Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 6

I failed to come to a definitive conclusion whether the ones who have done what is evil (φαῦλα, a form of φαῦλος)[1] come out of their tombs to the resurrection resulting in[2] condemnation or judgment[3] (κρίσεως, a form of κρίσις).  My faith and my knowledge of God persuade me that judgment is the correct translation, but I can see how another’s faith and knowledge might lean toward condemnation (Mark 16:14-16 NET).

Then [Jesus] appeared to the eleven themselves, while they were eating, and he rebuked them for their unbelief (ἀπιστίαν, a form of ἀπιστία)[4] and hardness of heart, because they did not believe (ἐπίστευσαν, a form of πιστεύω)[5] those who had seen him resurrected.  He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  The one who believes (πιστεύσας, another form of πιστεύω) and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe (ἀπιστήσας, a form of ἀπιστέω)[6] will be condemned (κατακριθήσεται, a form of κατακρίνω).[7]

Here, the one who does not believe will be condemned, clearly, without question.  Is it wrong then to assume that John meant the same thing, but chose a less specific word to express it, and then correct or clarify his meaning in translation?  I’m not sure that I can say that it is.  I can only say that my experience with God has taught me to pay more attention to the words as written.

So who is He?  Is He an angry God who barely restrains Himself from torturing sinners?  Peter wrote, The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient (μακροθυμεῖ, a form of μακροθυμέω)[8] toward you, because he does not wish (βουλόμενος, a form of βούλομαι)[9] for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (μετάνοιαν, a form of μετάνοια).[10]  That sounds reasonable since God is love (ἀγάπη),[11] and Love (ἀγάπη) is patient (μακροθυμεῖ, a form of μακροθυμέω).[12]  And, He by no means leaves the guilty unpunished.[13]

So what do I mean as I pray daily, may your will (θέλημα)[14] be done (γενηθήτω, a form of γίνομαι; literally, become)[15] on earth as it is in heaven[16]?  Am I praying for the equitable distribution of punishment for sin according to the law?  Or am I praying that God will satisfy the desire of his heart for all to come to repentance?  I think I’m praying for the latter, but I can’t say that He didn’t reveal Himself to Jonathan Edwards as an angry God who tortures sinners.  I’m saying that it would be disingenuous to assert that He has revealed Himself like that to me.

So what about his salvation?  Is it a judgment (κρίσις), a separating of the righteous from sinners?  Or does it express the Lord’s desire to populate the earth with people who will forgive[17] the sins of others and love their enemies,[18] by his grace, filled with his love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and ἐγκράτεια,[19] demonstrating not their own righteousness but his, enjoying what they do, filled with his joy and peace?  Again, I think the latter is nearer the truth, but again, that is based entirely on my faith and my knowledge of God, as He has revealed Himself to me.  Clearly, I’m trying to know Someone whose deeds are superior to [my] deeds and [whose] plans [are] superior to [my] plans.[20]

The original question ended: “I hope the whole point is God’s going to save everybody!  Am I nuts???”  No, I don’t think there is anything “nuts” about that hope.  In fact, I know the questioner enough to know that this is the sincere hope of a gentle heart.  I also know she was born into a religion in which most people believe that Jesus answered, “Yes,” to the question, “Lord, will only a few be saved?”[21]  But Jesus actually said, “Exert (ἀγωνίζεσθε; a form of ἀγωνίζομαι)[22] every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.”[23] 

A form of ἀγωνίζομαι was translated fighting (John 18:36 NET), exercise (1 Corinthians 9:25 NET), struggling (Colossians 1:29; 4:12 NET), struggle (1 Timothy 4:10 NET), compete (1 Timothy 6:12 NET) and competed (2 Timothy 4:7 NET).  Returning to the marriage analogy of Romans 7, trying to bear fruit alone is futile, seeking another than the One who was raised from the dead[24] is sinful, and lying there passively is no fun for anyone.  Exercise, compete, struggle, fight, bearing fruit is important enough to do badly until one learns to do it right.

Two things here: First, though it may seem like a non sequitur[25] to go directly to spiritual fruit from the word saved, most people who believe that Jesus answered yes to this question, believe it primarily because it confirms their observations that the fruit of salvation is lacking in many or most people around them.  And secondly, though it may sound like I’m reversing my position here, I have exercised, competed, struggled and fought to bear fruit, compelled by a God-given hunger and thirst for righteousness[26] and empowered by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.[27]

These essays are often about how wrongheaded I’ve been in that exercise, competition, struggling and fighting.  But if those mistakes were necessary to get from there to here, I would make them all again.  If it is possible for someone to avoid some of my mistakes by reading about them, praise the Lord!  If my writing discourages one from pursuing Christ and his righteousness, I apologize from the bottom of my heart!  If my writing encourages one to wait passively rather than to pursue Christ and his righteousness, stop reading my writing and get to work making as many of your own mistakes as soon as possible!

My dear Gentle Heart, though you have been harried and harassed by those who would make your heart harder, [you] have competed (ἠγώνισμαι, another form of ἀγωνίζομαι) well…[you] have kept the faith![28]  And though you haven’t budged in all these years, I want to consider at least the possibility of changing religions, to join with those who believe in universal salvation.  The problem isn’t finding both the hope and promise of universal salvation in Scripture.  The problem is what to make of all the “hell talk[29] in the Bible if universal salvation is true.

I found a website[30] that does a fairly effective job of eliminating “hell talk” from the Bible.  I admit I didn’t read every word, just enough to grasp the basic assumptions: 1) αἰώνιος[31] does not mean eternal[32] but a dispensational age[33]; 2) the book of Revelation was written before 70 A.D. so most of it refers to the fall of Jerusalem; and 3) punishment is not simply consequential but effectual in purging or purifying sin.

The benefits of believing that αἰώνιος does not mean eternal are obvious.  If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.  It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.[34]  The Greek τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον wouldn’t mean eternal fire but “fire for a dispensational age.”  The meaning isn’t altered much.  It would still be better to enter life crippled or lame than to spend a dispensational age in fire.  This one, since the fall of Jerusalem, is approaching two thousand years.

In, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!’”[35] εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον wouldn’t mean into the eternal fire but “into the fire of a dispensational age.”  The Greek εἰς κόλασιν αἰώνιον wouldn’t mean into eternal punishment in, “And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”[36]  But then, would εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον mean into eternal life?  Here the potential cost of this assumption begins to come into focus.  What becomes of Jesus’ words to Nicodemus if αἰώνιον means “a dispensational age” (John 3:14-16 NET)?

Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life (ζωὴν αἰώνιον).”  For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (ζωὴν αἰώνιον).

I’ve placed a table of the benefits and potential costs of this assumption at the end of this essay.

