⁴ sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

¹ sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

¹ tn Heb “and you cast me behind your back.” The expression pictures her rejection of the Lord (see 1 Kgs 14:9).

² tn The Greek version has “I have made/put” rather than “you have made/put.” This is the easier reading and is therefore rejected.

¹ sn The mention of “the ears” emphasizes the concerted effort to get the person’s undivided attention. However, a fool rejects instruction and discipline.

¹ sn To “despise oneself” means to reject oneself as if there was little value. The one who ignores discipline is not interested in improving himself.

¹ tn The verb III פָּרַע (paraʿ) normally means “to let go; to let alone” and here “to neglect; to avoid; to reject” (BDB 828 s.v.).

³ sn By means of the parallelism, one who rejects discretion is like a swine. If that person has beauty, its value is wasted on and overshadowed by their “piggishness.”

² tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”).

³ tn There is no object on the verb, and the meaning is perhaps lost. The best guess is that Elihu is saying Job has rejected his teaching.

¹ tn Heb “food of desire.” The word “rejects” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹ tn Heb “Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders which they advised and he consulted the young men with whom he had grown up, who stood before him.”

² tn For a similar use of אֲבָל (ʾaval), see Gen 17:19, where God rejects Abraham’s proposal and offers an alternative.

⁴ tn The construction with the three verbs (“defile, “reject,” and “insult”) involves the particles μέν, δέ, δέ (men, de, de). A more literal (and pedantic) translation would be: “on the one hand, they defile the flesh, on the other hand, they reject authority, and on another hand, they insult the glorious ones.”

¹ sn It was customary practice in a Roman crucifixion for the prisoner to be made to carry his own cross. Jesus is speaking figuratively here in the context of rejection. If the priority is not one’s allegiance to Jesus, then one will not follow him in the face of possible rejection; see Luke 9:23.

¹ sn Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit probably refers to a total rejection of the testimony that the Spirit gives to Jesus and the plan of God. This is not so much a sin of the moment as of one’s entire life, an obstinate rejection of God’s message and testimony. Cf. Matt 12:31-32 and Mark 3:28-30.

² sn The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.

¹ sn According to Plutarch, “Every criminal who is executed carries his own cross” (De sera numinus vindicta 9.554b). Jesus is speaking figuratively here in the context of rejection. If one’s allegiance to Jesus does not have absolute priority, then one will not follow him in the face of possible rejection and persecution.

² sn For the image of a rejected, broken vessel, see Jer 19:1-13 (where, however, the vessel is rejected first and then broken), and compare Jer 13, especially vv. 10-11, for the image of linen shorts that are good for nothing.

⁵ sn The words here may be an outright rejection of the Lord’s words in Deut 32:20, which is part of a song that was to be taught to Israel in the light of their predicted rejection of the Lord.