The New Covenant, Part 2

Posted on February 5, 2022 by admin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus continued (Matthew 13:22 NET):

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The New Covenant, Part 3

Back to The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 8

^[1] The New Covenant, Part 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

^[22] Who Am I? Part 3

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

^[24] Who am I? Part 3

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

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

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

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

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

^[30] Philippians 2:13 (NET)

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

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

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

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

A Monotonous Cycle Revisited, Part 3

Posted on November 30, 2019 by admin

And HaShem (יְהֹוָה֙) said unto Cain: ‘Where is Abel thy brother?’^[1]

I thought about skipping this exchange. I’ve covered it elsewhere.^[2] My point in revisiting these monotonous cycles, however, is to see them through Jesus’ eyes: Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’^[3]

The most natural way to view the Bible, I suppose, is as an evolving human attempt to describe an imagined god. There is a theory of Bible interpretation that one should imagine the time a book was written and try to understand the text as someone of that time would have understood it. I think the NET translation of the Masoretic text may owe a lot to that theory. I want to take all the knowledge of God I possess at this moment to know the One who asked Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? That’s fairly ambitious for an essay. I don’t know how this is going to go.

I’ll turn here to Jesus for some divine revelation about what is natural to human beings, even religious human beings who have begun to believe Him^[4] (John 8:44, 45 NET Table):

You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth (ἀληθείᾳ), because there is no truth (ἀλήθεια) in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I am telling you the truth (ἀλήθειαν, a form of ἀλήθεια), you do not believe me.

What Jesus meant by ἀλήθειαν, ἀλήθεια and ἀληθείᾳ was, your word is truth (ἀλήθεια),^[5] as He prayed to our Father in heaven. The devil isn’t ignorant of God’s word preserved in the Bible (Matthew 4:5-7 NET):

Then the devil took [Jesus] to the holy city, had him stand^[6] on the highest point of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written: ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’”

The devil quoted a promise from a psalm (Tables below) addressed to He that dwells in the help of the Highest.^[7]

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Psalm 91:1-4 (Tanakh)	Psalm 91:1-4 (NET)	Psalm 90:1-4 (NETS)	Psalm 90:1-4 (English Elpenor)
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.	As for you, the one who lives in the shelter of the Most High, and resides in the protective shadow of the Sovereign One—	A laudation. Of an Ode. Pertaining to Dauid. He who lives by the help (βοηθείᾳ) of the Most High, in a shelter of the God of the sky he will lodge.	[Praise of a Song, by David.] He that dwells in the help (βοηθείᾳ) of the Highest, shall sojourn under the shelter of the God of heaven.
I will say of the LORD (לַֽ֖יהֹוָה), He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.	I say this about the Lord (y^ehôvâh, ליהוה), my shelter and my stronghold, my God in whom I trust—	He will say to the Lord, “My supporter you are and my refuge; my God, I will hope (ἐλπιῶ) in him,”	He shall say to the Lord, Thou art my helper and my refuge: my God; I will hope (ἐλπιῶ) in him.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.	he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter and from the destructive plague.	because it is he who will rescue me from a trap of hunters and from a troublesome word (λόγου);	For he shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunters, from [every] troublesome matter (λόγου).
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.	He will shelter you with his wings; you will find safety under his wings. His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall.	with the broad of his back he will shade you, and under his wings you will find hope (ἐλπιεῗς); with a shield his truth (ἀλήθεια) will surround you.	He shall overshadow thee with his shoulders, and thou shalt trust (ἐλπιεῖς) under his wings: his truth (ἀλήθεια) shall cover thee with a shield.

The devil used God’s word to persuade Jesus to break the law given through Moses. With one quotation from Deuteronomy Jesus not only proved the psalm (“it is he who will rescue me from a trap of hunters and from a troublesome word”^[8]) but gave a clear demonstration of the difference between trusting God for his provision or testing Him in unbelief to prove it.

Jesus continued addressing religious people who had begun to believe Him, yet rejected his revelation that they are from (ἐκ) [their] father the devil (John 8:46b, 47 NET):

If I am telling you the truth (ἀλήθειαν, a form of ἀλήθεια), why don’t you believe me? The one who belongs to God listens and responds to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond, because you don’t belong to God.

The KJV reads: He that is of [ἐκ] God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of [ἐκ] God.^[9] I quote it not so much to correct the NET as to clarify my own thinking. Translating ἐκ belongs to and belong to sent my thoughts back to Jesus’ prayer (John 17:6 NET Table).