The assumption that Revelation was written before 70 A.D. is not mine, but is also one I don’t know how to argue.  Jesus certainly spoke before 70 A.D. and He certainly prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem.  Those prophecies confirmed Him as a prophet to be feared.[37]  Richard Wayne Garganta[38] wrote:[39]

“Christ was…referring to the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the elimination of the entire Jewish system in 70 AD – the end of the age…at the end of the Jewish age when severe judgments were to come, the angels or messengers to execute God’s judgments would separate Christians from others.  The bad were to suffer in the furnace of fire which was the burning city of Jerusalem.  The evil were also to perish in Gehenna [γεέννῃ].[40]  Gehenna in many Bibles is wrongly interpreted ‘hell’.  Gehenna was the garbage dump, the incinerator outside Jerusalem where the ‘fire was never quenched and the worm didn’t die.’  This was because garbage and the bodies of criminals were thrown there to be burned.  This is exactly what happened during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.”

But does that mean that Jesus only prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem?  Consider his warning to his disciples that religious people would defame them and accuse them of evil, just as they accused Him of being Beelzebul.[41]  Do not be afraid of them, He counseled, for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed.[42]  For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God,[43] Paul wrote the Romans.  Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul (ψυχὴν),[44] Jesus continued, speaking of those religious defamers from verse 25 and perhaps expanding his comments to others as well.  Instead, He continued, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul (ψυχὴν) and body in hell (γεέννῃ).[45]

If I limit the meaning of γεέννῃ here to “the garbage dump, the incinerator outside Jerusalem,” who was Jesus telling his disciples to fear?  Roman soldiers? because the cremation of a corpse is able to destroy both soul and body?  Was He reassuring them about their value above many sparrows, that the Father’s will protected their corpses from cremation?  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul (ψυχὴν)[46] by being cremated after his death?  And what about immolation?  Again it seems to me that eliminating hell from the equation is a potentially costly enterprise.

I can’t say for certain whether αἰώνιος means eternal or a dispensational age only.  I can only say I don’t want to stand before Jesus pretending that I can.  I don’t know whether Revelation was written before 70 A.D. or not.  I only know that I won’t stand before Jesus and tell Him to his face that He could not mean that γεέννῃ is a place of κόλασιν αἰώνιον (Hebrews 4:13 NET):

…no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

None of this is to say anything against Richard Wayne Garganta.  I don’t doubt his sincerity, only mine if I were to follow him.  At this moment in my journey, my faith and my knowledge of God don’t correspond exactly with his (though I appreciate the effort he has put into sharing them).  I’ll consider what I perceive as his third assumption in the next essay.

What follows is the table of benefits and potential costs if αἰώνιος means a dispensational age only.

αἰώνιος

Benefit

Potential Cost

Would ζωὴ αἰώνιος…

John 12:50; Romans 6:23; 1 John 5:20 (NET)

…mean eternal life?
Would αἰώνιος ζωὴ…

John 17:3 (NET)

…mean eternal life?

 

αἰώνιον, a form of αἰώνιος

Benefit

Potential Cost

τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον…

Matthew 18:8 (NET)

…would not mean eternal fire Would ζωὴν αἰώνιον…

Matthew 19:16; Luke 18:30; John 3:15, 16, 36; 4:36; 5:24, 39; 6:27, 40, 47, 54; 10:28; 12:25; 17:2; Acts 13:48; Romans 2:7; 5:21; 6:22; Galatians 6:8; 1 John 3:15; Jude 1:21 (NET)

…mean eternal life?
εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον…

Matthew 25:41 (NET)

…would not mean into the eternal fire Would ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσει…

Matthew 19:29 (NET)

…mean will inherit eternal life?
εἰς κόλασιν αἰώνιον…

Matthew 25:46 (NET)

…would not mean into the eternal punishment Would εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον…

Matthew 25:46 (NET)

…mean into eternal life?
τίσουσιν ὄλεθρον αἰώνιον…

2 Thessalonians 1:9 (NET)

…would not mean the penalty of eternal destruction Would ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω…

Mark 10:17; Luke 10:25; 18:18 (NET)

…mean inherit eternal life?
Would ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον…

John 4:14 (NET)

…mean springing up to eternal life?
Would εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον…

1 Timothy 1:16 (NET)

…mean for eternal life?
Would τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον…

1 John 1:2, 2:25 (NET)

…mean the eternal life?
Would ζωὴν ἔχετε αἰώνιον…

1 John 5:13 (NET)

…mean you have eternal life?

 

αἰωνίου, a form of αἰώνιος

Benefit

Potential Cost

αἰωνίου ἁμαρτήματος…

Mark 3:29 (NET)

…would not mean an eternal sin. Would ρήματα ζωῆς αἰωνίου…

John 6:68 (NET)

…mean words of eternal life?
κρίματος αἰωνίου…

Hebrews 6:2 (NET)

…would not mean of…eternal judgment. Would αἰωνίου ζωῆς…

Acts 13:46 (NET)

…mean of eternal life?
πυρὸς αἰωνίου δίκην…

Jude 1:7 (NET)

…would not mean the punishment of eternal fire. Would τοῦ αἰωνίου θεοῦ…

Romans 16:26 (NET)

…mean of the eternal God?
Would τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς…

1 Timothy 6:12 (NET)

…mean of that eternal life?
Would ζωῆς αἰωνίου…

Titus 1:2; 3:7 (NET)

…mean of eternal life?
Would σωτηρίας αἰωνίου…

Hebrews 5:9 (NET)

…mean of eternal salvation?
Would πνεύματος αἰωνίου…

Hebrews 9:14 (NET)

…mean eternal Spirit?
Would τῆς αἰωνίου κληρονομίας…

Hebrews 9:15 (NET)

…mean the eternal inheritance?
Would διαθήκης αἰωνίου…

Hebrews 13:20 (NET)

…mean of the eternal covenant?

 

αἰωνίαν, a form of αἰώνιος

Benefit

Potential Cost

Would παράκλησιν αἰωνίαν…

2 Thessalonians 2:16 (NET)

…mean eternal comfort?
Would αἰωνίαν λύτρωσιν…

Hebrews 9:12 (NET)

…mean eternal redemption?

 

αἰωνίους, a form of αἰώνιος

Benefit

Potential Cost

Would τὰς αἰωνίους σκηνάς…

Luke 16:9 (NET)

…mean the eternal homes?

Condemnation or Judgment? Part 7

Back to Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 8


7/1/16 Addendum: J. W. Hanson, in Universalism: The Prevailing Doctrine Of The Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years, seemed willing to accept this limitation of eternal life. Following Philo he suggested that only ἀΐδιος means eternal in the sense of everlasting, while αἰώνιος is an indefinite period of time. It this is true only God’s power and the chains of the angels who did not keep within their proper domain are everlasting.

Mr. Hanson wrote:

Philo, who was contemporary with Christ, generally used aidion to denote endless, and aionian temporary duration. He uses the exact phraseology of Matt. xxv: 46, precisely as Christ used it: “It is better not to promise than not to give prompt assistance, for no blame follows in the former case, but in the latter there is dissatisfaction from the weaker class, and a deep hatred and æonian punishment (chastisement) from such as are more powerful.” Here we have the precise terms employed by our Lord, which show that aionian did not mean endless but did mean limited duration in the time of Christ.

