Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 10

Posted on November 6, 2023 by admin

This is a continuation of my intent to become much more familiar with the Greek translation of יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) and יֱהֹוִה֙ (yᵊhōvâ) in the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:11 (Tanakh/KJV)	Genesis 3:11 (NET)	Genesis 3:11 (NETS)	Genesis 3:11 (English Elpenor)
And He said (וַיֹּ֕אמֶר): ‘Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?’	And the Lord God said (‘āmar, ויאמר), “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”	And he said (καὶ εἶπεν) to him, “Who told you that you are naked, unless you have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, of this one alone, not to eat from it?”	And God said (καὶ εἶπεν…ὁ Θεός) to him, Who told thee that thou wast naked, unless thou hast eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it alone not to eat?

Here the Hebrew verb וַיֹּ֕אמֶר (‘āmar) was translated And He said (Tanakh, KJV) or And the Lord God said (NET). A note (28) in the NET explained:

Heb “and he said.” The referent (the Lord God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

It goes a long way to explaining the different translations in the Septuagint: καὶ εἶπεν (BLB), And he said (NETS), or καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς (Elpenor), And God said (English Elpenor). But why did He ask this misleading question in the first place? Why didn’t He just come straight out with it, right here in the beginning?

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 46:9b, 10 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 46:9b, 10 (NET)	Isaiah 46:9b, 10 (NETS)	Isaiah 46:9b, 10 (English Elpenor)
I am God (אֵל֙), and there is none else; I am God (אֱלֹהִ֖ים), and there is none like me [Table],	I am God (‘ēl, אל), I have no peer; I am God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים), and there is none like me,	I am God (ὁ θεός), and there is no other besides me [Table],	I am God (ὁ Θεός), and there is none other beside me,
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure (חֶפְצִ֖י) [Table]:	who announces the end from the beginning and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred; who says, ‘My plan will be realized, I will accomplish what I desire (ḥēp̄eṣ, חפצי);’	declaring the last things first, before they happen, and at once they came to pass, and I said, “My whole plan shall stand, and I will do all the things I have planned (βεβούλευμαι)” [Table],	telling beforehand the latter events before they come to pass, and they are accomplished together: and I said, all my counsel shall stand, and I will do all things that I have planned (βεβούλευμαι):

It has taken the better part of a lifetime for me to recognize that these declarative statements, of which I am so fond, are remedial education for dullards. This is the take-home message I was expected to understand from the first two chapters of Genesis, and probably would have if not for a heart and mind dominated by sin, that innate drive to do my own thing even if, especially if, God disapproves.

Paul’s confession comes readily to mind (Romans 7:7b, 8a NET):

I would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires.

The “educated” minds I fawned over when I was younger would have me believe that God was not unique, knowledgeable or determined to accomplish all his pleasure until Isaiah declared Him so sometime after his alleged prophecies came to pass, because “God” was the creation of lying Jews. But what happens if I assume that the Creator of the heavens and the earth¹ was already unique, knowledgeable and determined to accomplish all his pleasure in the beginning? What might I understand if I don’t assume that He was ignorant of what had transpired, guessing by some form of reasoning and in need of Adam’s confirmation that He had guessed correctly?

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:12 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:12 (NET)	Genesis 3:12 (NETS)	Genesis 3:12 (English Elpenor)
And the man said: ‘The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.’	The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.”	And Adam said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”	And Adam said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me– she gave me of the tree and I ate.

With my mind cleansed of the idea that God was ignorant, guessing at what had transpired and seeking Adam’s confirmation, buttressed by the knowledge that He was already unique, knowledgeable and determined to accomplish all his pleasure, I assume that Adam’s response was what God wanted to achieve when He asked the question. A table comparing Adam’s answer to the narrator’s description of what had transpired follows.

Adam

Narrator

The woman whom you gave me,

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him” [Table]…So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was asleep, he took part of the man’s side and closed up the place with flesh [Table]. Then the Lord God made a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man [Table].

Genesis 2:18, 21, 22 (NET)

she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.

Genesis 3:12 (NET)

She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it [Table].

Genesis 3:6b (NET)

The Lord God asked Eve a similar question.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:13 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:13 (NET)	Genesis 3:13 (NETS)	Genesis 3:13 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֧ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֛ים) said unto the woman: ‘What is this thou hast done?’ And the woman said: ‘The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.’	So the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”	And God (κύριος ὁ θεὸς) said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The snake tricked me, and I ate.”	And the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεὸς) said to the woman, Why hast thou done this? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate.

Here the narrator called God יְהֹוָ֧ה (Yᵊhōvâ) in the Masoretic text which was corroborated by Κύριος in both versions of the Septuagint, though the NETS translation God might indicate the existence of another version without Κύριος. A table comparing Eve’s answer to the narrator’s description of what had transpired follows.

Eve

Narrator

The serpent tricked me,

The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die [Table], for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” [Table].

Genesis 3:4, 5 (NET)

and I ate.

Genesis 3:13b (NET)

When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it [Table].

Genesis 3:6a (NET)

Both Adam and Eve responded to God’s questions with true answers accurately restating events as related by the narrator of Genesis. The Lord God asked the serpent no questions.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:14, 15 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:14, 15 (NET)	Genesis 3:14, 15 (NETS)	Genesis 3:14, 15 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֨ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֥ים) said unto the serpent: ‘Because thou hast done this, cursed (אָר֤וּר) art thou from among all cattle, and from among all beasts of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.	The Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed (‘ārar, ארור) are you above all the cattle and all the living creatures of the field! On your belly you will crawl and dust you will eat all the days of your life.	And the Lord (κύριος) God (ὁ θεὸς) said to the snake, “Because you have done this, cursed (ἐπικατάρατος) are you from all the domestic animals and from the wild animals of the earth; upon your chest and belly you shall go, and earth you shall eat all the days of your life.	And the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεὸς) said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this thou art cursed (ἐπικατάρατος) above all cattle and all the brutes of the earth, on thy breast and belly thou shalt go, and thou shalt eat earth all the days of thy life.
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; they shall bruise (יְשֽׁוּפְךָ֣) thy head, and thou shalt bruise (תְּשׁוּפֶ֥נּוּ) their heel.’	And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; he will strike (šûp̄, ישופך) your head, and you will strike (šûp̄, תשופנו) his heel.”	And I will put enmity between you and between the woman and between your offspring and between her offspring; he will watch (τηρήσει) your head, and you will watch (τηρήσεις) his heel.”	And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed, he shall watch against (τηρήσει) thy head, and thou shalt watch against (τηρήσεις) his heel.

