A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 4

Posted on April 12, 2020 by admin

As I continue to focus on the Sabbath (because it has so much material to access) I’ve arrived at the first statement of the ten commandments in Exodus. So here is the shadow of the good things to come of the Sabbath in its most definitive form. This section begins, And G-d spoke all these words, saying:^[1]

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Exodus 20:8-11 (Tanakh)	Exodus 20:8-11 (NET)	Exodus 20:8-11 (NETS)	Exodus 20:8-11 (English Elpenor)
Remember the sabbath (הַשַּׁבָּ֜ת) day, to keep it holy.	“Remember the Sabbath (shabbâth, השבת) day to set it apart as holy.	Remember the day of the sabbaths (σαββάτων) to consecrate it.	Remember the sabbath (σαββάτων) day to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work;	For six days you may labor and do all your work,	For six days you shall labor and do all your labor,	Six days thou shalt labour, and shalt perform all thy work.
but the seventh day is a sabbath (שַׁבָּ֣ת) unto HaShem thy G-d, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates;	but the seventh day is a Sabbath (shabbâth, שבת) to the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates.	but on the seventh day there is Sabbata (σάββατα) to the Lord your God. You shall not do in it any labor, you and your son and your daughter, your male slave and your female slave, your ox and your draft animal and any animal of yours and the guest who resides among you.	But on the seventh day is the sabbath (σάββατα) of the Lord thy God; on it thou shalt do no work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy servant nor thy maidservant, thine ox nor thine ass, nor any cattle of thine, nor the stranger that sojourns with thee.
in six days HaShem made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested (וַיָּ֖נַח) on the seventh day; wherefore HaShem blessed the sabbath (הַשַּׁבָּ֖ת) day, and hallowed it.	For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested (nûach, וינח) on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath (shabbâth, השבת) day and set it apart as holy.	For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things in them, and he rested (κατέπαυσεν) on the seventh day and consecrated it. For this reason the Lord blessed the seventh (ἑβδόμην) day and consecrated it.	For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, and the sea and all things in them, and rested (κατέπαυσε) on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the seventh (ἑβδόμην) day, and hallowed it.

Do these translations effectively convey the truth that, The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath^[2]? This isn’t a question I’ll explore necessarily in this essay. It is a safeguard, along with Jesus’ more general key to the Old Testament—Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above’,^[3] that I might not be waylaid by shadows while studying the law.

I will note a new Hebrew word וַיָּ֖נַח (nûach) here: In this reprise of Genesis 2:2—and rested on the seventh day—וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ (shâbath) has been replaced by וַיָּ֖נַח (nûach). And the ark rested (nûach, וַתָּ֤נַח) in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.^[4] The rabbis returned to κατέπαυσε(ν) (a form of καταπαύω) in the ten commandments: The Lord rested on the seventh day; He did not “sabbatize.” When Noah’s ark rested, however, the rabbis chose ἐκάθισεν (a form of καθίζω).

Another item of note: In the Masoretic text HaShem blessed the sabbath (shabbâth, הַשַּׁבָּ֖ת) day. In the Septuagint the Lord blessed the seventh (ἑβδόμην, a form of ἕβδομος) day. Since the Hebrew construction in Genesis 2:3 was identical except that הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י (sh^ebı̂yʽı̂y) was replaced by הַשַּׁבָּ֖ת (shabbâth), it may seem that the Septuagint is the more original here. The problem with that is Exodus 20:8 was also identical construction but the word was הַשַּׁבָּ֜ת (shabbâth), translated σαββάτων (a form of σάββατον) in the Septuagint. I’ll call it a toss-up.

Consequently a Sabbath rest (σαββατισμὸς) remains for the people of God. For the one who enters God’s rest (κατάπαυσιν, a form of κατάπαυσις) has also rested (κατέπαυσεν, a form of καταπαύω) from his works (ἔργων, a form of ἔργον), just as God did from his own works.^[5]

This is the advantage of studying the Sabbath. The good things to come of the Sabbath are stated as explicitly as its shadow in the law. I’ll back up and take a run at this (Hebrews 4:1, 2 NET):

Therefore we must be wary that, while the promise of entering his rest (κατάπαυσιν, a form of κατάπαυσις) remains open, none of you may seem to have come short of it. For we had good news proclaimed (εὐηγγελισμένοι, a form of εὐαγγελίζω; KJV: gospel preached) to us just as they did. But the message they heard did them no good, since they did not join in with^[6] those who heard it in faith.

The Greek word translated we must be wary was φοβηθῶμεν (a form of φοβέω), fear in all its connotations of fearing the Lord. The Greek word συγκεκραμενος (a form of συγκεράννυμι) is singular and was translated being mixed with in the KJV: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. In other words, they didn’t believe it. In the NET, however, συγκεκερασμένους (another form of συγκεράννυμι) is plural and was translated as if it referred to the people rather than the message. So the message they heard did them no good, since they didn’t go to church. I’m not so sure that συγκεκερασμένους was original here.

I’ll back up a bit further (Hebrews 3:14-19 NET):

For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence firm until the end. As it says, “Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks! Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” For which ones heard and rebelled? Was it not all who came out of Egypt under Moses’^[7] leadership? And against whom was God provoked for forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear they would never enter into his rest (κατάπαυσιν, a form of κατάπαυσις), except those who were disobedient (ἀπειθήσασιν, a form of ἀπειθέω; KJV: believed not)? So we see that they could not enter because of unbelief (ἀπιστίαν, a form of ἀπιστία).

After establishing a causal relationship between ἀπιστία and ἀπειθέω—unbelief causes disobedience—I don’t see the author of Hebrews or the Holy Spirit muddying the waters with συγκεκερασμένους. I don’t know what documents or reasons the Nestle-Aland editors employed, but on the face of it crediting disobedience to a lack of church attendance sounds like a later alteration to the Greek text.

I’ll continue from where I left off (Hebrews 4:3-8 NET):

For we who have believed enter that rest (κατάπαυσιν, a form of κατάπαυσις), as he has said, “As I swore in my anger, ‘They will never enter my rest (κατάπαυσιν, a form of κατάπαυσις)!’”^[8] And yet God’s works were accomplished from the foundation of the world. For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this way: “And God rested (κατέπαυσεν, a form of καταπαύω) on the seventh day from all his works,” but to repeat the text cited earlier: “They will never enter my rest (κατάπαυσιν, a form of κατάπαυσις)!” Therefore it remains for some to enter it, yet those to whom it was previously proclaimed (εὐαγγελισθέντες, a form of εὐαγγελίζω) did not enter because of disobedience (ἀπείθειαν, a form of ἀπείθεια; KJV: unbelief). So God again ordains a certain day, “Today,” speaking through David^[9] after so long a time, as in the words quoted before,^[10] “Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks! Do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken afterward about another day.

For if Jesus had given them rest, we read in the KJV, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.^[11] This is certainly the safer translation in the sense that the translators exerted the least interpretation over the Greek text. The only safer step I can imagine would have been to transliterate Ἰησοῦς Iesous. Jesus and Joshua are Ἰησοῦς in Greek.

Exodus 17:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 17:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐποίησεν Ἰησοῦς καθάπερ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Μωυσῆς καὶ ἐξελθὼν παρετάξατο τῷ Αμαληκ καὶ Μωυσῆς καὶ Ααρων καὶ Ωρ ἀνέβησαν ἐπὶ τὴν κορυφὴν τοῦ βουνοῦ	καὶ ἐποίησεν ᾿Ιησοῦς καθάπερ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Μωυσῆς, καὶ ἐξελθὼν παρετάξατο τῷ ᾿Αμαλήκ· καὶ Μωυσῆς καὶ ᾿Ααρὼν καὶ ῍Ωρ ἀνέβησαν ἐπὶ τὴν κορυφὴν τοῦ βουνοῦ
Exodus 17:10 (NETS)	Exodus 17:10 (English Elpenor)
And Iesous did as Moyses said to him and set up in battle array with Amelek, and Moyses and Aaron and Hor went up onto the top of the hill.	And Joshua did as Moses said to him, and he went out and set the army in array against Amalec, and Moses and Aaron and Or went up to the top of the hill.

