³ sn The point of the comparison receive the kingdom of God like a child has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit and willingness to be dependent and receive from others than any inherent humility the child might possess.

³ sn This apparently alludes to the practice of child sacrifice (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

² sn The child’s name foreshadows what will happen to Judah’s enemies; when their defeat takes place, the child will be a reminder that God predicted the event and brought it to pass. As such the child will be a reminder of God’s protective presence with his people.

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (“the stillborn child”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn The term “child” is supplied for the masculine singular adjective here.

¹ tn Heb “a foolish son” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, CEV); NRSV “a stupid child.”

⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (his child) is specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “and his skin was restored, like the skin of a small child.”

⁴ tn The particle serves to emphasize, not restrict here (B. S. Childs, Exodus [OTL], 183, n. 15).

¹ tn The word “child” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹ tn The Hebrew term יֶלֶד (yeled) probably refers to a youthful warrior here, not a child.

⁴ sn The response, they were all amazed, expresses a mixture of surprise and reflection in this setting where they were so certain of what the child’s name would be.

¹ tn Heb “and the rest of the trees of his forest will be counted, and a child will record them.”

¹ tn The verb with no expressed subject is here again taken in the passive: “they snatch” becomes “[child] is snatched.”

¹ tn Heb “in the going out of her life, for she was dying.” Rachel named the child with her dying breath.

² tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (haʾaf) and אֻמְנָם (ʾumnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”

¹ tn Grk “a small child.” The Greek term νήπιος (nēpios) refers to a young child, no longer a helpless infant but probably not more than three or four years old (L&N 9.43). The point in context, though, is that this child is too young to take any responsibility for the management of his assets.

² tn The “heart of a child” (לֶב־נָעַר, lev naʿar) refers here to the natural inclination of a child to foolishness. The younger child is meant in this context, but the word can include youth. R. N. Whybray suggests that this idea might be described as a doctrine of “original folly” (Proverbs [CBC], 125). Cf. TEV “Children just naturally do silly, careless things.”

² sn The importance of parental disciplining is stressed by the verbs “hate” and “love.” “Hating” a child in this sense means in essence abandoning or rejecting him; “loving” a child means embracing and caring for him. Failure to discipline a child is tantamount to hating him—not caring about his character.

¹ tn Heb “and the Lord struck the child…and he was ill.” It is necessary to repeat “the child” in the translation to make clear who became ill, since “the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became very ill” could be understood to mean that David himself became ill.