Exodus 10:1-29
Context10:1 1 The Lord said 2 to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display 3 these signs of mine before him, 4 10:2 and in order that in the hearing of your son and your grandson you may tell 5 how I made fools 6 of the Egyptians 7 and about 8 my signs that I displayed 9 among them, so that you may know 10 that I am the Lord.”
10:3 So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and told him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: ‘How long do you refuse 11 to humble yourself before me? 12 Release my people so that they may serve me! 10:4 But if you refuse to release my people, I am going to bring 13 locusts 14 into your territory 15 tomorrow. 10:5 They will cover 16 the surface 17 of the earth, so that you 18 will be unable to see the ground. They will eat the remainder of what escaped 19 – what is left over 20 for you – from the hail, and they will eat every tree that grows for you from the field. 10:6 They will fill your houses, the houses of your servants, and all the houses of Egypt, such as 21 neither 22 your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen since they have been 23 in the land until this day!’” Then Moses 24 turned and went out from Pharaoh.
10:7 Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long 25 will this man be a menace 26 to us? Release the people so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not know 27 that Egypt is destroyed?”
10:8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. Exactly who is going with you?” 28 10:9 Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our sheep and our cattle we will go, because we are to hold 29 a pilgrim feast for the Lord.”
10:10 He said to them, “The Lord will need to be with you 30 if I release you and your dependents! 31 Watch out! 32 Trouble is right in front of you! 33 10:11 No! 34 Go, you men 35 only, and serve the Lord, for that 36 is what you want.” 37 Then Moses and Aaron 38 were driven 39 out of Pharaoh’s presence.
10:12 The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand over the land of Egypt for 40 the locusts, that they may come up over the land of Egypt and eat everything that grows 41 in the ground, everything that the hail has left.” 10:13 So Moses extended his staff over the land of Egypt, and then the Lord 42 brought 43 an east wind on the land all that day and all night. 44 The morning came, 45 and the east wind had brought up 46 the locusts! 10:14 The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the territory 47 of Egypt. It was very severe; 48 there had been no locusts like them before, nor will there be such ever again. 49 10:15 They covered 50 the surface 51 of all the ground, so that the ground became dark with them, 52 and they ate all the vegetation of the ground and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on the trees or on anything that grew in the fields throughout the whole land of Egypt.
10:16 53 Then Pharaoh quickly 54 summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned 55 against the Lord your God and against you! 10:17 So now, forgive my sin this time only, and pray to the Lord your God that he would only 56 take this death 57 away from me.” 10:18 Moses 58 went out 59 from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, 10:19 and the Lord turned a very strong west wind, 60 and it picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. 61 Not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt. 10:20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not release the Israelites.
10:21 62 The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward heaven 63 so that there may be 64 darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness so thick it can be felt.” 65
10:22 So Moses extended his hand toward heaven, and there was absolute darkness 66 throughout the land of Egypt for three days. 67 10:23 No one 68 could see 69 another person, and no one could rise from his place for three days. But the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.
10:24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord – only your flocks and herds will be detained. Even your families 70 may go with you.”
10:25 But Moses said, “Will you also 71 provide us 72 with sacrifices and burnt offerings that we may present them 73 to the Lord our God? 10:26 Our livestock must 74 also go with us! Not a hoof is to be left behind! For we must take 75 these animals 76 to serve the Lord our God. Until we arrive there, we do not know what we must use to serve the Lord.” 77
10:27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to release them. 10:28 Pharaoh said to him, “Go from me! 78 Watch out for yourself! Do not appear before me again, 79 for when 80 you see my face you will die!” 10:29 Moses said, “As you wish! 81 I will not see your face again.” 82
Luke 13:1-35
Context13:1 Now 83 there were some present on that occasion who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 84 13:2 He 85 answered them, “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners 86 than all the other Galileans, because they suffered these things? 13:3 No, I tell you! But unless you repent, 87 you will all perish as well! 88 13:4 Or those eighteen who were killed 89 when the tower in Siloam fell on them, 90 do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who live in Jerusalem? 91 13:5 No, I tell you! But unless you repent 92 you will all perish as well!” 93
13:6 Then 94 Jesus 95 told this parable: “A man had a fig tree 96 planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 13:7 So 97 he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘For 98 three years 99 now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it 100 I find none. Cut 101 it down! Why 102 should it continue to deplete 103 the soil?’ 13:8 But the worker 104 answered him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year too, until I dig around it and put fertilizer 105 on it. 13:9 Then if 106 it bears fruit next year, 107 very well, 108 but if 109 not, you can cut it down.’”
13:10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues 110 on the Sabbath, 13:11 and a woman was there 111 who had been disabled by a spirit 112 for eighteen years. She 113 was bent over and could not straighten herself up completely. 114 13:12 When 115 Jesus saw her, he called her to him 116 and said, “Woman, 117 you are freed 118 from your infirmity.” 119 13:13 Then 120 he placed his hands on her, and immediately 121 she straightened up and praised God. 13:14 But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, “There are six days on which work 122 should be done! 123 So come 124 and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath day.” 13:15 Then the Lord answered him, 125 “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall, 126 and lead it to water? 127 13:16 Then 128 shouldn’t 129 this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan 130 bound for eighteen long 131 years, be released from this imprisonment 132 on the Sabbath day?” 13:17 When 133 he said this all his adversaries were humiliated, 134 but 135 the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things 136 he was doing. 137
13:18 Thus Jesus 138 asked, 139 “What is the kingdom of God 140 like? 141 To 142 what should I compare it? 13:19 It is like a mustard seed 143 that a man took and sowed 144 in his garden. It 145 grew and became a tree, 146 and the wild birds 147 nested in its branches.” 148
13:20 Again 149 he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? 150 13:21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with 151 three measures 152 of flour until all the dough had risen.” 153
13:22 Then 154 Jesus 155 traveled throughout 156 towns 157 and villages, teaching and making his way toward 158 Jerusalem. 159 13:23 Someone 160 asked 161 him, “Lord, will only a few 162 be saved?” So 163 he said to them, 13:24 “Exert every effort 164 to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 13:25 Once 165 the head of the house 166 gets up 167 and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him, ‘Lord, 168 let us in!’ 169 But he will answer you, 170 ‘I don’t know where you come from.’ 171 13:26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 172 13:27 But 173 he will reply, 174 ‘I don’t know where you come from! 175 Go away from me, all you evildoers!’ 176 13:28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth 177 when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, 178 and all the prophets in the kingdom of God 179 but you yourselves thrown out. 180 13:29 Then 181 people 182 will come from east and west, and from north and south, and take their places at the banquet table 183 in the kingdom of God. 184 13:30 But 185 indeed, 186 some are last 187 who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
13:31 At that time, 188 some Pharisees 189 came up and said to Jesus, 190 “Get away from here, 191 because Herod 192 wants to kill you.” 13:32 But 193 he said to them, “Go 194 and tell that fox, 195 ‘Look, I am casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day 196 I will complete my work. 197 13:33 Nevertheless I must 198 go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it is impossible 199 that a prophet should be killed 200 outside Jerusalem.’ 201 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 202 you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! 203 How often I have longed 204 to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but 205 you would have none of it! 206 13:35 Look, your house is forsaken! 207 And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’” 208
Job 28:1-28
ContextIII. Job’s Search for Wisdom (28:1-28)
No Known Road to Wisdom 20928:1 “Surely 210 there is a mine 211 for silver,
and a place where gold is refined. 212
28:2 Iron is taken from the ground, 213
and rock is poured out 214 as copper.
