A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 8

The Lord gave Moses detailed instructions about the day of atonement:

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Leviticus 16:2, 3 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 16:2, 3 (NET)

Leviticus 16:2, 3 (NETS)

Leviticus 16:2, 3 (English Elpenor)

and HaShem (יְהֹוָ֜ה) said unto Moses: ‘Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the ark-cover which is upon the ark; that he die not; for I appear in the cloud upon the ark-cover. and the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the special curtain in front of the atonement lid that is on the ark so that he may not die, for I will appear in the cloud over the atonement lid. And the Lord (κύριος) said to Moyses: Speak to Aaron your brother, and let him not enter at any time into the sanctuary inside the veil facing the propitiatory that is on the ark of witness, and he will not die, for I will be seen in the cloud upon the propitiatory. And the Lord (Κύριος) said to Moses, Speak to Aaron thy brother, and let him not come in at all times into the holy place within the veil before the propitiatory, which is upon the ark of the testimony, and he shall not die; for I will appear in a cloud on the propitiatory.
Herewith shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering. “In this way Aaron is to enter into the sanctuary—with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a calf from the cattle for sin and a ram for a whole burnt offering. Thus shall Aaron enter into the holy place; with a calf of the herd for a sin-offering, and [having] a ram for a whole-burnt-offering.

The writer of Hebrews explained (Hebrews 9:6b-10 NET):

…the priests enter continually into the outer tent as they perform their duties [Table]. But only the high priest enters once a year into the inner tent, and not without blood that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is making clear that the way into the Holy Place had not yet appeared as long as the old tabernacle was standing. This was a symbol for the time then present, when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper. They served only for matters of food and drink and various ritual washings; they are external regulations1 imposed until the new order came.

The Lord described how Aaron should dress:

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Leviticus 16:4 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 16:4 (NET)

Leviticus 16:4 (NETS)

Leviticus 16:4 (English Elpenor)

He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with the linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired; they are the holy garments; and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and put them on. He must put on a holy linen tunic, linen leggings are to cover his body, and he is to wrap himself with a linen sash and wrap his head with a linen turban. They are holy garments, so he must bathe his body in water and put them on. And he shall put on (ἐνδύσεται) the consecrated linen tunic, and linen drawers shall be on his flesh, and he shall gird himself with a linen girdle and wrap around a linen turban; they are holy vestments. And he shall bathe his entire body in water and then put them on (ἐνδύσεται αὐτά). And he shall put on the (ἐνδύσεται) consecrated linen tunic, and he shall have on his flesh the linen drawers, and shall gird himself with a linen girdle, and shall put on the linen cap, they are holy garments; and he shall bathe all his body in water, and shall put them on (ἐνδύσεται αὐτά).

Peter wrote of the eight soulsdelivered through water,2 from the flood (1 Peter 3:21, 22 NET):

And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you—not the washing off of physical dirt but the pledge of a good conscience to God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ [Table], who went into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels and authorities and powers subject to him.

And Paul wrote (Ephesians 4:22-24 NET)

You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on (ἐνδύσασθαι, another form of ἐνδύω) the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.

The Lord commanded further concerning the day of atonement:

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Leviticus 16:5-10 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 16:5-10 (NET)

Leviticus 16:5-10 (NETS)

Leviticus 16:5-10 (English Elpenor)

And [Aaron] shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two he-goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering. He must also take two male goats from the congregation of the Israelites for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two billy goats for sin and one ram for a whole burnt offering. And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin-offering, and one lamb for a whole-burnt-offering.
And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself, and for his house. Then Aaron is to present the sin-offering bull which is for himself and is to make atonement on behalf of himself and his household. And Aaron shall offer the bull calf for sin, which is his own, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. And Aaron shall bring the calf for his own sin-offering, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.
And he shall take the two goats, and set them before HaShem at the door of the tent of meeting. Next he must take the two goats and stand them before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, And he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the door of the tent of witness, And he shall take the two goats, and place them before the Lord by the door of the tabernacle of witness.
And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats: one lot for HaShem (לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה), and the other lot for Azazel (לַֽעֲזָאזֵֽל). and Aaron is to cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, ליהוה) and one lot for Azazel (ʿăzā’zēl, לעזאזל). And Aaron shall place lots on the two goats, one lot for the Lord (τῷ κυρίῳ) and one lot for the one to be sent off (τῷ ἀποπομπαίῳ). and Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord (τῷ Κυρίῳ), and the other for the scape-goat (τῷ ἀποπομπαίῳ).
And Aaron shall present the goat upon which the lot fell for HaShem, and offer him for a sin-offering. Aaron must then present the goat which has been designated by lot for the Lord, and he is to make it a sin offering, And Aaron shall present the goat which the lot fell on for the Lord and offer for sin, And Aaron shall bring forward the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and shall offer him for a sin-offering.
But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel (לַֽעֲזָאזֵ֔ל), shall be set alive before HaShem, to make atonement over him, to send him away for Azazel (לַֽעֲזָאזֵ֖ל) into the wilderness. but the goat which has been designated by lot for Azazel (ʿăzā’zēl, לעזאזל) is to be stood alive before the Lord to make atonement on it by sending it away into the desert to Azazel (ʿăzā’zēl, לעזאזל). and the goat which the lot fell on of the one to be sent off (τοῦ ἀποπομπαίου) he shall set it alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, to send it away into the place for sending away (τὴν ἀποπομπήν)—he shall let it go into the wilderness. and the goat upon which the lot of the scape-goat (τοῦ ἀποπομπαίου) came, he shall present alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon him, so as to send him away as a scape-goat (τὴν ἀποπομπήν), and he shall send him into the wilderness.

The writer of Hebrews continued (Hebrews 9:11, 12 NET):

But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation [Table], and he entered once for all into the Most Holy Place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured eternal redemption.

I’m thinking more deeply about the theme of this thread:

Hebrews 10:1a (NET)

Colossians 2:17 (NET) Table

For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself… …these are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is Christ!

Hebrews 10:1a (NET Parallel Greek)

Colossians 2:17 (NET Parallel Greek)

Σκιὰν γὰρ ἔχων ὁ νόμος τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, οὐκ αὐτὴν τὴν εἰκόνα τῶν πραγμάτων ἅ ἐστιν σκιὰ τῶν μελλόντων, τὸ δὲ σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ

The writer of Hebrews declared that the law possesses (ἔχων, a participle of ἔχω) a shadow (Σκιὰν, a form of σκιά ). Paul wrote that food or drinkthe matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days3 (i.e., those things described in the law) are (ἐστιν)…the shadow (σκιὰ). Two different phrases were translated reality itself (Hebrews) or reality (Colossians) in the NET. The author of Hebrews wrote τὴν εἰκόνα τῶν πραγμάτων (literally: “the image of the things”), while Paul wrote τὸσῶμα, (literally: “the body”).

I won’t quarrel with the NET translation except to say that it doesn’t imply that the shadow is unreal. A shadow is very real and prompts one to look up or turn around and look in another direction for what has cast it. I’m particularly exercised here to look for what cast the shadow of the scape-goat or the goatto sendaway for Azazel. The Scriptures listed in “6 Bible Verses about Scapegoat,” on Knowing Jesus online indicate to me that τὸσῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ was understood literally as “the body of Christ.” There is another way to understand this phrase, especially in this particular context.

One may assume that the verb of being ἐστιν from the first clause is implied in the second: τὸσῶμα (ἐστιν) τοῦ Χριστοῦ, “the body [is] of Christ” or “[is] of the Christ.” Consider the following translation (Colossians 2:17 ESV):

These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

This, coupled with the plural τῶν πραγμάτων in Hebrews, gives me both the license and the inclination to seek that particular aspect of Christ’s atonement4 that casts this particular shadow. What comes to mind as I consider the scape-goat,5 the one to be sent off,6 is Paul’s continuing explanation of one’s death to sin through faith in Christ (Romans 7:14-20 NET).

For we know that the law is spiritual—but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin [Table]. 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 [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 [Table].

This deserves a more in-depth look: For we know that the law is spiritual—but I (ἐγὼ) am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin.7 In another essay I wrote:

It is difficult to hear Paul call himself unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. After all, what does that mean for someone like me? But Paul was describing himself as a man deceived[9] and seized by a fit of coveting, sin [old man], seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires.[10] In the beginning this old man (sin personified) was perceived by Paul as I (ἐγὼ), I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin.

The Benson Commentary8 reads:

But I am carnal — That is, man, considered in himself, as in a state of nature, and destitute of the regenerating grace of God, is carnal.

Meyer’s NT Commentary9 reads:

ἐγὼ δέ] but I, i.e. according to the ἰδίωσις pervading the entire section: the man, not yet regenerate by the Holy Spirit, in his relation to the Mosaic law given to him

I think we were all mistaken. Consider the I Paul described:

For I don’t understand what I am doing.10

Here, I don’t understand was οὐ γινώσκω, the I being understood from the 1st person verb. And, what I am doing was κατεργάζομαι. Again, the I is understood from the 1st person verb. Paul continued:

For I do not do what I want—instead, I do what I hate.11

Literally: “For not what I want (οὐ γὰρ θέλω) this I do” (τοῦτο πράσσω). And, according to a note (22) in the NET, “but (ἀλλ᾿) what () I hate (μισῶ), this (τοῦτο) I do (ποιῶ).” Here, too, I was understood from the 1st person verbs.

Paul made his desire, his will, quite explicit:

For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it.12

Literally according to a note (24) in the NET: “For to wish (τὸ γὰρ θέλειν) is present (παράκειται) in/with me (μοι), but not to do it” (τὸ δὲ κατεργάζεσθαι τὸ καλὸν οὔ). Here, μοι, translated “in/with me,” is a form of ἐγώ in the dative case, hearkening back to that I Paul described as unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. It is readily distinguished from ἐμοί (another form of ἐγώ in the dative case) which precedes it:

For I know that nothing good lives in me (ἐμοί), that is, in my (μου) flesh.13

I’ll follow Paul’s word order more closely here. Though awkward in English it conveys his meaning quite clearly: For I know (Οἶδα γὰρ) that nothing (ὅτι οὐκ)…lives in me (οἰκεῖ ἐν ἐμοί), that is (τοῦτ᾿ ἔστιν), in my flesh (ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου), good (ἀγαθόν). And so, with these particular occurrences of dative forms of ἐγώ (ἐμοί and μου) he referred to his flesh only: that old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires.14 But his qualification of these particular occurrences also serves to highlight those occurrences he did not qualify in a similar way.

And once more for good measure:

For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want!15

Here, For I do not do the good I want was οὐ γὰρ θέλω ποιῶ ἀγαθόν in Greek. And, but I do the very evil I do not want was ἀλλὰ οὐ θέλω κακὸν τοῦτο πράσσω. Here again, I was understood from the 1st person verbs.

The good (ἀγαθόν, a form of ἀγαθός) was not something Paul imagined for Himself, for he had already written (Romans 7:12 NET):

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good (ἀγαθή, another form of ἀγαθός).

The I Paul described had a new desire (Romans 3:10-18), a new will, to do the will of God revealed in the law. He was not “in a state of nature, and destitute of the regenerating grace of God.” He did not describe his plight as one “not yet regenerate by the Holy Spirit, in his relation to the Mosaic law given to him.” Rather, he described an I who was born from above, born of water and spirit, born of the flesh and born of the Spirit. I want to do the good, he wrote, but I cannot do it.16

I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Tables comparing Leviticus 16:2; 16:3; 16:4; 16:5; 16:6; 16:7; 16:8; 16:9 and 16:10 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Leviticus 16:2; 16:3; 16:4; 16:5; 16:6; 16:7; 16:8; 16:9 and 16:10 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and a table comparing Hebrews 9:10 in the NET and KJV follow.

Leviticus 16:2 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 16:2 (KJV)

Leviticus 16:2 (NET)

and HaShem said unto Moses: ‘Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the ark-cover which is upon the ark; that he die not; for I appear in the cloud upon the ark-cover. And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the special curtain in front of the atonement lid that is on the ark so that he may not die, for I will appear in the cloud over the atonement lid.

Leviticus 16:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 16:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λάλησον πρὸς Ααρων τὸν ἀδελφόν σου καὶ μὴ εἰσπορευέσθω πᾶσαν ὥραν εἰς τὸ ἅγιον ἐσώτερον τοῦ καταπετάσματος εἰς πρόσωπον τοῦ ἱλαστηρίου ὅ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῆς κιβωτοῦ τοῦ μαρτυρίου καὶ οὐκ ἀποθανεῖται ἐν γὰρ νεφέλῃ ὀφθήσομαι ἐπὶ τοῦ ἱλαστηρίου καὶ εἶπε Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν· λάλησον πρὸς ᾿Ααρὼν τὸν ἀδελφόν σου, καὶ μὴ εἰσπορευέσθω πᾶσαν ὥραν εἰς τὸ ἅγιον ἐσώτερον τοῦ καταπετάσματος εἰς πρόσωπον τοῦ ἱλαστηρίου, ὅ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῆς κιβωτοῦ τοῦ μαρτυρίου, καὶ οὐκ ἀποθανεῖται· ἐν γὰρ νεφέλῃ ὀφθήσομαι ἐπὶ τοῦ ἱλαστηρίου

Leviticus 16:2 (NETS)

Leviticus 16:2 (English Elpenor)

And the Lord said to Moyses: Speak to Aaron your brother, and let him not enter at any time into the sanctuary inside the veil facing the propitiatory that is on the ark of witness, and he will not die, for I will be seen in the cloud upon the propitiatory. And the Lord said to Moses, Speak to Aaron thy brother, and let him not come in at all times into the holy place within the veil before the propitiatory, which is upon the ark of the testimony, and he shall not die; for I will appear in a cloud on the propitiatory.

Leviticus 16:3 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 16:3 (KJV)

Leviticus 16:3 (NET)

Herewith shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. “In this way Aaron is to enter into the sanctuary—with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

Leviticus 16:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 16:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)

οὕτως εἰσελεύσεται Ααρων εἰς τὸ ἅγιον ἐν μόσχῳ ἐκ βοῶν περὶ ἁμαρτίας καὶ κριὸν εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα οὕτως εἰσελεύσεται ᾿Ααρὼν εἰς τὸ ἅγιον· ἐν μόσχῳ ἐκ βοῶν περὶ ἁμαρτίας, καὶ κριὸν εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα

Leviticus 16:3 (NETS)

Leviticus 16:3 (English Elpenor)

Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a calf from the cattle for sin and a ram for a whole burnt offering. Thus shall Aaron enter into the holy place; with a calf of the herd for a sin-offering, and [having] a ram for a whole-burnt-offering.

Leviticus 16:4 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 16:4 (KJV)

Leviticus 16:4 (NET)

He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with the linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired; they are the holy garments; and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and put them on. He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. He must put on a holy linen tunic, linen leggings are to cover his body, and he is to wrap himself with a linen sash and wrap his head with a linen turban. They are holy garments, so he must bathe his body in water and put them on.

Leviticus 16:4 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 16:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ χιτῶνα λινοῦν ἡγιασμένον ἐνδύσεται καὶ περισκελὲς λινοῦν ἔσται ἐπὶ τοῦ χρωτὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ζώνῃ λινῇ ζώσεται καὶ κίδαριν λινῆν περιθήσεται ἱμάτια ἅγιά ἐστιν καὶ λούσεται ὕδατι πᾶν τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐνδύσεται αὐτά καὶ χιτῶνα λινοῦν ἡγιασμένον ἐνδύσεται, καὶ περισκελὲς λινοῦν ἔσται ἐπὶ τοῦ χρωτὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ζώνῃ λινῇ ζώσεται καὶ κίδαριν λινῆν περιθήσεται, ἱμάτια ἅγιά ἐστι, καὶ λούσεται ὕδατι πᾶν τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐνδύσεται αὐτά

Leviticus 16:4 (NETS)

Leviticus 16:4 (English Elpenor)

And he shall put on the consecrated linen tunic, and linen drawers shall be on his flesh, and he shall gird himself with a linen girdle and wrap around a linen turban; they are holy vestments. And he shall bathe his entire body in water and then put them on. And he shall put on the consecrated linen tunic, and he shall have on his flesh the linen drawers, and shall gird himself with a linen girdle, and shall put on the linen cap, they are holy garments; and he shall bathe all his body in water, and shall put them on.

Leviticus 16:5 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 16:5 (KJV)

Leviticus 16:5 (NET)

And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two he-goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering. And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. He must also take two male goats from the congregation of the Israelites for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.

Leviticus 16:5 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 16:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ παρὰ τῆς συναγωγῆς τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ λήμψεται δύο χιμάρους ἐξ αἰγῶν περὶ ἁμαρτίας καὶ κριὸν ἕνα εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ παρὰ τῆς συναγωγῆς τῶν υἱῶν ᾿Ισραὴλ λήψεται δύο χιμάρους ἐξ αἰγῶν περὶ ἁμαρτίας καὶ κριὸν ἕνα εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα

Leviticus 16:5 (NETS)

Leviticus 16:5 (English Elpenor)

And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two billy goats for sin and one ram for a whole burnt offering. And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin-offering, and one lamb for a whole-burnt-offering.

Leviticus 16:6 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 16:6 (KJV)

Leviticus 16:6 (NET)

And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself, and for his house. And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. Then Aaron is to present the sin-offering bull which is for himself and is to make atonement on behalf of himself and his household.

Leviticus 16:6 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 16:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ προσάξει Ααρων τὸν μόσχον τὸν περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ καὶ προσάξει ᾿Ααρὼν τὸν μόσχον τὸν περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ

Leviticus 16:6 (NETS)

Leviticus 16:6 (English Elpenor)

And Aaron shall offer the bull calf for sin, which is his own, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. And Aaron shall bring the calf for his own sin-offering, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.

Leviticus 16:7 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 16:7 (KJV)

Leviticus 16:7 (NET)

And he shall take the two goats, and set them before HaShem at the door of the tent of meeting. And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Next he must take the two goats and stand them before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent,

Leviticus 16:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 16:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ λήμψεται τοὺς δύο χιμάρους καὶ στήσει αὐτοὺς ἔναντι κυρίου παρὰ τὴν θύραν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου καὶ λήψεται τοὺς δύο χιμάρους καὶ στήσει αὐτοὺς ἔναντι Κυρίου παρὰ τὴν θύραν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου

Leviticus 16:7 (NETS)

Leviticus 16:7 (English Elpenor)

And he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the door of the tent of witness, And he shall take the two goats, and place them before the Lord by the door of the tabernacle of witness.

Leviticus 16:8 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 16:8 (KJV)

Leviticus 16:8 (NET)

And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats: one lot for HaShem, and the other lot for Azazel. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. and Aaron is to cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and one lot for Azazel.

Leviticus 16:8 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 16:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐπιθήσει Ααρων ἐπὶ τοὺς δύο χιμάρους κλῆρον ἕνα τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ κλῆρον ἕνα τῷ ἀποπομπαίῳ καὶ ἐπιθήσει ᾿Ααρὼν ἐπὶ τοὺς δύο χιμάρους κλήρους, κλῆρον ἕνα τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ κλῆρον ἕνα τῷ ἀποπομπαίῳ

Leviticus 16:8 (NETS)

Leviticus 16:8 (English Elpenor)

And Aaron shall place lots on the two goats, one lot for the Lord and one lot for the one to be sent off. and Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord, and the other for the scape-goat.

Leviticus 16:9 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 16:9 (KJV)

Leviticus 16:9 (NET)

And Aaron shall present the goat upon which the lot fell for HaShem, and offer him for a sin-offering. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. Aaron must then present the goat which has been designated by lot for the Lord, and he is to make it a sin offering,

Leviticus 16:9 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 16:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ προσάξει Ααρων τὸν χίμαρον ἐφ᾽ ὃν ἐπῆλθεν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ὁ κλῆρος τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ προσοίσει περὶ ἁμαρτίας καὶ προσάξει ᾿Ααρὼν τὸν χίμαρον, ἐφ᾿ ὃν ἐπῆλθεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν ὁ κλῆρος τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ προσοίσει περὶ ἁμαρτίας

Leviticus 16:9 (NETS)

Leviticus 16:9 (English Elpenor)

And Aaron shall present the goat which the lot fell on for the Lord and offer for sin, And Aaron shall bring forward the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and shall offer him for a sin-offering.

Leviticus 16:10 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 16:10 (KJV)

Leviticus 16:10 (NET)

But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall be set alive before HaShem, to make atonement over him, to send him away for Azazel into the wilderness. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. but the goat which has been designated by lot for Azazel is to be stood alive before the Lord to make atonement on it by sending it away into the desert to Azazel.

Leviticus 16:10 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 16:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ τὸν χίμαρον ἐφ᾽ ὃν ἐπῆλθεν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ὁ κλῆρος τοῦ ἀποπομπαίου στήσει αὐτὸν ζῶντα ἔναντι κυρίου τοῦ ἐξιλάσασθαι ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ὥστε ἀποστεῖλαι αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἀποπομπήν ἀφήσει αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον καὶ τὸν χίμαρον, ἐφ᾿ ὃν ἐπῆλθεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν ὁ κλῆρος τοῦ ἀποπομπαίου, στήσει αὐτὸν ζῶντα ἔναντι Κυρίου, τοῦ ἐξιλάσασθαι ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, ὥστε ἀποστεῖλαι αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἀποπομπήν, καὶ ἀφήσει αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον

Leviticus 16:10 (NETS)

Leviticus 16:10 (English Elpenor)

and the goat which the lot fell on of the one to be sent off he shall set it alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, to send it away into the place for sending away—he shall let it go into the wilderness. and the goat upon which the lot of the scape-goat came, he shall present alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon him, so as to send him away as a scape-goat, and he shall send him into the wilderness.

Hebrews 9:10 (NET)

Hebrews 9:10 (KJV)

They served only for matters of food and drink and various ritual washings; they are external regulations imposed until the new order came. Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Hebrews 9:10 (NET Parallel Greek)

Hebrews 9:10 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Hebrews 9:10 (Byzantine Majority Text)

μόνον ἐπὶ βρώμασιν καὶ πόμασιν καὶ διαφόροις βαπτισμοῖς, δικαιώματα σαρκὸς μέχρι καιροῦ διορθώσεως ἐπικείμενα μονον επι βρωμασιν και πομασιν και διαφοροις βαπτισμοις και δικαιωμασιν σαρκος μεχρι καιρου διορθωσεως επικειμενα μονον επι βρωμασιν και πομασιν και διαφοροις βαπτισμοις και δικαιωμασιν σαρκος μεχρι καιρου διορθωσεως επικειμενα

2 1 Peter 3:20b (NET) Table

3 Colossians 2:16b (NET) Table

4 I’m using the phrase “Christ’s atonement” very deliberately here in the context of a body or substance casting a shadow called the day of atonement. But I don’t intend to dispute anything contained in the transcript of John Piper’s interview, “Why Does ‘Atonement’ Disappear in the New Testament?,” on desiringGod online. I, too, am intrigued by this.

5 Leviticus 16:10 (English Elpenor)

6 Leviticus 16:10 (NETS)

7 Romans 7:14 (NET) Table

8 “Joseph Benson (1749-1821) was an English Methodist preacher and biblical scholar who is best known for his extensive work as a commentator on the Bible…Benson’s most significant work was his six-volume commentary on the entire Bible, which he began publishing in 1811. This comprehensive work represented the culmination of his many years of study and reflection on the Scriptures, and it remains a valuable resource for biblical scholars and lay readers alike.” From “Benson’s Commentary of the Old and New Testaments,” on StudyLight.org online.

9 “Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer, a German Protestant with a gift for languages, published the first commentary in this collection in 1832 at the age of thirty-two…For over forty years Meyer balanced working on new additions to the commentary collection while also updating those already published with multiple, serious revisions. Before passing the baton to a few of his trusted peers to finish the NT, Meyer had completed sixteen volumes.” From Overview on LOGOS online.

10 Romans 7:15a (NET)

11 Romans 7:15b (NET)

12 Romans 7:18b (NET) Table

13 Romans 7:18a (NET) Table

14 Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

15 Romans 7:19 (NET) Table

16 Romans 7:18b (NET) Table

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 8

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)

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).  Three of those occurrences also contain forms of יָד (yāḏ).  In the first under consideration יָדִי֙ was translated with a form of χείρ.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Isaiah 1:25 (Tanakh) Table Isaiah 1:25 (NET) Isaiah 1:25 (NETS)

Isaiah 1:25 (Elpenor English)

And I will turn my hand (יָדִי֙) upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away (וְאָסִ֖ירָה) all thy tin: I will attack you [Note 66: “turn my hand (yad, ידי) against you”]; I will purify your metal with flux.  I will remove (sûr, ואסירה) all your slag. And I will turn my hand (τὴν χεῗρά μου) against you and will burn you to bring about purity.  But the disobedient I will destroy, and I will remove (ἀφελῶ) from you all the lawless and humble all who are arrogant. And I will bring my hand (τὴν χεῖρά μου) upon thee, and purge thee completely, and I will destroy the rebellious, and will take away (ἀφελῶ) from thee all transgressors.

