Psalms 90:12

90:12 So teach us to consider our mortality, ¹ 

so that we might live wisely. ² 

Psalms 94:12

94:12 How blessed is the one ³  whom you instruct, O Lord,

the one whom you teach from your law,

Psalms 119:71

119:71 It was good for me to suffer,

so that I might learn your statutes.

Ecclesiastes 12:1

Fear God Now Because Old Age and Death Come Quickly

12:1 So remember ⁴  your Creator in the days of your youth –

before ⁵  the difficult ⁶  days come,

and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

Matthew 11:29-30

11:29 Take my yoke ⁷  on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 11:30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.”

Hebrews 12:5-12

12:5 And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons?

“My son, do not scorn ⁸  the Lord’s discipline

or give up when he corrects ⁹  you.

12:6 “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts.” ¹⁰ 

12:7 Endure your suffering ¹¹  as discipline; ¹²  God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? 12:8 But if you do not experience discipline, ¹³  something all sons ¹⁴  have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons. 12:9 Besides, we have experienced discipline from ¹⁵  our earthly fathers ¹⁶  and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life? ¹⁷  12:10 For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness. 12:11 Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful. ¹⁸  But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness ¹⁹  for those trained by it. 12:12 Therefore, strengthen ²⁰  your listless hands and your weak knees, ²¹ 

[90:12]  ¹ tn Heb “to number our days,” that is, to be aware of how few they really are.

[90:12]  ² tn Heb “and we will bring a heart of wisdom.” After the imperative of the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates purpose/result. The Hebrew term “heart” here refers to the center of one’s thoughts, volition, and moral character.

[94:12]  ³ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in v. 2.

[12:1]  ⁴ tn The imperative זְכֹר (zekhor, “Remember!”) is a figurative expression (metonymy of association) for obeying God and acknowledging his lordship over one’s life (e.g., Num 15:40; Deut 8:18; Pss 42:6-7; 63:6-8; 78:42; 103:18; 106:7; 119:52, 55; Jer 51:50; Ezek 20:43; Jonah 2:7; Mal 4:4). The exhortation to fear God and obey his commands in 12:13-14 spells out what it means to “remember” God.

[12:1]  ⁵ tn The temporal adjective עַד (’ad, “before”) appears three times in 12:1-7 (vv. 1b, 2a, 6a). Likewise, the temporal preposition בְּ (bet, “when”) is repeated (vv. 3a, 4b). These seven verses comprise one long sentence in Hebrew: The main clause is 12:1a (“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth”), while 12:1b-7 consists of five subordinate temporal clauses (“before…before…when…when…before…”).

[12:1]  ⁶ tn The adjective רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil”) does not refer here to ethical evil, but to physical difficulty, injury, pain, deprivation and suffering (e.g., Deut 31:17, 21; 32:23; 1 Sam 10:19; Neh 1:3; 2:17; Pss 34:20; 40:13; 88:4; 107:26; Eccl 11:10; Jer 2:27; Lam 3:38); see HALOT 1263 s.v. רָעָה 4.b; BDB 949 s.v. רָעָה 2.

[11:29]  ⁷ sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restrictions that a teacher or rabbi would place on his followers.

[12:5]  ⁸ tn Or “disregard,” “think little of.”

[12:5]  ⁹ tn Or “reproves,” “rebukes.” The Greek verb ἐλέγχω (elencw) implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.

[12:6]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Prov 3:11-12.

[12:7]  ¹¹ tn Grk “endure,” with the object (“your suffering”) understood from the context.

[12:7]  ¹² tn Or “in order to become disciplined.”

[12:8]  ¹³ tn Grk “you are without discipline.”

[12:8]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “all”; “sons” is implied by the context.

[12:9]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “we had our earthly fathers as discipliners.”

[12:9]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the fathers of our flesh.” In Hebrews, “flesh” is a characteristic way of speaking about outward, physical, earthly life (cf. Heb 5:7; 9:10, 13), as opposed to the inward or spiritual dimensions of life.

[12:9]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “and live.”

[12:11]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “all discipline at the time does not seem to be of joy, but of sorrow.”

[12:11]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

[12:12]  ²⁰ tn Or “straighten.”

[12:12]  ²¹ sn A quotation from Isa 35:3. Strengthen your listless hands and your weak knees refers to the readers’ need for renewed resolve and fresh strength in their struggles (cf. Heb 10:36-39; 12:1-3).