Here again the narrator called God יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) in the Masoretic text. It was corroborated by Κύριος in both Greek versions of the Septuagint and Lord in both English translations. Though the Lord God asked the serpent no questions, Rashi described the serpent’s answer to the question: “Why have you done this?”

Now the serpent was cunning: What is the connection of this matter here? Scripture should have juxtaposed (below verse 21): “And He made for Adam and for his wife shirts of skin, and He dressed them.” But it teaches you as a result of what plan the serpent thrust himself upon them. He saw them naked and engaging in intercourse before everyone’s eyes, and he desired her. — [from Gen. Rabbah 18:6]²

And I shall place hatred: You intended that the man should die when he would eat first, and you would marry Eve, and you came to Eve first only because women are easily enticed, and they know how to entice their husbands. Therefore, “I shall place hatred.”³

So, according to Rashi Eve’s nudity stirred-up lust and a murderous plot in the serpent’s heart: the serpent coveted Adam’s wife. If God had clothed Eve properly and given her a shelter for “engaging in intercourse” away from “everyone’s eyes” perhaps none of this would have happened. But I wonder why Rashi assumed that the serpent wanted Eve rather than Adam. All this conjecture leads away from the point:

God questioned Adam: Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?⁴ Adam answered truthfully relative to the narration of Genesis. The Lord God questioned Eve: What is this you have done?⁵ She didn’t deny Adam’s answer but added her own perspective truthfully relative to the narration of Genesis. The Lord God asked the serpent no questions at all. Was He unfair? Did He curse the serpent on Eve’s word alone? No, He didn’t need anyone to tell Him what He already knew.

I’m reminded of Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (John 4:14, 15 NET):

But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty⁶ again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life” [Table]. The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come⁷ here to draw water.”

The Samaritan woman was already drinking out of Jesus’ hand, so to speak. But rather than explaining straightforwardly that the fountain of water springing up to eternal life He spoke of was the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit, as I would have preferred, Jesus’ mind took an abrupt turn (John 4:16 NET):

He⁸ said to her, “Go call your husband (τὸν ἄνδρα |σου|) and come back here.”

The Samaritan woman might have obeyed Jesus and run to fetch her man: ἄνδρα, a form of ἀνήρ means man as well as husband. But she seemed to grasp his meaning (John 4:17, 18 NET):

The woman replied,⁹ “I have no husband (ἄνδρα).” Jesus said to her, “Right you are when you said, ‘I have no husband (ἄνδρα),’ for you have had five husbands (ἄνδρας), and the man you are living with now is not your husband (ἀνήρ). This you said truthfully (ἀληθὲς, a form of ἀληθής)!”

The Greek word translated man above was the masculine ὃν rather than the feminine ἥν. I would have known nothing of this woman’s past except for Jesus’ word, which she corroborated when she called, not her husband but, the whole town to Jesus: Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.¹⁰ Jesus remained focused on truth (John 4:23, 24 NET):

But¹¹ a time is coming—and now is here—when the true (ἀληθινοὶ, a form of ἀληθινός) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth (ἀληθείᾳ), for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth (ἀληθείᾳ).

The Father seeks (ζητεῖ, a form of ζητέω) such people to be his worshipers, those who will worship the Father in spirit and truth.¹² This is quite moving: For the Son of Man came to seek (ζητῆσαι, another form of ζητέω) and to save the lost (τὸ ἀπολωλός).¹³ Is that why the Lord God questioned Adam and Eve? He sought them as worshipers after they disobeyed Him? To read Jesus’ out-of-his-way effort, to find something truthful in the Samaritan woman He sought, back into the Lord God’s questions to Adam and Eve seems difficult.

Neither the narrator nor the Lord God called Adam’s or Eve’s responses truthful. I’m the one comparing them to the narration and declaring them true. Perhaps it’s safer to say, that I hear Jesus’ personality in the Lord God’s questions. I tell you the solemn truth, Jesus said, the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.¹⁴ And, I always do those things that please him.¹⁵ This seems like one of those places He saw the Father doing and did likewise.

What I call the Old Testament was written uniquely for, and primarily to, that 12-year-old boy who grew into the man I know as Jesus Christ. And it is his understanding of the Scriptures that I want to know. He is the One who proved Paul’s saying true: live by the Spirit and you will not carry out (οὐ μὴ τελέσητε ¹⁶) the desires of the flesh.¹⁷ He found a loving Father in the pages of Scripture: One who gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life;¹⁸ One who did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him;¹⁹ One who does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance;²⁰ One who gave all authority in heaven and on earth²¹ to his Son that his Son will draw all people to²² Himself. Now this is eternal life, the Son prayed to his Father, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.²³

I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Tables comparing Genesis 3:11; 3:12; 3:13; 3:14 and 3:15 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Genesis 3:11; 3:12; 3:13; 3:14 and 3:15 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek, and tables comparing the Greek of John 4:15; 4:16; 4:17 and 4:23 the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 3:11 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:11 (KJV)	Genesis 3:11 (NET)
And He said: ‘Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?’	And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?	And the Lord God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

Genesis 3:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ τίς ἀνήγγειλέν σοι ὅτι γυμνὸς εἶ μὴ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου οὗ ἐνετειλάμην σοι τούτου μόνου μὴ φαγεῖν ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγες	καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός· τίς ἀνήγγειλέ σοι ὅτι γυμνὸς εἶ, εἰ μὴ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, οὗ ἐνετειλάμην σοι τούτου μόνου μὴ φαγεῖν, ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγες
Genesis 3:11 (NETS)	Genesis 3:11 (English Elpenor)
And he said to him, “Who told you that you are naked, unless you have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, of this one alone, not to eat from it?”	And God said to him, Who told thee that thou wast naked, unless thou hast eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it alone not to eat?

Genesis 3:12 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:12 (KJV)	Genesis 3:12 (NET)
And the man said: ‘The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.’	And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.	The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.”

Genesis 3:12 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Αδαμ ἡ γυνή ἣν ἔδωκας μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ αὕτη μοι ἔδωκεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου καὶ ἔφαγον	καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ᾿Αδάμ· ἡ γυνή, ἣν ἔδωκας μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ, αὕτη μοι ἔδωκεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, καὶ ἔφαγον
Genesis 3:12 (NETS)	Genesis 3:12 (English Elpenor)
And Adam said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”	And Adam said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me– she gave me of the tree and I ate.

