Romans 9:6-7

9:6 It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel, ¹  9:7 nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants; rather “through Isaac will your descendants be counted.” ² 

Matthew 3:9

3:9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Luke 16:23-31

16:23 And in hell, ³  as he was in torment, ⁴  he looked up ⁵  and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. ⁶  16:24 So ⁷  he called out, ⁸  ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus ⁹  to dip the tip of his finger ¹⁰  in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish ¹¹  in this fire.’ ¹²  16:25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, ¹³  remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. ¹⁴  16:26 Besides all this, ¹⁵  a great chasm ¹⁶  has been fixed between us, ¹⁷  so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 16:27 So ¹⁸  the rich man ¹⁹  said, ‘Then I beg you, father – send Lazarus ²⁰  to my father’s house 16:28 (for I have five brothers) to warn ²¹  them so that they don’t come ²²  into this place of torment.’ 16:29 But Abraham said, ²³  ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to ²⁴  them.’ 16:30 Then ²⁵  the rich man ²⁶  said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead ²⁷  goes to them, they will repent.’ 16:31 He ²⁸  replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to ²⁹  Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” ³⁰ 

John 8:39-40

8:39 They answered him, ³¹  “Abraham is our father!” ³²  Jesus replied, ³³  “If you are ³⁴  Abraham’s children, you would be doing ³⁵  the deeds of Abraham. 8:40 But now you are trying ³⁶  to kill me, a man who has told you ³⁷  the truth I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! ³⁸ 

Galatians 4:22-31

4:22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the ³⁹  slave woman and the other by the free woman. 4:23 But one, the son by the slave woman, was born by natural descent, ⁴⁰  while the other, the son by the free woman, was born through the promise. 4:24 These things may be treated as an allegory, ⁴¹  for these women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar. 4:25 Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 4:26 But the Jerusalem above is free, ⁴²  and she is our mother. 4:27 For it is written:

“Rejoice, O barren woman who does not bear children; ⁴³ 

break forth and shout, you who have no birth pains,

because the children of the desolate woman are more numerous

than those of the woman who has a husband.” ⁴⁴ 

4:28 But you, ⁴⁵  brothers and sisters, ⁴⁶  are children of the promise like Isaac. 4:29 But just as at that time the one born by natural descent ⁴⁷  persecuted the one born according to the Spirit, ⁴⁸  so it is now. 4:30 But what does the scripture say? “Throw out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the son” ⁴⁹  of the free woman. 4:31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, ⁵⁰  we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.

[9:6]  ¹ tn Grk “For not all those who are from Israel are Israel.”

[9:7]  ² tn Grk “be called.” The emphasis here is upon God’s divine sovereignty in choosing Isaac as the child through whom Abraham’s lineage would be counted as opposed to Ishmael.

[16:23]  ³ sn The Greek term Hades stands for the Hebrew concept of Sheol. It is what is called hell today. This is where the dead were gathered (Ps 16:10; 86:13). In the NT Hades has an additional negative force of awaiting judgment (Rev 20:13).

[16:23]  ⁴ sn Hades is a place of torment, especially as one knows that he is separated from God.

[16:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

[16:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “in his bosom,” the same phrase used in 16:22. This idiom refers to heaven and/or participation in the eschatological banquet. An appropriate modern equivalent is “at Abraham’s side.”

[16:24]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous actions in the narrative.

[16:24]  ⁸ tn Grk “calling out he said”; this is redundant in contemporary English style and has been simplified to “he called out.”

[16:24]  ⁹ sn The rich man had not helped Lazarus before, when he lay outside his gate (v. 2), but he knew him well enough to know his name. This is why the use of the name Lazarus in the parable is significant. (The rich man’s name, on the other hand, is not mentioned, because it is not significant for the point of the story.)

[16:24]  ¹⁰ sn The dipping of the tip of his finger in water is evocative of thirst. The thirsty are in need of God’s presence (Ps 42:1-2; Isa 5:13). The imagery suggests the rich man is now separated from the presence of God.

[16:24]  ¹¹ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92).

[16:24]  ¹² sn Fire in this context is OT imagery; see Isa 66:24.

[16:25]  ¹³ tn The Greek term here is τέκνον (teknon), which could be understood as a term of endearment.

[16:25]  ¹⁴ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92). Here is the reversal Jesus mentioned in Luke 6:20-26.

[16:26]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And in all these things.” There is no way Lazarus could carry out this request even if divine justice were not involved.