What stands out here are the two clauses in the Septuagint which are no longer found in the Masoretic text:

Isaiah 1:25 (Septuagint BLB) Isaiah 1:25 (NETS) Isaiah 1:25 (Elpenor)

Isaiah 1:25 (Elpenor English)

τοὺς δὲ ἀπειθοῦντας ἀπολέσω But the disobedient I will destroy, τοὺς δὲ ἀπειθοῦντας ἀπολέσω and I will destroy the rebellious,
καὶ πάντας ὑπερηφάνους ταπεινώσω and humble all who are arrogant. καὶ πάντας ὑπηφάνους ταπεινώσω n/a

I considered the first of these clauses in another essay.  The second clause had ὑπερηφάνους (a form of ὑπερήφανος) in the BLB Septuagint translated who are arrogant, and ὑπηφάνους in the Elpenor Septuagint where the clause was not translated into English.  I didn’t find ὑπηφάνους listed in the Koine Greek Lexicon I’ve been using either.  It is found, however, in the Old Testament Septuagint on The Orthodox Pages online, translated the proud, and the clause reads: and humble all the proud.

He has demonstrated power with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up (ὑπερηφάνους, a form of ὑπερήφανος) from the sheer arrogance of their hearts,[1] Mary said.  Paul included ὑπερηφάνους (arrogant) in a list describing those who had been given over to a depraved mind because they did not see fit to acknowledge God,[2] and in another list describing people Timothy should avoid.[3]  Both James and Peter quoted the proverb, God opposes the proud (ὑπερηφάνοις, another form of ὑπερήφανος), but he gives grace to the humble.[4]

So God will turn [his] hand (τὴν χεῗρά μου) against (ἐπὶ) youand humble all who are arrogant[5] so that He may give grace to the humble, those who were formerly arrogant.  It is better to be humbled by God than by someone less loving, less kind, less gentle.  Given my background I think even the rebellious—and I will destroy the rebellious—should prefer to be destroyed by God lest their ignorance and unbelief keep them fleeing from Him in terror: The person who does not love does not know God because God is love.[6]

My own experience of his love led to the following insight:

Now I realize that Dan the atheist who did not hear Jesus was destroyed and thus removed from the people only to be replaced by Dan the believer who hears Jesus and lives to know Him better.

Peter the ignorant unbeliever who denied even knowing the crucified Christ was also destroyed and thus removed from the people only to be replaced by Peter the Apostle who proclaimed this Gospel message (Acts 3:11-26) to all who would hear.[7]

I willpurely purge away thy dross (Tanakh) seems to be a metaphor unpacked in the Septuagint: Iwill burn you to bring about purity (BLB), I willpurge thee completely (Elpenor).  The Greek word translated will burn was πυρώσω (a form of πυρόω).  Peter wrote (2 Peter 3:10-13 NET):

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare.  Since all these things are to melt away in this manner, what sort of people must you be, conducting your lives in holiness and godliness [Table], while waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God?  Because of this day, the heavens will be burned up (πυρούμενοι, another form of πυρόω) and dissolve, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze!  But, according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness truly resides.

One of the meanings of πυρόω is “to test by fire; be fire-tested.”  Peter chose a related noun πυρώσει (a form of πύρωσις) when he wrote: Dear friends, do not be astonished that a trial (πειρασμὸν, a form of πειρασμός) by fire (πυρώσει, a form of πύρωσις) is occurring among you, as though something strange were happening to you.[8]  As he had written earlier (1 Peter 1:6, 7 NET):

This brings you great joy, although you may have to[9] suffer for a short time in various trials (πειρασμοῖς, another form of πειρασμός).  Such trials show the proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable[10] than gold—gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away—and will bring praise and glory[11] and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

I willtake away (וְאָסִ֖ירָה) all thy tin (Tanakh) also seems like a metaphor explained in the Septuagint: I will remove (ἀφελῶ) from you all the lawless (NETS), Iwill take away (ἀφελῶ) from thee all transgressors (English Elpenor).  The Greek word translated lawless and transgressors was ἀνόμους (a form of ἄνομος).  I tell you, Jesus told his disciples, that this scripture must[12] be fulfilled in me, ‘And he was counted with the transgressors (ἀνόμων, another form of ἄνομος).’  For what is written about[13] me is being fulfilled.[14]

I grow more and more impatient for Jesus to remove the lawless old human, to take away that transgressor from me, since my own efforts to lay aside (ἀποθέσθαι, a form of ἀποτίθημι) the (τὸν, a form of ) old (παλαιὸν, a form of παλαιός) man (ἄνθρωπον, a form of ἄνθρωπος) are a daily stopgap at best (Ephesians 4:22-24 NET).

You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.

All in all, I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin[15] sounds like something anyone who loves the Lord would want and appreciate, if dross and tin are understood as the sin and ungodliness within us.  To hear: I will turn my hand against you and will burn you to bring about purity.  But the disobedient I will destroy, and I will remove from you all the lawless and humble all who are arrogant[16] with the same sense of desirability and appreciation may require more daily experience of Christ’s death and resurrection.  Jesus said (Luke 9:23, 24 NET):

If anyone wants to become[17] my follower, he must deny[18] himself, take up his cross daily,[19] and follow me.  For whoever[20] wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it.

This may help explain why so much of this verse is missing from the Masoretic text.  I’ll take another look at Isaiah 10:13 next.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Isaiah 10:13 (Tanakh) Table Isaiah 10:13 (NET) Isaiah 10:13, 14a (NETS)

Isaiah 10:13, 14a (Elpenor English)

For he saith, By the strength of my hand (יָדִי֙) I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed (וְאָסִ֣יר) the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: For [the King of Assyria] says: “By my strong hand (yad, ידי) I have accomplished this, by my strategy that I devised.  I invaded the territory of nations [Note 26: “removed (sûr, ואסיר) the borders of nations”] and looted their storehouses.  Like a mighty conqueror, I brought down rulers. For he said: “By my strength I will do it, and by the wisdom of my understanding I will remove (ἀφελῶ) the boundaries of nations, and I will plunder their strength. (14) And I will shake inhabited cities For he said, I will act in strength, and in the wisdom of [my] understanding I will remove (ἀφελῶ) the boundaries of nations, and will spoil their strength. (14) And I will shake the inhabited cities:

Here is one more example of a form of יָד (yad) and a form of ἀφαιρέω occurring in the same verse in Isaiah.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Isaiah 20:2 (Tanakh) Table Isaiah 20:2 (NET) Isaiah 20:2 (NETS)

Isaiah 20:2 (Elpenor English)

At the same time spake the LORD by (בְּיַד) Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose (וּפִתַּחְתָּ֚) the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot.  And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. At that time the Lord announced through (yad, ביד) [Note 2: “spoke by the hand of”] Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove (pāṯaḥ,  ופתחת) the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.”  He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments and barefoot. then the Lord spoke to (πρὸς) Esaias, saying, “Go, and take off (ἄφελε) the sackcloth from your loins, and untie your sandals off your feet,” and he did so, walking naked and barefoot. then the Lord spoke to (πρὸς) Esaias the son of Amos, saying, Go and take the sackcloth off (ἄφελε) thy loins, and loose thy sandals from off thy feet, and do thus, going naked and barefoot.

In the first example יָדִי֙ (yad) was translated τὴν χεῖρά μου and וְאָסִ֖ירָה (sûr) was translated ἀφελῶ (a form of ἀφαιρέω).  In the second example יָדִי֙ (yad), if it occurred in the manuscript the rabbis used, was not translated at all and וְאָסִ֣יר (sûr) was translated ἀφελῶ (a form of ἀφαιρέω) again.  Here, בְּיַד (yad) may have been translated πρὸς and וּפִתַּחְתָּ֚ (pāṯaḥ) was translated ἄφελε (a form of ἀφαιρέω).  None of these examples leads me to a conclusion that בְּיָד֥וֹ (yāḏ) was translated ἀφελεῖν (a form of ἀφαιρέω) in the last clause of Isaiah 53:10.

I’ll continue to consider examples of forms of ἀφαιρέω in Isaiah in another essay.

According to a note (9) in the NET James 4:6 is a quotation of Proverbs 3:34.  A table comparing the Greek of James’ quotation with that of the Septuagint follows:

James 4:6b (NET Parallel Greek)

Proverbs 3:34 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 3:34 (Septuagint Elpenor)

θεὸς ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται, ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν κύριος ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται ταπεινοῗς δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν Κύριος ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται, ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν

James 4:6b (NET)

Proverbs 3:34 (NETS)

Proverbs 3:34 (English Elpenor)

God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. The Lord resists the arrogant, but gives grace to the humble. The Lord resists the proud; but he gives grace to the humble.

According to a note (9) in the NET 1 Peter 5:5 is a quotation of Proverbs 3:34.  A table comparing the Greek of Peter’s quotation with that of the Septuagint follows:

1 Peter 5:5b (NET Parallel Greek)

Proverbs 3:34 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 3:34 (Septuagint Elpenor)

[] θεὸς ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται, ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν κύριος ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται ταπεινοῗς δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν Κύριος ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται, ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν

1 Peter 5:5b (NET)

Proverbs 3:34 (NETS)

Proverbs 3:34 (English Elpenor)

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. The Lord resists the arrogant, but gives grace to the humble. The Lord resists the proud; but he gives grace to the humble.

According to a note (98) in the NET Luke 22:37 is a quotation of Isaiah 53:12.  A table comparing the Greek of Jesus’ quotation with that of the Septuagint follows:

Luke 22:37b (NET Parallel Greek)

Isaiah 53:12d (Septuagint BLB) Table

Isaiah 53:12d (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ μετὰ ἀνόμων ἐλογίσθη καὶ ἐν τοῗς ἀνόμοις ἐλογίσθη καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀνόμοις ἐλογίσθη

Luke 22:37b (NET)

Isaiah 53:12d (NETS)

Isaiah 53:12d (English Elpenor)

And he was counted with the transgressors. and he was reckoned among the lawless and he was numbered among the transgressors

Tables comparing Proverbs 3:34 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Proverbs 3:34 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing 1 Peter 5:5; 1:6, 7; Luke 22:37 and 9:23, 24 in the NET and KJV follow.

Proverbs 3:34 (Tanakh)

Proverbs 3:34 (KJV)

Proverbs 3:34 (NET)

Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. With arrogant scoffers he is scornful, yet he shows favor to the humble.

Proverbs 3:34 (Septuagint BLB)

Proverbs 3:34 (Septuagint Elpenor)

κύριος ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται ταπεινοῗς δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν Κύριος ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται, ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν

Proverbs 3:34 (NETS)

Proverbs 3:34 (English Elpenor)

The Lord resists the arrogant, but gives grace to the humble. The Lord resists the proud; but he gives grace to the humble.

1 Peter 5:5 (NET)

1 Peter 5:5 (KJV)

In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.  And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder.  Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

Ὁμοίως, νεώτεροι, ὑποτάγητε πρεσβυτέροις· πάντες δὲ ἀλλήλοις τὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην ἐγκομβώσασθε, ὅτι [ὁ] θεὸς ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται, ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν ομοιως νεωτεροι υποταγητε πρεσβυτεροις παντες δε αλληλοις υποτασσομενοι την ταπεινοφροσυνην εγκομβωσασθε οτι ο θεος υπερηφανοις αντιτασσεται ταπεινοις δε διδωσιν χαριν ομοιως νεωτεροι υποταγητε πρεσβυτεροις παντες δε αλληλοις υποτασσομενοι την ταπεινοφροσυνην εγκομβωσασθε οτι ο θεος υπερηφανοις αντιτασσεται ταπεινοις δε διδωσιν χαριν

1 Peter 1:6, 7 (NET)

1 Peter 1:6, 7 (KJV)

This brings you great joy, although you may have to suffer for a short time in various trials. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

ἐν ᾧ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὀλίγον ἄρτι εἰ δέον  λυπηθέντες ἐν ποικίλοις πειρασμοῖς εν ω αγαλλιασθε ολιγον αρτι ει δεον εστιν λυπηθεντες εν ποικιλοις πειρασμοις εν ω αγαλλιασθε ολιγον αρτι ει δεον εστιν λυπηθεντες εν ποικιλοις πειρασμοις
Such trials show the proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable than gold—gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away—and will bring praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

ἵνα τὸ δοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως πολυτιμότερον χρυσίου τοῦ ἀπολλυμένου διὰ πυρὸς δὲ δοκιμαζομένου, εὑρεθῇ εἰς ἔπαινον καὶ δόξαν καὶ τιμὴν ἐν ἀποκαλύψει Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ινα το δοκιμιον υμων της πιστεως πολυ τιμιωτερον χρυσιου του απολλυμενου δια πυρος δε δοκιμαζομενου ευρεθη εις επαινον και τιμην και δοξαν εν αποκαλυψει ιησου χριστου ινα το δοκιμιον υμων της πιστεως πολυ τιμιωτερον χρυσιου του απολλυμενου δια πυρος δε δοκιμαζομενου ευρεθη εις επαινον και τιμην και εις δοξαν εν αποκαλυψει ιησου χριστου

Luke 22:37 (NET)

Luke 22:37 (KJV)

For I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me, ‘And he was counted with the transgressors.’  For what is written about me is being fulfilled.” For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι τοῦτο τὸ γεγραμμένον δεῖ τελεσθῆναι ἐν ἐμοί, τό· καὶ μετὰ ἀνόμων ἐλογίσθη· καὶ γὰρ τὸ περὶ ἐμοῦ τέλος ἔχει λεγω γαρ υμιν οτι ετι τουτο το γεγραμμενον δει τελεσθηναι εν εμοι το και μετα ανομων ελογισθη και γαρ τα περι εμου τελος εχει λεγω γαρ υμιν οτι ετι τουτο το γεγραμμενον δει τελεσθηναι εν εμοι το και μετα ανομων ελογισθη και γαρ τα περι εμου τελος εχει

Luke 9:23, 24 (NET)

Luke 9:23, 24 (KJV)

Then he said to them all, If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

Ἔλεγεν δὲ πρὸς πάντας· εἴ τις θέλει ὀπίσω μου ἔρχεσθαι, ἀρνησάσθω ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ καθ᾿ ἡμέραν καὶ ἀκολουθείτω μοι ελεγεν δε προς παντας ει τις θελει οπισω μου ελθειν απαρνησασθω εαυτον και αρατω τον σταυρον αυτου καθ ημεραν και ακολουθειτω μοι ελεγεν δε προς παντας ει τις θελει οπισω μου ελθειν απαρνησασθω εαυτον και αρατω τον σταυρον αυτου και ακολουθειτω μοι
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

ὃς γὰρ ἂν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι ἀπολέσει αὐτήν· ὃς δ᾿ ἂν ἀπολέσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ οὗτος σώσει αὐτήν ος γαρ αν θελη την ψυχην αυτου σωσαι απολεσει αυτην ος δ αν απολεση την ψυχην αυτου ενεκεν εμου ουτος σωσει αυτην ος γαρ εαν θελη την ψυχην αυτου σωσαι απολεσει αυτην ος δ αν απολεση την ψυχην αυτου ενεκεν εμου ουτος σωσει αυτην

[1] Luke 1:51 (NET)

[2] Romans 1:28-31 NET

[3] 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NET)

[4] James 4:6b; 1 Peter 5:5b (NET)

[5] Isaiah 1:25 (NETS)

[6] 1 John 4:8 (NET)

[7] Peter’s Second Gospel Proclamation, Part 2

[8] 1 Peter 4:12 (NET)

[9] The NA28, Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εἰ δέον ἐστίν (KJV: if need be) here, where the NET parallel Greek text had εἰ δέον.

[10] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had πολυτιμότερον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had πολυ τιμιωτερον (KJV: being much more precious).

[11] The Byzantine Majority Text had εις (e.g., “into, unto”) preceding glory.  The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

[12] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ετι (KJV: yet) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[13] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the article τὸ preceding what is written about, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τα.

[14] Luke 22:37 (NET)

[15] Isaiah 1:25 (Tanakh)

[16] Isaiah 1:25 (NET)

[17] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἔρχεσθαι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ελθειν (KJV: come).

[18] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἀρνησάσθω here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απαρνησασθω (KJV: let him deny).

[19] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Stephanus Textus Receptus had καθ᾿ ἡμέραν here.  The Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[20] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Stephanus Textus Receptus had ἂν here, where the Byzantine Majority Text had εαν.

To Make Holy, Part 9

The next form of ἁγιάζω I want to consider is found in Jesus’ prayer to his Father: Set them apart (ἁγίασον, a form of ἁγιάζω) in the truth; your word is truth.[1]  But I’m making a slow pilgrimage through his prayer because I believe I can know his holiness here.  In another essay I considered your word (τὸν λόγον σου) from the continuation of Jesus’ prayer (John 17:14, 15 NET):

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.  I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one.

Here I want to begin to consider world (κόσμος).  Jesus told a parable (Matthew 13:24b-30 NET):

“The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed[2] good seed in his field.  But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed[3] darnel among the wheat and went away.  When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the darnel also appeared.  So the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field?  Then where did the darnel come from?’  He said, ‘An enemy has done this!’  So the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather it?’ [Table]  But he said,[4] ‘No, since in gathering the darnel you may uproot the wheat along with it [Table].  Let both grow together until[5] the harvest.  At harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

Jesus explained the parable (Matthew 13:37b-39 NET):

The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world (κόσμος) and the good seed are the people of the kingdom.  The poisonous weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil.  The harvest is the end of age, and the reapers are angels [Table].

This is probably not exactly what Jesus meant when He prayed καὶ κόσμος ἐμίσησεν αὐτούς (and the world has hated them).  It does provide a sense of his worldview as background: This world is populated currently (assuming the end of the age has not yet come) by the people of the kingdom and the people of the evil one.  This is probably just about what Jesus’ audience heard:

people of the kingdom

people of the evil one

The descendants of Israel in good standing more or less… Everyone else, with the possible exception of those Gentiles who made some move toward Israel’s religion and/or the law of Moses…

But is that what Jesus meant?  You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires,[6] He said to his hearers in Israel.  It highlights the fact that the word translated people in people of the kingdom and people of the evil one is actually υἱοὶ (a plural form of υἱός) in Greek—children, sons.  So we tend to think:

children of the kingdom

children of the evil one

Those who believe in Jesus, good standing may or may not be essential… Everyone else, with the possible exception of children…

But who did Jesus address as children of the devilThen Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”[7]  Were the children of the kingdom (υἱοὶ τῆς βασιλείας) synonymous in Jesus’ mind with the sons of God (υἱοὶ θεοῦ)?  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.[8]

We tend to analyze Jesus’ sayings according to our own perceptions of the world.  Let’s add another perspective of his worldview: And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.[9]  For the moment, it matters very little whether I believe this or not.  He does, and its his view of the world (κόσμος) I seek to understand.

Despite all He has taught me about being led by the Spirit, I am not 100% led by the Spirit 100% of the time.[10]  The slightest deviations from my routine can throw me out of kilter.  Other times it seems the monotony of my routine does it.  I appreciated the study on free will.[11]  It helped me realize how often I still have a knee-jerk reaction that God is punishing me or has forsaken or abandoned me when things aren’t going according to my will.  Recalling Jesus’ prayer—not what I will, but what you will[12]—has helped to alleviate some unnecessary concern.

Paul wrote (Ephesians 4:22-24 NET):

You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.

I will ask the Father, Jesus said, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world (κόσμος) cannot accept because it does not see him or know himBut you know him because he resides with you and will be in you.[13]

This may be more like the world (κόσμος) that has hated Jesus’ disciples: the world (κόσμος) of the old man (τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον) who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires and cannot (οὐ δύναται, a form of δύναμαι) accept (λαβεῖν, a form of λαμβάνω) the Spirit of truthFor the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, Paul wrote, 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.[14]

And this may be more like the opposition Jesus had in mind in the world (κόσμος) of his parable: that opposition of the old human and the new, the flesh and the Spirit, within everyone being drawn to Jesus.  I’m taking my clue from the landowner’s response to his slaves’ question: Do you want us to go and gather it?

No, since in gathering the darnel you may uproot the wheat along with it.  Let both grow together until the harvest.

It would be easy enough for Jews to kill Gentiles or Christians to kill those who refuse to confess Christ if that is what Jesus had in mind.  It is much more difficult to uproot the sin in one’s own flesh, not to mention someone else’s flesh, without doing damage to the good seed, the new man (τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωπον), that Christ has sown.  Of course, at any given place at any given moment before all have been drawn to Jesus people somewhat to mostly led by the Holy Spirit might be confronted by people following their own flesh.

Jesus had elaborated some on this topic previously (John 15:18-27 NET):

“If the world (κόσμος) hates you, be aware that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world (κόσμου, a form of κόσμος), the world (κόσμος) would love you as its own.  However, because you do not belong to the world (κόσμου, a form of κόσμος), but I chose you out of the world (κόσμου, a form of κόσμος), for this reason the world (κόσμος) hates you.  Remember what I told you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they obeyed my word, they will obey yours too.  But they will do all these things to you[15] on account of my name because they do not know the one who sent me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty[16] of sin.  But they no longer have any excuse for their sin.  The one who hates me hates my Father too.  If I had not performed among them the miraculous deeds that no one else did,[17] they would not be guilty[18] of sin.  But now they have seen the deeds and have hated both me and my Father.  Now this happened to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without reason.’  When[19] the Advocate comes, whom I will send you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me, and you also will testify because you have been with me from the beginning.

This has me thinking a little differently about a very familiar passage: For God so loved the world (κόσμον, another form of κόσμος), that He left it exactly as it is, might be the silent hope of the old human following after the flesh.  It is not what the Holy Spirit said through the inspired apostle: For God so loved the world, that hated Him, hated Jesus and his apostles, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.[20]

Jesus elaborated how the old human following after the flesh will be separated from the new human led by the Holy Spirit at the end of the [KJV: this] age (Matthew 13:40-43 NET):

As the poisonous weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age [Table].  The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers.  They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  The one who has ears[21] had better listen!

Paul wrote something similar to those who consider themselves God’s coworkers (συνεργοί, a form of συνεργός) in contrast to those who consider themselves God’s field (γεώργιον), God’s building (οἰκοδομή) (1 Corinthians 3:10-17 NET):

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master-builder I laid[22] a foundation, but someone else builds on it.  And each one must be careful how he builds.  For no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus Christ.[23]  If anyone builds on the[24] foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each builder’s work will be plainly seen, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire.  And the fire will test what kind of work each has done.  If what someone has built[25] survives, he will receive[26] a reward.  If someone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss.  He himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?  If someone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him.  For God’s temple is holy, which is what you are.

If someone’s work, as a coworker with God building God’s temple, is burned up (κατακαήσεται, a form of κατακαίω), he will suffer loss (ζημιωθήσεται, a form of ζημιόω).  While ζημιωθήσεται might have been translated he will be punished, the argument in the note (16) in the NET seems sound to me:

The translation “[will] be punished” is given here by BDAG 428 s.v. ζημιόω 2. But the next clause says “he will be delivered” and so “suffering loss” is more likely to refer to the destruction of the “work” by fire or the loss of the reward that could have been gained.

This reasoning should be carried forward into an understanding of the “destruction” Paul reiterated thereafter.  I assume the coworkers building with wood, hay or straw worked in their own strength according to the flesh at cross-purposes with the Holy Spirit.  When their work is tested by fire and burns up, they suffer loss.  God will destroy (φθερεῖ, a form of φθείρω) the one who destroys (φθείρει, a form of φθείρω), ruins, spoils, ravages, disfigures, damages, disables, seduces, corrupts or cheats God’s field, God’s buiding, God’s temple: he will suffer loss.  He himself will be saved (σωθήσεται, a form of σώζω), but only as through fire.

Peter addressed God’s field, God’s building, God’s temple somewhat less ambiguously (2 Peter 3:10-13 NET):

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare.  Since all these things are to melt away in this manner, what sort of people must you be, conducting your lives in holiness and godliness [Table], while waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God?  Because of this day, the heavens will be burned up and dissolve, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze!  But, according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness truly resides.

I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Note 67 in the NET claimed that Jesus quoted Psalm 35:19.  A table comparing the Greek of Jesus’ quotation to the Septuagint follows.

John 15:25b (NET Parallel Greek) Psalm 35:19b (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 34:19b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐμίσησαν με δωρεάν οἱ μισοῦντές με δωρεὰν οἱ μισοῦντες με δωρεὰν
John 15:25b (NET) Psalm 34:19b (NETS) Psalm 34:19b (English Elpenor)
They hated me without reason those who hate me without cause who hate me for nothing

It is interesting to hear this as Jesus’ prayer:

Masoretic Text Septuagint
Psalm 35:19 (Tanakh) Psalm 35:19 (NET) Psalm 34:19 (NETS) Psalm 34:19 (English Elpenor)
Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause. Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason gloat over me.  Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes. May those who unjustly are my enemies not be happy over me, those who hate me without cause and wink with the eyes, Let not them that are mine enemies without a cause rejoice against me; who hate me for nothing, and wink with their eyes.

Note 67 in the NET also claimed that Jesus quoted Psalm 69:4.  A table comparing the Greek of Jesus’ quotation to the Septuagint follows.

John 15:25b (NET Parallel Greek) Psalm 69:4b (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 68:5b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐμίσησαν με δωρεάν οἱ μισοῦντές με δωρεάν οἱ μισοῦντές με δωρεάν
John 15:25b (NET) Psalm 68:5b (NETS) Psalm 68:5b (English Elpenor)
They hated me without reason those who hate me without cause They that hate me without a cause

If He did quote the Septuagint I find it interesting that He changed the present tense μισοῦντές (a form of μισέω), which was certainly true, to the aorist tense ἐμίσησαν (another form of μισέω).  “The aorist is said to be ‘simple occurrence’ or ‘summary occurrence,’ without regard for the amount of time taken to accomplish the action.  This tense is also often referred to as the ‘punctiliar’ tense.  ‘Punctiliar’ in this sense means ‘viewed as a single, collective whole,’ a ‘one-point-in-time’ action, although it may actually take place over a period of time.”[27]  Has Jesus used Greek grammar to prophesy another point-in-time when this hatred will no longer be true?