Genesis 3:13 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:13 (KJV)	Genesis 3:13 (NET)
And HaShem G-d said unto the woman: ‘What is this thou hast done?’ And the woman said: ‘The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.’	And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.	So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”

Genesis 3:13 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τῇ γυναικί τί τοῦτο ἐποίησας καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνή ὁ ὄφις ἠπάτησέν με καὶ ἔφαγον	καὶ εἶπε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῇ γυναικί· τί τοῦτο ἐποίησας; καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνή· ὁ ὄφις ἠπάτησέ με, καὶ ἔφαγον
Genesis 3:13 (NETS)	Genesis 3:13 (English Elpenor)
And God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The snake tricked me, and I ate.”	And the Lord God said to the woman, Why hast thou done this? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate.

Genesis 3:14 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:14 (KJV)	Genesis 3:14 (NET)
And HaShem G-d said unto the serpent: ‘Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou from among all cattle, and from among all beasts of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.	And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:	The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the cattle and all the living creatures of the field! On your belly you will crawl and dust you will eat all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:14 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τῷ ὄφει ὅτι ἐποίησας τοῦτο ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν θηρίων τῆς γῆς ἐπὶ τῷ στήθει σου καὶ τῇ κοιλίᾳ πορεύσῃ καὶ γῆν φάγῃ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου	καὶ εἶπε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῷ ὄφει· ὅτι ἐποίησας τοῦτο, ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν θηρίων τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· ἐπὶ τῷ στήθει σου καὶ τῇ κοιλίᾳ πορεύσῃ καὶ γῆν φαγῇ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου.
Genesis 3:14 (NETS)	Genesis 3:14 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord God said to the snake, “Because you have done this, cursed are you from all the domestic animals and from the wild animals of the earth; upon your chest and belly you shall go, and earth you shall eat all the days of your life.	And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this thou art cursed above all cattle and all the brutes of the earth, on thy breast and belly thou shalt go, and thou shalt eat earth all the days of thy life.

Genesis 3:15 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:15 (KJV)	Genesis 3:15 (NET)
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; they shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise their heel.’	And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.	And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Genesis 3:15 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:15 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔχθραν θήσω ἀνὰ μέσον σου καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σπέρματός σου καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῆς αὐτός σου τηρήσει κεφαλήν καὶ σὺ τηρήσεις αὐτοῦ πτέρναν	καὶ ἔχθραν θήσω ἀνὰ μέσον σοῦ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σπέρματός σου καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῆς· αὐτός σου τηρήσει κεφαλήν, καὶ σὺ τηρήσεις αὐτοῦ πτέρναν
Genesis 3:15 (NETS)	Genesis 3:15 (English Elpenor)
And I will put enmity between you and between the woman and between your offspring and between her offspring; he will watch your head, and you will watch his heel.”	And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed, he shall watch against thy head, and thou shalt watch against his heel.

John 4:15 (NET)	John 4:15 (KJV)
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”	The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

John 4:15 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 4:15 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 4:15 (Byzantine Majority Text)
λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ γυνή· κύριε, δός μοι τοῦτο τὸ ὕδωρ, ἵνα μὴ διψῶ μηδὲ διέρχωμαι ἐνθάδε ἀντλεῖν	λεγει προς αυτον η γυνη κυριε δος μοι τουτο το υδωρ ινα μη διψω μηδε ερχωμαι ενθαδε αντλειν	λεγει προς αυτον η γυνη κυριε δος μοι τουτο το υδωρ ινα μη διψω μηδε ερχομαι ενθαδε αντλειν

John 4:16 (NET)	John 4:16 (KJV)
He said to her, “Go call your husband and come back here.”	Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

John 4:16 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 4:16 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 4:16 (Byzantine Majority Text)
λέγει αὐτῇ· ὕπαγε φώνησον τὸν ἄνδρα \|σου\| καὶ ἐλθὲ ἐνθάδε	λεγει αυτη ο ιησους υπαγε φωνησον τον ανδρα σου και ελθε ενθαδε	λεγει αυτη ο ιησους υπαγε φωνησον τον ανδρα σου και ελθε ενθαδε

John 4:17 (NET)	John 4:17 (KJV)
The woman replied, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “Right you are when you said, ‘I have no husband,’	The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:

John 4:17 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 4:17 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 4:17 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἀπεκρίθη ἡ γυνὴ καὶ εἶπεν \|αὐτῷ\|· οὐκ ἔχω ἄνδρα. λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· καλῶς εἶπας ὅτι ἄνδρα οὐκ ἔχω·	απεκριθη η γυνη και ειπεν ουκ εχω ανδρα λεγει αυτη ο ιησους καλως ειπας οτι ανδρα ουκ εχω	απεκριθη η γυνη και ειπεν ουκ εχω ανδρα λεγει αυτη ο ιησους καλως ειπας οτι ανδρα ουκ εχω

John 4:23 (NET)	John 4:23 (KJV)
But a time is coming—and now is here—when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers.	But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

John 4:23 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 4:23 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 4:23 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἀλλὰ ἔρχεται ὥρα καὶ νῦν ἐστιν, ὅτε οἱ ἀληθινοὶ προσκυνηταὶ προσκυνήσουσιν τῷ πατρὶ ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ· καὶ γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ τοιούτους ζητεῖ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας αὐτόν	αλλ ερχεται ωρα και νυν εστιν οτε οι αληθινοι προσκυνηται προσκυνησουσιν τω πατρι εν πνευματι και αληθεια και γαρ ο πατηρ τοιουτους ζητει τους προσκυνουντας αυτον	αλλ ερχεται ωρα και νυν εστιν οτε οι αληθινοι προσκυνηται προσκυνησουσιν τω πατρι εν πνευματι και αληθεια και γαρ ο πατηρ τοιουτους ζητει τους προσκυνουντας αυτον

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 11

Keep Yourselves from Idols, Part 1

¹ Gensis 1:1b (NET) Table

² From Rashi’s commentary to Genesis 3:1 (Tanakh), chabad.org

³ From Rashi’s commentary to Genesis 3:15 (Tanakh), chabad.org

⁴ Genesis 3:11 (NET)

⁵ Genesis 3:13a (NET)

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had διψήσει here in the future tense and indicative mood, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had διψήσῃ (KJV: shall…thirst) in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood. Since the negation is οὐ μὴ here, διψήσῃ is the stronger of the two: the subjunctive of emphatic negation.