[16:26]  ¹⁶ sn The great chasm between heaven and hell is impassable forever. The rich man’s former status meant nothing now.

[16:26]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “between us and you.”

[16:27]  ¹⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the rich man’s response to Abraham’s words.

[16:27]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the rich man, v. 19) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:27]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Then I beg you, father, that you send him”; the referent (Lazarus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:28]  ²¹ sn To warn them. The warning would consist of a call to act differently than their dead brother had, or else meet his current terrible fate.

[16:28]  ²² tn Grk “lest they also come.”

[16:29]  ²³ tn Grk “says.” This is one of the few times Luke uses the historical present.

[16:29]  ²⁴ tn Or “obey”; Grk “hear.” This recalls the many OT texts calling for a righteous heart to respond to people in need (Deut 14:28-29; Isa 3:14-15; Amos 2:6-8; Mic 2:1-2; Zech 7:9-10).

[16:30]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[16:30]  ²⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the rich man, v. 19) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:30]  ²⁷ sn If someone from the dead goes to them. The irony and joy of the story is that what is denied the rich man’s brothers, a word of warning from beyond the grave, is given to the reader of the Gospel in this exchange.

[16:31]  ²⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[16:31]  ²⁹ tn Or “obey”; Grk “hear.” See the note on the phrase “respond to” in v. 29.

[16:31]  ³⁰ sn The concluding statement of the parable, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead, provides a hint that even Jesus’ resurrection will not help some to respond. The message of God should be good enough. Scripture is the sign to be heeded.

[8:39]  ³¹ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

[8:39]  ³² tn Or “Our father is Abraham.”

[8:39]  ³³ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:39]  ³⁴ tc Although most mss (C W Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï) have the imperfect ἦτε (hte, “you were”) here, making this sentence a proper second class condition, the harder reading, ἐστε (este, “you are”), is found in the better witnesses (Ì^66,75 א B D L 070 pc lat).

[8:39]  ³⁵ tc Some important mss (Ì⁶⁶ B* [700]) have the present imperative ποιεῖτε (poieite) here: “If you are Abraham’s children, then do,” while many others (א² C K L N Δ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 565 579 892 pm) add the contingent particle ἄν (an) to ἐποιεῖτε (epoieite) making it a more proper second class condition by Attic standards. The simple ἐποιεῖτε without the ἄν is the hardest reading, and is found in some excellent witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ א* B² D W Γ Θ 070 0250 1424 pm).

[8:40]  ³⁶ tn Grk “seeking.”

[8:40]  ³⁷ tn Grk “has spoken to you.”

[8:40]  ³⁸ tn The Greek word order is emphatic: “This Abraham did not do.” The emphasis is indicated in the translation by an exclamation point.

[4:22]  ³⁹ tn Paul’s use of the Greek article here and before the phrase “free woman” presumes that both these characters are well known to the recipients of his letter. This verse is given as an example of the category called “well-known (‘celebrity’ or ‘familiar’) article” by ExSyn 225.

[4:23]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “born according to the flesh”; BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 4 has “Of natural descent τὰ τέκνα τῆς σαρκός children by natural descent Ro 9:8 (opp. τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας). ὁ μὲν ἐκ τῆς παιδίσκης κατὰ σάρκα γεγέννηται Gal 4:23; cp. vs. 29.”

[4:24]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “which things are spoken about allegorically.” Paul is not saying the OT account is an allegory, but rather that he is constructing an allegory based on the OT account.

[4:26]  ⁴² sn The meaning of the statement the Jerusalem above is free is that the other woman represents the second covenant (cf. v. 24); she corresponds to the Jerusalem above that is free. Paul’s argument is very condensed at this point.

[4:27]  ⁴³ tn The direct object “children” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied for clarity. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[4:27]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “because more are the children of the barren one than of the one having a husband.”

[4:28]  ⁴⁵ tc Most mss (א A C D² Ψ 062 Ï lat sy bo) read “we” here, while “you” is found in Ì⁴⁶ B D* F G 0261^vid 0278 33 1739 al sa. It is more likely that a copyist, noticing the first person pronouns in vv. 26 and 31, changed a second person pronoun here to first person for consistency.

[4:28]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

[4:29]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “according to the flesh”; see the note on the phrase “by natural descent” in 4:23.

[4:29]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “the one born by the Spirit’s [power].”

[4:30]  ⁴⁹ sn A quotation from Gen 21:10. The phrase of the free woman does not occur in Gen 21:10.

[4:31]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.