Proverbs 23:17

23:17 Do not let your heart envy ¹  sinners,

but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord ²  all the time.

Psalms 2:11

2:11 Serve ³  the Lord in fear!

Repent in terror! ⁴ 

Psalms 16:8

16:8 I constantly trust in the Lord; ⁵ 

because he is at my right hand, I will not be upended.

Psalms 112:1

Psalm 112 ⁶ 

112:1 Praise the Lord!

How blessed is the one ⁷  who obeys ⁸  the Lord,

who takes great delight in keeping his commands. ⁹ 

Isaiah 66:2

66:2 My hand made them; ¹⁰ 

that is how they came to be,” ¹¹  says the Lord.

I show special favor ¹²  to the humble and contrite,

who respect what I have to say. ¹³ 

Jeremiah 32:40

32:40 I will make a lasting covenant ¹⁴  with them that I will never stop doing good to them. ¹⁵  I will fill their hearts and minds with respect for me so that ¹⁶  they will never again turn ¹⁷  away from me.

Romans 11:20

11:20 Granted! ¹⁸  They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear!

Hebrews 4:1

God’s Promised Rest

4:1 Therefore we must be wary ¹⁹  that, while the promise of entering his rest remains open, none of you may seem to have come short of it.

Hebrews 4:1

God’s Promised Rest

4:1 Therefore we must be wary ²⁰  that, while the promise of entering his rest remains open, none of you may seem to have come short of it.

Hebrews 1:1

Introduction: God Has Spoken Fully and Finally in His Son

1:1 After God spoke long ago ²¹  in various portions ²²  and in various ways ²³  to our ancestors ²⁴  through the prophets,

[23:17]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This expression features an objective genitive: “fearing the Lord.”

[2:11]  ³ tn The Hebrew verb translated “serve” refers here to submitting to the Lord’s sovereignty as expressed through the rule of the Davidic king. Such “service” would involve maintaining allegiance to the Davidic king by paying tribute on a regular basis.

[2:11]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “rejoice with trembling” (KJV). The verb גִּיל (gil) normally means “rejoice,” but this meaning does not fit well here in conjunction with “in trembling.” Some try to understand “trembling” (and the parallel יִרְאָה, yir’ah, “fear”) in the sense of “reverential awe” and then take the verbs “serve” and “rejoice” in the sense of “worship” (cf. NASB). But רְעָדָה (rÿ’adah, “trembling”) and its related terms consistently refer to utter terror and fear (see Exod 15:15; Job 4:14; Pss 48:6; 55:5; 104:32; Isa 33:14; Dan 10:11) or at least great emotional distress (Ezra 10:9). It seems more likely here that גִּיל carries its polarized meaning “mourn, lament,” as in Hos 10:5. “Mourn, lament” would then be metonymic in this context for “repent” (referring to one’s rebellious ways). On the meaning of the verb in Hos 10:5, see F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Hosea (AB), 556-57.

[16:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “I set the Lord before me continually.” This may mean that the psalmist is aware of the Lord’s presence and sensitive to his moral guidance (see v. 7), or that he trusts in the Lord’s protection (see the following line).

[112:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 112. This wisdom psalm lists some of the benefits of living a godly life. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[112:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The individual is representative of a larger group, called the “godly” in vv. 3-4. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in the following verses.

[112:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “fears.”

[112:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “in his commands he delights very much.” The words “in keeping” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Taking delight in the law is metonymic here for obeying God’s moral will. See Ps 1:2.

[66:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all these.” The phrase refers to the heavens and earth, mentioned in the previous verse.

[66:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and all these were.” Some prefer to emend וַיִּהְיוּ (vayyihyu, “and they were”) to וְלִי הָיוּ (vÿli hayu, “and to me they were”), i.e., “and they belong to me.”

[66:2]  ¹² tn Heb “and to this one I look” (KJV and NASB both similar).

[66:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “to the humble and the lowly in spirit and the one who trembles at my words.”

[32:40]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “an everlasting covenant.” For the rationale for the rendering “agreement” and the nature of the biblical covenants see the study note on 11:2.

[32:40]  ¹⁵ tn Or “stop being gracious to them” or “stop blessing them with good”; Heb “turn back from them to do good to them.”

[32:40]  ¹⁶ tn Or “I will make them want to fear and respect me so much that”; Heb “I will put the fear of me in their hearts.” However, as has been noted several times, “heart” in Hebrew is more the center of the volition (and intellect) than the center of emotions as it is in English. Both translations are intended to reflect the difference in psychology.

[32:40]  ¹⁷ tn The words “never again” are not in the text but are implicit from the context and are supplied not only by this translation but by a number of others.

[11:20]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “well!”, an adverb used to affirm a statement. It means “very well,” “you are correct.”

[4:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “let us fear.”

[4:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “let us fear.”

[1:1]  ²¹ tn Or “spoke formerly.”

[1:1]  ²² tn Or “parts.” The idea is that God’s previous revelation came in many parts and was therefore fragmentary or partial (L&N 63.19), in comparison with the final and complete revelation contained in God’s Son. However, some interpret πολυμερῶς (polumerw") in Heb 1:1 to mean “on many different occasions” and would thus translate “many times” (L&N 67.11). This is the option followed by the NIV: “at many times and in various ways.” Finally, this word is also understood to refer to the different manners in which something may be done, and would then be translated “in many different ways” (L&N 89.81). In this last case, the two words πολυμερῶς and πολυτρόπως (polutropw") mutually reinforce one another (“in many and various ways,” NRSV).

[1:1]  ²³ tn These two phrases are emphasized in Greek by being placed at the beginning of the sentence and by alliteration.

[1:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “to the fathers.”