28:3 Man puts an end to the darkness; 215
he searches the farthest recesses
for the ore in the deepest darkness. 216
28:4 Far from where people live 217 he sinks a shaft,
in places travelers have long forgotten, 218
far from other people he dangles and sways. 219
28:5 The earth, from which food comes,
is overturned below as though by fire; 220
28:6 a place whose stones are sapphires 221
and which contains dust of gold; 222
28:7 a hidden path 223 no bird of prey knows –
no falcon’s 224 eye has spotted it.
28:8 Proud beasts 225 have not set foot on it,
and no lion has passed along it.
28:9 On the flinty rock man has set to work 226 with his hand;
he has overturned mountains at their bases. 227
28:10 He has cut out channels 228 through the rocks;
his eyes have spotted 229 every precious thing.
28:11 He has searched 230 the sources 231 of the rivers
and what was hidden he has brought into the light.
28:12 “But wisdom – where can it be found?
Where is the place of understanding?
28:13 Mankind does not know its place; 232
it cannot be found in the land of the living.
28:14 The deep 233 says, ‘It is not with 234 me.’
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
28:15 Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
28:16 It cannot be measured out for purchase 235 with the gold of Ophir,
with precious onyx 236 or sapphires.
28:17 Neither gold nor crystal 237 can be compared with it,
nor can a vase 238 of gold match its worth.
28:18 Of coral and jasper no mention will be made;
the price 239 of wisdom is more than pearls. 240
28:19 The topaz of Cush 241 cannot be compared with it;
it cannot be purchased with pure gold.
28:20 “But wisdom – where does it come from? 242
Where is the place of understanding?
28:21 For 243 it has been hidden
from the eyes of every living creature,
and from the birds of the sky it has been concealed.
28:22 Destruction 244 and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.’ 245
28:23 God understands the way to it,
and he alone knows its place.
28:24 For he looks to the ends of the earth
and observes everything under the heavens.
28:25 When he made 246 the force of the wind
and measured 247 the waters with a gauge.
28:26 When he imposed a limit 248 for the rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm, 249
28:27 then he looked at wisdom 250 and assessed its value; 251
he established 252 it and examined it closely. 253
28:28 And he said to mankind,
‘The fear of the Lord 254 – that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.’” 255
1 Corinthians 14:1-40
Context14:1 Pursue love and be eager for the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 14:2 For the one speaking in a tongue does not speak to people but to God, for no one understands; he is speaking mysteries by the Spirit. 256 14:3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, 257 encouragement, and consolation. 14:4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds himself up, 258 but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 14:5 I wish you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be strengthened.
14:6 Now, brothers and sisters, 259 if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I help you unless I speak to you with a revelation or with knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 14:7 It is similar for lifeless things that make a sound, like a flute or harp. Unless they make a distinction in the notes, how can what is played on the flute or harp be understood? 14:8 If, for example, the trumpet makes an unclear sound, who will get ready for battle? 14:9 It is the same for you. If you do not speak clearly with your tongue, how will anyone know what is being said? For you will be speaking into the air. 14:10 There are probably many kinds of languages in the world, and none is without meaning. 14:11 If then I do not know the meaning of a language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. 14:12 It is the same with you. Since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, 260 seek to abound in order to strengthen the church.
14:13 So then, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 14:14 If 261 I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unproductive. 14:15 What should I do? 262 I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing praises with my spirit, but I will also sing praises with my mind. 14:16 Otherwise, if you are praising God with your spirit, how can someone without the gift 263 say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? 14:17 For you are certainly giving thanks well, but the other person is not strengthened. 14:18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you, 14:19 but in the church I want to speak five words with my mind to instruct others, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.
14:20 Brothers and sisters, 264 do not be children in your thinking. Instead, be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. 14:21 It is written in the law: “By people with strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, yet not even in this way will they listen to me,” 265 says the Lord. 14:22 So then, tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. 14:23 So if the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and unbelievers or uninformed people enter, will they not say that you have lost your minds? 14:24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or uninformed person enters, he will be convicted by all, he will be called to account by all. 14:25 The secrets of his heart are disclosed, and in this way he will fall down with his face to the ground and worship God, declaring, “God is really among you.”
14:26 What should you do then, brothers and sisters? 266 When you come together, each one has a song, has a lesson, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all these things be done for the strengthening of the church. 14:27 If someone speaks in a tongue, it should be two, or at the most three, one after the other, and someone must interpret. 14:28 But if there is no interpreter, he should be silent in the church. Let him speak to himself and to God. 14:29 Two or three prophets should speak and the others should evaluate what is said. 14:30 And if someone sitting down receives a revelation, the person who is speaking should conclude. 14:31 For you can all prophesy one after another, so all can learn and be encouraged. 14:32 Indeed, the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, 14:33 for God is not characterized by disorder but by peace.
As in all the churches of the saints, 267 14:34 the women 268 should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak. 269 Rather, let them be in submission, as in fact the law says. 14:35 If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home, because it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church. 270 14:36 Did the word of God begin with you, 271 or did it come to you alone?
14:37 If anyone considers himself a prophet or spiritual person, he should acknowledge that what I write to you is the Lord’s command. 14:38 If someone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 14:39 So then, brothers and sisters, 272 be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid anyone from speaking in tongues. 273 14:40 And do everything in a decent and orderly manner.
1 sn The Egyptians dreaded locusts like every other ancient civilization. They had particular gods to whom they looked for help in such catastrophes. The locust-scaring deities of Greece and Asia were probably looked to in Egypt as well (especially in view of the origins in Egypt of so many of those religious ideas). The announcement of the plague falls into the now-familiar pattern. God tells Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh but reminds Moses that he has hardened his heart. Yahweh explains that he has done this so that he might show his power, so that in turn they might declare his name from generation to generation. This point is stressed so often that it must not be minimized. God was laying the foundation of the faith for Israel – the sovereignty of Yahweh.
2 tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”
3 tn The verb is שִׁתִי (shiti, “I have put”); it is used here as a synonym for the verb שִׂים (sim). Yahweh placed the signs in his midst, where they will be obvious.
4 tn Heb “in his midst.”
5 tn The expression is unusual: תְּסַפֵּר בְּאָזְנֵי (tÿsapper bÿ’ozne, “[that] you may declare in the ears of”). The clause explains an additional reason for God’s hardening the heart of Pharaoh, namely, so that the Israelites can tell their children of God’s great wonders. The expression is highly poetic and intense – like Ps 44:1, which says, “we have heard with our ears.” The emphasis would be on the clear teaching, orally, from one generation to another.
