Psalms 50:14

50:14 Present to God a thank-offering!

Repay your vows to the sovereign One! ¹ 

Psalms 50:23

50:23 Whoever presents a thank-offering honors me. ² 

To whoever obeys my commands, I will reveal my power to deliver.” ³ 

Psalms 141:2

141:2 May you accept my prayer like incense,

my uplifted hands like the evening offering! ⁴ 

Hosea 14:2

14:2 Return to the Lord and repent! ⁵ 

Say to him: “Completely ⁶  forgive our iniquity;

accept ⁷  our penitential prayer, ⁸ 

that we may offer the praise of our lips as sacrificial bulls. ⁹ 

Malachi 1:11

1:11 For from the east to the west my name will be great among the nations. Incense and pure offerings will be offered in my name everywhere, for my name will be great among the nations,” ¹⁰  says the Lord who rules over all.

John 4:22-24

4:22 You people ¹¹  worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. ¹²  4:23 But a time ¹³  is coming – and now is here ¹⁴  – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks ¹⁵  such people to be ¹⁶  his worshipers. ¹⁷  4:24 God is spirit, ¹⁸  and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Romans 12:1

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ¹⁹  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ²⁰  – which is your reasonable service.

Philippians 2:17

2:17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice together with all of you.

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.

Hebrews 13:15-16

13:15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name. 13:16 And do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, ²¹  for God is pleased with such sacrifices.

[50:14]  ¹ tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.

[50:23]  ² sn The reference to a thank-offering recalls the earlier statement made in v. 14. Gratitude characterizes genuine worship.

[50:23]  ³ tn Heb “and [to one who] sets a way I will show the deliverance of God.” Elsewhere the phrase “set a way” simply means “to travel” (see Gen 30:36; cf. NRSV). The present translation assumes an emendation of וְשָׂם דֶּרֶךְ (vÿsam derekh) to וְשֹׁמֵר דְּרָכַּי (vÿshomer dÿrakhay, “and [the one who] keeps my ways” [i.e., commands, see Pss 18:21; 37:34). Another option is to read וְשֹׁמֵר דַּרְכּוֹ (vÿshomer darko, “and [the one who] guards his way,” i.e., “the one who is careful to follow a godly lifestyle”; see Ps 39:1).

[141:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “may my prayer be established [like] incense before you, the uplifting of my hands [like] an evening offering.”

[14:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “Take words with you and return to the Lord” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[14:2]  ⁶ tn The word order כָּל־תִּשָּׂא עָוֹן (kol-tisa’ ’avon) is syntactically awkward. The BHS editors suggest rearranging the word order: תִּשָּׂא כָּל־עוֹן (“Forgive all [our] iniquity!”). However, Gesenius suggests that כָּל (“all”) does not function as the construct in the genitive phrase כָּל־עוֹן (“all [our] iniquity”); it functions adverbially modifying the verb תִּשָּׂא (“Completely forgive!”; see GKC 415 §128.e).

[14:2]  ⁷ sn The repetition of the root לָקַח (laqakh) creates a striking wordplay in 14:2. If Israel will bring (לָקַח) its confession to God, he will accept (לָקַח) repentant Israel and completely forgive its sin.

[14:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “and accept [our] speech.” The word טוֹב (tov) is often confused with the common homonymic root I טוֹב (tov, “good”; BDB 373 s.v. I טוֹב). However, this is probably IV טוֹב (tov, “word, speech”; HALOT 372 s.v. IV טוֹב), a hapax legomenon that is related to the verb טבב (“to speak”; HALOT 367 s.v. טבב) and the noun טִבָּה (tibbah, “rumor”; HALOT 367 s.v. טִבָּה). The term טוֹב (“word; speech”) refers to the repentant prayer mentioned in 14:1-3. Most translations relate it to I טוֹב and treat it as (1) accusative direct object: “accept that which is good” (RSV, NJPS), “Accept our good sacrifices” (CEV), or (2) adverbial accusative of manner: “receive [us] graciously” (KJV, NASB, NIV). Note TEV, however, which follows the suggestion made here: “accept our prayer.”

[14:2]  ⁹ tc The MT reads פָרִים (farim, “bulls”), but the LXX reflects פְּרִי (pÿri, “fruit”), a reading followed by NASB, NIV, NRSV: “that we may offer the fruit of [our] lips [as sacrifices to you].” Although the Greek expression in Heb 13:15 (καρπὸν χειλέων, karpon xeilewn, “the fruit of lips”) reflects this LXX phrase, the MT makes good sense as it stands; NT usage of the LXX should not be considered decisive in resolving OT textual problems. The noun פָרִים (parim, “bulls”) functions as an adverbial accusative of state.

[1:11]  ¹⁰ sn My name will be great among the nations. In what is clearly a strongly ironic shift of thought, the Lord contrasts the unbelief and virtual paganism of the postexilic community with the conversion and obedience of the nations that will one day worship the God of Israel.

[4:22]  ¹¹ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “worship” is second person plural and thus refers to more than the woman alone.

[4:22]  ¹² tn Or “from the Judeans.” See the note on “Jew” in v. 9.

[4:23]  ¹³ tn Grk “an hour.”

[4:23]  ¹⁴ tn “Here” is not in the Greek text but is supplied to conform to contemporary English idiom.

[4:23]  ¹⁵ sn See also John 4:27.

[4:23]  ¹⁶ tn Or “as.” The object-complement construction implies either “as” or “to be.”

[4:23]  ¹⁷ tn This is a double accusative construction of object and complement with τοιούτους (toioutous) as the object and the participle προσκυνοῦντας (proskunounta") as the complement.

[4:24]  ¹⁸ tn Here πνεῦμα (pneuma) is understood as a qualitative predicate nominative while the articular θεός (qeos) is the subject.

[12:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[12:1]  ²⁰ tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

[13:16]  ²¹ tn Grk “neglect doing good and fellowship.”