It seems fairly obvious to translate Ἰησοῦς Joshua in Exodus 17:10. But what about Hebrews 4:8? God was added by the NET translators. The KJV translators derived he from ἐλάλει, the 3^rd person singular form of the verb λαλέω.

Personally, I have no difficulty these days believing that He who was born into this world as Ἰησοῦς rested on the seventh day from all his works of creation, swore in [his] anger, ‘They will never enter my rest’ in the time of Moses, did not grant the rest He was concerned with in the time of Joshua and promised another day of rest through his prophet David. But would I have understood that this particular passage referred to Joshua’s conquest of Canaan if the NET translators (like most modern translators) hadn’t translated Ἰησοῦς Joshua and distinguished him from the one speaking in Psalm 95? I don’t know, probably not until I began to study this deeply.

Consequently a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God, the writer of Hebrews continued. For the one who enters God’s rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.^[12] Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (ἀναπαύσω, a form of ἀναπαύω), Jesus promised. Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (ἀνάπαυσιν, a form of ἀνάπαυσις; Exodus 16:23 Septuagint) for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.^[13]

My entering into God’s rest differs from his rest in a significant way. He rested from works that were very good: God saw all that he had made—and it was very good!^[14] I am eager to rest from works of evil at one extreme, hypocrisy at the other (the works of an actor playing at righteousness) or some jumbled combination of the two everywhere in between. Wretched man that I am! Paul lamented. Who will rescue me from this body of death?^[15] Paul understood entering God’s rest this way (Galatians 2:20, 21 NET):

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside God’s grace, because if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing!

Though he never used the words, I think Paul wrote extensively about this Sabbath rest from the works of the flesh (Romans 3:30, 31; 13:9, 10; Galatians 5:16, 17; 5:22-25 NET):

Since^[16] God is one, he will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead we uphold the law.^[17]

For the commandments, “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,” (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself” [Table]. Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

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

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law [Table]. Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit.

And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.^[18] He knows better than I do when I’m relying on, resting in the fruit of his Spirit, or when I’m trying to make myself righteous by obeying some rule. And I am not so attuned to his Holy Spirit that I discern any of this apart from studying the Bible with Him (1 Corinthians 2:9-16). For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge (κριτικὸς) the desires and thoughts of the heart.^[19]

I’ll pick this up in another essay. A table comparing the Greek of Psalm 95:7b, 8a (94:7b, 8a) in the Septuagint with that of the quotation in Hebrews 3:15 follows:

Hebrews 3:15 (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 95:7b, 8a (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 94:8a (Septuagint Elpenor)
σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε, μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν ὡς ἐν τῷ παραπικρασμῷ	σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν ὡς ἐν τῷ παραπικρασμῷ	σήμερον, ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε, μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, ὡς ἐν τῷ παραπικρασμῷ
Hebrews 3:15 (NET)	Psalm 94:7b, 8a (NETS)	Psalm 94:8a (English Elpenor)
Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks! Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.	Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at the embittering,	To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation,

A table comparing the Greek of Psalm 95:11 (94:11) in the Septuagint with that of the quotation in Hebrews 4:3 follows:

Hebrews 4:3a (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 95:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 94:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὡς ὤμοσα ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ μου εἰ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσιν μου	ὡς ὤμοσα ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ μου εἰ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσίν μου	ὡς ὤμοσα ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ μου· εἰ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσίν μου
Hebrews 4:3a (NET)	Psalm 94:11 (NETS)	Psalm 94:11 (English Elpenor)
“As I swore in my anger, ‘They will never enter my rest!’”	As I swore in my wrath, “If they shall enter into my rest!”	So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.

A table comparing the Greek of Genesis 2:2 in the Septuagint with that of the quotation in Hebrews 4:4 follows:

Hebrews 4:4b (NET Parallel Greek)	Genesis 2:2b (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 2:2b (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ κατέπαυσεν ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ	καὶ κατέπαυσεν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ	καὶ κατέπαυσε τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ
Hebrews 4:4b (NET)	Genesis 2:2b (NETS)	Genesis 2:2b (English Elpenor)
“And God rested on the seventh day from all his works,”	and he left off on the seventh day from all his works	and he ceased on the seventh day from all his works

Tables comparing Exodus 20:1; 20:8; 20:9; 20:10; 20:11; Genesis 8:4; Psalm 95:7; 95:8; 95:11; Exodus 17:10 and Genesis 1:31 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and Exodus 20:1; 20:8; 20:9; 20:10; 20:11; Genesis 8:4 (8:3b); Psalm 95:7 (94:7); 95:8 (94:8); 95:11 (94:11); Exodus 17:10 and Genesis 1:31 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow. Following those are tables comparing Hebrews 4:2, 3:16; 4:7 and Romans 3:30, 31 in the NET and KJV.

Exodus 20:1 (Tanakh)	Exodus 20:1 (KJV)	Exodus 20:1 (NET)
And G-d spoke all these words, saying:	And God spake all these words, saying,	God spoke all these words:

Exodus 20:1 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 20:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐλάλησεν κύριος πάντας τοὺς λόγους τούτους λέγων	ΚΑΙ ἐλάλησε Κύριος πάντας τοὺς λόγους τούτους λέγων
Exodus 20:1 (NETS)	Exodus 20:1 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord spoke all these words, saying:	And the Lord spoke all these words, saying:

Exodus 20:8 (Tanakh)	Exodus 20:8 (KJV)	Exodus 20:8 (NET)
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.	Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.	“Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy.

Exodus 20:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 20:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
μνήσθητι τὴν ἡμέραν τῶν σαββάτων ἁγιάζειν αὐτήν	μνήσθητι τὴν ἡμέρα τῶν σαββάτων ἁγιάζειν αὐτήν
Exodus 20:8 (NETS)	Exodus 20:8 (English Elpenor)
Remember the day of the sabbaths to consecrate it.	Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.

Exodus 20:9 (Tanakh)	Exodus 20:9 (KJV)	Exodus 20:9 (NET)
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work;	Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:	For six days you may labor and do all your work,

Exodus 20:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 20:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἓξ ἡμέρας ἐργᾷ καὶ ποιήσεις πάντα τὰ ἔργα σου	ἓξ ἡμέρας ἐργᾷ καὶ ποιήσεις πάντα τὰ ἔργα σου
Exodus 20:9 (NETS)	Exodus 20:9 (English Elpenor)
For six days you shall labor and do all your labor,	Six days thou shalt labour, and shalt perform all thy work.

Exodus 20:10 (Tanakh)	Exodus 20:10 (KJV)	Exodus 20:10 (NET)
but the seventh day is a sabbath unto HaShem thy G-d, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates;	But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:	but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates.

Exodus 20:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 20:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τῇ δὲ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ σάββατα κυρίῳ τῷ θεῷ σου οὐ ποιήσεις ἐν αὐτῇ πᾶν ἔργον σὺ καὶ ὁ υἱός σου καὶ ἡ θυγάτηρ σου ὁ παῗς σου καὶ ἡ παιδίσκη σου ὁ βοῦς σου καὶ τὸ ὑποζύγιόν σου καὶ πᾶν κτῆνός σου καὶ ὁ προσήλυτος ὁ παροικῶν ἐν σοί	τῇ δὲ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ σάββατα Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ σου· οὐ ποιήσεις ἐν αὐτῇ πᾶν ἔργον, σὺ καὶ ὁ υἱός σου καὶ ἡ θυγάτηρ σου, ὁ παῖς σου καὶ ἡ παιδίσκη σου, ὁ βοῦς σου καὶ τὸ ὑποζύγιόν σου καὶ πᾶν κτῆνός σου καὶ ὁ προσήλυτος ὁ παροικῶν ἐν σοί
Exodus 20:10 (NETS)	Exodus 20:10 (English Elpenor)
but on the seventh day there is Sabbata to the Lord your God. You shall not do in it any labor, you and your son and your daughter, your male slave and your female slave, your ox and your draft animal and any animal of yours and the guest who resides among you.	But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God; on it thou shalt do no work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy servant nor thy maidservant, thine ox nor thine ass, nor any cattle of thine, nor the stranger that sojourns with thee.

