Psalms 1:3

1:3 He is like ¹  a tree planted by flowing streams; ² 

it ³  yields ⁴  its fruit at the proper time, ⁵ 

and its leaves never fall off. ⁶ 

He succeeds in everything he attempts. ⁷ 

Isaiah 27:6

27:6 The time is coming when Jacob will take root; ⁸ 

Israel will blossom and grow branches.

The produce ⁹  will fill the surface of the world. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 37:31

37:31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 17:7-8

17:7 My blessing is on those people who trust in me,

who put their confidence in me. ¹² 

17:8 They will be like a tree planted near a stream

whose roots spread out toward the water.

It has nothing to fear when the heat comes.

Its leaves are always green.

It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought.

It does not stop bearing fruit.

Luke 8:13-15

8:13 Those ¹³  on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, ¹⁴  but ¹⁵  in a time of testing ¹⁶  fall away. ¹⁷  8:14 As for the seed that ¹⁸  fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but ¹⁹  as they go on their way they are choked ²⁰  by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, ²¹  and their fruit does not mature. ²²  8:15 But as for the seed that landed on good soil, these are the ones who, after hearing ²³  the word, cling to it ²⁴  with an honest and good ²⁵  heart, and bear fruit with steadfast endurance. ²⁶ 

John 15:5

15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains ²⁷  in me – and I in him – bears ²⁸  much fruit, ²⁹  because apart from me you can accomplish ³⁰  nothing.

John 15:16

15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you ³¹  and appointed you to go and bear ³²  fruit, fruit that remains, ³³  so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

Romans 6:22

6:22 But now, freed ³⁴  from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit ³⁵  leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life.

[1:3]  ¹ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the same characteristic force as the imperfect in the preceding verse. According to the psalmist, the one who studies and obeys God’s commands typically prospers.

[1:3]  ² tn Heb “channels of water.”

[1:3]  ³ tn Heb “which.”

[1:3]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 draw attention to the typical nature of the actions/states they describe.

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “in its season.”

[1:3]  ⁶ tn Or “fade”; “wither.”

[1:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “and all which he does prospers”; or “and all which he does he causes to prosper.” (The simile of the tree does not extend to this line.) It is not certain if the Hiphil verbal form (יַצְלִיחַ, yatsliakh) is intransitive-exhibitive (“prospers”) or causative (“causes to prosper”) here. If the verb is intransitive, then כֹּל (kol, “all, everything”) is the subject. If the verb is causative, then the godly individual or the Lord himself is the subject and כֹּל is the object. The wording is reminiscent of Josh 1:8, where the Lord tells Joshua: “This law scroll must not leave your lips! You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper (literally, “cause your way to prosper”) and be successful.”

[27:6]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “the coming ones, let Jacob take root.” הַבָּאִים (habba’im, “the coming ones”) should probably be emended to יָמִים בָאִים (yamim va’im, “days [are] coming”) or בְּיָמִים הַבָּאִים (biyamim habba’im, “in the coming days”).

[27:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “fruit” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[27:6]  ¹⁰ sn This apparently refers to a future population explosion. See 26:18.

[37:31]  ¹¹ tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”

[17:7]  ¹² tn Heb “Blessed is the person who trusts in the Lord, and whose confidence is in the Lord.” However, because this is a statement of the Lord and the translation chooses to show that the blessing comes from him, the first person is substituted for the divine name.

[8:13]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:13]  ¹⁴ sn This time of temporary faith represented by the description believe for a while is presented rather tragically in the passage. The seed does not get a chance to do all it can.

[8:13]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:13]  ¹⁶ tn Traditionally, “temptation.” Such a translation puts the emphasis on temptation to sin rather than testing of faith, which is what the context seems to indicate.

[8:13]  ¹⁷ sn Fall away. On the idea of falling away and the warnings against it, see 2 Tim 3:1; Heb 3:12; Jer 3:14; Dan 9:9.

[8:14]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “What”; the referent (the seed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:14]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:14]  ²⁰ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

[8:14]  ²¹ sn On warnings about the dangers of excessive material attachments, described here as the worries and riches and pleasures of life, see Luke 12:12-21; 16:19-31.

[8:14]  ²² tn The verb τελεσφορέω (telesforew) means “to produce mature or ripe fruit” (L&N 23.203). Once again the seed does not reach its goal.

[8:15]  ²³ tn The aorist participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") has been taken temporally, reflecting action antecedent (prior to) that of the main verb.

[8:15]  ²⁴ sn There is a tenacity that is a part of spiritual fruitfulness.

[8:15]  ²⁵ sn In an ancient context, the qualifier good described the ethical person who possessed integrity. Here it is integrity concerning God’s revelation through Jesus.

[8:15]  ²⁶ sn Given the pressures noted in the previous soils, bearing fruit takes time (steadfast endurance), just as it does for the farmer. See Jas 1:2-4.

[15:5]  ²⁷ tn Or “resides.”

[15:5]  ²⁸ tn Or “yields.”

[15:5]  ²⁹ tn Grk “in him, this one bears much fruit.” The pronoun “this one” has been omitted from the translation because it is redundant according to contemporary English style.

[15:5]  ³⁰ tn Or “do.”

[15:16]  ³¹ sn You did not choose me, but I chose you. If the disciples are now elevated in status from slaves to friends, they are friends who have been chosen by Jesus, rather than the opposite way round. Again this is true of all Christians, not just the twelve, and the theme that Christians are “chosen” by God appears frequently in other NT texts (e.g., Rom 8:33; Eph 1:4ff.; Col 3:12; and 1 Pet 2:4). Putting this together with the comments on 15:14 one may ask whether the author sees any special significance at all for the twelve. Jesus said in John 6:70 and 13:18 that he chose them, and 15:27 makes clear that Jesus in the immediate context is addressing those who have been with him from the beginning. In the Fourth Gospel the twelve, as the most intimate and most committed followers of Jesus, are presented as the models for all Christians, both in terms of their election and in terms of their mission.

[15:16]  ³² tn Or “and yield.”

[15:16]  ³³ sn The purpose for which the disciples were appointed (“commissioned”) is to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains. The introduction of the idea of “going” at this point suggests that the fruit is something more than just character qualities in the disciples’ own lives, but rather involves fruit in the lives of others, i.e., Christian converts. There is a mission involved (cf. John 4:36). The idea that their fruit is permanent, however, relates back to vv. 7-8, as does the reference to asking the Father in Jesus’ name. It appears that as the imagery of the vine and the branches develops, the “fruit” which the branches produce shifts in emphasis from qualities in the disciples’ own lives in John 15:2, 4, 5 to the idea of a mission which affects the lives of others in John 15:16. The point of transition would be the reference to fruit in 15:8.

[6:22]  ³⁴ tn The two aorist participles translated “freed” and “enslaved” are causal in force; their full force is something like “But now, since you have become freed from sin and since you have become enslaved to God….”

[6:22]  ³⁵ tn Grk “fruit.”