Gary Gagliardi on Christ’s Words — The Mysteries of Jesus’s Greek Revealed online took a different tack.  He heard Jesus quoting from the Hebrew of Psalm 109:3.  The Greek verb is quite different.

John 15:25b (NET Parallel Greek) Psalm 109:3b (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 108:3b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐμίσησαν με δωρεάν καὶ ἐπολέμησάν με δωρεάν καὶ ἐπολέμησάν με δωρεάν
John 15:25b (NET) Psalm 108:3b (NETS) Psalm 108:3b (English Elpenor)
They hated me without reason and made war on me without cause and fought against me without a cause

Though ἐπολέμησάν (a form of πολεμέω) is different from ἐμίσησαν, it is in the aorist tense.  And I do take Mr. Gagliardi’s point to heart—“Jesus often seems much more light-hearted in the Greek.”  Jesus doesn’t seem as whiny about being hated or polemicized against as I have heard in my own mind reading any of these Psalms.

Note 64 in the NET claimed that Jesus quoted Daniel 3:6.  A table comparing the Greek of Jesus’ quotation to the Septuagint follows.

Matthew 13:42a (NET Parallel Greek) Daniel 3:6 (Septuagint BLB) Daniel 3:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
βαλοῦσιν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν κάμινον τοῦ πυρός ἐμβληθήσεται εἰς τὴν κάμινον τοῦ πυρὸς τὴν καιομένην ἐμβληθήσεται εἰς τὴν κάμινον τοῦ πυρὸς τὴν καιομένην
Matthew 13:42a (NET) Daniel 3:6 (NETS) Daniel 3:6 (English Elpenor)
They will throw them into the fiery furnace will be thrown into the furnace blazing with fire he shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace

At first this seemed so startling I searched the Septuagint for another possibility.  But as I considered the entire story (Daniel 3:1-4:3) it began to seem like Jesus’ wink to those in the know.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3:12) refused to honor the king’s edict out of respect for the one true living God:

Masoretic Text Septuagint
Daniel 3:17, 18 (Tanakh) Daniel 3:17, 18 (NET) Daniel 3:17, 18 (NETS) Daniel 3:17, 18 (English Elpenor)
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. If our God whom we are serving exists, he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well. for there is a god whom we serve, able to deliver us from the furnace blazing with fire, and out of your hands, O king, he will rescue us. For our God whom we serve is in the heavens, able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will rescue us from thy hands, O king.
But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. But if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.” And if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, and we will not do obeisance to the image, which you have set up.” But if not, be it known to thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the image which thou hast set up.

Their insolence had the intended effect.  Enraged, the king ordered that the fire be made seven times hotter.  It was so hot it killed the men who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into it, yet they were unharmed by its flames.

Masoretic Text Septuagint
Daniel 3:26, 27 (Tanakh) Daniel 3:26, 27 (NET) Daniel 3:93, 94 (NETS) Daniel 3:26, 27 (English Elpenor)
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither.  Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire.  He called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come out!  Come here!”  Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire. Then Nabouchodonosor approached the door of the furnace blazing with fire and said, “Sedrach, Misach, Abdenago, slaves of the Most High God, come out and come here!”  And Sedrach, Misach, Abdenago came out from the middle of the fire. Then Nabuchodonosor drew near to the door of the burning fiery furnace, and said, Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, ye servants of the most high God, proceed forth, and come hither.  So Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, came forth out of the midst of the fire.
And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically unharmed by the fire.  The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged.  Not even the smell of fire was to be found on them! And the satraps and the generals and the local rulers and the dynasts of the king gathered together and looked at the men, that the fire had not had any power over their body; the hair of their heads was not singed, and their trousers were not changed, and a smell of fire was not on them. Then were assembled the satraps, and captains, and heads of provinces, and the royal princes; and they saw the men, and perceived that the fire had not had power against their bodies, and the hair of their head was not burnt, and their coats were not scorched, nor was the smell of fire upon them.

Note 65 in the NET claimed that Jesus alluded to Daniel 12:3.  A table comparing the Greek of Jesus’ allusion to the Septuagint follows.

Matthew 13:43a (NET Parallel Greek) Daniel 12:3 (Septuagint BLB) Daniel 12:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οἱ δίκαιοι ἐκλάμψουσιν ὡς ἥλιος ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν οἱ συνιέντες ἐκλάμψουσιν ὡς λαμπρότης τοῦ στερεώματος καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν δικαίων τῶν πολλῶν ὡς οἱ ἀστέρες εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας καὶ ἔτι οἱ συνιέντες ἐκλάμψουσιν ὡς ἡ λαμπρότης τοῦ στερεώματος καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν δικαίων τῶν πολλῶν ὡς οἱ ἀστέρες εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας καὶ ἔτι
Matthew 13:43a (NET) Daniel 12:3 (NETS) Daniel 12:3 (English Elpenor)
the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father those who are intelligent will shine like the splendor of the firmament, and some of the many righteous, like the stars forever and anon. the wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and [some] of the many righteous as the stars for ever and ever.

Tables comparing Psalm 35:19; 69:4; 109:3; Daniel 3:6; 3:17; 3:18; 3:26; 3:27 and 12:3 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing Psalm 35:19 (34:19); 69:4 (68:5); 109:3 (108:3); Daniel 3:6; 3:17; 3:18; 3:26 (3:93); 3:27 (3:94) and 12:3 the Greek of in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Matthew 13:24, 25; 13:30; 13:37; John 15:21, 22; 15:24; 15:26; Matthew 13:43; 1 Corinthians 3:10-12 and 3:14 in the NET and KJV follow.

Psalm 35:19 (Tanakh) Psalm 35:19 (KJV) Psalm 35:19 (NET)
Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause. Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause. Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason gloat over me.  Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes.
Psalm 35:19 (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 34:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
μὴ ἐπιχαρείησάν μοι οἱ ἐχθραίνοντές μοι ἀδίκως οἱ μισοῦντές με δωρεὰν καὶ διανεύοντες ὀφθαλμοῗς μὴ ἐπιχαρείησάν μοι οἱ ἐχθραίνοντές μοι ἀδίκως, οἱ μισοῦντες με δωρεὰν καὶ διανεύοντες ὀφθαλμοῖς
Psalm 34:19 (NETS) Psalm 34:19 (English Elpenor)
May those who unjustly are my enemies not be happy over me, those who hate me without cause and wink with the eyes, Let not them that are mine enemies without a cause rejoice against me; who hate me for nothing, and wink with their eyes.
Psalm 69:4 (Tanakh) Psalm 69:4 (KJV) Psalm 69:4 (NET)
They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head.  Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason, outnumber me.  They make me repay what I did not steal.
Psalm 69:4 (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 68:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐπληθύνθησαν ὑπὲρ τὰς τρίχας τῆς κεφαλῆς μου οἱ μισοῦντές με δωρεάν ἐκραταιώθησαν οἱ ἐχθροί μου οἱ ἐκδιώκοντές με ἀδίκως ἃ οὐχ ἥρπασα τότε ἀπετίννυον ἐπληθύνθησαν ὑπὲρ τὰς τρίχας τῆς κεφαλῆς μου οἱ μισοῦντές με δωρεάν, ἐκραταιώθησαν οἱ ἐχθροί μου οἱ ἐκδιώκοντές με ἀδίκως· ἃ οὐχ ἥρπαζον, τότε ἀπετίννυον
Psalm 68:5 (NETS) Psalm 68:5 (English Elpenor)
They multiplied beyond the hairs of my head, those who hate me without cause; my enemies who persecuted me unjustly became strong.  What I did not seize I would then repay. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head: my enemies that persecute me unrighteously are strengthened: then I restored that which I took not away.
Psalm 109:3 (Tanakh) Psalm 109:3 (KJV) Psalm 109:3 (NET)
They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. They surround me and say hateful things; they attack me for no reason.
Psalm 109:3 (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 108:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ λόγοις μίσους ἐκύκλωσάν με καὶ ἐπολέμησάν με δωρεάν καὶ λόγοις μίσους ἐκύκλωσάν με καὶ ἐπολέμησάν με δωρεάν
Psalm 108:3 (NETS) Psalm 108:3 (English Elpenor)
And they surrounded me with words of hate and made war on me without cause. And they have compassed me with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.
Daniel 3:6 (Tanakh) Daniel 3:6 (KJV) Daniel 3:6 (NET)
And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Whoever does not bow down and pay homage will immediately be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire!”
Daniel 3:6 (Septuagint BLB) Daniel 3:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ὃς ἂν μὴ πεσὼν προσκυνήσῃ αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἐμβληθήσεται εἰς τὴν κάμινον τοῦ πυρὸς τὴν καιομένην καὶ ὃς ἂν μὴ πεσὼν προσκυνήσῃ, αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἐμβληθήσεται εἰς τὴν κάμινον τοῦ πυρὸς τὴν καιομένην
Daniel 3:6 (NETS) Daniel 3:6 (English Elpenor)
And whoever does not fall down and do obeisance, at that very hour will be thrown into the furnace blazing with fire.” And whosoever shall not fall down and worship, in the same hour he shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace.
Daniel 3:17 (Tanakh) Daniel 3:17 (KJV) Daniel 3:17 (NET)
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. If our God whom we are serving exists, he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well.
Daniel 3:17 (Septuagint BLB) Daniel 3:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἔστιν γὰρ θεός ᾧ ἡμεῗς λατρεύομεν δυνατὸς ἐξελέσθαι ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς καμίνου τοῦ πυρὸς τῆς καιομένης καὶ ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν σου βασιλεῦ ῥύσεται ἡμᾶς ἔστι γὰρ Θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐν οὐρανοῖς, ᾧ ἡμεῖς λατρεύομεν, δυνατὸς ἐξελέσθαι ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς καμίνου τοῦ πυρὸς τῆς καιομένης, καὶ ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν σου, βασιλεῦ, ρύσεται ἡμᾶς
Daniel 3:17 (NETS) Daniel 3:17 (English Elpenor)
for there is a god whom we serve, able to deliver us from the furnace blazing with fire, and out of your hands, O king, he will rescue us. For our God whom we serve is in the heavens, able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will rescue us from thy hands, O king.

Daniel 3:18 (Tanakh)

Daniel 3:18 (KJV)

Daniel 3:18 (NET)

But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. But if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

Daniel 3:18 (Septuagint BLB)

Daniel 3:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐὰν μή γνωστὸν ἔστω σοι βασιλεῦ ὅτι τοῗς θεοῗς σου οὐ λατρεύομεν καὶ τῇ εἰκόνι τῇ χρυσῇ ᾗ ἔστησας οὐ προσκυνοῦμεν καὶ ἐὰν μή, γνωστὸν ἔστω σοι, βασιλεῦ, ὅτι τοῖς θεοῖς σου οὐ λατρεύομεν καὶ τῇ εἰκόνι, ᾗ ἔστησας, οὐ προσκυνοῦμεν

Daniel 3:18 (NETS)

Daniel 3:18 (English Elpenor)

And if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, and we will not do obeisance to the image, which you have set up.” But if not, be it known to thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the image which thou hast set up.
Daniel 3:26 (Tanakh) Daniel 3:26 (KJV) Daniel 3:26 (NET)
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither.  Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire.  He called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come out!  Come here!”  Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire.
Daniel 3:26 (Septuagint BLB) Daniel 3:26 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τότε προσῆλθεν Ναβουχοδονοσορ πρὸς τὴν θύραν τῆς καμίνου τοῦ πυρὸς τῆς καιομένης καὶ εἶπεν Σεδραχ Μισαχ Αβδεναγω οἱ δοῦλοι τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου ἐξέλθετε καὶ δεῦτε καὶ ἐξῆλθον Σεδραχ Μισαχ Αβδεναγω ἐκ μέσου τοῦ πυρός τότε προσῆλθε Ναβουχοδονόσορ πρὸς τὴν θύραν τῆς καμίνου τοῦ πυρὸς τῆς καιομένης καὶ εἶπε· Σεδράχ, Μισάχ, ᾿Αβδεναγώ, οἱ δοῦλοι τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ῾Υψίστου, ἐξέλθετε καὶ δεῦτε. καὶ ἐξῆλθον Σεδράχ, Μισάχ, ᾿Αβδεναγὼ ἐκ μέσου τοῦ πυρός
Daniel 3:93 (NETS) Daniel 3:26 (English Elpenor)
Then Nabouchodonosor approached the door of the furnace blazing with fire and said, “Sedrach, Misach, Abdenago, slaves of the Most High God, come out and come here!”  And Sedrach, Misach, Abdenago came out from the middle of the fire. Then Nabuchodonosor drew near to the door of the burning fiery furnace, and said, Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, ye servants of the most high God, proceed forth, and come hither.  So Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, came forth out of the midst of the fire.
Daniel 3:27 (Tanakh) Daniel 3:27 (KJV) Daniel 3:27 (NET)
And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically unharmed by the fire.  The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged.  Not even the smell of fire was to be found on them!
Daniel 3:27 (Septuagint BLB) Daniel 3:27 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ συνάγονται οἱ σατράπαι καὶ οἱ στρατηγοὶ καὶ οἱ τοπάρχαι καὶ οἱ δυνάσται τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ ἐθεώρουν τοὺς ἄνδρας ὅτι οὐκ ἐκυρίευσεν τὸ πῦρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ θρὶξ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐφλογίσθη καὶ τὰ σαράβαρα αὐτῶν οὐκ ἠλλοιώθη καὶ ὀσμὴ πυρὸς οὐκ ἦν ἐν αὐτοῗς καὶ συνάγονται οἱ σατράπαι καὶ οἱ στρατηγοὶ καὶ οἱ τοπάρχαι καὶ οἱ δυνάσται τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ ἐθεώρουν τοὺς ἄνδρας ὅτι οὐκ ἐκυρίευσε τὸ πῦρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτῶν, καὶ ἡ θρὶξ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐφλογίσθη, καὶ τὰ σαράβαρα αὐτῶν οὐκ ἠλλοιώθη, καὶ ὀσμὴ πυρὸς οὐκ ἦν ἐν αὐτοῖς
Daniel 3:94 (NETS) Daniel 3:27 (English Elpenor)
And the satraps and the generals and the local rulers and the dynasts of the king gathered together and looked at the men, that the fire had not had any power over their body; the hair of their heads was not singed, and their trousers were not changed, and a smell of fire was not on them. Then were assembled the satraps, and captains, and heads of provinces, and the royal princes; and they saw the men, and perceived that the fire had not had power against their bodies, and the hair of their head was not burnt, and their coats were not scorched, nor was the smell of fire upon them.
Daniel 12:3 (Tanakh) Daniel 12:3 (KJV) Daniel 12:3 (NET)
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. But the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavenly expanse.  And those bringing many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever.
Daniel 12:3 (Septuagint BLB) Daniel 12:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ οἱ συνιέντες ἐκλάμψουσιν ὡς ἡ λαμπρότης τοῦ στερεώματος καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν δικαίων τῶν πολλῶν ὡς οἱ ἀστέρες εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας καὶ ἔτι καὶ οἱ συνιέντες ἐκλάμψουσιν ὡς ἡ λαμπρότης τοῦ στερεώματος καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν δικαίων τῶν πολλῶν ὡς οἱ ἀστέρες εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας καὶ ἔτι
Daniel 12:3 (NETS) Daniel 12:3 (English Elpenor)
And those who are intelligent will shine like the splendor of the firmament, and some of the many righteous, like the stars forever and anon. And the wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and [some] of the many righteous as the stars for ever and ever.
Matthew 13:24, 25 (NET) Matthew 13:24, 25 (KJV)
He presented them with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
῎Αλλην παραβολὴν παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· ὡμοιώθη ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ σπείραντι καλὸν σπέρμα ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ αὐτοῦ αλλην παραβολην παρεθηκεν αυτοις λεγων ωμοιωθη η βασιλεια των ουρανων ανθρωπω σπειροντι καλον σπερμα εν τω αγρω αυτου αλλην παραβολην παρεθηκεν αυτοις λεγων ωμοιωθη η βασιλεια των ουρανων ανθρωπω σπειροντι καλον σπερμα εν τω αγρω αυτου
But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed darnel among the wheat and went away. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ἐν δὲ τῷ καθεύδειν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἦλθεν αὐτοῦ ὁ ἐχθρὸς καὶ ἐπέσπειρεν ζιζάνια ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σίτου καὶ ἀπῆλθεν εν δε τω καθευδειν τους ανθρωπους ηλθεν αυτου ο εχθρος και εσπειρεν ζιζανια ανα μεσον του σιτου και απηλθεν εν δε τω καθευδειν τους ανθρωπους ηλθεν αυτου ο εχθρος και εσπειρεν ζιζανια ανα μεσον του σιτου και απηλθεν
Matthew 13:30 (NET) Matthew 13:30 (KJV)
Let both grow together until the harvest.  At harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn.”’” Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ἄφετε συναυξάνεσθαι ἀμφότερα ἕως τοῦ θερισμοῦ, καὶ ἐν καιρῷ τοῦ θερισμοῦ ἐρῶ τοῖς θερισταῖς· συλλέξατε πρῶτον τὰ ζιζάνια καὶ δήσατε αὐτὰ |εἰς| δέσμας πρὸς τὸ κατακαῦσαι αὐτά, τὸν δὲ σῖτον |συναγάγετε| εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην μου αφετε συναυξανεσθαι αμφοτερα μεχρι του θερισμου και εν τω καιρω του θερισμου ερω τοις θερισταις συλλεξατε πρωτον τα ζιζανια και δησατε αυτα εις δεσμας προς το κατακαυσαι αυτα τον δε σιτον συναγαγετε εις την αποθηκην μου αφετε συναυξανεσθαι αμφοτερα μεχρι του θερισμου και εν καιρω του θερισμου ερω τοις θερισταις συλλεξατε πρωτον τα ζιζανια και δησατε αυτα εις δεσμας προς το κατακαυσαι αυτα τον δε σιτον συναγαγετε εις την αποθηκην μου
Matthew 13:37 (NET) Matthew 13:37 (KJV)
He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· ὁ σπείρων τὸ καλὸν σπέρμα ἐστὶν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις ο σπειρων το καλον σπερμα εστιν ο υιος του ανθρωπου ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις ο σπειρων το καλον σπερμα εστιν ο υιος του ανθρωπου
John 15:21, 22 (NET) John 15:21, 22 (KJV)
But they will do all these things to you on account of my name because they do not know the one who sent me. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ἀλλὰ ταῦτα πάντα ποιήσουσιν εἰς ὑμᾶς διὰ τὸ ὄνομα μου, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδασιν τὸν πέμψαντα με αλλα ταυτα παντα ποιησουσιν υμιν δια το ονομα μου οτι ουκ οιδασιν τον πεμψαντα με αλλα ταυτα παντα ποιησουσιν υμιν δια το ονομα μου οτι ουκ οιδασιν τον πεμψαντα με
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin.  But they no longer have any excuse for their sin. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
εἰ μὴ ἦλθον καὶ ἐλάλησα αὐτοῖς, ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ εἴχοσαν· νῦν δὲ πρόφασιν οὐκ ἔχουσιν περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν ει μη ηλθον και ελαλησα αυτοις αμαρτιαν ουκ ειχον νυν δε προφασιν ουκ εχουσιν περι της αμαρτιας αυτων ει μη ηλθον και ελαλησα αυτοις αμαρτιαν ουκ ειχον νυν δε προφασιν ουκ εχουσιν περι της αμαρτιας αυτων
John 15:24 (NET) John 15:24 (KJV)
If I had not performed among them the miraculous deeds that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin.  But now they have seen the deeds and have hated both me and my Father. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
εἰ τὰ ἔργα μὴ ἐποίησα ἐν αὐτοῖς ἃ οὐδεὶς ἄλλος ἐποίησεν, ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ εἴχοσαν· νῦν δὲ καὶ ἑωράκασιν καὶ μεμισήκασιν καὶ ἐμὲ καὶ τὸν πατέρα μου. ει τα εργα μη εποιησα εν αυτοις α ουδεις αλλος πεποιηκεν αμαρτιαν ουκ ειχον νυν δε και εωρακασιν και μεμισηκασιν και εμε και τον πατερα μου ει τα εργα μη εποιησα εν αυτοις α ουδεις αλλος πεποιηκεν αμαρτιαν ουκ ειχον νυν δε και εωρακασιν και μεμισηκασιν και εμε και τον πατερα μου
John 15:26 (NET) John 15:26 (KJV)
When the Advocate comes, whom I will send you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me, But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
Ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὁ παράκλητος ὃν ἐγὼ πέμψω ὑμῖν παρὰ τοῦ πατρός, τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας ὃ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπορεύεται, ἐκεῖνος μαρτυρήσει περὶ ἐμοῦ οταν δε ελθη ο παρακλητος ον εγω πεμψω υμιν παρα του πατρος το πνευμα της αληθειας ο παρα του πατρος εκπορευεται εκεινος μαρτυρησει περι εμου οταν δε ελθη ο παρακλητος ον εγω πεμψω υμιν παρα του πατρος το πνευμα της αληθειας ο παρα του πατρος εκπορευεται εκεινος μαρτυρησει περι εμου

Matthew 13:43 (NET)

Matthew 13:43 (KJV)

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  The one who has ears had better listen! Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

τότε οἱ δίκαιοι ἐκλάμψουσιν ὡς ὁ ἥλιος ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν. ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκουέτω τοτε οι δικαιοι εκλαμψουσιν ως ο ηλιος εν τη βασιλεια του πατρος αυτων ο εχων ωτα ακουειν ακουετω τοτε οι δικαιοι εκλαμψουσιν ως ο ηλιος εν τη βασιλεια του πατρος αυτων ο εχων ωτα ακουειν ακουετω
1 Corinthians 3:10-12 (NET) 1 Corinthians 3:10-12 (KJV)
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master-builder I laid a foundation, but someone else builds on it.  And each one must be careful how he builds. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon.  But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
Κατὰ τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δοθεῖσαν μοι ὡς σοφὸς ἀρχιτέκτων θεμέλιον ἔθηκα, ἄλλος δὲ ἐποικοδομεῖ. ἕκαστος δὲ βλεπέτω πῶς ἐποικοδομεῖ κατα την χαριν του θεου την δοθεισαν μοι ως σοφος αρχιτεκτων θεμελιον τεθεικα αλλος δε εποικοδομει εκαστος δε βλεπετω πως εποικοδομει κατα την χαριν του θεου την δοθεισαν μοι ως σοφος αρχιτεκτων θεμελιον τεθεικα αλλος δε εποικοδομει εκαστος δε βλεπετω πως εποικοδομει
For no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus Christ. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
θεμέλιον γὰρ ἄλλον οὐδεὶς δύναται θεῖναι παρὰ τὸν κείμενον, ὅς ἐστιν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός θεμελιον γαρ αλλον ουδεις δυναται θειναι παρα τον κειμενον ος εστιν ιησους ο χριστος θεμελιον γαρ αλλον ουδεις δυναται θειναι παρα τον κειμενον ος εστιν ιησους χριστος
If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
εἰ δέ τις ἐποικοδομεῖ ἐπὶ τὸν θεμέλιον |χρυσόν, ἄργυρον|, λίθους τιμίους, ξύλα, χόρτον, καλάμην, ει δε τις εποικοδομει επι τον θεμελιον τουτον χρυσον αργυρον λιθους τιμιους ξυλα χορτον καλαμην ει δε τις εποικοδομει επι τον θεμελιον τουτον χρυσον αργυρον λιθους τιμιους ξυλα χορτον καλαμην
1 Corinthians 3:14 (NET) 1 Corinthians 3:14 (KJV)
If what someone has built survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
εἴ τινος τὸ ἔργον μενεῖ ὃ ἐποικοδόμησεν, μισθὸν λήμψεται ει τινος το εργον μενει ο επωκοδομησεν μισθον ληψεται ει τινος το εργον μενει ο εποικοδομησεν μισθον ληψεται

 

[1] John 17:17 (NET)

[2] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had σπείραντι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had σπειροντι (KJV: which sowed).

[3] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἐπέσπειρεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εσπειρεν.

[4] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had φησιν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εφη.

[5] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἕως here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μεχρι.

[6] John 8:44a (NET) Table

[7] John 8:31, 32 (NET)

[8] Romans 8:14 (NET)

[9] John 12:32 (NET)

[10] I’m thinking here of live by the Spirit and you will not carry out (τελέσητε, a form of τελέω) the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).  Apart from my petty outbursts of anger, I recall a more troubling lapse.  It began as a thought, then I spoke it aloud: “It may be time to take out Antifa and BLM while they’re still bringing ball bats to a gunfight.”  They were idle words.  I didn’t follow through to carry out the desire to shoot members of Antifa and BLM with a gun I don’t even have.  And if that’s the best I can hope for this side of the fire, I’ll take it!  But I still want to be more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled than that.

[11] Who Am I? Part 11 ; Who Am I? Part 12 ; Who Am I? Part 13

[12] Matthew 26:39b (NET)

[13] John 14:16, 17 (NET) Table

[14] Galatians 5:17 (NET) Table

[15] The NET parallel Geek text and NA28 had εἰς ὑμᾶς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had υμιν (KJV: unto them).

[16] The NET parallel Geek text and NA28 had εἴχοσαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειχον (KJV: they hadhad).

[17] The NET parallel Geek text and NA28 had ἐποίησεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had πεποιηκεν.

[18] The NET parallel Geek text and NA28 had εἴχοσαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειχον (KJV: had).

