The Book of Life, Part 3

Posted on May 31, 2022 by admin

The beast was permitted to go to war against the saints and conquer them. He was given ruling authority over every tribe, people,¹ language, and nation, and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast,² everyone whose³ name⁴ has not been written since the foundation of the world in the⁵ book of life belonging to the Lamb who⁶ was killed.⁷

This is the fullest description of the book of life so far. The Greek words translated the book were τῷ βιβλίῳ in the NET, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text. In the Stephanus Textus Receptus the feminine article τη preceded the neuter noun βιβλίῳ. That noun in the dative case was followed by a string of three articles, two nouns and a participle all in the genitive case: τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ ἀρνίου τοῦ⁸ ἐσφαγμένου.

For the most part, the genitive is often viewed as the case of possession. In more technical terms one noun in the genitive case helps to qualify another noun by showing its “class” or “kind”.⁹

So I have: “the book of the life of the lamb of the slain,” or “the book of the slain lamb’s life.” Or if one is inclined to play games with gender: “the slain lamb’s book of life.” Once the idea is purged from my thoughts—that the Lord wrote or had a list of personal names since the foundation of the world,¹⁰ that omission from this list condemned one to be thrown into the lake of fire,¹¹ that Peter lied about the existence of this list, writing, The Lord…does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance¹²—it is easy to understand “the book of the life of the lamb of the slain” as the New Testament.

The Greek word translated slain (KJV) and who was killed (NET) was ἐσφαγμένου, a participle of the verb σφάζω: “to kill, butcher, slaughter (by cutting the throat), slay for a sacrifice; to wound, maim, torment.” This word is like a synopsis of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

John¹³ saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb (ἀμνὸς) of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one about¹⁴ whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am, because he existed before me.’ I did not recognize him, but I came baptizing with water¹⁵ so that he could be revealed to Israel.”¹⁶

After many of his disciples quit following him (John 6:67, 68 NET):

Jesus said to the Twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?” Simon Peter answered him,¹⁷ “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life (ζωῆς αἰωνίου).

If the Holy Spirit had intended for me to understand the book of life as a list of personal names He could have written τῷ ὀνοματογραφίᾳ τῆς ζωῆς. But if anyone says that Jesus’ life is described throughout the Bible, I wouldn’t be inclined to argue. I just didn’t see that for myself until I began to understand that Jesus learned this life from the Scriptures I know as the Old Testament.

First, I had to learn that Jesus expressed genuine surprise when he asked Nicodemus, Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things?¹⁸ He didn’t ridicule Nicodemus for ignorance of a novel concept that Jesus’ had made up in the moment: Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’¹⁹ Only then did I begin to recognize his life in the writings of the Old Testament.

The personal name of consequence in the slain Lamb’s book of life is not mine but Christ’s (Galatians 2:20 NET):

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

This is not Paul’s hyperbolic expression of his personal devotion to Christ but his declarative statement of mere Christianity. Anything, everything, less is hypocrisy, the work of an actor, one seeking to have [one’s] own righteousness derived from the law,²⁰ one rejecting the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness.²¹

He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross! As a result God highly exalted him and gave him the name (ὄνομα) that is above every name (ὄνομα), so that at the name (ὀνόματι, a form of ὄνομα) of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.²²

The Greek word translated Jesus was Ἰησοῦ, a form of Ἰησοῦς. In the Septuagint Ἰησοῦ and Ἰησοῦς are the Greek name of Joshua (Exodus 17:9, 10 NET).

So Moses said to Joshua (Ἰησοῦ), “Choose some of our men and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”

So Joshua (Ἰησοῦς) fought against Amalek just as Moses had instructed him, and Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill [Table].

So even the name above every name has more to do with the reputation of One than his personal name. Joshua did many wonderful things, but it is not before Joshua that every knee will bow. Joshua is not the Lord that every tongue will confess because his name is Ἰησοῦς in Greek.

Another occurrence of the Lamb’s book of life follows (Revelation 21:27 NET):

but nothing ritually unclean²³ will ever enter into [the holy city, Jerusalem], nor anyone who does²⁴ what is detestable or practices falsehood, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Again, names was added by the translators: but only those…written in the Lamb’s book of life. Here the book doesn’t seem like a literal book at all. Being written in the Lamb’s book of life sounds more like a euphemism for having a share in the Lamb’s life, for being in Christ (Philippians 3:5-11 NET):

I was circumcised on the eighth day, from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. I lived according to the law as a Pharisee. In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless [Table]. But²⁵ these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ. More than that,²⁶ I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things—indeed, I regard them as dung!—that I may gain Christ [Table] and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness—a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness. My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead [Table].

Given this, I would understand one not found written in the book of life²⁷ as a euphemism for one not in Christ. I’ll consider one more occurrence of the book of life (Revelation 20:11, 12 NET).

Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it;²⁸ the earth and the heaven fled from his presence,²⁹ and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the³⁰ great and the³¹ small, standing before the throne.³² Then books were opened,³³ and another book was opened³⁴—the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.

A note (34) in the NET acknowledged that ἄλλο βιβλίον ἠνοίχθη, ὅ ἐστιν τῆς ζωῆς is literally “another book was opened, which is of life.” I can understand these books concretely as the Bible with the New Testament which is of life highlighted: the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.³⁵

You yourselves are our letter, Paul wrote (2 Corinthians 3:2-11 NET):

written on our hearts, known and read by everyone, revealing that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on tablets of human hearts.³⁶
Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who made us adequate to be servants of a new covenant not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills,³⁷ but the Spirit gives life.
But if the ministry that produced death—carved in letters on³⁸ stone tablets—came with glory, so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face (a glory which was made ineffective) [Table], how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be? For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation (κατακρίσεως, a form of κατάκρισις), how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness excel in glory! For indeed, what had been glorious now has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it [Table]. For if what was made ineffective came with glory, how much more has what remains come in glory!

Conversely, I can understand “another book was opened, which is of life” abstractly as Christ Himself at the very moment when those whose life is hidden with Christ appear (Colossians 3:1-4 NET).

Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ (who is your³⁹ life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him.

I can’t understand the dead being judged by a list of personal names to which they have had no access. So the dead were judged (ἐκρίθησαν, a form of κρίνω) by what was written in the books, according to their deeds (ἔργα, a form of ἔργον).⁴⁰ Jesus said, (John 3:16-21 ESV):

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn (κρίνῃ, another form of κρίνω) the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him [Table]. Whoever believes in him is not condemned (κρίνεται, another form of κρίνω), but whoever does not believe is condemned (κέκριται, another form of κρίνω) already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment (κρίσις): the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works (ἔργα, a form of ἔργον) were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works (ἔργα, a form of ἔργον) should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works (ἔργα, a form of ἔργον) have been carried out (εἰργασμένα, a form of ἐργάζομαι) in God.”

For many live, Paul wrote, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears (Philippians 3:18-21 NET):

I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven—and we also eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform these humble bodies of ours into the likeness of his glorious body by means of that power by which he is able to subject all things to himself [Table].

Does Jesus’ power (ἐνέργειαν, a form of ἐνέργεια; KJV: working) by which he is able to subject all things to himself extend to the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things⁴¹? I tend to answer this question in the affirmative because I remember when I believed none of it. I remember what “living” was like when I was written in the book of the slain Lamb’s life in these negative terms.

Tables comparing Exodus 17:9 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Exodus 17:9 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Revelation 13:7, 8; John 1:29-31; 6:68; Revelation 21:27; Philippians 3:7; Revelation 20:11, 12; 2 Corinthians 3:3; 3:6 and Colossians 3:4 in the NET and KJV follow.

Exodus 17:9 (Tanakh)	Exodus 17:9 (KJV)	Exodus 17:9 (NET)
And Moses said unto Joshua: ‘Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of G-d in my hand.’	And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.	So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”

Exodus 17:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 17:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εἶπεν δὲ Μωυσῆς τῷ Ἰησοῦ ἐπίλεξον σεαυτῷ ἄνδρας δυνατοὺς καὶ ἐξελθὼν παράταξαι τῷ Αμαληκ αὔριον καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἕστηκα ἐπὶ τῆς κορυφῆς τοῦ βουνοῦ καὶ ἡ ῥάβδος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῇ χειρί μου	εἶπε δὲ Μωυσῆς τῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ· ἐπίλεξον σεαυτῷ ἄνδρας δυνατοὺς καὶ ἐξελθὼν παράταξαι τῷ ᾿Αμαλὴκ αὔριον, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἕστηκα ἐπὶ τῆς κορυφῆς τοῦ βουνοῦ, καὶ ἡ ράβδος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν τῇ χειρί μου
Exodus 17:9 (NETS)	Exodus 17:9 (English Elpenor)
iAnd Moyses said to Iesous, “Choose for yourself capable men, and go forth, and set up in battle array with Amalek tomorrow. And look, I stand on top of the hill, and the rod of God is in my hand.”	And Moses said to Joshua, Choose out for thyself mighty men, and go forth and set the army in array against Amalec to-morrow; and, behold, I [shall] stand on the top of the hill, and the rod of God [will be] in my hand.

Revelation 13:7, 8 (NET)	Revelation 13:7, 8 (KJV)
The beast was permitted to go to war against the saints and conquer them. He was given ruling authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation,	And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
\|καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ποιῆσαι πόλεμον μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ νικῆσαι αὐτούς,\| καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἐξουσία ἐπὶ πᾶσαν φυλὴν καὶ λαὸν καὶ γλῶσσαν καὶ ἔθνος	και εδοθη αυτω πολεμον ποιησαι μετα των αγιων και νικησαι αυτους και εδοθη αυτω εξουσια επι πασαν φυλην και γλωσσαν και εθνος	και εδοθη αυτω ποιησαι πολεμον μετα των αγιων και νικησαι αυτους και εδοθη αυτω εξουσια επι πασαν φυλην και λαον και γλωσσαν και εθνος

and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast, everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed.

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν αὐτὸν πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, οὗ οὐ γέγραπται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ ἀρνίου τοῦ ἐσφαγμένου ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου	και προσκυνησουσιν αυτω παντες οι κατοικουντες επι της γης ων ου γεγραπται τα ονοματα εν τη βιβλω της ζωης του αρνιου εσφαγμενου απο καταβολης κοσμου	και προσκυνησουσιν αυτω παντες οι κατοικουντες επι της γης ων ου γεγραπται το ονομα εν τω βιβλιω της ζωης του αρνιου του εσφαγμενου απο καταβολης κοσμου

John 1:29-31 (NET)	John 1:29-31 (KJV)
On the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!	The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Τῇ ἐπαύριον βλέπει τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐρχόμενον πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ λέγει· ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου	τη επαυριον βλεπει ο ιωαννης τον ιησουν ερχομενον προς αυτον και λεγει ιδε ο αμνος του θεου ο αιρων την αμαρτιαν του κοσμου	τη επαυριον βλεπει ο ιωαννης τον ιησουν ερχομενον προς αυτον και λεγει ιδε ο αμνος του θεου ο αιρων την αμαρτιαν του κοσμου

This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am, because he existed before me.’

This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
οὗτος ἐστιν ὑπὲρ οὗ ἐγὼ εἶπον· ὀπίσω μου ἔρχεται ἀνὴρ ὃς ἔμπροσθεν μου γέγονεν, ὅτι πρῶτος μου ἦν	ουτος εστιν περι ου εγω ειπον οπισω μου ερχεται ανηρ ος εμπροσθεν μου γεγονεν οτι πρωτος μου ην	ουτος εστιν περι ου εγω ειπον οπισω μου ερχεται ανηρ ος εμπροσθεν μου γεγονεν οτι πρωτος μου ην

I did not recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel.”

And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καγὼ οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτόν, ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα φανερωθῇ τῷ Ἰσραὴλ διὰ τοῦτο ἦλθον ἐγὼ ἐν ὕδατι βαπτίζων	καγω ουκ ηδειν αυτον αλλ ινα φανερωθη τω ισραηλ δια τουτο ηλθον εγω εν τω υδατι βαπτιζων	καγω ουκ ηδειν αυτον αλλ ινα φανερωθη τω ισραηλ δια τουτο ηλθον εγω εν τω υδατι βαπτιζων

John 6:68 (NET)	John 6:68 (KJV)
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.	Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ Σίμων Πέτρος· κύριε, πρὸς τίνα ἀπελευσόμεθα; ρήματα ζωῆς αἰωνίου ἔχεις	απεκριθη ουν αυτω σιμων πετρος κυριε προς τινα απελευσομεθα ρηματα ζωης αιωνιου εχεις	απεκριθη ουν αυτω σιμων πετρος κυριε προς τινα απελευσομεθα ρηματα ζωης αιωνιου εχεις

Revelation 21:27 (NET)	Revelation 21:27 (KJV)
but nothing ritually unclean will ever enter into it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or practices falsehood, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.	And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς αὐτὴν πᾶν κοινὸν καὶ [ὁ] ποιῶν βδέλυγμα καὶ ψεῦδος εἰ μὴ οἱ γεγραμμένοι ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ ἀρνίου	και ου μη εισελθη εις αυτην παν κοινουν και ποιουν βδελυγμα και ψευδος ει μη οι γεγραμμενοι εν τω βιβλιω της ζωης του αρνιου	και ου μη εισελθη εις αυτην παν κοινον και ποιουν βδελυγμα και ψευδος ει μη οι γεγραμμενοι εν τω βιβλιω της ζωης του αρνιου

Philippians 3:7 (NET)	Philippians 3:7 (KJV)
But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ.	But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
[Ἀλλὰ] ἅτινα ἦν μοι κέρδη, ταῦτα ἥγημαι διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ζημίαν	αλλ ατινα ην μοι κερδη ταυτα ηγημαι δια τον χριστον ζημιαν	αλλ ατινα ην μοι κερδη ταυτα ηγημαι δια τον χριστον ζημιαν

Revelation 20:11, 12 (NET)	Revelation 20:11, 12 (KJV)
Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.	And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ εἶδον θρόνον μέγαν λευκὸν καὶ τὸν καθήμενον ἐπ᾿ \|αὐτόν\|, οὗ ἀπὸ τοῦ προσώπου ἔφυγεν ἡ γῆ καὶ ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ τόπος οὐχ εὑρέθη αὐτοῖς	και ειδον θρονον λευκον μεγαν και τον καθημενον επ αυτου ου απο προσωπου εφυγεν η γη και ο ουρανος και τοπος ουχ ευρεθη αυτοις	και ειδον θρονον μεγαν λευκον και τον καθημενον επ αυτον ου απο προσωπου εφυγεν η γη και ο ουρανος και τοπος ουχ ευρεθη αυτοις

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened—the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ εἶδον τοὺς νεκρούς, τοὺς μεγάλους καὶ τοὺς μικρούς, ἑστῶτας ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου. καὶ βιβλία ἠνοίχθησαν, καὶ ἄλλο βιβλίον ἠνοίχθη, ὅ ἐστιν τῆς ζωῆς, καὶ ἐκρίθησαν οἱ νεκροὶ ἐκ τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν τοῖς βιβλίοις κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν	και ειδον τους νεκρους μικρους και μεγαλους εστωτας ενωπιον του θεου και βιβλια ηνεωχθησαν και βιβλιον αλλο ηνεωχθη ο εστιν της ζωης και εκριθησαν οι νεκροι εκ των γεγραμμενων εν τοις βιβλιοις κατα τα εργα αυτων	και ειδον τους νεκρους τους μεγαλους και τους μικρους εστωτας ενωπιον του θρονου και βιβλια ηνεωχθησαν και αλλο βιβλιον ηνεωχθη ο εστιν της ζωης και εκριθησαν οι νεκροι εκ των γεγραμμενων εν τοις βιβλιοις κατα τα εργα αυτων

2 Corinthians 3:3 (NET)	2 Corinthians 3:3 (KJV)
revealing that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on tablets of human hearts.	Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
φανερούμενοι ὅτι ἐστὲ ἐπιστολὴ Χριστοῦ διακονηθεῖσα ὑφ᾿ ἡμῶν, ἐγγεγραμμένη οὐ μέλανι ἀλλὰ πνεύματι θεοῦ ζῶντος, οὐκ ἐν πλαξὶν λιθίναις ἀλλ᾿ ἐν πλαξὶν καρδίαις σαρκίναις	φανερουμενοι οτι εστε επιστολη χριστου διακονηθεισα υφ ημων εγγεγραμμενη ου μελανι αλλα πνευματι θεου ζωντος ουκ εν πλαξιν λιθιναις αλλ εν πλαξιν καρδιας σαρκιναις	φανερουμενοι οτι εστε επιστολη χριστου διακονηθεισα υφ ημων εγγεγραμμενη ου μελανι αλλα πνευματι θεου ζωντος ουκ εν πλαξιν λιθιναις αλλ εν πλαξιν καρδιαις σαρκιναις

2 Corinthians 3:6 (NET)	2 Corinthians 3:6 (KJV)
who made us adequate to be servants of a new covenant not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.	Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὃς καὶ ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς διακόνους καινῆς διαθήκης, οὐ γράμματος ἀλλὰ πνεύματος· τὸ γὰρ γράμμα \|ἀποκτέννει\|, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζῳοποιεῖ	ος και ικανωσεν ημας διακονους καινης διαθηκης ου γραμματος αλλα πνευματος το γαρ γραμμα αποκτεινει το δε πνευμα ζωοποιει	ος και ικανωσεν ημας διακονους καινης διαθηκης ου γραμματος αλλα πνευματος το γαρ γραμμα αποκτενει το δε πνευμα ζωοποιει

Colossians 3:4 (NET)	Colossians 3:4 (KJV)
When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him.	When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὅταν ὁ Χριστὸς φανερωθῇ (ἡ ζωὴ \|ὑμῶν\|), τότε καὶ ὑμεῖς σὺν αὐτῷ φανερωθήσεσθε ἐν δόξῃ	οταν ο χριστος φανερωθη η ζωη ημων τοτε και υμεις συν αυτω φανερωθησεσθε εν δοξη	οταν ο χριστος φανερωθη η ζωη ημων τοτε και υμεις συν αυτω φανερωθησεσθε εν δοξη

Back to Christianity, Part 6

Back to Who Am I? Part 16

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 1

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 2

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 3

Back to Exploration, Part 3

¹ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had καὶ λαὸν here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

² The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had αὐτὸν here in the accusative case, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτω in the dative case (KJV: him).

³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the singular οὗ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the plural ων.

⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the singular τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ (literally: the name of him) here, where the Byzantine Majority Text had τὸ ὄνομα, and the Stephanus Textus Receptus had the plural τα ονοματα (KJV: names).

⁵ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the masculine or neuter article τῷ preceding book, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had the feminine article τη.

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τοῦ in the genitive case preceding was killed. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

⁷ Revelation 13:7, 8 (NET)

⁸ This article τοῦ is not found in the Stephanus Textus Receptus.

⁹ GREEK NOUNS (Shorter Definitions), Resources for Learning New Testament Greek

¹⁰ Revelation 17:8 (NET) Table

¹¹ Revelation 20:15 (NET) Table

¹² 2 Peter 3:9 (NET) Table

¹³ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ο ιωαννης here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὑπὲρ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had περι (KJV: of).

¹⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τω preceding water. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁶ John 1:29-31 (NET)

¹⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουν (KJV: Then) preceding him. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁸ John 3:10 (NET) Table

¹⁹ John 3:7 (NET)

²⁰ Philippians 3:9a (NET)

²¹ Philippians 3:9b (NET)

²² Philippians 2:8-11 (NET)

²³ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had an adjective κοινὸν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had a participle κοινουν (KJV: that defileth).

²⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὁ ποιῶν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ποιουν (KJV: worketh).

²⁵ The NET parallel Greek text had Ἀλλὰ here, where the NA²⁸, Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byantine Majority Text had Ἀλλ’.

²⁶ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had μενοῦνγε here, where the Byantine Majority Text had μεν ουν.

²⁷ Revelation 20:15a (NET)

²⁸ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had αὐτόν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had αυτου.

²⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the article τοῦ preceding presence (KJV: face). The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

³⁰ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τοὺς preceding great. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

³¹ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τοὺς preceding small. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

³² The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had θρόνου here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had θεου (KJV: God).

³³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἠνοίχθησαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ηνεωχθησαν.

³⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἠνοίχθη here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ηνεωχθη.

³⁵ Revelation 20:12b (NET)

³⁶ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the plural καρδίαις in the dative case here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had the singular καρδιας in the genitive case (KJV: of the heart).

³⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀποκτέννει here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had αποκτεινει (KJV: killeth), and the Byzantine Majority Text had αποκτενει.

³⁸ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν preceding stone. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

³⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὑμῶν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ημων (KJV: our).

⁴⁰ Revelation 20:12b (NET)

⁴¹ Philippians 3:18b, 19 (KJV)

The Book of Life, Part 2

Posted on May 25, 2022 by admin

To the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who holds the seven¹ spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation² (ὄνομα) that you are alive, but in reality you are dead.³

This angel (ἀγγέλῳ) may be the human messenger of God to the Sardis Church. This message is addressed to a singular you: your (σου) deeds, you have (ἔχεις). It is probably most prudent for human messengers to assume it is addressed to them and for members of their congregations to assume it is addressed to them as individuals. It is worth noting that ὄνομα was used here in the sense of reputation, that for which one is known, falsely in this particular instance.

But⁴ you have (ἔχεις) a few individuals (ὀνόματα, a form of ὄνομα) in⁵ Sardis who have not stained their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed in white because they are worthy.⁶

Here, however, I would assume that you have (ἔχεις) referred to the church in Sardis as a singular collective. And here, also, ὀνόματα, a plural form of ὄνομα was translated individuals, names understood as persons. The pertinent verse for a consideration of the book of life follows (Revelation 3:5 NET).

The one who conquers (νικῶν) will be dressed like them⁷ [i.e., the names in Sardis who have not stained their clothes] in white clothing, and I will never erase his name (ὄνομα) from the book of life (τῆς βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς), but will declare⁸ his name (ὄνομα) before my Father and before his angels.

This is an encouraging promise: Jesus (Revelation 1:12-18) will never (οὐ μὴ) erase (ἐξαλείψω) [the] name [of t]he one who conquers…from the book of life. This is called the subjunctive of emphatic negation,⁹ though ἐξαλείψω in this particular occurrence is in the future tense and indicative mood. It harmonizes perfectly with the Lord’s wish…for all come to repentance.¹⁰ The implication, however, that one who does not conquer may not be so blessed, coupled with the statement—If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire¹¹—leaves a different impression.

This is as good a place as any to point out that name (ὄνομα) is not found in Revelation 20:15 in the Greek texts [see Table below] but was added by the translators. If I consider the different usages of ὄνομα in the previous passage, I begin to wonder if Jesus will declare the personal name of the one who conquers…before my Father and before his angels, or the reputation of the one who conquers. Likewise, is it the personal name of the one who conquers He will never erase…from the book of life? Or is it the reputation of the one who conquers that He will never erase…from the book of life?

I have thought that the book of life lists the names of those who will not be thrown into the lake of fire. Perhaps it contains the true reputation or character of the one who conquers instead. If I limited myself to considering only Revelation 3:1-5, I would assume that the one who conquers completes his or her deeds in the sight of Jesus’¹² God,¹³ remembers what he or she has received and heard, obeys it, and repents,¹⁴ and doesn’t dribble food or drink on his or her clothing.

A little familiarity with Isaiah, however, persuades me that stained…clothes has more to do with sin than with sloppy eating or drinking (Isaiah 1:18 ESV Table):

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ is fairly explicit about those whose place will be in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8 NET):

But as for the¹⁵ cowards, unbelievers,¹⁶ detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells,¹⁷ idol worshipers, and all those who lie, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. That is the second¹⁸ death.¹⁹

So, I tend to add not being or doing these things to the list of requirements that defines the one who conquers. Without discounting any of these achievements, I recognize from many other statements in the Bible that the path to these achievements is not through my adherence to rules. That would be hypocrisy, the work of an actor.

I suspect that this sort of do-it-yourself religion was the reason Jesus told John to write to the angel of the church in Sardis,²⁰ I have not found your deeds complete (πεπληρωμένα, a form of πληρόω) in the sight of my God.²¹ Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill (πληρῶσαι, another form of πληρόω) them,²² Jesus promised.

The path to all of these achievements is through Jesus Christ (John 14:5-7 NET):

Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How²³ can we know the way?” Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you have known²⁴ me, you will know²⁵ my Father too. And from now on you do know him and have seen him.”

All of these achievements are the work of God through Our Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:3, 5-8 NET):

Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God [Table]…I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God [Table]. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’ The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

When asked, “What should we do, brothers?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”²⁶

Paul wrote (Galatians 5:16-18 NET):

But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want [Table]. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

And again (Romans 8:1-4 NET):

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death [Table]. For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled (πληρωθῇ, another form of πληρόω) in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

I admit that here and now I think of the sin he condemned (κατέκρινεν, a form of κατακρίνω) in my flesh as imprisoned there. The coward and unbeliever imprisoned in my flesh don’t prevent me from trusting Jesus or receiving his faith in God’s word. The detestable person imprisoned in my flesh doesn’t prevent Him from sharing his holiness with me. The murderer imprisoned in my flesh is not free to go on a killing spree. The sexual predator imprisoned in my flesh is restrained from victimizing women, men, girls, boys and animals, or making a religious rite of victimizing them. The magical thinking idol worshiper imprisoned in my flesh cannot stop me from hearing the Word of God, nor can the liar imprisoned there dissuade me from the truth of his word.

Still, the ultimate destination of all this sin he condemned in my flesh is the lake of fire²⁷ along with Death and Hades,²⁸ the place of the dead. It’s a very hopeful thing that when Jesus raises me up at²⁹ the last day³⁰ I’ll no longer be burdened with all this sinful residue. While I can appreciate in a hypothetical sense that those who define themselves by, or take pride in, the sin he condemned in their flesh may not perceive things quite this way, I see no reason to despair over the persistence of human sinfulness while I trust in the persistence of the One who does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.³¹I’m willing to continue, expecting the book of life to be something more than a list of personal names (ὀνοματογραφία) of those who will not be thrown into the lake of fire.³²

Thus far the Greek words translated the book were τῇ βίβλῳ (Revelation 20:15) and τῆς βίβλου (Revelation 3:5), forms of βίβλος. Now I’ll consider an occurrence of τὸ βιβλίον (Revelation 17:8 NET).

The³³ beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss and then go to destruction. The inhabitants of the earth—all those whose names³⁴ have not been written in (ἐπὶ) the book of life (τὸ βιβλίον τῆς ζωῆς) since the foundation of the world—will be astounded³⁵ when they see that³⁶ the beast was, and is not, but is to come.³⁷

The words all those appear to have been added by the translators. They have no counterpart in the Greek text. So, The inhabitants of the earth…whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world—will be astounded. If I understand the singular τὸ ὄνομα (translated: names) as reputation or character, then I can assume it is the reputation or character of the one who conquers which has been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world and that those who do net yet possess this character, those who have not yet lived this reputation, those who have not yet received God’s salvation in Jesus Christ, will be astounded.

The alternative, that the names, τα ονοματα, are personal names implies that there are inhabitants of the earth for whom God never cared but predestined to be thrown into the lake of fire since the foundation of the world. Since that would make the Lord’s wish..for all to come to repentance³⁸ not merely sentimental but a bald-faced lie, I will continue to consider that it is the reputation or character of the one who conquers which has been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world.

I’ll pick this up in another essay. The table mentioned above follows:

A note (41) in the NET reads: “The word ‘name’ is not in the Greek text, but is implied.”

Revelation 20:15 (NET)	Revelation 20:15 (KJV)
If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.	And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ εἴ τις οὐχ εὑρέθη ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ τῆς ζωῆς γεγραμμένος, ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρός	και ει τις ουχ ευρεθη εν τη βιβλω της ζωης γεγραμμενος εβληθη εις την λιμνην του πυρος	και ει τις ουχ ευρεθη εν τω βιβλιω της ζωης γεγραμμενος εβληθη εις την λιμνην του πυρος

Tables comparing Revelation 3:1; 3:4; 3:5; 3:2; 3:3; 21:8; John 14:5; 14:7 and Revelation 17:8 in the NET and KJV follow.