From III. Origin of Endless Punishment.
Philo’s Use of the Words.

[2] John 5:29b (NET)

[10] 2 Peter 3:9 (NET)

[11] 1 John 4:16 (NET) Table

[12] 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NET)

[13] Exodus 34:7b (NET)

[16] Matthew 6:10b (NET) Table

[19] Galatians 5:22, 23a (NET)

[20] Isaiah 55:9 (NET)

[21] Luke 13:23 (NET)

[23] Luke 13:24 (NET)

[28] 2 Timothy 4:7 (NET)

[34] Matthew 18:8 (NET)

[35] Matthew 25:41 (NET)

[36] Matthew 25:46 (NET)

[42] Matthew 10:26a (NET)

[43] Romans 8:19 (NET)

[44] Matthew 10:28a (NET)

[45] Matthew 10:28b (NET)

[46] Matthew 16:26a (NKJV)

David’s Forgiveness, Part 3

The Social Construction of Reality helped me understand my own life in a new way.  I didn’t take my Dad’s advice to avoid or watch out for women too much to heart.  Though, now that I think about it, I’ve never had sex without the benefit of some form of birth control.  I did, however, deeply internalize my uselessness and meaninglessness.  And I learned even better than I knew that I was the cause of my Dad’s problems.  They were my fault.

Now before I go too far with this I need to say that my Dad was not a son of his father’s youth but of his old age.  My Dad’s father died when my Dad was eight, leaving the family destitute and my Dad fearful for his own welfare and survival.  In other words, while I might fault my father for who or what he was, my father’s father for all practical purposes was not.

My father provided well enough for my survival and welfare that I grew up taking it and him for granted.  And to be fair to him, the other legacy he bequeathed me was his constant admonition from Proverbs 4:7 (KJV; Addendum below): Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.  There are times, admittedly, when I look at myself with dismay as little more than a program carrying out my father’s command.  But considering the relationship with my father in this multigenerational-social-construction-of-reality way made it fairly obvious to me that there are many ways to make a son less than a blessing, ways that fall far short of taking that son’s life.  So I discarded that reason for the death of David’s first son with Bathsheba.

Another thought occurred to me: maybe the Lord Jesus didn’t want the child of an adulterous affair and a murderous cover-up to become king of Israel.  But Jephthah—one of the Judges—was the son of an adulterous affair between Gilead and a prostitute, and The Lord’s spirit empowered Jephthah.1

I’ve covered Jephthah pretty thoroughly elsewhere and won’t do it again here, except to comment on the reality that was socially constructed for Jephthah’s daughter by her father and other adults around her.  They apparently wholeheartedly believed the Lord’s command, If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath of binding obligation on himself, he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised.2  Jephthah’s daughter’s response when she learned of her father’s oath, and who was to be the victim, indicated that she knew and believed this command, too.  My father, she said, since you made an oath to the Lord, do to me as you promised.  After all, the Lord vindicated you before your enemies, the Ammonites.3

Nothing I believe or think or feel about Jephthah can or should taint my admiration for this girl’s childlike faith.  It is as stunning today as it was to Jephthah’s contemporaries.  She only asked for two months reprieve that she might mourn her virginity with her friends.  Jephthah granted her request.

Perhaps he hoped she would flee.  He would never see her again.  She would be as good as dead to him, but she would live.  But she, like her father, was true to her word and returned after two months as she promised.

Perhaps he hoped for a pardon as he prepared the sacrifice.  The Lord Jesus had commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac and then at the last moment provided a substitute for the boy.  No angel came to stay Jephthah’s hand.  No substitute was provided.  Jephthah sacrificed his daughter, his only child.  Even after the fact the Lord Jesus remained silent.  No prophets came, no dreams, no word from the Lord.  Every year Israelite women commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days.4

Since the Lord was silent, what social reality could the Israelites of Jephthah’s day construct except that Jephthah was an honorable and righteous man, fulfilling his vow to the Lord, no matter the cost?  After all, Jesus told his disciples, whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.5  It was many years after Jephthah’s time in the Proverbs of Solomon that I see the first glimmer of a subtle hint: It is a snare for a person to rashly cry, “Holy!” and only afterward to consider what he has vowed.6  To declare something “Holy” was equivalent to vowing it to the Lord.  This proverb may have had Jephthah in view.  Even so, it said little more than to consider your vows carefully or you may end up like Jephthah, sacrificing your daughter for righteousness’ sake.

It was many years after that, when the Israelites were sacrificing their children to Baal, the Lord Jesus finally spoke to the prophet Jeremiah and said: Such sacrifices are something I never commanded them to make! They are something I never told them to do! Indeed, such a thing never even entered my mind!7  The first time I understood this passage, I thought it was the most disingenuous thing I had ever heard.  Actually, I went ballistic, “What did you expect them to think?!” I shrieked with that tone in my voice that said, “what, are you stupid or something?”

If you ever hear that I was struck by lightning, you’ll know why, though subsequent years of daily infusion of spiritual fruit8 have tempered my temper some, especially with the Lord.  And beginning to recognize the religious mind as a human phenomena as opposed to a divine one, that God is always reaching out to communicate to us through this ungodly barrier, hasn’t hurt.  Let’s face it, historically speaking God was late to the game with both a law and a religion.  There is no indication in Genesis that Cain’s (or Abel’s) offering was God’s idea.

At the designated time Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering to the Lord.9  It was either Cain’s idea or if the phrase And it happened at the end of days actually carries the meaning At the designated time that the translators of the NET have assigned it, it was Adam’s idea.  The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering, but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased.  So Cain became very angry, and his expression was downcast.10  His religion and his worship were unacceptable, but his younger brother’s religion and worship was?  I am an older brother, believe me, I feel Cain’s anger and dejection.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast?  Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door.  It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”11  My mom tells a story about a time when I was angry with the boy next door.  She tried to soothe my anger with counsel about Jesus and turning the other cheek.  Apparently, I didn’t get the message any better than Cain did.  I left the house, saying, “I’ll make him turn the other cheek.”  Cain subdued his brother Abel by killing him.  I don’t recall what I did to the boy next door.  I know he survived it.

What have you done? The Lord said to Cain.  The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!  So now, you are banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.  When you try to cultivate the ground it will no longer yield its best for you.  You will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.12  Cain said, My punishment is too great to endure!13

For a long time I believed Cain.  But as I look back now this banishment from his occupation as a tiller of the field sounds more like the events that became David’s life after the Lord forgave his sin.  Cain’s punishment would have been his death.  Now scripture rolls and boils and tumbles in my mind:  before the law was given, sin was in the world, but there is no accounting for sin when there is no law.14

So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God.  For when we were in the flesh, the sinful desires, aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.  But now we have been released from the law, because we have died to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code.15

The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.16  He was not slow to establish a law of specific commandments and punishments, or a religion of specific rites and obligations.  He was positively resistant to the idea.  He chose to drown all but eight human beings and start over rather than establish a law or a religion.  I can only assume that He relented when it proved to be the only way to communicate to and through the ungodliness of human religious minds.  Even as He gave the law and founded the Hebrew religion He resisted it, saying defiantly to Moses, I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.17

But that was all in my future the first time I understood Him to say, such a thing never even entered my mind!18  “All this started when you told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac,” I continued my rant.  “It culminates with God the Father sacrificing his only begotten Son, and somewhere in the middle of it all is Jephthah.  It never entered your mind that desperate people might think this was a good way to get your attention?”

