wine before me”) rather than יַיִן לְפָנָיו (yayin lÿfanayv, “wine before him”) of the MT. The initial vav (ו) on original וְיַיִן probably dropped out due to haplograpy or orthographic confusion with the two yods (י) which follow. The final vav on לְפָנָיו in the MT was probably added due to dittography with the vav on the immediately following word.

[2:1]  ³⁴ tc The translation reads לְפָנֵים (lÿfanim, “formerly”) rather than לְפָנָיו (lÿfanayv, “to his face”) of the MT. The MT seems to suggest that Nehemiah was not sad before the king, which is contrary to what follows.

[2:1]  ³⁵ tn Or “showed him a sullen face.” See HALOT 1251 s.v. רַע, רָע 9.

[2:1]  ³⁶ tn This expression is either to be inferred from the context, or perhaps one should read לְפָנָיו (lÿfanayv, “before him”; cf. the MT) in addition to לְפָנִים (lÿfanim, “formerly”). See preceding note on the word “previously.”

[1:1]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:2]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁴¹ 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.

[1:16]  ⁴² tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.

[3:23]  ⁴³ tn The present progressive “are doing” was used in the translation of ποιῆτε (poihte) to bring out the idea that Paul is probably referring to what they already do for work.

[3:23]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “from the soul.”

[3:23]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “men”; here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") is used in a generic sense and refers to people in general.