6 tn The verb הִתְעַלַּלְתִּי (hit’allalti) is a bold anthropomorphism. The word means to occupy oneself at another’s expense, to toy with someone, which may be paraphrased with “mock.” The whole point is that God is shaming and disgracing Egypt, making them look foolish in their arrogance and stubbornness (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:366-67). Some prefer to translate it as “I have dealt ruthlessly” with Egypt (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 123).
7 tn Heb “of Egypt.” The place is put by metonymy for the inhabitants.
8 tn The word “about” is supplied to clarify this as another object of the verb “declare.”
9 tn Heb “put” or “placed.”
10 tn The form is the perfect tense with vav consecutive, וִידַעְתֶּם (vida’tem, “and that you might know”). This provides another purpose for God’s dealings with Egypt in the way that he was doing. The form is equal to the imperfect tense with vav (ו) prefixed; it thus parallels the imperfect that began v. 2 – “that you might tell.”
11 tn The verb is מֵאַנְתָּ (me’anta), a Piel perfect. After “how long,” the form may be classified as present perfect (“how long have you refused), for it describes actions begun previously but with the effects continuing. (See GKC 311 §106.g-h). The use of a verb describing a state or condition may also call for a present translation (“how long do you refuse”) that includes past, present, and potentially future, in keeping with the question “how long.”
12 tn The clause is built on the use of the infinitive construct to express the direct object of the verb – it answers the question of what Pharaoh was refusing to do. The Niphal infinitive construct (note the elision of the ה [hey] prefix after the preposition [see GKC 139 §51.l]) is from the verb עָנָה (’anah). The verb in this stem would mean “humble oneself.” The question is somewhat rhetorical, since God was not yet through humbling Pharaoh, who would not humble himself. The issue between Yahweh and Pharaoh is deeper than simply whether or not Pharaoh will let the Israelites leave Egypt.
13 tn הִנְנִי (hinni) before the active participle מֵבִיא (mevi’) is the imminent future construction: “I am about to bring” or “I am going to bring” – precisely, “here I am bringing.”
14 tn One of the words for “locusts” in the Bible is אַרְבֶּה (’arbeh), which comes from רָבָה (ravah, “to be much, many”). It was used for locusts because of their immense numbers.
15 tn Heb “within your border.”
16 tn The verbs describing the locusts are singular because it is a swarm or plague of locusts. This verb (וְכִסָּה, vÿkhissah, “cover”) is a Piel perfect with a vav consecutive; it carries the same future nuance as the participle before it.
17 tn Heb “eye,” an unusual expression (see v. 15; Num 22:5, 11).
18 tn The text has לִרְאֹת וְלֹא יוּכַל (vÿlo’ yukhal lir’ot, “and he will not be able to see”). The verb has no expressed subjects. The clause might, therefore, be given a passive translation: “so that [it] cannot be seen.” The whole clause is the result of the previous statement.
19 sn As the next phrase explains “what escaped” refers to what the previous plague did not destroy. The locusts will devour everything, because there will not be much left from the other plagues for them to eat.
20 tn הַנִּשְׁאֶרֶת (hannish’eret) parallels (by apposition) and adds further emphasis to the preceding two words; it is the Niphal participle, meaning “that which is left over.”
21 tn The relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’asher) is occasionally used as a comparative conjunction (see GKC 499 §161.b).
22 tn Heb “which your fathers have not seen, nor your fathers’ fathers.”
23 tn The Hebrew construction מִיּוֹם הֱיוֹתָם (miyyom heyotam, “from the day of their being”). The statement essentially says that no one, even the elderly, could remember seeing a plague of locusts like this. In addition, see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula, ‘Until This Day,’” JBL 82 (1963).
24 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 sn The question of Pharaoh’s servants echoes the question of Moses – “How long?” Now the servants of Pharaoh are demanding what Moses demanded – “Release the people.” They know that the land is destroyed, and they speak of it as Moses’ doing. That way they avoid acknowledging Yahweh or blaming Pharaoh.
26 tn Heb “snare” (מוֹקֵשׁ, moqesh), a word used for a trap for catching birds. Here it is a figure for the cause of Egypt’s destruction.
27 tn With the adverb טֶרֶם (terem), the imperfect tense receives a present sense: “Do you not know?” (See GKC 481 §152.r).
28 tn The question is literally “who and who are the ones going?” (מִי וָמִי הַהֹלְכִים, mi vami haholÿkhim). Pharaoh’s answer to Moses includes this rude question, which was intended to say that Pharaoh would control who went. The participle in this clause, then, refers to the future journey.
29 tn Heb “we have a pilgrim feast (חַג, khag) to Yahweh.”
30 sn Pharaoh is by no means offering a blessing on them in the name of Yahweh. The meaning of his “wish” is connected to the next clause – as he is releasing them, may God help them. S. R. Driver says that in Pharaoh’s scornful challenge Yahweh is as likely to protect them as Pharaoh is likely to let them go – not at all (Exodus, 80). He is planning to keep the women and children as hostages to force the men to return. U. Cassuto (Exodus, 125) paraphrases it this way: “May the help of your God be as far from you as I am from giving you permission to go forth with your little ones.” The real irony, Cassuto observes, is that in the final analysis he will let them go, and Yahweh will be with them.
31 tn The context of Moses’ list of young and old, sons and daughters, and the contrast with the word for strong “men” in v. 11 indicates that טַפְּכֶם (tappÿkhem), often translated “little ones” or “children,” refers to dependent people, noncombatants in general.
32 tn Heb “see.”
33 tn Heb “before your face.”
sn The “trouble” or “evil” that is before them could refer to the evil that they are devising – the attempt to escape from Egypt. But that does not make much sense in the sentence – why would he tell them to take heed or look out about that? U. Cassuto (Exodus, 126) makes a better suggestion. He argues that Pharaoh is saying, “Don’t push me too far.” The evil, then, would be what Pharaoh was going to do if these men kept making demands on him. This fits the fact that he had them driven out of his court immediately. There could also be here an allusion to Pharaoh’s god Re’, the sun-deity and head of the pantheon; he would be saying that the power of his god would confront them.
34 tn Heb “not thus.”
35 tn The word is הַגְּבָרִים (haggÿvarim, “the strong men”), a word different from the more general one that Pharaoh’s servants used (v. 7). Pharaoh appears to be conceding, but he is holding hostages. The word “only” has been supplied in the translation to indicate this.
36 tn The suffix on the sign of the accusative refers in a general sense to the idea contained in the preceding clause (see GKC 440-41 §135.p).
37 tn Heb “you are seeking.”
38 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Moses and Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
39 tn The verb is the Piel preterite, third person masculine singular, meaning “and he drove them out.” But “Pharaoh” cannot be the subject of the sentence, for “Pharaoh” is the object of the preposition. The subject is not specified, and so the verb can be treated as passive.
