Psalms 1:3

Context

1:3 He is like¹ a tree planted by flowing streams;²

it³ yields⁴ its fruit at the proper time,⁵

and its leaves never fall off.⁶

He succeeds in everything he attempts.⁷

Jeremiah 5:24

Context

5:24 They do not say to themselves,⁸

“Let us revere the Lord our God.

It is he who gives us the autumn rains and the spring rains at the proper time.

It is he who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.”⁹

Matthew 21:34-36

Context
21:34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves¹⁰ to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop.¹¹ 21:35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one,¹² killed another, and stoned another. 21:36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way.

Mark 12:2-5

Context
12:2 At harvest time he sent a slave¹³ to the tenants to collect from them¹⁴ his portion of the crop.¹⁵ 12:3 But¹⁶ those tenants¹⁷ seized his slave,¹⁸ beat him,¹⁹ and sent him away empty-handed.²⁰ 12:4 So²¹ he sent another slave to them again. This one they struck on the head and treated outrageously. 12:5 He sent another, and that one they killed. This happened to many others, some of whom were beaten, others killed.

[1:3] ¹tn 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] ²tn Heb “channels of water.”

[1:3] ³tn Heb “which.”

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

[1:3] ⁵tn Heb “in its season.”

[1:3] ⁶tn Or “fade”; “wither.”

[1:3] ⁷tn 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.”

[5:24] ⁸tn Heb “say in their hearts.”

[5:24] ⁹tn Heb “who keeps for us the weeks appointed for harvest.”

[21:34] ¹⁰tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[21:34] ¹¹tn Grk “to collect his fruits.”

[21:35] ¹²sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

[12:2] ¹³tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.

[12:2] ¹⁴tn Grk “from the tenants,” but this is redundant in English, so the pronoun (“them”) was used in the translation.

[12:2] ¹⁵tn Grk “from the fruits of the vineyard.”

[12:3] ¹⁶tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[12:3] ¹⁷tn Grk “But they”; the referent (the tenants, v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:3] ¹⁸tn Grk “seizing him, they beat and sent away empty-handed.” The referent of the direct object of “seizing” (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The objects of the verbs “beat” and “sent away” have been supplied in the translation to conform to English style. Greek often omits direct objects when they are clear from the context.

[12:3] ¹⁹sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

[12:3] ²⁰sn The slaves being sent empty-handed suggests that the vineyard was not producing any fruit – and thus neither was the nation of Israel.

[12:4] ²¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first slave.