² sn The evangelist’s observation that Jesus’ disciples followed him into the boat continues the theme of discipleship (following Jesus) from the preceding context. Here the disciples are probably to be understood as only the Twelve, and even that would have required a boat of moderate size.

¹ tn Heb “he,” in which case the referent is the Lord. This reading is followed by KJV, ASV, NAB (which renders it as first person), and NASB. The LXX reads “they,” referring to the Israelites themselves, a reading followed by many modern English versions (e.g., NIV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).

³ tc Heb “for a work working in your days.” Following the LXX reading, some supply a first person singular pronoun with the participle פֹּעֵל (poʿel). Ellipsis of a first singular pronoun before participles is relatively rare (see GKC 360 §116.s); perhaps an original אֲנֹכִי (ʾanoki; or אֲנִי, ʾani) followed the initial כִּי (ki) and was omitted by homoioteleuton.

¹ tc The translation follows the LXX (Greek version), which reflects the description in 1 Kgs 7:25-26. The Hebrew text reads, “the 12 bronze bulls under the movable stands.” הַיָּם (hayyam, “The Sea”) has been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton; note that the following form, הַמְּכֹנוֹת (hamm^ekhonot, “the movable stands”), also begins with the article.

⁴ tc The translation follows the common emendation of a word normally meaning “place at the head” (מַרְאֲשׁוֹת [marʾashot] plus pronoun = מַרְאֲשׁוֹתֵיכֶם [marʾashotekhem]) to “from your heads” (מֵרָאשֵׁיכֶם, meraʾshekhem) following the ancient versions. The meaning “tiara” is nowhere else attested for this word.

¹ tn The translation uses imperatives in vv. 5-6 followed by the phrase “If you do all this” to avoid the long and complex sentence structure of the Hebrew sentence, which has a series of conditional clauses in vv. 5-6 followed by a main clause in v. 7.

¹ tc The Hebrew text has simply “fury,” but the pronominal element can be assumed on the basis of what immediately follows (see “my anger” in the clause). It is possible that the suffixed yod (י) has been accidentally dropped by virtual haplography. Note that a vav (ו) is prefixed to the form that immediately follows; yod and vav are very similar in later script phases.

¹ tn The KJV appears to have followed Rashi in translating this term as “spider,” so also JPS (and the note in the NRSV). But almost all modern English versions and commentators, following the Greek and the Latin versions, have “lizard.” See HALOT 1338 s.v. שְׂמָמִית.

¹ tn Older English versions and a few more recent ones render this phrase as either “excellent things” following the Qere (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NKJV), “officers,” or “heretofore” [day before yesterday], following the Kethib. However (as in most recent English versions) the Qere should be rendered “thirty,” referring to the number in the collection (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

⁵ tn Heb “the way of life” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV, NLT “the way to life.” The noun “life” is a genitive following the construct “way.” It could be an attributive genitive modifying the kind of way/course of life that instruction provides, but it could also be objective in that the course of life followed would produce and lead to life.

³ tc The Kethib reads וְלַעֲנִיִּים (v^elaʿaniyyim) from עָנִי (ʿani, “afflicted”), followed by the NASB. The Qere, supported by the LXX, Targum, and Latin Vulgate reads וְלַעֲנָוִים (v^elaʿanavim) from עָנָו (ʿanav, “meek, humble”) followed by the NIV, ESV, NRSV and others.

² tn Or “to a faithful follower.” A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

⁴ tn The construction is the same as that found in the last verse: a temporal preposition עַד (ʿad) followed by the infinitive construct followed by the subjective genitive “release/relief.” Due, in part, to the same verb (חָלַף, khalaf) having the meaning “sprout again” in v. 7, some take “renewal” as the meaning here (J. E. Hartley, Alden, NIV, ESV).

¹ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX and Vulgate, read “Riphath” (see Gen 10:3). This is followed by several English translations (e.g., NAB, NIV, NLT), while others (e.g., ASV, NASB, NRSV) follow the MT reading (“Diphath”).

¹ tc The MT has the plural form of the verb, but the final vav (ו) is virtually dittographic. The word that immediately follows in the Hebrew text begins with a yod (י). The form should be emended to the singular, which is consistent in number with the verb (“he broke down”) that follows.

² tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading שְׁלֹשָׁה (sh^eloshah, “three”) rather than the Kethib of the MT שְׁלֹשִׁים (sh^eloshim, “thirty”). “Thirty” is due to dittography of the following word and makes no sense in the context.

² tn Or “to a faithful follower.” A חָסִיד (khasid, “faithful follower”) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

¹ tn Heb “the price was.” The meaning of the Hebrew word פְּצִירָה (p^etsirah) is uncertain. This is the only place it occurs in the OT. Some propose the meaning “sharpening,” but “price” is a more likely meaning if the following term refers to a weight (see the following note on the word “shekel”). See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 238.

² tc The translation follows the Lucianic Greek rescension and the Syriac. Many English versions follow the MT (e.g., KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV) reading “30,000” here. One expects there to be more horsemen than chariots, cf. 2 Kgs 13:7; 2 Chr 12:3.

² tn The Hebrew exclamation הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally, “Behold”), translated “Be sure of this,” draws attention to the following statement. The verb form in the following statement (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”