40 tn The preposition בְּ (bet) is unexpected here. BDB 91 s.v. (the note at the end of the entry) says that in this case it can only be read as “with the locusts,” meaning that the locusts were thought to be implicit in Moses’ lifting up of his hand. However, BDB prefers to change the preposition to לְ (lamed).
41 tn The noun עֵשֶּׂב (’esev) normally would indicate cultivated grains, but in this context seems to indicate plants in general.
42 tn The clause begins וַיהוָה (va’adonay [vayhvah], “Now Yahweh….”). In contrast to a normal sequence, this beginning focuses attention on Yahweh as the subject of the verb.
43 tn The verb נָהַג (nahag) means “drive, conduct.” It is elsewhere used for driving sheep, leading armies, or leading in processions.
44 tn Heb “and all the night.”
45 tn The text does not here use ordinary circumstantial clause constructions; rather, Heb “the morning was, and the east wind carried the locusts.” It clearly means “when it was morning,” but the style chosen gives a more abrupt beginning to the plague, as if the reader is in the experience – and at morning, the locusts are there!
46 tn The verb here is a past perfect, indicting that the locusts had arrived before the day came.
47 tn Heb “border.”
48 tn This is an interpretive translation. The clause simply has כָּבֵד מְאֹד (kaved mÿ’od), the stative verb with the adverb – “it was very heavy.” The description prepares for the following statement about the uniqueness of this locust infestation.
49 tn Heb “after them.”
50 tn Heb “and they covered.”
51 tn Heb “eye,” an unusual expression (see v. 5; Num 22:5, 11).
52 tn The verb is וַתֶּחְשַׁךְ (vattekhshakh, “and it became dark”). The idea is that the ground had the color of the swarms of locusts that covered it.
53 sn The third part of the passage now begins, the confrontation that resulted from the onslaught of the plague. Pharaoh goes a step further here – he confesses he has sinned and adds a request for forgiveness. But his acknowledgment does not go far enough, for this is not genuine confession. Since his heart was not yet submissive, his confession was vain.
54 tn The Piel preterite וַיְמַהֵר (vaymaher) could be translated “and he hastened,” but here it is joined with the following infinitive construct to form the hendiadys. “He hurried to summon” means “He summoned quickly.”
55 sn The severity of the plague prompted Pharaoh to confess his sin against Yahweh and them, now in much stronger terms than before. He also wants forgiveness – but in all probability what he wants is relief from the consequences of his sin. He pretended to convey to Moses that this was it, that he was through sinning, so he asked for forgiveness “only this time.”
56 sn Pharaoh’s double emphasis on “only” uses two different words and was meant to deceive. He was trying to give Moses the impression that he had finally come to his senses, and that he would let the people go. But he had no intention of letting them out.
57 sn “Death” is a metonymy that names the effect for the cause. If the locusts are left in the land it will be death to everything that grows.
58 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
59 tn Heb “and he went out.”
60 tn Or perhaps “sea wind,” i.e., a wind off the Mediterranean.
61 tn The Hebrew name here is יַם־סוּף (Yam Suf), sometimes rendered “Reed Sea” or “Sea of Reeds.” The word סוּף is a collective noun that may have derived from an Egyptian name for papyrus reeds. Many English versions have used “Red Sea,” which translates the name that ancient Greeks used: ejruqrav qalavssa (eruqra qalassa).
sn The name Red Sea is currently applied to the sea west of the Arabian Peninsula. The northern fingers of this body of water extend along the west and east sides of the Sinai Peninsula and are presently called the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba or the Gulf of Eilat. In ancient times the name applied to a much larger body of water, including the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf (C. Houtman, Exodus, 1:109-10). See also Num 14:25; 21:4; Deut 1:40; 2:1; Judg 11:16; 1 Kgs 9:26; Jer 49:21. The sea was deep enough to drown the entire Egyptian army later (and thus no shallow swamp land). God drives the locusts to their death in the water. He will have the same power over Egyptian soldiers, for he raised up this powerful empire for a purpose and soon will drown them in the sea. The message for the Israelites is that God will humble all who refuse to submit.
62 sn The ninth plague is that darkness fell on all the land – except on Israel. This plague is comparable to the silence in heaven, just prior to the last and terrible plague (Rev 8:1). Here Yahweh is attacking a core Egyptian religious belief as well as portraying what lay before the Egyptians. Throughout the Bible darkness is the symbol of evil, chaos, and judgment. Blindness is one of its manifestations (see Deut 28:27-29). But the plague here is not blindness, or even spiritual blindness, but an awesome darkness from outside (see Joel 2:2; Zeph 1:15). It is particularly significant in that Egypt’s high god was the Sun God. Lord Sun was now being shut down by Lord Yahweh. If Egypt would not let Israel go to worship their God, then Egypt’s god would be darkness. The structure is familiar: the plague, now unannounced (21-23), and then the confrontation with Pharaoh (24-27).
63 tn Or “the sky” (also in the following verse). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
64 sn The verb form is the jussive with the sequential vav – וִיהִי חֹשֶׁךְ (vihi khoshekh). B. Jacob (Exodus, 286) notes this as the only instance where Scripture says, “Let there be darkness” (although it is subordinated as a purpose clause; cf. Gen 1:3). Isa 45:7 alluded to this by saying, “who created light and darkness.”
65 tn The Hebrew term מוּשׁ (mush) means “to feel.” The literal rendering would be “so that one may feel darkness.” The image portrays an oppressive darkness; it was sufficiently thick to possess the appearance of substance, although it was just air (B. Jacob, Exodus, 286).
66 tn The construction is a variation of the superlative genitive: a substantive in the construct state is connected to a noun with the same meaning (see GKC 431 §133.i).
67 sn S. R. Driver says, “The darkness was no doubt occasioned really by a sand-storm, produced by the hot electrical wind…which blows in intermittently…” (Exodus, 82, 83). This is another application of the antisupernatural approach to these texts. The text, however, is probably describing something that was not a seasonal wind, or Pharaoh would not have been intimidated. If it coincided with that season, then what is described here is so different and so powerful that the Egyptians would have known the difference easily. Pharaoh here would have had to have been impressed that this was something very abnormal, and that his god was powerless. Besides, there was light in all the dwellings of the Israelites.
68 tn Heb “a man…his brother.”
69 tn The perfect tense in this context requires the somewhat rare classification of a potential perfect.
70 tn Or “dependents.” The term is often translated “your little ones,” but as mentioned before (10:10), this expression in these passages takes in women and children and other dependents. Pharaoh will now let all the people go, but he intends to detain the cattle to secure their return.
71 tn B. Jacob (Exodus, 287) shows that the intent of Moses in using גַּם (gam) is to make an emphatic rhetorical question. He cites other samples of the usage in Num 22:33; 1 Sam 17:36; 2 Sam 12:14, and others. The point is that if Pharaoh told them to go and serve Yahweh, they had to have animals to sacrifice. If Pharaoh was holding the animals back, he would have to make some provision.
