¹ tn Heb “observe.”

¹ tn Or “observed,” “saw.”

⁵ tn Or “observe” or “follow.”

¹ tn Heb “set apart”; or “observe as holy.”

² tn Heb “and your brothers, observe with respect to welfare.”

¹ tn Grk “by [the] works of [the] law,” a reference to observing the Mosaic law.

¹ sn The first month would be the month of Nisan, during which Passover was observed.

² sn The den was perhaps a pit below ground level that could be safely observed from above.

³ sn Earlier Ezekiel had observed God leaving the temple to the east (11:23).

¹ tn Heb “guard”; KJV “Keep”; NAB “Observe”; NASB “Preserve”; NIV, NRSV “Maintain.”

¹ sn The prophet speaks here as one who has observed the coming judgment of the proud.

² tn Heb “with wisdom,” that is, with careful reflection in light of principles observed by the sages.

¹ tn Heb “the ones who observe vain things of falsehood.” See Jonah 2:9.

² tn The disjunctive clause highlights this observation and builds the tension of the story.

³ sn For the background of this observation, see Deut 18:1-2.

⁵ sn For the background of this observation, see Deut 18:1-2.

² sn That is, if Paul still teaches observance of the Mosaic law (preaches circumcision), why is he still being persecuted by his opponents, who insist that Gentile converts to Christianity must observe the Mosaic law?

² sn The worship of Tammuz included the observation of the annual death and descent into the netherworld of the god Dumuzi. The practice was observed by women in the ancient Near East over a period of centuries.

² tn The psalmist has already declared that he observes God’s commands despite persecution, so here the idea must be “so that I might observe the commands of my God unhindered by threats.”

⁴ sn According to the commandment. These women are portrayed as pious, faithful to the law in observing the Sabbath.