Psalms 85:5

85:5 Will you stay mad at us forever?

Will you remain angry throughout future generations? ¹ 

Isaiah 58:2-3

58:2 They seek me day after day;

they want to know my requirements, ² 

like a nation that does what is right

and does not reject the law of their God.

They ask me for just decrees;

they want to be near God.

58:3 They lament, ³  ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast?

Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’

Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, ⁴ 

you oppress your workers. ⁵ 

Isaiah 58:6-9

58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. ⁶ 

I want you ⁷  to remove the sinful chains,

to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,

to set free the oppressed, ⁸ 

and to break every burdensome yoke.

58:7 I want you ⁹  to share your food with the hungry

and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. ¹⁰ 

When you see someone naked, clothe him!

Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! ¹¹ 

58:8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise; ¹² 

your restoration will quickly arrive; ¹³ 

your godly behavior ¹⁴  will go before you,

and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard. ¹⁵ 

58:9 Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond;

you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’

You must ¹⁶  remove the burdensome yoke from among you

and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.

Lamentations 3:44

3:44 You shrouded yourself with a cloud

so that no prayer can get through.

Matthew 15:22-28

15:22 A ¹⁷  Canaanite woman from that area came ¹⁸  and cried out, ¹⁹  “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!” 15:23 But he did not answer her a word. Then ²⁰  his disciples came and begged him, ²¹  “Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us.” 15:24 So ²²  he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 15:25 But she came and bowed down ²³  before him and said, ²⁴  “Lord, help me!” 15:26 “It is not right ²⁵  to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” ²⁶  he said. ²⁷  15:27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, ²⁸  “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 15:28 Then ²⁹  Jesus answered her, “Woman, ³⁰  your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Luke 18:1-8

Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow

18:1 Then ³¹  Jesus ³²  told them a parable to show them they should always ³³  pray and not lose heart. ³⁴  18:2 He said, ³⁵  “In a certain city ³⁶  there was a judge ³⁷  who neither feared God nor respected people. ³⁸  18:3 There was also a widow ³⁹  in that city ⁴⁰  who kept coming ⁴¹  to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 18:4 For ⁴²  a while he refused, but later on ⁴³  he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people, ⁴⁴  18:5 yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out ⁴⁵  by her unending pleas.’” ⁴⁶  18:6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says! ⁴⁷  18:7 Won’t ⁴⁸  God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out ⁴⁹  to him day and night? ⁵⁰  Will he delay ⁵¹  long to help them? 18:8 I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. ⁵²  Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith ⁵³  on earth?”

[85:5]  ¹ tn Heb “Will your anger stretch to a generation and a generation?”

[58:2]  ² tn Heb “ways” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV); NLT “my laws.”

[58:3]  ³ tn The words “they lament” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “you find pleasure”; NASB “you find your desire.”

[58:3]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps, “debtors.” See HALOT 865 s.v. * עָצֵב.

[58:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:6]  ⁷ tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[58:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “crushed.”

[58:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!”

[58:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and afflicted [ones], homeless [ones] you should bring [into] a house.” On the meaning of מְרוּדִים (mÿrudim, “homeless”) see HALOT 633 s.v. *מָרוּד.

[58:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.”

[58:8]  ¹² tn Heb “will burst out like the dawn.”

[58:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “prosper”; KJV “spring forth speedily.”

[58:8]  ¹⁴ tn Or “righteousness.” Their godly behavior will be on display for all to see.

[58:8]  ¹⁵ sn The nation will experience God’s protective presence.

[58:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “if you.” In the Hebrew text vv. 9b-10 are one long conditional sentence. The protasis (“if” clauses appear in vv. 9b-10a), with the apodosis (“then” clause) appearing in v. 10b.

[15:22]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Grk The participle ἐξελθοῦσα (exelqousa) is here translated as a finite verb. The emphasis is upon her crying out to Jesus.

[15:22]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “cried out, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:23]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

[15:23]  ²¹ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:24]  ²² tn Grk “And answering, he said.” The construction in Greek is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the disciples’ request.

[15:25]  ²³ tn In this context the verb προσκυνέω (proskunew), which often describes worship, probably means simply bowing down to the ground in an act of reverence or supplication (see L&N 17.21).

[15:25]  ²⁴ tn Grk “she bowed down to him, saying.”

[15:26]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And answering, he said, ‘It is not right.’” The introductory phrase “answering, he said” has been simplified and placed at the end of the English sentence for stylistic reasons. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[15:26]  ²⁶ tn Or “lap dogs, house dogs,” as opposed to dogs on the street. The diminutive form originally referred to puppies or little dogs, then to house pets. In some Hellenistic uses κυνάριον (kunarion) simply means “dog.”

[15:26]  ²⁷ tn Grk “And answering, he said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[15:27]  ²⁸ tn Grk “she said.”

[15:28]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Then answering, Jesus said to her.” This expression has been simplified in the translation.

[15:28]  ³⁰ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[18:1]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[18:1]  ³² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ³³ tn Or “should pray at all times” (L&N 67.88).

[18:1]  ³⁴ sn This is one of the few parables that comes with an explanation at the start: …they should always pray and not lose heart. It is part of Luke’s goal in encouraging Theophilus (1:4).

[18:2]  ³⁵ tn Grk “lose heart, saying.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronominal subject “He.”

[18:2]  ³⁶ tn Or “town.”

[18:2]  ³⁷ sn The judge here is apparently portrayed as a civil judge who often handled financial cases.

[18:2]  ³⁸ tn Grk “man,” but the singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic in comparison to God.

[18:3]  ³⁹ sn This widow was not necessarily old, since many people lived only into their thirties in the 1st century.

[18:3]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “town.”

[18:3]  ⁴¹ tn This is an iterative imperfect; the widow did this on numerous occasions.

[18:4]  ⁴² tn Grk “And for.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[18:4]  ⁴³ tn Grk “after these things.”

[18:4]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “man,” but the singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic in comparison to God.

[18:5]  ⁴⁵ tn The term ὑπωπιάζω (Jupwpiazw) in this context means “to wear someone out by continual annoying” (L&N 25.245).

[18:5]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “by her continual coming,” but the point of annoyance to the judge is her constant pleas for justice (v. 3).

[18:6]  ⁴⁷ sn Listen to what the unrighteous judge says! The point of the parable is that the judge’s lack of compassion was overcome by the widow’s persistence.

[18:7]  ⁴⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:7]  ⁴⁹ sn The prayers have to do with the righteous who cry out to him to receive justice. The context assumes the righteous are persecuted.

[18:7]  ⁵⁰ tn The emphatic particles in this sentence indicate that God will indeed give justice to the righteous.

[18:7]  ⁵¹ sn The issue of delay has produced a whole host of views for this verse. (1) Does this assume provision to endure in the meantime? Or (2) does it mean God restricts the level of persecution until he comes? Either view is possible.

[18:8]  ⁵² tn Some argue this should be translated “suddenly.” When vindication comes it will be quick. But the more natural meaning is “soon.” God will not forget his elect and will respond to them. It may be that this verse has a prophetic perspective. In light of the eternity that comes, vindication is soon.

[18:8]  ⁵³ sn Will he find faith on earth? The Son of Man is looking for those who continue to believe in him, despite the wait.