Revelation 3:1 (NET)	Revelation 3:1 (KJV)
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation that you are alive, but in reality you are dead.	And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Σάρδεσιν ἐκκλησίας γράψον· Τάδε λέγει ὁ ἔχων τὰ ἑπτὰ πνεύματα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἀστέρας· οἶδα σου τὰ ἔργα ὅτι ὄνομα ἔχεις ὅτι ζῇς, καὶ νεκρὸς εἶ	και τω αγγελω της εν σαρδεσιν εκκλησιας γραψον ταδε λεγει ο εχων τα πνευματα του θεου και τους επτα αστερας οιδα σου τα εργα οτι το ονομα εχεις οτι ζης και νεκρος ει	και τω αγγελω της εν σαρδεσιν εκκλησιας γραψον ταδε λεγει ο εχων τα επτα πνευματα του θεου και τους επτα αστερας οιδα σου τα εργα οτι ονομα εχεις οτι ζης και νεκρος ει

Revelation 3:4 (NET)	Revelation 3:4 (KJV)
But you have a few individuals in Sardis who have not stained their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed in white because they are worthy.	Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀλλὰ ἔχεις ὀλίγα ὀνόματα ἐν Σάρδεσιν ἃ οὐκ ἐμόλυναν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτῶν, καὶ περιπατήσουσιν μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἐν λευκοῖς, ὅτι ἄξιοι εἰσιν	εχεις ολιγα ονοματα και εν σαρδεσιν α ουκ εμολυναν τα ιματια αυτων και περιπατησουσιν μετ εμου εν λευκοις οτι αξιοι εισιν	αλλ ολιγα εχεις ονοματα εν σαρδεσιν α ουκ εμολυναν τα ιματια αυτων και περιπατησουσιν μετ εμου εν λευκοις οτι αξιοι εισιν

Revelation 3:5 (NET)	Revelation 3:5 (KJV)
The one who conquers will be dressed like them in white clothing, and I will never erase his name from the book of life, but will declare his name before my Father and before his angels.	He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ὁ νικῶν οὕτως περιβαλεῖται ἐν ἱματίοις λευκοῖς καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐξαλείψω τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῆς βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς καὶ ὁμολογήσω τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιον τοῦ πατρός μου καὶ ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ	ο νικων ουτος περιβαλειται εν ιματιοις λευκοις και ου μη εξαλειψω το ονομα αυτου εκ της βιβλου της ζωης και εξομολογησομαι το ονομα αυτου ενωπιον του πατρος μου και ενωπιον των αγγελων αυτου	ο νικων ουτος περιβαλειται εν ιματιοις λευκοις και ου μη εξαλειψω το ονομα αυτου εκ της βιβλου της ζωης και ομολογησω το ονομα αυτου ενωπιον του πατρος μου και ενωπιον των αγγελων αυτου

Revelation 3:2 (NET)	Revelation 3:2 (KJV)
Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about to die, because I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.	Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
γίνου γρηγορῶν καὶ στήρισον τὰ λοιπὰ ἃ ἔμελλον ἀποθανεῖν, οὐ γὰρ εὕρηκα σου \|τὰ\| ἔργα πεπληρωμένα ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ μου	γινου γρηγορων και στηριξον τα λοιπα α μελλει αποθανειν ου γαρ ευρηκα σου τα εργα πεπληρωμενα ενωπιον του θεου	γινου γρηγορων και στηρισον τα λοιπα α εμελλες αποβαλλειν ου γαρ ευρηκα σου τα εργα πεπληρωμενα ενωπιον του θεου μου

Revelation 3:3 (NET)	Revelation 3:3 (KJV)
Therefore, remember what you received and heard, and obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come against you.	Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
μνημόνευε οὖν πῶς εἴληφας καὶ ἤκουσας καὶ τήρει καὶ μετανόησον. ἐὰν οὖν μὴ γρηγορήσῃς, ἥξω ὡς κλέπτης, καὶ οὐ μὴ γνῷς ποίαν ὥραν ἥξω ἐπὶ σέ	μνημονευε ουν πως ειληφας και ηκουσας και τηρει και μετανοησον εαν ουν μη γρηγορησης ηξω επι σε ως κλεπτης και ου μη γνως ποιαν ωραν ηξω επι σε	μνημονευε ουν πως ειληφας και ηκουσας και τηρει και μετανοησον εαν ουν μη γρηγορησης ηξω επι σε ως κλεπτης και ου μη γνως ποιαν ωραν ηξω επι σε

Revelation 21:8 (NET)	Revelation 21:8 (KJV)
But as for the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, idol worshipers, and all those who lie, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. That is the second death.	But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
τοῖς δὲ δειλοῖς καὶ ἀπίστοις καὶ ἐβδελυγμένοις καὶ φονεῦσιν καὶ πόρνοις καὶ φαρμάκοις καὶ εἰδωλολάτραις καὶ πᾶσιν τοῖς ψευδέσιν τὸ μέρος αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ λίμνῃ τῇ καιομένῃ πυρὶ καὶ θείῳ, ὅ ἐστιν ὁ θάνατος ὁ δεύτερος	δειλοις δε και απιστοις και εβδελυγμενοις και φονευσιν και πορνοις και φαρμακευσιν και ειδωλολατραις και πασιν τοις ψευδεσιν το μερος αυτων εν τη λιμνη τη καιομενη πυρι και θειω ο εστιν δευτερος θανατος	τοις δε δειλοις και απιστοις και αμαρτωλοις και εβδελυγμενοις και φονευσιν και πορνοις και φαρμακοις και ειδωλολατραις και πασιν τοις ψευδεσιν το μερος αυτων εν τη λιμνη τη καιομενη πυρι και θειω ο εστιν ο θανατος ο δευτερος

John 14:5 (NET)	John 14:5 (KJV)
Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”	Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Λέγει αὐτῷ Θωμᾶς· κύριε, οὐκ οἴδαμεν ποῦ ὑπάγεις· πῶς \|δυνάμεθα\| τὴν ὁδὸν \|εἰδέναι\|	λεγει αυτω θωμας κυριε ουκ οιδαμεν που υπαγεις και πως δυναμεθα την οδον ειδεναι	λεγει αυτω θωμας κυριε ουκ οιδαμεν που υπαγεις και πως δυναμεθα την οδον ειδεναι

John 14:7 (NET)	John 14:7 (KJV)
If you have known me, you will know my Father too. And from now on you do know him and have seen him.”	If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἰ \|ἐγνώκατε\| με, καὶ τὸν πατέρα μου \|γνώσεσθε. καὶ\| ἀπ᾿ ἄρτι γινώσκετε αὐτὸν καὶ ἑωράκατε \|αὐτόν\|	ει εγνωκειτε με και τον πατερα μου εγνωκειτε αν και απ αρτι γινωσκετε αυτον και εωρακατε αυτον	ει εγνωκειτε με και τον πατερα μου εγνωκειτε αν και απ αρτι γινωσκετε αυτον και εωρακατε αυτον

Revelation 17:8 (NET)	Revelation 17:8 (KJV)
The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss and then go to destruction. The inhabitants of the earth—all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world—will be astounded when they see that the beast was, and is not, but is to come.	The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Τὸ θηρίον ὃ εἶδες ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν καὶ μέλλει ἀναβαίνειν ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου καὶ εἰς ἀπώλειαν ὑπάγει, καὶ θαυμασθήσονται οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὧν οὐ γέγραπται τὸ ὄνομα ἐπὶ τὸ βιβλίον τῆς ζωῆς ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, βλεπόντων τὸ θηρίον ὅτι ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν καὶ παρέσται	θηριον ο ειδες ην και ουκ εστιν και μελλει αναβαινειν εκ της αβυσσου και εις απωλειαν υπαγειν και θαυμασονται οι κατοικουντες επι της γης ων ου γεγραπται τα ονοματα επι το βιβλιον της ζωης απο καταβολης κοσμου βλεποντες το θηριον ο τι ην και ουκ εστιν καιπερ εστιν	το θηριον ο ειδες ην και ουκ εστιν και μελλει αναβαινειν εκ της αβυσσου και εις απωλειαν υπαγειν και θαυμασονται οι κατοικουντες επι της γης ων ου γεγραπται τα ονοματα επι το βιβλιον της ζωης απο καταβολης κοσμου βλεποντων οτι ην το θηριον και ουκ εστιν και παρεσται

The Book of Life, Part 3

Back to Who Am I? Part 16

¹ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἑπτὰ here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

² The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article το preceding reputation (KJV: name). The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

³ Revelation 3:1 (NET)

⁴ The NET parallel Greek text had ἀλλὰ here, where the NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἀλλ’. The Stephanus Textus Receptus had neither.

⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had και (KJV: even) preceding in. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

⁶ Revelation 3:4 (NET)

⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had οὕτως here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουτος (KJV: the same).

⁸ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ὁμολογήσω here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had εξομολογησομαι (KJV: I will confess).

⁹ Subjunctive of Emphatic Negation

a) This is a way to strongly deny that something will happen. It is the strongest way to negate something in Greek.

b) It is formed by using a double negative (ou mh) with an aorist subjunctive verb (or possibly future indicative). While ou plus the indicative denies a certainty, ou mh plus the subjunctive denies even the potentiality.

c) It is translated “certainly not” or “never”, with the English future tense

¹⁰ 2 Peter 3:9b (NET) Table

¹¹ Revelation 20:15 (NET)

¹² The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had μου here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not (KJV: God).

¹³ Revelation 3:2b

¹⁴ Revelation 3:3a

¹⁵ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τοῖς here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

¹⁶ The Byzantine Majority Text had και αμαρτωλοις (“and sinners”) following unbelievers. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

¹⁷ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had φαρμάκοις here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had φαρμακευσιν (KJV: sorcerers).

¹⁸ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ὁ preceding second. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

¹⁹ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ὁ preceding death. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

²⁰ Revelation 3:1a (NET)

²¹ Revelation 3:2b (NET)

²² Matthew 5:17 (NET)

²³ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: and) preceding how. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐγνώκατε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εγνωκειτε (KJV: ye had known).

²⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had γνώσεσθε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εγνωκειτε αν (KJV: ye should have known).

²⁶ Acts 2:37b, 38 (NET) Table

²⁷ Revelation 21:8

²⁸ Revelation 20:14 Table

²⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐν here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

³⁰ John 6:40b (NET)

³¹ 2 Peter 3:9b (NET) Table

³² Revelation 20:15 (NET)

³³ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article Τὸ preceding beast. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

³⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τὸ ὄνομα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τα ονοματα.

³⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had θαυμασθήσονται here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had θαυμασονται (KJV: shall wonder).

³⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὅτι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ο τι.

A note (23) in the NET reads: Some translations take the ὅτι (hoti) here as causal: “because he was, and is not, but is to come” (so NIV, NRSV), but it is much more likely that the subject of the ὅτι clause has been assimilated into the main clause: “when they see the beast, that he was…” = “when they see that the beast was” (so BDAG 732 s.v. ὅτι 1.f, where Rev 17:8 is listed).

³⁷ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had παρέσται here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had καιπερ εστιν (KJV: and yet is).

³⁸ 2 Peter 3:9b (NET) Table

The Book of Life, Part 1

Posted on April 29, 2022 by admin

If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.¹

This verse follows the one I quoted in another essay: Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.² This is the main reason I thought Death and Hades were euphemisms for “those who had died.”

If this is a prophecy of future unalterable events, then this knowledge makes the Lord’s wish…for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9b) seem like sentiment. It gives me pause and another opportunity to consider my options if I stood before the judgment seat of Christ and He determined that it was best that I should be thrown into the lake of fire.

First, I believe his judgments are true and just.³ He does not judge by appearances, but…with right judgment.⁴ I can’t imagine all that might run through my mind at that moment, but one thing is certain because it is my practice: I would resolve to face the lake of fire one moment at a time in the strength of his Spirit, relying on God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.⁵

I doubt, however, that Jesus would throw his own Holy Spirit into the lake of fire. So, plan B would be to do everything in my power to cling to Him, to go wherever He is taken, at the moment the Lord withdrew his Holy Spirit. Failing that, well, frankly, I care very little for any residue of me apart from his Holy Spirit. He can dispose of it as He pleases.

None of this was of any concern to me in the beginning, after I prayed to know God. No matter what Jesus had done on the cross I knew the last mile was mine to walk alone. My salvation was ultimately in my hands. My faith differentiated me from all those who would be thrown into the lake of fire. As I wrote before, “I was still pretty cocky.”

“Whosoever will may come” seemed fair to me. It was a popular saying derived from Revelation 22:17 (KJV):

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.⁶ And let him that heareth say, Come.⁷ And let him that is athirst come.⁸ And⁹ whosoever will, let him take¹⁰ the¹¹ water of life freely.

Eternal life is available to all who will (θέλων, a form of θέλω) or want it. Those who do not want eternal life prefer the second death—the lake of fire.¹² Everyone should be smart enough to prefer eternal life to the lake of fire.

So in my early twenties my theology was little changed from that of my five-year-old self. The difference was that my twenty-something self read the Bible more than my five-year-old self. So my twenty-something self was both troubled and intrigued by Jesus’ words (John 6:44, 45 NET):

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day [Table]. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God’ [See Table below]. Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me [Table].

So Jesus taught that the Father’s drawing and teaching preceded my will, my desire, to come to Him for eternal life. Looking back at my own life I had to agree that this was true. But my hearing and my learning could still differentiate me from all those who would be thrown into the lake of fire.

There was another related stream (John 6:28, 29 NET):

So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires?” Jesus replied, “This is the deed God requires—to believe in the one whom he sent” [Table].

I didn’t have the NET at my disposal in my early twenties. I read the KJV or the NASB:

John 6:29 (KJV)	John 6:29 (NASB)
Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.	Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

But I understood this passage as translated in the NET: that believing in Jesus was my work, the deed that would differentiate me from all those who would be thrown into the lake of fire. I heard Jesus’ response then as if He answered the question directly: What must we do (NET/Parallel Greek: τί ποιῶμεν)? Or What shall we do (KJV/Stephanus Textus Receptus: τι ποιουμεν)? Now, I assume that his answer was correcting the basic premise of the question (John 6:29b KJV/NASB):

This is the work of God (τοῦτο ἐστιν τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ)…

I sat in the airport recently after seven very long days of work, waiting for my flight home. It was delayed four hours. Every sound everyone around me made annoyed me. I was ready to go off on someone, anyone, but the fruit of the Holy Spirit flooded into me—God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control¹³—against my will, contrary to my desire to lash out at someone.

Whether πιστεύητε (NET: believe) or πιστευσητε (KJV: ye believe) was original, both are in the subjunctive mood: “in order that you may [might] believe in the one whom he sent” is a very fair translation of ἵνα πιστεύητε [πιστευσητε] εἰς ὃν ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος once the idea that faith is my work is purged from my thinking. And as the result clause of This is the work of God it is fair to understand this as you will believe: “if the subjunctive mood is used in a purpose or result clause, then the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.”

In my twenties, though all of this was unknown to me, I did begin to hear Paul’s words as my own (Romans 7:15-25a NET):

For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want—instead, I do what I hate. But if I do what I don’t want, I agree that the law is good. But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me (ἡ |οἰκοῦσα| ἐν ἐμοὶ ἁμαρτία) [Table]. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want! Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me (ἡ οἰκοῦσα ἐν ἐμοὶ ἁμαρτία) [Table].

So, I find the law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to¹⁴ the law of sin that is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! [Table]

So it may be more accurate to describe my experience at the airport as the sin that lives in me wanted to go off on someone. For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want.¹⁵ But when I’m tired and crabby, it feels like me.

I was like a wife who thinks she is too tired for sex but acquiesces to her husband’s desire anyway. After a while she begins to think to herself, “Okay, that’s not so bad.” A while later she thinks, “Yes, you can do that as long as you like.” And sometime after that she thinks, “Please, never stop doing that.”

I don’t want to carry this comparison too far. An orgasm as a sensation seems to have a definite endpoint with a hypersensitive discomfort whenever I’ve pushed through it. I’ve never actually experienced any endpoint to the fruit of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is more constant, more continuous, more eternal, if you will.

In my twenties and then through my thirties, the more I believed that the one bringing forth in [me] both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God,¹⁶ the better my behavior became. For it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.¹⁷ The more I relied on the fruit of his Spirit, the more I realized that faith, even my faithfulness (πίστις), is an aspect of his fruit.

But what does that leave me to differentiate myself from all those who will be thrown into the lake of fire? It’s one thing to say, “but for the grace of God…” It’s another thing entirely to come face-to-face with the fact that the only thing that differentiates me from all those who will be thrown into the lake of fire is God: his mercy, his patient instruction, his grace through Jesus Christ, his indwelling Spirit.

“Then who can be saved?”¹⁸ Jesus’ astonished disciples asked when He told them it was hard for those they had thought the best (at least, the blessed) among them to enter the kingdom of heaven. And here, I think Jesus answered their question directly in the context in which they had asked it (Matthew 19:26 ESV):

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man (ἀνθρώποις, a form of ἄνθρωπος; e.g., people, humankind) this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

So now, it’s more difficult for me to gainsay the Lord’s wish…for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9b) over some knowledge I think I have. I’ll look more seriously at the Book of Life (τῇ βίβλῳ τῆς ζωῆς) instead.

According to a note (68) in the NET Jesus quoted from Isaiah 54:13. The table below compares Jesus’ Greek to that of the Septuagint.

John 6:45 (NET Parallel Greek)	Isaiah 54:13a (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 54:13a (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔσονται πάντες διδακτοὶ θεοῦ	καὶ πάντας τοὺς υἱούς σου διδακτοὺς θεοῦ	καὶ πάντας τοὺς υἱούς σου διδακτοὺς Θεοῦ
John 6:45 (NET)	Isaiah 54:13a (NETS)	Isaiah 54:13a (English Elpenor)
And they will all be taught by God.	And I will make all your sons taught by God	And [I will cause] all thy sons [to be] taught of God

Where the passage in Isaiah had limited all (πάντας) to your sons (τοὺς υἱούς σου), Jesus expanded it to they will all (ἔσονται πάντες).

Tables comparing Isaiah 54:13 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Isaiah 54:13 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Revelation 19:2; 22:17 and Romans 7:23 in the NET and KJV follow.

Isaiah 54:13 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 54:13 (KJV)	Isaiah 54:13 (NET)
And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.	And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.	All your children will be followers of the Lord, and your children will enjoy great prosperity.

Isaiah 54:13 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 54:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ πάντας τοὺς υἱούς σου διδακτοὺς θεοῦ καὶ ἐν πολλῇ εἰρήνῃ τὰ τέκνα σου	καὶ πάντας τοὺς υἱούς σου διδακτοὺς Θεοῦ καὶ ἐν πολλῇ εἰρήνῃ τὰ τέκνα σου
Isaiah 54:13 (NETS)	Isaiah 54:13 (English Elpenor)
And I will make all your sons taught by God and your children to be in great peace.	And [I will cause] all thy sons [to be] taught of God, and thy children [to be] in great peace.

Revelation 19:2 (NET)	Revelation 19:2 (KJV)
because his judgments are true and just. For he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and has avenged the blood of his servants poured out by her own hands!”	For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὅτι ἀληθιναὶ καὶ δίκαιαι αἱ κρίσεις αὐτοῦ· ὅτι ἔκρινεν τὴν πόρνην τὴν μεγάλην ἥτις ἔφθειρεν τὴν γῆν ἐν τῇ πορνείᾳ αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐξεδίκησεν τὸ αἷμα τῶν δούλων αὐτοῦ ἐκ χειρὸς αὐτῆς	οτι αληθιναι και δικαιαι αι κρισεις αυτου οτι εκρινεν την πορνην την μεγαλην ητις εφθειρεν την γην εν τη πορνεια αυτης και εξεδικησεν το αιμα των δουλων αυτου εκ της χειρος αυτης	οτι αληθιναι και δικαιαι αι κρισεις αυτου οτι εκρινεν την πορνην την μεγαλην ητις διεφθειρεν την γην εν τη πορνεια αυτης και εξεδικησεν το αιμα των δουλων αυτου εκ της χειρος αυτης

Revelation 22:17 (NET)	Revelation 22:17 (KJV)
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say: “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wants it take the water of life free of charge.	And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ νύμφη λέγουσιν· ἔρχου. καὶ ὁ ἀκούων εἰπάτω· ἔρχου. καὶ ὁ διψῶν ἐρχέσθω, ὁ θέλων λαβέτω ὕδωρ ζωῆς δωρεάν	και το πνευμα και η νυμφη λεγουσιν ελθε και ο ακουων ειπατω ελθε και ο διψων ελθετω και ο θελων λαμβανετω το υδωρ ζωης δωρεαν	και το πνευμα και η νυμφη λεγουσιν ερχου και ο ακουων ειπατω ερχου και ο διψων ερχεσθω ο θελων λαβετω υδωρ ζωης δωρεαν

Romans 7:23 (NET)	Romans 7:23 (KJV)
But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members.	But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
βλέπω δὲ ἕτερον νόμον ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν μου ἀντιστρατευόμενον τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ νοός μου καὶ αἰχμαλωτίζοντα με \|ἐν\| τῷ νόμῳ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τῷ ὄντι ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν μου	βλεπω δε ετερον νομον εν τοις μελεσιν μου αντιστρατευομενον τω νομω του νοος μου και αιχμαλωτιζοντα με τω νομω της αμαρτιας τω οντι εν τοις μελεσιν μου	βλεπω δε ετερον νομον εν τοις μελεσιν μου αντιστρατευομενον τω νομω του νοος μου και αιχμαλωτιζοντα με εν τω νομω της αμαρτιας τω οντι εν τοις μελεσιν μου

The Book of Life, Part 2

Back to Christianity, Part 2

Back to Who Am I? Part 14

Back to A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 9

Back to The Day of the Lord, Part 7

Back to Keep Yourselves from Idols, Part 1

Back to Who Am I? Part 16

Back to Who Am I? Part 17

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 4, Part 2

¹ Revelation 20:15 (NET)

² Revelation 20:14 (NET) Table

³ Revelation 19:2a (NET)

⁴ John 7:24 (ESV) Table

⁵ Galatians 5:22b, 23a (NET) Table

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἔρχου in the present tense here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had ελθε in the 2^nd aorist tense.

⁷ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἔρχου in the present tense here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had ελθε in the 2^nd aorist tense.

⁸ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἐρχέσθω in the present tense here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had ελθετω in the 2^nd aorist tense.

⁹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had και here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹⁰ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had λαβέτω in the 2^nd aorist tense here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had λαμβανετω in the present tense.

¹¹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article το here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹² Revelation 20:14b (NET) Table

¹³ Galatians 5:22b, 23a (NET) Table

¹⁴ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἐν here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

¹⁵ Galatians 5:17 (NET) Table

¹⁶ Philippians 2:13 (NET) Table

¹⁷ Romans 9:16 (NET) Table

¹⁸ Matthew 19:25b (NET) Table

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 11

Posted on April 17, 2022 by admin

This is a continuation of a consideration of the differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint, a translation of the Hebrew before Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah. The final clause of the first verse under consideration follows:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 53:10d (Tanakh) Table	Isaiah 53:10d (NET)	Isaiah 53:10d (NETS) Table	Isaiah 53:11a (Elpenor English)
and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand (בְּיָד֥וֹ).	and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him (yāḏ, בידו).	And the Lord wishes to take away (ἀφελεῗν)	the Lord also is pleased to take away (ἀφελεῖν) from

I had begun to consider other occurrences of forms ἀφαιρέω (Table) in Isaiah to get a feel for any potential relationship between ἀφελεῖν (a form of ἀφαιρέω) and בְּיָד֥וֹ (yāḏ). Since a form of ἀφαιρέω was the translation of a form of סוּר (sûr) in two of the three examples I considered in another essay,¹ I’ve continued with those occurrences in Isaiah.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 18:5 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 18:5 (NET)	Isaiah 18:5 (NETS)	Isaiah 18:5 (Elpenor English)
For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away (הֵסִ֥יר) and cut down the branches.	For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted and the ripening fruit appears, he will cut off the unproductive shoots with pruning knives; he will prune the tendrils [Note 13: the tendrils he will remove (sûr, הסיר), he will cut off].	Before the harvest, when the blossom has been completed and the unripe grape blossoms—a grape-bearing blossom—then he will take away (ἀφελεῗ) the little clusters with pruning hooks and take away (ἀφελεῗ) the small branches and cut them off	Before the reaping time, when the flower has been completely formed, and the unripe grape has put forth its flower and blossomed, then shall he take away (ἀφελεῖ) the little clusters with pruning-hooks, and shall take away (ἀφελεῖ) the small branches, and cut them off;

This seems to be an example of one instance of הֵסִ֥יר (sûr) translated with two instances of ἀφελεῖ (a form of ἀφαιρέω) because of the Hebrew word וְכָרַ֚ת (kāraṯ), translated he shall both cut off (Tanakh, KJV). I won’t spend time here to try to confirm it with other examples.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 25:8 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 25:8 (NET)	Isaiah 25:8 (NETS)	Isaiah 25:8 (Elpenor English)
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away (וּמָחָ֨ה) tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away (יָסִיר֙) from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.	he will swallow up death permanently. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away (māḥâ, ומחה) the tears from every face, and remove (sûr, יסיר) his people’s disgrace from all the earth. Indeed, the Lord has announced it!	Death, having prevailed, swallowed them up, and God has again taken away (ἀφεῗλεν) every tear from every face; the disgrace of the people he has taken away (ἀφεῗλεν) from all the earth, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.	Death has prevailed and swallowed [men] up; but again the Lord God has taken away (ἀφεῖλε) every tear from every face. He has taken away (ἀφεῖλεν) the reproach of [his] people from all the earth: for the mouth off the Lord has spoken it.

Here both וּמָחָ֨ה (māḥâ) and יָסִיר֙ (sûr) were translated ἀφεῖλε(ν) and ἀφεῗλεν (a form of ἀφαιρέω) in the Septuagint. According to a note (33) in the NET Paul quoted Isaiah 25:8, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”² The table below compares Paul’s Greek to that of the Septuagint.

1 Corinthians 15:54b (NET Parallel Greek)	Isaiah 25:8a (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 25:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατεπόθη ὁ θάνατος εἰς νῖκος	κατέπιεν ὁ θάνατος ἰσχύσας	κατέπιεν ὁ θάνατος ἰσχύσας
1 Corinthians 15:54b (NET)	Isaiah 25:8 (NETS)	Isaiah 25:8 (English Elpenor)
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”	Death, having prevailed, swallowed them up	Death has prevailed and swallowed [men] up

Perhaps κατεπόθη ὁ θάνατος εἰς νῖκος (Death has been swallowed up in victory) was a popular saying (λόγος), a summation of the first two clauses of Hosea 13:14 alluding to the καταπίνω imagery (“to drink down, swallow, gulp”) of Isaiah 28:5. As death has swallowed up the living, the living God will swallow up death through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:54b (NET Parallel Greek)	Hosea 13:14a (Septuagint BLB)	Hosea 13:14a (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατεπόθη ὁ θάνατος εἰς νῖκος	ἐκ χειρὸς ᾅδου ῥύσομαι αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐκ θανάτου λυτρώσομαι αὐτούς	ἐκ χειρὸς ᾅδου ῥύσομαι καὶ ἐκ θανάτου λυτρώσομαι αὐτούς
1 Corinthians 15:54b (NET)	Hosea 13:14a (NETS)	Hosea 13:14a (English Elpenor)
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”	I shall rescue them from the hand of Hades and shall redeem them from Death.	I will deliver [them] out of the power of Hades, and will redeem them from death:
1 Corinthians 15:55 (NET Parallel Greek)	Hosea 13:14b (Septuagint BLB)	Hosea 13:14b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ποῦ σου, θάνατε, τὸ νῖκος;³ ποῦ σου, θάνατε, τὸ κέντρον	ποῦ ἡ δίκη σου θάνατε ποῦ τὸ κέντρον σου ᾅδη	ποῦ ἡ δίκη σου, θάνατε; ποῦ τὸ κέντρον σου, ᾅδη
1 Corinthians 15:55 (NET)	Hosea 13:14b (NETS)	Hosea 13:14b (English Elpenor)
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”	O Death, where is your sentence? O Hades, where is your goad?	where is thy penalty, O death? O Hades, where is thy sting?

Regardless, the rabbis who translated the Septuagint didn’t understand the first clause of Isaiah 25:8 in the same way that more contemporary translators have translated the Hebrew of the Masoretic text.

Isaiah 25:8a (Tanakh/KJV from the Masoretic text)	Isaiah 25:8a (NETS from the Septuagint)
He will swallow up death in victory;	Death, having prevailed, swallowed them up,

Does this mean that the Hebrew text the rabbis translated was different from that in the Masoretic text? It’s hard to say. The NET translation of Hosea 13:14 leads me to believe that even the Hebrew of the Masoretic text is open to interpretation.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Hosea 13:14 (Tanakh/KJV)	Hosea 13:14 (NET)	Hosea 13:14 (NETS)	Hosea 13:14 (Elpenor English)
I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.	Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not! Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not! O Death, bring on your plagues! O Sheol, bring on your destruction! My eyes will not show any compassion!	I shall rescue them from the hand of Hades and shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where is your sentence? O Hades, where is your goad? Comfort is hidden from my eyes.	I will deliver [them] out of the power of Hades, and will redeem them from death: where is thy penalty, O death? O Hades, where is thy sting? comfort is hidden from mine eyes.

This kind of complexity is frustrating to anyone living a timed life. I certainly live a timed life, traveling on airplanes to various cities to record conference sessions that happen in various locations at various times on media that will only hold a fixed amount of data. But I also live an eternal life, knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] sent.⁴ I can trust Him—to unfold, to uncover, to reveal the things that frustrate or confuse me—with that continuous supply of his own peace, patience and faithfulness. Jesus said (Matthew 7:7, 8 NET)

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

My ten years’ association with the study of Geology, first as a student taking courses then as a teaching assistant helping other students learn field techniques for identifying rocks and minerals, helped me see the sediments deposited by a great flood in the Grand Canyon. Standing on the north rim I could almost feel the uplift of the kaibab plateau and the rapid recession of flood waters that carved out most of the features of the Grand Canyon through relatively unconsolidated sediments. On the drive back down to St. Louis I saw for the first time that grander canyon known as the Mississippi valley. And as I recalled the similarity of sedimentary rock strata on the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa I perceived the grandest canyon of all, called the Atlantic Ocean, though my mind still boggles at the power that created it.