I calmed down eventually and felt bad.  But I didn’t have some wonderful intuitive answer.  For me at the time it was a matter of brute faith.  I had to force myself to give the Lord Jesus the benefit of the doubt and simply believe that He is self-aware enough to determine the boundary between his thoughts and ours, to distinguish between his intent and his foreknowledge of our misunderstanding of that intent, and that He speaks sincerely and without guile.

Finally, with his feet firmly planted on earth, Jesus gave a definitive answer to Jephthah, to Israel and to me in the Sermon on the Mount: Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, “Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.”  But I say to you, do not take oaths at all….Let your word be “Yes, yes” or “No, no.”  More than this is from the evil one.19  The NIV translated this verse:  “Simply, let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

Now if I ask, Why would Jesus consider Jephthah’s oath from the evil one? the answer seems fairly obvious.  If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me, Jephthah vowed to the Lord, then whoever is the first to come through the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites – he will belong to the Lord and I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice.20  I’m going to give Jephthah the benefit of the doubt that he intended to offer a goat to bribe God to help him defeat the Ammonites, and he was willing to let God choose which, or any, or all, of his goats.  I think the translators of the NET have deliberately made Jephthah’s oath even more from the evil one.21

But imagine with me for a moment that Jephthah intended to bribe God with any or all of his goats.  God could have brought any goat, or as many goats as He wanted, out to meet Jephthah on his triumphant return.  But God didn’t bring any goats to meet Jephthah.  God wasn’t satisfied with goats as a bribe.  God wanted Jephthah’s daughter, his only child.  What was Jephthah to do?  Certainly God deserves to be bribed with something better than goats.

Jephthah acted on a kind of faith.  It would have been very difficult for him to see that the bribe, the oath, was the evil, and the thing that Jephthah should have repented.  To paraphrase Paul, I can testify that Jephthah was zealous for God, but his zeal was not in line with the truth.  For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish his own righteousness, he did not submit to God’s righteousness.22  But Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and Paul’s letter to the Romans were not part of Jephthah’s socially constructed reality.  Why not? I began to wonder.

Why were You silent for so long? I asked the Lord.

 

Addendum: June 21, 2020
When I discovered that Proverbs 4:7 wasn’t in the Septuagint my first thought was, “Well, that figures!”  I talked with my brother about it.  He thought it was somewhere else but couldn’t find it.  I read all of Proverbs in English translation of the Elpenor Septuagint and didn’t recognize it in any other chapter.  I also did a search of the Greek words I imagined might underlie the English translation and didn’t discover it in Proverbs.  I haven’t searched every book in the Septuagint.

I don’t know for certain what Dad actually meant when he quoted it.  He suffered a stroke and couldn’t speak or write before it ever occurred to me to ask.  I had assumed that wisdom and understanding were science and engineering.  He idolized electrical engineers.  I had also assumed that he didn’t mean the Bible, especially my mother’s interpretation of it.  At least, the Bible wasn’t where I sought wisdom or understanding as a child.  Proverbs 2:1-12 is a fairly accurate description how I understand the disputable Proverbs 4:7 as I run its programming today.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Proverbs 2:1-12 (Tanakh) Proverbs 2:1-12 (NET) Proverbs 2:1-12 (NETS)

Proverbs 2:1-12 (English Elpenor)

My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; My son, if, when you accept the saying of my commandment, you hide it with yourself, [My] son, if thou wilt receive the utterance of my commandment, and hide it with thee;
So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; by making your ear attentive to wisdom, and by turning your heart to understanding, your ear will be attentive to wisdom, and you shall incline your heart to understanding; yes, you shall incline it to the admonition of your son. thine ear shall hearken to wisdom; thou shalt also apply thine heart to understanding, and shalt apply it to the instruction of thy son.
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; indeed, if you call out for discernment—shout loudly for understanding— For if you call upon wisdom and raise your voice for understanding, as well as seek perception with a loud voice, For it thou shalt call to wisdom, and utter thy voice for understanding; (τὴν δὲ αἴσθησιν ζητήσῃς μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ was not translated into English.)
If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; if you seek it like silver, and search for it like hidden treasure, and if you seek it like silver and search for it like treasures, and if thou shalt seek it as silver, and search diligently for it as for treasures;
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. then you will understand how to fear the Lord, and you will discover knowledge about God. then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and you will find divine knowledge. then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. Because the Lord gives wisdom, also from his presence come knowledge and understanding, For the Lord gives wisdom; and from his presence [come] knowledge and understanding,
He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He stores up effective counsel for the upright, and is like a shield for those who live with integrity, and he stores up salvation for those who succeed; he will shield their journey and he treasures up salvation for them that walk uprightly: he will protect their way;
He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. to guard the paths of the righteous and to protect the way of his pious ones. to guard the ways of righteous deeds, and he will protect the way of the ones who revere him. that he may guard the righteous ways: and he will preserve the way of them that fear him.
Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity—every good way. Then you will understand righteousness and judgment, and you will make all good courses straight. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment; and shalt direct all thy course aright.
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; For wisdom will enter your heart, and moral knowledge will be attractive to you. For if wisdom comes into your mind and perception seems pleasing to your soul, For if wisdom shall come into thine understanding, and discernment shall seem pleasing to thy soul,
Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: Discretion will protect you, understanding will guard you, good counsel will guard you, and holy insight will protect you good counsel shall guard thee, and holy understanding shall keep thee;

Tables comparing Proverbs 4:7; 2:1; 2:2; 2:3; 2:4; 2:5; 2:6; 2:7; 2:8; 2:9, 2:10; 2:11; 2:12; Judges 11:29; Numbers 30:2 (30:3); Judges 11:36; 11:40; Proverbs 20:25; Jeremiah 19:5; Genesis 4:3; 4:4; 4:5; 4:6; 4:7; 4:10; 4:11; 4:12; 4:13; Judges 11:30 and 11:31 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing Proverbs 4:7; 2:1; 2:2; 2:3; 2:4; 2:5; 2:6; 2:7; 2:8; 2:9; 2:10; 2:11; 2:12; Judges 11:29; Numbers 30:2 (30:3); Judges 11:36; 11:40; Proverbs 20:25; Jeremiah 19:5; Genesis 4:3; 4:4; 4:5; 4:6; 4:7; 4:10; 4:11; 4:12; 4:13; Judges 11:30 and 11:31 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Proverbs 4:7 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 4:7 (KJV)

Proverbs 4:7 (NET)

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Wisdom is supreme—so acquire wisdom, and whatever you acquire, acquire understanding!