[19] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δε (KJV: But) here.  The NET parallel Geek text and NA28 did not.

[20] John 3:16 (KJV) Table

[21] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ακουειν (KJV: to hear) following ears.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[22] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἔθηκα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τεθεικα (KJV: I have laid).

[23] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article ο preceding Christ.  The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[24] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τουτον (KJV: this) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[25] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had ἐποικοδόμησεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had επωκοδομησεν (KJV: he hath built).

[26] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had λήμψεται here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ληψεται (KJV: he shall receive).

[27] Verb Tenses, Greek Verbs (Shorter Definitions), Resources for Learning New Testament Greek

Peter’s First Gospel Proclamation Revisited, Part 2

On Pentecost Peter continued his quotation from the prophet Joel (Acts 2:20 NET Table):

The sun will be changed to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

He may have had Jesus’ crucifixion in mind for ὁ ἥλιος μεταστραφήσεται εἰς σκότος (The sun will be changed to darkness).  Now from noon until three,[1] darkness (σκότος) came over all the land.[2]  Mark also recorded: Now[3] when it was noon, darkness (σκότος) came over the whole land until three[4] in the afternoon.[5]  Luke mentioned the sun as well as the darkness (Luke 23:44, 45a NET):

It[6] was now[7] about noon, and darkness (σκότος) came over the whole land until three[8] in the afternoon, because[9] the sun’s light[10] failed.[11]

The English translations in the KJV are quite similar: The sun shall be turned into darkness; And the sun was darkened.  But the Greek seems different (Table25 below).

ὁ ἥλιος μεταστραφήσεται εἰς σκότος τοῦ ἡλίου |ἐκλιπόντος| και εσκοτισθη ο ηλιος
The sun will be changed to darkness because the sun’s light failed And the sun was darkened

None of them mentioned the moon at all.  The difference in the description of that day in the Septuagint caught my attention.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Joel 3:4 (Tanakh) Joel 2:31 (NET) Joel 2:31 (NETS)

Joel 3:4 (English Elpenor)

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible (וְהַנּוֹרָֽא) day of HaShem come. The sunlight will be turned to darkness and the moon to the color of blood, before the day of the Lord comes—that great and terrible (yârêʼ, והנורא) day! The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the great and notable (ἐπιφανῆ) day of the Lord comes. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious (ἐπιφανῆ) day of the Lord come.

The Hebrew word וְהַנּוֹרָֽא is a form of the word I’ve been tracking through the essays categorized under The Fear of the LordMorfix came up with: נוֹרָא “terrible, terrifying, horrible, awful; (colloquial) very bad, insufferable; awe-inspiring, awesome (God).”  But the rabbis chose ἐπιφανῆ, a form of ἐπιφανής: “notable, distinguished, famous, splendid, glorious, remarkable; evident, visually manifest, conspicuous; renowned.”  The only other occurrence[12] of ἐπιφανῆ was near the end of Malachi.  I’ll consider the passage verse by verse.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Malachi 3:16 (Tanakh) Malachi 3:16 (NET) Malachi 3:16 (NETS)

Malachi 3:16 (English Elpenor)

Then they that feared (יִרְאֵ֥י) the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared (לְיִרְאֵ֣י) the LORD, and that thought upon his name. Then those who respected (yârêʼ, יראי) the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice.  A scroll was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected (yârêʼ, ליראי) the Lord and honored his name. Those who fear (φοβούμενοι) the Lord spoke against these things, each to his neighbor.  And the Lord took note and listened and wrote a book of remembrance before him for those who fear (φοβουμένοις) the Lord and reverence his name. Thus spoke they that feared (φοβούμενοι) the Lord, every one to his neighbour: and the Lord gave heed, and hearkened, and he wrote a book of remembrance before him for them that feared (φοβουμένοις) the Lord and reverenced his name.

Here are the definitions of both forms translated feared from Morfix.

Malachi 3:16

Hebrew Tanakh Homographs English Definitions
יִרְאֵ֥י feared יָרֵא (literary) God-fearing person
יָרֵא to fear; to stand in awe of, to respect
לְיִרְאֵ֣י feared יָרֵא (literary) God-fearing person

The rabbis chose φοβούμενοι for יִרְאֵ֥י and φοβουμένοις for לְיִרְאֵ֣י.  Both are forms of φοβέω: “to be afraid, fear, become frightened; to fear (something, someone); to respect, have reverence (for God); to respect (a man, authority).”

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Malachi 3:17, 18 (Tanakh) Malachi 3:17, 18 (NET) Malachi 3:17, 18 (NETS)

Malachi 3:17, 18 (English Elpenor)

And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. “They will belong to me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “in the day when I prepare my own special property.  I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. And they shall be mine, says the Lord Almighty, in the day when I make them my acquisition, and I will choose them as a person chooses his son who is subject to him. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord Almighty, in the day which I appoint for a peculiar possession; and I will make choice of them, as a man makes choice of his son that serves him.
Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not. And you shall turn and discern between the just and between the lawless and between the one who is subject to God and the one who is not subject. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, and between him that serves God, and him that serves [him] not.

I understand this discerning between the righteousthe new man (e.g., new human, καινὸν ἄνθρωπον) who has been created in God’s imageand the wickedthe old man (e.g., old human, παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον) who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires—differently than some perhaps (Ephesians 4:22-24 NET):

You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted (φθειρόμενον, a form of φθείρω) in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your (plural, ὑμῶν) mind (singular, νοὸς), and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.

A day is coming when this new human will be more “evident,” more “visually manifest,” more “conspicuous” than a renewing in the spirit of the old humans’ mind.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Malachi 4:1 (Tanakh) Malachi 4:1 (NET) Malachi 4:1 (NETS)

Malachi 4:1 (English Elpenor)

For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. “For indeed the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant evildoers will be chaff.  The coming day will burn them up,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  “It will not leave them even a root or branch. For behold, a day is coming, burning like an oven, and it will set them ablaze, and all the aliens and all those who do lawless things will be stubble, and the day that comes shall kindle them, says the Lord Almighty, and there shall be left of them neither root nor branch. For, behold, a day comes burning as an oven, and it shall consume them; and all the aliens, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that is coming shall set them on fire, saith the Lord Almighty, and there shall not be left of them root or branch.

I understand the day that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up as something other than a promise of Zionism über alles.  John the Baptist introduced Jesus, saying (Matthew 3:11, 12 NET):

I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am—I am not worthy to carry his sandals!  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire [Table].  His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire!

Peter wrote, 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.  But by the same[13] word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, by being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.[14]

I understand the ἀπωλείας τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνθρώπων (NET: destruction of the ungodly) as the destruction of the old human (παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον), equivalent to the daythat shall burn as an oven when the new human is freed from the prickly tendrils entangling it with the old.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Malachi 4:2 (Tanakh) Malachi 4:2 (NET) Malachi 4:2 (NETS)

Malachi 4:2 (English Elpenor)

But unto you that fear (יִרְאֵ֚י) my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. But for you who respect (yârêʼ, יראי) my name, the sun of vindication will rise with healing wings, and you will skip about like calves released from the stall. And for you who fear (φοβουμένοις) my name a sun of justice shall rise, and healing is in its wings.  And you shall go out and leap (σκιρτήσετε) like calves let loose from tethers. But to you that fear (φοβουμένοις) my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, and healing [shall be] in his wings: and ye shall go forth, and bound (σκιρτήσετε) as young calves let loose from bonds.

Here again the rabbis chose φοβουμένοις for יִרְאֵ֚י.  I want to consider and grow up as calves of the stall in more detail using Morfix.

Malachi 4:2 (3:20)

Hebrew Tanakh Homographs English Definitions
וִֽיצָאתֶ֥ם and ye shall go forth יָצָא to go outside, to exit; to leave (esp. country, state); to leave for; to emanate from, to emerge from; to depart; to break out, to come forth; to appear (sun, moon); to terminate (Sabbath, Festival); (literary) to pass (time); to escape from, to overcome; to originate from, to be derived from; to be based on; it follows, the result is, the upshot is; to be published; to announce, to come out in public; to so happen, to turn out that
יִצֵּא to export
וּפִשְׁתֶּ֖ם ופשתם and grow up N/A N/A
כְּעֶגְלֵ֥י as calves עֵגֶל calf (male)
עָגֹל round, circular, spherical
מַרְבֵּֽק of the stall מַרְבֵּק (flowery) fattened calf

Morfix didn’t recognize וּפִשְׁתֶּ֖ם, translated and grow up in the Tanakh, but the rabbis chose σκιρτήσετε, a form of σκιρτάω: “to jump, leap (for joy); to kick (i.e., fetus quickening)”, translated leap or bound in the Septuagint.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,[15] Peter continued in his letter (2 Peter 3:10-13 NET):

when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away[16] in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare (KJV: shall be burned up).[17]  Since all these things are to melt away in this manner,[18] what sort of people must you[19] be, conducting your lives in holiness and godliness, while waiting for and hastening (2 Peter 3:8, 9) the coming of the day of God?  Because of this day, the heavens will be burned up and dissolve, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze!  But, according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness truly resides.

Depending on their proximity to others the new humans may well tread down the wicked others.  But in [that] day as the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings, as they go forth, and bound as young calves let loose from bonds the first steps the new humans take will be out from and upon their own ashes under the soles of [their] feet.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Malachi 4:3 (Tanakh) Malachi 4:3 (NET) Malachi 4:3 (NETS)

Malachi 4:3 (English Elpenor)

And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts. You will trample on the wicked, for they will be like ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I am preparing,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And you shall tread down the lawless, for they will be ashes under your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord Almighty. And ye shall trample the wicked; for they shall be ashes underneath your feet in the day which I appoint, saith the Lord Almighty.

I’ll quote the rest of Malachi in the order it appears in the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Malachi 4:5 (Tanakh) Malachi 4:5 (NET) Malachi 4:4 (NETS)

Malachi 4:4 (English Elpenor)

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful (וְהַנּוֹרָֽא) day of the LORD: Look, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible (yârêʼ, והנורא) day of the Lord arrives. And behold I am sending to you Elias the Thesbite before the great and notable (ἐπιφανῆ) day of the Lord comes, And, behold, I will send to you Elias the Thesbite, before the great and glorious (ἐπιφανῆ) day of the Lord comes;

Here the rabbis chose ἐπιφανῆ for וְהַנּוֹרָֽא.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Malachi 4:6, 4 (Tanakh) Malachi 4:6, 4 (NET) Malachi 4:5, 6 (NETS)

Malachi 4:5, 6 (English Elpenor)

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. He will encourage fathers and their children to return to me, so that I will not come and strike the earth with judgment.” who will restore the heart of the father to the son and the heart of a person to his neighbor so that I will not come and utterly strike the land. who shall turn again the heart of the father to the son, and the heart of a man to his neighbour, lest I come and smite the earth grievously.
Remember (זִכְר֕וּ) ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. “Remember (זכרו) the law of my servant Moses, to whom at Horeb I gave rules and regulations for all Israel to obey. Remember (μνήσθητε) the law of Moyses my slave, as I commanded him at Choreb with ordinances and statutes for all Israel. Remember (μνήσθητε) the law of my servant Moses, accordingly as I charged him [with it] in Choreb for all Israel, [even] the commandments and ordinances.

Here the rabbis chose μνήσθητε, a form of μιμνήσκω, “to be mentioned, be called to remembrance,” for זִכְר֕וּ.  A table of this clause run through Morfix follows.

Malachi 4:4 (3:22)

Hebrew Tanakh Homographs English Definitions
זִכְר֕וּ Remember ye זָכָר male; man; (grammar) masculine gender
זָכַר to remember; to recall (memory); to keep in mind; to remember as; to take into account
זֵכֶר memory (of someone or something); remnant, trace, vestige; in memory of
תּוֹרַ֖ת תורת the law תּוֹרָה Torah, Pentateuch, Five Books of Moses; (Judaism) the Mosaic laws; Jewish biblical and rabbinic literature; theory, dogma; doctrine

In a footnote (8) the translators of the NET tacitly acknowledged that they added to obey to the text .  I don’t have any particular issue with the attempt to obey the law.  It may well help one remember, but remember is the command.  Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb, remember the fear, remember your failure to obey, remember the ministry that produced death as it is recorded in the Scriptures, not as the religious mind imagines that it should be, so you can hear Jesus say, Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’[20]

And then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,[21] Peter concluded his quotation from the prophet Joel.  Then he went on to describe how Jesus brought the ministry that produced death (Romans 7:7-22) to a fitting conclusion (Hebrews 8-10) for righteousness’ sake[22] (Acts 2:22-24 NET).

Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, wonders, and miraculous signs that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know—this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles [Table].  But God raised him up, having released him from the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power.

I’ll pick this up in another essay.  Tables comparing Joel 2:31 (3:4); Malachi 3:16; 3:17; 3:18; 4:1; 4:2; 4:3; 4:5; 4:6; 4:4 and Joel 2:32 (3:5) in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Joel 2:31 (3:4); Malachi 3:16; 3:17; 3:18; 4:1; 4:2; 4:3; 4:5 (4:4); 4:6 (4:5); 4:4 (4:6) and Joel 2:32 (3:5) in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint follow. Tables comparing Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44, 45; 2 Peter 3:7 and 3:10, 11 in the NET and KJV follow those.

Joel 3:4 (Tanakh)

Joel 2:31 (KJV)

Joel 2:31 (NET)

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of HaShem come. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. The sunlight will be turned to darkness and the moon to the color of blood, before the day of the Lord comes—that great and terrible day!

Joel 2:31 (Septuagint BLB)

Joel 3:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ὁ ἥλιος μεταστραφήσεται εἰς σκότος καὶ ἡ σελήνη εἰς αἷμα πρὶν ἐλθεῗν ἡμέραν κυρίου τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἐπιφανῆ ὁ ἥλιος μεταστραφήσεται εἰς σκότος καὶ ἡ σελήνη εἰς αἷμα πρὶν ἐλθεῖν τὴν ἡμέραν Κυρίου τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἐπιφανῆ

Joel 2:31 (NETS)

Joel 3:4 (English Elpenor)

The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord comes. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord come.

Malachi 3:16 (Tanakh)

Malachi 3:16 (KJV)

Malachi 3:16 (NET)

Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. Then those who respected the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice.  A scroll was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected the Lord and honored his name.

Malachi 3:16 (Septuagint BLB)

Malachi 3:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ταῦτα κατελάλησαν οἱ φοβούμενοι τὸν κύριον ἕκαστος πρὸς τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ καὶ προσέσχεν κύριος καὶ εἰσήκουσεν καὶ ἔγραψεν βιβλίον μνημοσύνου ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ τοῗς φοβουμένοις τὸν κύριον καὶ εὐλαβουμένοις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ταῦτα κατελάλησαν οἱ φοβούμενοι τὸν Κύριον, ἕκαστος πρὸς τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ· καὶ προσέσχε Κύριος καὶ εἰσήκουσε καὶ ἔγραψε βιβλίον μνημοσύνου ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ τοῖς φοβουμένοις τὸν Κύριον καὶ εὐλαβουμένοις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ

Malachi 3:16 (NETS)

Malachi 3:16 (English Elpenor)

Those who fear the Lord spoke against these things, each to his neighbor.  And the Lord took note and listened and wrote a book of remembrance before him for those who fear the Lord and reverence his name. Thus spoke they that feared the Lord, every one to his neighbour: and the Lord gave heed, and hearkened, and he wrote a book of remembrance before him for them that feared the Lord and reverenced his name.

Malachi 3:17 (Tanakh)

Malachi 3:17 (KJV)

Malachi 3:17 (NET)

And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. “They will belong to me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “in the day when I prepare my own special property.  I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Malachi 3:17 (Septuagint BLB)

Malachi 3:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἔσονταί μοι λέγει κύριος παντοκράτωρ εἰς ἡμέραν ἣν ἐγὼ ποιῶ εἰς περιποίησιν καὶ αἱρετιῶ αὐτοὺς ὃν τρόπον αἱρετίζει ἄνθρωπος τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν δουλεύοντα αὐτῷ καὶ ἔσονταί μοι, λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ, εἰς ἡμέραν, ἣν ἐγὼ ποιῶ εἰς περιποίησιν, καὶ αἱρετιῶ αὐτοὺς ὃν τρόπον αἱρετίζει ἄνθρωπος τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν δουλεύοντα αὐτῷ

Malachi 3:17 (NETS)

Malachi 3:17 (English Elpenor)

And they shall be mine, says the Lord Almighty, in the day when I make them my acquisition, and I will choose them as a person chooses his son who is subject to him. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord Almighty, in the day which I appoint for a peculiar possession; and I will make choice of them, as a man makes choice of his son that serves him.

Malachi 3:18 (Tanakh)

Malachi 3:18 (KJV)

Malachi 3:18 (NET)

Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.

Malachi 3:18 (Septuagint BLB)

Malachi 3:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐπιστραφήσεσθε καὶ ὄψεσθε ἀνὰ μέσον δικαίου καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον ἀνόμου καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ δουλεύοντος θεῷ καὶ τοῦ μὴ δουλεύοντος καὶ ἐπιστραφήσεσθε καὶ ὄψεσθε ἀναμέσον δικαίου καὶ ἀναμέσον ἀνόμου καὶ ἀναμέσον τοῦ δουλεύοντος Θεῷ καὶ τοῦ μὴ δουλεύοντος

Malachi 3:18 (NETS)

Malachi 3:18 (English Elpenor)

And you shall turn and discern between the just and between the lawless and between the one who is subject to God and the one who is not subject. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, and between him that serves God, and him that serves [him] not.

Malachi 4:1 (Tanakh)

Malachi 4:1 (KJV)

Malachi 4:1 (NET)

For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. “For indeed the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant evildoers will be chaff.  The coming day will burn them up,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  “It will not leave them even a root or branch.

Malachi 4:1 (Septuagint BLB)

Malachi 4:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)

διότι ἰδοὺ ἡμέρα κυρίου ἔρχεται καιομένη ὡς κλίβανος καὶ φλέξει αὐτούς καὶ ἔσονται πάντες οἱ ἀλλογενεῗς καὶ πάντες οἱ ποιοῦντες ἄνομα καλάμη καὶ ἀνάψει αὐτοὺς ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ ἐρχομένη λέγει κύριος παντοκράτωρ καὶ οὐ μὴ ὑπολειφθῇ ἐξ αὐτῶν ῥίζα οὐδὲ κλῆμα ΔΙΟΤΙ ἰδοὺ ἡμέρα Κυρίου ἔρχεται καιομένη ὡς κλίβανος καὶ φλέξει αὐτούς, καὶ ἔσονται πάντες οἱ ἀλλογενεῖς καὶ πάντες οἱ ποιοῦντες ἄνομα καλάμη, καὶ ἀνάψει αὐτοὺς ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ ἐρχομένη, λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ, καὶ οὐ μὴ ὑπολειφθῇ ἐξ αὐτῶν ῥίζα οὐδὲ κλῆμα

Malachi 4:1 (NETS)

Malachi 4:1 (English Elpenor)

For behold, a day is coming, burning like an oven, and it will set them ablaze, and all the aliens and all those who do lawless things will be stubble, and the day that comes shall kindle them, says the Lord Almighty, and there shall be left of them neither root nor branch. For, behold, a day comes burning as an oven, and it shall consume them; and all the aliens, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that is coming shall set them on fire, saith the Lord Almighty, and there shall not be left of them root or branch.

Malachi 4:2 (Tanakh)

Malachi 4:2 (KJV)

Malachi 4:2 (NET)

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. But for you who respect my name, the sun of vindication will rise with healing wings, and you will skip about like calves released from the stall.

Malachi 4:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Malachi 4:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἀνατελεῗ ὑμῗν τοῗς φοβουμένοις τὸ ὄνομά μου ἥλιος δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἴασις ἐν ταῗς πτέρυξιν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξελεύσεσθε καὶ σκιρτήσετε ὡς μοσχάρια ἐκ δεσμῶν ἀνειμένα καὶ ἀνατελεῖ ὑμῖν τοῖς φοβουμένοις τὸ ὄνομά μου ἥλιος δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἴασις ἐν ταῖς πτέρυξιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐξελεύσεσθε καὶ σκιρτήσετε ὡς μοσχάρια ἐκ δεσμῶν ἀνειμένα

Malachi 4:2 (NETS)

Malachi 4:2 (English Elpenor)

And for you who fear my name a sun of justice shall rise, and healing is in its wings.  And you shall go out and leap like calves let loose from tethers. But to you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, and healing [shall be] in his wings: and ye shall go forth, and bound as young calves let loose from bonds.

Malachi 4:3 (Tanakh)

Malachi 4:3 (KJV)

Malachi 4:3 (NET)

And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts. You will trample on the wicked, for they will be like ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I am preparing,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Malachi 4:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Malachi 4:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ καταπατήσετε ἀνόμους διότι ἔσονται σποδὸς ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν ὑμῶν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ ἐγὼ ποιῶ λέγει κύριος παντοκράτωρ καὶ καταπατήσετε ἀνόμους, διότι ἔσονται σποδὸς ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν ὑμῶν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, ᾗ ἐγὼ ποιῶ, λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ

Malachi 4:3 (NETS)

Malachi 4:3 (English Elpenor)

And you shall tread down the lawless, for they will be ashes under your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord Almighty. And ye shall trample the wicked; for they shall be ashes underneath your feet in the day which I appoint, saith the Lord Almighty.

Malachi 4:5 (Tanakh)

Malachi 4:5 (KJV)

Malachi 4:5 (NET)

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: Look, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.

Malachi 4:5 (Septuagint BLB)

Malachi 4:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμῗν Ηλιαν τὸν Θεσβίτην πρὶν ἐλθεῗν ἡμέραν κυρίου τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἐπιφανῆ καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστελῶ ὑμῖν ᾿Ηλίαν τὸν Θεσβίτην, πρὶν ἢ ἐλθεῖν τὴν ἡμέραν Κυρίου τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἐπιφανῆ

Malachi 4:4 (NETS)

Malachi 4:4 (English Elpenor)

And behold I am sending to you Elias the Thesbite before the great and notable day of the Lord comes, And, behold, I will send to you Elias the Thesbite, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes;

Malachi 4:6 (Tanakh)

Malachi 4:6 (KJV)

Malachi 4:6 (NET)

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. He will encourage fathers and their children to return to me, so that I will not come and strike the earth with judgment.”

Malachi 4:6 (Septuagint BLB)

Malachi 4:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ὃς ἀποκαταστήσει καρδίαν πατρὸς πρὸς υἱὸν καὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου πρὸς τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ μὴ ἔλθω καὶ πατάξω τὴν γῆν ἄρδην ὃς ἀποκαταστήσει καρδίαν πατρὸς πρὸς υἱὸν καὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου πρὸς τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ, μὴ ἐλθὼν πατάξω τὴν γῆν ἄρδην

Malachi 4:5 (NETS)

Malachi 4:5 (English Elpenor)

who will restore the heart of the father to the son and the heart of a person to his neighbor so that I will not come and utterly strike the land. who shall turn again the heart of the father to the son, and the heart of a man to his neighbour, lest I come and smite the earth grievously.

Malachi 4:4 (Tanakh)

Malachi 4:4 (KJV)

Malachi 4:4 (NET)

Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. “Remember the law of my servant Moses, to whom at Horeb I gave rules and regulations for all Israel to obey.

Malachi 4:4 (Septuagint BLB)

Malachi 4:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)

μνήσθητε νόμου Μωυσῆ τοῦ δούλου μου καθότι ἐνετειλάμην αὐτῷ ἐν Χωρηβ πρὸς πάντα τὸν Ισραηλ προστάγματα καὶ δικαιώματα μνήσθητι νόμου Μωσῆ τοῦ δούλου μου, καθότι ἐνετειλάμην αὐτῷ ἐν Χωρὴβ πρὸς πάντα τὸν ᾿Ισραὴλ προστάγματα καὶ δικαιώματα

Malachi 4:6 (NETS)

Malachi 4:6 (English Elpenor)

Remember the law of Moyses my slave, as I commanded him at Choreb with ordinances and statutes for all Israel. Remember the law of my servant Moses, accordingly as I charged him [with it] in Choreb for all Israel, [even] the commandments and ordinances.

Joel 3:5 (Tanakh)

Joel 2:32 (KJV)

Joel 2:32 (NET)

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of HaShem shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as HaShem hath said, and among the remnant those whom HaShem shall call. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. It will so happen that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered.  For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who survive, just as the Lord has promised; the remnant will be those whom the Lord will call.

Joel 2:32 (Septuagint BLB)

Joel 3:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἔσται πᾶς ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου σωθήσεται ὅτι ἐν τῷ ὄρει Σιων καὶ ἐν Ιερουσαλημ ἔσται ἀνασῳζόμενος καθότι εἶπεν κύριος καὶ εὐαγγελιζόμενοι οὓς κύριος προσκέκληται καὶ ἔσται, πᾶς, ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου, σωθήσεται· ὅτι ἐν τῷ ὄρει Σιὼν καὶ ἐν ῾Ιερουσαλὴμ ἔσται ἀνασῳζόμενος, καθότι εἶπε Κύριος, καὶ εὐαγγελιζόμενοι, οὓς Κύριος προσκέκληται

Joel 2:32 (NETS)

Joel 3:5 (English Elpenor)

And it shall be, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, because in Mount Sion and in Ierousalem there shall be one who escapes, as the Lord has said, and people who have good news announced to them, whom the Lord has called. And it shall come to pass [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved: for in mount Sion and in Jerusalem shall the saved one be as the Lord has said, and they that have glad tidings preached to them, whom the Lord has called.

