² tn The “ear of the listener” refers to the obedient disciple, the one who complies with the reproof he hears. Cf. KJV, ASV, NAB “an obedient ear.”

² tn The nuances of שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) include hearing and obeying or carrying out what was said. Cf. “heeds” so NAB, NIV, NKJV, NRSV.

¹ tn Heb “The one who plants an ear, does he not hear? The one who forms an eye, does he not see?”

¹ tn The optative is again introduced with “who will give to me hearing me?”—“O that someone would listen to me!”

² tn Heb “all who could hear with understanding.” The word “children” is understood to be implied here by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, TEV, NLT).

¹ tn Heb “and all the kings of the earth were seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”

¹ tn Heb “How happy are your men! How happy are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom!”

² tn Heb “and all the earth was seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”

¹ tn Heb “How happy are your men! How happy are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom!”

¹ tn The MT reads, “Why do you act according to these things which I am hearing—evil things—from all these people?”

¹ tn Heb “to know if they would hear the commands of the Lord which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.”

⁴ tn Heb “and hears a voice of curse, and he is a witness or he saw or he knew, if he does not declare.”

³ tn Here is the normal use of the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense to emphasize the verb: “I will surely hear,” implying, “I will surely respond.”

¹ tn Heb “Speak now in the ears of the people.” The expression is emphatic; it seeks to ensure that the Israelites hear the instruction.

⁴ sn This clause gives the explanation of the name Ishmael, using a wordplay. Ishmael’s name will be a reminder that “God hears” Hagar’s painful cries.

² tn Grk “the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant”; the phrase “they hear” has been introduced (“when they hear the old covenant read”) to make the link with the “Israelites” (v. 13) whose minds were closed (v. 14a) more obvious to the reader.

¹ tn Grk “hear,” but the idea of “hear and obey” or simply “obey” is frequently contained in the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouō; see L&N 36.14) and the following context (v. 23) makes it clear that failure to “obey” the words of this “prophet like Moses” will result in complete destruction.

¹ tn Or “‘to us personally’…to them personally”; Heb “‘in our ears’…in their ears.” Elsewhere this has been rendered “in the hearing of” or “where they could hear.” All three of those idioms sound unnatural in this context. The mere personal pronoun seems adequate.

² sn The verb “hear” (שָׁמַע, shamaʿ) has more of the sense of “respond to” in this context. If one “listens to the voice of the Lord,” for example, it means that he obeys the Lord. If one wishes God to “hear his prayer,” it means he wishes God to answer it.

² tn The words “for they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The following question (“Who hears?”) is spoken by the psalmist’s enemies, who are confident that no one else can hear their threats against the psalmist. They are aggressive because they feel the psalmist is vulnerable and has no one to help him.