Psalms 51:10

51:10 Create for me a pure heart, O God! ¹ 

Renew a resolute spirit within me! ² 

Psalms 73:1

Book 3
(Psalms 73-89)

Psalm 73 ³ 

A psalm by Asaph.

73:1 Certainly God is good to Israel, ⁴ 

and to those whose motives are pure! ⁵ 

Genesis 6:5

6:5 But the Lord saw ⁶  that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination ⁷  of the thoughts ⁸  of their minds ⁹  was only evil ¹⁰  all the time. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 20:9

20:9 Who can say, ¹²  “I have kept my heart clean; ¹³ 

I am pure ¹⁴  from my sin”?

Jeremiah 4:14

4:14 “Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil ¹⁵ 

so that you may yet be delivered.

How long will you continue to harbor up

wicked schemes within you?

Matthew 5:8

5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Acts 15:9

15:9 and he made no distinction ¹⁶  between them and us, cleansing ¹⁷  their hearts by faith.

Acts 15:2

15:2 When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate ¹⁸  with them, the church ¹⁹  appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with ²⁰  the apostles and elders in Jerusalem ²¹  about this point of disagreement. ²² 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²³  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Revelation 21:1-4

A New Heaven and a New Earth

21:1 Then ²⁴  I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, ²⁵  and the sea existed no more. 21:2 And I saw the holy city – the new Jerusalem – descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence ²⁶  of God is among human beings. ²⁷  He ²⁸  will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. ²⁹  21:4 He ³⁰  will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more – or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.” ³¹ 

Revelation 21:27

21:27 but ³²  nothing ritually unclean ³³  will ever enter into it, nor anyone who does what is detestable ³⁴  or practices falsehood, ³⁵  but only those whose names ³⁶  are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 22:14-15

22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can have access ³⁷  to the tree of life and can enter into the city by the gates. 22:15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers ³⁸  and the sexually immoral, and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood! ³⁹ 

[51:10]  ¹ sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s motives and moral character.

[51:10]  ² tn Heb “and a reliable spirit renew in my inner being.”

[73:1]  ³ sn Psalm 73. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist offers a personal testimony of his struggle with the age-old problem of the prosperity of the wicked. As he observed evil men prosper, he wondered if a godly lifestyle really pays off. In the midst of his discouragement, he reflected upon spiritual truths and realities. He was reminded that the prosperity of the wicked is only temporary. God will eventually vindicate his people.

[73:1]  ⁴ tn Since the psalm appears to focus on an individual’s concerns, not the situation of Israel, this introduction may be a later addition designed to apply the psalm’s message to the entire community. To provide a better parallel with the next line, some emend the Hebrew phrase לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֱלֹהִים (lÿyisra’el ’elohim, “to Israel, God”) to אֱלֹהִים [or אֵל] לָיָּשָׁר (’elohim [or ’el] lÿyyashar, “God [is good] to the upright one”).

[73:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “to the pure of heart.”

[6:5]  ⁶ sn The Hebrew verb translated “saw” (רָאָה, ra’ah), used here of God’s evaluation of humankind’s evil deeds, contrasts with God’s evaluation of creative work in Gen 1, when he observed that everything was good.

[6:5]  ⁷ tn The noun יֵצֶר (yetser) is related to the verb יָצָר (yatsar, “to form, to fashion [with a design]”). Here it refers to human plans or intentions (see Gen 8:21; 1 Chr 28:9; 29:18). People had taken their God-given capacities and used them to devise evil. The word יֵצֶר (yetser) became a significant theological term in Rabbinic literature for what might be called the sin nature – the evil inclination (see also R. E. Murphy, “Yeser in the Qumran Literature,” Bib 39 [1958]: 334-44).

[6:5]  ⁸ tn The related verb הָשָׁב (hashav) means “to think, to devise, to reckon.” The noun (here) refers to thoughts or considerations.

[6:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “his heart” (referring to collective “humankind”). The Hebrew term לֵב (lev, “heart”) frequently refers to the seat of one’s thoughts (see BDB 524 s.v. לֵב). In contemporary English this is typically referred to as the “mind.”

[6:5]  ¹⁰ sn Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil. There is hardly a stronger statement of the wickedness of the human race than this. Here is the result of falling into the “knowledge of good and evil”: Evil becomes dominant, and the good is ruined by the evil.

[6:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all the day.”