Exodus 20:11 (Tanakh)	Exodus 20:11 (KJV)	Exodus 20:11 (NET)
in six days HaShem made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore HaShem blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.	For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.	For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

Exodus 20:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 20:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐν γὰρ ἓξ ἡμέραις ἐποίησεν κύριος τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῗς καὶ κατέπαυσεν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ διὰ τοῦτο εὐλόγησεν κύριος τὴν ἡμέραν τὴν ἑβδόμην καὶ ἡγίασεν αὐτήν	ἐν γὰρ ἓξ ἡμέραις ἐποίησε Κύριος τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ κατέπαυσε τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ· διὰ τοῦτο εὐλόγησε Κύριος τὴν ἡμέραν τὴν ἑβδόμην καὶ ἡγίασεν αὐτήν
Exodus 20:11 (NETS)	Exodus 20:11 (English Elpenor)
For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things in them, and he rested on the seventh day and consecrated it. For this reason the Lord blessed the seventh day and consecrated it.	For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, and the sea and all things in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it.

Genesis 8:4 (Tanakh)	Genesis 8:4 (KJV)	Genesis 8:4 (NET)
And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.	And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.	On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on one of the mountains of Ararat.

Genesis 8:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 8:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἡ κιβωτὸς ἐν μηνὶ τῷ ἑβδόμῳ ἑβδόμῃ καὶ εἰκάδι τοῦ μηνός ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη τὰ Αραρατ	καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἡ κιβωτὸς ἐν μηνὶ τῷ ἑβδόμῳ, ἑβδόμῃ καὶ εἰκάδι τοῦ μηνός, ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη τὰ ᾿Αραράτ
Genesis 8:4 (NETS)	Genesis 8:3b (English Elpenor)
And in the seventh month, on the twenty-seventh of the month, the ark settled on the mountains of Ararat.	and the ark rested in the seventh month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.

Psalm 95:7 (Tanakh)	Psalm 95:7 (KJV)	Psalm 95:7 (NET)
For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,	For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,	For he is our God; we are the people of his pasture, the sheep he owns. Today, if only you would obey him.

Psalm 95:7 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 94:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν καὶ ἡμεῗς λαὸς νομῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ πρόβατα χειρὸς αὐτοῦ σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε	ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, καὶ ἡμεῖς λαὸς νομῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ πρόβατα χειρὸς αὐτοῦ
Psalm 94:7 (NETS)	Psalm 94:7 (English Elpenor)
because he is our God and we are people of his pasture and sheep of his hand! Today if you hear his voice,	For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

Psalm 95:8 (Tanakh)	Psalm 95:8 (KJV)	Psalm 95:8 (NET)
Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:	Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:	He says, “Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah, like they were that day at Massah in the wilderness,

Psalm 95:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 94:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν ὡς ἐν τῷ παραπικρασμῷ κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν τοῦ πειρασμοῦ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ	σήμερον, ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε, μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, ὡς ἐν τῷ παραπικρασμῷ κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν τοῦ πειρασμοῦ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ
Psalm 94:8 (NETS)	Psalm 94:8 (English Elpenor)
do not harden your hearts, as at the embittering, like the day of the trial in the wilderness,	To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, according to the day of irritation in the wilderness:

Psalm 95:11 (Tanakh)	Psalm 95:11 (KJV)	Psalm 95:11 (NET)
Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.	Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.	So I made a vow in my anger, ‘They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.’”

Psalm 95:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 94:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὡς ὤμοσα ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ μου εἰ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσίν μου	ὡς ὤμοσα ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ μου· εἰ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσίν μου
Psalm 94:11 (NETS)	Psalm 94:11 (English Elpenor)
As I swore in my wrath, “If they shall enter into my rest!”	So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.

Exodus 17:10 (Tanakh)	Exodus 17:10 (KJV)	Exodus 17:10 (NET)
So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.	So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.	So Joshua fought against Amalek just as Moses had instructed him, and Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

Exodus 17:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 17:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐποίησεν Ἰησοῦς καθάπερ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Μωυσῆς καὶ ἐξελθὼν παρετάξατο τῷ Αμαληκ καὶ Μωυσῆς καὶ Ααρων καὶ Ωρ ἀνέβησαν ἐπὶ τὴν κορυφὴν τοῦ βουνοῦ	καὶ ἐποίησεν ᾿Ιησοῦς καθάπερ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Μωυσῆς, καὶ ἐξελθὼν παρετάξατο τῷ ᾿Αμαλήκ· καὶ Μωυσῆς καὶ ᾿Ααρὼν καὶ ῍Ωρ ἀνέβησαν ἐπὶ τὴν κορυφὴν τοῦ βουνοῦ
Exodus 17:10 (NETS)	Exodus 17:10 (English Elpenor)
And Iesous did as Moyses said to him and set up in battle array with Amelek, and Moyses and Aaron and Hor went up onto the top of the hill.	And Joshua did as Moses said to him, and he went out and set the army in array against Amalec, and Moses and Aaron and Or went up to the top of the hill.

Genesis 1:31 (Tanakh)	Genesis 1:31 (KJV)	Genesis 1:31 (NET)
And G-d saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.	And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.	God saw all that he had made—and it was very good! There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 1:31 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 1:31 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶδεν ὁ θεὸς τὰ πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησεν καὶ ἰδοὺ καλὰ λίαν καὶ ἐγένετο ἑσπέρα καὶ ἐγένετο πρωί ἡμέρα ἕκτη	καὶ εἶδεν ὁ Θεὸς τὰ πάντα, ὅσα ἐποίησε, καὶ ἰδοὺ καλὰ λίαν. καὶ ἐγένετο ἑσπέρα καὶ ἐγένετο πρωΐ, ἡμέρα ἕκτη
Genesis 1:31 (NETS)	Genesis 1:31 (English Elpenor)
And God saw all the things that he had made, and see, they were exceedingly good. And it came to be evening, and it came to be morning, a sixth day.	And God saw all the things that he had made, and, behold, they were very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Hebrews 4:2 (NET)	Hebrews 4:2 (KJV)
For we had good news proclaimed to us just as they did. But the message they heard did them no good, since they did not join in with those who heard it in faith.	For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ γάρ ἐσμεν εὐηγγελισμένοι καθάπερ κακεῖνοι· ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ὠφέλησεν ὁ λόγος τῆς ἀκοῆς ἐκείνους μὴ συγκεκερασμένους τῇ πίστει τοῖς ἀκούσασιν	και γαρ εσμεν ευηγγελισμενοι καθαπερ κακεινοι αλλ ουκ ωφελησεν ο λογος της ακοης εκεινους μη συγκεκραμενος τη πιστει τοις ακουσασιν	και γαρ εσμεν ευηγγελισμενοι καθαπερ κακεινοι αλλ ουκ ωφελησεν ο λογος της ακοης εκεινους μη συγκεκραμενους τη πιστει τοις ακουσασιν