I have revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They belonged (ἦσαν; KJV: thine they were) to you, and you gave^[10] them to me, and they have obeyed (τετήρηκαν; KJV: kept) your word.

If Jesus had prayed for the religious people who had begun to believe Him, He might have said: They belonged to you, and you gave them to me (e.g., No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him^[11]). But He would have stopped short of affirming—and they have obeyed (kept) your word–because they would not believe that they were from (ἐκ) their father the devil not of [ἐκ] God. Why this distinction between those who believed and stayed near to Jesus and those who were farther off?

I turn again to Jesus’ prayer (John 17:11b, 12a NET Table):

Holy Father, keep them safe (τήρησον) in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them I kept them safe (ἐτήρουν) and watched over them in your name that you have given me.

While He was with them Jesus performed the keep-them-safe function that He prayed would be turned over to the Holy Spirit ultimately. Apparently there was a proximity effect. Follow me, was not a metaphor when Jesus was the only person on the planet led by the Holy Spirit. I tell you the truth, Jesus told his disciples before He prayed, it is to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you.^[12] In fact, Jesus had told them quite a lot about this Advocate before He prayed (John 14:15-17, 21 NET)

“If you love me, you will obey (τηρήσετε) my commandments. Then I^[13] will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be^[14] with you forever—the Spirit of truth (ἀληθείας, another form of ἀλήθεια), whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him.^[15] But^[16] you know him, because he resides with you and will be in you.

The person who has my commandments and obeys (τηρῶν) them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I^[17] will love him and will reveal myself to him.”

In the NET καγὼ was translated Then I. Note 36 explained: “Here καί (kai) has been translated as ‘Then’ to reflect the implied sequence in the discourse.” The word then plays havoc with the philosophical bent of my mind, so I feel obliged to emphasize that there is no quid pro quo here: Jesus did not say, Obey (keep) my commandments to prove that you love Me, then I will ask the Father… These are two related promises.

In the KJV τηρήσετε was translated as an imperative: keep my commandments. I think the NET translators did a much better job understanding the future tense, active voice, indicative mood τηρήσετε as you will obey. (I won’t even quibble this time about translating it obey.)

In other words, if you are patient with Jesus, kind to Him, not envious, not bragging to Him, not puffed up, not rude, not self-serving, not easily angered by Him or resentful toward Him, not glad about injustice, but rejoicing in his truth, you will obey (keep) his commandments. And also He will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever. The only “implied sequence” in Jesus’ discourse was that his immediate hearers would need to encourage one another with these words for the few days between Jesus’ ascension and Pentecost. Since the Holy Spirit was given this love for Jesus (and for others) is continuously provided, an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit.

A question was posed to Jesus (John 14:22-26 NET):

“Lord,” Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “what^[18] has happened that you are going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus^[19] replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey (τηρήσει) my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up^[20] residence with him. The person who does not love me does not obey (τηρεῖ) my words. And the word you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me.

“I have spoken these things while staying with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and will cause you to remember everything I^[21] said to you.

None of this is to say that believers who were distant from Jesus rejected his revelation that they were from (ἐκ) their father the devil not of [ἐκ] God, while those who were closer to Him had completely accepted this fact. Peter’s struggle with this is the most obvious example (Matthew 16:15-17, 21-23 NET).

[Jesus] said to [his disciples], “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And^[22] Jesus answered him, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!”

From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s [Table].”

One might expect that Peter would have heard Jesus’ words—You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires^[23]—with very different ears. But even after everything else Jesus said, Peter intended to fight to the death to prove Jesus wrong (Matthew 26:33-35), and to prove his own religious theory (not exclusively his own), who the Messiah is and what he should do, correct. The Peter of Acts 2 and beyond only comes into existence after he is indwelt by the Holy Spirit: we (Jesus and the Father) will come to him and take up residence with him.^[24] I tell you the truth (ἀλήθειαν, form of ἀλήθεια), Jesus said, it is to your advantage that I am going away.^[25]

After denying that he even knew Jesus three times, Peter remembered what Jesus had said:^[26] “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.^[27] He was brought face to face, as it were, with the truth: You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires.^[28] And he was brought to this realization, against his own will, by the inexorable will of God through his authoritative word: Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth (ἀμὴν), on this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”^[29]

I haven’t exhausted my limited knowledge of God but I am nearing the end of this essay. I suppose I can say at this point it was, at a minimum, this Will and this Word who asked Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? I want to mention one significant difference between Cain’s world and ours.