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

⁸ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ο ιησους (KJV: Jesus) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had αὐτῷ (“to him”) here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹⁰ John 4:29a (NET)

¹¹ The NET parallel Greek text had ἀλλὰ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA²⁸ had ἀλλ’.

¹² John 4:23b (NET)

¹³ Luke 19:10 (NET)

¹⁴ John 5:19 (NET) Table

¹⁵ John 8:29b (NET) Table

¹⁶ This is a subjunctive of emphatic negation: “However, when this combination [οὐ µή (ou mē)] is attached to an Aorist Subjunctive, what occurs is what has been termed the Subjunctive of Emphatic Negation. As was pointed out above, the Subjunctive Mood indicates the probability of an event, and the Aorist Tense emphasizes an action as simply occurring, without any specific reference to time, apart from the use of an adverbial modifier (e.g., that which would describe when, where, how much, or how often). Thus, when you have οὐ µή (ou mē) in combination with the Aorist Subjunctive, what occurs is the absolute and unequivocal denial of the probability of an event EVER OCCURING at any moment or time in the future.” From “EMPHATIC NEGATIONS IN BIBLICAL GREEK” on the BLB Blog online.

¹⁷ Galatians 5:16 (NET)

¹⁸ John 3:16 (NET) Table

¹⁹ John 3:17 (NET) Table

²⁰ 2 Peter 3:9b (NET) Table

²¹ Matthew 28:18b (NET) Table

²² John 12:32b (NET)

²³ John 17:3 (NET)

Christianity, Part 4

Posted on December 20, 2022 by admin

There are 13 occurrences of πάντας in Luke’s Gospel [see Table below], the Greek word translated all people in And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people (πάντας, a form of πᾶς) to myself.¹ Two occurrences found in narrative passages were limited by words immediately following πάντας, and three others were limited by the time and place mentioned in context. There is one more occurrence in a narrative phrase introducing Jesus’ teaching, one in a question Peter asked Jesus about his teaching and six occurrences spoken by Jesus as He taught. I’ll consider these in detail.

And [Jesus] said to all (πάντας, a form of πᾶς), “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.²

In a narrative passage I would assume that πάντας was limited to all who heard Jesus at a particular time and place: Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him.³ But the nature of his message here causes me to question that assumption. It seems to apply beyond the immediate time and place to τις θέλει ὀπίσω μου ἔρχεσθαι, anyone [who] would come after [Jesus].

Given my predisposition it was natural, perhaps inevitable, for me to consider that this desire (θέλει, a form of θέλω) to follow Jesus originated with, or was conjured by, the human individual. It rendered that individual worthy of Jesus’ salvation. The lack of this desire, or one’s inability to conjure it, made one worthy of damnation. Then lightning struck, metaphorically speaking, in the form of Jesus’ saying: No one (οὐδεὶς) can (δύναται, a form of δύναμαι) come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.⁴

The desire to follow Jesus on these terms, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, does not originate with any human individual. It is evidence that one is being drawn by God. And this truth, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me; For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it, is not limited to those who would follow but applies to all. So, πάντας here stands without any limitation of time or place: And he said to all.⁵

I’d like to consider the fuller version of D. A. Carson’s argument quoted in “What Did Jesus Mean When He Said That he will ‘Draw All Men [and Women] to Myself’?” on the Christian Publishing House Blog:

“On the verb ‘to draw’, cf. notes on 6:44. There, the one who draws is the Father; here [John 12:32], it is the Son, but nothing much should be made of this (5:19)…

John 6:44 quotes Jesus saying: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.⁶ John 5:19 reads: So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.⁷

Mr. Carson’s quote continued:

“But the scope and efficacy of the drawing in the two places are quite different. There, the focus is on those individuals whom the Father gives to the Son, whom the Son infallibly preserves and raises up at the last day. Here, ‘all men’ reminds the reader of what triggered these statements, viz. the arrival of the Greeks…

The “arrival of the Greeks” is a reference to the following (John 12:20-23 ESV):

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip⁸ went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went⁹ and¹⁰ told Jesus. And Jesus answered¹¹ them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

I agree that “the scope…of the drawing [is] quite different” in John 6:44 and 12:32. The Father draws a select few relative to all who have lived, or will ever live, on earth prior to Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus promises to draw all afterward. But I fail to see how the “arrival of the Greeks” as described above alters the “efficacy of the drawing.”

In the KJV πάντας was translated all men (ESV: all people), but the Greek is not πάντας ἄνθρωπον or πάντας ἀνθρώπους as if Jesus intended to limit πάντας in some way. It is simply πάντας. Yet in Mr. Carson’s argument the “arrival of the Greeks” so alters the efficacy of Jesus’ drawing that πάντας ἑλκύσω (literally: “all I will draw”)…

…means ‘all people without distinction, Jews and Gentiles alike’, not all individuals without exception, since the surrounding context has just established judgment as a major theme (v. 31), a time for distinguishing between those who love their lives (and therefore lose them) and those who hate their lives (and therefore keep them for eternal life, v. 25).”

John 12:31 reads: Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.¹² This indicates to me that Mr. Carson thought the judgment of this world and the casting out of the ruler of this world were opposed somehow to Jesus drawing all to Himself. John 12:25 reads: Whoever loves his life loses¹³ it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.¹⁴

I want to consider this in context (John 12:23-26 ESV):

And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If¹⁵ anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

All that follows falls under the heading: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.¹⁶ Jesus referred to Himself here as the Son of Man but whenever I hear this phrase I think also of those who follow Him. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.¹⁷ He spoke of his own death but also the death of those who would follow Him. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.¹⁸ This is true of the Son of Man as it is true of all born of Him. And if I seek more clarification, what it means to hate my life in this world, Jesus spoke directly to us: If anyone serves me, he must follow me.¹⁹

This brings me back to the beginning of this essay:

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.²⁰

To hate my life in this world is to deny myself (I do not know the man²¹) in this world, to take up [my] cross daily in this world and to follow Jesus. Here it becomes clear that our old self born of the flesh loves its life in this world, does not deny itself, take up its cross daily or follow Jesus: We know that our old self (ὁ παλαιὸς ἡμῶν ἄνθρωπος) was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.²² It is the new self (τὸν νέον), which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator²³ who comprehends that, 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,²⁴ is not a hyperbolic expression of Paul’s personal devotion, but normative for all who believe.