Matthew 27:45 (NET)

Matthew 27:45 (KJV)

Now from noon until three, darkness came over all the land. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

Ἀπὸ δὲ ἕκτης ὥρας σκότος ἐγένετο ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἕως ὥρας ἐνάτης απο δε εκτης ωρας σκοτος εγενετο επι πασαν την γην εως ωρας εννατης απο δε εκτης ωρας σκοτος εγενετο επι πασαν την γην εως ωρας ενατης

Mark 15:33 (NET)

Mark 15:33 (KJV)

Now when it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

Καὶ γενομένης ὥρας ἕκτης σκότος ἐγένετο ἐφ᾿ ὅλην τὴν γῆν ἕως ὥρας ἐνάτης γενομενης δε ωρας εκτης σκοτος εγενετο εφ ολην την γην εως ωρας εννατης γενομενης δε ωρας εκτης σκοτος εγενετο εφ ολην την γην εως ωρας ενατης

Luke 23:44, 45 (NET)

Luke 23:44, 45 (KJV)

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

Καὶ ἦν ἤδη ὡσεὶ ὥρα ἕκτη καὶ σκότος ἐγένετο ἐφ᾿ ὅλην τὴν γῆν ἕως ὥρας ἐνάτης ην δε ωσει ωρα εκτη και σκοτος εγενετο εφ ολην την γην εως ωρας εννατης ην δε ωσει ωρα εκτη και σκοτος εγενετο εφ ολην την γην εως ωρας ενατης
because the sun’s light failed.  The temple curtain was torn in two. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

τοῦ ἡλίου |ἐκλιπόντος|, ἐσχίσθη δὲ τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ μέσον και εσκοτισθη ο ηλιος και εσχισθη το καταπετασμα του ναου μεσον και εσκοτισθη ο ηλιος και εσχισθη το καταπετασμα του ναου μεσον

2 Peter 3:7 (NET)

2 Peter 3:7 (KJV)

But 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. But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

οἱ δὲ νῦν οὐρανοὶ καὶ ἡ γῆ τῷ αὐτῷ λόγῳ τεθησαυρισμένοι εἰσὶν πυρί τηρούμενοι εἰς ἡμέραν κρίσεως καὶ ἀπωλείας τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνθρώπων οι δε νυν ουρανοι και η γη αυτου λογω τεθησαυρισμενοι εισιν πυρι τηρουμενοι εις ημεραν κρισεως και απωλειας των ασεβων ανθρωπων οι δε νυν ουρανοι και η γη τω αυτου λογω τεθησαυρισμενοι εισιν πυρι τηρουμενοι εις ημεραν κρισεως και απωλειας των ασεβων ανθρωπων

2 Peter 3:10, 11 (NET)

2 Peter 3:10, 11 (KJV)

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

῞Ηξει δὲ ἡμέρα κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης, ἐν ᾗ οἱ οὐρανοὶ ροιζηδὸν παρελεύσονται στοιχεῖα δὲ καυσούμενα λυθήσεται καὶ γῆ καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα εὑρεθήσεται ηξει δε η ημερα κυριου ως κλεπτης εν νυκτι εν η οι ουρανοι ροιζηδον παρελευσονται στοιχεια δε καυσουμενα λυθησονται και γη και τα εν αυτη εργα κατακαησεται ηξει δε η ημερα κυριου ως κλεπτης εν νυκτι εν η οι ουρανοι ροιζηδον παρελευσονται στοιχεια δε καυσουμενα λυθησονται και γη και τα εν αυτη εργα κατακαησεται
Since all these things are to melt away in this manner, what sort of people must you be, conducting your lives in holiness and godliness, Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

Τούτων οὕτως πάντων λυομένων ποταποὺς δεῖ ὑπάρχειν ἐν ἁγίαις ἀναστροφαῖς καὶ εὐσεβείαις τουτων ουν παντων λυομενων ποταπους δει υπαρχειν υμας εν αγιαις αναστροφαις και ευσεβειαις τουτων ουν παντων λυομενων ποταπους δει υπαρχειν υμας εν αγιαις αναστροφαις και ευσεβειαις

[1] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had ἐνάτης here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had the alternate spelling: εννατης (KJV: ninth).

[2] Matthew 27:45 (NET)

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

[4] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had ἐνάτης here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had the alternate spelling: εννατης (KJV: ninth).

[5] Mark 15:33 (NET)

[6] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had Καὶ (not translated in the NET) at the beginning of this clause, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δε (KJV: And).

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

[8] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had ἐνάτης here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had the alternate spelling: εννατης (KJV: ninth).

[9] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και at the beginning of this clause.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[10] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had τοῦ ἡλίου in the genitive case here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ο ηλιος (KJV: the sun) in the nominative case.

[11] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἐκλιπόντος here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εσκοτισθη (KJV: was darkened).

[12] There are two additional occurrences of ἐπιφανῆ in the Maccabees: 2 Maccabees 15:34 and 3 Maccabees 5:35.

[13] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had τῷ αὐτῷ here, where the Byzantine Majority Text had τῷ αυτου and the Stephanus Textus Receptus had simply αυτου.

[14] 2 Peter 3:5b-7 NET

[15] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν νυκτι (KJV: in the night) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[16] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had λυθήσεται here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had λυθησονται (KJV: shall melt).

[17] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had εὑρεθήσεται here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had κατακαησεται (KJV: shall be burned up).

[18] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had οὕτως here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουν (KJV: Seeing then).

[19] The Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA28 had υμας here.  The NET parallel Greek text did not.

[20] John 3:7 (NETS)

[21] Acts 2:21 (NETS)

[22] For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes (Romans 10:4 NET).  For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20 NET).

Hannah’s Prayer, Part 2

Hannah’s prayer continued:

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
1 Samuel 2:3 (Tanakh) 1 Samuel 2:3 (NET) 1 Reigns 2:3 (NETS)

1 Kings 2:3 (Elpenor English)

Multiply not exceeding proud talk; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth; for HaShem is a G-d of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. Don’t keep speaking so arrogantly.  Proud talk should not come out of your mouth!  For the Lord is a God who knows; he evaluates what people do. “Boast not, and speak not lofty things; let not big talking come from your mouth, because the Lord is a god of knowledge, and a god who prepares his own ways. Boast not, and utter not high things; let not high-sounding words come out of your mouth, for the Lord [is] a God of knowledge, and God prepares his own designs.

In another essay I wrote, “From now on I’ll include the text of the KJV since differences might be very instructive.”  Here (Table1 below) I have that difference but it will take someone with more knowledge of Hebrew than I have to evaluate the relative merits of translating not (ʼal, אַל) multiply (râbâh, תַּרְבּ֚וּ) no more.  And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply (râbâh, ורבו), and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply (râbâh, ירב) in the earth.[1]  Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more (râbâh, מרבה; Tanakh: many) feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.[2]

To my ear the more of more feet is different conceptually from that of no more, but I won’t quibble about it.  The difference in the translation of the Septuagint brings me some clarity.  Rather than not multiply, the rabbis chose (Table2 below) not (μὴ) boast (καυχᾶσθε).  It occurs to me, since not boast is so “on-the-nose,” that the translators thought not multiply in Hebrew was too idiomatic for Greek.

To throw up is a common idiom in American English.  But translating the words throw and up literally into another language won’t necessarily conjure an image in the hearer’s mind of someone kneeling before a toilet, vomiting into it.  Perhaps the KJV translators thought not multiply was too idiomatic for an English translation, too.  The phrase no more, while less “on-the-nose” than not boast, still retains some of the flavor of not multiply.  All of this attention to detail has me wondering if Hannah’s words—my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies[3]—should be understood as confession rather than as a model of rejoicing to be emulated.

What really exercised me here (Table2 below) was and God prepares his own designs (NETS: “ways”).  I was immediately reminded of, For we are his creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we can do them.[4]  At first blush the translation from Hebrew—and by Him actions are weighed (Tanakh, KJV)—seemed completely different.  I made a table of all occurrences of עללות (ʽălı̂ylâh) in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated actions (Tanakh, KJV), along with its Greek translation in the Septuagint.

Reference

NET Parallel Hebrew Chabad.org Tanakh NET Septuagint (BLB)

Septuagint (Elpenor)

Deuteronomy 22:14 עלילת (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִילֹ֣ת wanton charges impropriety προφασιστικοὺς προφασιστικοὺς
Deuteronomy 22:17 עלילת (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִילֹ֨ת wanton charges impropriety προφασιστικοὺς προφασιστικοὺς
1 Samuel 2:3 עללות (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִלֽוֹת actions what people do ἐπιτηδεύματα ἐπιτηδεύματα
1 Chronicles 16:8 עלילתיו (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִילֹתָֽיו deeds accomplishments ἐπιτηδεύματα ἐπιτηδεύματα
Psalm 9:11 (12) עלילותיו (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִֽילוֹתָֽיו doings what he has done ἐπιτηδεύματα ἐπιτηδεύματα
Psalm 14:1 (13:1) עלילה (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲ֜לִילָ֗ה works deeds ἐπιτηδεύμασιν ἐπιτηδεύμασιν
Psalm 66:5 (65:5) עלילה (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲ֜לִילָ֗ה doing acts βουλαῗς βουλαῖς
Psalm 77:12 (77:13; 76:13) ובעלילותיך (ʽălı̂ylâh) וּבַֽעֲלִ֖ילוֹתֶ֣יךָ doings deeds ἐπιτηδεύμασίν ἐπιτηδεύμασί
Psalm 78:11 (77:11) עלילותיו (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִֽילוֹתָ֑יו works what he had done εὐεργεσιῶν εὐεργεσιῶν
Psalm 99:8 (98:8) עלילותם (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִֽילוֹתָֽם inventions sinful deeds ἐπιτηδεύματα ἐπιτηδεύματα
Psalm 103:7 (102:7) עלילותיו (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִֽילוֹתָיו acts deeds θελήματα θελήματα
Psalm 105:1 (104:1) עלילותיו (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִֽילוֹתָֽיו deeds accomplishments ἔργα ἔργα
Psalm 141:4 עללות (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִל֨וֹת works activities προφάσεις προφάσεις
Isaiah 12:4 עלילתיו (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִֽילֹתָ֑יו doings mighty acts ἔνδοξα ἔνδοξα
Ezekiel 14:22 עלילותם (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִֽילוֹתָ֑ם doings deeds ἐνθυμήματα ἐνθυμήματα
Ezekiel 14:23 עלילותם (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִֽילוֹתָ֑ם doings deeds ἐνθυμήματα ἐνθυμήματα
Ezekiel 20:43 עלילותיכם (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִיל֣וֹתֵיכֶ֔ם doings deeds ἐπιτηδεύματα ἐπιτηδεύματα
Ezekiel 20:44 וכעלילותיכם (ʽălı̂ylâh) וְכַֽעֲלִילֽוֹתֵיכֶ֚ם doings deeds ἐπιτηδεύματα ἐπιτηδεύματα
Ezekiel 21:24 (21:29) עלילותיכם (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִילֽוֹתֵיכֶ֑ם doings actions ἐπιτηδεύμασιν ἐπιτηδεύμασιν
Ezekiel 24:14 וכעלילותיך (ʽălı̂ylâh) וְכַֽעֲלִֽילוֹתַ֙יִךְ֙ doings deeds ἐνθυμήματά ἐνθυμήματά
Ezekiel 36:17 ובעלילותם (ʽălı̂ylâh) וּבַֽעֲלִֽילוֹתָ֑ם doings deeds εἰδώλοις εἰδώλοις
Ezekiel 36:19 וכעלילותם (ʽălı̂ylâh) וְכַֽעֲלִילוֹתָ֖ם doings deeds ἁμαρτίαν ἁμαρτίαν
Zephaniah 3:7 עלילותם (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִילוֹתָֽם doings did ἐπιφυλλὶς ἐπιφυλλὶς
Zephaniah 3:11 עלילתיך (ʽălı̂ylâh) עֲלִ֣ילֹתַ֔יִךְ doings actions (footnote 38) ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἐπιτηδευμάτων

This exercise persuaded me that the Greek was not that different from the Hebrew.  The real issue was whether the actions, designs or ways God weighed, evaluates or prepares are his or mine/Israel’s.  While the Septuagint committed to his own, the NET claimed he evaluates what people do.  This contrast made me realize how noncommittal the translation of the Tanakh and KJV actually were: and by Him actions are weighed.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Ezekiel 36:16,17 (Tanakh) Ezekiel 36:16, 17 (NET) Ezekiel 36:16, 17 (NETS)

Ezekiel 36:16, 17 (Elpenor English)

Moreover the word of the LORD (יְהֹוָ֖ה) came unto me, saying, The Lord’s (yehôvâh, יהוה) message came to me: And a word of the Lord came to me, saying: And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they defiled it by their behavior and their deeds.  In my sight their behavior was like the uncleanness of a woman having her monthly period. Son of man, the house of Israel lived on their land, and they defiled it with their way and with their idols and with their unclean acts; their way became before me like the uncleanness of a woman sitting apart. Son of man, the house of Israel dwelt upon their land, and defiled it by their way, and with their idols, and with their uncleannesses; and their way was before me like the uncleanness of a removed woman.

Here the LORD (yehôvâh, יְהֹוָ֖ה) clearly evaluated what the people of Israel did.  Then He responded appropriately:

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Ezekiel 36:18, 19 (Tanakh) Ezekiel 36:18, 19 (NET) Ezekiel 36:18, 19 (NETS)

Ezekiel 36:19, 19 (Elpenor English)

Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: So I poured my anger on them because of the blood they shed on the land and because of the idols with which they defiled it. And I poured out my wrath upon them So I poured out my wrath upon them:
And I scattered them among the heathen (בַּגּוֹיִ֔ם), and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. I scattered them among the nations (gôy, בגוים); they were dispersed throughout foreign countries.  In accordance with their behavior and their deeds I judged them. And scattered them into the nations (ἔθνη, a form of ἔθνος) and winnowed them into the countries; in accordance with their way and their sin I judged them. and I dispersed them among the nations (ἔθνη), and utterly scattered them through the countries: I judged them according to their way and according to their sin.

In other words, if they wanted to behave like the heathen, He gave them the opportunity to experience the heathen firsthand.  But He also evaluated the consequences of his own actions:

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Ezekiel 36:20, 21 (Tanakh) Ezekiel 36:20, 21 (NET) Ezekiel 36:20, 21 (NETS)

Ezekiel 36:20, 21 (Elpenor English)

And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. But when they arrived in the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name.  It was said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, yet they have departed from his land.’ And they came into the nations, there where they entered, and they profaned my holy name when it was said of them, “These are a people of the Lord, and they have gone out of his land.” And they went in among the nations, among which they went, and they profaned my holy name, while it was said of them, These are the people of the Lord, and they came forth out of his land.
But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. I was concerned for my holy reputation which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went. And I considered them because of my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations, there where they entered. but I spared them for the sake of my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations, among whom they went.

When he had pity for his holy name, He responded appropriately again:

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Ezekiel 36:22, 23 (Tanakh) Ezekiel 36:22, 23 (NET) Ezekiel 36:22, 23 (NETS)

Ezekiel 36:22, 23 (Elpenor English)

Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake that I am about to act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation which you profaned among the nations where you went. Therefore, say to the house of Israel, This is what the Lord says: I do not act for you, O house of Israel, but rather on account of my holy name, which you profaned among the nations, there where you entered. Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord; I do not this, O house of Israel, for your sakes, but because of my holy name, which ye have profaned among the nations, among whom ye went.
And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. I will magnify my great name that has been profaned among the nations, that you have profaned among them.  The nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I magnify myself among you in their sight. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the nations, which you profaned in their midst, and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, when I am hallowed among you before their eyes. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the nations, which ye profaned in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, when I am sanctified among you before their eyes.

How does the Lord (ʼădônây, אֲדֹנָ֣י) God (yehôvih, יֱהֹוִ֔ה) sanctify his great name, when [He] shall be sanctified in [Israel] before [the heathen’s] eyes?

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Ezekiel 36:27 (Tanakh) Ezekiel 36:22, 23 (NET) Ezekiel 36:22, 23 (NETS)

Ezekiel 36:22, 23 (Elpenor English)

And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. I will put my Spirit within you; I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes and carefully observe my regulations. And I will give my spirit in you and will act so that you walk in my statutes and keep my judgments and perform them. And I will put my Spirit in you, and will cause you to walk in mine ordinances, and to keep my judgments, and do [them].

“Therefore,” Peter concluded in Jerusalem on Pentecost, “let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36-39 NET Table).

Now when they heard this, they were acutely distressed and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “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.  For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”

Should a heathen such as I am (but for the grace of God) trust in his own ability to be righteous and risk profaning God’s great name again?  So then, my dear friends, Paul wrote believers in Philippi, just as you have always obeyed (ὑπηκούσατε, a form of ὑπακούω), not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe (φόβου, a form of φόβος) and reverence (τρόμου, a form of τρόμος), for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God.[5]

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying (Matthew 22:1-14 NET):

“The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.  He sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come.  Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look!  The feast I have prepared[6] for you is ready.  My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready.  Come to the wedding banquet.”’  But they were indifferent and went away, one[7] to his farm, another[8] to[9] his business.  The rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them.  The[10] king[11] was furious!  He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death and set their city on fire.  Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy.  So go into the main streets and invite everyone[12] you find to the wedding banquet.’  And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they[13] found, both bad (πονηρούς, a form of πονηρός) and good (ἀγαθούς, a form of ἀγαθός), and the wedding hall was filled with guests.  But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing (ἐνδεδυμένον, a form of ἐνδύω) wedding clothes (ἔνδυμα).  And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes (ἔνδυμα)?’  But he had nothing to say.  Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and[14] throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’  For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Paul described the wedding clothes provided by the bridegroom’s father: You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on (ἐνδύσασθαι, another form of ἐνδύω) the new man who has been created in God’s image – in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.[15]  And again, But now, put off all such things as anger, rage, malice, slander, abusive language from your mouth.  Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices and have been clothed (ἐνδυσάμενοι, another form of ἐνδύω) with the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it.  Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.[16]

So while the translations of the Tanakh and KJV—and by Him actions (e.g., the actions of God and people) are weighed—are probably more accurate to the Hebrew, I am grateful to the Christians[17] who translated the Septuagint.  It seems that both ways (NETS) and designs (Elpenor) were more discretionary than obligatory translations of ἐπιτηδεύματα.

Reference

Septuagint (BLB) NETS Septuagint (Elphenor)

Septuagint (English Elpenor)

1 Samuel 2:3 ἐπιτηδεύματα ways ἐπιτηδεύματα designs
1 Chronicles (Supplements) 16:8 ἐπιτηδεύματα practices ἐπιτηδεύματα designs
Psalm 99:8 (98:8) ἐπιτηδεύματα practices ἐπιτηδεύματα devices
Ezekiel 20:43 ἐπιτηδεύματα practices ἐπιτηδεύματα devices
Ezekiel 20:44 ἐπιτηδεύματα practices ἐπιτηδεύματα devices

Still, those translations got this heathen—one of the bad people gathered to the wedding feast after the invited guests declined their invitations—thinking much more deeply about Hannah’s prayer than he might have otherwise.

Tables comparing 1 Samuel 2:3; Genesis 1:22; Leviticus 11:42; Ezekiel 36:16; 36:17; 36:18; 36:19; 36:20; 36:21; 36:22; 36:23 and 36:27 in the Tanakh and NET, and tables comparing 1 Samuel (Reigns, Kings) 2:3; Genesis 1:22; Leviticus 11:42; Ezekiel 36:16; 36:17; 36:18; 36:19; 36:20; 36:21; 36:22; 36:23 and 36:27 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.  Following those are tables comparing Matthew 22:4, 5; 22:7; 22:9, 10 and 22:13 in the NET and KJV.

1 Samuel 2:3 (Tanakh)

1 Samuel 2:3 (KJV)

1 Samuel 2:3 (NET)

Multiply not exceeding proud talk; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth; for HaShem is a G-d of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. Don’t keep speaking so arrogantly.  Proud talk should not come out of your mouth!  For the Lord is a God who knows; he evaluates what people do.

1 Samuel 2:3 (Septuagint BLB)

1 Kings 2:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)

μὴ καυχᾶσθε καὶ μὴ λαλεῗτε ὑψηλά μὴ ἐξελθάτω μεγαλορρημοσύνη ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν ὅτι θεὸς γνώσεων κύριος καὶ θεὸς ἑτοιμάζων ἐπιτηδεύματα αὐτοῦ μὴ καυχᾶσθε, καὶ μὴ λαλεῖτε ὑψηλά, μὴ ἐξελθέτω μεγαλορρημοσύνη ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν, ὅτι Θεὸς γνώσεων Κύριος καὶ Θεὸς ἑτοιμάζων ἐπιτηδεύματα αὐτοῦ

1 Reigns 2:3 (NETS)

1 Kings 2:3 (English Elpenor)

“Boast not, and speak not lofty things; let not big talking come from your mouth, because the Lord is a god of knowledge, and a god who prepares his own ways. Boast not, and utter not high things; let not high-sounding words come out of your mouth, for the Lord [is] a God of knowledge, and God prepares his own designs.

Genesis 1:22 (Tanakh)

Genesis 1:22 (KJV)

Genesis 1:22 (NET)

And G-d blessed them, saying: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply (וּרְב֗וּ), and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply (יִ֥רֶב) in the earth’. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply (ורבו), and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply (ירב) in the earth. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply (ורבו) and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply (ירב) on the earth.”

Genesis 1:22 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 1:22 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ηὐλόγησεν αὐτὰ ὁ θεὸς λέγων αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθύνεσθε καὶ πληρώσατε τὰ ὕδατα ἐν ταῗς θαλάσσαις καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ πληθυνέσθωσαν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτὰ ὁ Θεός, λέγων· αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθύνεσθε καὶ πληρώσατε τὰ ὕδατα ἐν ταῖς θαλάσσαις, καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ πληθυνέσθωσαν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

Genesis 1:22 (NETS)

Genesis 1:22 (English Elpenor)

And God blessed them, saying, “Increase, and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. And God blessed them saying, Increase and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the creatures that fly be multiplied on the earth.

Leviticus 11:42 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 11:42 (KJV)

Leviticus 11:42 (NET)

Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all fours, or whatsoever hath many (מַרְבֵּ֣ה) feet, even all swarming things that swarm upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are a detestable thing. Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more (מרבה) feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination. You must not eat anything that crawls on its belly or anything that walks on all fours or on any number (מרבה) of legs of all the swarming things that swarm on the land, because they are detestable.

Leviticus 11:42 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 11:42 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ πᾶς ὁ πορευόμενος ἐπὶ κοιλίας καὶ πᾶς ὁ πορευόμενος ἐπὶ τέσσαρα διὰ παντός ὃ πολυπληθεῗ ποσὶν ἐν πᾶσιν τοῗς ἑρπετοῗς τοῗς ἕρπουσιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς οὐ φάγεσθε αὐτό ὅτι βδέλυγμα ὑμῗν ἐστιν καὶ πᾶς ὁ πορευόμενος ἐπὶ κοιλίας καὶ πᾶς ὁ πορευόμενος ἐπὶ τέσσαρα διαπαντός, ὃ πολυπληθεῖ ποσὶν ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἑρπετοῖς τοῖς ἕρπουσιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, οὐ φάγεσθε αὐτό, ὅτι βδέλυγμα ὑμῖν ἐστι

Leviticus 11:42 (NETS)

Leviticus 11:42 (English Elpenor)

And whatever moves on its belly and whatever moves on four legs at all times, whatever has many feet among all the creeping things that creep upon the earth, you shall not eat it, for it is an abomination to you. And God blessed them saying, Increase and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the creatures that fly be multiplied on the earth.

Ezekiel 36:16 (Tanakh)

Ezekiel 36:16 (KJV)

Ezekiel 36:16 (NET)

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, The Lord’s message came to me:

Ezekiel 36:16 (Septuagint BLB)

Ezekiel 36:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος κυρίου πρός με λέγων Καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος Κυρίου πρός με λέγων

Ezekiel 36:16 (NETS)

Ezekiel 36:16 (English Elpenor)

And a word of the Lord came to me, saying: And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Ezekiel 36:17 (Tanakh)

Ezekiel 36:17 (KJV)

Ezekiel 36:17 (NET)

Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they defiled it by their behavior and their deeds.  In my sight their behavior was like the uncleanness of a woman having her monthly period.

Ezekiel 36:17 (Septuagint BLB)

Ezekiel 36:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)

υἱὲ ἀνθρώπου οἶκος Ισραηλ κατῴκησεν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς αὐτῶν καὶ ἐμίαναν αὐτὴν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν τοῗς εἰδώλοις αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν ταῗς ἀκαθαρσίαις αὐτῶν κατὰ τὴν ἀκαθαρσίαν τῆς ἀποκαθημένης ἐγενήθη ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτῶν πρὸ προσώπου μου υἱὲ ἀνθρώπου, οἶκος ᾿Ισραὴλ κατῴκησεν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς αὐτῶν καὶ ἐμίαναν αὐτὴν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν τοῖς εἰδώλοις αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἀκαθαρσίαις αὐτῶν· κατὰ τὴν ἀκαθαρσίαν τῆς ἀποκαθημένης ἐγενήθη ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτῶν πρὸ προσώπου μου

Ezekiel 36:17 (NETS)

Ezekiel 36:17 (English Elpenor)

Son of man, the house of Israel lived on their land, and they defiled it with their way and with their idols and with their unclean acts; their way became before me like the uncleanness of a woman sitting apart. Son of man, the house of Israel dwelt upon their land, and defiled it by their way, and with their idols, and with their uncleannesses; and their way was before me like the uncleanness of a removed woman.