Proverbs 4:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 4:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)

N/A N/A

Proverbs 4:7 (NETS)

Proverbs 4:7 (English Elpenor)

N/A N/A

Proverbs 2:1 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 2:1 (KJV)

Proverbs 2:1 (NET)

My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; My child, if you receive my words, and store up my commands inside yourself,

Proverbs 2:1 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 2:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)

υἱέ ἐὰν δεξάμενος ῥῆσιν ἐμῆς ἐντολῆς κρύψῃς παρὰ σεαυτῷ ΥΙΕ, ἐὰν δεξάμενος ῥῆσιν ἐμῆς ἐντολῆς κρύψῃς παρὰ σεαυτῷ

Proverbs 2:1 (NETS)

Proverbs 2:1 (English Elpenor)

My son, if, when you accept the saying of my commandment, you hide it with yourself, [My] son, if thou wilt receive the utterance of my commandment, and hide it with thee;

Proverbs 2:2 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 2:2 (KJV)

Proverbs 2:2 (NET)

So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; by making your ear attentive to wisdom, and by turning your heart to understanding,

Proverbs 2:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 2:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ὑπακούσεται σοφίας τὸ οὖς σου καὶ παραβαλεῗς καρδίαν σου εἰς σύνεσιν παραβαλεῗς δὲ αὐτὴν ἐπὶ νουθέτησιν τῷ υἱῷ σου ὑπακούσεται σοφία τὸ οὖς σου, καὶ παραβαλεῖς καρδίαν σου εἰς σύνεσιν, παραβαλεῖς δὲ αὐτὴν ἐπὶ νουθέτησιν τῷ υἱῷ σου

Proverbs 2:2 (NETS)

Proverbs 2:2 (English Elpenor)

your ear will be attentive to wisdom, and you shall incline your heart to understanding; yes, you shall incline it to the admonition of your son. thine ear shall hearken to wisdom; thou shalt also apply thine heart to understanding, and shalt apply it to the instruction of thy son.

Proverbs 2:3 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 2:3 (KJV)

Proverbs 2:3 (NET)

Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; indeed, if you call out for discernment—shout loudly for understanding—

Proverbs 2:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 2:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐὰν γὰρ τὴν σοφίαν ἐπικαλέσῃ καὶ τῇ συνέσει δῷς φωνήν σου τὴν δὲ αἴσθησιν ζητήσῃς μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ ἐὰν γὰρ τὴν σοφίαν ἐπικαλέσῃ καὶ τῇ συνέσει δῷς φωνήν σου, τὴν δὲ αἴσθησιν ζητήσῃς μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ

Proverbs 2:3 (NETS)

Proverbs 2:3 (English Elpenor)

For if you call upon wisdom and raise your voice for understanding, as well as seek perception with a loud voice, For it thou shalt call to wisdom, and utter thy voice for understanding;

Proverbs 2:4 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 2:4 (KJV)

Proverbs 2:4 (NET)

If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; if you seek it like silver, and search for it like hidden treasure,

Proverbs 2:4 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 2:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐὰν ζητήσῃς αὐτὴν ὡς ἀργύριον καὶ ὡς θησαυροὺς ἐξερευνήσῃς αὐτήν καὶ ἐὰν ζητήσῃς αὐτὴν ὡς ἀργύριον καὶ ὡς θησαυροὺς ἐξερευνήσῃς αὐτήν

Proverbs 2:4 (NETS)

Proverbs 2:4 (English Elpenor)

and if you seek it like silver and search for it like treasures, and if thou shalt seek it as silver, and search diligently for it as for treasures;

Proverbs 2:5 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 2:5 (KJV)

Proverbs 2:5 (NET)

Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. then you will understand how to fear the Lord, and you will discover knowledge about God.

Proverbs 2:5 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 2:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)

τότε συνήσεις φόβον κυρίου καὶ ἐπίγνωσιν θεοῦ εὑρήσεις τότε συνήσεις φόβον Κυρίου καὶ ἐπίγνωσιν Θεοῦ εὑρήσεις

Proverbs 2:5 (NETS)

Proverbs 2:5 (English Elpenor)

then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and you will find divine knowledge. then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2:6 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 2:6 (KJV)

Proverbs 2:6 (NET)

For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:6 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 2:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ὅτι κύριος δίδωσιν σοφίαν καὶ ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ γνῶσις καὶ σύνεσις ὅτι Κύριος δίδωσι σοφίαν, καὶ ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ γνῶσις καὶ σύνεσις

Proverbs 2:6 (NETS)

Proverbs 2:6 (English Elpenor)

Because the Lord gives wisdom, also from his presence come knowledge and understanding, For the Lord gives wisdom; and from his presence [come] knowledge and understanding,

Proverbs 2:7 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 2:7 (KJV)

Proverbs 2:7 (NET)

He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He stores up effective counsel for the upright, and is like a shield for those who live with integrity,

Proverbs 2:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 2:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ θησαυρίζει τοῗς κατορθοῦσι σωτηρίαν ὑπερασπιεῗ τὴν πορείαν αὐτῶν καὶ θησαυρίζει τοῖς κατορθοῦσι σωτηρίαν, ὑπερασπιεῖ τὴν πορείαν αὐτῶν

Proverbs 2:7 (NETS)

Proverbs 2:7 (English Elpenor)

and he stores up salvation for those who succeed; he will shield their journey and he treasures up salvation for them that walk uprightly: he will protect their way;

Proverbs 2:8 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 2:8 (KJV)

Proverbs 2:8 (NET)

He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. to guard the paths of the righteous and to protect the way of his pious ones.

Proverbs 2:8 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 2:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)

τοῦ φυλάξαι ὁδοὺς δικαιωμάτων καὶ ὁδὸν εὐλαβουμένων αὐτὸν διαφυλάξει τοῦ φυλάξαι ὁδοὺς δικαιωμάτων καὶ ὁδὸν εὐλαβουμένων αὐτὸν διαφυλάξει

Proverbs 2:8 (NETS)

Proverbs 2:8 (English Elpenor)

to guard the ways of righteous deeds, and he will protect the way of the ones who revere him. that he may guard the righteous ways: and he will preserve the way of them that fear him.

Proverbs 2:9 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 2:9 (KJV)

Proverbs 2:9 (NET)

Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity—every good way.

Proverbs 2:9 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 2:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)

τότε συνήσεις δικαιοσύνην καὶ κρίμα καὶ κατορθώσεις πάντας ἄξονας ἀγαθούς τότε συνήσεις δικαιοσύνην καὶ κρίμα καὶ κατορθώσεις πάντας ἄξονας ἀγαθούς

Proverbs 2:9 (NETS)

Proverbs 2:9 (English Elpenor)

Then you will understand righteousness and judgment, and you will make all good courses straight. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment; and shalt direct all thy course aright.