Hebrews 3:16 (NET)	Hebrews 3:16 (KJV)
For which ones heard and rebelled? Was it not all who came out of Egypt under Moses’ leadership?	For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
τίνες γὰρ ἀκούσαντες παρεπίκραναν; ἀλλ᾿ οὐ πάντες οἱ ἐξελθόντες ἐξ Ἀιγύπτου διὰ Μωϋσέως	τινες γαρ ακουσαντες παρεπικραναν αλλ ου παντες οι εξελθοντες εξ αιγυπτου δια μωσεως	τινες γαρ ακουσαντες παρεπικραναν αλλ ου παντες οι εξελθοντες εξ αιγυπτου δια μωυσεως

Hebrews 4:7 (NET)	Hebrews 4:7 (KJV)
So God again ordains a certain day, “Today,” speaking through David after so long a time, as in the words quoted before, “Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks! Do not harden your hearts.”	Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
πάλιν τινὰ ὁρίζει ἡμέραν, σήμερον, ἐν Δαυὶδ λέγων μετὰ τοσοῦτον χρόνον, καθὼς προείρηται σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε, μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν.	παλιν τινα οριζει ημεραν σημερον εν δαβιδ λεγων μετα τοσουτον χρονον καθως ειρηται σημερον εαν της φωνης αυτου ακουσητε μη σκληρυνητε τας καρδιας υμων	παλιν τινα οριζει ημεραν σημερον εν δαυιδ λεγων μετα τοσουτον χρονον καθως ειρηται σημερον εαν της φωνης αυτου ακουσητε μη σκληρυνητε τας καρδιας υμων

Romans 3:30, 31 (NET)	Romans 3:30, 31 (KJV)
Since God is one, he will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.	Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἴπερ εἷς ὁ θεὸς ὃς δικαιώσει περιτομὴν ἐκ πίστεως καὶ ἀκροβυστίαν διὰ τῆς πίστεως	επειπερ εις ο θεος ος δικαιωσει περιτομην εκ πιστεως και ακροβυστιαν δια της πιστεως	επειπερ εις ο θεος ος δικαιωσει περιτομην εκ πιστεως και ακροβυστιαν δια της πιστεως

Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead we uphold the law.

Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
νόμον οὖν καταργοῦμεν διὰ τῆς πίστεως; μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλὰ νόμον ἱστάνομεν	νομον ουν καταργουμεν δια της πιστεως μη γενοιτο αλλα νομον ιστωμεν	νομον ουν καταργουμεν δια της πιστεως μη γενοιτο αλλα νομον ιστωμεν

A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 5

Back to David’s Forgiveness, Part 1

Back to Psalm 22, Part 4

Back to A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 6

Back to Romans, Part 17

Back to Westworld, Part 2

Back to Adultery in the Law, Part 2

Back to Westworld, Part 3

Back to The Book of Life, Part 3

Back to Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Part 5

Back to Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Part 9

Back to Keep Yourselves from Idols, Part 1

Back to Exploration, Part 1

^[1] Exodus 20:1 (Tanakh)

^[2] Mark 2:27 (NET) Table

^[3] John 3:7 (NET)

^[4] Genesis 8:4 (Tanakh)

^[5] Hebrews 4:9, 10 (NET)

^[6] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had συγκεκερασμένους here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had συγκεκραμενος (KJV: being mixed with).

^[7] In the Stephanus Textus Receptus Moses was spelled μωσεως, and Μωϋσέως in the NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text. Despite this single difference in Greek, the KJV translation is quite different: For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.

^[8] The Greek of the NET, NA²⁸, Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text, Septuagint BLB and Elpenor is identical, but the English translation of the KJV (Hebrews 4:3) and NETS (Psalm 94:11)—if they shall enter into my rest—is different. My knowledge of Greek is insufficient to choose between them.

^[9] In the NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text David was spelled Δαυὶδ, and δαβιδ in the Stephanus Textus Receptus.

^[10] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had προείρηται here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειρηται (KJV: it is said).

^[11] Hebrews 4:8 (KJV)

^[12] Hebrews 4:9, 10 (NET)

^[13] Matthew 11:28-30 (NET) Table

^[14] Genesis 1:31 (NET)

^[15] Romans 7:24 (NET)

^[16] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἴπερ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had επειπερ (KJV: Seeing).

^[17] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἱστάνομεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ιστωμεν (KJV: establish).

^[18] Hebrews 4:13 (NET)

^[19] Hebrews 4:12 (NET) Table

Who Am I? Part 4

Posted on December 29, 2016 by admin

I spend a large portion of my Christmas holiday with three post-Christian women I’ll call Grandmother, Mother and Daughter because of their relationship to one another. I call them post-Christian because they were all professing Christians at one time. Grandmother still calls herself a Christian. She means a non-Buddhist, non-Hindu, non-Jew, non-Muslim who believes in Jesus. Her ex-husband was a Baptist Sunday school teacher who abused her, and Mother as a child. Daughter is the most non-Christian, vocally pagan of the three with Mother falling somewhere between. Their transformation began with a desire for a more feminine God. I regret now not taking Mother’s question more seriously. I didn’t understand at the time that this desire would lead through Mother Earth to a Mother Goddess and on to full-fledged paganism.

I pointed out that y^ehôvâh (יהוה) created male and female: God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהים) created humankind in his own image, in the image of God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהים) he created them, male and female he created them.^[1] I talked about the meaning of El Shaddai (ʼêl, אל; shadday, שדי) and a few other references to God as feminine. But I emphasized that the general understanding of God as masculine was due primarily to the fact that we are all feminine in relation to the operation of his grace through Jesus Christ.

I am accepted among them as the kindly, odd, somewhat benighted, old man who studies the Bible in his spare time, so ordinary conversation—what’ve you been up to?—offers many opportunities. A recent conversation with Grandmother and Daughter turned naturally to Jesus’ dying thoughts on the cross. I read Psalm 22 aloud. Daughter was visibly, tearfully moved and vocally overwhelmed that David could write such exact knowledge so many centuries before Jesus was born.

I spoke of God having mercy on whoever he chooses to have mercy and hardening whoever he chooses to harden. I said I had been considering how, and told them the story of two prophets, Nathan and John the Baptist. When Pharisees and Sadduccees, religious leaders, came to be baptized for repentance (Matthew 3:11, 12; Mark 1:4-8; Luke 3:15-17) John said, You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?^[2] And he challenged them to put their works religion to the test: Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance…^[3]

What I didn’t say but will record here for my own memory’s sake, whether these particular Pharisees and Sadduccees were directly responsible or not, John’s words were not secret and would have tended to harden the resolve of the religious elite to kill Jesus: the Lord (y^ehôvâh, ויהוה) desired to crush him (e.g., Jesus). On the other hand y^ehôvâh desired David’s repentance and sent Nathan to that effect.

He was sent after King David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed to cover it up. Nathan told David a story (2 Samuel 12:1-6) about a rich man who had entertained a traveler with a meal. The rich man hadn’t served up any of his own sheep or cattle, but the one ewe lamb he took from a poor man. Then David became very angry at this man.^[4] You are that man!^[5] Nathan said to him.

“Did he kill him?” Daughter asked. I was actually surprised that she had forgotten the story.

No, I answered, I have sinned against the Lord!^[6] David said and then he wrote the 51^st Psalm. I got to read Psalm 51 aloud to them. When I finished Grandmother responded to a look on Daughter’s face at the line—Look, I was guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.^[7]

“I don’t believe that either,” Grandmother said.

This is a point to concede by the way. If it offends or hurts your feelings, welcome to the human race. Being guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me is equivalent to being born of the flesh of Adam (Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:42-58). You do not want a relentless God who will pursue you with goodness and mercy all the days of your life to spend that time convincing you the hard way that you are a sinner instead (John 16:7-11).