Ezekiel 36:18 (Tanakh)

Ezekiel 36:18 (KJV)

Ezekiel 36:18 (NET)

Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: So I poured my anger on them because of the blood they shed on the land and because of the idols with which they defiled it.

Ezekiel 36:18 (Septuagint BLB)

Ezekiel 36:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐξέχεα τὸν θυμόν μου ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐξέχεα τὸν θυμόν μου ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς

Ezekiel 36:18 (NETS)

Ezekiel 36:18 (English Elpenor)

And I poured out my wrath upon them So I poured out my wrath upon them:

Ezekiel 36:19 (Tanakh)

Ezekiel 36:19 (KJV)

Ezekiel 36:19 (NET)

And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. I scattered them among the nations; they were dispersed throughout foreign countries.  In accordance with their behavior and their deeds I judged them.

Ezekiel 36:19 (Septuagint BLB)

Ezekiel 36:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ διέσπειρα αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰ ἔθνη καὶ ἐλίκμησα αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰς χώρας κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτῶν καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτῶν ἔκρινα αὐτούς καὶ διέσπειρα αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰ ἔθνη καὶ ἐλίκμησα αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰς χώρας· κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτῶν καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτῶν ἔκρινα αὐτούς

Ezekiel 36:19 (NETS)

Ezekiel 36:19 (English Elpenor)

And scattered them into the nations and winnowed them into the countries; in accordance with their way and their sin I judged them. and I dispersed them among the nations, and utterly scattered them through the countries: I judged them according to their way and according to their sin.

Ezekiel 36:20 (Tanakh)

Ezekiel 36:20 (KJV)

Ezekiel 36:20 (NET)

And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. But when they arrived in the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name.  It was said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, yet they have departed from his land.’

Ezekiel 36:20 (Septuagint BLB)

Ezekiel 36:20 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ εἰσήλθοσαν εἰς τὰ ἔθνη οὗ εἰσήλθοσαν ἐκεῗ καὶ ἐβεβήλωσαν τὸ ὄνομά μου τὸ ἅγιον ἐν τῷ λέγεσθαι αὐτούς λαὸς κυρίου οὗτοι καὶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς αὐτοῦ ἐξεληλύθασιν καὶ εἰσήλθοσαν εἰς τὰ ἔθνη, οὗ εἰσήλθοσαν ἐκεῖ, καὶ ἐβεβήλωσαν τὸ ὄνομά μου τὸ ἅγιον ἐν τῷ λέγεσθαι αὐτούς· λαὸς Κυρίου οὗτοι καὶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς αὐτοῦ ἐξεληλύθασι

Ezekiel 36:20 (NETS)

Ezekiel 36:20 (English Elpenor)

And they came into the nations, there where they entered, and they profaned my holy name when it was said of them, “These are a people of the Lord, and they have gone out of his land.” And they went in among the nations, among which they went, and they profaned my holy name, while it was said of them, These are the people of the Lord, and they came forth out of his land.

Ezekiel 36:21 (Tanakh)

Ezekiel 36:21 (KJV)

Ezekiel 36:21 (NET)

But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. I was concerned for my holy reputation which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.

Ezekiel 36:21 (Septuagint BLB)

Ezekiel 36:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐφεισάμην αὐτῶν διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου τὸ ἅγιον ὃ ἐβεβήλωσαν οἶκος Ισραηλ ἐν τοῗς ἔθνεσιν οὗ εἰσήλθοσαν ἐκεῗ καὶ ἐφεισάμην αὐτῶν διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου τὸ ἅγιον, ὃ ἐβεβήλωσαν οἶκος ᾿Ισραὴλ ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, οὗ εἰσήλθοσαν ἐκεῖ

Ezekiel 36:21 (NETS)

Ezekiel 36:21 (English Elpenor)

And I considered them because of my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations, there where they entered. but I spared them for the sake of my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations, among whom they went.

Ezekiel 36:22 (Tanakh)

Ezekiel 36:22 (KJV)

Ezekiel 36:22 (NET)

Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake that I am about to act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation which you profaned among the nations where you went.

Ezekiel 36:22 (Septuagint BLB)

Ezekiel 36:22 (Septuagint Elpenor)

διὰ τοῦτο εἰπὸν τῷ οἴκῳ Ισραηλ τάδε λέγει κύριος οὐχ ὑμῗν ἐγὼ ποιῶ οἶκος Ισραηλ ἀλλ᾽ ἢ διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου τὸ ἅγιον ὃ ἐβεβηλώσατε ἐν τοῗς ἔθνεσιν οὗ εἰσήλθετε ἐκεῗ διὰ τοῦτο εἰπὸν τῷ οἴκῳ ᾿Ισραήλ· τάδε λέγει Κύριος· οὐχ ὑμῖν ἐγὼ ποιῶ, οἶκος ᾿Ισραήλ, ἀλλ’ ἢ διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου τὸ ἅγιον, ὃ ἐβεβηλώσατε ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, οὗ εἰσήλθετε ἐκε

Ezekiel 36:22 (NETS)

Ezekiel 36:22 (English Elpenor)

Therefore, say to the house of Israel, This is what the Lord says: I do not act for you, O house of Israel, but rather on account of my holy name, which you profaned among the nations, there where you entered. Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord; I do not this, O house of Israel, for your sakes, but because of my holy name, which ye have profaned among the nations, among whom ye went.

Ezekiel 36:23 (Tanakh)

Ezekiel 36:23 (KJV)

Ezekiel 36:23 (NET)

And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. I will magnify my great name that has been profaned among the nations, that you have profaned among them.  The nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I magnify myself among you in their sight.

Ezekiel 36:23 (Septuagint BLB)

Ezekiel 36:23 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἁγιάσω τὸ ὄνομά μου τὸ μέγα τὸ βεβηλωθὲν ἐν τοῗς ἔθνεσιν ὃ ἐβεβηλώσατε ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν καὶ γνώσονται τὰ ἔθνη ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος ἐν τῷ ἁγιασθῆναί με ἐν ὑμῗν κατ᾽ ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ ἁγιάσω τὸ ὄνομά μου τὸ μέγα τὸ βεβηλωθὲν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, ὃ ἐβεβηλώσατε ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν, καὶ γνώσονται τὰ ἔθνη ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι Κύριος ἐν τῷ ἁγιασθῆναί με ἐν ὑμῖν κατ’ ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν

Ezekiel 36:23 (NETS)

Ezekiel 36:23 (English Elpenor)

And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the nations, which you profaned in their midst, and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, when I am hallowed among you before their eyes. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the nations, which ye profaned in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, when I am sanctified among you before their eyes.

Ezekiel 36:27 (Tanakh)

Ezekiel 36:27 (KJV)

Ezekiel 36:27 (NET)

And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. I will put my Spirit within you; I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes and carefully observe my regulations.

Ezekiel 36:27 (Septuagint BLB)

Ezekiel 36:27 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ τὸ πνεῦμά μου δώσω ἐν ὑμῗν καὶ ποιήσω ἵνα ἐν τοῗς δικαιώμασίν μου πορεύησθε καὶ τὰ κρίματά μου φυλάξησθε καὶ ποιήσητε καὶ τὸ πνεῦμά μου δώσω ἐν ὑμῖν καὶ ποιήσω ἵνα ἐν τοῖς δικαιώμασί μου πορεύησθε, καὶ τὰ κρίματά μου φυλάξησθε καὶ ποιήσητε

Ezekiel 36:27 (NETS)

Ezekiel 36:27 (English Elpenor)

And I will give my spirit in you and will act so that you walk in my statutes and keep my judgments and perform them. And I will put my Spirit in you, and will cause you to walk in mine ordinances, and to keep my judgments, and do [them].

Matthew 22:4, 5 (NET)

Matthew 22:4, 5 (KJV)

Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look!  The feast I have prepared for you is ready.  My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready.  Come to the wedding banquet.”’ Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

πάλιν ἀπέστειλεν ἄλλους δούλους λέγων· εἴπατε τοῖς κεκλημένοις· ἰδοὺ τὸ ἄριστον μου ἡτοίμακα, οἱ ταῦροι μου καὶ τὰ σιτιστὰ τεθυμένα καὶ πάντα ἕτοιμα· δεῦτε εἰς τοὺς γάμους παλιν απεστειλεν αλλους δουλους λεγων ειπατε τοις κεκλημενοις ιδου το αριστον μου ητοιμασα οι ταυροι μου και τα σιτιστα τεθυμενα και παντα ετοιμα δευτε εις τους γαμους παλιν απεστειλεν αλλους δουλους λεγων ειπατε τοις κεκλημενοις ιδου το αριστον μου ητοιμασα οι ταυροι μου και τα σιτιστα τεθυμενα και παντα ετοιμα δευτε εις τους γαμους
But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

οἱ δὲ ἀμελήσαντες ἀπῆλθον, ὃς μὲν εἰς τὸν ἴδιον ἀγρόν, ὃς δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἐμπορίαν αὐτοῦ οι δε αμελησαντες απηλθον ο μεν εις τον ιδιον αγρον ο δε εις την εμποριαν αυτου οι δε αμελησαντες απηλθον ο μεν εις τον ιδιον αγρον ο δε εις την εμποριαν αυτου

Matthew 22:7 (NET)

Matthew 22:7 (KJV)

The king was furious!  He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death and set their city on fire. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

δὲ βασιλεὺς ὠργίσθη καὶ πέμψας τὰ στρατεύματα αὐτοῦ ἀπώλεσεν τοὺς φονεῖς ἐκείνους καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτῶν ἐνέπρησεν ακουσας δε ο βασιλευς ωργισθη και πεμψας τα στρατευματα αυτου απωλεσεν τους φονεις εκεινους και την πολιν αυτων ενεπρησεν και ακουσας ο βασιλευς εκεινος ωργισθη και πεμψας τα στρατευματα αυτου απωλεσεν τους φονεις εκεινους και την πολιν αυτων ενεπρησεν

Matthew 22:9, 10 (NET)

Matthew 22:9, 10 (KJV)

So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

πορεύεσθε οὖν ἐπὶ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὁδῶν καὶ ὅσους ἐὰν εὕρητε καλέσατε εἰς τοὺς γάμους πορευεσθε ουν επι τας διεξοδους των οδων και οσους αν ευρητε καλεσατε εις τους γαμους πορευεσθε ουν επι τας διεξοδους των οδων και οσους αν ευρητε καλεσατε εις τους γαμους
And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

καὶ ἐξελθόντες οἱ δοῦλοι ἐκεῖνοι εἰς τὰς ὁδοὺς συνήγαγον πάντας οὓς εὗρον, πονηρούς τε καὶ ἀγαθούς· καὶ ἐπλήσθη ὁ |γάμος| ἀνακειμένων και εξελθοντες οι δουλοι εκεινοι εις τας οδους συνηγαγον παντας οσους ευρον πονηρους τε και αγαθους και επλησθη ο γαμος ανακειμενων και εξελθοντες οι δουλοι εκεινοι εις τας οδους συνηγαγον παντας οσους ευρον πονηρους τε και αγαθους και επλησθη ο γαμος ανακειμενων

Matthew 22:13 (NET)

Matthew 22:13 (KJV)

Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’ Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

τότε ὁ βασιλεὺς εἶπεν τοῖς διακόνοις· δήσαντες αὐτοῦ πόδας καὶ χεῖρας ἐκβάλετε αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον· ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων τοτε ειπεν ο βασιλευς τοις διακονοις δησαντες αυτου ποδας και χειρας αρατε αυτον και εκβαλετε εις το σκοτος το εξωτερον εκει εσται ο κλαυθμος και ο βρυγμος των οδοντων τοτε ειπεν ο βασιλευς τοις διακονοις δησαντες αυτου ποδας και χειρας αρατε αυτον και εκβαλετε εις το σκοτος το εξωτερον εκει εσται ο κλαυθμος και ο βρυγμος των οδοντων

[1] Genesis 1:22 (KJV)

[2] Leviticus 11:42 (KJV)

[3] 1 Samuel 2:1b (Tanakh)

[4] Ephesians 2:10 (NET)  The Greek word translated prepares in 1 Reigns and Kings (Samuel) 2:3 (NETS, English Elpenor) was ἑτοιμάζων (a form of ἑτοιμάζω), a part of the compound word προητοίμασεν (a form of προετοιμάζω) translated prepared beforehand in Ephesians 2:10 (NET).

[5] Philippians 2:12, 13 (NET) Table

[6] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἡτοίμακα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ητοιμασα.

[7] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the masculine ὃς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had, I assume, the neuter ο rather than the article ο.

[8] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the masculine ὃς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had, I assume, the neuter ο rather than the article ο.

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

[10] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had ακουσας δε (KJV: But when the king heard thereof) here, where the Byzantine Majority Text had και ακουσας, and the NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had simply δὲ (untranslated in the NET).

[11] The Byzantine Majority Text had εκεινος following king.  The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

[12] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ὅσους ἐὰν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had οσους αν (KJV: as many as)

[13] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had οὓς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had οσους (KJV: all…they).

[14] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αρατε and και (KJV: take him away, and) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[15] Ephesians 4:22-24 (NET)

[16] Colossians 3:8-11 (NET)

[17] Bernard A. Taylor translated 1 Samuel in the NETS, and the Elpenor version of the Septuagint is the Old Testament of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Atonement, Part 4

I’ll continue to consider yehôvâh’s (יהוה) instruction to Moses: They[1] are to eat those things by which atonement (kâphar, כפר; Septuagint: ἡγιάσθησαν, a form of ἁγιάζω) was made to consecrate and to set them apart, but no one else may eat them, for they are holy.[2]  The atonement of Aaron and his sons continued:

Exodus 29:10-14 (NET)

Leviticus 8:14-17 (NET)

You are to present the bull at the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons are to put their hands on the head of the bull. Then [Moses] brought near the sin offering (chaṭṭâʼâh, החטאת; Septuagint: ἁμαρτίας, a form of ἁμαρτία) bull and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the sin offering (chaṭṭâʼâh, החטאת; Septuagint: ἁμαρτίας, a form of ἁμαρτία) bull,
You are to kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting and he slaughtered it.  Moses then took the blood and put it all around on the horns of the altar with his finger and decontaminated the altar, and he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and so consecrated (qâdash, ויקדשהו; Septuagint: ἡγίασεν, another form of ἁγιάζω) it to make atonement (kâphar, לכפר; Septuagint: ἐξιλάσασθαι, a form of ἐξιλάσκομαι) on it.
and take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; all the rest of the blood you are to pour out at the base of the altar.
You are to take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the lobe that is above the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. Then he took all the fat on the entrails, the protruding lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and Moses offered it all up in smoke on the altar,
But the meat of the bull, its skin, and its dung you are to burn up outside the camp.  It is the purification offering (chaṭṭâʼâh, חטאת; Septuagint: ἁμαρτίας, a form of ἁμαρτία). but the rest of the bull – its hide, its flesh, and its dung – he completely burned up outside the camp just as the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) had commanded Moses.

The sin offering bull was eaten by no one.  The Hebrew word translated holy in the clause for they are holy was קדש (qôdesh).  In the Septuagint קדש (qôdesh) was translated ἅγια (a form of ἅγιος).

But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come.[3]  He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, and he entered once for all into the most holy place (ἅγια, a form of ἅγιος) not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured eternal redemption.[4]

The Greek word translated more perfect was τελειοτέρας (a form of τέλειος).  Later in the same chapter the author located that more perfect tent beyond the phrase not of this creation (Hebrews 9:24-28 NET):

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary (ἅγια, a form of ἅγιος) made with hands – the representation of the true sanctuary – but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us.  And he did not enter to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the sanctuary (ἅγια, a form of ἅγιος) year after year with blood that is not his own, for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world.  But now he has appeared once for all at the consummation of the ages to put away sin by his sacrifice.  And just as people are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment, so also, after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation.

I got a little obsessed (See Table1 below) convincing myself that πολλῶν ἀνενεγκεῖν ἁμαρτίας (to bear the sins of many) was the referent of χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας, but did eventually come to the conclusion that not to bear sin was a better translation of χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας than the more literal without sin (KJV).[5]    The phrase to bear (ἀνενεγκεῖν, a form of ἀναφέρω) the sins of many was an allusion to Isaiah’s prophecy.

Isaiah 53:12 (NET) Hebrews 9:28 (NET Parallel Greek) Isaiah 53:12 (Septuagint)

Isaiah 53:12 (Tanakh)

…he lifted up the sin of many… πολλῶν ἀνενεγκεῖν[6] ἁμαρτίας ἁμαρτίας πολλῶν ἀνήνεγκεν[7] …he bare the sin of many…

The Hebrew word translated ἀνήνεγκεν in the Septuagint was נשׁא (nâśâʼ), which brought me back to the long name of God: And HaShem passed by before him, and proclaimed: ‘The HaShem, HaShem, G-d, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation, forgiving (nâśâʼ, נשׁא; Septuagint: ἀφαιρῶν, a form of ἀφαιρέω) iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and unto the fourth generation.’[8]  The author of Hebrews concluded (Hebrews 10:15-18 NET):

And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, for after saying,[9]This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord.  I will put my laws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds,”[10] then he says, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember[11] no longer.”  Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Dear friends, we are God’s children now, John wrote, and what we will be has not yet been revealed.  We know[12] that whenever it is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is.  And everyone who has this hope focused on him purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure.[13]  The Greek word translated purifies was ἁγνίζει (a form of ἁγνίζω).  It had a very specific meaning.  Now the Jewish feast of Passover was near, and many people went up to Jerusalem from the rural areas before the Passover to cleanse (ἁγνίσωσιν, another form of ἁγνίζω) themselves ritually.[14]

There were rituals to perform.  We have four men who have taken a vow, the brothers in Jerusalem instructed Paul, take them and purify (ἁγνίσθητι, another form of ἁγνίζω) yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may have their heads shaved.[15]  Then Paul took the men the next day, and after he had purified (ἁγνισθείς, another form of ἁγνίζω) himself along with them, he went to the temple and gave notice of the completion of the days of purification (ἁγνισμοῦ, a form of ἁγνισμός), when the sacrifice would be offered for each of them.[16]  But I will strongly suggest that those rituals relate only tangentially to John’s use of ἁγνίζει above.

You have purified (ἡγνικότες, another form of ἁγνίζω) your souls by obeying (ὑπακοῇ, a form of ὑπακοή) the truth,[17] Peter wrote.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and the Byzantine Majority Text had δια πνευματος here as well, translated through the Spirit (KJV).  The clue John left that he meant something other than established ritual was καθώς ἐστιν (literally, “just as he is”), translated just as Jesus is pure.  To walk just as Jesus walked is to be led by the Holy Spirit.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.[18]  But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.[19]

John described a new covenant purification ritual, if you will, previously (1 John 1:8-2:2 NET):

If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.  (My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.)  But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous One, and he himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the whole world.

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, John continued, indeed, sin is lawlessness.  And you know that Jesus was revealed to take away sins,[20] and in him there is no sin.  Everyone who resides in him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him.  Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous.[21]  The Greek words translated practices above were not forms of πράσσω but forms of ποιέωThe one who [does] (ποιῶν, a form of ποιέω) righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous.

The One who does righteousness is the Holy Spirit.  He fills the new human born of God from above with God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness[22] and self-control.[23]  By his will we have been made holy[24] through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.[25]  And the second point is like it: The “God of peace…will in fact do (ποιήσει, another form of ποιέω) this”:[26] make you completely holy and [keep] your spirit and soul and bodyentirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ[27] because He is trustworthy (πιστὸς, a form of πιστός).  I want to be one who [does] (ποιῶν, a form of ποιέω) the truth [who] comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that [my] deeds have been done in God.[28]

The one who practices sin is of the devil, John continued, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.  For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil.  Everyone who has been fathered by God does not practice (ποιεῖ, another form of ποιέω) sin, because God’s seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God.[29]

The one who [does] (ποιεῖ, another form of ποιέω) sin is of the devil.  This is the old human: You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old (παλαιὸν, a form of παλαιός) [human] (ἄνθρωπον, a form of ἄνθρωπος) who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new (καινὸν, a form of καινός) [human] (ἄνθρωπον, a form of ἄνθρωπος) who has been created in God’s image – in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.[30]  So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.[31]

Though the new human is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God, at any given moment one born from above might revert to walking according to the flesh, the old human, sin personified (Romans 7:14-23; 8:1-4 NET):

For we know that the law is spiritual – but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin.  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.  For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh.  For I want to do the good, but I cannot[32] 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.

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 to[33] the law of sin that is in my members…

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.[34]  For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.  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 in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Endure your suffering as discipline,[35] the author of Hebrews wrote.  Actually, your suffering was added by the translators.  The NET parallel Greek text and the Byzantine Majority Text began with εἰς.  A more literal translation would be “Into (or, unto) discipline endure.”  (The Stephanus Textus Receptus began with ει, translated If ye endure chastening.)  What one endures unto discipline was clearer a few verses prior (Hebrews 12:3 NET):

Think of him who endured such opposition against himself[36] by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up.

When I think of Jesus I think of others in opposition to Him, the sin in his own flesh was so marvelously controlled.  The old human has been the most obvious, nearest and dearest sinner whose opposition has been mine to endure.

A table of the occurrences of χωρὶς in the New Testament and its translation in the NET and KJV, and nine tables comparing Hebrews 9:24-28; 1 John 3:2-9; Galatians 5:22-23; Hebrews 10:10; Romans 7:25; Romans 7:14-23; Romans 8:1-4; Hebrews 12:7 and 12:3 in the NET and KJV follow.  I broke the latter tables when the NET parallel Greek text differed from the Stephanus Textus Receptus or the Byzantine Majority Text.