72 tn Heb “give into our hand.”
73 tn The form here is וְעָשִּׂינוּ (vÿ’asinu), the Qal perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive – “and we will do.” But the verb means “do” in the sacrificial sense – prepare them, offer them. The verb form is to be subordinated here to form a purpose or result clause.
74 tn This is the obligatory imperfect nuance. They were obliged to take the animals if they were going to sacrifice, but more than that, since they were not coming back, they had to take everything.
75 tn The same modal nuance applies to this verb.
76 tn Heb “from it,” referring collectively to the livestock.
77 sn Moses gives an angry but firm reply to Pharaoh’s attempt to control Israel; he makes it clear that he has no intention of leaving any pledge with Pharaoh. When they leave, they will take everything that belongs to them.
78 tn The expression is לֵךְ מֵעָלָי (lekh me’alay, “go from on me”) with the adversative use of the preposition, meaning from being a trouble or a burden to me (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 84; R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 51, §288).
79 tn Heb “add to see my face.” The construction uses a verbal hendiadys: “do not add to see” (אַל־תֹּסֶף רְאוֹת, ’al-toseph rÿ’ot), meaning “do not see again.” The phrase “see my face” means “come before me” or “appear before me.”
80 tn The construction is בְּיוֹם רְאֹתְךָ (bÿyom rÿ’otÿkha), an adverbial clause of time made up of the prepositional phrase, the infinitive construct, and the suffixed subjective genitive. “In the day of your seeing” is “when you see.”
81 tn Heb “Thus you have spoken.”
82 tn This is a verbal hendiadys construction: “I will not add again [to] see.”
83 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
84 sn This is an event that otherwise is unattested, though several events similar to it are noted in Josephus (J. W. 2.9.2-4 [2.169-177]; Ant. 13.13.5 [13.372-73], 18.3.1-2 [18.55-62]; 18.4.1 [18.85-87]). It would have caused a major furor.
85 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
86 sn Jesus did not want his hearers to think that tragedy was necessarily a judgment on these people because they were worse sinners.
87 sn Jesus was stressing that all stand at risk of death, if they do not repent and receive life.
88 tn Or “you will all likewise perish,” but this could be misunderstood to mean that they would perish by the same means as the Galileans. Jesus’ point is that apart from repentance all will perish.
89 tn Grk “on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them.” This relative clause embedded in a prepositional phrase is complex in English and has been simplified to an adjectival and a temporal clause in the translation.
90 sn Unlike the previous event, when the tower in Siloam fell on them, it was an accident of fate. It raised the question, however, “Was this a judgment?”
91 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
92 sn Jesus’ point repeats v. 3. The circumstances make no difference. All must deal with the reality of what death means.
93 tn Grk “similarly.”
94 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
95 tn Grk “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
96 sn The fig tree is a variation on the picture of a vine as representing the nation; see Isa 5:1-7.
97 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the man’s response as a result of the lack of figs in the preceding clause.
98 tn Grk “Behold, for.”
99 sn The elapsed time could be six years total since planting, since often a fig was given three years before one even started to look for fruit. The point in any case is that enough time had been given to expect fruit.
100 tn The phrase “each time I inspect it” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied to indicate the customary nature of the man’s search for fruit.
101 tc ‡ Several witnesses (Ì75 A L Θ Ψ 070 Ë13 33 579 892 al lat co) have “therefore” (οὖν, oun) here. This conjunction has the effect of strengthening the logical connection with the preceding statement but also of reducing the rhetorical power and urgency of the imperative. In light of the slightly greater internal probability of adding a conjunction to an otherwise asyndetic sentence, as well as significant external support for the omission (א B D W Ë1 Ï), the shorter reading appears to be more likely as the original wording here. NA27 puts the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.
102 tn Grk “Why indeed.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
103 sn Such fig trees would deplete the soil, robbing it of nutrients needed by other trees and plants.
104 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the worker who tended the vineyard) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
105 tn Grk “toss manure [on it].” This is a reference to manure used as fertilizer.
106 tn This is a third class condition in the Greek text. The conjunction καί (kai, a component of κάν [kan]) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
107 tn Grk “the coming [season].”
108 tn The phrase “very well” is supplied in the translation to complete the elided idea, but its absence is telling.
109 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text, showing which of the options is assumed.
110 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
111 tn Grk “and behold, a woman.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
112 tn Grk “a woman having a spirit of weakness” (or “a spirit of infirmity”).
113 tn Grk “years, and.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
114 tn Or “and could not straighten herself up at all.” If εἰς τὸ παντελές (ei" to pantele") is understood to modify δυναμένη (dunamenh), the meaning is “she was not able at all to straighten herself up”; but the phrase may be taken with ἀνακύψαι (anakuyai) and understood to mean the same as the adverb παντελῶς (pantelws), with the meaning “she was not able to straighten herself up completely.” See BDAG 754 s.v. παντελής 1 for further discussion. The second option is preferred in the translation because of proximity: The phrase in question follows ἀνακύψαι in the Greek text.
115 tn The participle ἰδών (idwn) has been taken temporally. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
116 tn The verb προσεφώνησεν (prosefwnhsen) has been translated as “called (her) to (him),” with the direct object (“her”) and the indirect object (“him”) both understood.
117 sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.
118 tn Or “released.”
119 tn Or “sickness.”
120 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
121 sn The healing took place immediately.
122 sn The irony is that Jesus’ “work” consisted of merely touching the woman. There is no sense of joy that eighteen years of suffering was reversed with his touch.
123 tn Grk “on which it is necessary to work.” This has been simplified in the translation.
124 tn The participle ἐρχόμενοι (ercomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
125 tn Grk “answered him and said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been shortened to “answered him.”
126 tn Grk “from the manger [feeding trough],” but by metonymy of part for whole this can be rendered “stall.”
127 sn The charge here is hypocrisy, but it is only part one of the response. Various ancient laws detail what was allowed with cattle; see Mishnah, m. Shabbat 5; CD 11:5-6.
128 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to show the connection with Jesus’ previous statement.
129 tn Grk “is it not necessary that.” Jesus argues that no other day is more appropriate to heal a descendant of Abraham than the Sabbath, the exact opposite view of the synagogue leader.
130 sn Note that this is again a battle between Satan and God; see 11:18-23.
131 tn The word “long” reflects the emphasis added in the Greek text by ἰδού (idou). See BDAG 468 s.v. 1.
132 tn Or “bondage”; Grk “bond.”
133 tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
134 tn Or “were put to shame.”
135 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
136 sn Concerning all the wonderful things see Luke 7:16; 19:37.
137 tn Grk “that were being done by him.” The passive has been converted to an active construction in the translation.
138 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
139 tn Grk “said,” but what follows is a question.
140 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
141 sn What is the kingdom of God like? Unlike Mark 4 or Matt 13, where the kingdom parables tend to be all in one location in the narrative, Luke scatters his examples throughout the Gospel.
142 tn Grk “And to.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
143 sn The mustard seed was noted for its tiny size.