The same One who said, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, ^[30] also said, And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people (πάντας) to myself.^[31] Jesus was crucified and buried. God raised Him from the dead. He ascended into heaven. At a minimum all people alive are drawn to Him by the inexorable will of God. Paul wrote (Ephesians 1:7-12 NET):

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our offenses, according to the riches of his grace [Table] that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight. He did this when he revealed to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, toward the administration of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ—the things in heaven and the things on earth. In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, since we were predestined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, would be to the praise of his glory [Table].

Each of us who resists God’s will, to whatever degree each resists Him, is like Saul on the road to Damascus, hurting himself by kicking against the goads. These goads drive each of us to the realization that apart from God’s indwelling Holy Spirit each is from (ἐκ) his father the devil not of [ἐκ] God. He that is of [ἐκ] God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of [ἐκ] God.^[32]

Each of us has suffered or suffers still from this innate inbred resistance to God’s will. A bit of patience with, and kindness toward, one another is in order, that we may all recognize: apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit, Jesus and his Father taking up residence within each of us—supplying us continuously with his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—eternity is just a long miserable time. Do not be amazed that I said to you, Jesus said to a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council, ‘You must all be born from above.’

Tables comparing the Old Testament quotations in Matthew 4:6, 7 follow:

Matthew 4:6b (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 91:11a (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 90:11a (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ	ὅτι τοῗς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῗται περὶ σοῦ	ὅτι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ τοῦ
Matthew 4:6b (NET)	Psalm 90:11a (NETS)	Psalm 90:11a (English Elpenor)
He will command his angels concerning you	because he will command his angels concerning you	For he shall give his angels charge concerning thee,

Matthew 4:6c (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 91:12 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 90:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσιν σε, μήποτε προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου	ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσίν σε μήποτε προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου	ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσί σε, μήποτε προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου
Matthew 4:6c (NET)	Psalm 90:12 (NETS)	Psalm 90:12 (English Elpenor)
with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.	upon hands they will bear you up so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.	They shall bear thee up on their hands, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Matthew 4:7b (NET Parallel Greek)	Deuteronomy 6:16 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 6:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου	οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου	οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου
Matthew 4:7b (NET)	Deuteronomy 6:16 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 6:16 (English Elpenor)
You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.	You shall not tempt the Lord your God,	Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God,

Tables comparing Genesis 4:9; Psalm 91:11; 91:12; Deuteronomy 6:16; Psalm 91:1; 91:2; 91:3 and 91:4 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Genesis 4:9; Psalm 91:11 (90:11); 91:12 (90.12); Deuteronomy 6:16; Psalm 91:1 (90:1); 91:2 (90:2); 91:3 (90:3) and 91:4 (90:4) in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Matthew 4:5; John 14:16, 17; 14:21-23; 14:26; Matthew 16:17 and 26:75 in the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 4:9 (Tanakh)	Genesis 4:9 (KJV)	Genesis 4:9 (NET)
And HaShem said unto Cain: ‘Where is Abel thy brother?’ And he said: ‘I know not; am I my brother’s keeper?’	And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?	Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?”

Genesis 4:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 4:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς Καιν ποῦ ἐστιν Αβελ ὁ ἀδελφός σου ὁ δὲ εἶπεν οὐ γινώσκω μὴ φύλαξ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ μού εἰμι ἐγώ	καὶ εἶπε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς Κάϊν· ποῦ ἔστιν ῎Αβελ ὁ ἀδελφός σου; καὶ εἶπεν· οὐ γινώσκω· μὴ φύλαξ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ μου εἰμὶ ἐγώ
Genesis 4:9 (NETS)	Genesis 4:9 (English Elpenor)
And God said to Kain, “Where is your brother Habel?” And he said, “I do not know; surely I am not my brother’s keeper?”	And the Lord God said to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? and he said, I know not, am I my brother’s keeper?

Psalm 91:11 (Tanakh)	Psalm 91:11 (KJV)	Psalm 91:11 (NET)
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.	For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.	For he will order his angels to protect you in all you do.

