Psalms 25:4-5

25:4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord!

Teach me your paths! ¹ 

25:5 Guide me into your truth ²  and teach me.

For you are the God who delivers me;

on you I rely all day long.

Psalms 32:9

32:9 Do not be ³  like an unintelligent horse or mule, ⁴ 

which will not obey you

unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit. ⁵ 

Psalms 143:10

143:10 Teach me to do what pleases you, ⁶ 

for you are my God.

May your kind presence ⁷ 

lead me ⁸  into a level land. ⁹ 

Isaiah 49:2

49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,

he hid me in the hollow of his hand;

he made me like a sharpened ¹⁰  arrow,

he hid me in his quiver. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 50:4

The Servant Perseveres

50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, ¹² 

so that I know how to help the weary. ¹³ 

He wakes me up every morning;

he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do. ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 1:9

1:9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I will most assuredly give you the words you are to speak for me. ¹⁵ 

Matthew 10:19-20

10:19 Whenever ¹⁶  they hand you over for trial, do not worry about how to speak or what to say, ¹⁷  for what you should say will be given to you at that time. ¹⁸  10:20 For it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Mark 13:11

13:11 When they arrest you and hand you over for trial, do not worry about what to speak. But say whatever is given you at that time, ¹⁹  for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

Luke 11:1

Instructions on Prayer

11:1 Now ²⁰  Jesus ²¹  was praying in a certain place. When ²²  he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John ²³  taught ²⁴  his disciples.”

Luke 12:11-12

12:11 But when they bring you before the synagogues, ²⁵  the ²⁶  rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you should make your defense ²⁷  or what you should say, 12:12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment ²⁸  what you must say.” ²⁹ 

Luke 21:14-15

21:14 Therefore be resolved ³⁰  not to rehearse ³¹  ahead of time how to make your defense. 21:15 For I will give you the words ³²  along with the wisdom ³³  that none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

John 14:26

14:26 But the Advocate, ³⁴  the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you ³⁵  everything, ³⁶  and will cause you to remember everything ³⁷  I said to you.

Ephesians 6:19

6:19 Pray ³⁸  for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak ³⁹  – that I may confidently make known ⁴⁰  the mystery of the gospel,

[25:4]  ¹ sn Teach me your paths. In this context the Lord’s “ways” and “paths” refer to the moral principles which the Lord prescribes for his followers. See vv. 8-10.

[25:5]  ² sn The Lord’s commandments are referred to as truth here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will.

[32:9]  ³ tn The verb form is plural (i.e., “do not all of you be”); the psalmist addresses the whole group.

[32:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “like a horse, like a mule without understanding.”

[32:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “with a bridle and bit, its [?] to hold, not to come near to you.” The meaning of the Hebrew noun עֲדִי (’adiy) is uncertain. Normally the word refers to “jewelry,” so some suggest the meaning “trappings” here (cf. NASB). Some emend the form to לְחֵיהֶם (lÿkhehem, “their jawbones”) but it is difficult to see how the present Hebrew text, even if corrupt, could have derived from this proposed original reading. P. C. Craigie (Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 265) takes the form from an Arabic root and translates “whose gallop.” Cf. also NRSV “whose temper must be curbed.”

[143:10]  ⁶ tn Or “your will.” See Ps 40:8.

[143:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “your good spirit.” God’s “spirit” may refer here to his presence (see the note on the word “presence” in Ps 139:7) or to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10).

[143:10]  ⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. Taking the statement as a prayer fits well with the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.

[143:10]  ⁹ sn A level land (where one can walk free of obstacles) here symbolizes divine blessing and protection. See Pss 26:12 and 27:11 for similar imagery.

[49:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps, “polished” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NASB “a select arrow.”

[49:2]  ¹¹ sn The figurative language emphasizes the servant’s importance as the Lord’s effective instrument. The servant’s mouth, which stands metonymically for his words, is compared to a sharp sword because he will be an effective spokesman on God’s behalf (see 50:4). The Lord holds his hand on the servant, ready to draw and use him at the appropriate time. The servant is like a sharpened arrow reserved in a quiver for just the right moment.

[50:4]  ¹² tn Heb “has given to me a tongue of disciples.”

[50:4]  ¹³ tc Heb “to know [?] the weary with a word.” Comparing it with Arabic and Aramaic cognates yields the meaning of “help, sustain.” Nevertheless, the meaning of עוּת (’ut) is uncertain. The word occurs only here in the OT (see BDB 736 s.v.). Various scholars have suggested an emendation to עָנוֹת (’anot) from עָנָה (’anah, “answer”): “so that I know how to respond kindly to the weary.” Since the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and the Vulgate support the MT reading, that reading is retained.

[50:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he arouses for me an ear, to hear like disciples.”

[1:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.” This is an example of the Hebrew “scheduling” perfect or the “prophetic” perfect where a future event is viewed as so certain it is spoken of as past. The Hebrew particle rendered here “assuredly” (Heb הִנֵּה, hinneh) underlines the certitude of the promise for the future. See the translator’s note on v. 6.

[10:19]  ¹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:19]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “how or what you might speak.”

[10:19]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “in that hour.”

[13:11]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “in that hour.”

[11:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[11:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:1]  ²² tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[11:1]  ²³ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[11:1]  ²⁴ sn It was not unusual for Jewish groups to have their own prayer as a way of expressing corporate identity. Judaism had the Eighteen Benedictions and apparently John the Baptist had a prayer for his disciples as well.

[12:11]  ²⁵ sn The saying looks at persecution both from a Jewish context as the mention of synagogues suggests, and from a Gentile one as the reference to the rulers and the authorities suggests.

[12:11]  ²⁶ tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[12:11]  ²⁷ tn Grk “about how or what you should say in your defense,” but this is redundant with the following clause, “or what you should say.”

[12:12]  ²⁸ tn Grk “in that very hour” (an idiom).

[12:12]  ²⁹ tn Grk “what it is necessary to say.”

[21:14]  ³⁰ tn Grk “determine in your hearts.”

[21:14]  ³¹ tn This term could refer to rehearsing a speech or a dance. On its syntax, see BDF §392.2.

[21:15]  ³² tn Grk “a mouth.” It is a metonymy and refers to the reply the Lord will give to them.

[21:15]  ³³ tn Grk “and wisdom.”

[14:26]  ³⁴ tn Or “Helper” or “Counselor”; Grk “Paraclete,” from the Greek word παράκλητος (paraklhto"). See the note on the word “Advocate” in v. 16 for a discussion of how this word is translated.

[14:26]  ³⁵ tn Grk “that one will teach you.” The words “that one” have been omitted from the translation since they are redundant in English.

[14:26]  ³⁶ tn Grk “all things.”

[14:26]  ³⁷ tn Grk “all things.”

[6:19]  ³⁸ tn To avoid a lengthy, convoluted sentence in English, the Greek sentence was broken up at this point and the verb “pray” was inserted in the English translation to pick up the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseuxomenoi, “praying”) in v. 18.

[6:19]  ³⁹ tn Grk “that a word may be given to me in the opening of my mouth.” Here “word” (λόγος, logo") is used in the sense of “message.”

[6:19]  ⁴⁰ tn The infinitive γνωρίσαι (gnwrisai, “to make known”) is functioning epexegetically to further explain what the author means by the preceding phrase “that I may be given the message when I begin to speak.”