Proverbs 2:10 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 2:10 (KJV)

Proverbs 2:10 (NET)

When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; For wisdom shall enter into thy heart, And knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul; For wisdom will enter your heart, and moral knowledge will be attractive to you.

Proverbs 2:10 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 2:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐὰν γὰρ ἔλθῃ ἡ σοφία εἰς σὴν διάνοιαν ἡ δὲ αἴσθησις τῇ σῇ ψυχῇ καλὴ εἶναι δόξῃ ἐὰν γὰρ ἔλθῃ ἡ σοφία εἰς σὴν διάνοιαν, ἡ δὲ αἴσθησις τῇ σῇ ψυχῇ καλὴ εἶναι δόξῃ

Proverbs 2:10 (NETS)

Proverbs 2:10 (English Elpenor)

For if wisdom comes into your mind and perception seems pleasing to your soul, For if wisdom shall come into thine understanding, and discernment shall seem pleasing to thy soul,

Proverbs 2:11 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 2:11 (KJV)

Proverbs 2:11 (NET)

Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: Discretion will protect you, understanding will guard you,

Proverbs 2:11 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 2:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)

βουλὴ καλὴ φυλάξει σε ἔννοια δὲ ὁσία τηρήσει σε βουλὴ καλὴ φυλάξει σε, ἔννοια δὲ ὁσία τηρήσει σε

Proverbs 2:11 (NETS)

Proverbs 2:11 (English Elpenor)

good counsel will guard you, and holy insight will protect you good counsel shall guard thee, and holy understanding shall keep thee;

Proverbs 2:12 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 2:12 (KJV)

Proverbs 2:12 (NET)

To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; to deliver you from the way of the wicked, from those speaking perversity,

Proverbs 2:12 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 2:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἵνα ῥύσηταί σε ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ κακῆς καὶ ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς λαλοῦντος μηδὲν πιστόν ἵνα ρύσηταί σε ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ κακῆς καὶ ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς λαλοῦντος μηδὲν πιστόν

Proverbs 2:12 (NETS)

Proverbs 2:12 (English Elpenor)

in order that it can rescue you from an evil way and from a man who speaks nothing reliable. to deliver thee from the evil way, and from the man that speaks nothing faithfully.

Judges 11:29 (Tanakh)

Judges 11:29 (KJV)

Judges 11:29 (NET)

Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. The Lord’s Spirit empowered Jephthah.  He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites.

Judges 11:29 (Septuagint BLB)

Judges 11:29 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐγενήθη ἐπὶ Ιεφθαε πνεῦμα κυρίου καὶ διέβη τὴν γῆν Γαλααδ καὶ τὸν Μανασση καὶ διέβη τὴν σκοπιὰν Γαλααδ καὶ ἀπὸ σκοπιᾶς Γαλααδ εἰς τὸ πέραν υἱῶν Αμμων Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐπὶ ᾿Ιεφθάε πνεῦμα Κυρίου, καὶ παρῆλθε τὸν Γαλαὰδ καὶ τὸν Μανασσῆ καὶ παρῆλθε τὴν σκοπιὰν Γαλαὰδ εἰς τὸ πέραν υἱῶν ᾿Αμμών

Judges 11:29 (NETS)

Judges 11:29 (English Elpenor)

And a spirit of the Lord came upon Iephthae, and he passed through the land of Galaad and Manasses.  And he passed through the vantage point of Galaad and from the vantage point of Galaad to the other side of the sons of Ammon. And the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthae, and he passed over Galaad, and Manasse, and passed by the watch-tower of Galaad to the other side of the children of Ammon.

Numbers 30:3 (Tanakh)

Numbers 30:2 (KJV)

Numbers 30:2 (NET)

When a man voweth a vow unto HaShem, or sweareth an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath of binding obligation on himself, he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised.

Numbers 30:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Numbers 30:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἄνθρωπος ἄνθρωπος ὃς ἂν εὔξηται εὐχὴν κυρίῳ ἢ ὀμόσῃ ὅρκον ἢ ὁρίσηται ὁρισμῷ περὶ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ οὐ βεβηλώσει τὸ ῥῆμα αὐτοῦ πάντα ὅσα ἐὰν ἐξέλθῃ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ ποιήσει ἄνθρωπος ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ἂν εὔξηται εὐχὴν Κυρίῳ ἢ ὀμόσῃ ὅρκον ἢ ὁρίσηται ὁρισμῷ περὶ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ, οὐ βεβηλώσει τὸ ρῆμα αὐτοῦ· πάντα ὅσα ἂν ἐξέλθῃ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ, ποιήσει

Numbers 30:3 (NETS)

Numbers 30:3 (English Elpenor)

Person by person—if he vows a vow to the Lord or swears an oath or determines for himself with determination about his soul, he shall not profane his word; everything that proceeds out of his mouth he shall do. Whatsoever man shall vow a vow to the Lord, or swear an oath, or bind himself with an obligation upon his soul, he shall not break his word; all that shall come out of his mouth he shall do.

Judges 11:36 (Tanakh)

Judges 11:36 (KJV)

Judges 11:36 (NET)

And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. She said to him, “My father, since you made an oath to the Lord, do to me as you promised.  After all, the Lord vindicated you before your enemies, the Ammonites.”

Judges 11:36 (Septuagint BLB)

Judges 11:36 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν πάτερ μου εἰ ἐν ἐμοὶ ἤνοιξας τὸ στόμα σου πρὸς κύριον ποίει μοι ὃν τρόπον ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ τοῦ στόματός σου ἀνθ᾽ ὧν ἐποίησέν σοι κύριος ἐκδικήσεις ἐκ τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου ἐκ τῶν υἱῶν Αμμων δὲ εἶπε πρὸς αὐτόν· πάτερ, ἤνοιξας τὸ στόμα σου πρὸς Κύριον; ποίησόν μοι ὃν τρόπον ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ στόματός σου, ἐν τῷ ποιῆσαί σοι Κύριον ἐκδίκησιν τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου ἀπὸ τῶν υἱῶν ᾿Αμμών

Judges 11:36 (NETS)

Judges 11:36 (English Elpenor)

And she said to him, “My father, if against me you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me as it came out of your mouth, now that the Lord has exacted vengeance for you from your enemies, from the sons of Ammon.” And she said to him, Father, hast thou opened thy mouth to the Lord?  Do to me accordingly as [the word] went out of thy mouth, in that the Lord has wrought vengeance for thee on thine enemies of the children of Ammon.

Judges 11:40 (Tanakh)

Judges 11:40 (KJV)

Judges 11:40 (NET)

That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. Every year Israelite women commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days.