Clearly, I didn’t learn what I was expected to learn. My instructors preferred to deliberately suppress this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water. Through these things the world existing at that time was destroyed when it was deluged with water.⁵

Peter’s point in this portion of his letter was that by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, by being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.⁶ [T]he heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze.⁷ This destruction of the universe (or at least this solar system) makes space for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness truly resides.⁸

In answer to a question why this hasn’t happened yet (2 Peter 3:3, 4), Peter replied, The Lord…is being patient toward you because he does not wish (βουλόμενός, a form of βούλομαι) for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.⁹ His wish corresponds to the way Jesus pictured death and Hades (Luke 16:19-31): as the opportunity and space for rich and poor alike to focus their attention on the Bible, something they may have ignored or been completely ignorant of during their lives here.

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death¹⁰—the lake of fire.¹¹ I admit I’ve thought of Death and Hades here as euphemisms for those who have died and those who reside in the place of the dead respectively. Now I’m more willing to consider that it is the very concepts Death and Hades (as the place of the dead) which will be done away with. They become superfluous once every knee has bowed and every tongue confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:5-11).

Paul wrote (Philippians 2:10, 11 NET):

…so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

The Greek word translated will bow above was not κάμψουσιν, the future tense indicative form of κάμπτω. It was κάμψῃ in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood. Likewise, the Greek word translated confess was not ἐξομολογήσεται, the future tense indicative form of ἐξομολογέω (Romans 14:11). It was ἐξομολογήσηται in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood. This is part of the intrigue of translating Koine Greek into English.

Ordinarily, the subjunctive mood would be translated something like “every knee may bow” and “every tongue may confess.” That’s what someone who already knows Greek would expect. Of course, someone who already knows Greek probably also knows that “if the subjunctive mood is used in a purpose or result clause, then the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.”

Here “every knee may bow” and “every tongue may confess” are clearly the result of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:6-8 NET):

who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature [Table]. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross!

And (Philippians 2:9, 10a NET):

As a result God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that (ἵνα) at the name of Jesus…

And here, apparently, the translators of the NET wanted even those who do not already know Koine Greek to know how certain Paul was of this outcome (Philippians 2:10b, 11 NET):

every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

The Lord’s wish…for all to come to repentance isn’t given this much credence in the religious circles I inhabit. But there are six other undisputed¹² occurrences of βουλόμενος in the New Testament to consider: Because he wanted (βουλόμενος) to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them.¹³ Because the Roman commander in Jerusalem wanted (βουλόμενος) to know the true reason Paul was being accused by¹⁴ the Jews, he released him¹⁵ and ordered the chief priests and the whole¹⁶ council¹⁷ to assemble.¹⁸ He then brought Paul down and had him stand before them.¹⁹ When he learned of a plot to kill Paul the Roman commander sent him to the Governor Felix with a letter describing his actions (Acts 23:28 NET):

Since²⁰ I wanted (βουλόμενος) to know²¹ what charge they were accusing him of, I brought him²² down to their council.

God wanted (βουλόμενος) to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable…so he intervened with an oath.²³ In each instance quoted above one with power and authority acted to satisfy his βουλόμενος.

When the ship carrying Paul as a prisoner to Rome began to sink (Acts 27:42, 43 NET):

…the soldiers’ plan (βουλὴ) was to kill the prisoners so that none of them would escape²⁴ by swimming away. But the centurion, wanting (βουλόμενος) to save Paul’s life, prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard²⁵ first and get to land.

It was not the relative strengths of the Greek words (βουλὴ vs. βουλόμενος) that carried the day, but the centurion’s authority over his soldiers. Likewise, When…Herod planned (βουλόμενος) to bring [Peter] out for public trial after the Passover,²⁶ there is every reason to believe he would have carried out his βουλόμενος if he had not been thwarted by a higher power with greater authority (Acts 12:6-11).

Knowing this, I can’t stand before the judgment seat of Christ, look Him in the eye and say to his face, “Your wish for all to come to repentance will never happen.” I’m all in, on Him, his power and his authority because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Tables comparing Isaiah 18:5; 25:8 and Hosea 13:14 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Isaiah 18:5; 25:8 and Hosea 13:14 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing 1 Corinthians 15:55; Revelation 20:14; 2 Corinthians 1:17; Acts 22:30; 23:28 and 27:42, 43 in the NET and KJV follow.

Isaiah 18:5 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 18:5 (KJV)	Isaiah 18:5 (NET)
For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.	For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.	For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted and the ripening fruit appears, he will cut off the unproductive shoots with pruning knives; he will prune the tendrils.

Isaiah 18:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 18:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πρὸ τοῦ θερισμοῦ ὅταν συντελεσθῇ ἄνθος καὶ ὄμφαξ ἀνθήσῃ ἄνθος ὀμφακίζουσα καὶ ἀφελεῗ τὰ βοτρύδια τὰ μικρὰ τοῗς δρεπάνοις καὶ τὰς κληματίδας ἀφελεῗ καὶ κατακόψει	πρὸ τοῦ θερισμοῦ, ὅταν συντελεσθῇ ἄνθος καὶ ὄμφαξ ἐξανθήσῃ ἄνθος ὀμφακίζουσα, καὶ ἀφελεῖ τὰ βοτρύδια τὰ μικρὰ τοῖς δρεπάνοις καὶ τὰς κληματίδας ἀφελεῖ καὶ ἀποκόψει
Isaiah 18:5 (NETS)	Isaiah 18:5 (English Elpenor)
Before the harvest, when the blossom has been completed and the unripe grape blossoms—a grape-bearing blossom—then he will take away the little clusters with pruning hooks and take away the small branches and cut them off	Before the reaping time, when the flower has been completely formed, and the unripe grape has put forth its flower and blossomed, then shall he take away the little clusters with pruning-hooks, and shall take away the small branches, and cut them off;

Isaiah 25:8 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 25:8 (KJV)	Isaiah 25:8 (NET)
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.	He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.	he will swallow up death permanently. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face, and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. Indeed, the Lord has announced it!

Isaiah 25:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 25:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατέπιεν ὁ θάνατος ἰσχύσας καὶ πάλιν ἀφεῗλεν ὁ θεὸς πᾶν δάκρυον ἀπὸ παντὸς προσώπου τὸ ὄνειδος τοῦ λαοῦ ἀφεῗλεν ἀπὸ πάσης τῆς γῆς τὸ γὰρ στόμα κυρίου ἐλάλησεν	κατέπιεν ὁ θάνατος ἰσχύσας, καὶ πάλιν ἀφεῖλε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς πᾶν δάκρυον ἀπὸ παντὸς προσώπου· τὸ ὄνειδος τοῦ λαοῦ ἀφεῖλεν ἀπὸ πάσης τῆς γῆς, τὸ γὰρ στόμα Κυρίου ἐλάλησε
Isaiah 25:8 (NETS)	Isaiah 25:8 (English Elpenor)
Death, having prevailed, swallowed them up, and God has again taken away every tear from every face; the disgrace of the people he has taken away from all the earth, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.	Death has prevailed and swallowed [men] up; but again the Lord God has taken away every tear from every face. He has taken away the reproach of [his] people from all the earth: for the mouth off the Lord has spoken it.

Hosea 13:14 (Tanakh)	Hosea 13:14 (KJV)	Hosea 13:14 (NET)
I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.	I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.	Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not! Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not! O Death, bring on your plagues! O Sheol, bring on your destruction! My eyes will not show any compassion!

Hosea 13:14 (Septuagint BLB)	Hosea 13:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐκ χειρὸς ᾅδου ῥύσομαι αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐκ θανάτου λυτρώσομαι αὐτούς ποῦ ἡ δίκη σου θάνατε ποῦ τὸ κέντρον σου ᾅδη παράκλησις κέκρυπται ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμῶν μου	ἐκ χειρὸς ᾅδου ῥύσομαι καὶ ἐκ θανάτου λυτρώσομαι αὐτούς, ποῦ ἡ δίκη σου, θάνατε; ποῦ τὸ κέντρον σου, ᾅδη; παράκλησις κέκρυπται ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμῶν μου,
Hosea 13:14 (NETS)	Hosea 13:14 (English Elpenor)
I shall rescue them from the hand of Hades and shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where is your sentence? O Hades, where is your goad? Comfort is hidden from my eyes.	I will deliver [them] out of the power of Hades, and will redeem them from death: where is thy penalty, O death? O Hades, where is thy sting? comfort is hidden from mine eyes.

1 Corinthians 15:55 (NET)	1 Corinthians 15:55 (KJV)
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”	O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ποῦ σου, θάνατε, τὸ νῖκος; ποῦ σου, θάνατε, τὸ κέντρον	που σου θανατε το κεντρον που σου αδη το νικος	που σου θανατε το κεντρον που σου αδη το νικος

Revelation 20:14 (NET)	Revelation 20:14 (KJV)
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.	And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ὁ θάνατος καὶ ὁ ᾅδης ἐβλήθησαν εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρός. οὗτος ὁ θάνατος ὁ δεύτερος ἐστιν, ἡ λίμνη τοῦ πυρός	και ο θανατος και ο αδης εβληθησαν εις την λιμνην του πυρος ουτος εστιν ο δευτερος θανατος	και ο θανατος και ο αδης εβληθησαν εις την λιμνην του πυρος ουτος ο θανατος ο δευτερος εστιν η λιμνη του πυρος

2 Corinthians 1:17 (NET)	2 Corinthians 1:17 (KJV)
Therefore when I was planning to do this, I did not do so without thinking about what I was doing, did I? Or do I make my plans according to mere human standards so that I would be saying both “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time?	When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
τοῦτο οὖν βουλόμενος μήτι ἄρα τῇ ἐλαφρίᾳ ἐχρησάμην; ἢ ἃ βουλεύομαι κατὰ σάρκα βουλεύομαι, ἵνα ᾖ παρ᾿ ἐμοὶ τὸ ναὶ ναὶ καὶ τὸ οὒ οὔ	τουτο ουν βουλευομενος μη τι αρα τη ελαφρια εχρησαμην η α βουλευομαι κατα σαρκα βουλευομαι ινα η παρ εμοι το ναι ναι και το ου ου	τουτο ουν βουλευομενος μη τι αρα τη ελαφρια εχρησαμην η α βουλευομαι κατα σαρκα βουλευομαι ινα η παρ εμοι το ναι ναι και το ου ου

Acts 22:30 (NET)	Acts 22:30 (KJV)
The next day, because the commanding officer wanted to know the true reason Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council to assemble. He then brought Paul down and had him stand before them.	On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Τῇ δὲ ἐπαύριον βουλόμενος γνῶναι τὸ ἀσφαλές, τὸ τί κατηγορεῖται ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἔλυσεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐκέλευσεν συνελθεῖν τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ πᾶν τὸ συνέδριον, καὶ καταγαγὼν τὸν Παῦλον ἔστησεν εἰς αὐτούς	τη δε επαυριον βουλομενος γνωναι το ασφαλες το τι κατηγορειται παρα των ιουδαιων ελυσεν αυτον απο των δεσμων και εκελευσεν ελθειν τους αρχιερεις και ολον το συνεδριον αυτων και καταγαγων τον παυλον εστησεν εις αυτους	τη δε επαυριον βουλομενος γνωναι το ασφαλες το τι κατηγορειται παρα των ιουδαιων ελυσεν αυτον απο των δεσμων και εκελευσεν ελθειν τους αρχιερεις και ολον το συνεδριον αυτων και καταγαγων τον παυλον εστησεν εις αυτους

Acts 23:28 (NET)	Acts 23:28 (KJV)
Since I wanted to know what charge they were accusing him of, I brought him down to their council.	And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
βουλόμενος τε ἐπιγνῶναι τὴν αἰτίαν δι᾿ ἣν ἐνεκάλουν αὐτῷ, \|κατήγαγον εἰς τὸ συνέδριον αὐτῶν\|	βουλομενος δε γνωναι την αιτιαν δι ην ενεκαλουν αυτω κατηγαγον αυτον εις το συνεδριον αυτων	βουλομενος δε γνωναι την αιτιαν δι ην ενεκαλουν αυτω κατηγαγον αυτον εις το συνεδριον αυτων

Acts 27:42, 43 (NET)	Acts 27:42, 43 (KJV)
Now the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that none of them would escape by swimming away.	And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Τῶν δὲ στρατιωτῶν βουλὴ ἐγένετο ἵνα τοὺς δεσμώτας ἀποκτείνωσιν, μή τις ἐκκολυμβήσας διαφύγῃ	των δε στρατιωτων βουλη εγενετο ινα τους δεσμωτας αποκτεινωσιν μη τις εκκολυμβησας διαφυγοι	των δε στρατιωτων βουλη εγενετο ινα τους δεσμωτας αποκτεινωσιν μη τις εκκολυμβησας διαφυγη

But the centurion, wanting to save Paul’s life, prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land,

But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ ἑκατοντάρχης βουλόμενος διασῶσαι τὸν Παῦλον ἐκώλυσεν αὐτοὺς τοῦ βουλήματος, ἐκέλευσεν τε τοὺς δυναμένους κολυμβᾶν ἀπορίψαντας πρώτους ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἐξιέναι	ο δε εκατονταρχος βουλομενος διασωσαι τον παυλον εκωλυσεν αυτους του βουληματος εκελευσεν τε τους δυναμενους κολυμβαν απορριψαντας πρωτους επι την γην εξιεναι	ο δε εκατονταρχος βουλομενος διασωσαι τον παυλον εκωλυσεν αυτους του βουληματος εκελευσεν τε τους δυναμενους κολυμβαν απορριψαντας πρωτους επι την γην εξιεναι

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 12

Back to The Book of Life, Part 1

Back to The Book of Life, Part 2

Back to Christianity, Part 1

Back to Who Am I? Part 16

¹ Isaiah 1:25; 10:13

² 1 Corinthians 15:54b (NET)

³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had νῖκος here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had κέντρον (KJV: sting).

⁴ John 17:3b (NET)

⁵ 2 Peter 3:5, 6 (NET)

⁶ 2 Peter 3:7 (NET) Table

⁷ 2 Peter 3:10b (NET) Table

⁸ 2 Peter 3:13 (NET)

⁹ 2 Peter 3:9 (NET) Table

¹⁰ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ὁ preceding death. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

¹¹ Revelation 20:14 (NET) The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἡ λίμνη τοῦ πυρός here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

¹² In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ planning to do (NET) was βουλόμενος, but in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text When I…was…minded was βουλευομενος.

¹³ Mark 15:15a (NET)

¹⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὑπὸ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had παρα (KJV: of).

¹⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απο των δεσμων (KJV: from his bands) following released him (KJV: loosed him). The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had πᾶν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ολον (KJV: all).

¹⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτων (KJV: their) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁸ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had συνελθεῖν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ελθειν (KJV: to appear).

¹⁹ Acts 22:30 (NET)

²⁰ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δε (KJV: And).

²¹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐπιγνῶναι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had γνωναι (KJV: have known).

²² The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτον here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²³ Hebrews 6:17 (NET)

²⁴ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had διαφύγῃ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had διαφυγοι.

²⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀπορίψαντας here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απορριψαντας (KJV: should cast themselves…into the sea).

²⁶ Acts 12:4b (NET)

The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 8

Posted on March 7, 2022 by admin

This is a continuation of my consideration of God’s love for Satan revealed in the book of Job. I’ve stepped away some from the main topic to consider Satan’s power if and only if the Lord removes the hedge (śûḵ, שׁכת) He has made around Job and his household and all that he has on every side.¹ And this was the experiment Satan proposed to test his hypothesis explaining Job’s fear (yārē’, ירא; Septuagint: σέβεται, a form of σέβω, worship) of God.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 1:17 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 1:17 (NET)	Job 1:17 (NETS)	Job 1:17 (English Elpenor)
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.	While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and carried them all away, and they killed the servants with the sword! And I—only I alone—escaped to tell you!”	While he was still speaking, a further messenger came and said to Iob, “Horsemen formed three columns against us, and they encircled the camels and carried them off and killed the servants with daggers, but I alone escaped, and I came to tell you.”	While he was yet speaking, there came another messenger, and said to Job, The horsemen formed three companies against us, and surrounded the camels, and took them for a prey, and slew the servants with the sword; and I only escaped, and am come to tell thee.

I called this kind of power “Satan 101”: persuading unscrupulous people—who may have been lusting after Job’s camels already—that this was the opportune moment to strike. Something else needs to be addressed here, however, the formula: While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said…and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. This formula will be repeated one more time.

This side of the judgment seat of Christ it seems most prudent to me to assume that this is the way events unfolded. It’s what the text says. But if I sit down with Job someday and he says, “No, no, it happened over a week,” or a month or six months, I won’t be offended. Something about the way the book of Job is constructed tells me I’m reading a dramatic retelling of a true story.

According to “A Glossary of Terms Essential to Describing Literature in the English Major (rev. 9/26/01)” online:

time compression/expansion [is] a dramatic or narrative device by which an author manipulates characters’ and readers’ emotions through speeding up or slowing down the apparent rate of time on the stage or in time.

Though I find it difficult to imagine the culture that might enjoy a presentation of Job as entertainment and edification, it’s fairly easy to recognize that this repeated formula could create a ripple of nervous laughter in an audience, comic relief to ease the tension of the horrors portrayed on stage.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 1:18 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 1:18 (NET)	Job 1:18 (NETS)	Job 1:18 (English Elpenor)
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:	While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,	While he was still speaking, another messenger came, saying to Job, “As your sons and daughters were eating and drinking at their elder brother’s,	While he is yet speaking, another messenger comes, saying to Job, While thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking with their elder brother,

If I am standing before the judgment seat of Christ and He asks why I believed that all these things happened to Job in a short period of time, I can answer: While the statement at the beginning of this section—And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house²—seems out of place at first, the final messenger’s repetition of that very statement seems to indicate that you wanted me to know that all of this occurred during the course of this meal.

If on the other hand Jesus asks why I believed that these events and their revelations happened over the course of a week or a month or six months, I would be left stuttering and stammering something I learned in an English class at school about dramatic writing and time compression.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 1:19 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 1:19 (NET)	Job 1:19 (NETS)	Job 1:19 (English Elpenor)
And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men (הַנְּעָרִ֖ים), and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.	and suddenly a great wind swept across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people (naʿar, הנערים), and they died! And I—only I alone—escaped to tell you!”	suddenly a great wind came from the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and the house fell on your children (τὰ παιδία σου), and they died, but I alone escaped, and I came to tell you.”	suddenly a great wind came on from the desert, and caught the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon thy children (τὰ παιδία σου), and they are dead; and I have escaped alone, and am come to tell thee.

Satan had power over the wind to destroy a house and take human life if and only if God gave him leave to do so. “All right then,” the Lord said to Satan when He authorized his scientific experiment, “everything he has is in your power (literally: in your hand). Only do not extend your hand against the man himself!”³ As scientific experiments go, this one was brutal.

Admittedly, I don’t feel it fully until Job’s children were killed, but the Hebrew word in the Masoretic text for servants and young people was the same [see the table below]. God, I believe, felt everything of the cost of this scientific experiment before He authorized it and loved Satan enough to proceed anyway. But what about Job’s children and servants?

A story Jesus told comes to mind here (Luke 16:19-21 NET):

“There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. But at his gate lay⁴ a poor man (πτωχὸς) named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores,⁵ who longed to eat⁶ what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked⁷ his sores.

In another essay I approached this story from the viewpoint of Jesus’ saying, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”⁸ I wrote that his disciples “believed that the rich were blessed by God, that their wealth was a sign of his approval and favor. And I assume they believed this because their religious teachers believed and taught it.” I am right there with them, however, if I consider the blessings and curses Moses pronounced on Israel.

Deuteronomy 28:2-6, 8 (NET)	Deuteronomy 28:15-19, 21 (NET)
All these blessings will come to you in abundance if you obey the Lord your God:	But if you ignore the Lord your God and are not careful to keep all his commandments and statutes I am giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you in full force:
You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field.	You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the field.
Your children will be blessed, as well as the produce of your soil, the offspring of your livestock, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.	Your basket and your mixing bowl will be cursed.
Your basket and your mixing bowl will be blessed.	Your children will be cursed, as well as the produce of your soil, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.
You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.	You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
The Lord will decree blessing for you with respect to your barns and in everything you do—yes, he will bless you in the land he is giving you.	The Lord will plague you with deadly diseases until he has completely removed you from the land you are about to possess.

If I judge according to external appearance,⁹ I can be as surprised as Jesus’ disciples were (Luke 16:22, 23 NET)

“Now the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s¹⁰ side. The rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades (ᾅδῃ, a form of ᾅδης), as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham¹¹ far off with Lazarus at his side.

“God does not view things the way people do,” the Lord said to Samuel. “People look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”¹² Jesus continued (Luke 16:24, 25 NET):

So [the rich man] called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in anguish in this fire.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that¹³ in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish.

I wrote that this entire story “is not to be taken too literally” when I thought that literally meant to take it as a picture of heaven and hell (the lake of fire). I called Abraham’s response to the rich man “karmic nonsense” until I began to consider that “God’s love [for Lazarus] was revealed after Lazarus’ death.” I stumbled around his response again considering God’s goodness and patience: The Lord…is being patient toward you because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.¹⁴

So here I am again, brought to this story wondering about the deaths of Job’s children and servants. Perhaps I’m ready now to take it and Abraham’s response to the rich man literally. The Lord knew the rich man’s life, choked by thorns: The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces nothing.¹⁵ After his death he is brought to an intense focus.

And I no longer feel compelled to assume that the poor man was faithful or virtuous because angels carried him to Abraham’s side if I take Abraham at his word: Lazarus [received] bad things, but now he is comforted here. Abraham continued to answer the request of the rich man (Luke 16:26 NET Table):

Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’

The rich man, Abraham and Lazarus were not spirits likened to wind, free to go wherever they wanted. They were imprisoned, compelled as it were to focus their attentions. The rich man said (Luke 16:27, 28 NET):

‘Then I beg you, father—send Lazarus to my father’s house (for I have five brothers) to warn them so that they don’t come into this place of torment.’

Both the rich man and Lazarus had no less a personage than Abraham, the father of us all, to focus their attentions precisely (Luke 16:29 NET):

But¹⁶ Abraham said,¹⁷ ‘They have¹⁸ Moses¹⁹ and the prophets; they must respond to them.’

Their deaths had not altered the fact that the Bible (as it existed at that time)—Moses and the prophets—remained the primary focus of human attention. The rich man wanted to argue but Abraham was firm (Luke 16:30, 31 NET):

Then the rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ He replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to Moses²⁰ and the prophets, they will not²¹ be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

I’m embarrassed how often I’ve missed what is now so clear in this context: Abraham learned everything he knew of Moses and the prophets who followed him from his own place in Hades after his death. I can trust Job’s children and servants to the grace and mercy of God.

The table mentioned above follows:

Reference	Hebrew	Tanakh/KJV, NET	Greek	NETS, English Elpenor
Job 1:15 Table	הַנְּעָרִ֖ים	the servants	τοὺς παῖδας	the servants
Job 1:16 Table	וּבַנְּעָרִ֖ים	and the servants	καὶ τοὺς ποιμένας	the shepherds
Job 1:17	הַנְּעָרִ֖ים	the servants	τοὺς παῖδας	the servants
Job 1:19	הַנְּעָרִ֖ים	the young men, the young people	τὰ παιδία σου	your children, thy children

Tables comparing Job 1:17; 1:18; 1:19; Deuteronomy 28:2; 28:15; 28:3; 28:16; 28:4; 28:17; 28:5; 28:18; 28:6; 28:19; 28:8; 28:21 and 1 Samuel 16:7 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Job 1:17; 1:18; 1:19; Deuteronomy 28:2; 28:15; 28:3; 28:16; 28:4; 28:17; 28:5; 28:18; 28:6; 28:19; 28:8; 28:21 and 1 Samuel (1 Reigns, 1 Kings) 16:7 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Luke 16:20, 21; 16:22, 23; 16:25; 16:29 and 16:31 in the NET and KJV follow.

Job 1:17 (Tanakh)	Job 1:17 (KJV)	Job 1:17 (NET)
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.	While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.	While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and carried them all away, and they killed the servants with the sword! And I—only I alone—escaped to tell you!”

Job 1:17 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 1:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἔτι τούτου λαλοῦντος ἦλθεν ἕτερος ἄγγελος καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς Ιωβ οἱ ἱππεῗς ἐποίησαν ἡμῗν κεφαλὰς τρεῗς καὶ ἐκύκλωσαν τὰς καμήλους καὶ ᾐχμαλώτευσαν αὐτὰς καὶ τοὺς παῗδας ἀπέκτειναν ἐν μαχαίραις ἐσώθην δὲ ἐγὼ μόνος καὶ ἦλθον τοῦ ἀπαγγεῗλαί σοι	ἔτι τούτου λαλοῦντος ἦλθεν ἕτερος ἄγγελος καὶ εἶπε πρὸς ᾿Ιώβ· οἱ ἱππεῖς ἐποίησαν ἡμῖν κεφαλὰς τρεῖς καὶ ἐκύκλωσαν τὰς καμήλους καὶ ᾐχμαλώτευσαν αὐτὰς καὶ τοὺς παῖδας ἀπέκτειναν ἐν μαχαίραις· ἐσώθην δὲ ἐγὼ μόνος καὶ ἦλθον τοῦ ἀπαγγεῖλαί σοι
Job 1:17 (NETS)	Job 1:17 (English Elpenor)
While he was still speaking, a further messenger came and said to Iob, “Horsemen formed three columns against us, and they encircled the camels and carried them off and killed the servants with daggers, but I alone escaped, and I came to tell you.”	While he was yet speaking, there came another messenger, and said to Job, The horsemen formed three companies against us, and surrounded the camels, and took them for a prey, and slew the servants with the sword; and I only escaped, and am come to tell thee.

Job 1:18 (Tanakh)	Job 1:18 (KJV)	Job 1:18 (NET)
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:	While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:	While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

Job 1:18 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 1:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἔτι τούτου λαλοῦντος ἄλλος ἄγγελος ἔρχεται λέγων τῷ Ιωβ τῶν υἱῶν σου καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων σου ἐσθιόντων καὶ πινόντων παρὰ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτῶν τῷ πρεσβυτέρῳ	ἔτι τούτου λαλοῦντος ἄλλος ἄγγελος ἔρχεται λέγων τῷ ᾿Ιώβ· τῶν υἱῶν σου καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων σου ἐσθιόντων καὶ πινόντων παρὰ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτῶν τῷ πρεσβυτέρῳ
Job 1:18 (NETS)	Job 1:18 (English Elpenor)
While he was still speaking, another messenger came, saying to Job, “As your sons and daughters were eating and drinking at their elder brother’s,	While he is yet speaking, another messenger comes, saying to Job, Whle thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking with their elder brother,

Job 1:19 (Tanakh)	Job 1:19 (KJV)	Job 1:19 (NET)
And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.	And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.	and suddenly a great wind swept across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they died! And I—only I alone—escaped to tell you!”

Job 1:19 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 1:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐξαίφνης πνεῦμα μέγα ἐπῆλθεν ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου καὶ ἥψατο τῶν τεσσάρων γωνιῶν τῆς οἰκίας καὶ ἔπεσεν ἡ οἰκία ἐπὶ τὰ παιδία σου καὶ ἐτελεύτησαν ἐσώθην δὲ ἐγὼ μόνος καὶ ἦλθον τοῦ ἀπαγγεῗλαί σοι	ἐξαίφνης πνεῦμα μέγα ἐπῆλθεν ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου καὶ ἥψατο τῶν τεσσάρων γωνιῶν τῆς οἰκίας, καὶ ἔπεσεν ἡ οἰκία ἐπὶ τὰ παιδία σου, καὶ ἐτελεύτησαν· ἐσώθην δὲ ἐγὼ μόνος καὶ ἦλθον τοῦ ἀπαγγεῖλαί σοι
Job 1:19 (NETS)	Job 1:19 (English Elpenor)
suddenly a great wind came from the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and the house fell on your children, and they died, but I alone escaped, and I came to tell you.”	suddenly a great wind came on from the desert, and caught the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon thy children, and they are dead; and I have escaped alone, and am come to tell thee.