Goodness and mercy, by the way is the NKJV translation of Psalm 23:6a. In the NET it was translated goodness and faithfulness (chêsêd , וחסד).

chêsêd	Hebrew	KJV	NET	Tanakh	Septuagint
Psalm 23:6a	וחסד	mercy	faithfulness	mercy	ἔλεός^[8]

Daughter informed me that my religion has a lot of guilt in it as she praised me for my adherence to it, and insisted that we, she and her pagan friends, desperately need a canon (i.e., of written scripture).

On Yule I learned that Mother had been taking drugs. I wasn’t personally that aware of the winter solstice. Daughter and Mother wished one another happy Yule in the car as I drove them to rehab. It’s probably the only reason I knew anything at all.

I hadn’t known the night before that Mother had informed Daughter she was abusing drugs. Daughter called me the next morning when Mother hesitated to actually commit herself to rehab. In the car on the way Daughter was jubilant and excited that Mother was doing the right thing. Yes, rehab is better than sitting home alone shooting dope, but I was much more somber and subdued.

At her home I had sat with her, held her and listened to her enough to convince myself that Mother had no interest in repentance. Daughter was right. My presence alone persuaded Mother to shower, dress and leave with us for the rehab facility. But in the car I felt like I was delivering her up for more hardening. In my admittedly limited experience I know no one who has returned to faith in Christ from the higher power mysticism of a twelve-step program. I watched sadly the full realization of incarceration creep across her face as she was taken from us. No matter what I say or how much I protest, Mother and Daughter believe I live a life of rules, while they are free.

I gave them My statutes, y^ehôvâh explained in the philosopher’s dream chapter of Ezekiel the prophet, and informed them of My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live.^[9] I call it the philosopher’s dream chapter because y^ehôvâh explained so much of his own understanding of Israel’s history there. Then the twelve-year-old Jesus had this chapter at his disposal to renew and refresh his now human mind.

The Hebrew word translated My statutes was chûqqâh (חקותי). It was translated προστάγματά in the Septuagint. The Hebrew word translated My ordinances was mishpâṭ (משפטי), and δικαιώματά, a form of δικαίωμα, in the Septuagint. This was translated the righteous requirements in: Therefore if the uncircumcised man obeys the righteous requirements (δικαιώματα, a form of δικαίωμα) of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?^[10]

In the same chapter y^ehôvâh explained: I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live.^[11] Here the Hebrew word translated statutes was chôq (חקים); chûqqâh is the feminine of chôq according to Strong’s Concordance. It was still translated προστάγματα in the Septuagint. And again, the word translated ordinances was mishpâṭ (ומשפטים) in Hebrew and δικαιώματα in the Septuagint. I don’t think these are different statutes or different ordinances.

The commandment…was intended to bring life.^[12] The law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.^[13] But if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.^[14] God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh.^[15] For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it I died.^[16] 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.^[17]

Also I gave them My Sabbaths, y^ehôvâh said in the philosopher’s dream chapter, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) who sanctifies them.^[18]

In practice many professing faith in Jesus do not believe that y^ehôvâh/Jesus sanctifies^[19] them. We trust Him for justification only, primarily forgiveness. We believe our sanctification is a measure of our own good works, obedience accomplished in our own strength for our own glory. We do not believe that here and now a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. For the one who enters God’s rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.^[20] I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.^[21] Thus we must make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by following the same pattern of disobedience^[22] (ἀπειθείας, a form of ἀπείθεια; literally, disbelief) Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead we uphold the law.^[23]

I want to consider the movie The Host as a Holy Spirit metaphor for one who does not yet experience Him. There are many spoilers here and as a metaphor the film is fatally flawed. But in the hope of communicating some small portion of the Ineffable, here goes.

“The earth is at peace,” a resistance leader named Jebediah (William Hurt) narrates the beginning of the film. “There is no hunger. There is no violence. The environment is healed. Honesty, courtesy and kindness are practiced by all. Our world has never been more perfect. Only it is no longer our world. We’ve been invaded by an alien race. They occupy the bodies of almost all human beings on the planet. The few humans who have survived are on the run.”

Then we are introduced to Melanie (Saoirse Ronan) fleeing her enemies: honesty, courtesy and kindness. Following her earthly father’s example, she attempts suicide but lives, despite her best efforts, only to be possessed by Wanderer (also Saoirse Ronan). Melanie’s old human survives to fight Wanderer for control of their body.

The Seeker (Diane Kruger) interviews Wanderer to glean Melanie’s memories for knowledge of other old humans in the resistance underground. When she decides that Melanie’s old human is too strong for Wanderer, she plans to put Wanderer in a more compliant host, search Melanie’s memories herself and then let Melanie die the death she wanted. But Wanderer has begun to love Melanie. They flee The Seeker together.

Melanie tricks Wanderer into the desert and leads her to Uncle Jebediah and the underground resistance. Uncle Jeb uses all of his authority as a leader to keep others in the resistance from killing the obviously possessed Melanie/Wanderer. Even Melanie’s lover Jared (Max Irons) has no sympathy for her at first. In a get-to-know-you walk-and-talk Uncle Jeb shortens Wanderer’s name to Wanda.

Melanie begins to love Wanda as she witnesses Wanda’s concern for the people Melanie loves, even some she hates or is indifferent toward. The metaphor breaks down, of course. The holy spirits, called souls in the film, are many and varied, and some or not as holy as Wanda. The Seeker ironically becomes almost human in her fears that she personally is losing control to her host Lacey (also Diane Kruger) and that the holy spirits may ultimately lose their possession of the humans. In the end The Host becomes Satan’s wet dream as The Seeker’s fears become flesh: holy spirits collaborate with the resistance to rid humans of the holy spirits.

Mother is on the verge of bankruptcy. I helped her in a similar position nearly twenty years ago. She called me before I left for Christmas. I offered to help again. She accepted. As I drove the hundred miles or so to my own mother’s house the evening after Mother committed herself to rehab I understood why we hadn’t met to review her finances yet. I recalled the things I’ve said and done with Grandmother, Mother and Daughter, fretted over some things I hadn’t said or done and heard Darth Vader echoing in my head, saying, “Now his failure is complete.”

As far as I know I am the believer of record in their lives. I will give an account of this stewardship before Jesus. As the enormity of my failure to live a life that commends others to Jesus inundated me in crushing waves, the image of my mother scrubbing the basement floor on her hands and knees popped into my mind. Of all the things she had said or done, of all the things I might have complained that she hadn’t said or done, this simple image stuck with me.

I had overdosed on some hallucinogen. I had thrown up all night long on her basement floor. My mother cleaning up after me became a living metaphor of my life. I had returned to drugs because a simple taste a few days earlier brought back the feeling I had lost since my early days of trusting Jesus again. I made many more bad decisions along the way. But my mother never gave up on me.

As I drove through the dark hills thinking perhaps I had been spared from helping Mother again financially, the admonition of my penny-pinching father came to mind:

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

The words weren’t his but Rudyard Kipling’s.^[24] A man like me would be a fool to attempt Kipling’s vision of manhood apart from the Holy Spirit. But the image of my mother’s loving persistence and my father’s words of counsel gave me some hope that I was there, the right person at the right place and time. And that image and those words carried me through that dark night until the continuous infusion of the Holy Spirit’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and control took over again the next morning.

Who Am I? Part 5

Back to Romans, Part 85

Back to Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 5

Back to Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 11

Back to Atonement, Part 5

Back to Who Am I? Part 12

Back to Matthew 8:23-34

^[1] Genesis 1:27 (NET)

^[2] Matthew 3:7 (NET)

^[3] Matthew 3:8 (NET)

^[4] 2 Samuel 12:5a (NET) Table

^[5] 2 Samuel 12:7a (NET) Table

^[6] 2 Samuel 12:13a (NET) Table

^[7] Psalm 51:5 (NET) Table

^[8] In the Septuagint both chêsêd (וחסד) and ṭôb (טוב) were translated by the one Greek word ἔλεός.