χωρὶς in the New Testament

Reference Greek NET KJV
Matthew 13:34 χωρὶς παραβολῆς without a parable without a parable
Matthew 14:21 χωρὶς γυναικῶν Not counting women beside women
Matthew 15:38 χωρὶς παιδίων (NET) / χωρις γυναικων (Stephanus Textus Receptus) Not counting children beside women
Mark 4:34 χωρὶς δὲ παραβολῆς without a parable without a parable
Luke 6:49 χωρὶς θεμελίου without a foundation without a foundation
John 1:3 χωρὶς αὐτοῦ apart from him without him
John 15:5 χωρὶς ἐμοῦ apart from me without me
John 20:7 χωρὶς by itself by itself
Romans 3:21 χωρὶς νόμου apart from the law without the law
Romans 3:28 χωρὶς ἔργων νόμου apart from the works of the law without the deeds of the law
Romans 4:6 χωρὶς ἔργων apart from works without works
Romans 7:8 χωρὶς γὰρ νόμου For apart from the law For without the law
Romans 7:9 χωρὶς νόμου apart from the law without the law
Romans 10:14 χωρὶς κηρύσσοντος without someone preaching without a preacher
1 Corinthians 4:8 χωρὶς ἡμῶν without us without us
1 Corinthians 11:11 χωρὶς ἀνδρὸς (NET) / χωρὶς γυναικὸς (Stephanus Textus Receptus) independent of man without the woman
χωρὶς γυναικὸς (NET) / χωρὶς ἀνδρὸς (Stephanus Textus Receptus) independent of woman without the man
2 Corinthians 11:28 χωρὶς τῶν παρεκτὸς Apart from other things Beside those things that are without
2 Corinthians 12:3 χωρὶς τοῦ σώματος (NET) / εκτος του σωματος (Stephanus Textus Receptus) apart from the body out of the body
Ephesians 2:12 χωρὶς Χριστοῦ without the Messiah without Christ
Philippians 2:14 χωρὶς γογγυσμῶν without grumbling without murmurings
1 Timothy 2:8 χωρὶς ὀργῆς without anger without wrath
1 Timothy 5:21 χωρὶς προκρίματος without prejudice without preferring one before another
Philemon 1:14 χωρὶς δὲ τῆς σῆς γνώμης However, without your consent But without thy mind
Hebrews 4:15 χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας yet without sin yet without sin
Hebrews 7:7 χωρὶς δὲ πάσης ἀντιλογίας Now without dispute And without all contradiction
Hebrews 7:20 χωρὶς ὁρκωμοσίας[37] done without a sworn affirmation without an oath
without a sworn affirmation without an oath (verse 21)
Hebrews 9:7 χωρὶς αἵματος without blood without blood
Hebrews 9:18 οὐδὲ…χωρὶς αἵματος / ουδ…χωρις αιματος (Stephanus Textus Receptus) with blood neither…without blood
Hebrews 9:22 χωρὶς αἱματεκχυσίας without the shedding of blood without shedding of blood
Hebrews 9:28 χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας not to bear sin without sin
Hebrews 10:28 χωρὶς οἰκτιρμῶν without mercy without mercy
Hebrews 11:6 χωρὶς δὲ πίστεως Now without faith But without faith
Hebrews 11:40 μὴ χωρὶς ἡμῶν together with us without us…not
Hebrews 12:8 χωρίς ἐστε παιδείας you do not experience discipline be without chastisement
Hebrews 12:14 οὗ χωρὶς for without it without which
James 2:18 χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων without works without thy works
James 2:20 χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων without works without works
James 2:26 χωρὶς πνεύματος without the spirit without the spirit
χωρὶς ἔργων / χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων (Stephanus Textus Receptus) without works without works
Hebrews 9:24-28 (NET)

Hebrews 9:24-28 (KJV)

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands – the representation of the true sanctuary – but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

οὐ γὰρ εἰς χειροποίητα εἰσῆλθεν ἅγια Χριστός, ἀντίτυπα τῶν ἀληθινῶν, ἀλλ᾿ εἰς αὐτὸν τὸν οὐρανόν, νῦν ἐμφανισθῆναι τῷ προσώπῳ τοῦ θεοῦ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ου γαρ εις χειροποιητα αγια εισηλθεν ο χριστος αντιτυπα των αληθινων αλλ εις αυτον τον ουρανον νυν εμφανισθηναι τω προσωπω του θεου υπερ ημων ου γαρ εις χειροποιητα αγια εισηλθεν ο χριστος αντιτυπα των αληθινων αλλ εις αυτον τον ουρανον νυν εμφανισθηναι τω προσωπω του θεου υπερ ημων
And he did not enter to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the sanctuary year after year with blood that is not his own, Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world.  But now he has appeared once for all at the consummation of the ages to put away sin by his sacrifice. For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

ἐπεὶ ἔδει αὐτὸν πολλάκις παθεῖν ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου· νυνὶ δὲ ἅπαξ ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τῶν αἰώνων εἰς ἀθέτησιν [τῆς] ἁμαρτίας διὰ τῆς θυσίας αὐτοῦ πεφανέρωται επει εδει αυτον πολλακις παθειν απο καταβολης κοσμου νυν δε απαξ επι συντελεια των αιωνων εις αθετησιν αμαρτιας δια της θυσιας αυτου πεφανερωται επει εδει αυτον πολλακις παθειν απο καταβολης κοσμου νυν δε απαξ επι συντελεια των αιωνων εις αθετησιν αμαρτιας δια της θυσιας αυτου πεφανερωται
And just as people are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment, And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
so also, after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

οὕτως καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἅπαξ προσενεχθεὶς εἰς τὸ πολλῶν ἀνενεγκεῖν ἁμαρτίας ἐκ δευτέρου χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας ὀφθήσεται τοῖς αὐτὸν ἀπεκδεχομένοις εἰς σωτηρίαν. ουτως ο χριστος απαξ προσενεχθεις εις το πολλων ανενεγκειν αμαρτιας εκ δευτερου χωρις αμαρτιας οφθησεται τοις αυτον απεκδεχομενοις εις σωτηριαν ουτως και ο χριστος απαξ προσενεχθεις εις το πολλων ανενεγκειν αμαρτιας εκ δευτερου χωρις αμαρτιας οφθησεται τοις αυτον απεκδεχομενοις εις σωτηριαν
1 John 3:2-9 (NET)

1 John 3:2-9 (KJV)

Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed.  We know that whenever it is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

ἀγαπητοί, νῦν τέκνα θεοῦ ἐσμεν, καὶ οὔπω ἐφανερώθη τί ἐσόμεθα. οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἐὰν φανερωθῇ, ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα, ὅτι ὀψόμεθα αὐτὸν καθώς ἐστιν αγαπητοι νυν τεκνα θεου εσμεν και ουπω εφανερωθη τι εσομεθα οιδαμεν δε οτι εαν φανερωθη ομοιοι αυτω εσομεθα οτι οψομεθα αυτον καθως εστιν αγαπητοι νυν τεκνα θεου εσμεν και ουπω εφανερωθη τι εσομεθα οιδαμεν δε οτι εαν φανερωθη ομοιοι αυτω εσομεθα οτι οψομεθα αυτον καθως εστιν
And everyone who has this hope focused on him purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; indeed, sin is lawlessness. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
And you know that Jesus was revealed to take away (ἄρῃ, a form of αἴρω) sins, and in him there is no sin. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ἐφανερώθη, ἵνα τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἄρῃ, καὶ ἁμαρτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν και οιδατε οτι εκεινος εφανερωθη ινα τας αμαρτιας ημων αρη και αμαρτια εν αυτω ουκ εστιν και οιδατε οτι εκεινος εφανερωθη ινα τας αμαρτιας ημων αρη και αμαρτια εν αυτω ουκ εστιν
Everyone who resides in him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.  For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.  For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Everyone who has been fathered by God does not practice sin, because God’s seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

Galatians 5:22, 23 (KJV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

πραΰτης ἐγκράτεια· κατὰ τῶν τοιούτων οὐκ ἔστιν νόμος πραοτης εγκρατεια κατα των τοιουτων ουκ εστιν νομος πραοτης εγκρατεια κατα των τοιουτων ουκ εστιν νομος

Hebrews 10:10 (NET)

Hebrews 10:10 (KJV)

By his will we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

ἐν ᾧ θελήματι ἡγιασμένοι ἐσμὲν διὰ τῆς προσφορᾶς τοῦ σώματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐφάπαξ εν ω θεληματι ηγιασμενοι εσμεν οι δια της προσφορας του σωματος του ιησου χριστου εφαπαξ εν ω θεληματι ηγιασμενοι εσμεν οι δια της προσφορας του σωματος ιησου χριστου εφαπαξ
Romans 7:25 (NET)

Romans 7:25 (KJV)

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

χάρις τῷ θεῷ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν. ῎Αρα οὖν αὐτὸς ἐγὼ τῷ μὲν νοὶ_ δουλεύω νόμῳ θεοῦ τῇ δὲ σαρκὶ νόμῳ ἁμαρτίας. ευχαριστω τω θεω δια ιησου χριστου του κυριου ημων αρα ουν αυτος εγω τω μεν νοι δουλευω νομω θεου τη δε σαρκι νομω αμαρτιας ευχαριστω τω θεω δια ιησου χριστου του κυριου ημων αρα ουν αυτος εγω τω μεν νοι δουλευω νομω θεου τη δε σαρκι νομω αμαρτιας

Romans 7:14-23 (NET)

Romans 7:14-23 (KJV)

For we know that the law is spiritual – but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
For I don’t understand what I am doing.  For I do not do what I want – instead, I do what I hate. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
But if I do what I don’t want, I agree that the law is good. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
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 know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

Οἶδα γὰρ ὅτι οὐκ οἰκεῖ ἐν ἐμοί, τοῦτ᾿ ἔστιν ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου, ἀγαθόν· τὸ γὰρ θέλειν παράκειται μοι, τὸ δὲ κατεργάζεσθαι τὸ καλὸν οὔ οιδα γαρ οτι ουκ οικει εν εμοι τουτ εστιν εν τη σαρκι μου αγαθον το γαρ θελειν παρακειται μοι το δε κατεργαζεσθαι το καλον ουχ ευρισκω οιδα γαρ οτι ουκ οικει εν εμοι τουτ εστιν εν τη σαρκι μου αγαθον το γαρ θελειν παρακειται μοι το δε κατεργαζεσθαι το καλον ουχ ευρισκω
For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want! For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
So, I find the law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
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
Romans 8:1-4 (NET)

Romans 8:1-4 (KJV)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
Οὐδὲν ἄρα νῦν κατάκριμα τοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ουδεν αρα νυν κατακριμα τοις εν χριστω ιησου μη κατα σαρκα περιπατουσιν αλλα κατα πνευμα ουδεν αρα νυν κατακριμα τοις εν χριστω ιησου μη κατα σαρκα περιπατουσιν αλλα κατα πνευμα
For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
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, For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Hebrews 12:7 (NET)

Hebrews 12:7 (KJV)

Endure your suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons.  For what son is there that a father does not discipline? If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

εἰς παιδείαν ὑπομένετε, ὡς υἱοῖς ὑμῖν προσφέρεται ὁ θεός. τίς γὰρ υἱὸς ὃν οὐ παιδεύει πατήρ ει παιδειαν υπομενετε ως υιοις υμιν προσφερεται ο θεος τις γαρ εστιν υιος ον ου παιδευει πατηρ εις παιδειαν υπομενετε ως υιοις υμιν προσφερεται ο θεος τις γαρ υιος εστιν ον ου παιδευει πατηρ
Hebrews 12:3 (NET)

Hebrews 12:3 (KJV)

Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

ἀναλογίσασθε γὰρ τὸν τοιαύτην ὑπομεμενηκότα ὑπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν εἰς |ἑαυτὸν| ἀντιλογίαν, ἵνα μὴ κάμητε ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν ἐκλυόμενοι αναλογισασθε γαρ τον τοιαυτην υπομεμενηκοτα υπο των αμαρτωλων εις αυτον αντιλογιαν ινα μη καμητε ταις ψυχαις υμων εκλυομενοι αναλογισασθε γαρ τον τοιαυτην υπομεμενηκοτα υπο των αμαρτωλων εις αυτον αντιλογιαν ινα μη καμητε ταις ψυχαις υμων εκλυομενοι

[1] Aaron and his sons (Exodus 28:43 NET)

[2] Exodus 29:33 (NET)

[3] The Greek word translated to come in the NET parallel Greek text was γενομένων (a form of γίνομαι).  In the Stephanus Textus Receptus and the Byzantine Majority texts it was μελλοντων (a form of μέλλω). Table

[4] Hebrews 9:11,12 (NET)

[5] NET note (34): “Grk ‘without sin,’ but in context this does not refer to Christ’s sinlessness (as in Heb 4:15) but to the fact that sin is already dealt with by his first coming.”  My actual question was whether χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας (without sin) referred to those who eagerly await him.  I didn’t discover anything that would allow me to propose that argument in the face of those who know Greek syntax better than I do.

[6] A 2nd aorist active infinitive form of the verb ἀναφέρω

[7] An aorist active indicative 3rd person singular form of the verb ἀναφέρω

[8] Exodus 34:6, 7 (Tanakh)

[9] The NET parallel Greek text had εἰρηκέναι here, a perfect active infinitive form of ῥέω according to the Koine Greek Lexicon (a form of ἐρέω according to BibleHub).  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had προειρηκεναι, a perfect active infinitive form of προερέω.

[10] The NET parallel Greek text had διάνοιαν here, an accusative singular feminine form of διάνοια.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had διανοιων, a genitive plural feminine form of διάνοια according to the Koine Greek Lexicon.

[11] The NET parallel Greek text had μνησθήσομαι here, a form of μιμνήσκω in the indicative mood (though the word “μνησθήσομαι” in the parallel Greek text of the NET for Hebrews 10:17 highlights as, and links to, μνάομαι).  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μνησθω, another form of μιμνήσκω in the subjunctive mood, the same as the Septuagint and the full quotation in Hebrews 8:11, 12.
In the Septuagint and the full quotation this is not an issue: “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” (from Subjunctive Mood).  Isolated as it is in verse 17, however, μὴ μνησθω ἔτι would mean something like “I might remember no longer” while μὴ μνησθήσομαι ἔτι would translate “I will remember no longer.”

[12] In the Stephanus Textus Receptus and the Byzantine Majority Text this clause began with δε (KJV: but).  It is absent in the NET parallel Greek text.

[13] 1 John 3:2, 3 (NET)

[14] John 11:55 (NET)

[15] Acts 21:23b, 24a (NET)

[16] Acts 21:26 (NET)

[17] 1 Peter 1:22a (NET)

[18] Romans 8:14 (NET)

[19] Galatians 5:16 (NET)

[20] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αμαρτιας ημων here (KJV: our sins).  The NET parallel Greek text had simply αμαρτιας.

[21] 1 John 3:4-7 (NET)

[22] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had πραΰτης here, which was also spelled πραοτης in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

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

[24] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had οι here, which was absent from the NET parallel Greek text.

[25] Hebrews 10:10 (NET)

[26] 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NET)

[27] 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NET)

[28] John 3:21 (NET)

[29] 1 John 3:8, 9 (NET)

[30] Ephesians 4:22-24 (NET)

[31] Romans 7:25b (NET)

[32] The NET parallel Greek text had οὔ here where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουχ ευρισκω.

[33] The NET parallel Greek text and Byzantine Majority Text had ἐν here where the Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

[34] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μη κατα σαρκα περιπατουσιν αλλα κατα πνευμα (KJV: who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit) while the NET parallel Greek text did not.

[35] Hebrews 12:7a (NET)

[36] The NET parallel Greek text had ἑαυτὸν here where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτον.

[37] The second occurrence of χωρὶς ὁρκωμοσίας was in verse 21 of the Stephanus Textus Receptus and King James translation, while both were in verse 20 in the NET parallel Greek text and Byzantine Majority Text.

Hypocrisy

You shall not take (nāśā’, תשׁא; Septuagint: λήμψῃ, a form of λαμβάνω) the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who takes (nāśā’, ישׁא; Septuagint: λαμβάνοντα, another form of λαμβάνω) his name in vain.[1]

Three occurrences of forms of nâśâʼ from Genesis 1:1 – Exodus 20:5[2] were translated with forms of λαμβάνω in the Septuagint:

Genesis 21:18 (NET)

Genesis 27:3 (NET)

Genesis 31:17 (NET)

Get up!  Help (nâśâʼ, שׁאי; Septuagint: λαβὲ, another form of λαμβάνω) the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation. Therefore, take (nâśâʼ, שׁא; Septuagint: λαβὲ, another form of λαμβάνω) your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game for me. So Jacob immediately put (nâśâʼ, וישׁא; Septuagint: ἔλαβεν, another form of λαμβάνω) his children and his wives on the camels.

Only one of those (Genesis 27:3) was translated take in the KJV and NET before Exodus 20:7.  There is no particular problem with this translation if I’m studying nâśâʼ.  But if I read Exodus 20:7 in English only while trying to be declared righteous by the law[3] or attempting to have my own righteousness derived from the law,[4] the temptation is great to hear it as words I might say when I stub my toe in the dark.  If I don’t say those words then I may consider myself blameless according to the law.

You shall not bear the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who bears his name in vain.

This translation might have persuaded me even in English that any and every deviation from righteousness is bearing or taking the Lord’s name in vain.  Unbelievers seem to grasp this better than those who are trying to be declared righteous by the law or attempting to have [their] own righteousness derived from the law.  But unbelievers call it hypocrisy rather than bearing or taking the Lord’s name in vain.  According to Merriam-Webster.com:

The word hypocrite ultimately came into English from the Greek word hypokrites, which means “an actor” or “a stage player”…actors in ancient Greek theater wore large masks to mark which character they were playing…

The Greek word took on an extended meaning to refer to any person who was wearing a figurative mask and pretending to be someone or something they were not.  This sense was taken into medieval French and then into English, where it showed up with its earlier spelling, ypocrite, in 13th-century religious texts to refer to someone who pretends to be morally good or pious in order to deceive others.  (Hypocrite gained its initial h– by the 16th century.)

It took a surprisingly long time for hypocrite to gain its more general meaning that we use today: “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.”  Our first citations for this use are from the early 1700s, nearly 500 years after hypocrite first stepped onto English’s stage.  

On bibleone.net hypocrisy was distinguished from bearing or taking the Lord’s name in vain by ascribing more evil intent to hypocrisy:

The meaning of the words, “hypocrite” and “hypocrisy,” as used in the Bible by our Lord Jesus Christ (primarily directed toward the “religious” leaders of the day) implies more than a “simple pretense” or “acting out as a stage-player.”  It embodies a purposeful intent, which stems from a deep-seated core of evil.  More than this, it suggests a determined effort to enforce a standard of conduct upon others, which conduct the enforcer knowingly and deliberately refuses to apply to himself–hence, action born of full knowledge and evil intent.  It is not merely the failure to live up to a holy standard–a condition applicable to every believer on any given day.  It is the condition of a person who is controlled by the sin nature to the end-desire of having power over other human beings by imposing on them a set of rules, which he himself intentionally disregards.  It is a condition applicable to either an unbeliever or a believer, i.e., a believer who is outside God’s will and under the influence of the sin nature.

I was particularly taken by the words imposing on them a set of rules.  That is acting at its core.  Some rules are imposed by the writer through the script.  Some are imposed by the director who interprets the script and blocks the scenes.  Most are self-imposed by the actor.  Though actors call them choices,[5] they are rules of behavior, what a particular character will or will not say or do in any given scene, derived from observation, research, experimentation and a deeply imaginative identification with the character to be performed.  Actors can win some arguments with both the writer and the director (since both are more focused on the work as a whole) because good actors ultimately know the individual characters they play better, at least more interestingly.

Don’t misunderstand me, I love actors and fully appreciate what they do, especially film actors.  I’ve had more opportunity to see them work up close, no one famous though a few were recognizable.  I sit with a silly grin on my face watching Amy Adams sing and dance her way through New York City in Enchanted, and am just as rapt watching her decipher an alien language in Arrival.  A brief exchange in Arrival between linguist Louise (Amy Adams) and physicist Ian (Jeremy Renner) encapsulates how I feel about studying the Bible.

Ian: You know, I was doing some reading about this idea that if you immerse yourself into a foreign language, that you can actually rewire your brain. 

Louise: Yeah, the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis…It’s the theory that the language you speak determines how you think and…

Ian: Yeah.  It affects how you see everything.

You were taught with reference to your former way of life, Paul wrote believers in Ephesus, to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image – in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.[6]  It’s not a matter of being renewed (ἀνανεοῦσθαι, a form of ἀνανεόω) by learning Greek or Hebrew, but by immersing oneself in how the Holy Spirit thinks and communicates in Greek or Hebrew.  No matter how hard Amy Adams worked to become Giselle or Louise, no matter how many choices she made, she never became a cartoon princess or a xenolinguist in reality.

Stephen J. Cole, in the “The Deadly Sin of Hypocrisy (Acts 4:36-5:11),” wrote:

While Jesus was tender with many notorious sinners, He used scathing language to denounce those guilty of religious hypocrisy.

The story of Ananias and Sapphira warns us of the danger of the sin of hypocrisy.

None of the Greek words for hypocrite or hypocrisyὑποκριτής, ὑπόκρισις, ὑποκρίνομαι—occur in, or anywhere near, the story of Ananias and Sapphira.  I assume Pastor Cole took an 18th-century definition of hypocrisy—not living up to professed beliefs—or a 13th-century understanding of ypocrite—deliberate deception—and applied it to the story of Ananias and Sapphira.  Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie (ψεύσασθαι, a form of ψεύδομαι) to the Holy Spirit…”[7]  If we think of hypocrisy as something so evil no believer would dare do it, we miss Jesus’ point about doing righteousness as actors play a role, because we do it all of the time.  It’s how we think.  It’s how we speak to one another:

A Christian wouldn’t do that!   A Christian shouldn’t do that!  Christians should do thus and such.  A real Christian would do this or that!

These are the arguments of actors: observing, researching, experimenting, engaging in deeply imaginative thought about what a Christian might be like and trying to perform that as a series of choices—that is, by obeying rules about how a Christian should or should not behave (Galatians 2:11-14).  It is significantly different from being born from above, possessed (Romans 8:12-17) by his Holy Spirit, filled with God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.[8]

The simplest reason why ὑποκριτής was translated hypocrite in the 16th century is that the Latin derived actor was understood as an agent or doer and may have confused the reader regarding the contrast Paul had created—building on Jesus’ allusion to the Greek theater—between ὑποκριτής and ποιητής, the doers (ποιηταὶ, a form of ποιητής) of the law.

I’ve wasted too much time assuming Jesus was an angry preacher spouting pejoratives rather than patiently communicating the words of eternal life.  So I’ll take forms of ὑποκριτής at face value and remove the exclamation points from the text.  (They are obvious editorial comments added by translators.)  And then hopefully see Jesus again, see the smile on his face and the twinkle of his eyes as He reveals the name of his Father, God is love.

Be on your guard against the teaching (Matthew 16:5-12) of the Pharisees, Jesus told his disciples, which is acting class (ὑπόκρισις).[9]  Actors observe and judge others.  It is part and parcel of their craft as they prepare a role (Matthew 7:1-5 NET):

Do not judge so that you will not be judged.  For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive.  Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own?  You actor (ὑποκριτά, a form of ὑποκριτής), first remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Self promotion is part of the job of being a working actor (Matthew 6:1-4 NET):

Be careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people.  Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven.  Thus whenever you do charitable giving, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the actors (ὑποκριταὶ, another form of ὑποκριτής) do in synagogues and on streets so that people will praise them.  I tell you the truth, they have their reward.  But when you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift may be in secret.  And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

Actors crave an audience and thrive in the limelight (Matthew 6:5, 6, 16-18 NET):

Whenever you pray, do not be like the actors (ὑποκριταί, another form of ὑποκριτής), because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them.  Truly I say to you, they have their reward [Table].  But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.  And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

When you fast, do not look sullen like the actors (ὑποκριταὶ, another form of ὑποκριτής), for they make their faces unattractive so that people will see them fasting.  I tell you the truth, they have their reward [Table].  When you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others when you are fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret.  And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

Actors never actually become the character they perform by acting (Matthew 15:1-9; Luke 13:14-16 NET):

Then Pharisees and experts in the law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said, “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders?  For they don’t wash their hands when they eat.”  He answered them, “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?  For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’  But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,” he does not need to honor his father.’  You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.  Actors (ὑποκριταί, another form of ὑποκριτής), Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, “There are six days on which work should be done!  So come and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath day.”  Then the Lord answered him, “You actors (ὑποκριταί, another form of ὑποκριτής), does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall, and lead it to water?  Then shouldn’t this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be released from this imprisonment on the Sabbath day?”

Since those attempting to serve God by acting are not led by his Holy Spirit, they do not share the mind of Christ but pursue their own agendas (Matthew 22:15-22; Luke 12:54-56 NET):

Then the Pharisees went out and planned together to entrap him with his own words.  They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.  You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality.  Tell us then, what do you think?  Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, “Actors (ὑποκριταί, another form of ὑποκριτής), why are you testing me?  Show me the coin used for the tax.”  So they brought him a denarius.  Jesus said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?”  They replied, “Caesar’s.”  He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  Now when they heard this they were stunned, and they left him and went away.

Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A rainstorm is coming,’ and it does.  And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and there is.  You actors (ὑποκριταί, another form of ὑποκριτής), you know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how to interpret the present time?”

Jesus described the experts in the law and you Pharisees as actors who keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven.  For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.[10]  You cross land and sea to make one convert, and when you get one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.[11]  You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  You should have done these things without neglecting the others.[12]   You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too.[13]  You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean.  In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy (ὑποκρίσεως, a form of ὑπόκρισις) and lawlessness (ἀνομίας, a form of ἀνομία).[14]  You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.[15]

Jesus warned of the consequence of an actor masquerading as a minister of the Gospel (Matthew 24:45-51 NET):

Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their food at the proper time?  Blessed is that slave whom the master finds at work when he comes.  I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions.  But if that evil slave should say to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with drunkards, then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the actors (ὑποκριτῶν, another form of ὑποκριτής), where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done (ἔπραξεν, a form of πράσσω) while in the body, whether good or evil.[16]  We do not want to appear before the judgment seat of Christ as actors with nothing to show but works (ἔργων, a form of ἔργον) of righteousness that we have done (ἐποιήσαμεν, a form of ποιέω).[17]  We want to have some pattern of behavior that demonstrates we have not ignored his teaching or rejected his salvation, that we have heeded his admonition—above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness[18]—and that each of us is one who practices (ποιῶν, another form of ποιέω) the truth, one who comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that [our] deeds (ἔργα, another form of ἔργον) have been done (εἰργασμένα, a form of ἐργάζομαι) in God.[19]

I want to consider another film.  Before I Fall didn’t do very well at the box office.  It’s Groundhog Day as straight-up tragedy.  But I thought it was a deeply moving, poignant film with one fatal flaw.  There are spoilers here for those who are bothered by such things.

Sam (Zoey Deutch), a self-absorbed teenage girl (Samantha), wakes up on the day of her death.  She repeats that day until she gets it right.  “For the first time, when I wake up,” her voiceover says on the last iteration of the last day of her life, “I’m not scared or confused or angry.  Because, for the first time, I truly understand what needs to happen.  I truly understand how to live this day.”  Sam’s transformation from self-absorbed teenage girl to loving daughter, sister and friend is truly breathtaking to behold.

The fatal flaw?  It’s not believable.  And I don’t think Ms. Deutch’s acting is to blame.  Christ-likeness apart from Christ isn’t credible.  Sam’s beautiful transformation is credited to her own knowledge, gained through the experience of repeating the same day over and over (not unlike an actor rehearsing), and her own “big heart.”  And none of us gets to do the same day over and over to acquire such knowledge.  Believers are called to live a new day of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control everyday forever.

Hypocrisy, by the way, isn’t the unforgivable sin.  Living an honest life of sin is never preferable to acting like the righteous.  If the fruit of the Spirit seems AWOL and the only way to obey God’s law is in one’s own strength—and that is possible—by all means do that.  Just don’t mistake that for the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe.[20]  Open the Bible and search diligently for his righteousness once the immediate crisis has passed—win, lose or draw.

My own search began (for the purpose of this discussion) with the Ten Promises.  Though hearing the Ten Commandments as promises wasn’t exactly the silver bullet I hoped at the time, it did begin to change my attitude toward God and my relationship to Him.  So as a conclusion to this essay I invite the reader to hear his promise (Jeremiah 31:31-34) to all who believe, all who are led by his Spirit: You shall not bear the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who bears his name in vain.