Deuteronomy 28:2 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 28:2 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 28:2 (NET)
And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of HaShem thy G-d.	And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.	All these blessings will come to you in abundance if you obey the Lord your God:

Deuteronomy 28:2 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 28:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἥξουσιν ἐπὶ σὲ πᾶσαι αἱ εὐλογίαι αὗται καὶ εὑρήσουσίν σε ἐὰν ἀκοῇ ἀκούσῃς τῆς φωνῆς κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου	καὶ ἥξουσιν ἐπὶ σὲ πᾶσαι αἱ εὐλογίαι αὗται καὶ εὑρήσουσί σε, ἐὰν ἀκοῇ ἀκούσῃς τῆς φωνῆς Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου
Deuteronomy 28:2 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 28:2 (English Elpenor)
and all these blessing shall come upon you and find you, if you hear the voice of the Lord your God:	and all these blessings shall come upon thee, and shall find thee. If thou wilt indeed hear the voice of the Lord thy God,

Deuteronomy 28:15 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 28:15 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 28:15 (NET)
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of HaShem thy G-d, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.	But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:	But if you ignore the Lord your God and are not careful to keep all his commandments and statutes I am giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you in full force:

Deuteronomy 28:15 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 28:15 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔσται ἐὰν μὴ εἰσακούσῃς τῆς φωνῆς κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου φυλάσσειν καὶ ποιεῗν πάσας τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ ὅσας ἐγὼ ἐντέλλομαί σοι σήμερον καὶ ἐλεύσονται ἐπὶ σὲ πᾶσαι αἱ κατάραι αὗται καὶ καταλήμψονταί σε	Καὶ ἔσται ἐὰν μὴ εἰσακούσῃς τῆς φωνῆς Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου, φυλάσσειν καὶ ποιεῖν πάσας τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ, ὅσας ἐγὼ ἐντέλλομαί σοι σήμερον, καὶ ἐλεύσονται ἐπὶ σὲ πᾶσαι αἱ κατάραι αὗται καὶ καταλήψονταί σε
Deuteronomy 28:15 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 28:15 (English Elpenor)
And it shall be, if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord your God to keep and to do all his commandments, which I command you today, that all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you:	But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe all his commandments, as many as I charge thee this day, then all these curses shall come on thee, and overtake thee.

Deuteronomy 28:3 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 28:3 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 28:3 (NET)
Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.	Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.	You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field.

Deuteronomy 28:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 28:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εὐλογημένος σὺ ἐν πόλει καὶ εὐλογημένος σὺ ἐν ἀγρῷ	εὐλογημένος σὺ ἐν πόλει καὶ εὐλογημένος σὺ ἐν ἀγρῷ
Deuteronomy 28:3 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 28:3 (English Elpenor)
Blessed be you in the city, and blessed be you in the field.	blessed [shalt] thou [be] in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.

Deuteronomy 28:16 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 28:16 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 28:16 (NET)
Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.	Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.	You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the field.

Deuteronomy 28:16 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 28:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἐν πόλει καὶ ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἐν ἀγρῷ	ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἐν πόλει, καὶ ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἐν ἀγρῷ
Deuteronomy 28:16 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 28:16 (English Elpenor)
Cursed be you in the city, and cursed be you in the field.	Cursed [shalt] thou [be] in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.

Deuteronomy 28:4 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 28:4 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 28:4 (NET)
Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the young of thy flock.	Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.	Your children will be blessed, as well as the produce of your soil, the offspring of your livestock, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.

Deuteronomy 28:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 28:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εὐλογημένα τὰ ἔκγονα τῆς κοιλίας σου καὶ τὰ γενήματα τῆς γῆς σου τὰ βουκόλια τῶν βοῶν σου καὶ τὰ ποίμνια τῶν προβάτων σου	εὐλογημένα τὰ ἔκγονα τῆς κοιλίας σου καὶ τὰ γενήματα τῆς γῆς σου καὶ τὰ βουκόλια τῶν βοῶν σου καὶ τὰ ποίμνια τῶν προβάτων σου
Deuteronomy 28:4 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 28:4 (English Elpenor)
Blessed be the progeny of your belly and the produce of your land, the herds of your cows and the flocks of your sheep.	Blessed shall be the offspring of thy body, and the fruits of thy land, and the herds of thy oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep.

Deuteronomy 28:17 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 28:17 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 28:17 (NET)
Cursed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough.	Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.	Your basket and your mixing bowl will be cursed.

Deuteronomy 28:17 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 28:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐπικατάρατοι αἱ ἀποθῆκαί σου καὶ τὰ ἐγκαταλείμματά σου	ἐπικατάρατοι αἱ ἀποθῆκαί σου καὶ τὰ ἐγκαταλείμματά σου
Deuteronomy 28:17 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 28:17 (English Elpenor)
Cursed be your storehouses and your reserves.	Cursed shall be thy barns and thy stores.

Deuteronomy 28:5 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 28:5 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 28:5 (NET)
Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough.	Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.	Your basket and your mixing bowl will be blessed.

Deuteronomy 28:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 28:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εὐλογημέναι αἱ ἀποθῆκαί σου καὶ τὰ ἐγκαταλείμματά σου	εὐλογημέναι αἱ ἀποθῆκαί σου καὶ τὰ ἐγκαταλείμματά σου
Deuteronomy 28:5 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 28:5 (English Elpenor)
Blessed be your storehouses and your reserves.	Blessed shall be thy barns, and thy stores.

Deuteronomy 28:18 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 28:18 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 28:18 (NET)
Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the young of thy flock.	Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.	Your children will be cursed, as well as the produce of your soil, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.

Deuteronomy 28:18 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 28:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐπικατάρατα τὰ ἔκγονα τῆς κοιλίας σου καὶ τὰ γενήματα τῆς γῆς σου τὰ βουκόλια τῶν βοῶν σου καὶ τὰ ποίμνια τῶν προβάτων σου	ἐπικατάρατα τὰ ἔκγονα τῆς κοιλίας σου καὶ τὰ γενήματα τῆς γῆς σου, τὰ βουκόλια τῶν βοῶν σου καὶ τὰ ποίμνια τῶν προβάτων σου
Deuteronomy 28:18 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 28:18 (English Elpenor)
Cursed be the progeny of your belly and the produce of your land, the herds of your cows and the flocks of your sheep.	Cursed shall be the offspring of thy body, and the fruits of thy land, the herds of thine oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep.

Deuteronomy 28:6 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 28:6 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 28:6 (NET)
Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.	Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.	You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

Deuteronomy 28:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 28:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εὐλογημένος σὺ ἐν τῷ εἰσπορεύεσθαί σε καὶ εὐλογημένος σὺ ἐν τῷ ἐκπορεύεσθαί σε	εὐλογημένος σὺ ἐν τῷ εἰσπορεύεσθαί σε, καὶ εὐλογημένος σὺ ἐν τῷ ἐκπορεύεσθαί σε
Deuteronomy 28:6 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 28:6 (English Elpenor)
Blessed be you when you come in, and blessed be you when you go out.	Blessed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and blessed shalt thou be in thy going out.

Deuteronomy 28:19 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 28:19 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 28:19 (NET)
Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.	Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.	You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

Deuteronomy 28:19 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 28:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἐν τῷ ἐκπορεύεσθαί σε καὶ ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἐν τῷ εἰσπορεύεσθαί σε	ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἐν τῷ εἰσπορεύεσθαί σε καὶ ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἐν τῷ ἐκπορεύεσθαί σε
Deuteronomy 28:19 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 28:19 (English Elpenor)
Cursed be you when you come in, and cursed be you when you go out.	And all the people fell upon their faces, and said, Truly the Lord [is] God; he [is] God.

Deuteronomy 28:8 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 28:8 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 28:8 (NET)
HaShem will command the blessing with thee in thy barns, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto; and He will bless thee in the land which HaShem thy G-d giveth thee.	The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.	The Lord will decree blessing for you with respect to your barns and in everything you do—yes, he will bless you in the land he is giving you.

Deuteronomy 28:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 28:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀποστείλαι κύριος ἐπὶ σὲ τὴν εὐλογίαν ἐν τοῗς ταμιείοις σου καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν οὗ ἂν ἐπιβάλῃς τὴν χεῗρά σου ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἧς κύριος ὁ θεός σου δίδωσίν σοι	ἀποστείλαι Κύριος ἐπὶ σὲ τὴν εὐλογίαν ἐν τοῖς ταμιείοις σου καὶ ἐπὶ πάντα, οὗ ἂν ἐπιβάλῃς τὴν χεῖρά σου, ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἧς Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου δίδωσί σοι
Deuteronomy 28:8 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 28:8 (English Elpenor)
May the Lord send the blessing upon you in your storerooms and in all things to which you put your hand in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.	The Lord send upon thee his blessing in thy barns, and on all on which thou shalt put thine hand, in the land which the Lord thy God gives thee.

Deuteronomy 28:21 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 28:21 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 28:21 (NET)
HaShem will make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until He have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest in to possess it.	The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.	The Lord will plague you with deadly diseases until he has completely removed you from the land you are about to possess.

Deuteronomy 28:21 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 28:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)
προσκολλήσαι κύριος εἰς σὲ τὸν θάνατον ἕως ἂν ἐξαναλώσῃ σε ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς εἰς ἣν σὺ εἰσπορεύῃ ἐκεῗ κληρονομῆσαι αὐτήν	προσκολλήσαι Κύριος εἰς σὲ τὸν θάνατον, ἕως ἂν ἐξαναλώσῃ σε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, εἰς ἣν εἰσπορεύῃ ἐκεῖ κληρονομῆσαι αὐτήν
Deuteronomy 28:21 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 28:21 (English Elpenor)
May the Lord make death cling to you until it consumes you off the land that you are entering there to inherit it.	The Lord cause the pestilence to cleave to thee, until he shall have consumed thee off the land into which thou goest to inherit it.

1 Samuel 16:7 (Tanakh)	1 Samuel 16:7 (KJV)	1 Samuel 16:7 (NET)
But HaShem said unto Samuel: ‘Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him; for it is not as man seeth: for man looketh on the outward appearance, but HaShem looketh on the heart.’	But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.	But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way people do. People look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7 (Septuagint BLB)	1 Kings 16:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς Σαμουηλ μὴ ἐπιβλέψῃς ἐπὶ τὴν ὄψιν αὐτοῦ μηδὲ εἰς τὴν ἕξιν μεγέθους αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐξουδένωκα αὐτόν ὅτι οὐχ ὡς ἐμβλέψεται ἄνθρωπος ὄψεται ὁ θεός ὅτι ἄνθρωπος ὄψεται εἰς πρόσωπον ὁ δὲ θεὸς ὄψεται εἰς καρδίαν	καὶ εἶπε Κύριος πρὸς Σαμουήλ· μὴ ἐπιβλέψῃς ἐπὶ τὴν ὄψιν αὐτοῦ μηδὲ εἰς τὴν ἕξιν μεγέθους αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἐξουδένωκα αὐτόν· ὅτι οὐχ ὡς ἐμβλέψεται ἄνθρωπος, ὄψεται ὁ Θεός, ὅτι ἄνθρωπος ὄψεται εἰς πρόσωπον, ὁ δὲ Θεὸς ὄψεται εἰς καρδίαν
1 Reigns 16:7 (NETS)	1 Kings 16:7 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord said to Samouel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the posture of his size, because I have rejected him, for God will not look as a mortal will see, for a mortal will see into a face, but God will see into a heart.”	But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance, nor on his stature, for I have rejected him; for God sees not as man looks; for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.

Luke 16:20, 21 (NET)	Luke 16:20, 21 (KJV)
But at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores,	And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
πτωχὸς δέ τις ὀνόματι Λάζαρος ἐβέβλητο πρὸς τὸν πυλῶνα αὐτοῦ εἱλκωμένος	πτωχος δε τις ην ονοματι λαζαρος ος εβεβλητο προς τον πυλωνα αυτου ηλκωμενος	πτωχος δε τις ην ονοματι λαζαρος ος εβεβλητο προς τον πυλωνα αυτου ηλκωμενος

who longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores

And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἐπιθυμῶν χορτασθῆναι ἀπὸ τῶν πιπτόντων ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης τοῦ πλουσίου· ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ κύνες ἐρχόμενοι ἐπέλειχον τὰ ἕλκη αὐτοῦ	και επιθυμων χορτασθηναι απο των ψιχιων των πιπτοντων απο της τραπεζης του πλουσιου αλλα και οι κυνες ερχομενοι απελειχον τα ελκη αυτου	και επιθυμων χορτασθηναι απο των ψιχιων των πιπτοντων απο της τραπεζης του πλουσιου αλλα και οι κυνες ερχομενοι απελειχον τα ελκη αυτου

Luke 16:22, 23 (NET)	Luke 16:22,23 (KJV)
“Now the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.	And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἐγένετο δὲ ἀποθανεῖν τὸν πτωχὸν καὶ ἀπενεχθῆναι αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων εἰς τὸν κόλπον Ἀβραάμ· ἀπέθανεν δὲ καὶ ὁ πλούσιος καὶ ἐτάφη	εγενετο δε αποθανειν τον πτωχον και απενεχθηναι αυτον υπο των αγγελων εις τον κολπον του αβρααμ απεθανεν δε και ο πλουσιος και εταφη	εγενετο δε αποθανειν τον πτωχον και απενεχθηναι αυτον υπο των αγγελων εις τον κολπον αβρααμ απεθανεν δε και ο πλουσιος και εταφη

And in Hades, as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side.

And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ ἐπάρας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ, ὑπάρχων ἐν βασάνοις, ὁρᾷ Ἀβραὰμ ἀπὸ μακρόθεν καὶ Λάζαρον ἐν τοῖς κόλποις αὐτοῦ	και εν τω αδη επαρας τους οφθαλμους αυτου υπαρχων εν βασανοις ορα τον αβρααμ απο μακροθεν και λαζαρον εν τοις κολποις αυτου	και εν τω αδη επαρας τους οφθαλμους αυτου υπαρχων εν βασανοις ορα τον αβρααμ απο μακροθεν και λαζαρον εν τοις κολποις αυτου

Luke 16:25 (NET)	Luke 16:25 (KJV)
But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish.	But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἶπεν δὲ Ἀβραάμ· τέκνον, μνήσθητι ὅτι ἀπέλαβες τὰ ἀγαθά σου ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σου, καὶ Λάζαρος ὁμοίως τὰ κακά· νῦν δὲ ὧδε παρακαλεῖται, σὺ δὲ ὀδυνᾶσαι	ειπεν δε αβρααμ τεκνον μνησθητι οτι απελαβες συ τα αγαθα σου εν τη ζωη σου και λαζαρος ομοιως τα κακα νυν δε οδε παρακαλειται συ δε οδυνασαι	ειπεν δε αβρααμ τεκνον μνησθητι οτι απελαβες συ τα αγαθα σου εν τη ζωη σου και λαζαρος ομοιως τα κακα νυν δε ωδε παρακαλειται συ δε οδυνασαι

Luke 16:29 (NET)	Luke 16:29 (KJV)
But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them.’	Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
λέγει δὲ Ἀβραάμ· ἔχουσι Μωϋσέα καὶ τοὺς προφήτας· ἀκουσάτωσαν αὐτῶν	λεγει αυτω αβρααμ εχουσιν μωσεα και τους προφητας ακουσατωσαν αυτων	λεγει αυτω αβρααμ εχουσιν μωσεα και τους προφητας ακουσατωσαν αυτων

Luke 16:31 (NET)	Luke 16:31 (KJV)
He replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”	And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ· εἰ Μωϋσέως καὶ τῶν προφητῶν οὐκ ἀκούουσιν, οὐδ᾿ ἐάν τις ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστῇ πεισθήσονται	ειπεν δε αυτω ει μωσεως και των προφητων ουκ ακουουσιν ουδε εαν τις εκ νεκρων αναστη πεισθησονται	ειπεν δε αυτω ει μωσεως και των προφητων ουκ ακουουσιν ουδε εαν τις εκ νεκρων αναστη πεισθησονται

The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 9

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 11

Back to The Book of Life, Part 1

Back to The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 11

Back to Nothing True, Part 2

Back to Nothing True, Part 5

Back to Wonders and False Wonders, Part 3

Back to Who Am I? Part 16

Back to Luke 8:22-56

¹ Job 1:10a (NET) Table

² Job 1:13 (Tanakh, KJV) Table

³ Job 1:12 (NET) Table

⁴ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ος (KJV: which) preceding lay (KJV: was laid). The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἱλκωμένος here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ηλκωμενος (KJV: full of sores).

⁶ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had των ψιχιων (KJV: the crumbs) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐπέλειχον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απελειχον.

⁸ Mark 10:23b (NET)

⁹ John 7:24a (NET)

¹⁰ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had του preceding Abraham’s here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹¹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τον preceding Abraham. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹² 1 Samuel 16:7b (NET)

¹³ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had συ (KJV: thou) following that. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁴ 2 Peter 3:9 (NET) Table

¹⁵ Matthew 13:22 (NET) Table

¹⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had δὲ here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτω (KJV: unto him) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁸ The NET parallel Greek text had ἔχουσι here, where the NA²⁸, Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ἔχουσιν.

¹⁹ In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Moses was spelled Μωϋσέα, and μωσεα in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

²⁰ In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Moses was spelled Μωϋσέως, and μωσεως in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

²¹The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had οὐδ᾿ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουδε (KJV: neither).

The New Covenant, Part 2

Posted on February 5, 2022 by admin

I shared the first essay of this series with two friends. Both preferred the judgment focus of my Pastor’s sermon, what I called “an invitation to do-it-yourself religion.”^[1] To one it was a desirable limit to “grace,” which was seen as a come on to an open-ended commitment to do whatever a preacher says. The other saw it as the only path to righteousness since “grace” is just an excuse for indulging whatever sins one wants and then saying, “I’m sorry,” at the end to get into heaven (i.e., to avoid hell). The unifying thread between these two beliefs is the current understanding of the grace of God.

When I think, speak or write about grace what I mean at the very least is the power to become the righteousness of God. God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.^[2] In practical terms I think we become the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, receiving his indwelling Holy Spirit and walking in the continuous supply of his own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.^[3]

My Pastor objected to the word power for grace. The connection to grace is made for me when Paul asked the Lord three times about [a thorn in the flesh], that [this messenger of Satan] would depart from [him]:^[4] But [the Lord] said to me, “My grace (χάρις) is enough for you, for my power (δύναμις) is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power (δύναμις) of Christ may reside in me.^[5]

I’ve grown up around people who feel that saying too much about the Holy Spirit robs Jesus of some of his glory. Jesus said (John 16:7-14 ESV):

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I^[6] do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the^[7] Father, and you will see me no longer;^[8] concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears^[9] he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you [Table].

In the story of the raising of Lazarus Jesus hints at a proximity effect to his grace: Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe.”^[10] “Lord, if you had been here, Martha seems to confirm this proximity effect, my brother would not have died [Table]. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will grant you.”^[11] At the risk of angering hardcore Trinitarians the Holy Spirit is Jesus omnipresent, Jesus without a proximity effect, Jesus unleashed throughout all space and time.

Here, too, my Pastor objected to my description of the Holy Spirit citing Jesus’ words: Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another (ἄλλον, a form of ἄλλος) Advocate to be with you forever.^[12] I asked whether—If anyone loves me, he will obey my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him^[13]—should be understood as “over and above” the indwelling Holy Spirit. He said, no, and settled on the word through. So, I’ll amend my original statement: Through his Holy Spirit Jesus is omnipresent, without a proximity effect, unleashed throughout all space and time.

A more expansive definition of grace is God so loved…that He gave. Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given (χαρισθέντα, a form of χαρίζομαι) to us by God.^[14] For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son.^[15] Ultimately Jesus is the grace of God.

My faith needs some of the nuts and bolts, how Jesus is the grace of God to me. And here again Paul associated power with the grace that is Jesus: I pray that according to the wealth of his glory [the Father] will grant you to be strengthened (κραταιωθῆναι, a form of κραταιόω) with power (δυνάμει, a form of δύναμις) through his Spirit in the inner person [Table], that Christ will dwell in your hearts through faith.^[16]

I want to consider this grace of God and the new covenant in the light of my own experience as the types of ground Jesus described in the parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9). The first type of ground He described was the path (Matthew 13:19 NET).

When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand (συνιέντος, a form of συνίημι) it, the evil one comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; this is the seed sown along the path.

This describes me fairly accurately from about five years old to seventeen. When I said a sinner’s prayer to escape hell, I meant that I disobeyed my parents sometimes. I was many years and a considerable psychic distance from acknowledging that I was from [my] father the devil, and [I] want to do what [my] father desires.^[17] I was like those who loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed.^[18]

I didn’t know my deeds were evil. Quite the contrary, I resented anyone who called what I wanted “evil.” “What I wanted” was the epitome of righteousness in my mind, though I would not have used the term. I realized as I grew that what adults called righteousness was often not anything I wanted at all.

I don’t recall ever hearing Jesus’ saying—You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires—as if it applied to me. It was relatively recently that I realized He spoke to those…who had believed him.^[19] It was relatively recently that I recognized this saying as one of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.^[20] I was like one of the outsiders who heard most of Jesus’ sayings as parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand (συνίουσιν, another form of συνίημι).^[21]

This period of my life, being the path, came to an end when I chose to be an atheist. For a time I actively opted out of being any kind of soil for the seed of God’s word. Even if I have treated it like some sort of necessity in these essays, atheism was not a foregone conclusion. I had an alternative at seventeen.

I was driven back to the Bible when God didn’t punish me for the “sin of premarital sex.” But I rejected the Bible if it didn’t agree with what I “knew” it was supposed to say from years of church and Sunday school, when I was the path, one who heard about the kingdom but didn’t understand it, one who whatever he heard was snatched away by the evil one.

I didn’t realize I was that kind of ground at the time. There was a tacit assumption among those I knew that the three types of ground that didn’t produce consistent fruit were destined for the lake of fire. I had said a sinner’s prayer to Jesus to avoid hell. I was, therefore, good ground by definition.

I have described my time as an atheist as a “decline that is such a cliché, it is too embarrassing to mention in detail.”^[22] There was an upside to becoming a cliché: I could no longer imagine myself to be the unique individual courageously forging my own path into the unknown. My path was well known and well-worn, most notably well known in the Bible, not that I acknowledged that consciously at the time.

My flirtation^[23] with atheism ended when I prayed, “If you’re really out there, I really want to know you.”^[24] Though I had an immediate hunger for the Bible from that moment on, I didn’t study the Bible to know…the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] sent.^[25] I studied to know the rules to obey to keep my end of the bargain.

When I mentioned this to my Pastor, he thought it was a good way to start. For me it was possibly the only way to start. But I can’t help wondering: what if I had believed Jesus saying that I was from my father the devil and wanted to do what my father desired? What if I had let his words create a healthy skepticism in me about those desires and thoughts, those feelings and reasons that came “naturally” to my heart and mind? What if I had taken Him at his word at five or ten or twenty or even forty-years-old rather than compelling Him to prove to me for sixty-five years that I was from my father the devil and wanted to do what my father desired?

Would it have helped me believe that his grace was enough for me? Could it have shortened the time I spent as the next type of ground Jesus described (Matthew 13:20, 21 NET)?

The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. But he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

This ground describes me between the ages of twenty-three and forty-three. As I searched the Bible for rules to obey to keep my part of the contract and then disobeyed them anyway, I heard Paul’s lament (Romans 7:22-24 NET):

For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members [Table]. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

Paul believed that Jesus had rescued him: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!^[26] I didn’t understand how at first, even though I was more curious than I had ever been before. Though now I might be more inclined to translate χάρις δὲ τῷ θεῷ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν^[27] “grace from God through Jesus Christ our Lord” and while I might appreciate more now that Paul may have given a very direct answer to his own rhetorical question, I wouldn’t have understood it any better then. I didn’t know God or his grace—not yet.

Twenty years of springing up with joy only to fall away again, twenty years of being picked up, dusted off and put back together by Jesus one more time, slowly began to teach me to know Him and his grace. Paul wrote to Timothy (2 Timothy 2:11-13 NET):

This saying is trustworthy: If we died with him, we will also live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny^[28] him, he will also deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, since^[29] he cannot (οὐ δύναται) deny himself.

Sometimes when I tell this story people want to credit me for continuing to study the Bible over those twenty years. I also ate food over that time, whenever I was hungry. Granted, eating food was instrumental in keeping me alive, but the hunger comes from God as did the food. Eventually, I began to understand that the one bringing forth in [me] both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God.^[30]

The Greek words translated desire and effort were not nouns but infinitive verbs: θέλειν (a form of θέλω) and ἐνεργεῖν (a form of ἐνεργέω). Eventually, I was able to make this connection to the hunger, the food and the eating. The hunger, θέλειν, and the food, the Bible, are from God. The eating, doing his will, ἐνεργεῖν, becoming the righteousness of God in Him, is the outcome of his grace. And eventually I trusted Him and his grace more than I trusted myself—good ground at last?

Jesus continued (Matthew 13:22 NET):

The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly^[31] cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces nothing.

This type of ground characterizes me from about forty-four years of age to perhaps fifty-three. I got a fulltime job again with a steady paycheck. I married a woman with two children. I left all the “spiritual stuff” to the grace of God while I attended to more mundane matters. This period of my life ended when my wife divorced me.

So from about the age of fifty-four to the present, sixty-eight, have I finally become what Jesus called good soil (Matthew 13:23 NET)?

But as for the seed sown on good soil,^[32] this is the person who hears the word and understands^[33] (συνιείς, another form of συνίημι). He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”

Who knows? I can’t even imagine how to measure such a thing. My Pastor treated these measurements like ordinary agricultural yields. And he’s right.

If I think of a kernel of corn (maize) growing to maturity, one ear of corn would easily be thirty times what was sown. When I think about the time and attention, the forgiveness and patience, the mercy and grace the Lord has lavished upon me, what I share with others is a tiny fraction rather than a multiple.

I planted, Paul wrote the Corinthians, Apollos watered, but God caused it to grow (ἠύξανεν, a form of αὐξάνω).^[34] After all we’ve been through together I can trust Him with that growth.

Tables comparing John 16:7; 16:10; 2 Timothy 2:12, 13; Matthew 13:22 and 13:23 in the NET and KJV follow.

John 16:7 (NET)	John 16:7 (KJV)
But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you.	Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀλλ᾿ ἐγὼ τὴν ἀλήθειαν λέγω ὑμῖν, συμφέρει ὑμῖν ἵνα ἐγὼ ἀπέλθω. ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ ἀπέλθω, ὁ παράκλητος \|οὐκ ἐλεύσεται\| πρὸς ὑμᾶς· ἐὰν δὲ πορευθῶ, πέμψω αὐτὸν πρὸς ὑμᾶς	αλλ εγω την αληθειαν λεγω υμιν συμφερει υμιν ινα εγω απελθω εαν γαρ μη απελθω ο παρακλητος ουκ ελευσεται προς υμας εαν δε πορευθω πεμψω αυτον προς υμας	αλλ εγω την αληθειαν λεγω υμιν συμφερει υμιν ινα εγω απελθω εαν γαρ εγω μη απελθω ο παρακλητος ουκ ελευσεται προς υμας εαν δε πορευθω πεμψω αυτον προς υμας

John 16:10 (NET)	John 16:10 (KJV)
concerning righteousness because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer;	Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
περὶ δικαιοσύνης δέ, ὅτι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ὑπάγω καὶ οὐκέτι θεωρεῖτε με	περι δικαιοσυνης δε οτι προς τον πατερα μου υπαγω και ουκ ετι θεωρειτε με	περι δικαιοσυνης δε οτι προς τον πατερα μου υπαγω και ουκετι θεωρειτε με

2 Timothy 2:12, 13 (NET)	2 Timothy 2:12, 13 (KJV)
If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us.	If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἰ ὑπομένομεν, καὶ συμβασιλεύσομεν· εἰ ἀρνησόμεθα, κακεῖνος ἀρνήσεται ἡμᾶς	ει υπομενομεν και συμβασιλευσομεν ει αρνουμεθα κακεινος αρνησεται ημας	ει υπομενομεν και συμβασιλευσομεν ει αρνουμεθα κακεινος αρνησεται ημας

If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, since he cannot deny himself.

If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἰ ἀπιστοῦμεν, ἐκεῖνος πιστὸς μένει, ἀρνήσασθαι γὰρ ἑαυτὸν οὐ δύναται.	ει απιστουμεν εκεινος πιστος μενει αρνησασθαι εαυτον ου δυναται	ει απιστουμεν εκεινος πιστος μενει αρνησασθαι εαυτον ου δυναται

Matthew 13:22 (NET)	Matthew 13:22 (KJV)
The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces nothing.	He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας σπαρείς, οὗτος ἐστιν ὁ τὸν λόγον ἀκούων, καὶ ἡ μέριμνα τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ ἡ ἀπάτη τοῦ πλούτου συμπνίγει τὸν λόγον καὶ ἄκαρπος γίνεται	ο δε εις τας ακανθας σπαρεις ουτος εστιν ο τον λογον ακουων και η μεριμνα του αιωνος τουτου και η απατη του πλουτου συμπνιγει τον λογον και ακαρπος γινεται	ο δε εις τας ακανθας σπαρεις ουτος εστιν ο τον λογον ακουων και η μεριμνα του αιωνος τουτου και η απατη του πλουτου συμπνιγει τον λογον και ακαρπος γινεται

Matthew 13:23 (NET)	Matthew 13:23 (KJV)
But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”	But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν καλὴν γῆν σπαρείς, οὗτος ἐστιν ὁ τὸν λόγον ἀκούων καὶ συνιείς, ὃς δὴ καρποφορεῖ καὶ ποιεῖ ὃ μὲν ἑκατόν, ὃ δὲ ἑξήκοντα, ὃ δὲ τριάκοντα	ο δε επι την γην την καλην σπαρεις ουτος εστιν ο τον λογον ακουων και συνιων ος δη καρποφορει και ποιει ο μεν εκατον ο δε εξηκοντα ο δε τριακοντα	ο δε επι την γην την καλην σπαρεις ουτος εστιν ο τον λογον ακουων και συνιων ος δη καρποφορει και ποιει ο μεν εκατον ο δε εξηκοντα ο δε τριακοντα

Addendum: February 6, 2022
I can’t say that a sermon like the following wasn’t preached to me when I was five or ten or twenty or forty-years-old. I can say I heard it today.