Psalm 91:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 90:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι τοῗς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῗται περὶ σοῦ τοῦ διαφυλάξαι σε ἐν πάσαις ταῗς ὁδοῗς σου	ὅτι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ τοῦ διαφυλάξαι σε ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς σου
Psalm 90:11 (NETS)	Psalm 90:11 (English Elpenor)
because he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;	For he shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

Psalm 91:12 (Tanakh)	Psalm 91:12 (KJV)	Psalm 91:12 (NET)
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.	They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.	They will lift you up in their hands, so you will not slip and fall on a stone.

Psalm 91:12 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 90:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσίν σε μήποτε προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου	ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσί σε, μήποτε προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου
Psalm 90:12 (NETS)	Psalm 90:12 (English Elpenor)
upon hands they will bear you up so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.	They shall bear thee up on their hands, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Deuteronomy 6:16 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 6:16 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 6:16 (NET)
Ye shall not try HaShem your G-d, as ye tried Him in Massah.	Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.	You must not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.

Deuteronomy 6:16 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 6:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ὃν τρόπον ἐξεπειράσασθε ἐν τῷ Πειρασμῷ	οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου, ὃν τρόπον ἐξεπειράσατε ἐν τῷ Πειρασμῷ
Deuteronomy 6:16 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 6:16 (English Elpenor)
You shall not tempt the Lord your God, as you tempted in the Temptation.	Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, as ye tempted him in the temptation.

Psalm 91:1 (Tanakh)	Psalm 91:1 (KJV)	Psalm 91:1 (NET)
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.	He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.	As for you, the one who lives in the shelter of the Most High, and resides in the protective shadow of the Sovereign One—

Psalm 91:1 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 90:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)
αἶνος ᾠδῆς τῷ Δαυιδ ὁ κατοικῶν ἐν βοηθείᾳ τοῦ ὑψίστου ἐν σκέπῃ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ αὐλισθήσεται	Αἶνος ᾠδῆς τῷ Δαυΐδ. – Ο ΚΑΤΟΙΚΩΝ ἐν βοηθείᾳ τοῦ ῾Υψίστου, ἐν σκέπῃ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ αὐλισθήσεται
Psalm 90:1 (NETS)	Psalm 90:1 (English Elpenor)
A laudation. Of an Ode. Pertaining to Dauid. He who lives by the help of the Most High, in a shelter of the God of the sky he will lodge.	[Praise of a Song, by David.] He that dwells in the help of the Highest, shall sojourn under the shelter of the God of heaven.

Psalm 91:2 (Tanakh)	Psalm 91:2 (KJV)	Psalm 91:2 (NET)
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.	I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.	I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold, my God in whom I trust—

Psalm 91:2 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 90:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐρεῗ τῷ κυρίῳ ἀντιλήμπτωρ μου εἶ καὶ καταφυγή μου ὁ θεός μου ἐλπιῶ ἐπ᾽ αὐτόν	ἐρεῖ τῷ Κυρίῳ· ἀντιλήπτωρ μου εἶ καὶ καταφυγή μου, ὁ Θεός μου, καὶ ἐλπιῶ ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν
Psalm 90:2 (NETS)	Psalm 90:2 (English Elpenor)
He will say to the Lord, “My supporter you are and my refuge; my God, I will hope in him,”	He shall say to the Lord, Thou art my helper and my refuge: my God; I will hope in him.

Psalm 91:3 (Tanakh)	Psalm 91:3 (KJV)	Psalm 91:3 (NET)
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.	Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.	he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter and from the destructive plague.

Psalm 91:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 90:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι αὐτὸς ῥύσεταί με ἐκ παγίδος θηρευτῶν καὶ ἀπὸ λόγου ταραχώδους	ὅτι αὐτὸς ῥύσεταί σε ἐκ παγίδος θηρευτῶν καὶ ἀπὸ λόγου ταραχώδους
Psalm 90:3 (NETS)	Psalm 90:3 (English Elpenor)
because it is he who will rescue me from a trap of hunters and from a troublesome word;	For he shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunters, from [every] troublesome matter.

Psalm 91:4 (Tanakh)	Psalm 91:4 (KJV)	Psalm 91:4 (NET)
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.	He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.	He will shelter you with his wings; you will find safety under his wings. His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall.