[20:9]  ¹² sn The verse is a rhetorical question; it is affirming that no one can say this because no one is pure and free of sin.

[20:9]  ¹³ tn The verb form זִכִּיתִי (zikkiti) is the Piel perfect of זָכָה (zakhah, “to be clear; to be clean; to be pure”). The verb has the idea of “be clear, justified, acquitted.” In this stem it is causative: “I have made my heart clean” (so NRSV) or “kept my heart pure” (so NIV). This would be claiming that all decisions and motives were faultless.

[20:9]  ¹⁴ sn The Hebrew verb translated “I am pure” (טָהֵר, taher) is a Levitical term. To claim this purity would be to claim that moral and cultic perfection had been attained and therefore one was acceptable to God in the present condition. Of course, no one can claim this; even if one thought it true, it is impossible to know all that is in the heart as God knows it.

[4:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Oh, Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil.”

[15:9]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 231 s.v. διακρίνω 1.b lists this passage under the meaning “to conclude that there is a difference, make a distinction, differentiate.”

[15:9]  ¹⁷ tn Or “purifying.”

[15:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “no little argument and debate” (an idiom).

[15:2]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the church, or the rest of the believers at Antioch) has been specified to avoid confusion with the Judaizers mentioned in the preceding clause.

[15:2]  ²⁰ tn Grk “go up to,” but in this context a meeting is implied.

[15:2]  ²¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:2]  ²² tn Or “point of controversy.” It is unclear whether this event parallels Gal 2:1-10 or that Gal 2 fits with Acts 11:30. More than likely Gal 2:1-10 is to be related to Acts 11:30.

[1:1]  ²³ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[21:1]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[21:1]  ²⁵ tn For the translation of ἀπέρχομαι (apercomai; here ἀπῆλθαν [aphlqan]) L&N 13.93 has “to go out of existence – ‘to cease to exist, to pass away, to cease.’”

[21:3]  ²⁶ tn Or “dwelling place”; traditionally, “tabernacle”; literally “tent.”

[21:3]  ²⁷ tn Or “people”; Grk “men” (ἀνθρώπων, anqrwpwn), a generic use of the term. In the translation “human beings” was used here because “people” occurs later in the verse and translates a different Greek word (λαοί, laoi).

[21:3]  ²⁸ tn Grk “men, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[21:3]  ²⁹ tc ‡ Most mss (א Ï^K) do not add the words “[as] their God” (αὐτῶν θεός, autwn qeos) after “he will be with them.” The mss with these words include A 2030 2050 2329 al. The Andreas group (Ï^A) also has the words, but in a different arrangement with the preceding (ἔσται μετ᾿ αὐτῶν θεὸς αὐτῶν, estai met’ autwn qeo" autwn). Not only do the words float, but scribes may have been motivated to make a connection here more directly with Isa 7:14; 8:8; Jer 24:7; 31:33; Zech 8:8. In light of sufficient external evidence as well as the possibility that the longer reading is theologically motivated, the shorter reading is preferred. NA²⁷ places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[21:4]  ³⁰ tn Grk “God, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[21:4]  ³¹ tn For the translation of ἀπέρχομαι (apercomai; here ἀπῆλθαν [aphlqan]) L&N 13.93 has “to go out of existence – ‘to cease to exist, to pass away, to cease.’”

[21:27]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[21:27]  ³³ tn Here BDAG 552 s.v. κοινός 2 states, “pert. to being of little value because of being common, common, ordinary, profane…b. specifically, of that which is ceremonially impure: Rv 21:27.”

[21:27]  ³⁴ tn Or “what is abhorrent”; Grk “who practices abominations.”

[21:27]  ³⁵ tn Grk “practicing abomination or falsehood.” Because of the way βδέλυγμα (bdelugma) has been translated (“does what is detestable”) it was necessary to repeat the idea from the participle ποιῶν (poiwn, “practices”) before the term “falsehood.” On this term, BDAG 1097 s.v. ψεῦδος states, “ποιεῖν ψεῦδος practice (the things that go with) falsehood Rv 21:27; 22:15.” Cf. Rev 3:9.

[21:27]  ³⁶ tn Grk “those who are written”; the word “names” is implied.

[22:14]  ³⁷ tn Grk “so that there will be to them authority over the tree of life.”

[22:15]  ³⁸ tn On the term φάρμακοι (farmakoi) see L&N 53.101.

[22:15]  ³⁹ tn Or “lying,” “deceit.”