[1] Exodus 20:7 (NET) [Table]

[2] Table 1, Forgiven or Passed Over? Part 3

[3] Galatians 5:4 (NET)

[4] Philippians 3:9 (NET)

[5] An excerpt from a video transcript of John Walcutt teaching young actors (all female apparently) follows:

…as you start to, you know, get more into grown up acting, you’re going to be expected to be able to make choices and what that means is, what we started talking about last week where you could look at material and go, “Hmm, what if I did this? What if I looked at it from this point of view? What if I decided that she is guilty? What if I decided, she’s lying?” When you make choices, your work gets interesting…
The lines are only ten percent of a scene, right? We talked about that. The other 90%  is what’s underneath, that’s where you have to make choices so here’s how I want you to think about it. Once you read through a scene and you start to get an idea of what it’s about, understand it. The first thing I want you to ask yourself is, “Who am I? Who am I in this scene? and if you just say… if you make a choice like, “Okay, I’m a girl.” Well that might be an interesting choice for me but for most of you, it’s not going to be an interesting choice. It has to be more specific. I’m a girl who has issues with her dad. I’m a girl who wants to drop out of school because I can’t stand my teachers. I’m, I’m competitive. I’m angry. I’m, I’ve low self esteem. I’m happy-go-lucky, cheerful optimist.
You make the most interesting choices you can. We call them Hot Choices so that, so that the scene starts to pop. So never say, “I’m just a girl.” Never say, “I’m just her friend.” Always make it as interesting and developed and complex as you can. So first thing you ask yourself, “Who am I?” Second thing you ask yourself, “What do I want?” What do I want in this scene, what is my objective?” And always make it about getting something from the other person, as simple as possible and it can change from line to line. Objectives change so I want to make you smile. I want to make you cry, I want to scare you, I want to wake you up, I want you to say, ”I love you.” I want you to laugh. Those are all choices and they determine how you’re going to say your lines…

As actors mature choices may become more personal or more commercial.

[6] Ephesians 4:22-24 (NET)

[7] Acts 5:3a (NET)

[8] Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

[9] Luke 12:1b (NET)

[10] Matthew 23:13 (NET)

[11] Matthew 23:15 (NET)

[12] Matthew 23:23 (NET)

[13] Matthew 23:25, 26 (NET)

[14] Matthew 23:27, 28 (NET)

[15] Matthew 23:29 (NET)

[16] 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NET)

[17] Titus 3:5a (NET)

[18] Matthew 6:33a (NET)

[19] John 3:21 (NET)

[20] Romans 3:22a (NET)

Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 15

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish.  When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good (καλὰ, a form of καλός) fish into containers and threw the bad (σαπρὰ, a form of σαπρός) away.  It will be this way at the end of the age.  Angels will come and separate the evil (πονηροὺς, a form of πονηρός) from the righteous (δικαίων, a form of δίκαιος) and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.[1]  This parable about the kingdom of heaven focused commentators’ attentions on the church as opposed to the world at large.

“In the visible church,” Matthew Henry (1662-1714) wrote, “there is a deal of trash and rubbish, dirt and weeds and vermin, as well as fish….Hypocrites and true Christians shall be parted.”[2]  John Gill (1697-1771) added, “as many as [the angels] find to have a good work of grace wrought and finished in their souls, they will gather into Christ’s barn, into the everlasting habitations, the mansions in Christ’s Father’s house, he is gone to prepare: but as for the bad, who shall appear to be destitute of the grace of God, and righteousness of Christ, notwithstanding their profession of religion, they shall be rejected, as good for nothing, and shall be cast into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.”[3]

“Our Saviour never fails to keep before our minds the great truth that there is to be a day of judgment,” wrote Albert Barnes (1798-1870), “and that there will be a separation of the good and the evil.  He came to preach salvation; and it is a remarkable fact, also, that the most fearful accounts of hell and of the sufferings of the damned, in the Scriptures, are from his lips.  How does this agree with the representations of those who say that all will be saved?”[4]

On the meaning of σαπρὰ (a form of σαπρός) the Pulpit Commentary (1884) reads: [5]

Not to be pressed to mean “corrupt, dead fish, in a state of rottenness” (Goebel), for surely fishermen seldom get many of these, but simply the worthless, the unfit for use.  This would include the legally unclean.  Tristram writes,” The greater number of the species taken on the lake are rejected by the fishermen, and I have sat with them on the gunwale while they went through their net, and threw out into the sea those that were too small for the market or were considered unclean” (‘Nat. Hist. of Bible,’ p. 291, edit. 1889)

Watch out for false prophets, Jesus said, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves.  You will recognize them by their fruit (καρπῶν, a form of καρπός).[6]  I can be fairly specific here: Does the would-be prophet demonstrate love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,[7] the fruit (καρπὸς) of the Spirit?  Or does the would-be prophet practice (πράσσοντες, a form of πράσσω) sexual immorality (πορνεία), impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing,[8] the works (ἔργα, a form of ἔργον) of the flesh?

Jesus continued, Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they?  In the same way, every good (ἀγαθὸν, a form of ἀγαθός) tree bears good (καλοὺς, another form of καλός) fruit, but the bad (σαπρὸν, another form of σαπρός) tree bears bad (πονηροὺς, a form of πονηρός) fruit.[9]  I think it worth mentioning that the word translated bears is ποιεῖ (a form of ποιέω) in both occurrences.  A good (ἀγαθὸν, a form of ἀγαθός) tree is not able to bear bad (πονηροὺς, a form of πονηρός) fruit, Jesus continued, nor a bad (σαπρὸν, another form of σαπρός) tree to bear good (καλοὺς, another form of καλός) fruit.[10]

Make a tree good (καλὸν, another form of καλός) and its fruit will be good (καλὸν, another form of καλός), Jesus said to religious people, or make a tree bad (σαπρὸν, another form of σαπρός) and its fruit will be bad (σαπρὸν, another form of σαπρός), for a tree is known by its fruit.[11]  I’ve written elsewhere how the religious mind reverses this teaching.  Every tree that does not bear good (καλὸν, another form of καλός) fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire, Jesus continued his warning about false prophets.  So then, you will recognize them by their fruit.[12]

This leads me inevitably to the old and new human (ἄνθρωπον, a form of ἄνθρωπος in Greek; I see no reason to specify gender).  You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on (ἐνδύσασθαι, a form of ἐνδύω) the new man who has been created in God’s image – in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.[13]  The word ἐνδύσασθαι means to sink into.  In movies the femme fatale slips into something more comfortable.  To put on the new human is considerably more macho.

I am working class all the way, rarely wear a suit.  If I do, it is to fit in, to impress or to intimidate.  It is a put-on in every sense of the word.  “Fake it until you make it” works in those situations when “you can fool all of the people some of the time.”  It doesn’t work with the new human because no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.[14]  To put on the new human I must believe that God has prepared it beforehand, ready and able to respond as He would have me respond.

This new human is the one who has been fathered by God: We know that everyone fathered by God does not sin, but God protects the one he has fathered, and the evil one cannot touch him.[15]  Everyone who has been fathered by God does not practice sin, because God’s seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God.[16]  This new human is the one who is led by the Spirit: For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.[17]  The old human is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires.  It gets progressively worse, never better.

This was vividly portrayed for me—in me—the Saturday before Mother’s day.  I had a rare opportunity to be home.  My eighty-four-year-old mother asked me to finish trimming her bushes.  Now, of course, she had a particular way it needed to be done.  As I untangled the long extension cord that powered the trimmer I recalled that handling that cord caused her fall last summer.  She broke her hip and lay on the driveway for ten hours, parched and burnt in the sun and then shivering in the rain, until my sister found her.  But the whole time I trimmed those bushes the old human did nothing but bitch, moan and complain about her.

It didn’t affect my behavior.  (I trimmed her bushes to the best of my ability.  No, it wasn’t topiary by any stretch of the imagination.)  The old human didn’t affect my attitude toward her.  (I called and asked her to make sure.)  But I can hardly wait to be rid of the foul thing!  So when I hear—Angels will come and separate the evil from [ἐκ μέσου; literally “out from the midst of”] the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth—I wonder if that describes my release from this sin condemned in my flesh.  And I’m confounded that so many pastors thought instead of members of their congregations.  Why?

Do we differ in our understanding of the fruit of the Spirit?

“And here we may observe that as sin is called the work of the flesh,” Matthew Henry wrote, “because the flesh, or corrupt nature, is the principle that moves and excites men to it, so grace is said to be the fruit of the Spirit, because it wholly proceeds from the Spirit, as the fruit does from the root…”  John Gill was a bit more equivocal:  “Not of nature or man’s free will, as corrupted by sin, for no good fruit springs from thence; but either of the internal principle of grace, called the Spirit, Galatians 5:17 or rather of the Holy Spirit, as the Ethiopic version reads it; the graces of which are called ‘fruit’, and not ‘works’, as the actions of the flesh are; because they are owing to divine influence, efficacy, and bounty…”

Albert Barnes was explicit: “That which the Holy Spirit produces…Paul does not trace them to our own hearts, even when renewed.  He says that they are to be regarded as the proper result of the Spirit‘s operations on the soul.”  In the Pulpit Commentary the fruit of the Spirit was rationalized as “dispositions and states of mind,” and demeaned somewhat as “states of mind or habits of feeling [rather] than concrete actions,” but are still acknowledged as produced by the Holy Spirit: “[Paul] reckons up the dispositions and states of mind which it was the office of the Holy Spirit to produce in them.”

Do we differ in our understanding of the necessity and efficacy of God’s mercy?

“It is not of him that willeth….Applying this general rule to the particular case that Paul has before him,” wrote Matthew Henry, “the reason why the unworthy, undeserving, ill-deserving Gentiles are called, and grafted into the church, while the greatest part of the Jews are left to perish in unbelief, is not because those Gentiles were better deserving or better disposed for such a favour, but because of God’s free grace that made that difference.  The Gentiles did neither will it, nor run for it, for they sat in darkness, Matthew 4:16.  In darkness, therefore not willing what they knew not sitting in darkness, a contented posture, therefore not running to meet it, but anticipated with these invaluable blessings of goodness.  Such is the method of God’s grace towards all that partake of it, for he is found of those that sought him not (Isaiah 65:1) in this preventing, effectual, distinguishing grace, he acts as a benefactor, whose grace is his own.  Our eye therefore must not be evil because his is good…”

John Gill wrote: “but of God that sheweth mercy; in a free sovereign way and manner, which he is not obliged to by anything the creature wills or works; he is at full liberty, notwithstanding whatever they will or do, to give his grace and mercy, when, where, and to whom he pleases; and therefore to give it to some, and deny it to others, can never be accounted an act of injustice, since he is not bound to give it to any.”

Albert Barnes wrote: “But of God that showeth mercy – Salvation in its beginning, its progress, and its close, is of him.  He has a right, therefore, to bestow it when and where he pleases.  All our mercies flow from his mere love and compassion, and not from our deserts.  The essential idea here is, that God is the original fountain of all the blessings of salvation.”  The Pulpit Commentary doesn’t comment on Romans 9:16 directly but reads: “The argument (thus introduced by γὰρ) requires two understood premisses—that God cannot possibly be unrighteous, and that what he himself said to Moses must be true.”

Do we differ on who may be shown mercy?

Matthew Henry didn’t comment directly on Romans 11:32: “He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.  Christ’s errand into the world was to turn away ungodliness, to turn away the guilt by the purchase of pardoning mercy, and to turn away the power by the pouring out of renewing grace, to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21), to separate between us and our sins, that iniquity might not be our ruin, and that it might not be our ruler.  Especially to turn it away from Jacob, which is that for the sake of which he quotes the text, as a proof of the great kindness God intended for the seed of Jacob.”

So far so good.  Mr. Henry quoted Paul quoting Isaiah:

NET

Parallel Greek

Septuagint

The Deliverer will come out of Zion; he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.

Romans 11:26b

ἥξει ἐκ Σιὼν ὁ ρυόμενος,

ἀποστρέψει ἀσεβείας ἀπὸ Ἰακώβ.

Romans 11:26b

καὶ  ἥξει ἕνεκεν Σιων ὁ ῥυόμενος καὶ ἀποστρέψει ἀσεβείας ἀπὸ Ιακωβ

Isaiah 59:20

Then Mr. Henry quoted the same verse in Isaiah from the Masoretic text: “In Isaiah it is, The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto those that turn from transgression in Jacob, which shown who in Zion were to have a share in and to reap benefit by the deliverance promised, those and those only that leave their sins and turn to God to them Christ comes as a Redeemer, but as an avenger to those that persist in impenitence.”  Then he proposed an unbelievable solution: “Putting both these readings together, we learn that none have an interest in Christ but those that turn from their sins, nor can any turn from their sins but by the strength of the grace of Christ.”

In other words, no one can be saved since God will only show mercy to those who turn from their sins and none can turn from their sins apart from God’s mercy.  With a Gospel message like that we need not wonder at the “deal of trash and rubbish, dirt and weeds and vermin” in his church.  That’s not quite fair.  Mr. Henry didn’t specify whether the “deal of trash and rubbish, dirt and weeds and vermin” were members of his own congregation or another.  According to an online bio “he began his regular ministry as non-conformist pastor of a Presbyterian congregation…”  Perhaps he wrote thus of Anglicans or Catholics.  But I think I understand why he had no comment to make on Paul’s declaration: For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.[18]

“Jews, though for the present unbelievers,” John Gill wrote, “yet it may be thought, that through the mercy the Gentiles had received, they would some time or other be provoked to seek for, and so obtain the same mercy, Romans 11:31, and the rather this may be given into and received, not only because they both have been in a state of unbelief, but the end and design of God in concluding them in it, were to have mercy on each of them, Romans 11:32…” I may be mistaken but I take Mr. Gill to mean that God will have mercy on some Jews and Gentiles (those who turn from their sins perhaps?).  Mr. Gill continued, “which dispensation of God both to one and to the other by turns, in different ways, was so amazing and unaccountable to the apostle, that he breaks out into admiration at the wisdom and knowledge of God…”

“Mercy is favor shown to the undeserving,” wrote Albert Barnes.  “It could not have been shown to the Jews and the Gentiles unless it was before proved that they were guilty.  For this purpose proof was furnished that they were all in unbelief….Thus, all people were on a level; and thus all might be admitted to heaven without any invidious distinctions, or any dealings that were not in accordance with mercy and love….It does not prove that all people will be saved; but that those who are saved shall be alike saved by the mercy of God; and that He intends to confer salvation on Jews and Gentiles on the same terms.”  I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassionSo then, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy. [19]

“Thus the latter expression [e.g., Romans 11:32] is not in itself adducible in support of the doctrine of universalism,” the Pulpit Commentary reads.  “Certainly the prospect of a universal triumph of the gospel before the end rises here before the apostle in prophetic vision; and it may be that it carries with it to his mind further glories of eternal salvation for all, casting their rays backward over all past ages, so as to inspire an unbounded hope.  Such a hope, which seems elsewhere intimated (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:24-29; Ephesians 1:9, Ephesians 1:10, Ephesians 1:20-23; Colossians 1:15-20) would justify the glowing rhapsody of admiration and thanksgiving that follows more fully than if we supposed the apostle to contemplate still the eternal perdition of the multitudes who in all the ages have not on earth found mercy.”

Here the Pulpit Commentary referred to Romans 11:32-36 (NET):

For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.  Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!  For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?  Or who has first given to God, that God needs to repay him?  For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be glory forever!  Amen.

I’ll pick this up again later.

[1] Matthew 13:47-50 (NET)

[2] Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

[3] John Gill’s Exposition of the Whole Bible

[4] Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible

[5] Pulpit Commentary

[6] Matthew 7:15, 16a (NET)

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

[8] Galatians 5:19-21a (NET)

[9] Matthew 7:16b, 17(NET)

[10] Matthew 7:18 (NET)

[11] Matthew 12:33 (NET)

[12] Matthew 7:19, 20 (NET)

[13] Ephesians 4:22-24 (NET)

[14] Hebrews 4:13 (NET)

[15] 1 John 5:18 (NET) Table

[16] 1 John 3:9 (NET)

[17] Romans 8:14 (NET)

[18] Romans 11:32 (NET)

[19] Romans 9:15b, 16 (NET)

Romans, Part 73

I’ll continue to consider the dark side of Contribute (κοινωνοῦντες, a form of κοινωνέω) to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality;[1] namely (2 John 1:9-11 NET):

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not remain in the teaching of Christ does not have God.  The one who remains in this teaching has both the Father and the Son.  If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not give him any greeting, because the person who gives him a greeting shares (κοινωνεῖ, another form of κοινωνέω) in his evil deeds.

I turn here to Love the Lord your Godwith all your mind (διανοίας, a form of διάνοια).[2]  Jesus didn’t say anything negative about the Pharisees’ or the law experts’ διανοίας.  He opened his disciples’ νοῦν, implying that they were closed formerly: Then he opened their minds (νοῦν, a form of νοῦς) so they could understand (συνιέναι, a form of συνίημι) the scriptures[3]  If I had known this when I began this study would I have called it something other than the religious mind?  Probably not.  I’m a Gentile with a philosophical bent to my mind.  Paul had something to say about that even if Jesus did not.

Though Pharisees and law experts might not have considered a Gentile mind religious, I’m using the term to mean all human efforts to satisfy (or, replace) a god or God (yehôvâh).  Even atheists can have religious minds as I use the term.  In fact my religious mind eventually undermined my atheism.  When I wanted to consider myself good again I invented “more realistic” rules than yehôvâh’s to obey.  I failed to obey them.  So I made “even more realistic” rules.  Eventually my standards were so low even I realized they were unworkable.  And I still wasn’t keeping them!

So I say this, and insist in the Lord, Paul wrote the church at Ephesus, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking (νοὸς, another form of νοῦς).  They are darkened in their understanding (διανοίᾳ, another form of διάνοια), being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance (ἄγνοιαν, a form of ἄγνοια) that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.[4]  So, loving yehôvâh with all your mind is equivalent to loving Him with all of one’s understanding.

The solution, by the way, to futile thinking was: You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old (παλαιὸν, a form of παλαιός) man (ἄνθρωπον, a form of ἄνθρωπος) who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind (νοὸς, another form of νοῦς), and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image – in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.[5]  The old man we are to lay aside is our old (παλαιὸς) man (ἄνθρωπος) [that] was crucified with [Christ] so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.[6]  Again, sharing in his death and resurrection through faith in Jesus proves to be an important aspect of the Gospel (Romans 6:3, 4 NET).

Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.

And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds (διανοίᾳ, another form of διάνοια) as expressed through your evil deeds,[7] Paul wrote Gentiles in Colossae.  The Greek words translated evil deeds here are τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (a form of πονηρός).  In reference to Gentiles I have no doubt that Paul had sins in view, but even as an atheist my works were “full of labours, annoyances, and hardships.”  And although you were dead in your transgressions and sins, Paul wrote Gentiles in Ephesus, in which you formerly lived according to this world’s present path, according to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience (ἀπειθείας, a form of ἀπείθεια), among whom all of us [even a former Pharisee] also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind (διανοιῶν, another form of διάνοια), and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest[8]

But God, Paul continued as he introduced the solution to this problem.  But first I want to consider yehôvâh’s promise of a new covenant.  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 (διάνοιαν, another form of διάνοια) and I will inscribe them on their hearts (καρδίας, a form of καρδία).  And I will be their God and they will be my people.[9]  And again, This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws on their hearts (καρδίας, a form of καρδία) and I will inscribe them on their minds (διάνοιαν, another form of διάνοια)[10]

This is a quotation from Jeremiah 31:33.  The Greek texts are compared below.

NET

Parallel Greek NETS

Septuagint

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.

Hebrews 8:10

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

Hebrews 8:10

…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.

Ieremias 38:33 (31:33)

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 αὐτοῖς εἰς θεόν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔσονταί μοι εἰς λαόν

Jeremiah 31:33

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, a form of γινώσκω) the Lord, since they will all know (εἰδήσουσιν, a form of εἴδω; e.g., to know by seeing) me, from the least to the greatest,[11] the first passage continued.  The Greek texts are compared below:

NET

Parallel Greek NETS

Septuagint

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.

Hebrews 8:11

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

Hebrews 8:11

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…

Ieremias 38:34a (31:34a)

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

Jeremiah 31:34a

And this knowing is eternal life according to Jesus: Now this is eternal life – that they know (γινώσκωσιν, another form of γινώσκω) you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.[12]  And we know (οἴδαμεν, another form of εἴδω) that the Son of God has come and has given us insight (διάνοιαν, another form of διάνοια) to know him who is true, John wrote, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ.  This one is the true God and eternal life.[13]  The gift the Son of God has given here is διάνοιαν, the mind, understanding or insight with which we love yehôvâh.  Diminishing the scope of this gift to a place in heaven while turning back to the futility of [our former] thinking to work our own works of righteousness in our own strength demeans both Jesus and eternal life.

But God, being rich in mercy, Paul continued writing Gentiles in Ephesus, because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved! –and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast.  For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.[14]

Love the Lord your Godwith all your strength (ἰσχύος, a form of ἰσχύς).[15]  I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul wrote Gentiles at Ephesus, the Father of glory, may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge (ἐπιγνώσει, a form of ἐπίγνωσις) of him, – since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened – so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who believe, as displayed in the exercise of his immense (ἰσχύος, a form of ἰσχύς) strength.[16]  Finally, he added, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength (ἰσχύος, a form of ἰσχύς) of his power.[17]

To attempt to function on our own away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength (ἰσχύος, a form of ἰσχύς) was Paul’s description of eternal destruction: They will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength[18]  Whoever speaks, Peter wrote, let it be with God’s words.  Whoever serves, do so with the strength (ἰσχύος, a form of ἰσχύς) that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ.  To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever.  Amen.[19]  If we believe Him his ἰσχύος is our ἰσχύος, the ἰσχύος with which we love yehôvâh.

This[20] is the teaching of Christ as presented in the New Testament as opposed to the teaching of the religious mind.  Is it the teaching your teachers bring to you?  If not the person who gives him a greeting shares in his evil deeds, according to John.  I would be very wary of supporting that teacher financially.  This gives us a context for Paul’s admonition (Galatians 6:6-10 NET)

Now the one who receives instruction in the word must share (Κοινωνείτω, another form of κοινωνέω) all good things (ἀγαθοῖς, a form of ἀγαθός) with the one who teaches it.  Do not be deceived.  God will not be made a fool.  For a person will reap what he sows, because the person who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.  So we must not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up.  So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good (ἀγαθὸν, another form of ἀγαθός) to all people, and especially to those who belong to the family of faith.

The teaching of Christ sows to the Spirit.  The teaching of the religious mind sows to [our] own flesh.  Money is not the only, or even the primary, good thing to share with the teacher of the word, the one who remains in the teaching of Christ“No servant can serve two masters,” Jesus said, “for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and money.”  The Pharisees [e.g., the New Testament epitome of those with religious minds] (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed him.[21]

And need is the key to help make a determination what to contribute or share in.  The primary needs of all believers are: 1) the need to be baptized by Jesus in the Holy Spirit; 2) to believe that his Father knows our needs before we ask Him, and that He is willing to supply our needs; and 3) to accept that our most pressing need is to sit at Jesus’ feet, to listen and to live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

But whoever has the world’s possessions and sees his fellow Christian in need (χρείαν, a form of χρεία), John wrote, and shuts off his compassion against him, how can the love of God reside in such a person?[22]  Make every effort to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way, Paul wrote Titus, make sure they have what they need (ἵνα μηδὲν αὐτοῖς λείπῃ; so that nothing or no one of theirs is left behind).  Here is another way that our people can learn to engage in good works to meet pressing needs (χρείας, another form of χρεία) and so not be unfruitful.[23]

My purpose was not to minimize these more obvious aspects of contributing to the needs of the saints, but to highlight how much broader this contributing, or sharing in, actually is in the New Testament.  I’ll conclude this with Peter’s contribution to the needs of the saints as something which we all share with one another (1 Peter 4:12-14 NET):

Dear friends, do not be astonished that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice (χαίρετε, a form of χαίρω) in the degree that you have shared (κοινωνεῖτε, another form of κοινωνέω) in the sufferings (παθήμασιν, a form of πάθημα) of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice (ἀγαλλιώμενοι, a form of ἀγαλλιάω) and be glad (χαρῆτε, another form of χαίρω).  If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, who is the Spirit of God, rests on you.

Do not neglect hospitality (φιλοξενίας , a form of φιλονεξία), because through it some have entertained angels without knowing it.[24]  This is the only other occurrence of a form of φιλονεξία in the New Testament.  But I hope I have been persuasive that when Paul wrote pursue hospitality (φιλοξενίαν, another form of φιλονεξία) he did not intend to pen a “law of Paul,” a rule to be obeyed, something to pursue (διώκοντες, a form of διώκω) in one’s own strength.  His intent was that this “love to strangers” would flow naturally (e.g., supernaturally) from the Spirit of God through the believer and out into the world, one of the good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.[25]


[1] Romans 12:13 (NET)

[2] Mark 12:30a (NET)

[3] Luke 24:45 (NET)

[4] Ephesians 4:17, 18 (NET) Table

[5] Ephesians 4:22-24 (NET)

[6] Romans 6:6 (NET)

[7] Colossians 1:21 (NET)

[8] Ephesians 2:1-3 (NET) Table

[9] Hebrews 8:10 (NET)

[10] Hebrews 10:16 (NET)

[11] Hebrews 8:11 (NET)

[12] John 17:3 (NET)

[13] 1 John 5:20 (NET)

[14] Ephesians 2:4-10 (NET)

[15] Mark 12:30a (NET)

[16] Ephesians 1:17-19 (NET)

[17] Ephesians 6:10 (NET)

[18] 2 Thessalonians 1:9 (NET)

[19] 1 Peter 4:11 (NET)

[20] I am considering Romans, Part 71 and Romans, Part 72 here as well, not as an exhaustive study but as a fairly thorough study of the teaching of Christ on the issue of contributing.

[21] Luke 16:13, 14 (NET)

[22] 1 John 3:17 (NET)

[23] Titus 3:13, 14 (NET)

[24] Hebrews 13:2 (NET)

[25] Ephesians 2:10b (NET)