Psalms 25:21

25:21 May integrity and godliness protect me,

for I rely on you!

Psalms 32:2

32:2 How blessed is the one ¹  whose wrongdoing the Lord does not punish, ² 

in whose spirit there is no deceit. ³ 

Deuteronomy 26:16

Narrative Interlude

26:16 Today the Lord your God is commanding you to keep these statutes and ordinances, something you must do with all your heart and soul. ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 26:2

26:2 you must take the first of all the ground’s produce you harvest from the land the Lord your God is giving you, place it in a basket, and go to the place where he ⁵  chooses to locate his name. ⁶ 

Deuteronomy 12:14

12:14 for you may do so ⁷  only in the place the Lord chooses in one of your tribal areas – there you may do everything I am commanding you. ⁸ 

Deuteronomy 15:17

15:17 you shall take an awl and pierce a hole through his ear to the door. ⁹  Then he will become your servant permanently (this applies to your female servant as well).

Deuteronomy 25:2

25:2 Then, ¹⁰  if the guilty person is sentenced to a beating, ¹¹  the judge shall force him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of blows his wicked behavior deserves. ¹² 

Deuteronomy 31:20-21

31:20 For after I have brought them ¹³  to the land I promised to their ¹⁴  ancestors – one flowing with milk and honey – and they ¹⁵  eat their fill ¹⁶  and become fat, then they ¹⁷  will turn to other gods and worship them; they will reject me and break my covenant. 31:21 Then when ¹⁸  many disasters and distresses overcome them ¹⁹  this song will testify against them, ²⁰  for their ²¹  descendants will not forget it. ²²  I know the ²³  intentions they have in mind ²⁴  today, even before I bring them ²⁵  to the land I have promised.”

Proverbs 4:23

4:23 Guard your heart with all vigilance, ²⁶ 

for from it are the sources ²⁷  of life.

Ezekiel 11:9

11:9 ‘But I will take you out of the city. ²⁸  And I will hand you over to foreigners. I will execute judgments on you.

John 1:47

1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, ²⁹  “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” ³⁰ 

John 1:2

1:2 The Word ³¹  was with God in the beginning.

Colossians 1:12

1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ³²  in the saints’ ³³  inheritance in the light.

[32:2]  ¹ tn Heb “man.” The word choice reflects the perspective of the psalmist, who is male. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender and age specific “man” has been translated with the more neutral “one.”

[32:2]  ² tn Heb “blessed [is] the man to whom the Lord does not impute wrongdoing.”

[32:2]  ³ sn In whose spirit there is no deceit. The point is not that the individual is sinless and pure. In this context, which focuses on confession and forgiveness of sin, the psalmist refers to one who refuses to deny or hide his sin, but instead honestly confesses it to God.

[26:16]  ⁴ tn Or “mind and being”; cf. NCV “with your whole being”; TEV “obey them faithfully with all your heart.”

[26:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[26:2]  ⁶ sn The place where he chooses to locate his name. This is a circumlocution for the central sanctuary, first the tabernacle and later the Jerusalem temple. See Deut 12:1-14 and especially the note on the word “you” in v. 14.

[12:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “offer burnt offerings.” The expression “do so” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[12:14]  ⁸ sn This injunction to worship in a single and central sanctuary – one limited and appropriate to the thrice-annual festival celebrations (see Exod 23:14-17; 34:22-24; Lev 23:4-36; Deut 16:16-17) – marks a departure from previous times when worship was carried out at local shrines (cf. Gen 8:20; 12:7; 13:18; 22:9; 26:25; 35:1, 3, 7; Exod 17:15). Apart from the corporate worship of the whole theocratic community, however, worship at local altars would still be permitted as in the past (Deut 16:21; Judg 6:24-27; 13:19-20; 1 Sam 7:17; 10:5, 13; 2 Sam 24:18-25; 1 Kgs 18:30).

[15:17]  ⁹ sn When the bondslave’s ear was drilled through to the door, the door in question was that of the master’s house. In effect, the bondslave is declaring his undying and lifelong loyalty to his creditor. The scar (or even hole) in the earlobe would testify to the community that the slave had surrendered independence and personal rights. This may be what Paul had in mind when he said “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal 6:17).

[25:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and it will be.”

[25:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “if the evil one is a son of smiting.”

[25:2]  ¹² tn Heb “according to his wickedness, by number.”

[31:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and are satisfied.”

[31:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Then it will come to pass that.”

[31:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:21]  ²⁰ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:21]  ²² tn Heb “it will not be forgotten from the mouth of his seed.”

[31:21]  ²³ tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:21]  ²⁴ tn Heb “which he is doing.”

[31:21]  ²⁵ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[4:23]  ²⁶ tn Heb “more than all guarding.” This idiom means “with all vigilance.” The construction uses the preposition מִן (min) to express “above; beyond,” the word “all” and the noun “prison; guard; act of guarding.” The latter is the use here (BDB 1038 s.v. מִשְׁמָר).

[4:23]  ²⁷ sn The word תּוֹצְאוֹת (tots’ot, from יָצָא, yatsa’) means “outgoings; extremities; sources.” It is used here for starting points, like a fountainhead, and so the translation “sources” works well.

[11:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “its midst.”

[1:47]  ²⁹ tn Grk “said about him.”

[1:47]  ³⁰ tn Or “treachery.”

[1:2]  ³¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the Word) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:12]  ³² tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.

[1:12]  ³³ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”