Considered as a whole I can’t fit Mr. Carson’s argument into my understanding of a rational argument against And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people (πάντας, a form of πᾶς) to myself.²⁵ It doesn’t line up in any way that persuades me that Jesus intended to limit πάντας here, nor cause me to doubt the efficacy of Jesus’ drawing relative to that of his Father. In fact, this argument resolves for me as: “Jesus didn’t say I…will draw all…to myself because that conflicts with the thoughts of my religious mind regarding the judgment of this world.” I prefer now to let my thoughts be shaped by the mind of Christ where, Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out; And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself,²⁶ is one continuous thought rather than a contradiction.

The next occurrence of πάντας in Luke’s Gospel follows (Luke 12:41 ESV):

Peter said,²⁷ “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all (πάντας, a form of πᾶς)?”

The parable to which Peter referred follows (Luke 12:35-40 ESV):

“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home²⁸ from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If²⁹ he comes in the second watch,³⁰ or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!³¹ But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming,³² he would not have left his house to be broken into.³³ You³⁴ also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Jesus’ answer to Peter’s question is interesting (Luke 12:42-48 ESV):

And³⁵ the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating [Table]. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

I suppose my first thought would be that this parable is a warning to the ambitious: Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.³⁶ But since the ambitious are always with us, I want to stay alert, too, just for self-preservation. Even if they don’t succumb to alcohol the ambitious are very prone to error and desire to take others along with them. They’re ambitious.

Though the parable speaks of a master who is away, Jesus did not leave us orphaned (John 14:18-26). This is not about following a vague memory of a predetermined plan but being led by the Holy Spirit rather than someone else (including oneself). A light beating is insufficient cause to be ignorant of my master’s will. So, first and foremost I follow the Holy Spirit through the Bible and then in daily life.

So, how did Jesus answer Peter’s question: Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all (πάντας, a form of πᾶς)?³⁷ He answered it at a specific time when God drew a select few to Jesus. But if I believe his promise, And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people (πάντας, a form of πᾶς) to myself,³⁸ I can hear his answer as yes and yes. Yes, it is for you, and, yes, it is for all.

The translators of the NET rendered Peter’s question: Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone (πάντας, a form of πᾶς)?³⁹ The blog post I’ve been quoting reads: “Here we must go a bit further in our understanding of verse 32: But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men [πάντας, a form of πᾶς] to myself. Certainly, the Lord had no intention that we should read into this text the idea that everyone would be saved because we know only believers find eternal life.”⁴⁰

Does faith arise spontaneously in the hearts of the unrighteous who do not seek for God? I don’t think so. I’m also having difficulty understanding how Jesus by drawing all to Himself might impact faith adversely. The question I remember most from my unbelief is: If you’re such a big deal, where are you? How does the answer, I’m drawing you to Myself, impede faith?

I do recall the Scripture on which this argument, “we know only believers find eternal life,” is based (John 3:16 ESV [Table]):

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

The Greek word πᾶς, translated whoever here, is limited by the words immediately following it: ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν (believes in him). This was translated everyone who believes in him in the NET. The phrase should not perish was μὴ ἀπόληται in Greek. The translation should…perish was intended to signal a verb in the subjunctive mood to those who already know Greek. It was translated will not perish in the NET despite the fact that the verb was ἀπόληται rather than ἀπολεῖται, because this is a result clause.

The subjunctive mood indicates probability or objective possibility. The action of the verb will possibly happen, depending on certain objective factors or circumstances. It is oftentimes used in conditional statements (i.e. ‘If…then…’ clauses) or in purpose clauses. However if the subjunctive mood is used in a purpose or result clause, then the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.⁴¹

The author of this blog post was correct, writing, “we know only believers find eternal life.” But does it then follow that “the Lord had no intention that we should read into this text the idea that everyone would be saved”? Can we take this knowledge and use it as a rule to judge what Jesus can and cannot say? Consider the next verse (John 3:17 ESV [Table]):

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

The Greek word translated might be saved was σωθῇ (a form of σώζω), another verb in the subjunctive mood. It was translated should be saved in the NET. Again, this is a result clause. The meaning in Greek is: God sent his Son into the world…in order that the world [will] be saved through him. The inference here is not: Jesus cannot draw all to Himself because “we know only believers find eternal life.” The inference of this knowledge is that all whom Jesus draws to Himself will believe.

I’ll continue with the occurrences of πάντας in Luke’s Gospel in another essay. The table mentioned above follows.

Occurrences of πάντας in Luke
Reference	NET Parallel Greek	ESV
Luke 1:65	ἐγένετο ἐπὶ πάντας φόβος τοὺς περιοικοῦντας αὐτούς	fear came on all their neighbors
Luke 4:36	ἐγένετο θάμβος ἐπὶ πάντας	they were all amazed
Luke 5:9	πάντας τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ	all who were with him
Luke 6:10	περιβλεψάμενος πάντας αὐτοὺς	looking around at them all
Luke 6:19	ἰᾶτο πάντας	healed them all
Luke 9:23	Ἔλεγεν δὲ πρὸς πάντας	And he said to all
Luke 12:41	πρὸς ἡμᾶς τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην λέγεις ἢ καὶ πρὸς πάντας	are you telling this parable for us or for all?
Luke 13:2	δοκεῖτε ὅτι οἱ Γαλιλαῖοι οὗτοι ἁμαρτωλοὶ παρὰ πάντας τοὺς Γαλιλαίους ἐγένοντο	do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans
Luke 13:4	δοκεῖτε ὅτι αὐτοὶ ὀφειλέται ἐγένοντο παρὰ πάντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Ἰερουσαλήμ	do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem
Luke 13:28	πάντας τοὺς προφήτας	all the prophets
Luke 17:27	ἦλθεν ὁ κατακλυσμὸς καὶ ἀπώλεσεν πάντας	the flood came and destroyed them all
Luke 17:29	ἔβρεξεν πῦρ καὶ θεῖον ἀπ᾿ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἀπώλεσεν πάντας	fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all
Luke 21:35	πάντας τοὺς καθημένους ἐπὶ πρόσωπον πάσης τῆς γῆς	all who dwell on the face of the whole earth

Tables comparing the Greek of John 12:22, 23; 12:25; 12:26; Luke 12:41; 12:36; 12:38-40 and 12:42 in the NET and KJV follow.

John 12:22, 23 (NET)	John 12:22, 23 (KJV)
Philip went and told Andrew, and they both went and told Jesus.	Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.

