Psalms 19:14

19:14 May my words and my thoughts

be acceptable in your sight, ¹ 

O Lord, my sheltering rock ²  and my redeemer. ³ 

Proverbs 21:3

21:3 To do righteousness and justice

is more acceptable ⁴  to the Lord than sacrifice. ⁵ 

Isaiah 58:5

58:5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want? ⁶ 

Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, ⁷ 

bowing their heads like a reed

and stretching out ⁸  on sackcloth and ashes?

Is this really what you call a fast,

a day that is pleasing to the Lord?

Jeremiah 6:20

6:20 I take no delight ⁹  when they offer up to me ¹⁰ 

frankincense that comes from Sheba

or sweet-smelling cane imported from a faraway land.

I cannot accept the burnt offerings they bring me.

I get no pleasure from the sacrifices they offer to me.’ ¹¹ 

Romans 14:18

14:18 For the one who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by people. ¹² 

Philippians 4:18

4:18 For I have received everything, and I have plenty. I have all I need because I received from Epaphroditus what you sent – a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, very pleasing to God.

Philippians 4:1

Christian Practices

4:1 So then, my brothers and sisters, ¹³  dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!

Philippians 2:3

2:3 Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition ¹⁴  or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself.

Philippians 2:1

Christian Unity and Christ’s Humility

2:1 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, ¹⁵  any affection or mercy, ¹⁶ 

Philippians 1:4

1:4 I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you

Hebrews 12:28

12:28 So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe.

Hebrews 12:1

The Lord’s Discipline

12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, ¹⁷  we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us,

Hebrews 2:5

Exposition of Psalm 8: Jesus and the Destiny of Humanity

2:5 For he did not put the world to come, ¹⁸  about which we are speaking, ¹⁹  under the control of angels.

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

[19:14]  ¹ tn Heb “may the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart be acceptable before you.” The prefixed verbal form at the beginning of the verse is understood as a jussive of prayer. Another option is to translate the form as an imperfect continuing the thought of v. 14b: “[Then] the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart will be acceptable before you.”

[19:14]  ² tn Heb “my rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor for protection; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”

[19:14]  ³ tn Heb “and the one who redeems me.” The metaphor casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis.

[21:3]  ⁴ tn The Niphal participle בָּחַר (bakhar, “to choose”) means “choice to the Lord” or “chosen of the Lord,” meaning “acceptable to the Lord”; cf. TEV “pleases the Lord more.”

[21:3]  ⁵ sn The Lord prefers righteousness above religious service (e.g., Prov 15:8; 21:29; 1 Sam 15:22; Ps 40:6-8; Isa 1:11-17). This is not a rejection of ritual worship; rather, religious acts are without value apart from righteous living.

[58:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “choose” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “wish.”

[58:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “a day when man humbles himself.” The words “Do I want” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[58:5]  ⁹ tn Or “making [their] bed.”

[6:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “To what purpose is it to me?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[6:20]  ¹¹ tn The words “when they offer up to me” are not in the text but are implicit from the following context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:20]  ¹² tn Heb “Your burnt offerings are not acceptable and your sacrifices are not pleasing to me.” “The shift from “your” to “their” is an example of the figure of speech (apostrophe) where the speaker turns from talking about someone to addressing him/her directly. Though common in Hebrew style, it is not common in English. The shift to the third person in the translation is an accommodation to English style.

[14:18]  ¹³ tn Grk “by men”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is generic here (“people”) since the contrast in context is between God and humanity.

[4:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[2:3]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “not according to selfish ambition.” There is no main verb in this verse; the subjunctive φρονῆτε (fronhte, “be of the same mind”) is implied here as well. Thus, although most translations supply the verb “do” at the beginning of v. 3 (e.g., “do nothing from selfish ambition”), the idea is even stronger than that: “Don’t even think any thoughts motivated by selfish ambition.”

[2:1]  ²² tn Or “spiritual fellowship” if πνεύματος (pneumato") is an attributive genitive; or “fellowship brought about by the Spirit” if πνεύματος is a genitive of source or production.

[2:1]  ²³ tn Grk “and any affection and mercy.” The Greek idea, however, is best expressed by “or” in English.

[12:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “having such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.”

[2:5]  ²⁸ sn The phrase the world to come means “the coming inhabited earth,” using the Greek term which describes the world of people and their civilizations.

[2:5]  ²⁹ sn See the previous reference to the world in Heb 1:6.