The New Covenant, Part 3

Back to The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 8

^[1] The New Covenant, Part 1

^[2] 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NET) Table

^[3] Galatians 5:22b, 23a (NET) Table

^[4] 2 Corinthians 12:8 (NET) with phrases in brackets from 2 Corinthians 12:7 (NET) Table

^[5] 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NET) Table

^[6] The Byzantine Majority text had εγω here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

^[7] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μου (KJV: my) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[8] The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had οὐκέτι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had ουκ ετι (KJV: no more).

^[9] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀκούσει here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αν ακουση (KJV: whatsoever he shall hear).

^[10] John 11:14, 15a (NET)

^[11] John 11:21b, 22 (NET)

^[12] John 14:16 (NET) Table

^[13] John 14:23 (NET) Table

^[14] 1 Corinthians 2:12 (NET)

^[15] John 3:16a (NET) Table

^[16] Ephesians 3:16, 17a (NET)

^[17] John 8:44a (NET) Table

^[18] John 3:19b, 20 (NET)

^[19] John 8:31a (NET)

^[20] Matthew 13:11b (NET)

^[21] Matthew 13:13b (NET)

^[22] Who Am I? Part 3

^[23] I called it a flirtation not to minimize its seriousness but to highlight how I was not serious enough about it to maintain such a demanding faith for any prolonged period of time.

^[24] Who am I? Part 3

^[25] John 17:3b (NET)

^[26] Romans 7:25a (NET) Table

^[27] Romans 7:25a NA²⁸ This is what the editors of the NA²⁸ currently believe to be the original text.

^[28] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀρνησόμεθα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αρνουμεθα.

^[29] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had γὰρ here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[30] Philippians 2:13 (NET)

^[31] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τουτου following αἰῶνος (KJV: this world). The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[32] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article την preceding soil (KJV: ground). The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[33] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had συνιείς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had συνιων (KJV: understandeth it).

^[34] 1 Corinthians 3:6 (NET) Table

Psalm 22, Part 12

Posted on February 1, 2022 by admin

This is a continuing look into Psalm 22 as the music in Jesus’ heart as He endured the cross.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Psalm 22:21 (Tanakh/KJV)	Psalm 22:21 (NET)	Psalm 21:22 (NETS)	Psalm 21:22 (Elpenor English)
Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns (רֵמִ֣ים).	Rescue me from the mouth of the lion and from the horns of the wild oxen (rᵊ’ēm, רמים). You have answered me.	Save me from a lion’s mouth, and my lowliness from the horns of unicorns (μονοκερώτων)!	Save me from the lion’s mouth; and [regard] my lowliness from the horns of the unicorns (μονοκερώτων).

The English word unicorn conjures an image “of fantasy or rarity^[4]” in my mind (see picture), much like what is described in the Wikipedia article titled Unicorn.

The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.

In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years or so been depicted as a white horse-like or goat-like animal with a long straight horn with spiralling grooves, cloven hooves, and sometimes a goat’s beard…In medieval and Renaissance times, the tusk of the narwhal was sometimes sold as a unicorn horn.

…An equine form of the unicorn was mentioned by the ancient Greeks in accounts of natural history by various writers, including Ctesias, Strabo, Pliny the Younger, Aelian^[2] and Cosmas Indicopleustes.^[3]

The note (50) in the NET reads:

The Hebrew term רֵמִים (remim) appears to be an alternate spelling of רְאֵמִים (rʾemim, “wild oxen”; see BDB 910 s.v. רְאֵם).

The Tanakh on chabad.org had wild oxen for רֵמִ֣ים (rᵊ’ēm). Though both English translations of the Septuagint had unicorns for μονοκερώτων (a form of μονόκερως), rhinoceros was also listed as a possible definition. Whatever this animal was called, יהוה (Yᵊhōvâ), the Lord (NET), gave a fairly detailed description of its relationship to human beings.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 39:9-12 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 39:9-12 (NET)	Job 39:9-12 (NETS)	Job 39:9-12 (English Elpenor)
Will the unicorn (רֵ֣ים) be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?	Is the wild ox (rᵊ’ēm, רים) willing to be your servant? Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?	“And will the unicorn (μονόκερως) be willing to be your slave or to lie down at your manger?	And will the unicorn (μονόκερως) be willing to serve thee, or to lie down at thy manger?
Canst thou bind the unicorn (רֵ֖ים) with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?	Can you bind the wild ox (rᵊ’ēm, רים) to a furrow with its rope; will it till the valleys, following after you?	And will you bind its yoke with straps, or will it draw your furrows in the plain?	And wilt thou bind his yoke with thongs, or will he plough furrows for thee in the plain?
Wilt thou trust (הֲתִבְטַח) him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?	Will you rely (bāṭaḥ, התבטח) on it because its strength is great? Will you commit your labor to it?	Again, do you trust (πέποιθας) it, because its strength is great, and will you discharge to it your work?	And dost thou trust (πέποιθας) him, because his strength is great? and wilt thou commit thy works to him?
Wilt thou believe (הֲתַֽאֲמִ֣ין) him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?	Can you count (‘āman, התאמין) on it to bring in your grain and gather the grain to your threshing floor?	And will you believe (πιστεύσεις) that it will return your seed to you and bring it to your threshing floor?	And wilt thou believe (πιστεύσεις) that he will return to thee thy seed, and bring [it] in [to] thy threshing-floor?

Though strong and probably admired for its strength, this animal was wild, not particularly useful or trustworthy for any necessary work. Here again רֵ֣ים (rᵊ’ēm) was translated wild ox in the Tanakh on chabad.org.

In the table below the behavior of a calf (ʿēḡel, עֵ֑גֶל) was compared to that of a young unicorn (rᵊ’ēm, רְאֵמִֽים) in the Masoretic text: the cedars of Lebanon…skip like a calf…and…like a young unicorn (Tanakh, KJV) or a young ox (NET).

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Psalm 29:5, 6 (Tanakh/KJV)	Psalm 29:5, 6 (NET)	Psalm 28:5, 6 (NETS)	Psalm 28:5, 6 (English Elpenor)
The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.	The Lord’s shout breaks the cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.	The Lord’s voice, as he crushes cedars, and the Lord will crush the cedars of Lebanon.	[There is] the voice of the Lord who breaks the cedars; the Lord will break the cedars of Libanus.
He maketh them also to skip like a calf (עֵ֑גֶל); Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn (רְאֵמִֽים).	He makes them skip like a calf (ʿēḡel, עגל), Lebanon and Sirion like a young ox (rᵊ’ēm, ראמים).	And he will pulverize them, as the bull calf (τὸν μόσχον), the Lebanon, and he that is beloved is like a son of unicorns (υἱὸς μονοκερώτων).	And he will beat them small, [even] Libanus itself, like a calf (τὸν μόσχον); and the beloved one is as a young unicorn (υἱὸς μονοκερώτων).

The Septuagint reads differently than the Masoretic text. The calf (τὸν μόσχον) and the son of unicorns (υἱὸς μονοκερώτων) were still associated, though possibly contrasted there. I won’t spend time trying to decipher the apparent differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint. Here again רְאֵמִֽים (rᵊ’ēm) was translated a young wild ox in the Tanakh on chabad.org.

The next table, however, contains an intriguing detail.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Psalm 92:10 (Tanakh/KJV)	Psalm 92:10 (NET)	Psalm 91:11 (NETS)	Psalm 91:11 (English Elpenor)
But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn (כִּרְאֵ֣ים): I shall be anointed with fresh oil.	You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox (rᵊ’ēm, כראים). I am covered with fresh oil.	And my horn will be exalted like a unicorn’s (μονοκέρωτος), and my old age with thick oil.	But my horn shall be exalted [as the horn] of a unicorn (μονοκέρωτος); and mine old age with rich mercy.

According to the same article on Wikipedia:

A creature with a single horn, conventionally called a unicorn is the most common image [see picture] on the soapstone stamp seals of the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilization (“IVC”), from the centuries around 2000 BC. It has a body more like a cow than a horse, and a curved horn that goes forward, then up at the tip.

It is interesting to wonder if the psalmist was thinking of a horn that curved up at the tip, or near the end. The Tanakh on chabad.org had a wild ox for כִּרְאֵ֣ים (rᵊ’ēm) here.

God (‘ēl, אל) was likened to the strength (NET) or glory (Septuagint) of a unicorn in Balaam’s (Numbers 22-24) second oracle.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Numbers 23:22 (Tanakh)	Numbers 23:22 (NET)	Numbers 23:22 (NETS)	Numbers 23:22 (Elpenor English)
G-d who brought them forth out of Egypt is for them like the lofty horns of the wild-ox (רְאֵ֖ם).	God brought them out of Egypt. They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull (rᵊ’ēm, ראם).	God was the one who brought them out of Egypt; like a unicorn’s (μονοκέρωτος) glory he was to him,	It was God who brought him out of Egypt; he has as it were the glory of a unicorn (μονοκέρωτος).

God has brought them out of Egypt with the strength of His loftiness, the Tanakh on chabad.org reads. In context this seems to relate to the firmness of his purpose:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Numbers 23:19 (Tanakh)	Numbers 23:19 (NET)	Numbers 23:19 (NETS)	Numbers 23:19 (Elpenor English)
G-d is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: when He hath said, will He not do it? or when He hath spoken, will He not make it good?	God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a human being, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen?	God is not to be put upon like man, nor is he to be threatened like a son of man. When he himself has said, shall he not do? Shall he speak and not make good?	God is not as man to waver, nor as the son of man to be threatened; shall he say and not perform? shall he speak and not keep [to his word]?

Balaam’s third oracle contains the same comparison to God but with a warning for Balak.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Numbers 24:8, 9 (Tanakh)	Numbers 24:8, 9 (NET)	Numbers 24:8, 9 (NETS)	Numbers 24:8, 9 (Elpenor English)
G-d who brought him forth out of Egypt is for him like the lofty horns of the wild-ox (רְאֵ֖ם); he shall eat up the nations that are his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces, and pierce them through with his arrows.	God brought them out of Egypt. They have, as it were, the strength of a young bull (rᵊ’ēm, ראם); they will devour hostile people, and will break their bones, and will pierce them through with arrows.	A god guided him out of Egypt; like a unicorn’s (μονοκέρωτος) glory he was to him. He shall devour his enemies’ nations and de-marrow their stoutness and shall shoot down an enemy with his missiles.	God led him out of Egypt; he has as it were the glory of a unicorn (μονοκέρωτος): he shall consume the nations of his enemies, and he shall drain their marrow, and with his darts he shall shoot through the enemy.
He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Blessed be every one that blesseth thee, and cursed be every one that curseth thee.	They crouch and lie down like a lion, and as a lioness, who can stir him? Blessed is the one who blesses you, and cursed is the one who curses you!’”	He lay down and rested like a lion and like a whelp. Who will raise him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.”	He lay down, he rested as a lion, and as a young lion; who shall stir him up? they that bless thee are blessed, and they that curse thee are cursed.

Balak had hired Balaam to curse Israel. Here רְאֵ֖ם (rᵊ’ēm) was translated loftiness in the Tanakh on chabad.org.

The next table is from the end of the blessing Moses pronounced upon the descendants of Joseph.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Deuteronomy 33:17 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 33:17 (NET)	Deuteronomy 33:17 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 33:17 (English Elpenor)
His firstling bullock, majesty is his; and his horns are the horns of the wild-ox (רְאֵם֙); with them he shall gore the peoples all of them, even the ends of the earth; and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.	May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor, and may his horns be those of a wild ox (rᵊ’ēm, ראם); with them may he gore all peoples, all the far reaches of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”	A firstborn of a bull—his beauty! His horns are horns of a unicorn (μονοκέρωτος); with them he will gore nations, all at once as far as earth’s end. These are the myriads of Ephraim; these the thousands of Manasse.	His beauty [is as] the firstling of his bull, his horns [are] the horns of a unicorn (μονοκέρωτος); with them he shall thrust the nations at once, even from the end of the earth: these [are] the ten thousands of Ephraim, and these [are] the thousands of Manasse.

Here the horns of the wild ox (rᵊ’ēm, רְאֵם֙) symbolize the strength of Ephraim and Manasseh to gore all peoples…of the earth. In the Tanakh on chabad.org the Hebrew was transliterated re’em.

In the next table the unicorns (Tanakh, KJV) are among those animals killed in a sacrifice of the Lord in the Masoretic text.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 34:6, 7 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 34:6, 7 (NET)	Isaiah 34:6, 7 (NETS)	Isaiah 34:6, 7 (English Elpenor)
The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.	The Lord’s sword is dripping with blood, it is covered with fat; it drips with the blood of young rams and goats and is covered with the fat of rams’ kidneys. For the Lord is holding a sacrifice in Bozrah, a bloody slaughter in the land of Edom.	The dagger of the Lord is filled with blood; it is gorged with the fat of lambs and with the fat of goats and rams, because the Lord has a sacrifice in Bosor and a great slaughter in Idumea.	The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is glutted with fat, with the blood of goats and lambs, and with the fat of goats and rams: for the Lord has a sacrifice in Bosor, and a great slaughter in Idumea.
And the unicorns (רְאֵמִים֙) shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.	Wild oxen (rᵊ’ēm, ראמים) will be slaughtered along with them, as well as strong bulls. Their land is drenched with blood, their soil is covered with fat.	And the prominent ones (ἁδροὶ) shall fall with them, both the rams and the bulls. And the land shall become drunk with blood, and it shall be filled with fat.	And the mighty ones (ἁδροὶ) shall fall with them, and the rams and the bulls; and the land shall be soaked with blood, and shall be filled with their fat.

But the rabbis who translated the Septuagint understood רְאֵמִים֙ (rᵊ’ēm) as an allusion to ἁδροὶ (a form of ἁδρός), prominent ones (NETS), mighty ones (English Elpenor). I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Tables comparing Psalm 22:21; Job 39:9; 39:10; 39:11; 39:12; Psalm 29:5; 29:6; 92:10; Numbers 23:22; 23:19; 24:8; 24:9; Deuteronomy 33:17; Isaiah 34:6 and 34:7 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Psalm 22:21 (21:22); Job 39:9; 39:10; 39:11; 39:12; Psalm 29:5 (28:5); 29:6 (28:6); 92:10 (91:11); Numbers 23:22; 23:19; 24:8; 24:9; Deuteronomy 33:17; Isaiah 34:6 and 34:7 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Psalm 22:21 (Tanakh)	Psalm 22:21 (KJV)	Psalm 22:21 (NET)
Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.	Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.	Rescue me from the mouth of the lion and from the horns of the wild oxen. You have answered me.

Psalm 22:21 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 21:22 (Septuagint Elpenor)
σῶσόν με ἐκ στόματος λέοντος καὶ ἀπὸ κεράτων μονοκερώτων τὴν ταπείνωσίν μου	σῶσόν με ἐκ στόματος λέοντος καὶ ἀπὸ κεράτων μονοκερώτων τὴν ταπείνωσίν μου
Psalm 21:22 (NETS)	Psalm 21:22 (English Elpenor)
Save me from a lion’s mouth, and my lowliness from the horns of unicorns!	Save me from the lion’s mouth; and [regard] my lowliness from the horns of the unicorns.

Job 39:9 (Tanakh)	Job 39:9 (KJV)	Job 39:9 (NET)
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?	Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?	Is the wild ox willing to be your servant? Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?

Job 39:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 39:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
βουλήσεται δέ σοι μονόκερως δουλεῦσαι ἢ κοιμηθῆναι ἐπὶ φάτνης σου	βουλήσεται δέ σοι μονόκερως δουλεῦσαι ἢ κοιμηθῆναι ἐπὶ φάτνης σου
Job 39:9 (NETS)	Job 39:9 (English Elpenor)
“And will the unicorn be willing to be your slave or to lie down at your manger?	And will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or to lie down at thy manger?

Job 39:10 (Tanakh)	Job 39:10 (KJV)	Job 39:10 (NET)
Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?	Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?	Can you bind the wild ox to a furrow with its rope; will it till the valleys, following after you?

Job 39:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 39:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
δήσεις δὲ ἐν ἱμᾶσι ζυγὸν αὐτοῦ ἢ ἑλκύσει σου αὔλακας ἐν πεδίῳ	δήσεις δὲ ἐν ἱμᾶσι ζυγὸν αὐτοῦ ἢ ἑλκύσει σου αὔλακας ἐν πεδίῳ
Job 39:10 (NETS)	Job 39:10 (English Elpenor)
And will you bind its yoke with straps, or will it draw your furrows in the plain?	And wilt thou bind his yoke with thongs, or will he plough furrows for thee in the plain?

Job 39:11 (Tanakh)	Job 39:11 (KJV)	Job 39:11 (NET)
Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?	Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?	Will you rely on it because its strength is great? Will you commit your labor to it?

Job 39:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 39:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πέποιθας δὲ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ ὅτι πολλὴ ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτοῦ ἐπαφήσεις δὲ αὐτῷ τὰ ἔργα σου	πέποιθας δὲ ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ, ὅτι πολλὴ ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτοῦ, ἐπαφήσεις δὲ αὐτῷ τὰ ἔργα σου
Job 39:11 (NETS)	Job 39:11 (English Elpenor)
Again, do you trust it, because its strength is great, and will you discharge to it your work?	And dost thou trust him, because his strength is great? and wilt thou commit thy works to him?

Job 39:12 (Tanakh)	Job 39:12 (KJV)	Job 39:12 (NET)
Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?	Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?	Can you count on it to bring in your grain and gather the grain to your threshing floor?

Job 39:12 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 39:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πιστεύσεις δὲ ὅτι ἀποδώσει σοι τὸν σπόρον εἰσοίσει δέ σου τὸν ἅλωνα	πιστεύσεις δὲ ὅτι ἀποδώσει σοι τὸν σπόρον, εἰσοίσει δέ σου τὸν ἅλωνα
Job 39:12 (NETS)	Job 39:12 (English Elpenor)
And will you believe that it will return your seed to you and bring it to your threshing floor?	And wilt thou believe that he will return to thee thy seed, and bring [it] in [to] thy threshing-floor?

Psalm 29:5 (Tanakh)	Psalm 29:5 (KJV)	Psalm 29:5 (NET)
The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.	The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.	The Lord’s shout breaks the cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.

Psalm 29:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 28:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
φωνὴ κυρίου συντρίβοντος κέδρους καὶ συντρίψει κύριος τὰς κέδρους τοῦ Λιβάνου	φωνὴ Κυρίου συντρίβοντος κέδρους, καὶ συντρίψει Κύριος τὰς κέδρους τοῦ Λιβάνου
Psalm 28:5 (NETS)	Psalm 28:5 (English Elpenor)
The Lord’s voice, as he crushes cedars, and the Lord will crush the cedars of Lebanon.	[There is] the voice of the Lord who breaks the cedars; the Lord will break the cedars of Libanus.

Psalm 29:6 (Tanakh)	Psalm 29:6 (KJV)	Psalm 29:6 (NET)
He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.	He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.	He makes them skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young ox.

Psalm 29:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 28:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ λεπτυνεῗ αὐτὰς ὡς τὸν μόσχον τὸν Λίβανον καὶ ὁ ἠγαπημένος ὡς υἱὸς μονοκερώτων	καὶ λεπτυνεῖ αὐτὰς ὡς τὸν μόσχον τὸν Λίβανον, καὶ ὁ ἠγαπημένος ὡς υἱὸς μονοκερώτων
Psalm 28:6 (NETS)	Psalm 28:6 (English Elpenor)
And he will pulverize them, as the bull calf, the Lebanon, and he that is beloved is like a son of unicorns.	And he will beat them small, [even] Libanus itself, like a calf; and the beloved one is as a young unicorn.

Psalm 92:10 (Tanakh)	Psalm 92:10 (KJV)	Psalm 92:10 (NET)
But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.	But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.	You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox. I am covered with fresh oil.

Psalm 92:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 91:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ὑψωθήσεται ὡς μονοκέρωτος τὸ κέρας μου καὶ τὸ γῆράς μου ἐν ἐλαίῳ πίονι	καὶ ὑψωθήσεται ὡς μονοκέρωτος τὸ κέρας μου καὶ τὸ γῆράς μου ἐν ἐλαίῳ πίονι
Psalm 91:11 (NETS)	Psalm 91:11 (English Elpenor)
And my horn will be exalted like a unicorn’s, and my old age with thick oil.	But my horn shall be exalted [as the horn] of a unicorn; and mine old age with rich mercy.

Numbers 23:22 (Tanakh)	Numbers 23:22 (KJV)	Numbers 23:22 (NET)
G-d who brought them forth out of Egypt is for them like the lofty horns of the wild-ox.	God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.	God brought them out of Egypt. They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull.

Numbers 23:22 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 23:22 (Septuagint Elpenor)
θεὸς ὁ ἐξαγαγὼν αὐτοὺς ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ὡς δόξα μονοκέρωτος αὐτῷ	Θεὸς ὁ ἐξαγαγὼν αὐτοὺς ἐξ Αἰγύπτου· ὡς δόξα μονοκέρωτος αὐτῷ
Numbers 23:22 (NETS)	Numbers 23:22 (English Elpenor)
God was the one who brought them out of Egypt; like a unicorn’s glory he was to him,	It was God who brought him out of Egypt; he has as it were the glory of a unicorn.

Numbers 23:19 (Tanakh)	Numbers 23:19 (KJV)	Numbers 23:19 (NET)
G-d is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: when He hath said, will He not do it? or when He hath spoken, will He not make it good?	God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?	God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a human being, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen?

Numbers 23:19 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 23:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐχ ὡς ἄνθρωπος ὁ θεὸς διαρτηθῆναι οὐδὲ ὡς υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ἀπειληθῆναι αὐτὸς εἴπας οὐχὶ ποιήσει λαλήσει καὶ οὐχὶ ἐμμενεῗ	οὐχ ὡς ἄνθρωπος ὁ Θεὸς διαρτηθῆναι, οὐδ’ ὡς υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ἀπειληθῆναι· αὐτὸς εἴπας, οὐχὶ ποιήσει; λαλήσει, καὶ οὐχὶ ἐμμενεῖ
Numbers 23:19 (NETS)	Numbers 23:19 (English Elpenor)
God is not to be put upon like man, nor is he to be threatened like a son of man. When he himself has said, shall he not do? Shall he speak and not make good?	God is not as man to waver, nor as the son of man to be threatened; shall he say and not perform? shall he speak and not keep [to his word]?

Numbers 24:8 (Tanakh)	Numbers 24:8 (KJV)	Numbers 24:8 (NET)
G-d who brought him forth out of Egypt is for him like the lofty horns of the wild-ox; he shall eat up the nations that are his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces, and pierce them through with his arrows.	God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.	God brought them out of Egypt. They have, as it were, the strength of a young bull; they will devour hostile people, and will break their bones, and will pierce them through with arrows.

Numbers 24:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 24:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
θεὸς ὡδήγησεν αὐτὸν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ὡς δόξα μονοκέρωτος αὐτῷ ἔδεται ἔθνη ἐχθρῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ πάχη αὐτῶν ἐκμυελιεῗ καὶ ταῗς βολίσιν αὐτοῦ κατατοξεύσει ἐχθρόν	Θεὸς ὡδήγησεν αὐτὸν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, ὡς δόξα μονοκέρωτος αὐτῷ· ἔδεται ἔθνη ἐχθρῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ πάχη αὐτῶν ἐκμυελιεῖ καὶ ταῖς βολίσιν αὐτοῦ κατατοξεύσει ἐχθρόν
Numbers 24:8 (NETS)	Numbers 24:8 (English Elpenor)
A god guided him out of Egypt; like a unicorn’s glory he was to him. He shall devour his enemies’ nations and de-marrow their stoutness and shall shoot down an enemy with his missiles.	God led him out of Egypt; he has as it were the glory of a unicorn: he shall consume the nations of his enemies, and he shall drain their marrow, and with his darts he shall shoot through the enemy.

Numbers 24:9 (Tanakh)	Numbers 24:9 (KJV)	Numbers 24:9 (NET)
He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Blessed be every one that blesseth thee, and cursed be every one that curseth thee.	He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.	They crouch and lie down like a lion, and as a lioness, who can stir him? Blessed is the one who blesses you, and cursed is the one who curses you!’”

Numbers 24:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 24:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατακλιθεὶς ἀνεπαύσατο ὡς λέων καὶ ὡς σκύμνος τίς ἀναστήσει αὐτόν οἱ εὐλογοῦντές σε εὐλόγηνται καὶ οἱ καταρώμενοί σε κεκατήρανται	κατακλιθεὶς ἀνεπαύσατο ὡς λέων καὶ ὡς σκύμνος· τίς ἀναστήσει αὐτόν; οἱ εὐλογοῦντές σε εὐλόγηνται, καὶ οἱ καταρώμενοί σε κεκατήρανται
Numbers 24:9 (NETS)	Numbers 24:9 (English Elpenor)
He lay down and rested like a lion and like a whelp. Who will raise him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.”	He lay down, he rested as a lion, and as a young lion; who shall stir him up? they that bless thee are blessed, and they that curse thee are cursed.

Deuteronomy 33:17 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 33:17 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 33:17 (NET)
His firstling bullock, majesty is his; and his horns are the horns of the wild-ox; with them he shall gore the peoples all of them, even the ends of the earth; and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.	His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.	May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor, and may his horns be those of a wild ox; with them may he gore all peoples, all the far reaches of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”

Deuteronomy 33:17 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 33:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πρωτότοκος ταύρου τὸ κάλλος αὐτοῦ κέρατα μονοκέρωτος τὰ κέρατα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτοῗς ἔθνη κερατιεῗ ἅμα ἕως ἐπ᾽ ἄκρου γῆς αὗται μυριάδες Εφραιμ καὶ αὗται χιλιάδες Μανασση	πρωτότοκος ταύρου τὸ κάλλος αὐτοῦ, κέρατα μονοκέρωτος τὰ κέρατα αὐτοῦ· ἐν αὐτοῖς ἔθνη κερατιεῖ ἅμα ἕως ἀπ᾿ ἄκρου γῆς. αὗται μυριάδες ᾿Εφραΐμ, καὶ αὗται χιλιάδες Μανασσῆ
Deuteronomy 33:17 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 33:17 (English Elpenor)
A firstborn of a bull—his beauty! His horns are horns of a unicorn; with them he will gore nations, all at once as far as earth’s end. These are the myriads of Ephraim; these the thousands of Manasse.	His beauty [is as] the firstling of his bull, his horns [are] the horns of a unicorn; with them he shall thrust the nations at once, even from the end of the earth: these [are] the ten thousands of Ephraim, and these [are] the thousands of Manasse.

Isaiah 34:6 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 34:6 (KJV)	Isaiah 34:6 (NET)
The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.	The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.	The Lord’s sword is dripping with blood, it is covered with fat; it drips with the blood of young rams and goats and is covered with the fat of rams’ kidneys. For the Lord is holding a sacrifice in Bozrah, a bloody slaughter in the land of Edom.

Isaiah 34:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 34:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἡ μάχαιρα κυρίου ἐνεπλήσθη αἵματος ἐπαχύνθη ἀπὸ στέατος ἀρνῶν καὶ ἀπὸ στέατος τράγων καὶ κριῶν ὅτι θυσία κυρίῳ ἐν Βοσορ καὶ σφαγὴ μεγάλη ἐν τῇ Ιδουμαίᾳ	ἡ μάχαιρα τοῦ Κυρίου ἐνεπλήσθη αἵματος, ἐπαχύνθη ἀπὸ στέατος ἀρνῶν καὶ ἀπὸ στέατος τράγων καὶ κριῶν· ὅτι θυσία τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐν Βοσὸρ καὶ σφαγὴ μεγάλη ἐν τῇ ᾿Ιδουμαίᾳ
Isaiah 34:6 (NETS)	Isaiah 34:6 (English Elpenor)
The dagger of the Lord is filled with blood; it is gorged with the fat of lambs and with the fat of goats and rams, because the Lord has a sacrifice in Bosor and a great slaughter in Idumea.	The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is glutted with fat, with the blood of goats and lambs, and with the fat of goats and rams: for the Lord has a sacrifice in Bosor, and a great slaughter in Idumea.

Isaiah 34:7 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 34:7 (KJV)	Isaiah 34:7 (NET)
And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.	And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.	Wild oxen will be slaughtered along with them, as well as strong bulls. Their land is drenched with blood, their soil is covered with fat.

Isaiah 34:7 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 34:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ συμπεσοῦνται οἱ ἁδροὶ μετ᾽ αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ κριοὶ καὶ οἱ ταῦροι καὶ μεθυσθήσεται ἡ γῆ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ στέατος αὐτῶν ἐμπλησθήσεται	καὶ συμπεσοῦνται οἱ ἁδροὶ μετ᾿ αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ κριοὶ καὶ οἱ ταῦροι, καὶ μεθυσθήσεται ἡ γῆ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ στέατος αὐτῶν ἐμπλησθήσεται
Isaiah 34:7 (NETS)	Isaiah 34:7 (English Elpenor)
And the prominent ones shall fall with them, both the rams and the bulls. And the land shall become drunk with blood, and it shall be filled with fat.	And the mighty ones shall fall with them, and the rams and the bulls; and the land shall be soaked with blood, and shall be filled with their fat.