John 12:22 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 12:22 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 12:22 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἔρχεται ὁ Φίλιππος καὶ λέγει τῷ Ἀνδρέᾳ, ἔρχεται Ἀνδρέας καὶ Φίλιππος καὶ λέγουσιν τῷ Ἰησοῦ	ερχεται φιλιππος και λεγει τω ανδρεα και παλιν ανδρεας και φιλιππος λεγουσιν τω ιησου	ερχεται φιλιππος και λεγει τω ανδρεα και παλιν ανδρεας και φιλιππος λεγουσιν τω ιησου

Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.

John 12:23 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 12:23 (Stepanus Textus Receptus)	John 12:23 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἀποκρίνεται αὐτοῖς λέγων· ἐλήλυθεν ἡ ὥρα ἵνα δοξασθῇ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου	ο δε ιησους απεκρινατο αυτοις λεγων εληλυθεν η ωρα ινα δοξασθη ο υιος του ανθρωπου	ο δε ιησους απεκρινατο αυτοις λεγων εληλυθεν η ωρα ινα δοξασθη ο υιος του ανθρωπου

John 12:25 (NET)	John 12:25 (KJV)
The one who loves his life destroys it, and the one who hates his life in this world guards it for eternal life.	He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

John 12:25 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 12:25 (Stepanus Textus Receptus)	John 12:25 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὁ φιλῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἀπολλύει αὐτήν, καὶ ὁ μισῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον φυλάξει αὐτήν	ο φιλων την ψυχην αυτου απολεσει αυτην και ο μισων την ψυχην αυτου εν τω κοσμω τουτω εις ζωην αιωνιον φυλαξει αυτην	ο φιλων την ψυχην αυτου απολεσει αυτην και ο μισων την ψυχην αυτου εν τω κοσμω τουτω εις ζωην αιωνιον φυλαξει αυτην

John 12:26 (NET)	John 12:26 (KJV)
If anyone wants to serve me, he must follow me, and where I am, my servant will be too. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.	If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

John 12:26 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 12:26 (Stepanus Textus Receptus)	John 12:26 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἐὰν ἐμοί τις διακονῇ, ἐμοὶ ἀκολουθείτω, καὶ ὅπου εἰμὶ ἐγὼ ἐκεῖ καὶ ὁ διάκονος ὁ ἐμὸς ἔσται· ἐάν τις ἐμοὶ διακονῇ τιμήσει αὐτὸν ὁ πατήρ	εαν εμοι διακονη τις εμοι ακολουθειτω και οπου ειμι εγω εκει και ο διακονος ο εμος εσται και εαν τις εμοι διακονη τιμησει αυτον ο πατηρ	εαν εμοι διακονη τις εμοι ακολουθειτω και οπου ειμι εγω εκει και ο διακονος ο εμος εσται και εαν τις εμοι διακονη τιμησει αυτον ο πατηρ

Luke 12:41 (NET)	Luke 12:41 (KJV)
Then Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?”	Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?

Luke 12:41 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 12:41 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 12:41 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ Πέτρος· κύριε, πρὸς ἡμᾶς τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην λέγεις ἢ καὶ πρὸς πάντας	ειπεν δε αυτω ο πετρος κυριε προς ημας την παραβολην ταυτην λεγεις η και προς παντας	ειπεν δε αυτω ο πετρος κυριε προς ημας την παραβολην ταυτην λεγεις η και προς παντας

Luke 12:36 (NET)	Luke 12:36 (KJV)
be like people waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, so that when he comes and knocks, they can immediately open the door for him.	And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

Luke 12:36 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 12:36 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 12:36 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ ὑμεῖς ὅμοιοι ἀνθρώποις προσδεχομένοις τὸν κύριον ἑαυτῶν πότε ἀναλύσῃ ἐκ τῶν γάμων, ἵνα ἐλθόντος καὶ κρούσαντος εὐθέως ἀνοίξωσιν αὐτῷ	και υμεις ομοιοι ανθρωποις προσδεχομενοις τον κυριον εαυτων ποτε αναλυσει εκ των γαμων ινα ελθοντος και κρουσαντος ευθεως ανοιξωσιν αυτω	και υμεις ομοιοι ανθρωποις προσδεχομενοις τον κυριον εαυτων ποτε αναλυση εκ των γαμων ινα ελθοντος και κρουσαντος ευθεως ανοιξωσιν αυτω

Luke 12:38-40 (NET)	Luke 12:38-40 (KJV)
Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, blessed are those slaves!	And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

Luke 12:38 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 12:38 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 12:38 (Byzantine Majority Text)
κὰν ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ κὰν ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ φυλακῇ ἔλθῃ καὶ εὕρῃ οὕτως, μακάριοι εἰσιν ἐκεῖνοι	και εαν ελθη εν τη δευτερα φυλακη και εν τη τριτη φυλακη ελθη και ευρη ουτως μακαριοι εισιν οι δουλοι εκεινοι	και εαν ελθη εν τη δευτερα φυλακη και εν τη τριτη φυλακη ελθη και ευρη ουτως μακαριοι εισιν οι δουλοι εκεινοι

But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.

And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.

Luke 12:39 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 12:39 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 12:39 (Byzantine Majority Text)
τοῦτο δὲ γινώσκετε ὅτι εἰ ᾔδει ὁ οἰκοδεσπότης ποίᾳ ὥρᾳ ὁ κλέπτης ἔρχεται, οὐκ \|ἂν\| ἀφῆκεν διορυχθῆναι τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ	τουτο δε γινωσκετε οτι ει ηδει ο οικοδεσποτης ποια ωρα ο κλεπτης ερχεται εγρηγορησεν αν και ουκ αν αφηκεν διορυγηναι τον οικον αυτου	τουτο δε γινωσκετε οτι ει ηδει ο οικοδεσποτης ποια ωρα ο κλεπτης ερχεται εγρηγορησεν αν και ουκ αν αφηκεν διορυγηναι τον οικον αυτου

You also must be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

Luke 12:40 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 12:40 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 12:40 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ ὑμεῖς γίνεσθε ἕτοιμοι, ὅτι ᾗ ὥρᾳ οὐ δοκεῖτε ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεται	και υμεις ουν γινεσθε ετοιμοι οτι η ωρα ου δοκειτε ο υιος του ανθρωπου ερχεται	και υμεις ουν γινεσθε ετοιμοι οτι η ωρα ου δοκειτε ο υιος του ανθρωπου ερχεται

Luke 12:42 (NET)	Luke 12:42 (KJV)
The Lord replied, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time?	And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?