144 tn Grk “threw.”
145 tn Grk “garden, and it.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
146 sn Calling the mustard plant a tree is rhetorical hyperbole, since technically it is not one. This plant could be one of two types of mustard popular in Palestine and would be either 10 or 25 ft (3 or 7.5 m) tall.
147 tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).
148 sn The point of the parable seems to be that while the kingdom of God may appear to have insignificant and unnoticeable beginnings (i.e., in the ministry of Jesus), it will someday (i.e., at the second advent) be great and quite expansive. The kingdom, however, is not to be equated with the church, but rather the church is an expression of the kingdom. Also, there is important OT background in the image of the mustard seed that grew and became a tree: Ezek 17:22-24 pictures the reemergence of the Davidic house where people can find calm and shelter. Like the mustard seed, it would start out small but grow to significant size.
149 tn Grk “And again.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
150 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
151 tn Grk “hid in.”
152 sn This measure was a saton, the Greek name for the Hebrew term “seah.” Three of these was a very large quantity of flour, since a saton is a little over 16 lbs (7 kg) of dry measure (or 13.13 liters). So this was over 47 lbs (21 kg) of flour total, enough to feed over a hundred people.
153 tn Grk “it was all leavened.”
sn The parable of the yeast and the dough teaches that the kingdom of God will start small but eventually grow to permeate everything. Jesus’ point was not to be deceived by its seemingly small start, the same point made in the parable of the mustard seed, which preceded this one.
154 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
155 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
156 tn This is a distributive use of κατά (kata); see L&N 83:12.
157 tn Or “cities.”
158 tn Grk “making his journey toward.” This is the first of several travel notes in Luke’s Jerusalem journey section of Luke 9-19; other notes appear at 17:11; 18:31; 19:28, 41.
159 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
160 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
161 tn Grk “said to.”
162 sn The warnings earlier in Jesus’ teaching have led to the question whether only a few will be saved.
163 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ reply was triggered by the preceding question.
164 tn Or “Make every effort” (L&N 68.74; cf. NIV); “Do your best” (TEV); “Work hard” (NLT); Grk “Struggle.” The idea is to exert one’s maximum effort (cf. BDAG 17 s.v. ἀγωνίζομαι 2.b, “strain every nerve to enter”) because of the supreme importance of attaining entry into the kingdom of God.
165 tn The syntactical relationship between vv. 24-25 is disputed. The question turns on whether v. 25 is connected to v. 24 or not. A lack of a clear connective makes an independent idea more likely. However, one must then determine what the beginning of the sentence connects to. Though it makes for slightly awkward English, the translation has opted to connect it to “he will answer” so that this functions, in effect, as an apodosis. One could end the sentence after “us” and begin a new sentence with “He will answer” to make simpler sentences, although the connection between the two sentences is thereby less clear. The point of the passage, however, is clear. Once the door is shut, because one failed to come in through the narrow way, it is closed permanently. The moral: Do not be too late in deciding to respond.
166 tn Or “the master of the household.”
167 tn Or “rises,” or “stands up.”
168 tn Or “Sir.”
169 tn Grk “Open to us.”
170 tn Grk “and answering, he will say to you.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “he will answer you.”
171 sn For the imagery behind the statement “I do not know where you come from,” see Ps 138:6; Isa 63:16; Jer 1:5; Hos 5:3.
172 sn This term refers to wide streets, and thus suggests the major streets of a city.
173 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
174 tc Most
tn Grk “he will say, saying to you.” The participle λέγων (legwn) and its indirect object ὑμῖν (Jumin) are redundant in contemporary English and have not been translated.
175 sn The issue is not familiarity (with Jesus’ teaching) or even shared activity (eating and drinking with him), but knowing Jesus. Those who do not know him, he will not know where they come from (i.e., will not acknowledge) at the judgment.
176 tn Grk “all you workers of iniquity.” The phrase resembles Ps 6:8.
177 sn Weeping and gnashing of teeth is a figure for remorse and trauma, which occurs here because of exclusion from God’s promise.
178 tn Grk “and Isaac and Jacob,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
179 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
180 tn Or “being thrown out.” The present accusative participle, ἐκβαλλομένους (ekballomenous), related to the object ὑμᾶς (Jumas), seems to suggest that these evildoers will witness their own expulsion from the kingdom.
181 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the discourse.
182 tn Grk “they”; the referent (people who will come to participate in the kingdom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
183 tn Grk “and recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away. The word “banquet” has been supplied to clarify for the modern reader the festive nature of the imagery The banquet imagery is a way to describe the fellowship and celebration of accompanying those who are included as the people of God at the end.
184 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
185 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
186 tn Grk “behold.”
187 sn Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. Jesus’ answer is that some who are expected to be there (many from Israel) will not be there, while others not expected to be present (from other nations) will be present. The question is not, “Will the saved be few?” (see v. 23), but “Will it be you?”
188 tn Grk “At that very hour.”
189 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
190 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
191 tn Grk “Go away and leave from here,” which is redundant in English and has been shortened to “Get away from here.”
192 sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.
193 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
194 tn The participle πορευθέντες (poreuqente") has been taken as indicating attendant circumstance.
195 sn That fox. This is not fundamentally a figure for cleverness as in modern western culture, but could indicate (1) an insignificant person (Neh 4:3; 2 Esd 13:35 LXX); (2) a deceiver (Song Rabbah 2.15.1 on 2:15); or someone destructive, a destroyer (Ezek 13:4; Lam 5:18; 1 En. 89:10, 42-49, 55). Luke’s emphasis seems to be on destructiveness, since Herod killed John the Baptist, whom Luke calls “the greatest born of women” (Luke 7:28) and later stands opposed to Jesus (Acts 4:26-28). In addition, “a person who is designated a fox is an insignificant or base person. He lacks real power and dignity, using cunning deceit to achieve his aims” (H. W. Hoehner, Herod Antipas [SNTSMS], 347).
196 sn The third day is a figurative reference to being further on in time, not a reference to three days from now. Jesus is not even in Jerusalem yet, and the events of the last days in Jerusalem take a good week.
197 tn Or “I reach my goal.” The verb τελειόω (teleiow) is a key NT term for the completion of God’s plan: See Luke 12:50; 22:37; John 19:30; and (where it has the additional component of meaning “to perfect”) Heb 2:10; 5:8-9; 7:28.
198 tn This is the frequent expression δεῖ (dei, “it is necessary”) that notes something that is a part of God’s plan.
199 tn Or “unthinkable.” See L&N 71.4 for both possible meanings.
200 tn Or “should perish away from.”
201 sn Death in Jerusalem is another key theme in Luke’s material: 7:16, 34; 24:19; Acts 3:22-23. Notice that Jesus sees himself in the role of a prophet here. Jesus’ statement, it is impossible that a prophet should be killed outside Jerusalem, is filled with irony; Jesus, traveling about in Galilee (most likely), has nothing to fear from Herod; it is his own people living in the very center of Jewish religion and worship who present the greatest danger to his life. The underlying idea is that Jerusalem, though she stands at the very heart of the worship of God, often kills the prophets God sends to her (v. 34). In the end, Herod will be much less a threat than Jerusalem.
map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
202 sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.