Judges 11:40 (Septuagint BLB)

Judges 11:40 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐξ ἡμερῶν εἰς ἡμέρας συνεπορεύοντο αἱ θυγατέρες Ισραηλ θρηνεῗν τὴν θυγατέρα Ιεφθαε τοῦ Γαλααδίτου τέσσαρας ἡμέρας ἐν τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ ἀπὸ ἡμερῶν εἰς ἡμέρας ἐπορεύοντο θυγατέρες ᾿Ισραὴλ θρηνεῖν τὴν θυγατέρα ᾿Ιεφθάε τοῦ Γαλααδίτου ἐπὶ τέσσαρας ἡμέρας ἐν τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ

Judges 11:40 (NETS)

Judges 11:40 (English Elpenor)

from days to days the daughters of Israel would go together to lament the daughter of Iephthae the Galaadite, four days in the year. and it was an ordinance in Israel, [That] the daughters of Israel went from year to year to bewail the daughter of Jephtha the Galaadite for four days in a year.

Proverbs 20:25 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 20:25 (KJV)

Proverbs 20:25 (NET)

It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry. It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry. It is a snare for a person to rashly cry, “Holy!” and only afterward to consider what he has vowed.

Proverbs 20:25 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 20:25 (Septuagint Elpenor)

παγὶς ἀνδρὶ ταχύ τι τῶν ἰδίων ἁγιάσαι μετὰ γὰρ τὸ εὔξασθαι μετανοεῗν γίνεται παγὶς ἀνδρὶ ταχύ τι τῶν ἰδίων ἁγιάσαι, μετὰ γὰρ τὸ εὔξασθαι μετανοεῖν γίνεται

Proverbs 20:25 (NETS)

Proverbs 20:25 (English Elpenor)

Quickly to consecrate something of his own is a snare to a man, for after making a vow a change of mind can happen. It is a snare to a man hastily to consecrate some of his own property: for [in that case] repentance comes after vowing.

Jeremiah 19:5 (Tanakh)

Jeremiah 19:5 (KJV)

Jeremiah 19:5 (NET)

They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: They have built places here for worship of the god Baal so that they could sacrifice their children as burnt offerings to him in the fire.  Such sacrifices are something I never commanded them to make.  They are something I never told them to do! Indeed, such a thing never even entered my mind.

Jeremiah 19:5 (Septuagint BLB)

Jeremiah 19:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ᾠκοδόμησαν ὑψηλὰ τῇ Βααλ τοῦ κατακαίειν τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτῶν ἐν πυρί ἃ οὐκ ἐνετειλάμην οὐδὲ ἐλάλησα οὐδὲ διενοήθην ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου καὶ ᾠκοδόμησαν ὑψηλὰ τῇ Βάαλ τοῦ κατακαίειν τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτῶν ἐν πυρί, ἃ οὐκ ἐνετειλάμην οὐδὲ διενοήθην ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου

Jeremiah 19:5 (NETS)

Jeremiah 19:5 (English Elpenor)

and built high places of the goddess Baal to burn their sons with fire, which things I did not command nor intended in my heart. and built high places for Baal, to burn their children in the fire, which things I commanded not, neither did I design [them] in my heart:

Genesis 4:3 (Tanakh)

Genesis 4:3 (KJV)

Genesis 4:3 (NET)

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto HaShem. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. At the designated time Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering to the Lord.

Genesis 4:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 4:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐγένετο μεθ᾽ ἡμέρας ἤνεγκεν Καιν ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν τῆς γῆς θυσίαν τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ ἐγένετο μεθ᾿ ἡμέρας ἤνεγκε Κάϊν ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν τῆς γῆς θυσίαν τῷ Κυρίῳ,

Genesis 4:3 (NETS)

Genesis 4:3 (English Elpenor)

And it came about after some days that Kain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruits of the earth, And it was so after some time that Cain brought of the fruits of the earth a sacrifice to the Lord.

Genesis 4:4 (Tanakh)

Genesis 4:4 (KJV)

Genesis 4:4 (NET)

And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.  And HaShem had respect unto Abel and to his offering; And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock—even the fattest of them. And the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,

Genesis 4:4 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 4:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ Αβελ ἤνεγκεν καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπὸ τῶν πρωτοτόκων τῶν προβάτων αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν στεάτων αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπεῗδεν ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ Αβελ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῗς δώροις αὐτοῦ καὶ Ἄβελ ἤνεγκε καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπὸ τῶν πρωτοτόκων τῶν προβάτων αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν στεάτων αὐτῶν. καὶ ἐπεῖδεν ὁ Θεὸς ἐπὶ ῎Αβελ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς δώροις αὐτοῦ,

Genesis 4:4 (NETS)

Genesis 4:4 (English Elpenor)

And Habel, he also brought of the firstlings of his sheep and of their fat portions.  And God looked upon Habel and upon his gifts, And Abel also brought of the first born of his sheep and of his fatlings, and God looked upon Abel and his gifts,

Genesis 4:5 (Tanakh)

Genesis 4:5 (KJV)

Genesis 4:5 (NET)

but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect.  And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.  And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased.  So Cain became very angry, and his expression was downcast.

Genesis 4:5 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 4:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐπὶ δὲ Καιν καὶ ἐπὶ ταῗς θυσίαις αὐτοῦ οὐ προσέσχεν καὶ ἐλύπησεν τὸν Καιν λίαν καὶ συνέπεσεν τῷ προσώπῳ ἐπὶ δὲ Κάϊν καὶ ἐπὶ ταῖς θυσίαις αὐτοῦ οὐ προσέσχε. καὶ ἐλυπήθη Κάϊν λίαν, καὶ συνέπεσε τῷ προσώπῳ αὐτοῦ.

Genesis 4:5 (NETS)

Genesis 4:5 (English Elpenor)

but on Kain and on his offerings he was not intent.  And it distressed Kain exceedingly, and he collapsed in countenance. but Cain and his sacrifices he regarded not, and Cain was exceedingly sorrowful and his countenance fell.

Genesis 4:6 (Tanakh)

Genesis 4:6 (KJV)

Genesis 4:6 (NET)

And HaShem said unto Cain: ‘Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast?

Genesis 4:6 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 4:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τῷ Καιν ἵνα τί περίλυπος ἐγένου καὶ ἵνα τί συνέπεσεν τὸ πρόσωπόν σου καὶ εἶπε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῷ Κάϊν· ἵνα τί περίλυπος ἐγένου, καὶ ἵνα τί συνέπεσε τὸ πρόσωπόν σου;

Genesis 4:6 (NETS)

Genesis 4:6 (English Elpenor)

And the Lord God said to Kain, “Why have you become deeply grieved, and why has your countenance collapsed? And the Lord God said to Cain, Why art thou become very sorrowful and why is thy countenance fallen?