^[9] Ezekiel 20:11 (NASB)

^[10] Romans 2:26 (NET) Table

^[11] Ezekiel 20:25 (NASB)

^[12] Romans 7:10 (NET)

^[13] Romans 7:12 (NET)

^[14] Galatians 3:21b (NET)

^[15] Romans 8:3a (NET)

^[16] Romans 7:11 (NET)

^[17] Romans 7:14, 15 (NET)

^[18] Ezekiel 20:12 (NASB)

^[19] When I struggled the most with this concept my Pastor was from the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Today, as I scanned their webpage titled “Sanctification,” nothing jumps out at me as problematic except my own spiritual tic. My flesh and my religious mind hear obedience in step 3 “to A Spirit-Filled Life”—“We maintain a continuous relationship with Jesus through obedience to His Word”—as a trigger word, calling me back to a DIY works religion. But now I just translate obedience back into Greek, ὑπακοή, attentive hearkening, and the trigger obey disappears. I remain (μείνατε, a form of μένω) in Jesus through faith instead (which is the actual word used in John 15:1-11 the Scriptural source of step 3).

[Addendum 1/26/2017] I’m not so sure Paul would agree that 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 “clearly teaches that there are two kinds of Christians.”

^[20] Hebrews 4:9, 10 (NET)

^[21] Galatians 2:20 (NET)

^[22] Hebrews 4:11 (NET)

^[23] Romans 3:31 (NET)

^[24] If, by Rudyard Kipling

Romans, Part 81

Posted on July 22, 2016 by admin

As I worked on this essay I read an article by Jeffrey Fleishman, How an angry national mood is reflected in pop culture. Two sentences really resonated: 1) “Our screens and phones fume with righteousness;” and 2) “Our shared humanity has been demarcated on smaller and smaller screens that often brim more with quicksilver judgment than open-mindedness.” It struck me as a sort of default position that I quote here as contrast to the righteousness of love Paul described.

One person regards one day holier than other days, and another regards them all alike,^[1] Paul continued his discussion of love. No form of ἅγιος occurs in the text. The concept holier is derived from κρίνει (a form of κρίνω), “to distinguish, to separate, put asunder, to pick out, select, choose,” translated regards. I don’t think there is any problem with that translation except that the second regards is also κρίνει, so another regards all days equally holy would be a more balanced translation of the second clause. A note (3) in the NET acknowledged the literal text: “For one judges day from day, and one judges all days.”

Each must be fully convinced (πληροφορείσθω, a form of πληροφορέω) in his own mind,^[2] Paul continued. He was fully convinced (πληροφορηθεὶς, another form of πληροφορέω) that what God promised he was also able to do, Paul wrote of Abraham. So indeed it was credited to Abraham as righteousness.^[3] But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed (πληροφορηθῇ, another form of πληροφορέω) for all the Gentiles to hear,^[4] he wrote Timothy. And, You, however, be self-controlled in all things, endure hardship, do an evangelist’s work, fulfill (πληροφόρησον, another form of πληροφορέω) your ministry. For I am already being poured out as an offering, and the time for me to depart is at hand.^[5] Epaphras, who is one of you, Paul wrote believers in Colossae, and a slave of Christ, greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured (πεπληροφορημένοι, another form of πληροφορέω) in all the will of God.^[6]

This gives me a good picture of the caliber of conviction Paul addressed. A Catholic believer may be fully convinced that Sunday, the day Jesus arose from death, is the most holy day of the week. A Seventh Day Adventist may be fully convinced that Saturday (28 Fundamental Beliefs, The Sabbath 20), the original Sabbath y^ehôvâh consecrated in the law, is more holy. And I may be fully convinced that since I began to be led by the Holy Spirit every day is most holy: Consequently a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. For the one who enters God’s rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.^[7]

As I rest from my own works of sin and my own righteousness (likened to used tampons) to rely instead on the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness – a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness,^[8] the fruit of the Spirit, I see every day as the Sabbath. And I understand why Jesus healed so stubbornly on the Sabbath: to demonstrate beyond the shadow of any doubt that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath,^[9] including by the way serving my employer as a slave of Christ.^[10] But love neither despises nor judges us—the Catholic, the Seventh Day Adventist or me—for our differing convictions concerning holy days.

The one who observes (φρονῶν, a form of φρονέω) the day does (φρονεῖ, another form of φρονέω) it for the Lord, Paul continued. The one who eats, eats for the Lord because he gives thanks to God, and the one who abstains from eating abstains for the Lord, and he gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for himself and none dies for himself. If we live, we live for the Lord; if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.^[11] Then Paul added a somewhat curious aside about Jesus’ rule (κυριεύσῃ, a form of κυριεύω). For this reason Christ died and returned to life, so that he may be the Lord (κυριεύσῃ) of both the dead and the living.^[12]

My religion has taught me to add “if I allow it” to an assertion such as this. I’ve learned to assert my will over the lordship of Jesus. But I notice now that isn’t in the text. And certainly the assertion of my authority over his was never my elders’ intent but an unintended consequence of what I now see as a defensive posture: If I refuse or fail to believe sufficiently in Jesus in this lifetime and spend eternity in hell it was not that Christ’s death and life failed to make Him Lord of both the dead and the living, but that I didn’t allow his Lordship to be efficacious in my earthly lifetime. It is a brilliant maneuver. I’m not convinced it’s true, so I’ll let Paul speak for himself once again: For this reason Christ died and returned to life, so that he may be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

But you who eat vegetables only, Paul continued, why do you judge (κρίνεις, another form of κρίνω) your brother or sister? And you who eat everything – why do you despise (ἐξουθενεῖς, a form of ἐξουθενέω) your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat (βήματι, a form of βῆμα) of God. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God.”^[13] I’m not sure about translating ἐξομολογήσεται (a form of ἐξομολογέω) will give praise here, no matter how hopeful it sounds.

Judas agreed (ἐξωμολόγησεν, another form of ἐξομολογέω) and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.^[14] Paul wrote the Philippians, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth – and every tongue confess (ἐξομολογήσηται, another form of ἐξομολογέω) that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.^[15] As it is written, Paul quoted Psalm 18:49, “Because of this I will confess (ἐξομολογήσομαι, another form of ἐξομολογέω) you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises (ψαλῶ, a form of ψάλλω) to your name.”^[16] So confess (ἐξομολογεῖσθε, another form of ἐξομολογέω) your sins to one another,^[17] James wrote. People from Jerusalem…confessed (ἐξομολογούμενοι, another form of ἐξομολογέω) their sins^[18] as they were baptized. And in Ephesus, Many of those who had believed came forward, confessing (ἐξομολογούμενοι, another form of ἐξομολογέω) and making their deeds known.^[19]

Paul’s point here was, Therefore, each of us will give an account (λόγον, a form of λόγος) of himself to God.^[20] Of course, if every tongue confesses, what will the outcome be? To be fair and complete, Jesus said, I praise (ἐξομολογοῦμαι, another form of ἐξομολογέω) you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children.^[21] On that same occasion Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise (ἐξομολογοῦμαι, another form of ἐξομολογέω) you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will.”^[22] Perhaps this ἐξομολογέω, agreement with God, confession to God, is a form of praise after all.

Therefore we must not pass judgment on one another,^[23] Paul concluded, Μηκέτι οὖν ἀλλήλους κρίνωμεν (literally, “no longer therefore one another judge” or “therefore we no longer judge one another”). I don’t understand why the NET translators turned this simple declarative statement into a rule, beyond the social construction of our shared religious reality. Most translations adopted some form of let us stop here. Though I remain the locus of control in both translations, one might argue that in let us stop I have repented and am heading in the right direction, not-doing as opposed to doing. But neither translation conveys being the love with which Christ’s Spirit fills us.