Psalm 91:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 90:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐν τοῗς μεταφρένοις αὐτοῦ ἐπισκιάσει σοι καὶ ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας αὐτοῦ ἐλπιεῗς ὅπλῳ κυκλώσει σε ἡ ἀλήθεια αὐτοῦ	ἐν τοῖς μεταφρένοις αὐτοῦ ἐπισκιάσει σοι, καὶ ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας αὐτοῦ ἐλπιεῖς· ὅπλῳ κυκλώσει σε ἡ ἀλήθεια αὐτοῦ.
Psalm 90:4 (NETS)	Psalm 90:4 (English Elpenor)
with the broad of his back he will shade you, and under his wings you will find hope; with a shield his truth will surround you.	He shall overshadow thee with his shoulders, and thou shalt trust under his wings: his truth shall cover thee with a shield.

Matthew 4:5 (NET)	Matthew 4:5 (KJV)
Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the highest point of the temple,	Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Τότε παραλαμβάνει αὐτὸν ὁ διάβολος εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν πόλιν καὶ ἔστησεν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸ πτερύγιον τοῦ ἱεροῦ	τοτε παραλαμβανει αυτον ο διαβολος εις την αγιαν πολιν και ιστησιν αυτον επι το πτερυγιον του ιερου	τοτε παραλαμβανει αυτον ο διαβολος εις την αγιαν πολιν και ιστησιν αυτον επι το πτερυγιον του ιερου

John 14:16, 17 (NET)	John 14:16, 17 (KJV)
Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—	And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καγὼ ἐρωτήσω τὸν πατέρα καὶ ἄλλον παράκλητον δώσει ὑμῖν, ἵνα μεθ᾿ ὑμῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα \|ᾖ\|	και εγω ερωτησω τον πατερα και αλλον παρακλητον δωσει υμιν ινα μενη μεθ υμων εις τον αιωνα	και εγω ερωτησω τον πατερα και αλλον παρακλητον δωσει υμιν ινα μενη μεθ υμων εις τον αιωνα

the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides with you and will be in you.

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας, ὃ ὁ κόσμος οὐ δύναται λαβεῖν, ὅτι οὐ θεωρεῖ αὐτὸ οὐδὲ γινώσκει· ὑμεῖς γινώσκετε αὐτό, ὅτι παρ᾿ ὑμῖν μένει καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν \|ἔσται\|	το πνευμα της αληθειας ο ο κοσμος ου δυναται λαβειν οτι ου θεωρει αυτο ουδε γινωσκει αυτο υμεις δε γινωσκετε αυτο οτι παρ υμιν μενει και εν υμιν εσται	το πνευμα της αληθειας ο ο κοσμος ου δυναται λαβειν οτι ου θεωρει αυτο ουδε γινωσκει αυτο υμεις δε γινωσκετε αυτο οτι παρ υμιν μενει και εν υμιν εσται

John 14:21-23 (NET)	John 14:21-23 (KJV)
The person who has my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.”	He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ ἔχων τὰς ἐντολάς μου καὶ τηρῶν αὐτὰς ἐκεῖνος ἐστιν ὁ ἀγαπῶν με· ὁ δὲ ἀγαπῶν με ἀγαπηθήσεται ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρός μου, καγὼ ἀγαπήσω αὐτὸν καὶ ἐμφανίσω αὐτῷ ἐμαυτόν	ο εχων τας εντολας μου και τηρων αυτας εκεινος εστιν ο αγαπων με ο δε αγαπων με αγαπηθησεται υπο του πατρος μου και εγω αγαπησω αυτον και εμφανισω αυτω εμαυτον	ο εχων τας εντολας μου και τηρων αυτας εκεινος εστιν ο αγαπων με ο δε αγαπων με αγαπηθησεται υπο του πατρος μου και εγω αγαπησω αυτον και εμφανισω αυτω εμαυτον

“Lord,” Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “what has happened that you are going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”

Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Λέγει αὐτῷ Ἰούδας (οὐχ ὁ Ἰσκαριώτης)· κύριε, [καὶ] τί γέγονεν ὅτι ἡμῖν μέλλεις ἐμφανίζειν σεαυτὸν καὶ οὐχὶ τῷ κόσμῳ	λεγει αυτω ιουδας ουχ ο ισκαριωτης κυριε τι γεγονεν οτι ημιν μελλεις εμφανιζειν σεαυτον και ουχι τω κοσμω	λεγει αυτω ιουδας ουχ ο ισκαριωτης κυριε και τι γεγονεν οτι ημιν μελλεις εμφανιζειν σεαυτον και ουχι τω κοσμω

Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him.