203 tn Although the opening address (“Jerusalem, Jerusalem”) is direct (second person), the remainder of this sentence in the Greek text is third person (“who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her”). The following sentences then revert to second person (“your… you”), so to keep all this consistent in English, the third person pronouns in the present verse were translated as second person (“you who kill… sent to you”).
204 sn How often I have longed to gather your children. Jesus, like a lamenting prophet, speaks for God here, who longed to care tenderly for Israel and protect her.
205 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
206 tn Grk “you were not willing.”
207 sn Your house is forsaken. The language here is from Jer 12:7 and 22:5. It recalls exilic judgment.
208 sn A quotation from Ps 118:26. The judgment to come will not be lifted until the Lord returns. See Luke 19:41-44.
209 sn As the book is now arranged, this chapter forms an additional speech by Job, although some argue that it comes from the writer of the book. The mood of the chapter is not despair, but wisdom; it anticipates the divine speeches in the end of the book. This poem, like many psalms in the Bible, has a refrain (vv. 12 and 20). These refrains outline the chapter, giving three sections: there is no known road to wisdom (1-11); no price can buy it (12-19); and only God has it, and only by revelation can man posses it (20-28).
210 tn The poem opens with כִּי (ki). Some commentators think this should have been “for,” and that the poem once stood in another setting. But there are places in the Bible where this word occurs with the sense of “surely” and no other meaning (cf. Gen 18:20).
211 tn The word מוֹצָא (motsa’, from יָצָא [yatsa’, “go out”]) is the word for “mine,” or more simply, “source.” Mining was not an enormous industry in the land of Canaan or Israel; mined products were imported. Some editors have suggested alternative readings: Dahood found in the word the root for “shine” and translated the MT as “smelter.” But that is going too far. P. Joüon suggested “place of finding,” reading מִמְצָא (mimtsa’) for מוֹצָא (motsa’; see Bib 11 [1930]: 323).
212 tn The verb יָזֹקּוּ (yazoqqu) translated “refined,” comes from זָקַק (zaqaq), a word that basically means “to blow.” From the meaning “to blow; to distend; to inflate” derives the meaning for refining.
213 tn Heb “from dust.”
214 tn The verb יָצוּק (yatsuq) is usually translated as a passive participle “is smelted” (from יָצַק [yatsaq, “to melt”]): “copper is smelted from the ore” (ESV) or “from the stone, copper is poured out” (as an imperfect from צוּק [tsuq]). But the rock becomes the metal in the process. So according to R. Gordis (Job, 304) the translation should be: “the rock is poured out as copper.” E. Dhorme (Job, 400), however, defines the form in the text as “hard,” and simply has it “hard stone becomes copper.”
215 sn The text appears at first to be saying that by opening up a mine shaft, or by taking lights down below, the miner dispels the darkness. But the clause might be more general, meaning that man goes deep into the earth as if it were day.
216 tn The verse ends with “the stone of darkness and deep darkness.” The genitive would be location, describing the place where the stones are found.
217 tc The first part of this verse, “He cuts a shaft far from the place where people live,” has received a lot of attention. The word for “live” is גָּר (gar). Some of the proposals are: “limestone,” on the basis of the LXX; “far from the light,” reading נֵר (ner); “by a foreign people,” taking the word to means “foreign people”; “a foreign people opening shafts”; or taking gar as “crater” based on Arabic. Driver puts this and the next together: “a strange people who have been forgotten cut shafts” (see AJSL 3 [1935]: 162). L. Waterman had “the people of the lamp” (“Note on Job 28:4,” JBL 71 [1952]: 167ff). And there are others. Since there is really no compelling argument in favor of one of these alternative interpretations, the MT should be preserved until shown to be wrong.
218 tn Heb “forgotten by the foot.” This means that there are people walking above on the ground, and the places below, these mines, are not noticed by the pedestrians above.
219 sn This is a description of the mining procedures. Dangling suspended from a rope would be a necessary part of the job of going up and down the shafts.
220 sn The verse has been properly understood, on the whole, as comparing the earth above and all its produce with the upheaval down below.
221 tn It is probably best to take “place” in construct to the rest of the colon, with an understood relative clause: “a place, the rocks of which are sapphires.”
sn The modern stone known as sapphire is thought not to have been used until Roman times, and so some other stone is probably meant here, perhaps lapis lazuli.
222 sn H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 181) suggests that if it is lapis lazuli, then the dust of gold would refer to the particles of iron pyrite found in lapis lazuli which glitter like gold.
223 tn The “path” could refer to the mine shaft or it could refer to wisdom. The former seems more likely in the present context; the word “hidden is supplied in the translation to indicate the mines are “hidden” from sharp-eyed birds of prey above.
224 sn The kind of bird mentioned here is debated. The LXX has “vulture,” and so some commentaries follow that. The emphasis on the sight favors the view that it is the falcon.
225 tn Heb “the sons of pride.” In Job 41:26 the expression refers to carnivorous wild beasts.
226 tn The Hebrew verb is simply “to stretch out; to send” (שָׁלח, shalakh). With יָדוֹ (yado, “his hand”) the idea is that of laying one’s hand on the rock, i.e., getting to work on the hardest of rocks.
227 tn The Hebrew מִשֹּׁרֶשׁ (mishoresh) means “from/at [their] root [or base].” In mining, people have gone below ground, under the mountains, and overturned rock and dirt. It is also interesting that here in a small way humans do what God does – overturn mountains (cf. 9:5).
228 tn Or “tunnels.” The word is יְאֹרִים (yÿ’orim), the word for “rivers” and in the singular, the Nile River. Here it refers to tunnels or channels through the rocks.
229 tn Heb “his eye sees.”
230 tc The translation “searched” follows the LXX and Vulgate; the MT reads “binds up” or “dams up.” This latter translation might refer to the damming of water that might seep into a mine (HALOT 289 s.v. חבשׁ; cf. ESV, NJPS, NASB, REB, NLT).
231 tc The older translations had “he binds the streams from weeping,” i.e., from trickling (מִבְּכִי, mibbÿkhi). But the Ugaritic parallel has changed the understanding, reading “toward the spring of the rivers” (`m mbk nhrm). Earlier than that discovery, the versions had taken the word as a noun as well. Some commentators had suggested repointing the Hebrew. Some chose מַבְּכֵי (mabbÿkhe, “sources”). Now there is much Ugaritic support for the reading (see G. M. Landes, BASOR 144 [1956]: 32f.; and H. L. Ginsberg, “The Ugaritic texts and textual criticism,” JBL 62 [1943]: 111).
232 tc The LXX has “its way, apparently reading דַּרְכָה (darkhah) in place of עֶרְכָּהּ (’erkah, “place”). This is adopted by most modern commentators. But R. Gordis (Job, 308) shows that this change is not necessary, for עֶרֶךְ (’erekh) in the Bible means “order; row; disposition,” and here “place.” An alternate meaning would be “worth” (NIV, ESV).