Before I was focused on the fruit of the Spirit I was like a fat ugly woman–or an old poor powerless man for that matter–priding myself in my celibacy. But seeing righteousness as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control has put me in direct conflict with how sinful the sin in my flesh actually is. It is utterly opposed to love or joy or peace or patience or kindness or goodness or faithfulness or gentleness or any and every form of control. This conflict, mostly losing it, has taught me to stop trusting in myself but in God who raises the dead.

We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer (μηκέτι) be enslaved to sin.^[24] This is the same word as Μηκέτι in “therefore we no longer judge one another” above. And [Jesus] died for all so that those who live should no longer (μηκέτι) live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised.^[25] So we are no longer (μηκέτι) to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes. But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body grows in love. So I say this, and insist in the Lord, that you no longer (μηκέτι) live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.^[26]

In other words, this κρίνωμεν (another form of κρίνω; translated pass judgment) is from the old human. We judge no longer if we are no longer the old human, if we are led by Spirit, but rather determine (κρίνατε, another form of κρίνω) never to place an obstacle or a trap before a brother or sister, Paul continued. I know (οἶδα, a form of εἴδω) and am convinced (πέπεισμαι, a form of πείθω) in the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean (κοινὸν, a form of κοινός) in itself,^[27] the former Pharisee agreed and confessed with (and so praised?) Jesus (Mark 7:1-8 NET).

Now the Pharisees and some of the experts in the law who came from Jerusalem gathered around him. And they saw that some of Jesus’ disciples ate their bread with unclean (κοιναῖς, another form of κοινός) hands, that is, unwashed (ἀνίπτοις, a form of ἄνιπτος). (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing, holding fast to the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. They hold fast to many other traditions: the washing of cups, pots, kettles, and dining couches.) The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with unwashed (κοιναῖς, another form of κοινός) hands?” He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.’ Having no regard for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.”

Born the son of a scrubby dutch mother with an obsessive personality of my own, I have a serious hand-washing fetish. It has become apparent that applying the sterile conditions of the operating room to all of life is detrimental to human health. At the Institute for Functional Medicine conferences I record I’m learning that our overly cleanly habits may be part of the cause of our maladaptive immune systems. Children need dirt as much as mother’s milk to jump-start their immune and digestive systems. Jesus said (Mark 7:14, 15 NET):

Listen to me, everyone, and understand. There is nothing outside of a person that can defile (κοινῶσαι, a form of κοινόω) him by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles (κοινοῦντα, another form of κοινόω) him.

Jesus’ disciples were as surprised by this as we may be, so he explained (Mark 7:18-23 NET):

“Are you so foolish? Don’t you understand that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile (κοινῶσαι, another form of κοινόω) him? For it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and then goes out into the sewer.” (This means all foods are clean.) He said, “What comes out of a person defiles (κοινοῖ, another form of κοινόω) him. For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, evil (πονηρίαι, a form of πονηρία), deceit, debauchery, envy (ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός), slander, pride, and folly. All these evils come from within and defile (κοινοῖ, another form of κοινόω) a person.”

By the way, another tidbit I’ve gleaned from IFM conferences is that inflammation caused by stress impairs the healthy functioning of all our biological systems. I imagine the stress of all these evils (πονηρὰ, a form of πονηρός, “hurtful, full of labours, annoyances, hardships”) and know firsthand the stress of attempting to overcome them in my own strength rather than receiving the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness – a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness, the fruit of his Spirit. I’ll pick this up again later.

Below is a comparison of Paul’s Old Testament quotations with the Septuagint, the NET and the KJV.

NET

Parallel Greek

Septuagint

every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God.

Romans 14:11b

ὅτι ἐμοὶ κάμψει πᾶν γόνυ καὶ πᾶσα γλῶσσα ἐξομολογήσεται τῷ θεῷ

Romans 14:11b

ὅτι ἐμοὶ κάμψει πᾶν γόνυ καὶ ἐξομολογήσεται πᾶσα γλῶσσα τῷ θεῷ

Isaiah 45:23b

NET

KJV

every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God.

Romans 14:11b

Surely every knee will bow to me, every tongue will solemnly affirm

Isaiah 45:23b

That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear

Isaiah 45:23b

NET

Parallel Greek

Septuagint

Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to your name.

Romans 15:9b

διὰ τοῦτο ἐξομολογήσομαι σοι ἐν ἔθνεσιν καὶ τῷ ὀνόματι σου ψαλῶ

Romans 15:9b

διὰ τοῦτο ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι ἐν ἔθνεσιν κύριε καὶ τῷ ὀνόματί σου ψαλῶ

Psalm 18:49

NET

KJV

Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to your name.

Romans 15:9b

So I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord! I will sing praises to you!

Psalm 18:49

Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.

Psalm 18:49

Romans, Part 82

^[1] Romans 14:5a (NET)

^[2] Romans 14:5b (NET)

^[3] Romans 4:21, 22 (NET)

^[4] 2 Timothy 4:17a (NET)

^[5] 2 Timothy 4:5, 6 (NET)

^[6] Colossians 4:12 (NET)

^[7] Hebrews 4:9, 10 (NET)

^[8] Philippians 3:9b (NET)

^[9] Matthew 12:12b (NET)

^[10] Ephesians 6:5-8 (NET) I certainly relate to having difficulty with this passage. If you find it impossible to serve your employer as a slave of Christ, perhaps you are not being led by the Holy Spirit or perhaps you need to seek a new job, assuming you are free to do so.

^[11] Romans 14:6-8 (NET)

^[12] Romans 14:9 (NET)

^[13] Romans 14:10, 11 (NET)

^[14] Luke 22:6 (NET)

^[15] Philippians 2:10, 11 (NET)

^[16] Romans 15:9b (NET)

^[17] James 5:16a (NET)

^[18] Matthew 3:5, 6 (NET); Mark 1:5 (NET)

^[19] Acts 19:18 (NET)

^[20] Romans 14:12 (NET) Table

^[21] Matthew 11:25 (NET)

^[22] Luke 10:21 (NET)

^[23] Romans 14:13a (NET)

^[24] Romans 6:6 (NET)

^[25] 2 Corinthians 5:15 (NET)

^[26] Ephesians 4:14-17 (NET) Table

^[27] Romans 14:13b, 14a (NET)

Romans, Part 26

Posted on October 16, 2012 by admin

Therefore, Paul continued, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey¹ (ὑπακούειν, a form of ὑπακούω) its desires (ἐπιθυμίαις, a form of ἐπιθυμία).² This is clearly Step #2 how to experience the credited righteousness of God apart from the law,³ namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness (πίστεως, a form of πίστις) of Jesus Christ for all who believe (πιστεύοντας, a form of πιστεύω).⁴ I think the next verse amplifies how one goes about not letting sin reign in one’s mortal body, and do not present your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as⁵ those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness.⁶ So I am picturing something like this:

Step #2 to experience the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe.

…do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires.

Romans 6:12 (NET)

By…

…not present(ing) your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness…

Romans 6:13a (NET)

…present(ing) yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness.