Psalm 22, Part 13

Back to Forgiveness and my Religious Mind

The New Covenant, Part 1

Posted on January 13, 2022 by admin

Then [Jesus] took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”^[1] The table below compares what He said next from four sources.

NET Parallel Greek, NA²⁸, Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text		Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text^[2]
Luke 22:20 (NET)	1 Corinthians 11:25 (NET)	Matthew 26:28 (KJV) Table	Mark 14:24 (KJV) Table
And in the same way he took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant (ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη) in my blood.	In the same way, he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant (ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη) in my blood. Do this, every time you drink it, in remembrance of me.”	For this is my blood of the new testament (το της καινης διαθηκης), which is shed for many for the remission of sins.	And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament (το της καινης διαθηκης), which is shed for many.

A new covenant (διαθήκης καινῆς) was mentioned again in Hebrews (9:13-15 NET).

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God [Table]. And so he is the mediator of a new covenant (διαθήκης καινῆς), so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, since he died to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant.

And this new covenant is linked directly to the promise God made through Jeremiah (Hebrews 8:6-13 NET):

But now Jesus has obtained^[3] a superior ministry, since the covenant that he mediates is also better and is enacted on better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, no one would have looked for a second one. But showing its fault, God says to them, “Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant (διαθήκην καινήν) with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds, and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be my people. And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countryman^[4] or each one to teach his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ since they will all know me, from the least^[5] to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins^[6] I will remember no longer.”

When he speaks of a new (καινὴν) covenant, he makes the first obsolete. Now what is growing obsolete and aging is about to disappear.

Jesus, the mediator of this better covenant, prayed (John 17:1-3 NET):

Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that^[7] your^[8] Son may glorify you—just as you have given him authority over all humanity, so that he may give^[9] eternal life to everyone you have given him. Now this is eternal life—that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.

Over time, Jesus’ understanding of eternal life—that they know (γινώσκωσιν, a form of γινώσκω) you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent^[10]—has focused my attention on this aspect of the promise of the new covenant—And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, ‘Know (γνῶθι, another form of γινώσκω) the Lord,’ since they will all know (εἰδήσουσιν, a form of εἴδω) me, from the least to the greatest.^[11] Though I had prayed that genius-level prayer (of very little faith)—“If you’re really out there, I really want to know you,”^[12]—striking at the very heart of the new covenant and Jesus’ understanding of eternal life, I understood nothing of it.

I didn’t study to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He had sent to live that eternal life. I searched the Bible for rules to obey—or disobey as it turned out.^[13]

Though I wrote this describing a slightly later time in my life, it was true earlier, too. Studying the Bible to know God and to follow Jesus did not compute in my mind yet. Now I hope, God willing, to spend the next ten thousand years or so studying the Bible to know…the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] sent. There is so much I’m missing that Jesus knew, perhaps by twelve but at least, by thirty or so.

It will be nice to have face-to-face contact with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as well as the other participants. I mentioned this to my Pastor. He corrected me that all of the participants wouldn’t be available to me for an interview, but didn’t think my hope was that outrageous otherwise. Of course, God may have different plans for me. But this hunger for the Bible was a direct result of my prayer to know God, regardless that I misunderstood what it meant or how to satisfy that hunger.

Focusing on knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] sent does de-emphasize hell, the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10-15). There’s no denying that. When I said a sinner’s prayer at five-years-old I just wanted to avoid going to hell. The rest of this—was unanticipated to be sure but—came as a sort of unwanted shock and largely unwelcome surprise. I’ll try to highlight the difference between knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] sent and avoiding hell.

I heard a sermon recently presented in what I would characterize as a fairly typical example of the “avoiding hell” fashion. A particular passage of Scripture was introduced as the answer to a question: “Why do so many people reject the Lord?” This was reaffirmed later with the statements: “This is describing why some people accept the Gospel and why the majority do not;” and, “What we see here is the beginning of the Lord’s judgment on those who reject Him. It is the first taste of hell and a warning of things that come if they continue to refuse his offer of grace.”

God’s grace wasn’t ignored in this sermon: “God’s grace is ever-expanding. It reaches its full completion. It never runs out in the generosity of God…” It was just strictly limited: “…for those who truly do embrace discipleship, for those who truly become citizens of the kingdom through faith and repentance…”

“He who has an ear, let that person hear,” wasn’t presented as the word of the One (John 1:1-34) who said, “Let there be light.” And there was light!^[14] It was presented as a weak word, easily ignored: “Most won’t listen. Most won’t understand. Most won’t let it change their lives.” The picture was very bleak indeed: “As long as we refuse to acknowledge how broken we are, as long as we refuse to acknowledge how much we need mercy, as long as we remain hardhearted there is no chance of salvation, zero.”

The passage in question was Matthew 13:1-23, the parable where Jesus describes people as types of ground, types of soil. The most striking thing about this metaphor is that soil is powerless to improve itself. The Sower must improve the soil if He wants a harvest. Still, the emphasis seemed to remain upon the powerless soil: “This is a call for patient endurance. This is a call for wholehearted devotion. This is a call to root out weeds in our life because those thorns be poky and they hurt.”

I say “seemed” because this sermon did an abrupt about face at the very end:

But with the coming of the Spirit we see a new age in humanity, an age in which the church has been filled with the power of God like never before, where the transformation of the power of the Spirit through Christ’s death and resurrection gives us new hope and new life to embrace the Gospel at the very deepest part of our life. So that by his grace He roots out all those vines, all those thorns. By his grace He deepens the soil of our heart and brings us to that place of brokenness and joy because of the healing of Christ. The reason we can have hope as we read this, as we recognize ourselves as the ones with the hard heart and the shallow heart and the crowded heart, is because we know that we don’t live by our own strength any more. We never did. But now we live in the power of the Spirit.^[15]

In my opinion a sermon more focused on knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] sent rather than “avoiding hell” would start here and go on, maybe even to the God who of his own volition promised: “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” says the Lord. “For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”^[16]

I shared this with my Pastor in case I was overly critical or offensive. He seemed satisfied with my focus on the grace aspect of his sermon. We talked some about a Pastor’s choice of focus, his desire to be true to both the grace and the judgment implicit in the text. I may not have learned much about being a Pastor. I did get a fresh glimpse into myself.

Apparently, I heard the judgment focus of his sermon (as I am prone to do) as an invitation to do-it-yourself religion. Jesus, through his indwelling Spirit, forcibly shifted my focus away from judgment and fully onto his grace, putting some steel in my spine, as it were, keeping me trusting Him. In other words, I am heeding the “call for patient endurance,” not by grinning and bearing it on my own but wholly dependent on the grace of my Savior. After all, patience (μακροθυμία) is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23).

I’ve compared the quotation from Jeremiah in Hebrews to the Septuagint as a matter of completeness. It seemed that Hebrews 8:8b may not be a quotation from the Septuagint but an independent translation of the Hebrew of Jeremiah 31:31. The Hebrew word וכרתי (kāraṯ) was translated συντελέσω in the New Testament and διαθήσομαι (a form of διατίθεμαι) in the Septuagint.

Hebrews 8:8b (NET Parallel Greek)	Jeremiah 31:31 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 38:31 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἰδοὺ ἡμέραι ἔρχονται, λέγει κύριος, καὶ συντελέσω ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰούδα διαθήκην καινήν	ἰδοὺ ἡμέραι ἔρχονται φησὶν κύριος καὶ διαθήσομαι τῷ οἴκῳ Ισραηλ καὶ τῷ οἴκῳ Ιουδα διαθήκην καινήν	ἰδοὺ ἡμέραι ἔρχονται, φησὶ Κύριος, καὶ διαθήσομαι τῷ οἴκῳ ᾿Ισραὴλ καὶ τῷ οἴκῳ ᾿Ιούδα διαθήκην καινήν
Hebrews 8:8b (NET)	Jeremiah 38:31 (NETS)	Jeremiah 38:31 (English Elpenor)
“Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.	Behold, days are coming, quoth the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Iouda.	Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda:

I struggle some with the idea that ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον and τῷ οἴκῳ both translate with the house. I suspect that συντελέσω ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον is something more like I will complete upon the house, but don’t find any support for it other than the NET translation of the same construction in Luke 1:33. He will reign over the house (βασιλεύσει ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον) of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.^[17]

The clause translated although I was an husband unto them (Tanakh/KJV) from the Masoretic text of Jeremiah 31:32 was translated and I disregarded them (English Elpenor) in the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Jeremiah 31:32 (Tanakh/KJV)	Jeremiah 31:32 (NET)	Jeremiah 38:32 (NETS)	Jeremiah 38:32 (Elpenor English)
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I (וְאָֽנֹכִ֛י) was an husband (בָּעַ֥לְתִּי) unto them (בָ֖ם), saith the LORD:	It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I (‘ānōḵî, ואנכי) was like a faithful husband (bāʿal, בעלתי) to them (ḇām, בם),” says the Lord.	It will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not abide in my covenant, and (καὶ) I (ἐγὼ) was unconcerned (ἠμέλησα) for them (αὐτῶν), quoth the Lord,	not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day when I took hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; for they abode not in my covenant, and (καὶ) I (ἐγὼ) disregarded (ἠμέλησα) them (αὐτῶν), saith the Lord.

The difference appears to be one Hebrew word: בָּעַ֥לְתִּי (bāʿal). If the writer of Hebrews actually did an independent translation from Hebrew, I have two points of evidence hinting at what the Hebrew word translated ἠμέλησα (a form of ἀμελέω) in the Septuagint and the New Testament was before the Masoretes changed it to בָּעַ֥לְתִּי (bāʿal).

Hebrews 8:9 (NET Parallel Greek)	Jeremiah 31:32 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 38:32 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην, ἣν ἐποίησα τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπιλαβομένου μου τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν ἐξαγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Ἀιγύπτου, ὅτι αὐτοὶ οὐκ ἐνέμειναν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ μου, καγὼ ἠμέλησα αὐτῶν, λέγει κύριος	οὐ κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην ἣν διεθέμην τοῗς πατράσιν αὐτῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπιλαβομένου μου τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν ἐξαγαγεῗν αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ὅτι αὐτοὶ οὐκ ἐνέμειναν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ μου καὶ ἐγὼ ἠμέλησα αὐτῶν φησὶν κύριος	οὐ κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην, ἣν διεθέμην τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπιλαβομένου μου τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν ἐξαγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, ὅτι αὐτοὶ οὐκ ἐνέμειναν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ μου, καὶ ἐγὼ ἠμέλησα αὐτῶν, φησὶ Κύριος
Hebrews 8:9 (NET)	Jeremiah 38:32 (NETS)	Jeremiah 38:32 (English Elpenor)
It will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord.	It will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not abide in my covenant, and I was unconcerned for them, quoth the Lord,	not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day when I took hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; for they abode not in my covenant, and I disregarded them, saith the Lord.

Admittedly, I may not have thought of this quotation in Hebrews as an independent translation if I were only considering Hebrews 8:9 and Jeremiah 31:32 (38:32). The comparison of Hebrews 8:10 and Jeremiah 31:33 (38:33) below isn’t exactly a tie breaker on that score.

Hebrews 8:10 (NET Parallel Greek)	Jeremiah 31:33 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 38:33 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι αὕτη ἡ διαθήκη, ἣν διαθήσομαι τῷ οἴκῳ Ἰσραὴλ μετὰ τὰς ἡμέρας ἐκείνας, λέγει κύριος· διδοὺς νόμους μου εἰς τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίας αὐτῶν ἐπιγράψω αὐτούς, καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτοῖς εἰς θεόν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔσονται μοι εἰς λαόν	ὅτι αὕτη ἡ διαθήκη ἣν διαθήσομαι τῷ οἴκῳ Ισραηλ μετὰ τὰς ἡμέρας ἐκείνας φησὶν κύριος διδοὺς δώσω νόμους μου εἰς τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίας αὐτῶν γράψω αὐτούς καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτοῗς εἰς θεόν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔσονταί μοι εἰς λαόν	ὅτι αὕτη ἡ διαθήκη μου, ἣν διαθήσομαι τῷ οἴκῳ ᾿Ισραὴλ μετὰ τὰς ἡμέρας ἐκείνας, φησὶ Κύριος· διδοὺς δώσω νόμους εἰς τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίας αὐτῶν γράψω αὐτούς· καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτοῖς εἰς Θεόν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔσονταί μοι εἰς λαόν
Hebrews 8:10 (NET)	Jeremiah 38:33 (NETS)	Jeremiah 38:33 (English Elpenor)
For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds, and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be my people.	because this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, quoth the Lord. Giving I will give my laws in their mind, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will become a god to them, and they shall become a people to me.	For this is my covenant which I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the Lord, I will surely put my laws into their mind, and write them on their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.

There is nothing significant in the comparison of the next verse to persuade me that the quotation in Hebrews was an independent translation of the Hebrew.

Hebrews 8:11, 12 (NET Parallel Greek)	Jeremiah 31:34 (Septuagint BLB) Table	Jeremiah 38:34 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ οὐ μὴ διδάξωσιν ἕκαστος τὸν πολίτην αὐτοῦ καὶ ἕκαστος τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ λέγων· γνῶθι τὸν κύριον, ὅτι πάντες εἰδήσουσιν με ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου αὐτῶν ὅτι ἵλεως ἔσομαι ταῖς ἀδικίαις αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν οὐ μὴ μνησθῶ ἔτι	καὶ οὐ μὴ διδάξωσιν ἕκαστος τὸν πολίτην αὐτοῦ καὶ ἕκαστος τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ λέγων γνῶθι τὸν κύριον ὅτι πάντες εἰδήσουσίν με ἀπὸ μικροῦ αὐτῶν καὶ ἕως μεγάλου αὐτῶν ὅτι ἵλεως ἔσομαι ταῗς ἀδικίαις αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν οὐ μὴ μνησθῶ ἔτι	καὶ οὐ μὴ διδάξωσιν ἕκαστος τὸν πολίτην αὐτοῦ καὶ ἕκαστος τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ λέγων· γνῶθι τὸν Κύριον· ὅτι πάντες εἰδήσουσί με ἀπὸ μικροῦ αὐτῶν ἕως μεγάλου αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἵλεως ἔσομαι ταῖς ἀδικίαις αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν οὐ μὴ μνησθῶ ἔτι
Hebrews 8:11, 12 (NET)	Jeremiah 38:34 (NETS)	Jeremiah 38:34 (English Elpenor)
And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer.”	And they shall not teach, each his fellow citizen and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” because they shall all know me, from their small even to their great, because I will be gracious regarding their injustices, and remember their sins no more.	And they shall not at all teach every one his [fellow] citizen, and every one his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them: for I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins I will remember no more.

Tables comparing Jeremiah 31:31; 31:32 and 31:33 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of in Jeremiah 31:31; 31:32 and 31:33 the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Hebrews 8:6; 8:11, 12 and John 17:1, 2 in the NET and KJV follow.

Jeremiah 31:31 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 31:31 (KJV)	Jeremiah 31:31 (NET)
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:	Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:	“Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.

Jeremiah 31:31 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 38:31 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἰδοὺ ἡμέραι ἔρχονται φησὶν κύριος καὶ διαθήσομαι τῷ οἴκῳ Ισραηλ καὶ τῷ οἴκῳ Ιουδα διαθήκην καινήν	ἰδοὺ ἡμέραι ἔρχονται, φησὶ Κύριος, καὶ διαθήσομαι τῷ οἴκῳ ᾿Ισραὴλ καὶ τῷ οἴκῳ ᾿Ιούδα διαθήκην καινήν
Jeremiah 38:31 (NETS)	Jeremiah 38:31 (English Elpenor)
Behold, days are coming, quoth the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Iouda.	Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda:

Jeremiah 31:32 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 31:32 (KJV)	Jeremiah 31:32 (NET)
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:	Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:	It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 31:32 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 38:32 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην ἣν διεθέμην τοῗς πατράσιν αὐτῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπιλαβομένου μου τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν ἐξαγαγεῗν αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ὅτι αὐτοὶ οὐκ ἐνέμειναν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ μου καὶ ἐγὼ ἠμέλησα αὐτῶν φησὶν κύριος	οὐ κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην, ἣν διεθέμην τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπιλαβομένου μου τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν ἐξαγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, ὅτι αὐτοὶ οὐκ ἐνέμειναν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ μου, καὶ ἐγὼ ἠμέλησα αὐτῶν, φησὶ Κύριος
Jeremiah 38:32 (NETS)	Jeremiah 38:32 (English Elpenor)
It will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not abide in my covenant, and I was unconcerned for them, quoth the Lord,	not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day when I took hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; for they abode not in my covenant, and I disregarded them, saith the Lord.

Jeremiah 31:33 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 31:33 (KJV)	Jeremiah 31:33 (NET)
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.	But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.	“But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land,” says the Lord. “I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Jeremiah 31:33 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 38:33 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι αὕτη ἡ διαθήκη ἣν διαθήσομαι τῷ οἴκῳ Ισραηλ μετὰ τὰς ἡμέρας ἐκείνας φησὶν κύριος διδοὺς δώσω νόμους μου εἰς τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίας αὐτῶν γράψω αὐτούς καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτοῗς εἰς θεόν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔσονταί μοι εἰς λαόν	ὅτι αὕτη ἡ διαθήκη μου, ἣν διαθήσομαι τῷ οἴκῳ ᾿Ισραὴλ μετὰ τὰς ἡμέρας ἐκείνας, φησὶ Κύριος· διδοὺς δώσω νόμους εἰς τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίας αὐτῶν γράψω αὐτούς· καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτοῖς εἰς Θεόν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔσονταί μοι εἰς λαόν
Jeremiah 38:33 (NETS)	Jeremiah 38:33 (English Elpenor)
because this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, quoth the Lord. Giving I will give my laws in their mind, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will become a god to them, and they shall become a people to me.	For this is my covenant which I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the Lord, I will surely put my laws into their mind, and write them on their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.

Hebrews 8:6 (NET)	Hebrews 8:6 (KJV)
But now Jesus has obtained a superior ministry, since the covenant that he mediates is also better and is enacted on better promises.	But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
\|Νυν[ὶ]\| δὲ διαφορωτέρας τέτυχεν λειτουργίας, ὅσῳ καὶ κρείττονος ἐστιν διαθήκης μεσίτης, ἥτις ἐπὶ κρείττοσιν ἐπαγγελίαις νενομοθέτηται	νυνι δε διαφορωτερας τετευχεν λειτουργιας οσω και κρειττονος εστιν διαθηκης μεσιτης ητις επι κρειττοσιν επαγγελιαις νενομοθετηται	νυνι δε διαφορωτερας τετυχεν λειτουργιας οσω και κρειττονος εστιν διαθηκης μεσιτης ητις επι κρειττοσιν επαγγελιαις νενομοθετηται

Hebrews 8:11, 12 (NET)	Hebrews 8:11, 12 (KJV)
And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest.	And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ οὐ μὴ διδάξωσιν ἕκαστος τὸν πολίτην αὐτοῦ καὶ ἕκαστος τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ λέγων· γνῶθι τὸν κύριον, ὅτι πάντες εἰδήσουσιν με ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου αὐτῶν,	και ου μη διδαξωσιν εκαστος τον πλησιον αυτου και εκαστος τον αδελφον αυτου λεγων γνωθι τον κυριον οτι παντες ειδησουσιν με απο μικρου αυτων εως μεγαλου αυτων	και ου μη διδαξωσιν εκαστος τον πολιτην αυτου και εκαστος τον αδελφον αυτου λεγων γνωθι τον κυριον οτι παντες ειδησουσιν με απο μικρου αυτων εως μεγαλου αυτων

For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer.”

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὅτι ἵλεως ἔσομαι ταῖς ἀδικίαις αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν οὐ μὴ μνησθῶ ἔτι	οτι ιλεως εσομαι ταις αδικιαις αυτων και των αμαρτιων αυτων και των ανομιων αυτων ου μη μνησθω ετι	οτι ιλεως εσομαι ταις αδικιαις αυτων και των αμαρτιων αυτων και των ανομιων αυτων ου μη μνησθω ετι

John 17:1, 2 (NET)	John 17:1, 2 (KJV)
When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you—	These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ταῦτα ἐλάλησεν Ἰησοῦς καὶ ἐπάρας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἶπεν· πάτερ, ἐλήλυθεν ἡ ὥρα· δόξασον σου τὸν υἱόν, ἵνα ὁ υἱὸς δοξάσῃ σέ	ταυτα ελαλησεν ο ιησους και επηρεν τους οφθαλμους αυτου εις τον ουρανον και ειπεν πατερ εληλυθεν η ωρα δοξασον σου τον υιον ινα και ο υιος σου δοξαση σε	ταυτα ελαλησεν ο ιησους και επηρεν τους οφθαλμους αυτου εις τον ουρανον και ειπεν πατερ εληλυθεν η ωρα δοξασον σου τον υιον ινα και ο υιος σου δοξαση σε

just as you have given him authority over all humanity, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him.

As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καθὼς ἔδωκας αὐτῷ ἐξουσίαν πάσης σαρκός, ἵνα πᾶν ὃ δέδωκας αὐτῷ \|δώσῃ\| αὐτοῖς ζωὴν αἰώνιον	καθως εδωκας αυτω εξουσιαν πασης σαρκος ινα παν ο δεδωκας αυτω δωση αυτοις ζωην αιωνιον	καθως εδωκας αυτω εξουσιαν πασης σαρκος ινα παν ο δεδωκας αυτω δωσει αυτοις ζωην αιωνιον

The New Covenant, Part 2

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Back to Exploration, Part 2

Back to Exploration, Part 3

^[1] Luke 22:19 (NET)

^[2] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τῆς διαθήκης, of the covenant (NET), in Matthew 26:28 and Mark 14:24.

^[3] The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had τέτυχεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had τετευχεν (KJV: hath…obtained).

^[4] The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had πολίτην here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had πλησιον (KJV: neighbour).

^[5] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτων following least. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[6] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και των ανομιων αυτων (KJV: and their iniquities) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[7] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και following that. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[8] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had σου here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[9] The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had δώσῃ here, where the Byzantine Majority Text had δωσει.

^[10] John 17:3b (NET)

^[11] Hebrews 8:11 (NET)

^[12] Who am I? Part 3

^[13] Sexual Immorality Revisited, Part 3

^[14] Genesis 1:3 (NET) Table

^[15] Adam Sanftner, “Dirty Heart,” Covenant Bible Church, January 2, 2022

^[16] Jeremiah 31:34 (NET) Table

^[17] Luke 1:33 (NET)

The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 7

Posted on January 5, 2022 by admin

This is a continuation of my consideration of God’s love for Satan revealed in the book of Job. I left off when יהוה (Yᵊhōvâ) authorized the experiment testing Satan’s hypothesis:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 1:12 (Tanakh/KJV) Table	Job 1:12 (NET)	Job 1:12 (NETS) Table	Job 1:12 (Elpenor English)
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.	So the Lord said to Satan, “All right then, everything he has is in your power. Only do not extend your hand against the man himself!” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.	Then the Lord said to the salnderer, “Look, all that he has I am giving into your power, but do not touch him.” So the slanderer went out from the Lord.	Then the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I give into thine hand all that he has, but touch not himself. So the devil went out from the presence of the Lord.

Though I considered glossing over the next few verses, it seems relevant now to carefully consider Satan’s power if and only if the Lord removes the hedge He has made around Job’s household and all that he has: Have you not made a hedge (śûḵ, שׁכת) around him and his household and all that he has on every side?^[1]

Now the day came when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and a messenger came to Job, saying, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing beside them, and the Sabeans swooped down and carried them all away, and they killed the servants with the sword! And I—only I alone—escaped to tell you!”^[2]

To the unbeliever this could seem like coincidence even as someone paying heed to the scripture recognizes it as Satan’s power. Satan had complained about Job’s prosperity and the hedge the Lord had made around it, gotten leave to take that prosperity away, and then it began to happen. Persuading unscrupulous people—who may have been lusting after Job’s oxen and donkeys already—that this was the opportune moment to strike seems a bit like Satan 101. What happened next might be thought of as Satan 201:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 1:16 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 1:16 (NET)	Job 1:16 (NETS)	Job 1:16 (Elpenor English)
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God (אֱלֹהִ֗ים) is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.	While this one was still speaking, another messenger arrived and said, “The fire of God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) has fallen from heaven and has burned up the sheep and the servants—it has consumed them! And I—only I alone—escaped to tell you!”	While he was still speaking, a further messenger came and said to Iob, “Fire fell from the sky and burned up the sheep, and it likewise consumed the shepherds, and when I alone escaped, I came to tell you.”	While he was yet speaking, there came another messenger, and said to Job, Fire has fallen from heaven, and burnt up the sheep, and devoured the shepherds like wise; and I having escaped alone am come to tell thee.

I don’t know if אֱלֹהִ֗ים (‘ĕlōhîm), of God (Tanakh, KJV, NET), was ignored by the rabbis who translated the Septuagint or added by the Masoretes. While I assume that The fire of God…from heaven or Fire…from the sky was lightning, a lightning strike (though there is nothing in the text compelling me to limit it to one lightning strike) killing 7,000 sheep and their shepherds is beyond my personal experience. I try to keep an open mind to the possibility that The fire of God…from heaven or Fire…from the sky that killed 7,000 sheep and their shepherds was a phenomenon I haven’t seen..

The point here, I think, is that The fire of God…from heaven or Fire…from the sky that killed 7,000 sheep and their shepherds was under Satan’s control, if and only if God allowed it. That if and only if becomes extremely interesting when considering the story of Elijah and the priests of Baal (1 Kings 18:21-24 NET).

Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? If the Lord is the true God, then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word. Elijah said to them: “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal.^[3] Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces, and place it on the wood. But they must not set it on fire. I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood. But I will not set it on fire. Then you will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the Lord. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God.” All the people responded, “This will be a fair test.”

Here I find another hypothesis and a proposed test for that hypothesis. Elijah’s hypothesis was, The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God.^[4] The test for his hypothesis was that the bull that burst spontaneously into flame, his or theirs, designated which God, יהוה (Yᵊhōvâ) or Baal, is the true God. As a scientific experiment this one clearly lacks some controls relative to Satan’s experiment with Job.

The priests of Baal called on him from morning until evening without result (1 Kings 18:25-29). Then Elijah built an altar and called on יהוה (1 Kings 18:36b-39 NET).

“O Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove (yāḏaʿ, יודע; Septuagint: γνώτωσαν, a form of γινώσκω) today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know (yāḏaʿ, וידעו; Septuagint: γνώτω, another form of γινώσκω) that you, O Lord, are the true God and that you are winning back their allegiance.” Then fire from the Lord fell from the sky. It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, “The Lord is the true God! The Lord is the true God!”

It was an impressive demonstration. Elijah’s hypothesis—The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God—was not falsified. The logical structure of the scientific method is designed to falsify hypotheses. It doesn’t prove anything except, perhaps, that the effect in question is not due to chance. The test of Elijah’s hypothesis was designed well enough to demonstrate that fire falling from a cloudless sky in the midst of a drought hitting either of two targets at any time near the prayer of the prophets was probably not a random event.

The controls for this particular experiment were: 1) the specified targets for the fire from the sky, the two sacrifices; and 2) the timing of fire falling from the sky, after the prayer of the prophets of Baal or after the prayer of Elijah. But Elijah himself mentioned a variable his test did not control for (I Kings 18:27 NET).

At noon Elijah mocked [the prophets of Baal], “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.”

So, did יהוה (Yᵊhōvâ) send fire from the sky on time and on target, or was it Baal, late and off target? Elijah’s test can’t tell us, especially since he changed the conditions mid-experiment (1 Kings 18:32b, 33b-35).

Around the altar he made a trench large enough to contain two seahs of seed.…Then he said, “Fill four water jars and pour the water on the offering and the wood.” When they had done so, he said, “Do it again.” So they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time.” So they did it a third time. The water flowed down all sides of the altar and filled the trench.

If “fire from the sky” was lightning or shared some of the electrical properties of lightning, did Elijah cheat by making his sacrifice a better conductor of electricity than that of the prophets of Baal? The simplest way to improve the rigor of Elijah’s experiment is to repeat it a second time with the conditions reversed:^[5] Let Elijah go first and let the prophets of Baal water down their sacrifice before Elijah prays. But who—other than a prophet of יהוה (Yᵊhōvâ), hearing and obeying his voice—would propose such a test even once, much less twice?