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἐάν τις ἀγαπᾷ με τὸν λόγον μου τηρήσει, καὶ ὁ πατήρ μου ἀγαπήσει αὐτὸν καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐλευσόμεθα καὶ μονὴν παρ᾿ αὐτῷ ποιησόμεθα	απεκριθη ο ιησους και ειπεν αυτω εαν τις αγαπα με τον λογον μου τηρησει και ο πατηρ μου αγαπησει αυτον και προς αυτον ελευσομεθα και μονην παρ αυτω ποιησομεν	απεκριθη ιησους και ειπεν αυτω εαν τις αγαπα με τον λογον μου τηρησει και ο πατηρ μου αγαπησει αυτον και προς αυτον ελευσομεθα και μονην παρ αυτω ποιησομεν

John 14:26 (NET)	John 14:26 (KJV)
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and will cause you to remember everything I said to you.	But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ παράκλητος, τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ὃ πέμψει ὁ πατὴρ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι μου, ἐκεῖνος ὑμᾶς διδάξει πάντα καὶ ὑπομνήσει ὑμᾶς πάντα ἃ εἶπον ὑμῖν [ἐγώ]	ο δε παρακλητος το πνευμα το αγιον ο πεμψει ο πατηρ εν τω ονοματι μου εκεινος υμας διδαξει παντα και υπομνησει υμας παντα α ειπον υμιν	ο δε παρακλητος το πνευμα το αγιον ο πεμψει ο πατηρ εν τω ονοματι μου εκεινος υμας διδαξει παντα και υπομνησει υμας παντα α ειπον υμιν

Matthew 16:17 (NET)	Matthew 16:17 (KJV)
And Jesus answered him, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!	And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· μακάριος εἶ, Σίμων Βαριωνᾶ, ὅτι σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα οὐκ ἀπεκάλυψεν σοι ἀλλ᾿ ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ ἐν \|τοῖς\| οὐρανοῖς	και αποκριθεις ο ιησους ειπεν αυτω μακαριος ει σιμων βαρ ιωνα οτι σαρξ και αιμα ουκ απεκαλυψεν σοι αλλ ο πατηρ μου ο εν τοις ουρανοις	και αποκριθεις ο ιησους ειπεν αυτω μακαριος ει σιμων βαρ ιωνα οτι σαρξ και αιμα ουκ απεκαλυψεν σοι αλλ ο πατηρ μου ο εν τοις ουρανοις

Matthew 26:75 (NET)	Matthew 26:75 (KJV)
Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.	And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἐμνήσθη ὁ Πέτρος τοῦ ρήματος Ἰησοῦ εἰρηκότος ὅτι πρὶν ἀλέκτορα φωνῆσαι τρὶς ἀπαρνήσῃ με· καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἔξω ἔκλαυσεν πικρῶς	και εμνησθη ο πετρος του ρηματος του ιησου ειρηκοτος αυτω οτι πριν αλεκτορα φωνησαι τρις απαρνηση με και εξελθων εξω εκλαυσεν πικρως	και εμνησθη ο πετρος του ρηματος του ιησου ειρηκοτος αυτω οτι πριν αλεκτορα φωνησαι τρις απαρνηση με και εξελθων εξω εκλαυσεν πικρως

A Monotonous Cycle Revisited, Part 4

Back to Paul’s OT Quotes – Romans 10:18-21

Back to To Make Holy, Part 8

Back to He Takes Away, Part 1

Back to Psalm 22, Part 5

Back to To Make Holy, Part 9

Back to The New Covenant, Part 2

Back to Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 11

Back to The Day of the Lord, Part 8

^[1] Genesis 4:9a (Tanakh)

^[2] David’s Forgiveness, Part 3; Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 9; Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 10

^[3] John 3:7 (NET)

^[4] John 8:31 (NET)

^[5] John 17:17b (NET) Table

^[6] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἔστησεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ιστησιν (KJV: setteth).

^[7] Psalm 90:1a (English Elpenor)

^[8] It is interesting that the Masoretic text has מדבר (deber)—noisome pestilence, destructive plague—here and repeated again in verse 6—pestilence that walketh, plague that stalks—where the Septuagint had λόγου—“troublesome word,” troublesome matter—and πράγματος—“deed that travels,” [evil] thing that walks. The Hebrew word מִדֶּ֥בֶר (deber) is only distinguished from דָּבָר (dâbâr; word, matter) by vowel points and context apparently.