Romans 6:13b (NET)

It sounds so simple, but there is no door marked “sin” beside a door marked “God” where I might present myself for service. This transaction, if you will, takes place in the deepest, darkest places of an individual born from above, born of flesh and born of the Spirit,⁷ moment by moment. In fact, Paul described this individual as a house divided, For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want.⁸ So then, Paul concluded in Romans 7, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.⁹

There is a cartoon image of a human being with a little devil i on one shoulder whispering in one ear and a little angel i whispering in the other. In the center between them am I, writ large, the Master of My Fate, choosing sin or righteousness. With this self-image I discounted the value of Step #1—to consider (λογίζεσθε, a form of λογίζομαι) [myself] dead (νεκροὺς, a form of νεκρός) to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus¹⁰—as I magnified the importance of Step #2, not to let sin reign in [my] mortal body so that [I] obey[ed] its desires. So I set out not to break, or to keep, the laws that define sin, and unwittingly played directly into sin’s strength: the power (δύναμις) of sin is the law.¹¹ Had I paid more attention to faith I might have grasped Paul’s next point sooner. For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law (ὑπὸ νόμον) but¹² under grace (ὑπὸ χάριν).¹³

This personification of sin was not magical thinking on Paul’s part. What he was writing about actually becomes clearer in Romans 7. The sin that will not master the one who believes in Jesus is nothing other than the old man that was crucified with him so that the body (σῶμα) of sin would no longer dominate us.¹⁴ I am not refereeing a battle of wills between a little devil i and a little angel i. I am the old man of sin, or I am the new man of the Spirit. Both are in this body (σῶμα). Both want control. The old man was crucified by faith in Jesus Christ. The new man was created out of nothing through faith in Jesus Christ. Believing in Jesus Christ is far more important than anything either I, the dead and dying old man or the initially alien new man, might do. [Addendum April 15, 2024: While I don’t want to minimize the importance of faith in Christ, recognizing the union between Christ and this new man causes me to wonder if I have overstated this a bit.] And I am persuaded that the illusion that I am a third something choosing between them is nothing more than the pride of life (1 John 2:15-17 NKJV).

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but¹⁵ is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

What then? Paul continued. Shall we sin¹⁶ because we are not under law (ὑπὸ νόμον) but¹⁷ under grace (ὑπὸ χάριν)? Absolutely not!¹⁸ Paul’s reasoning here was a truism, a simple matter of definition. Do you not know (οἴδατε, a form of εἴδω; i.e., know by seeing) that if you present yourselves as obedient (ὑπακοήν, a form of ὑπακοή) slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey (ὑπακούετε, another form of ὑπακούω), either of sin [the desire of the old man] resulting in death, or obedience (ὑπακοῆς, another form of ὑπακοή) [the desire of the new man] resulting in righteousness?¹⁹

I am convinced that words like obey, obedient, and obedience with their insistent emphasis on doing are part of the things of this world, the pride of life where I am the Master of My Fate, choosing to do the good or to do the evil. In Greek the word translated obey is ὑπακούω, to hear under, in other words to trust. The word translated obedient or obedience is ὑπακοή, attentive hearkening, in other words to believe. These are other words, perhaps even better words, for faith and believe than πίστις and πιστεύω, for no one could mistake them for πίστεως μόνον (faith alone), or dead faith. And again, this makes perfect sense if one is interested in experiencing the righteousness of God…revealed in the gospel from faith (πίστεως, a form of πίστις) to faith (πίστιν, another form of πίστις), just as it is written, “The righteous by faith (πίστεως, a form of πίστις) will live.”²⁰

But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed (ὑπηκούσατε, another form of ὑπακούω) from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to, and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.²¹ So I ὑπακούω, hear under, trust, the word of God rather than becoming ὑπακοή to, hearkening attentively to, believing, the promptings and desires of the old man, the man of sin created in the image of Adam. Of course I will do things. But now those things, rather than being the acts of an actor, will flow naturally from who I hear under (trust, hearken attentively to, believe) through who I am (the new man born of the Spirit in the image and likeness of God) and then out into the world.

The writer of Hebrews described it this way: Consequently a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. For the one who enters God’s rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.²² Even the law comes into sharper focus: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,²³ not for a day of the week but for the remainder of a lifetime. And Jesus’ word is fulfilled: But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.²⁴ It also explains Jesus’ rather obstinate insistence on doing good on the Sabbath day, despite the bitterness and resentment it aroused: So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.²⁵

The writer of Hebrews continued with the following warning (Hebrews 4:11-13 NET):

Thus we must make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by following the same pattern of disobedience [i.e., fearfully refusing to enter the promised land]. For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart [Table]. And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

Paul realized he had not yet explained what would be explained in the next chapter. He recognized that his readers may misunderstand his words (Romans 6:19-23 NET).

(I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness. So what benefit did you then reap from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. But now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Addendum: April 15, 2024
Tables comparing Romans 6:12; 6:13; 6:14; 1 John 2:16 and Romans 6:15 in the NET and KJV follow.

Romans 6:12 (NET)	Romans 6:12 (KJV)
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires,	Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

Romans 6:12 (NET Parallel Greek)	Romans 6:12 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Romans 6:12 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Μὴ οὖν βασιλευέτω ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐν τῷ θνητῷ ὑμῶν σώματι εἰς τὸ ὑπακούειν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις αὐτοῦ	μη ουν βασιλευετω η αμαρτια εν τω θνητω υμων σωματι εις το υπακουειν αυτη εν ταις επιθυμιαις αυτου	μη ουν βασιλευετω η αμαρτια εν τω θνητω υμων σωματι εις το υπακουειν αυτη εν ταις επιθυμιαις αυτου

Romans 6:13 (NET)	Romans 6:13 (KJV)
and do not present your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness.	Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Romans 6:13 (NET Parallel Greek)	Romans 6:13 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Romans 6:13 (Byzantine Majority Text)
μηδὲ παριστάνετε τὰ μέλη ὑμῶν ὅπλα ἀδικίας τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, ἀλλὰ παραστήσατε ἑαυτοὺς τῷ θεῷ ὡσεὶ ἐκ νεκρῶν ζῶντας καὶ τὰ μέλη ὑμῶν ὅπλα δικαιοσύνης τῷ θεῷ	μηδε παριστανετε τα μελη υμων οπλα αδικιας τη αμαρτια αλλα παραστησατε εαυτους τω θεω ως εκ νεκρων ζωντας και τα μελη υμων οπλα δικαιοσυνης τω θεω	μηδε παριστανετε τα μελη υμων οπλα αδικιας τη αμαρτια αλλα παραστησατε εαυτους τω θεω ως εκ νεκρων ζωντας και τα μελη υμων οπλα δικαιοσυνης τω θεω

Romans 6:14 (NET)	Romans 6:14 (KJV)
For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.	The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

Romans 6:14 (NET Parallel Greek)	Romans 6:14 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Romans 6:14 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἁμαρτία γὰρ ὑμῶν οὐ κυριεύσει· οὐ γάρ ἐστε ὑπὸ νόμον ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ χάριν	αμαρτια γαρ υμων ου κυριευσει ου γαρ εστε υπο νομον αλλ υπο χαριν	αμαρτια γαρ υμων ου κυριευσει ου γαρ εστε υπο νομον αλλ υπο χαριν

1 John 2:16 (NET)	1 John 2:16 (KJV)
because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world.	For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1 John 2:16 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 John 2:16 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 John 2:16 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὅτι πᾶν τὸ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ (ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ ἡ ἀλαζονεία τοῦ βίου) οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀλλὰ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου ἐστίν	οτι παν το εν τω κοσμω η επιθυμια της σαρκος και η επιθυμια των οφθαλμων και η αλαζονεια του βιου ουκ εστιν εκ του πατρος αλλ εκ του κοσμου εστιν	οτι παν το εν τω κοσμω η επιθυμια της σαρκος και η επιθυμια των οφθαλμων και η αλαζονεια του βιου ουκ εστιν εκ του πατρος αλλ εκ του κοσμου εστιν

Romans 6:15 (NET)	Romans 6:15 (KJV)
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not!	What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Romans 6:15 (NET Parallel Greek)	Romans 6:15 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Romans 6:15 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Τί οὖν; ἁμαρτήσωμεν, ὅτι οὐκ ἐσμὲν ὑπὸ νόμον ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ χάριν; μὴ γένοιτο	τι ουν αμαρτησομεν οτι ουκ εσμεν υπο νομον αλλ υπο χαριν μη γενοιτο	τι ουν αμαρτησομεν οτι ουκ εσμεν υπο νομον αλλ υπο χαριν μη γενοιτο