Fortunately, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.^[6] The believer ascertains the identity of the One who caused fire to fall from the sky from the written word of God. And here both the Masoretic text and Septuagint agree; the fire was from Yᵊhōvâ (יְהֹוָ֗ה), translated παρὰ Κυρίου (a form of κύριος) in the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
1 Kings 18:38 (Tanakh/KJV)	1 Kings 18:38 (NET)	3 Reigns 18:38 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:38 (Elpenor English)
Then the fire of the LORD (יְהֹוָ֗ה) fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.	Then fire from the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) fell from the sky. It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench.	And fire from the Lord (παρὰ κυρίου) fell from heaven and consumed the whole burnt offering and the firewood and the water that was in the thaala and the stones, and the fire licked up the dust.	Then fire fell from the Lord (παρὰ Κυρίου) out of heaven, and devoured the whole-burnt-offerings, and the wood and the water that was in the trench, and the fire licked up the stones and the earth.

My purpose here was to consider this story in the light of the knowledge that Satan does in fact have the power to call fire down from the sky if and only if Yᵊhōvâ (יְהֹוָה) gives him leave to exercise that power. Faith gives me new insight into this story I might miss as an outsider analyzing it as a scientific experiment. Without getting too involved in the question whether Baal was another name for Satan or another entity under Satan’s control, through faith I feel fairly confident assuming that Yᵊhōvâ (יְהֹוָה) did not give Satan leave to interfere with the demonstration of Elijah’s authority to speak on Yᵊhōvâ’s behalf. Elijah prayed: let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.^[7]

But^[8] no one is able^[9] to enter a strong man’s house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man, Jesus told the experts in the law. Then he can thoroughly plunder^[10] his house.^[11] There was no need to command Elijah to water down the sacrifice of the prophets of Baal because Yᵊhōvâ knew He hadn’t given Satan leave to call down fire from the sky (1 Kings 18:25, 26, 28 NET).

Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls for yourselves and go first, for you are the majority. Invoke the name of your god, but do not light a fire.” So they took a bull, as he had suggested, and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped around on the altar they had made.…they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
1 Kings 18:29 (Tanakh/KJV)	1 Kings 18:29 (NET)	3 Reigns 18:29 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:29 (Elpenor English)
And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.	Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy, but there was no sound, no answer, and no response.	and they were acting the prophet until evening came. And it happened, as it was the time for the sacrifice to ascend and there was no voice, that Eliou the Thesbite spoke to the prophets of the offenses, saying, “Stand aside for the present, and I will do my whole burnt offering,” and they stood aside and departed.	And they prophesied until the evening came; and it came to pass as it was the time of the offering of the sacrifice, that Eliu the Thesbite spoke to the prophets of the abominations, saying, Stand by for the present, and I will offer my sacrifice. And they stood aside and departed.

The purpose of a lightning rod is not to call down lightning from the sky, though that might arguably be its effect at times. The purpose of a lightning rod is to offer a direct path to ground, protecting, insulating the house and its occupants from the harmful effects of a lightning strike. Through faith I can see these things as circumstantial evidence that fire from the sky was lightning (or something sharing the electrical properties of lightning), and that Yᵊhōvâ protected those whose hearts would be turned back to Him (not to mention all the other bystanders) by telling his prophet Elijah to drench the sacrifice with water. Hear me, O LORD, Elijah prayed, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.^[12]

I don’t study the Bible because I have some deep interest in ancient Jewish history or even the Jewish or Christian religions. I study the Bible with the Holy Spirit to know…the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] sent,^[13] to enjoy what Jesus called eternal life (ἡ αἰώνιος ζωὴ) here and now. As I follow Jesus through the Scriptures I not only gain insight into the mind of יְהֹוָה (Yᵊhōvâ) as He commanded Elijah to prepare his sacrifice, I gain insight into the mind and life of Christ.

Jesus didn’t fantasize as a boy about binding strong men and plundering their houses. He didn’t grow up and apply that fantasy to Him or his Father. I tell you the solemn truth, Jesus said, the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.^[14] He saw his Father bind Satan in some of the very same Scriptures He leads me through now, as He studied with the Holy Spirit as a boy. When He promised his disciples that when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth,^[15] He simply recounted his own experience growing up.

I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Tables comparing Job 1:13; 1:14; 1:15; 1:16; 1 Kings 18:21; 18:22; 18:23; 18:24; 18:36; 18:37; 18:38; 18:39; 18:27; 18:32; 18:33; 18:34; 18:35; 18:25; 18:26; 18:28 and 18:29 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Job 1:13; 1:14; 1:15; 1:16; 1 Kings (3 Reigns, 3 Kings) 18:21; 18:22; 18:23; 18:24; 18:36; 18:37; 18:38; 18:39; 18:27; 18:32; 18:33; 18:34; 18:35; 18:25; 18:26; 18:28 and 18:29 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and a table comparing Mark 3:27 in the NET and KJV follow.

Job 1:13 (Tanakh)	Job 1:13 (KJV)	Job 1:13 (NET)
And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:	And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:	Now the day came when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

Job 1:13 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 1:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἦν ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη οἱ υἱοὶ Ιωβ καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες αὐτοῦ ἔπινον οἶνον ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτῶν τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου	Καὶ ἦν ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη, οἱ υἱοὶ ᾿Ιὼβ καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες αὐτοῦ ἔπινον οἶνον ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτῶν τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου
Job 1:13 (NETS)	Job 1:13 (English Elpenor)
So it was, when it was the set day, Iob’s sons and daughters were drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house.	And it came to pass on a certain day, that Job᾿s sons and his daughters were drinking wine in the house of their elder brother.

Job 1:14 (Tanakh)	Job 1:14 (KJV)	Job 1:14 (NET)
And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:	And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:	and a messenger came to Job, saying, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing beside them,

Job 1:14 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 1:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος ἦλθεν πρὸς Ιωβ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ τὰ ζεύγη τῶν βοῶν ἠροτρία καὶ αἱ θήλειαι ὄνοι ἐβόσκοντο ἐχόμεναι αὐτῶν	καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος ἦλθε πρὸς ᾿Ιὼβ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· τὰ ζεύγη τῶν βοῶν ἠροτρία, καὶ αἱ θήλειαι ὄνοι ἐβόσκοντο ἐχόμεναι αὐτῶν,
Job 1:14 (NETS)	Job 1:14 (English Elpenor)
And, look, a messenger came to Iob and said to him, “The yokes of oxen were plowing, and the she-donkeys were feeding beside them,	And, behold, there came a messenger to Job, and said to him, The yokes of oxen were ploughing, and the she-asses were feeding near them;

Job 1:15 (Tanakh)	Job 1:15 (KJV)	Job 1:15 (NET)
And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.	And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.	and the Sabeans swooped down and carried them all away, and they killed the servants with the sword! And I—only I alone—escaped to tell you!”

Job 1:15 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 1:15 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐλθόντες οἱ αἰχμαλωτεύοντες ᾐχμαλώτευσαν αὐτὰς καὶ τοὺς παῗδας ἀπέκτειναν ἐν μαχαίραις σωθεὶς δὲ ἐγὼ μόνος ἦλθον τοῦ ἀπαγγεῗλαί σοι	καὶ ἐλθόντες οἱ αἰχμαλωτεύοντες ᾐχμαλώτευσαν αὐτὰς καὶ τοὺς παῖδας ἀπέκτειναν ἐν μαχαίραις· σωθεὶς δὲ ἐγὼ μόνος ἦλθον τοῦ ἀπαγγεῖλαί σοι
Job 1:15 (NETS)	Job 1:15 (English Elpenor)
and marauders came and carried them off, and they killed the servants with daggers, but when I alone escaped, I came to tell you.”	and the spoilers came and took them for a prey, and slew the servants with the sword; and I having escaped alone am come to tell thee.

Job 1:16 (Tanakh)	Job 1:16 (KJV)	Job 1:16 (NET)
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.	While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.	While this one was still speaking, another messenger arrived and said, “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and has burned up the sheep and the servants—it has consumed them! And I—only I alone—escaped to tell you!”

Job 1:16 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 1:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἔτι τούτου λαλοῦντος ἦλθεν ἕτερος ἄγγελος καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς Ιωβ πῦρ ἔπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ κατέκαυσεν τὰ πρόβατα καὶ τοὺς ποιμένας κατέφαγεν ὁμοίως καὶ σωθεὶς ἐγὼ μόνος ἦλθον τοῦ ἀπαγγεῗλαί σοι	ἔτι τούτου λαλοῦντος, ἦλθεν ἕτερος ἄγγελος καὶ εἶπε πρὸς ᾿Ιώβ· πῦρ ἔπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ κατέκαυσε τὰ πρόβατα καὶ τοὺς ποιμένας κατέφαγεν ὁμοίως· σωθεὶς δὲ ἐγὼ μόνος ἦλθον τοῦ ἀπαγγεῖλαί σοι
Job 1:16 (NETS)	Job 1:16 (English Elpenor)
While he was still speaking, a further messenger came and said to Iob, “Fire fell from the sky and burned up the sheep, and it likewise consumed the shepherds, and when I alone escaped, I came to tell you.”	While he was yet speaking, there came another messenger, and said to Job, Fire has fallen from heaven, and burnt up the sheep, and devoured the shepherds like wise; and I having escaped alone am come to tell thee.

1 Kings 18:21 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:21 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:21 (NET)
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.	And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.	Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? If the Lord is the true God, then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word.

1 Kings 18:21 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ προσήγαγεν Ηλιου πρὸς πάντας καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῗς Ηλιου ἕως πότε ὑμεῗς χωλανεῗτε ἐπ᾽ ἀμφοτέραις ταῗς ἰγνύαις εἰ ἔστιν κύριος ὁ θεός πορεύεσθε ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ εἰ δὲ ὁ Βααλ αὐτός πορεύεσθε ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ λαὸς λόγον	καὶ προσήγαγεν ᾿Ηλιοὺ πρὸς πάντας, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ᾿Ηλιού· ἕως πότε ὑμεῖς χωλανεῖτε ἐπ᾿ ἀμφοτέραις ταῖς ἰγνύαις; εἰ ἔστι Κύριος ὁ Θεός, πορεύεσθε ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ· εἰ δὲ ὁ Βάαλ, πορεύεσθε ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ. καὶ οὐκ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ λαὸς λόγον
3 Reigns 18:21 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:21 (English Elpenor)
And Eliou came near to all, and Eliou said to them, “How long will you go limping on both legs? If the Lord is God, go after him, but if Baal is he, go after him.” And the people did not answer a word.	And Eliu drew near to them all: and Eliu said to them, How long wilt ye halt on both feet? if the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him. And the people answered not a word.

1 Kings 18:22 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:22 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:22 (NET)
Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.	Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.	Elijah said to them: “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal.

1 Kings 18:22 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:22 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν Ηλιου πρὸς τὸν λαόν ἐγὼ ὑπολέλειμμαι προφήτης τοῦ κυρίου μονώτατος καὶ οἱ προφῆται τοῦ Βααλ τετρακόσιοι καὶ πεντήκοντα ἄνδρες καὶ οἱ προφῆται τοῦ ἄλσους τετρακόσιοι	καὶ εἶπεν ᾿Ηλιοὺ πρὸς τὸν λαόν· ἐγὼ ὑπολέλειμμαι προφήτης τοῦ Κυρίου μονώτατος, καὶ οἱ προφῆται τοῦ Βάαλ τετρακόσιοι καὶ πεντήκοντα ἄνδρες, καὶ οἱ προφῆται τοῦ ἄλσους τετρακόσιοι
3 Reigns 18:22 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:22 (English Elpenor)
And Eliou said to the people, “I all alone am left over as a prophet of the Lord, and Baal’s prophets number four hundred fifty men, and the prophets of the grove, four hundred.	And Eliu said to the people, I am left, the only one prophet of the Lord; and the prophets of Baal [are] four hundred and fifty men, and the prophets of the groves four hundred.

1 Kings 18:23 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:23 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:23 (NET)
Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:	Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:	Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces, and place it on the wood. But they must not set it on fire. I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood. But I will not set it on fire.

1 Kings 18:23 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:23 (Septuagint Elpenor)
δότωσαν ἡμῗν δύο βόας καὶ ἐκλεξάσθωσαν ἑαυτοῗς τὸν ἕνα καὶ μελισάτωσαν καὶ ἐπιθέτωσαν ἐπὶ τῶν ξύλων καὶ πῦρ μὴ ἐπιθέτωσαν καὶ ἐγὼ ποιήσω τὸν βοῦν τὸν ἄλλον καὶ πῦρ οὐ μὴ ἐπιθῶ	δότωσαν ἡμῖν δύο βόας, καὶ ἐκλεξάσθωσαν ἑαυτοῖς τὸν ἕνα καὶ μελισάτωσαν καὶ ἐπιθέτωσαν ἐπὶ τῶν ξύλων καὶ πῦρ μὴ ἐπιθέτωσαν, καὶ ἐγὼ ποιήσω τὸν βοῦν τὸν ἄλλον, καὶ πῦρ οὐ μὴ ἐπιθῶ
3 Reigns 18:23 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:23 (English Elpenor)
Let them give us two bulls, and let them choose the one for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, and let them put on no fire, and I will do the other bull and will put on no fire.	Let them give us two oxen, and let them choose one for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire [on] the wood: and I will dress the other bullock, and put on no fire.

1 Kings 18:24 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:24 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:24 (NET)
And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.	And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.	Then you will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the Lord. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God.” All the people responded, “This will be a fair test.”

1 Kings 18:24 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:24 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ βοᾶτε ἐν ὀνόματι θεῶν ὑμῶν καὶ ἐγὼ ἐπικαλέσομαι ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ μου καὶ ἔσται ὁ θεός ὃς ἐὰν ἐπακούσῃ ἐν πυρί οὗτος θεός καὶ ἀπεκρίθησαν πᾶς ὁ λαὸς καὶ εἶπον καλὸν τὸ ῥῆμα ὃ ἐλάλησας	καὶ βοᾶτε ἐν ὀνόματι θεῶν ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐγὼ ἐπικαλέσομαι ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ μου, καὶ ἔσται ὁ θεὸς ὃς ἐὰν ἐπακούσῃ ἐν πυρί, οὗτος Θεός. καὶ ἀπεκρίθησαν πᾶς ὁ λαὸς καὶ εἶπον· καλὸν τὸ ρῆμα, ὃ ἐλάλησας
3 Reigns 18:24 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:24 (English Elpenor)
And shout in the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord, my God, and it will be, the god who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered and said, “The word which you spoke is good!”	And do ye call loudly on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord my God, and it shall come to pass that the God who shall answer by fire, he [is] God. And all the people answered and said, The word which thou hast spoken [is] good.

1 Kings 18:36 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:36 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:36 (NET)
And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.	And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.	When it was time for the evening offering, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and prayed: “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.

1 Kings 18:36 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:36 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἀνεβόησεν Ηλιου εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ εἶπεν κύριε ὁ θεὸς Αβρααμ καὶ Ισαακ καὶ Ισραηλ ἐπάκουσόν μου κύριε ἐπάκουσόν μου σήμερον ἐν πυρί καὶ γνώτωσαν πᾶς ὁ λαὸς οὗτος ὅτι σὺ εἶ κύριος ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ κἀγὼ δοῦλός σου καὶ διὰ σὲ πεποίηκα τὰ ἔργα ταῦτα	καὶ ἀνεβόησεν ᾿Ηλιοὺ εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ εἶπε· Κύριε ὁ Θεὸς ῾Αβραὰμ καὶ ᾿Ισαὰκ καὶ ᾿Ισραήλ, ἐπάκουσόν μου, Κύριε, ἐπάκουσόν μου σήμερον ἐν πυρί, καὶ γνώτωσαν πᾶς ὁ λαὸς οὗτος ὅτι σὺ εἶ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ᾿Ισραὴλ καὶ ἐγὼ δοῦλός σου καὶ διὰ σὲ πεποίηκα τὰ ἔργα ταῦτα
3 Reigns 18:36 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:36 (English Elpenor)
And Eliou cried aloud to heaven and said, “O Lord, God of Abraam and Isaak and Israel, heed me, heed me today with fire, and let all this people know that you are Lord, God of Israel, and I am your slave, and I have done these works on your account.	And Eliu cried aloud to the heaven, and said, Lord God of Abraam, and Isaac, and Israel, answer me, O Lord, answer me this day by fire, and let all this people know that thou art the Lord, the God of Israel, and I [am] thy servant, and for thy sake I have wrought these works.

1 Kings 18:37 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:37 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:37 (NET)
Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.	Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.	Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are the true God and that you are winning back their allegiance.”

1 Kings 18:37 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:37 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐπάκουσόν μου κύριε ἐπάκουσόν μου ἐν πυρί καὶ γνώτω ὁ λαὸς οὗτος ὅτι σὺ εἶ κύριος ὁ θεὸς καὶ σὺ ἔστρεψας τὴν καρδίαν τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου ὀπίσω	ἐπάκουσόν μου, Κύριε, ἐπάκουσόν μου ἐν πυρί, καὶ γνώτω ὁ λαὸς οὗτος, ὅτι σὺ εἶ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς καὶ σὺ ἔστρεψας τὴν καρδίαν τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου ὀπίσω
3 Reigns 18:37 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:37 (English Elpenor)
Heed me, O Lord, heed me with fire, and let this people know that you are Lord God and that you turned the heart of this people back.”	Hear me, O Lord, hear me, and let this people know that thou art the Lord God, and thou hast turned back the heart of this people.

1 Kings 18:38 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:38 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:38 (NET)
Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.	Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.	Then fire from the Lord fell from the sky. It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench.

1 Kings 18:38 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:38 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔπεσεν πῦρ παρὰ κυρίου ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ κατέφαγεν τὸ ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ τὰς σχίδακας καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ἐν τῇ θααλα καὶ τοὺς λίθους καὶ τὸν χοῦν ἐξέλιξεν τὸ πῦρ	καὶ ἔπεσε πῦρ παρὰ Κυρίου ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ κατέφαγε τὰ ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ τὰς σχίδακας καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, καὶ τοὺς λίθους καὶ τὸν χοῦν ἐξέλειξε τὸ πῦρ
3 Reigns 18:38 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:38 (English Elpenor)
And fire from the Lord fell from heaven and consumed the whole burnt offering and the firewood and the water that was in the thaala and the stones, and the fire licked up the dust.	Then fire fell from the Lord out of heaven, and devoured the whole-burnt-offerings, and the wood and the water that was in the trench, and the fire licked up the stones and the earth.

1 Kings 18:39 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:39 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:39 (NET)
And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.	And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.	When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, “The Lord is the true God! The Lord is the true God!”

1 Kings 18:39 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:39 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔπεσεν πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν καὶ εἶπον ἀληθῶς κύριός ἐστιν ὁ θεός αὐτὸς ὁ θεός	καὶ ἔπεσε πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν καὶ εἶπον· ἀληθῶς Κύριος ὁ Θεός, αὐτὸς ὁ Θεός
3 Reigns 18:39 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:39 (English Elpenor)
And all the people fell on their face and said, “Truly the Lord is God; he is God.”	And all the people fell upon their faces, and said, Truly the Lord [is] God; he [is] God.

1 Kings 18:27 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:27 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:27 (NET)
And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.	And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.	At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.”

1 Kings 18:27 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:27 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐγένετο μεσημβρίᾳ καὶ ἐμυκτήρισεν αὐτοὺς Ηλιου ὁ Θεσβίτης καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικαλεῗσθε ἐν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ὅτι θεός ἐστιν ὅτι ἀδολεσχία αὐτῷ ἐστιν καὶ ἅμα μήποτε χρηματίζει αὐτός ἢ μήποτε καθεύδει αὐτός καὶ ἐξαναστήσεται	καὶ ἐγένετο μεσημβρία καὶ ἐμυκτήρισεν αὐτοὺς ᾿Ηλιοὺ ὁ Θεσβίτης καὶ εἶπεν· ἐπικαλεῖσθε ἐν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ, ὅτι θεός ἐστιν, ὅτι ἀδολεσχία αὐτῷ ἐστι, καὶ ἅμα μή ποτε χρηματίζει αὐτός, ἢ μή ποτε καθεύδει αὐτός, καὶ ἐξαναστήσεται
3 Reigns 18:27 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:27 (English Elpenor)
And it happened at noon that Eliou the Thesbite mocked them and said, “Call in a loud voice! For he is a god, for prating occupies him, and at the same time he is perhaps giving an oracle, or perhaps he is asleep and will get up.”	And it was noon, and Eliu the Thesbite mocked them, and said, Call with a loud voice, for he is a god; for he is meditating, or else perhaps he is engaged in business, or perhaps he is asleep, and is to be awaked.

1 Kings 18:32 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:32 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:32 (NET)
And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.	And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.	With the stones he constructed an altar for the Lord. Around the altar he made a trench large enough to contain two seahs of seed.

1 Kings 18:32 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:32 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν τοὺς λίθους ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου καὶ ἰάσατο τὸ θυσιαστήριον τὸ κατεσκαμμένον καὶ ἐποίησεν θααλα χωροῦσαν δύο μετρητὰς σπέρματος κυκλόθεν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου	καὶ ᾠκοδόμησε τοὺς λίθους ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου καὶ ἰάσατο τὸ θυσιαστήριον τὸ κατεσκαμμένον, καὶ ἐποίησε θάλασσαν χωροῦσαν δύο μετρητὰς σπέρματος κυκλόθεν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου
3 Reigns 18:32 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:32 (English Elpenor)
and he built the stones in the name of the Lord and repaired the altar that had been thrown down and made a thaala around the altar, holding two measures of seed.	And he built up the stones in the name of the Lord, and repaired the altar that had been broken down; and he made a trench that would hold two measures of seed round about the altar.

1 Kings 18:33 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:33 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:33 (NET)
And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.	And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.	He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four water jars and pour the water on the offering and the wood.”

1 Kings 18:33 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:33 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐστοίβασεν τὰς σχίδακας ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον ὃ ἐποίησεν καὶ ἐμέλισεν τὸ ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ ἐπέθηκεν ἐπὶ τὰς σχίδακας καὶ ἐστοίβασεν ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον	καὶ ἐστοίβασε τὰς σχίδακας ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον, ὃ ἐποίησε, καὶ ἐμέλισε τὸ ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ ἐπέθηκεν ἐπὶ τὰς σχίδακας καὶ ἐστοίβασεν ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον καὶ εἶπε· λάβετέ μοι τέσσαρας ὑδρίας ὕδατος καὶ ἐπιχέετε ἐπὶ τὸ ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς σχίδακας· καὶ ἐποίησαν οὕτως
3 Reigns 18:33 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:33 (English Elpenor)
And he piled up the firewood on the altar that he made and cut the whole burnt offering in pieces and laid it on the firewood and piled it on the altar.	And he piled the cleft wood on the altar which he [had] made, and divided the whole-burnt-offering, and laid [it] on the wood, and laid [it] in order on the altar, and said, Fetch me four pitchers of water, and pour [it] on the whole-burnt-offering, and on the wood. And they did so.

1 Kings 18:34 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:34 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:34 (NET)
And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.	And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.	When they had done so, he said, “Do it again.” So they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time.” So they did it a third time.

1 Kings 18:34 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:34 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν λάβετέ μοι τέσσαρας ὑδρίας ὕδατος καὶ ἐπιχέετε ἐπὶ τὸ ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς σχίδακας καὶ ἐποίησαν οὕτως καὶ εἶπεν δευτερώσατε καὶ ἐδευτέρωσαν καὶ εἶπεν τρισσώσατε καὶ ἐτρίσσευσαν	καὶ εἶπε· δευτερώσατε· καὶ ἐδευτέρωσαν. καὶ εἶπε· τρισσώσατε· καὶ ἐτρίσσευσαν
3 Reigns 18:34 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:34 (English Elpenor)
And he said, “Take for me four jars of water, and pour it on the whole burnt offering and on the firewood,” and they did so. And he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time.	And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.

1 Kings 18:35 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:35 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:35 (NET)
And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.	And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.	The water flowed down all sides of the altar and filled the trench.

1 Kings 18:35 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:35 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ διεπορεύετο τὸ ὕδωρ κύκλῳ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου καὶ τὴν θααλα ἔπλησαν ὕδατος	καὶ διεπορεύετο τὸ ὕδωρ κύκλῳ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου, καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν ἔπλησαν ὕδατος
3 Reigns 18:35 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:35 (English Elpenor)
And the water ran all around the altar, and filled the thaala with water.	And the water ran round about the altar, and they filled the trench with water.

1 Kings 18:25 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:25 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:25 (NET)
And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.	And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.	Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls for yourselves and go first, for you are the majority. Invoke the name of your god, but do not light a fire.”

1 Kings 18:25 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:25 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν Ηλιου τοῗς προφήταις τῆς αἰσχύνης ἐκλέξασθε ἑαυτοῗς τὸν μόσχον τὸν ἕνα καὶ ποιήσατε πρῶτοι ὅτι πολλοὶ ὑμεῗς καὶ ἐπικαλέσασθε ἐν ὀνόματι θεοῦ ὑμῶν καὶ πῦρ μὴ ἐπιθῆτε	καὶ εἶπεν ᾿Ηλιοὺ τοῖς προφήταις τῆς αἰσχύνης· ἐκλέξασθε ἑαυτοῖς τὸν μόσχον τὸν ἕνα καὶ ποιήσατε πρῶτοι, ὅτι πολλοὶ ὑμεῖς, καὶ ἐπικαλέσασθε ἐν ὀνόματι θεοῦ ὑμῶν καὶ πῦρ μὴ ἐπιθῆτε
3 Reigns 18:25 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:25 (English Elpenor)
And Eliou said to the prophets of shame, “Choose for yourselves the one bull calf, and do it first, for you are many, and call on the name of your god, and put on no fire.”	And Eliu said to the prophets of shame, Choose to yourselves one calf, and dress it first, for ye [are] many; and call ye on the name of your god; but apply no fire.

1 Kings 18:26 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:26 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:26 (NET)
And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.	And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.	So they took a bull, as he had suggested, and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped around on the altar they had made.

1 Kings 18:26 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:26 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔλαβον τὸν μόσχον καὶ ἐποίησαν καὶ ἐπεκαλοῦντο ἐν ὀνόματι τοῦ Βααλ ἐκ πρωίθεν ἕως μεσημβρίας καὶ εἶπον ἐπάκουσον ἡμῶν ὁ Βααλ ἐπάκουσον ἡμῶν καὶ οὐκ ἦν φωνὴ καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἀκρόασις καὶ διέτρεχον ἐπὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου οὗ ἐποίησαν	καὶ ἔλαβον τὸν μόσχον καὶ ἐποίησαν καὶ ἐπεκαλοῦντο ἐν ὀνόματι τοῦ Βάαλ ἐκ πρωΐθεν ἕως μεσημβρίας καὶ εἶπον· ἐπάκουσον ἡμῶν, ὁ Βάαλ, ἐπάκουσον ἡμῶν· καὶ οὐκ ἦν φωνὴ καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἀκρόασις· καὶ διέτρεχον ἐπὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου, οὗ ἐποίησαν
3 Reigns 18:26 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:26 (English Elpenor)
And they took the bull calf and did it and were calling on the name of Baal from morning until noon and said, “Hear us, O Baal, hear us!” And there was no voice, and there was no hearing, and they ran about on the altar that they made.	And they took the calf and drest it, and called on the name of Baal from morning till noon, and said, hear us, O Baal, hear us. And there was no voice, neither was there hearing, and they ran up and down on the altar which they [had] made.

1 Kings 18:28 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:28 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:28 (NET)
And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.	And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.	So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood.

1 Kings 18:28 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:28 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐπεκαλοῦντο ἐν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ καὶ κατετέμνοντο κατὰ τὸν ἐθισμὸν αὐτῶν ἐν μαχαίραις καὶ σειρομάσταις ἕως ἐκχύσεως αἵματος ἐπ᾽ αὐτούς	καὶ ἐπεκαλοῦντο ἐν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ καὶ κατετέμνοντο κατὰ τὸν ἐθισμὸν αὐτῶν ἐν μαχαίραις καὶ σειρομάσταις ἕως ἐκχύσεως αἵματος ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς
3 Reigns 18:28 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:28 (English Elpenor)
And they were calling in a loud voice and, as was their custom, they were cutting themselves with daggers and lances until the blood gushed out over them,	And they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves according to their custom with knives and lancets until the blood gushed out upon them.

1 Kings 18:29 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 18:29 (KJV)	1 Kings 18:29 (NET)
And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.	And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.	Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy, but there was no sound, no answer, and no response.

1 Kings 18:29 (Septuagint BLB)	3 Kings 18:29 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐπροφήτευον ἕως οὗ παρῆλθεν τὸ δειλινόν καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ὁ καιρὸς τοῦ ἀναβῆναι τὴν θυσίαν καὶ οὐκ ἦν φωνή καὶ ἐλάλησεν Ηλιου ὁ Θεσβίτης πρὸς τοὺς προφήτας τῶν προσοχθισμάτων λέγων μετάστητε ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν καὶ ἐγὼ ποιήσω τὸ ὁλοκαύτωμά μου καὶ μετέστησαν καὶ ἀπῆλθον	καὶ ἐπροφήτευον ἕως οὗ παρῆλθε τὸ δειλινόν. καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ὁ καιρὸς τοῦ ἀναβῆναι τὴν θυσίαν καὶ οὐκ ἦν φωνή. καὶ ἐλάλησεν ᾿Ηλιοὺ ὁ Θεσβίτης πρὸς τοὺς προφήτας τῶν προσοχθισμάτων λέγων· μετάστητε ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν, καὶ ἐγὼ ποιήσω τὸ ὁλοκαύτωμά μου. καὶ μετέστησαν, καὶ ἀπῆλθον
3 Reigns 18:29 (NETS)	3 Kings 18:29 (English Elpenor)
and they were acting the prophet until evening came. And it happened, as it was the time for the sacrifice to ascend and there was no voice, that Eliou the Thesbite spoke to the prophets of the offenses, saying, “Stand aside for the present, and I will do my whole burnt offering,” and they stood aside and departed.	And they prophesied until the evening came; and it came to pass as it was the time of the offering of the sacrifice, that Eliu the Thesbite spoke to the prophets of the abominations, saying, Stand by for the present, and I will offer my sacrifice. And they stood aside and departed.

