Psalms 119:155

119:155 The wicked have no chance for deliverance, ¹ 

for they do not seek your statutes.

Job 21:14-15

21:14 So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us!

We do not want to ²  know your ways. ³ 

21:15 Who is the Almighty, that ⁴  we should serve him?

What would we gain

if we were to pray ⁵  to him?’ ⁶ 

Isaiah 29:13

29:13 The sovereign master ⁷  says,

“These people say they are loyal to me; ⁸ 

they say wonderful things about me, ⁹ 

but they are not really loyal to me. ¹⁰ 

Their worship consists of

nothing but man-made ritual. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 12:2

12:2 You plant them like trees and they put down their roots. ¹² 

They grow prosperous and are very fruitful. ¹³ 

They always talk about you,

but they really care nothing about you. ¹⁴ 

Matthew 15:7-8

15:7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,

15:8 ‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart ¹⁵  is far from me,

Ephesians 2:13

2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁶ 

Ephesians 2:17

2:17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near,

[119:155]  ¹ tn Heb “far from the wicked [is] deliverance.”

[21:14]  ² tn The absence of the preposition before the complement adds greater vividness to the statement: “and knowing your ways – we do not desire.”

[21:14]  ³ sn Contrast Ps 25:4, which affirms that walking in God’s ways means to obey God’s will – the Torah.

[21:15]  ⁴ tn The interrogative clause is followed by ki, similar to Exod 5:2, “Who is Yahweh, that I should obey him?”

[21:15]  ⁵ tn The verb פָּגַע (paga’) means “to encounter; to meet,” but also “to meet with request; to intercede; to interpose.” The latter meaning is a derived meaning by usage.

[21:15]  ⁶ tn The verse is not present in the LXX. It may be that it was considered too blasphemous and therefore omitted.

[29:13]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[29:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”

[29:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”

[29:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.

[29:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”

[12:2]  ¹² tn Heb “You planted them and they took root.”

[12:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “they grow and produce fruit.” For the nuance “grow” for the verb which normally means “go, walk,” see BDB 232 s.v. חָלַךְ Qal.I.3 and compare Hos 14:7.

[12:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “You are near in their mouths, but far from their kidneys.” The figure of substitution is being used here, “mouth” for “words” and “kidneys” for passions and affections. A contemporary equivalent might be, “your name is always on their lips, but their hearts are far from you.”

[15:8]  ¹⁵ tn The term “heart” is a collective singular in the Greek text.

[2:13]  ¹⁶ tn Or “have come near in the blood of Christ.”