Discovery BoxPsalms 16:3
Context16:3 As for God’s chosen people who are in the land,
and the leading officials I admired so much 1 –
Psalms 40:6-8
Context40:6 Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. 2
You make that quite clear to me! 3
You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.
40:7 Then I say,
“Look! I come!
What is written in the scroll pertains to me. 4
40:8 I want to do what pleases you, 5 my God.
Your law dominates my thoughts.” 6
John 4:34
Context4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me 7 and to complete 8 his work. 9
John 13:1-2
Context13:1 Just before the Passover feast, Jesus knew that his time 10 had come to depart 11 from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end. 12 13:2 The evening meal 13 was in progress, and the devil had already put into the heart 14 of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray 15 Jesus. 16
Colossians 1:9
Context1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, 17 have not ceased praying for you and asking God 18 to fill 19 you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
[16:3] 1 tn Heb “regarding the holy ones who [are] in the land, they; and the mighty [ones] in [whom is/was] all my desire.” The difficult syntax makes the meaning of the verse uncertain. The phrase “holy ones” sometimes refers to God’s angelic assembly (see Ps 89:5, 7), but the qualifying clause “who are in the land” suggests that here it refers to God’s people (Ps 34:9) or to their priestly leaders (2 Chr 35:3).
[40:6] 2 tn Heb “sacrifice and offering you do not desire.” The statement is exaggerated for the sake of emphasis (see Ps 51:16 as well). God is pleased with sacrifices, but his first priority is obedience and loyalty (see 1 Sam 15:22). Sacrifices and offerings apart from genuine allegiance are meaningless (see Isa 1:11-20).
[40:6] 3 tn Heb “ears you hollowed out for me.” The meaning of this odd expression is debated (this is the only collocation of “hollowed out” and “ears” in the OT). It may have been an idiomatic expression referring to making a point clear to a listener. The LXX has “but a body you have prepared for me,” a reading which is followed in Heb 10:5.
[40:7] 4 tn Heb “in the roll of the scroll it is written concerning me.” Apparently the psalmist refers to the law of God (see v. 8), which contains the commandments God desires him to obey. If this is a distinctly royal psalm, then the psalmist/king may be referring specifically to the regulations of kingship prescribed in Deut 17:14-20. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 315.
[40:8] 6 tn Heb “your law [is] in the midst of my inner parts.” The “inner parts” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s thought life and moral decision making.
[4:34] 7 sn The one who sent me refers to the Father.
[4:34] 8 tn Or “to accomplish.”
[4:34] 9 tn The substantival ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as an English infinitive clause.
[13:1] 11 tn Grk “that he should depart.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause in Koine Greek frequently encroached on the simple infinitive (for the sake of greater clarity).
[13:1] 12 tn Or “he now loved them completely,” or “he now loved them to the uttermost” (see John 19:30). All of John 13:1 is a single sentence in Greek, although in English this would be unacceptably awkward. At the end of the verse the idiom εἰς τέλος (eis telos) was translated literally as “to the end” and the modern equivalents given in the note above, because there is an important lexical link between this passage and John 19:30, τετέλεσται (tetelestai, “It is ended”).
[13:2] 13 tn Or “Supper.” To avoid possible confusion because of different regional English usage regarding the distinction between “dinner” and “supper” as an evening meal, the translation simply refers to “the evening meal.”
[13:2] 14 sn At this point the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray Jesus. C. K. Barrett (St. John, 365) thought this was a reference to the idea entering the devil’s own heart, but this does not seem likely. It is more probable that Judas’ heart is meant, since the use of the Greek article (rather than a possessive pronoun) is a typical idiom when a part of one’s own body is indicated. Judas’ name is withheld until the end of the sentence for dramatic effect (emphasis). This action must be read in light of 13:27, and appears to refer to a preliminary idea or plan.
[13:2] 15 tn Or “that he should hand over.”
[13:2] 16 tn Grk “betray him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:9] 17 tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.
[1:9] 18 tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.
[1:9] 19 tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.