Luke 12:42 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 12:42 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 12:42 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ κύριος· τίς ἄρα ἐστὶν ὁ πιστὸς οἰκονόμος ὁ φρόνιμος, ὃν καταστήσει ὁ κύριος ἐπὶ τῆς θεραπείας αὐτοῦ τοῦ διδόναι ἐν καιρῷ \|τὸ\| σιτομέτριον	ειπεν δε ο κυριος τις αρα εστιν ο πιστος οικονομος και φρονιμος ον καταστησει ο κυριος επι της θεραπειας αυτου του διδοναι εν καιρω το σιτομετριον	ειπεν δε ο κυριος τις αρα εστιν ο πιστος οικονομος και φρονιμος ον καταστησει ο κυριος επι της θεραπειας αυτου του διδοναι εν καιρω το σιτομετριον

Christianity, Part 5

Back to Christianity, Part 6

Back to Christianity, Part 7

Back to Christianity, Part 8

¹ John 12:32 (ESV)

² Luke 9:23, 24 (ESV) Table

³ Luke 9:18a (ESV)

⁴ John 6:44a (ESV) Table

⁵ Luke 9:23a (ESV)

⁶ John 6:44 (ESV) Table

⁷ John 5:19 (ESV) Table

⁸ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the article ὁ preceding Philip. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἔρχεται here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και παλιν (KJV: and again).

¹⁰ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had και here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹¹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀποκρίνεται here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απεκρινατο.

¹² John 12:31 (ESV)

¹³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀπολλύει (NET: destroys) here in the present tense, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απολεσει (KJV: shall lose) in the future tense.

¹⁴ John 12:25 (ESV)

¹⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the conjunction και preceding If. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁶ John 12:23 (ESV)

¹⁷ John 12:24 (ESV)

¹⁸ John 12:25 (ESV)

¹⁹ John 12:26a (ESV)

²⁰ Luke 9:23 (ESV) Table

²¹ Matthew 26:72b (ESV) Table

²² Romans 6:6 (ESV)

²³ Colossians 3:10b (ESV)

²⁴ Galatians 2:20 (NET)

²⁵ John 12:32 (ESV)

²⁶ John 12:31, 32 (ESV)

²⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτω (KJV: unto him) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²⁸ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἀναλύσῃ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had αναλυσει (KJV: will return).

²⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had κὰν here and preceding third watch (NET: or), where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και εαν ελθη (KJV: And if he shall come) and και (KJV: or) preceding in the third watch. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the verb ἔλθῃ only after third watch rather than both locations as the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had.

³⁰ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had φυλακη here and again after third. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had φυλακῇ only after third.

³¹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had οι δουλοι εκεινοι here, where the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had simply ἐκεῖνοι.

³² The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εγρηγορησεν αν και (KJV: he would have watched, and) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

³³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had διορυχθῆναι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had διορυγηναι (KJV: to be broken through).

³⁴ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουν (KJV: therefore) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

³⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καὶ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δε.

³⁶ Luke 12:42-44 (ESV)

³⁷ Luke 12:41 (ESV)

³⁸ John 12:32 (ESV)

³⁹ Luke 12:41 (NET)

⁴⁰ “What Did Jesus Mean When He Said That he will ‘Draw All Men [and Women] to Myself’?” on the Christian Publishing House Blog

⁴¹ Subjunctive Mood, Greek Verbs (Shorter Definitions), Resources for Learning New Testament Greek

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

To Make Holy, Part 9

Posted on March 11, 2021 by admin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This may be more like the world (κόσμος) that has hated Jesus’ disciples: the world (κόσμος) of the old man (τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον) who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires and cannot (οὐ δύναται, a form of δύναμαι) accept (λαβεῖν, a form of λαμβάνω) the Spirit of truth. For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, Paul wrote, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want.^[14]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I’ll pick this up in another essay.

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

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

It is interesting to hear this as Jesus’ prayer:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Psalm 35:19 (Tanakh)	Psalm 35:19 (KJV)	Psalm 35:19 (NET)
Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.	Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.	Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason gloat over me. Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes.

Psalm 35:19 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 34:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
μὴ ἐπιχαρείησάν μοι οἱ ἐχθραίνοντές μοι ἀδίκως οἱ μισοῦντές με δωρεὰν καὶ διανεύοντες ὀφθαλμοῗς	μὴ ἐπιχαρείησάν μοι οἱ ἐχθραίνοντές μοι ἀδίκως, οἱ μισοῦντες με δωρεὰν καὶ διανεύοντες ὀφθαλμοῖς
Psalm 34:19 (NETS)	Psalm 34:19 (English Elpenor)
May those who unjustly are my enemies not be happy over me, those who hate me without cause and wink with the eyes,	Let not them that are mine enemies without a cause rejoice against me; who hate me for nothing, and wink with their eyes.

Psalm 69:4 (Tanakh)	Psalm 69:4 (KJV)	Psalm 69:4 (NET)
They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.	They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.	Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head. Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason, outnumber me. They make me repay what I did not steal.

Psalm 69:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 68:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐπληθύνθησαν ὑπὲρ τὰς τρίχας τῆς κεφαλῆς μου οἱ μισοῦντές με δωρεάν ἐκραταιώθησαν οἱ ἐχθροί μου οἱ ἐκδιώκοντές με ἀδίκως ἃ οὐχ ἥρπασα τότε ἀπετίννυον	ἐπληθύνθησαν ὑπὲρ τὰς τρίχας τῆς κεφαλῆς μου οἱ μισοῦντές με δωρεάν, ἐκραταιώθησαν οἱ ἐχθροί μου οἱ ἐκδιώκοντές με ἀδίκως· ἃ οὐχ ἥρπαζον, τότε ἀπετίννυον
Psalm 68:5 (NETS)	Psalm 68:5 (English Elpenor)
They multiplied beyond the hairs of my head, those who hate me without cause; my enemies who persecuted me unjustly became strong. What I did not seize I would then repay.	They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head: my enemies that persecute me unrighteously are strengthened: then I restored that which I took not away.

Psalm 109:3 (Tanakh)	Psalm 109:3 (KJV)	Psalm 109:3 (NET)
They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.	They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.	They surround me and say hateful things; they attack me for no reason.

Psalm 109:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 108:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ λόγοις μίσους ἐκύκλωσάν με καὶ ἐπολέμησάν με δωρεάν	καὶ λόγοις μίσους ἐκύκλωσάν με καὶ ἐπολέμησάν με δωρεάν
Psalm 108:3 (NETS)	Psalm 108:3 (English Elpenor)
And they surrounded me with words of hate and made war on me without cause.	And they have compassed me with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.