Genesis 4:7 (Tanakh)

Genesis 4:7 (KJV)

Genesis 4:7 (NET)

If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door; and unto thee is its desire, but thou mayest rule over it.’ If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.  And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door.  It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”

Genesis 4:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 4:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)

οὐκ ἐὰν ὀρθῶς προσενέγκῃς ὀρθῶς δὲ μὴ διέλῃς ἥμαρτες ἡσύχασον πρὸς σὲ ἡ ἀποστροφὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ σὺ ἄρξεις αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐὰν ὀρθῶς προσενέγκῃς, ὀρθῶς δὲ μὴ διέλῃς, ἥμαρτες; ἡσύχασον· πρὸς σὲ ἡ ἀποστροφὴ αὐτοῦ, καὶ σὺ ἄρξεις αὐτοῦ

Genesis 4:7 (NETS)

Genesis 4:7 (English Elpenor)

If you offer correctly but do not divide correctly, have you not sinned?  Be still; his recourse is to you, and you will rule over him.” Hast thou not sinned if thou hast brought it rightly, but not rightly divided it? be still, to thee shall be his submission, and thou shalt rule over him.

Genesis 4:10 (Tanakh)

Genesis 4:10 (KJV)

Genesis 4:10 (NET)

And He said: ‘What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground. And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. But the Lord said, “What have you done?  The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!

Genesis 4:10 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 4:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ εἶπεν θεός τί ἐποίησας φωνὴ αἵματος τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου βοᾷ πρός με ἐκ τῆς γῆς καί εἶπε Κύριος· τί πεποίηκας; φωνὴ αἵματος τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου βοᾷ πρός με ἐκ τῆς γῆς

Genesis 4:10 (NETS)

Genesis 4:10 (English Elpenor)

And God said, “What have you done?  The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the earth! And the Lord said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood cries to me out of the ground.

Genesis 4:11 (Tanakh)

Genesis 4:11 (KJV)

Genesis 4:11 (NET)

And now cursed art thou from the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; So now you are banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

Genesis 4:11 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 4:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ νῦν ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἣ ἔχανεν τὸ στόμα αὐτῆς δέξασθαι τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου ἐκ τῆς χειρός σου καὶ νῦν ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, ἣ ἔχανε τὸ στόμα αὐτῆς δέξασθαι τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου ἐκ τῆς χειρός σου

Genesis 4:11 (NETS)

Genesis 4:11 (English Elpenor)

And now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened wide its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. And now thou [art] cursed from the earth which has opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand.

Genesis 4:12 (Tanakh)

Genesis 4:12 (KJV)

Genesis 4:12 (NET)

When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth.’ When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. When you try to cultivate the ground it will no longer yield its best for you.  You will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.”

Genesis 4:12 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 4:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ὅτι ἐργᾷ τὴν γῆν καὶ οὐ προσθήσει τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτῆς δοῦναί σοι στένων καὶ τρέμων ἔσῃ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὅτε ἐργᾷ τὴν γῆν, καὶ οὐ προσθήσει τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτῆς δοῦναί σοι· στένων καὶ τρέμων ἔσῃ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

Genesis 4:12 (NETS)

Genesis 4:12 (English Elpenor)

For you will till the earth, and it will not continue to yield its strength to you; you will be groaning and trembling on the earth.” When thou tillest the earth, then it shall not continue to give its strength to thee: thou shalt be groaning and trembling on the earth.

Genesis 4:13 (Tanakh)

Genesis 4:13 (KJV)

Genesis 4:13 (NET)

And Cain said unto HaShem: ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear. And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Then Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to endure!

Genesis 4:13 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 4:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ εἶπεν Καιν πρὸς τὸν κύριον μείζων ἡ αἰτία μου τοῦ ἀφεθῆναί με καὶ εἶπε Κάϊν πρὸς Κύριον τὸν Θεόν· μείζων ἡ αἰτία μου τοῦ ἀφεθῆναί με

Genesis 4:13 (NETS)

Genesis 4:13 (English Elpenor)

And Kain said to the Lord, “My guilt is too great for me to be forgiven! And Cain said to the Lord God, My crime [is] too great for me to be forgiven.

Judges 11:30 (Tanakh)

Judges 11:30 (KJV)

Judges 11:30 (NET)

And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, saying, “If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me,

Judges 11:30 (Septuagint BLB)

Judges 11:30 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ηὔξατο Ιεφθαε εὐχὴν τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ εἶπεν ἐὰν παραδώσει παραδῷς μοι τοὺς υἱοὺς Αμμων ἐν χειρί μου καὶ ηὔξατο ᾿Ιεφθάε εὐχὴν τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ εἶπεν· ἐὰν διδοὺς δῷς μοι τοὺς υἱοὺς ᾿Αμμὼν ἐν τῇ χειρί μου

Judges 11:30 (NETS)

Judges 11:30 (English Elpenor)

And Iephthae vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If with a giving over, you will give over to me the sons of Ammon in my hand, And Jephthae vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand,

Judges 11:31 (Tanakh)

Judges 11:31 (KJV)

Judges 11:31 (NET)

Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. then whoever is the first to come through the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites—he will belong to the Lord and I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice.”

Judges 11:31 (Septuagint BLB)

Judges 11:31 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἔσται ὃς ἂν ἐξέλθῃ ἐκ τῶν θυρῶν τοῦ οἴκου μου εἰς ἀπάντησίν μου ἐν τῷ ἐπιστρέψαι με ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἀπὸ τῶν υἱῶν Αμμων καὶ ἔσται τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ ἀνοίσω αὐτὸν ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ ἔσται ἐκπορευόμενος, ὃς ἂν ἐξέλθῃ ἀπὸ τῆς θύρας τοῦ οἴκου μου εἰς συνάντησίν μου ἐν τῷ ἐπιστρέφειν με ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἀπὸ υἱῶν ᾿Αμμών, καὶ ἔσται τῷ Κυρίῳ ἀνοίσω αὐτὸν ὁλοκαύτωμα

Judges 11:31 (NETS)

Judges 11:31 (English Elpenor)

it shall also be that whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, shall also be the Lord’s, and I will offer him up as a whole burnt offering.” then it shall come to pass that whosoever shall first come out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, he shall be the Lord’s: I will offer him up for a whole-burnt-offering.

 


1 Judges 11:29a (NET)

2 Numbers 30:2 (NET)

3 Judges 11:36 (NET)

4 Judges 11:40 (NET)

5 Matthew 10:37b (NET)

6 Proverbs 20:25 (NET)

7 Jeremiah 19:5bc (NET)

9 Genesis 4:3 (NET)

10 Genesis 4:4b, 5 (NET)

11 Geneis 4:6, 7 (NET)

12 Genesis 4:10-12 (NET)  When thou tillest the earth, then it shall not continue to give its strength to thee: thou shalt be groaning and trembling on the earth. Genesis 4:12 (Elpenor English)

13 Genesis 4:13 (NET)

14 Romans 5:13 (NET)

15 Romans 7:4-6 (NET)

16 2 Peter 3:9 (NET) Table

17 Exodus 33:19b (NET) Table

18 Jeremiah 19:5 (NET)

19 Matthew 5:33, 34a, 37 (NET)

20 Judges 11:30, 31 (NET)

21 Consider the same passage in the KJV: And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

22 Paraphrase of Romans 10:2, 3 (NET)