Psalms 50:15

50:15 Pray to me when you are in trouble! ¹ 

I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” ² 

Psalms 78:34

78:34 When he struck them down, ³  they sought his favor; ⁴ 

they turned back and longed for God.

Hosea 5:15

5:15 Then I will return again to my lair

until they have suffered their punishment. ⁵ 

Then they will seek me; ⁶ 

in their distress they will earnestly seek me.

Matthew 9:18

Restoration and Healing

9:18 As he was saying these things, a ruler came, bowed low before him, and said, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and she will live.”

Matthew 15:22

15:22 A ⁷  Canaanite woman from that area came ⁸  and cried out, ⁹  “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!”

Matthew 17:14-15

The Disciples’ Failure to Heal

17:14 When ¹⁰  they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, 17:15 and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures ¹¹  and suffers terribly, for he often falls into the fire and into the water.

Luke 7:2

7:2 A centurion ¹²  there ¹³  had a slave ¹⁴  who was highly regarded, ¹⁵  but who was sick and at the point of death.

Luke 8:42

8:42 because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. ¹⁶ 

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds pressed ¹⁷  around him.

[50:15]  ¹ tn Heb “call [to] me in a day of trouble.”

[50:15]  ² sn In vv. 7-15 the Lord makes it clear that he was not rebuking Israel because they had failed to offer sacrifices (v. 8a). On the contrary, they had been faithful in doing so (v. 8b). However, their understanding of the essence of their relationship with God was confused. Apparently they believed that he needed/desired such sacrifices and that offering them would ensure their prosperity. But the Lord owns all the animals of the world and did not need Israel’s meager sacrifices (vv. 9-13). Other aspects of the relationship were more important to the Lord. He desired Israel to be thankful for his blessings (v. 14a), to demonstrate gratitude for his intervention by repaying the vows they made to him (v. 14b), and to acknowledge their absolute dependence on him (v. 15a). Rather than viewing their sacrifices as somehow essential to God’s well-being, they needed to understand their dependence on him.

[78:34]  ³ tn Or “killed them,” that is, killed large numbers of them.

[78:34]  ⁴ tn Heb “they sought him.”

[5:15]  ⁵ tn The verb יֶאְשְׁמוּ (ye’shÿmu, Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural from אָשַׁם, ’asham, “to be guilty”) means “to bear their punishment” (Ps 34:22-23; Prov 30:10; Isa 24:6; Jer 2:3; Hos 5:15; 10:2; 14:1; Zech 11:5; Ezek 6:6; BDB 79 s.v. אָשַׁם 3). Many English versions translate this as “admit their guilt” (NIV, NLT) or “acknowledge their guilt” (NASB, NRSV), but cf. NAB “pay for their guilt” and TEV “have suffered enough for their sins.”

[5:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “seek my face” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “seek my presence.”

[15:22]  ⁷ tn Grk “And behold a Canaanite.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[15:22]  ⁸ tn Grk The participle ἐξελθοῦσα (exelqousa) is here translated as a finite verb. The emphasis is upon her crying out to Jesus.

[15:22]  ⁹ tn Grk “cried out, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[17:14]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[17:15]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he is moonstruck,” possibly meaning “lunatic” (so NAB, NASB), although now the term is generally regarded as referring to some sort of seizure disorder such as epilepsy (L&N 23.169; BDAG 919 s.v. σεληνιάζομαι).

[7:2]  ¹² sn A centurion was a noncommissioned officer in the Roman army or one of the auxiliary territorial armies, commanding a centuria of (nominally) 100 men. The responsibilities of centurions were broadly similar to modern junior officers, but there was a wide gap in social status between them and officers, and relatively few were promoted beyond the rank of senior centurion. The Roman troops stationed in Judea were auxiliaries, who would normally be rewarded with Roman citizenship after 25 years of service. Some of the centurions may have served originally in the Roman legions (regular army) and thus gained their citizenship at enlistment. Others may have inherited it, like Paul.

[7:2]  ¹³ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[7:2]  ¹⁴ tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times… in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v. 1). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force. In addition, the parallel passage in Matt 8:6 uses the Greek term παῖς (pais), to refer to the centurion’s slave. This was a term often used of a slave who was regarded with some degree of affection, possibly a personal servant.

[7:2]  ¹⁵ tn The term ἔντιμος (entimos) could mean “highly valued,” but this sounds too much like the slave was seen as an asset, while the text suggests a genuine care for the person. More archaically, it could be said the centurion was fond of this slave.

[8:42]  ¹⁶ tn This imperfect verb could be understood ingressively: “she was beginning to die” or “was approaching death.”

[8:42]  ¹⁷ sn Pressed is a very emphatic term – the crowds were pressing in so hard that one could hardly breathe (L&N 19.48).