233 sn The תְּהוֹם (tÿhom) is the “deep” of Gen 1:2, the abyss or primordial sea. It was always understood to be a place of darkness and danger. As remote as it is, it asserts that wisdom is not found there (personification). So here we have the abyss and the sea, then death and destruction – but they are not the places that wisdom resides.
234 tn The בּ (bet) preposition is taken here to mean “with” in the light of the parallel preposition.
235 tn The word actually means “weighed,” that is, lifted up on the scale and weighed, in order to purchase.
236 tn The exact identification of these stones is uncertain. Many recent English translations, however, have “onyx” and “sapphires.”
237 tn The word is from זָכַךְ (zakhakh, “clear”). It describes a transparent substance, and so “glass” is an appropriate translation. In the ancient world it was precious and so expensive.
238 tc The MT has “vase”; but the versions have a plural here, suggesting jewels of gold.
239 tn The word מֶשֶׁךְ (meshekh) comes from a root meaning “to grasp; to seize; to hold,” and so the derived noun means “grasping; acquiring; taking possession,” and therefore, “price” (see the discussion in R. Gordis, Job, 309). Gray renders it “acquisition” (so A. Cohen, AJSL 40 [1923/24]: 175).
240 tn In Lam 4:7 these are described as red, and so have been identified as rubies (so NIV) or corals.
241 tn Or “Ethiopia.” In ancient times this referred to the region of the upper Nile, rather than modern Ethiopia (formerly known as Abyssinia).
242 tn The refrain is repeated, except now the verb is תָּבוֹא (tavo’, “come”).
243 tn The vav on the verb is unexpressed in the LXX. It should not be overlooked, for it introduces a subordinate clause of condition (R. Gordis, Job, 310).
244 tn Heb “Abaddon.”
245 tn Heb “heard a report of it,” which means a report of its location, thus “where it can be found.”
246 tn Heb “he gave weight to the wind.” The form is the infinitive construct with the ל (lamed) preposition. Some have emended it to change the preposition to the temporal בּ (bet) on the basis of some of the versions (e.g., Latin and Syriac) that have “who made.” This is workable, for the infinitive would then take on the finite tense of the previous verbs. An infinitive of purpose does not work well, for that would be saying God looked everywhere in order to give wind its proper weight (see R. Gordis, Job, 310).
247 tn The verb is the Piel perfect, meaning “to estimate the measure” of something. In the verse, the perfect verb continues the function of the infinitive preceding it, as if it had a ו (vav) prefixed to it. Whatever usage that infinitive had, this verb is to continue it (see GKC 352 §114.r).
248 tn Or “decree.”
249 tn Or “thunderbolt,” i.e., lightning. Heb “the roaring of voices/sounds,” which describes the nature of the storm.
250 tn Heb “it”; the referent (wisdom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
251 tn The verb סָפַר (safar) in the Piel basically means “to tell; to declare; to show” or “to count; to number.” Many commentators offer different suggestions for the translation. “Declared” (as in the RSV, NASB, and NRSV) would be the simplest – but to whom did God declare it? Besides “appraised” which is the view of Pope, Dhorme and others (cf. NAB, NIV), J. Reider has suggested “probed” (“Etymological studies in biblical Hebrew,” VT 2 [1952]: 127), Strahan has “studied,” and Kissane has “reckoned.” The difficulty is that the line has a series of verbs, which seem to build to a climax; but without more details it is hard to know how to translate them when they have such a range of meaning.
252 tc The verb כּוּן (kun) means “to establish; to prepare” in this stem. There are several
253 tn The verb חָקַר (khaqar) means “to examine; to search out.” Some of the language used here is anthropomorphic, for the sovereign
254 tc A number of medieval Hebrew manuscripts have YHWH (“
255 tc Many commentators delete this verse because (1) many read the divine name Yahweh (translated “
256 tn Or “with the spirit”; cf. vv. 14-16.
257 tn Grk “edification.”
258 sn The Greek term builds (himself) up does not necessarily bear positive connotations in this context.
259 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.
260 tn Grk “eager for spirits.” The plural is probably a shorthand for the Spirit’s gifts, especially in this context, tongues.
261 tc ‡ Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A Ds Ψ 048 Ï lat sy bo), have γάρ (gar, “for”) here, while an equally impressive array of witnesses lack the conjunction (Ì46 B F G 0243 1739 1881 sa). This conjunction was frequently added by scribes in epistolary literature as a clarifying word, making the connection with the preceding more explicit. As such, it has the earmarks of being a motivated reading and thus should be rejected. NA27 places the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
262 tn Grk “what then is it?”
263 tn Grk “how can someone who fills the place of the unlearned say ‘Amen.’”
264 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.
265 sn A quotation from Isa 28:11-12.
266 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.
267 sn This phrase may be taken with v. 33a.
268 tn The word for “woman” and “wife” is the same in Greek. Because of the reference to husbands in v. 35, the word may be translated “wives” here. But in passages governing conduct in church meetings like this (cf. 11:2-16; 1 Tim 2:9-15) the general meaning “women” is more likely.
269 sn For they are not permitted to speak. In light of 11:2-16, which gives permission for women to pray or prophesy in the church meetings, the silence commanded here seems not to involve the absolute prohibition of a woman addressing the assembly. Therefore (1) some take be silent to mean not taking an authoritative teaching role as 1 Tim 2 indicates, but (2) the better suggestion is to relate it to the preceding regulations about evaluating the prophets (v. 29). Here Paul would be indicating that the women should not speak up during such an evaluation, since such questioning would be in violation of the submission to male leadership that the OT calls for (the law, e.g., Gen 2:18).
270 tc Some scholars have argued that vv. 34-35 should be excised from the text (principally G. D. Fee, First Corinthians [NICNT], 697-710; P. B. Payne, “Fuldensis, Sigla for Variants in Vaticanus, and 1 Cor 14.34-5,” NTS 41 [1995]: 240-262). This is because the Western witnesses (D F G ar b vgms Ambst) have these verses after v. 40, while the rest of the tradition retains them here. There are no
271 tn Grk “Did the word of God go out from you.”
272 tc ‡ μου (mou, “my”) is found after ἀδελφοί (adelfoi) in a number of significant witnesses (א A B* D1 048 326 1175 2464 al), but lacking in most other witnesses (Ì46 B2 D* F G Ψ 0243 33 1739 1881 Ï lat). Every other time Paul says “So then, brothers (and sisters)” he adds “my” (ὥστε, ἀδελφοί μου; {wste, adelfoi mou). There is no good reason why scribes would intentionally omit “my” here but not elsewhere. Thus, the longer reading is in conformity with Paul’s general style and as such seems to be scribally motivated. NA27 has the word in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.
tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.
273 tn Grk “speaking in tongues.” The words “anyone from” are supplied for the sake of clarity.