Mark 3:27 (NET)	Mark 3:27 (KJV)
But no one is able to enter a strong man’s house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house.	No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀλλ᾿ οὐ δύναται οὐδεὶς εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ εἰσελθὼν τὰ σκεύη αὐτοῦ διαρπάσαι, ἐὰν μὴ πρῶτον τὸν ἰσχυρὸν δήσῃ, καὶ τότε τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ διαρπάσει	ου δυναται ουδεις τα σκευη του ισχυρου εισελθων εις την οικιαν αυτου διαρπασαι εαν μη πρωτον τον ισχυρον δηση και τοτε την οικιαν αυτου διαρπασει	ουδεις δυναται τα σκευη του ισχυρου εισελθων εις την οικιαν αυτου διαρπασαι εαν μη πρωτον τον ισχυρον δηση και τοτε την οικιαν αυτου διαρπαση

The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 8

Back to αὐτοῦ and ἑαυτοῦ, Part 1

Back to Luke 8:22-56

^[1] Job 1:10a (NET) Table

^[2] Job 1:13-15 (NET)

^[3] The Septuagint had καὶ οἱ προφῆται τοῦ ἄλσους τετρακόσιοι (NETS: and the prophets of the grove, four hundred) following here.

^[4] 1 Kings 18:24b (NET)

^[5] This is what Gideon did with the fleece (Judges 6:36-40) when he was uncertain of God’s intent.

^[6] Romans 10:17 (ESV) Table

^[7] 1 Kings 18:36b (Tanakh, KJV)

^[8] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀλλ᾿ here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[9] The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had the negative particle οὐ preceding is able (KJV: can) and οὐδεὶς (NET: no one; KJV: No man) following, where the Byzantine Majority Text simply had οὐδεὶς preceding.

^[10] The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had διαρπάσει, where the Byzantine Majority Text had διαρπαση.

^[11] Mark 3:27 (NET)

^[12] 1 Kings 18:37 (Tanakh/KJV)

^[13] John 17:3b (NET)

^[14] John 5:19 (NET) Table

^[15] John 16:13a (NET) Table

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 10

Posted on December 17, 2021 by admin

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 53:10d (Tanakh) Table	Isaiah 53:10d (NET)	Isaiah 53:10d (NETS)	Isaiah 53:11a (Elpenor English)
and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand (בְּיָד֥וֹ).	and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him (yāḏ, בידו).	And the Lord wishes to take away (ἀφελεῗν)	the Lord also is pleased to take away (ἀφελεῖν) from

I had begun to consider other occurrences of forms ἀφαιρέω (Table) in Isaiah to get a feel for any potential relationship between ἀφελεῖν (a form of ἀφαιρέω) and בְּיָד֥וֹ (yāḏ). Since a form of ἀφαιρέω was the translation of a form of סוּר (sûr) in two of the three examples I considered in another essay,^[1] I’ll continue with those occurrences in Isaiah.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 3:18 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 3:18 (NET)	Isaiah 3:18 (NETS)	Isaiah 3:17b, 18 (Elpenor English)
In that day the Lord will take away (יָסִ֣יר) the bravery (תִּפְאֶ֧רֶת) of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,	At that time the Lord will remove (sûr, יסיר) their beautiful (tip̄’ārâ, תפארת) ankle jewelry, neck ornaments, crescent-shaped ornaments,	in that day. And the Lord will take away (ἀφελεῗ) the glory (δόξαν) of their attire and their adornments and the braids and the tassels and the crescents	in that day; (18) and the Lord will take away (ἀφελεῖ) the glory (δόξαν) of their raiment, the curls and the fringes, and the crescents,

This particular list might be taken away or removed by hand, most likely in this context stripped off by the hands of enemy soldiers.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 5:5 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 5:5 (NET)	Isaiah 5:5 (NETS)	Isaiah 5:5 (Elpenor English)
And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away (הָסֵ֚ר) the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:	Now I will inform you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will remove (sûr, הסר) its hedge and turn it into pasture, I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there.	But now I will declare to you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove (ἀφελῶ) its hedge, and it shall be plundered, and I will tear down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.	And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away (ἀφελῶ) its hedge, and it shall be for a spoil; and I will pull down its walls, and it shall be [left] to be trodden down.

Though a hedge might be taken away or removed by hand, the vineyard here is Israel and the hedge a more abstract form of protection.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 6:6, 7 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 6:6, 7 (NET)	Isaiah 6:6, 7 (NETS)	Isaiah 6:6, 7 (Elpenor English)
Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand (וּבְיָד֖וֹ), which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:	But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand (yāḏ, ובידו) was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs.	Then one of the seraphin was sent to me, and he had in his hand (χειρὶ) a live coal that he had taken from the altar with the tongs.	And there was sent to me one of the seraphs, and he had in his hand (χειρὶ) a coal, which he had taken off the altar with the tongs:
And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away (וְסָ֣ר), and thy sin purged.	He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed (sûr, וסר); your sin is forgiven.”	And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips, and it will take away (ἀφελεῗ) your lawlessness and purify your sins.”	and he touched my mouth, and said, Behold, this has touched thy lips, and will take away (ἀφελεῖ) thine iniquities, and will purge off thy sins.

Here Isaiah’s iniquity is taken away (וְסָ֣ר) when a coal from the altar touched his lips. This coal was in the hand (וּבְיָד֖וֹ) of one of the seraphims, or in tongs in his hand. The Tanakh on chabad.org caught my attention here translating וּבְיָד֖וֹ and in his hand. This, as far as I can tell, is an accurate translation of וּבְיָד֖וֹ.

Neither the Tanakh I quote most often nor the KJV nor NET bothered with this level of detail: the conjunction and indicated by the first letter ו. The Greek translation in both versions of the Septuagint did include this detail (though nothing explicitly designating his): καὶ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ. I keep this in mind when considering whether בְּיָד֥וֹ (without the leading ו) in Isaiah 53:10 was the word in the Hebrew text the rabbis translated ἀφελεῗν or ἀφελεῖν (a form of ἀφαιρέω).

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 7:17 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 7:17 (NET)	Isaiah 7:17 (NETS)	Isaiah 7:17 (Elpenor English)
The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed (סוּר) from Judah; even the king of Assyria.	The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s family a time unlike any since Ephraim departed (sûr, סור) from Judah—the king of Assyria!”	But God will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not yet come since the day that he took (ἀφεῗλεν) Ephraim away from Ioudas—the king of the Assyrians.”	But God shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon the house of thy father, days which have never come, from the day that Ephraim took away (ἀφεῖλεν) from Juda the king of the Assyrians.

It seems pertinent in the context of this study to point out that the day that he took Ephraim away from Ioudas (NETS) was not accomplished with or by the Lord’s hand.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
1 Kings 12:24 (Tanakh/KJV) Table	1 Kings 12:24 (NET)	3 Reigns 12:24 (NETS) Table	3 Kings 12:24 (Elpenor English)
Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing (הַדָּבָ֣ר) is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word (דְּבַ֣ר) of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word (כִּדְבַ֥ר) of the LORD.	‘This is what the Lord has said: “Do not attack and make war with your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you go home. Indeed this thing (dāḇār, הדבר) has happened because of me.”’” So they obeyed the Lord’s message (dāḇār, דבר). They went home in keeping with the Lord’s message (dāḇār, כדבר).	“This is what the Lord says, ‘You shall not go up or fight with your brothers, the sons of Israel; let each return to his own house, for this thing (ῥῆμα) has come from me.’” And they heeded the word (λόγου) of the Lord and forbore to go, according to the word (ῥῆμα) of the Lord.	Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, neither shall ye fight with your brethren the sons of Israel: return each man to his own home; for this thing (ρῆμα) is from me; and they hearkened to the word (λόγου) of the Lord, and they ceased from going up, according to the word (ρῆμα) of the Lord.

The next example of יָס֚וּר translated in the Septuagint with a form of ἀφαιρέω referred to the burden, yoke and fear of the Assyrians.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 10:27 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 10:27 (NET)	Isaiah 10:27 (NETS)	Isaiah 10:27 (Elpenor English)
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away (יָס֚וּר) from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.	At that time the Lord will remove (sûr, יסור) their burden from your shoulders and their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be taken off because your neck will be too large [NET note 60].	And it shall be on that day that the fear of him will be taken away (ἀφαιρεθήσεται) from you, and his yoke from your shoulder, and the yoke will be destroyed from off your shoulders.	And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] his yoke shall be taken away (ἀφαιρεθήσεται) from thy shoulder, and his fear from thee, and the yoke shall be destroyed from off your shoulders.

There was more discussion how this would be accomplished.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 14:24-27 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 14:24-27 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 14:24-27 (NETS)	Isaiah 14:24-27 (Elpenor English)
The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:	The Lord of Heaven’s Armies makes this solemn vow: “Be sure of this: Just as I have intended, so it will be; just as I have planned, it will happen.	This is what the Lord Sabaoth says: As I have said, so shall it be, and as I have planned, so shall it remain:	Thus saith the Lord of hosts, As I have said, so it shall be: and as I have purposed, so [the matter] shall remain:
That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart (וְסָ֚ר) from off them, and his burden depart (יָסֽוּר) from off their shoulders.	I will break Assyria in my land, I will trample them underfoot on my hills. Their yoke will be removed (sûr, וסר) from my people, the burden will be lifted (sûr, יסור) from their shoulders.	to destroy the Assyrians from my land and from my mountains, and they shall be trampled, and their yoke shall be removed (ἀφαιρεθήσεται) from them, and their renown shall be removed (ἀφαιρεθήσεται) from their shoulders.	[even] to destroy the Assyrians upon my land, and upon my mountains: and they shall be for trampling; and their yoke shall be taken away (ἀφαιρεθήσεται) from them, and their glory shall be taken away (ἀφαιρεθήσεται) from their shoulders.
This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand (הַיָּ֥ד) that is stretched out upon all the nations.	This is the plan I have devised for the whole earth; my hand (yāḏ, היד) is ready to strike all the nations.”	This is the plan that the Lord has planned against the whole earth, and this is the hand (χεὶρ) that is raised up against all the nations of the world.	This is the purpose which the Lord has purposed upon the whole earth: and this the hand (χεὶρ) that is uplifted against all the nations.
For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand (וְיָד֥וֹ) is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?	Indeed, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has a plan, and who can possibly frustrate it? His hand (yāḏ, וידו) is ready to strike, and who can possibly stop it?	For what the holy God has planned, who will scatter it? And his hand (καὶ τὴν χεῗρα) that is raised up, who will turn it back?	For what the Holy God has purposed, who shall frustrate? and who shall turn back his uplifted hand (καὶ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ)?

Though it feels like I’m reaching, perhaps בְּיָד֥וֹ, in his hand (Tanakh), occurred in the Hebrew text from which the rabbis translated but they understood it as this stretched out, raised up, uplifted hand, ready to strike, something that needed to be removed from Israel and translated it accordingly ἀφελεῖν (a form of ἀφαιρέω): to take away (NETS, English Elpenor).

The final example I’ll consider in this essay of וְסָ֙רָה֙ translated in the Septuagint with a form of ἀφαιρέω prophesies the reunification of divided Israel: Ephraim and Judah.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 11:13-15 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 11:13-15 (NET)	Isaiah 11:13-15 (NETS)	Isaiah 11:13-15 (Elpenor English)
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart (וְסָ֙רָה֙), and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.	Ephraim’s jealousy will end (sûr, וסרה), and Judah’s hostility [NET note 40] will be eliminated. Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim.	And the jealousy of Ephraim shall be taken away (ἀφαιρεθήσεται), and the enemies of Ioudas shall perish; Ephraim shall not be jealous of Ioudas, and Ioudas shall not afflict Ephraim.	And the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away (ἀφαιρεθήσεται), and the enemies of Juda shall perish: Ephraim shall not envy Juda, and Juda shall not afflict Ephraim.
But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand (יָדָ֔ם) upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.	They will swoop down on the Philistine hills to the west; together they will loot the people of the east. They will take over Edom and Moab, (NET note 43: Heb “Edom and Moab [will be the place of] the outstretching of their hand [yāḏ, ידם]”) and the Ammonites will be their subjects.	But they shall fly away in ships of allophyles; together they shall plunder the sea and those from the rising of the sun and Idumea. And they shall first lay their hands (τὰς χεῗρας) on Moab, but the sons of Ammon shall obey first.	And they shall fly in the ships of the Philistines: they shall at the same time spoil the sea, and them [that come] from the east, and Idumea: and they shall lay their hands (τὰς χεῖρας) on Moab first; but the children of Ammon shall first obey [them]
And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand (יָד֛וֹ) over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.	The Lord will divide the gulf of the Egyptian Sea; he will wave his hand (yāḏ, ידו) over the Euphrates River and send a strong wind; he will turn it into seven dried-up streams and enable them to walk across in their sandals.	And the Lord will make the sea of Egypt desolate and will lay his hand (τὴν χεῗρα αὐτοῦ) upon the River with a violent wind and will strike seven gullies so that he may cross in sandals.	And the Lord shall make desolate the sea of Egypt; and he shall lay his hand (τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ) on the river with a strong wind, and he shall smite the seven channels, so that men shall pass through it dry-shod.

Nothing in this example encourages me to believe that the rabbis translated בְּיָד֥וֹ, in his hand (Tanakh), ἀφελεῖν (a form of ἀφαιρέω): to take away (NETS, English Elpenor), in Isaiah 53:10 except a general negative connotation of the Lord’s hand if directed to Israel rather than Israel’s enemies. I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Tables comparing Isaiah 3:18; 5:5; 6:6; 6:7; 7:17; 10:27; 14:24; 14:25; 14:26; 14:27; 11:13; 11:14 and 11:15 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Isaiah 3:18; 5:5; 6:6; 6:7; 7:17; 10:27; 14:24; 14:25; 14:26; 14:27; 11:13; 11:14 and 11:15 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Isaiah 3:18 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 3:18 (KJV)	Isaiah 3:18 (NET)
In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,	In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,	At that time the Lord will remove their beautiful ankle jewelry, neck ornaments, crescent-shaped ornaments,

Isaiah 3:18 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 3:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἀφελεῗ κύριος τὴν δόξαν τοῦ ἱματισμοῦ αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς κόσμους αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ ἐμπλόκια καὶ τοὺς κοσύμβους καὶ τοὺς μηνίσκους	ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἀφελεῖ Κύριος τὴν δόξαν τοῦ ἱματισμοῦ αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς κόσμους αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ ἐμπλόκια καὶ τοὺς κοσύμβους καὶ τοὺς μηνίσκους
Isaiah 3:18 (NETS)	Isaiah 3:17b, 18 (English Elpenor)
in that day. And the Lord will take away the glory of their attire and their adornments and the braids and the tassels and the crescents	in that day; (18) and the Lord will take away the glory of their raiment, the curls and the fringes, and the crescents,

Isaiah 5:5 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 5:5 (KJV)	Isaiah 5:5 (NET)
And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:	And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:	Now I will inform you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture, I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there.

Isaiah 5:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 5:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
νῦν δὲ ἀναγγελῶ ὑμῗν τί ποιήσω τῷ ἀμπελῶνί μου ἀφελῶ τὸν φραγμὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔσται εἰς διαρπαγήν καὶ καθελῶ τὸν τοῗχον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔσται εἰς καταπάτημα	νῦν δὲ ἀναγγελῶ ὑμῖν τί ἐγὼ ποιήσω τῷ ἀμπελῶνί μου· ἀφελῶ τὸν φραγμὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔσται εἰς διαρπαγήν, καὶ καθελῶ τὸν τοῖχον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔσται εἰς καταπάτημα
Isaiah 5:5 (NETS)	Isaiah 5:5 (English Elpenor)
But now I will declare to you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be plundered, and I will tear down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.	And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be for a spoil; and I will pull down its walls, and it shall be [left] to be trodden down.

Isaiah 6:6 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 6:6 (KJV)	Isaiah 6:6 (NET)
Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:	Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:	But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs.

Isaiah 6:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 6:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἀπεστάλη πρός με ἓν τῶν σεραφιν καὶ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ εἶχεν ἄνθρακα ὃν τῇ λαβίδι ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου	καὶ ἀπεστάλη πρός με ἓν τῶν Σεραφίμ, καὶ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ εἶχεν ἄνθρακα, ὃν τῇ λαβίδι ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου
Isaiah 6:6 (NETS)	Isaiah 6:6 (English Elpenor)
Then one of the seraphin was sent to me, and he had in his hand a live coal that he had taken from the altar with the tongs.	And there was sent to me one of the seraphs, and he had in his hand a coal, which he had taken off the altar with the tongs:

Isaiah 6:7 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 6:7 (KJV)	Isaiah 6:7 (NET)
And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.	And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.	He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.”

Isaiah 6:7 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 6:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἥψατο τοῦ στόματός μου καὶ εἶπεν ἰδοὺ ἥψατο τοῦτο τῶν χειλέων σου καὶ ἀφελεῗ τὰς ἀνομίας σου καὶ τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου περικαθαριεῗ	καὶ ἥψατο τοῦ στόματός μου καὶ εἶπεν· ἰδοὺ ἥψατο τοῦτο τῶν χειλέων σου καὶ ἀφελεῖ τὰς ἀνομίας σου καὶ τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου περικαθαριεῖ
Isaiah 6:7 (NETS)	Isaiah 6:7 (English Elpenor)
And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips, and it will take away your lawlessness and purify your sins.”	and he touched my mouth, and said, Behold, this has touched thy lips, and will take away thine iniquities, and will purge off thy sins.

Isaiah 7:17 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 7:17 (KJV)	Isaiah 7:17 (NET)
The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.	The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.	The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s family a time unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”

Isaiah 7:17 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 7:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀλλὰ ἐπάξει ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ σὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν λαόν σου καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον τοῦ πατρός σου ἡμέρας αἳ οὔπω ἥκασιν ἀφ᾽ ἧς ἡμέρας ἀφεῗλεν Εφραιμ ἀπὸ Ιουδα τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Ἀσσυρίων	ἀλλὰ ἐπάξει ὁ Θεὸς ἐπὶ σὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν λαόν σου καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον τοῦ πατρός σου ἡμέρας, αἳ οὔπω ἥκασιν ἀφ᾿ ἧς ἡμέρας ἀφεῖλεν ᾿Εφραὶμ ἀπὸ ᾿Ιούδα τὸν βασιλέα τῶν ᾿Ασσυρίων
Isaiah 7:17 (NETS)	Isaiah 7:17 (English Elpenor)
But God will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not yet come since the day that he took Ephraim away from Ioudas—the king of the Assyrians.”	But God shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon the house of thy father, days which have never come, from the day that Ephraim took away from Juda the king of the Assyrians.

Isaiah 10:27 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 10:27 (KJV)	Isaiah 10:27 (NET)
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.	And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.	At that time the Lord will remove their burden from your shoulders and their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be taken off because your neck will be too large.

Isaiah 10:27 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 10:27 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἀφαιρεθήσεται ὁ φόβος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ σοῦ καὶ ὁ ζυγὸς αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὤμου σου καὶ καταφθαρήσεται ὁ ζυγὸς ἀπὸ τῶν ὤμων ὑμῶν	καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἀφαιρεθήσεται ὁ ζυγὸς αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὤμου σου καὶ ὁ φόβος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ σοῦ, καὶ καταφθαρήσεται ὁ ζυγὸς ἀπὸ τῶν ὤμων ὑμῶν
Isaiah 10:27 (NETS)	Isaiah 10:27 (English Elpenor)
And it shall be on that day that the fear of him will be taken away from you, and his yoke from your shoulder, and the yoke will be destroyed from off your shoulders.	And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] his yoke shall be taken away from thy shoulder, and his fear from thee, and the yoke shall be destroyed from off your shoulders.

Isaiah 14:24 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 14:24 (KJV)	Isaiah 14:24 (NET)
The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:	The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:	The Lord of Heaven’s Armies makes this solemn vow: “Be sure of this: Just as I have intended, so it will be; just as I have planned, it will happen.

Isaiah 14:24 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 14:24 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τάδε λέγει κύριος σαβαωθ ὃν τρόπον εἴρηκα οὕτως ἔσται καὶ ὃν τρόπον βεβούλευμαι οὕτως μενεῗ	τάδε λέγει Κύριος σαβαώθ· ὃν τρόπον εἴρηκα, οὕτως ἔσται, καὶ ὃν τρόπον βεβούλευμαι, οὕτως μενεῖ
Isaiah 14:24 (NETS)	Isaiah 14:24 (English Elpenor)
This is what the Lord Sabaoth says: As I have said, so shall it be, and as I have planned, so shall it remain:	Thus saith the Lord of hosts, As I have said, so it shall be: and as I have purposed, so [the matter] shall remain:

Isaiah 14:25 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 14:25 (KJV)	Isaiah 14:25 (NET)
That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.	That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.	I will break Assyria in my land, I will trample them underfoot on my hills. Their yoke will be removed from my people, the burden will be lifted from their shoulders.

Isaiah 14:25 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 14:25 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τοῦ ἀπολέσαι τοὺς Ἀσσυρίους ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς τῆς ἐμῆς καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ὀρέων μου καὶ ἔσονται εἰς καταπάτημα καὶ ἀφαιρεθήσεται ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν ὁ ζυγὸς αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ κῦδος αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τῶν ὤμων ἀφαιρεθήσεται	τοῦ ἀπολέσαι τοὺς ᾿Ασσυρίους ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς τῆς ἐμῆς καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ὀρέων μου, καὶ ἔσονται εἰς καταπάτημα, καὶ ἀφαιρεθήσεται ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν ὁ ζυγὸς αὐτῶν, καὶ τὸ κῦδος αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τῶν ὤμων ἀφαιρεθήσεται
Isaiah 14:25 (NETS)	Isaiah 14:25 (English Elpenor)
to destroy the Assyrians from my land and from my mountains, and they shall be trampled, and their yoke shall be removed from them, and their renown shall be removed from their shoulders.	[even] to destroy the Assyrians upon my land, and upon my mountains: and they shall be for trampling; and their yoke shall be taken away from them, and their glory shall be taken away from their shoulders.

Isaiah 14:26 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 14:26 (KJV)	Isaiah 14:26 (NET)
This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.	This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.	This is the plan I have devised for the whole earth; my hand is ready to strike all the nations.”

Isaiah 14:26 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 14:26 (Septuagint Elpenor)
αὕτη ἡ βουλή ἣν βεβούλευται κύριος ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην καὶ αὕτη ἡ χεὶρ ἡ ὑψηλὴ ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς οἰκουμένης	αὕτη ἡ βουλή, ἣν βεβούλευται Κύριος ἐπὶ τὴν ὅλην οἰκουμένην, καὶ αὕτη ἡ χεὶρ ἡ ὑψηλὴ ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη
Isaiah 14:26 (NETS)	Isaiah 14:26 (English Elpenor)
This is the plan that the Lord has planned against the whole earth, and this is the hand that is raised up against all the nations of the world.	This is the purpose which the Lord has purposed upon the whole earth: and this the hand that is uplifted against all the nations.

Isaiah 14:27 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 14:27 (KJV)	Isaiah 14:27 (NET)
For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?	For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?	Indeed, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has a plan, and who can possibly frustrate it? His hand is ready to strike, and who can possibly stop it?

Isaiah 14:27 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 14:27 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἃ γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ὁ ἅγιος βεβούλευται τίς διασκεδάσει καὶ τὴν χεῗρα τὴν ὑψηλὴν τίς ἀποστρέψει	ἃ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ἅγιος βεβούλευται, τίς διασκεδάσει; καὶ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ τὴν ὑψηλὴν τίς ἀποστρέψει
Isaiah 14:27 (NETS)	Isaiah 14:27 (English Elpenor)
For what the holy God has planned, who will scatter it? And his hand that is raised up, who will turn it back?	For what the Holy God has purposed, who shall frustrate? and who shall turn back his uplifted hand?

Isaiah 11:13 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 11:13 (KJV)	Isaiah 11:13 (NET)
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.	The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.	Ephraim’s jealousy will end, and Judah’s hostility will be eliminated. Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim.

Isaiah 11:13 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 11:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἀφαιρεθήσεται ὁ ζῆλος Εφραιμ καὶ οἱ ἐχθροὶ Ιουδα ἀπολοῦνται Εφραιμ οὐ ζηλώσει Ιουδαν καὶ Ιουδας οὐ θλίψει Εφραιμ	ἀφαιρεθήσεται ὁ ζῆλος ᾿Εφραὶμ καὶ οἱ ἐχθροὶ ᾿Ιούδα ἀπολοῦνται· ᾿Εφραὶμ οὐ ζηλώσει ᾿Ιούδαν, καὶ ᾿Ιούδας οὐ θλίψει ᾿Εφραίμ
Isaiah 11:13 (NETS)	Isaiah 11:13 (English Elpenor)
And the jealousy of Ephraim shall be taken away, and the enemies of Ioudas shall perish; Ephraim shall not be jealous of Ioudas, and Ioudas shall not afflict Ephraim.	And the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away, and the enemies of Juda shall perish: Ephraim shall not envy Juda, and Juda shall not afflict Ephraim.

Isaiah 11:14 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 11:14 (KJV)	Isaiah 11:14 (NET)
But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.	But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.	They will swoop down on the Philistine hills to the west; together they will loot the people of the east. They will take over Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be their subjects.

Isaiah 11:14 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 11:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ πετασθήσονται ἐν πλοίοις ἀλλοφύλων θάλασσαν ἅμα προνομεύσουσιν καὶ τοὺς ἀφ᾽ ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν καὶ Ιδουμαίαν καὶ ἐπὶ Μωαβ πρῶτον τὰς χεῗρας ἐπιβαλοῦσιν οἱ δὲ υἱοὶ Αμμων πρῶτοι ὑπακούσονται	καὶ πετασθήσονται ἐν πλοίοις ἀλλοφύλων θάλασσαν, ἅμα προνομεύσουσι καὶ τοὺς ἀφ᾿ ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν καὶ ᾿Ιδουμαίαν· καὶ ἐπὶ Μωὰβ πρῶτον τὰς χεῖρας ἐπιβαλοῦσιν, οἱ δὲ υἱοὶ ᾿Αμμὼν πρῶτοι ὑπακούσονται
Isaiah 11:14 (NETS)	Isaiah 11:14 (English Elpenor)
But they shall fly away in ships of allophyles; together they shall plunder the sea and those from the rising of the sun and Idumea. And they shall first lay their hands on Moab, but the sons of Ammon shall obey first.	And they shall fly in the ships of the Philistines: they shall at the same time spoil the sea, and them [that come] from the east, and Idumea: and they shall lay their hands on Moab first; but the children of Ammon shall first obey [them]

Isaiah 11:15 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 11:15 (KJV)	Isaiah 11:15 (NET)
And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.	And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.	The Lord will divide the gulf of the Egyptian Sea; he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River and send a strong wind; he will turn it into seven dried-up streams and enable them to walk across in their sandals.

Isaiah 11:15 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 11:15 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐρημώσει κύριος τὴν θάλασσαν Αἰγύπτου καὶ ἐπιβαλεῗ τὴν χεῗρα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμὸν πνεύματι βιαίῳ καὶ πατάξει ἑπτὰ φάραγγας ὥστε διαπορεύεσθαι αὐτὸν ἐν ὑποδήμασιν	καὶ ἐρημώσει Κύριος τὴν θάλασσαν Αἰγύπτου καὶ ἐπιβαλεῖ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμὸν πνεύματι βιαίῳ καὶ πατάξει ἑπτὰ φάραγγας, ὥστε διαπορεύεσθαι αὐτὸν ἐν ὑποδήμασι
Isaiah 11:15 (NETS)	Isaiah 11:15 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord will make the sea of Egypt desolate and will lay his hand upon the River with a violent wind and will strike seven gullies so that he may cross in sandals.	And the Lord shall make desolate the sea of Egypt; and he shall lay his hand on the river with a strong wind, and he shall smite the seven channels, so that men shall pass through it dry-shod.

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 11

^[1] Isaiah 1:25; 10:13

The Gospel and the Religious Mind

An attempt to distinguish the mind of Christ from the ordinary religious mind.

Category Archives: Section Six

The Book of Life, Part 3

The Book of Life, Part 2

The Book of Life, Part 1

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 11

The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 8

The New Covenant, Part 2

Psalm 22, Part 12

The New Covenant, Part 1

The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 7

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 10