Daniel 3:6 (Tanakh)	Daniel 3:6 (KJV)	Daniel 3:6 (NET)
And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.	And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.	Whoever does not bow down and pay homage will immediately be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire!”

Daniel 3:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Daniel 3:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ὃς ἂν μὴ πεσὼν προσκυνήσῃ αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἐμβληθήσεται εἰς τὴν κάμινον τοῦ πυρὸς τὴν καιομένην	καὶ ὃς ἂν μὴ πεσὼν προσκυνήσῃ, αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἐμβληθήσεται εἰς τὴν κάμινον τοῦ πυρὸς τὴν καιομένην
Daniel 3:6 (NETS)	Daniel 3:6 (English Elpenor)
And whoever does not fall down and do obeisance, at that very hour will be thrown into the furnace blazing with fire.”	And whosoever shall not fall down and worship, in the same hour he shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace.

Daniel 3:17 (Tanakh)	Daniel 3:17 (KJV)	Daniel 3:17 (NET)
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.	If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.	If our God whom we are serving exists, he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well.

Daniel 3:17 (Septuagint BLB)	Daniel 3:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἔστιν γὰρ θεός ᾧ ἡμεῗς λατρεύομεν δυνατὸς ἐξελέσθαι ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς καμίνου τοῦ πυρὸς τῆς καιομένης καὶ ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν σου βασιλεῦ ῥύσεται ἡμᾶς	ἔστι γὰρ Θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐν οὐρανοῖς, ᾧ ἡμεῖς λατρεύομεν, δυνατὸς ἐξελέσθαι ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς καμίνου τοῦ πυρὸς τῆς καιομένης, καὶ ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν σου, βασιλεῦ, ρύσεται ἡμᾶς
Daniel 3:17 (NETS)	Daniel 3:17 (English Elpenor)
for there is a god whom we serve, able to deliver us from the furnace blazing with fire, and out of your hands, O king, he will rescue us.	For our God whom we serve is in the heavens, able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will rescue us from thy hands, O king.

Daniel 3:18 (Tanakh)	Daniel 3:18 (KJV)	Daniel 3:18 (NET)
But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.	But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.	But if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

Daniel 3:18 (Septuagint BLB)	Daniel 3:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐὰν μή γνωστὸν ἔστω σοι βασιλεῦ ὅτι τοῗς θεοῗς σου οὐ λατρεύομεν καὶ τῇ εἰκόνι τῇ χρυσῇ ᾗ ἔστησας οὐ προσκυνοῦμεν	καὶ ἐὰν μή, γνωστὸν ἔστω σοι, βασιλεῦ, ὅτι τοῖς θεοῖς σου οὐ λατρεύομεν καὶ τῇ εἰκόνι, ᾗ ἔστησας, οὐ προσκυνοῦμεν
Daniel 3:18 (NETS)	Daniel 3:18 (English Elpenor)
And if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, and we will not do obeisance to the image, which you have set up.”	But if not, be it known to thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the image which thou hast set up.

Daniel 3:26 (Tanakh)	Daniel 3:26 (KJV)	Daniel 3:26 (NET)
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.	Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.	Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire. He called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come out! Come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire.

Daniel 3:26 (Septuagint BLB)	Daniel 3:26 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τότε προσῆλθεν Ναβουχοδονοσορ πρὸς τὴν θύραν τῆς καμίνου τοῦ πυρὸς τῆς καιομένης καὶ εἶπεν Σεδραχ Μισαχ Αβδεναγω οἱ δοῦλοι τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου ἐξέλθετε καὶ δεῦτε καὶ ἐξῆλθον Σεδραχ Μισαχ Αβδεναγω ἐκ μέσου τοῦ πυρός	τότε προσῆλθε Ναβουχοδονόσορ πρὸς τὴν θύραν τῆς καμίνου τοῦ πυρὸς τῆς καιομένης καὶ εἶπε· Σεδράχ, Μισάχ, ᾿Αβδεναγώ, οἱ δοῦλοι τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ῾Υψίστου, ἐξέλθετε καὶ δεῦτε. καὶ ἐξῆλθον Σεδράχ, Μισάχ, ᾿Αβδεναγὼ ἐκ μέσου τοῦ πυρός
Daniel 3:93 (NETS)	Daniel 3:26 (English Elpenor)
Then Nabouchodonosor approached the door of the furnace blazing with fire and said, “Sedrach, Misach, Abdenago, slaves of the Most High God, come out and come here!” And Sedrach, Misach, Abdenago came out from the middle of the fire.	Then Nabuchodonosor drew near to the door of the burning fiery furnace, and said, Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, ye servants of the most high God, proceed forth, and come hither. So Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, came forth out of the midst of the fire.

Daniel 3:27 (Tanakh)	Daniel 3:27 (KJV)	Daniel 3:27 (NET)
And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.	And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.	Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically unharmed by the fire. The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged. Not even the smell of fire was to be found on them!

Daniel 3:27 (Septuagint BLB)	Daniel 3:27 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ συνάγονται οἱ σατράπαι καὶ οἱ στρατηγοὶ καὶ οἱ τοπάρχαι καὶ οἱ δυνάσται τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ ἐθεώρουν τοὺς ἄνδρας ὅτι οὐκ ἐκυρίευσεν τὸ πῦρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ θρὶξ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐφλογίσθη καὶ τὰ σαράβαρα αὐτῶν οὐκ ἠλλοιώθη καὶ ὀσμὴ πυρὸς οὐκ ἦν ἐν αὐτοῗς	καὶ συνάγονται οἱ σατράπαι καὶ οἱ στρατηγοὶ καὶ οἱ τοπάρχαι καὶ οἱ δυνάσται τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ ἐθεώρουν τοὺς ἄνδρας ὅτι οὐκ ἐκυρίευσε τὸ πῦρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτῶν, καὶ ἡ θρὶξ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐφλογίσθη, καὶ τὰ σαράβαρα αὐτῶν οὐκ ἠλλοιώθη, καὶ ὀσμὴ πυρὸς οὐκ ἦν ἐν αὐτοῖς
Daniel 3:94 (NETS)	Daniel 3:27 (English Elpenor)
And the satraps and the generals and the local rulers and the dynasts of the king gathered together and looked at the men, that the fire had not had any power over their body; the hair of their heads was not singed, and their trousers were not changed, and a smell of fire was not on them.	Then were assembled the satraps, and captains, and heads of provinces, and the royal princes; and they saw the men, and perceived that the fire had not had power against their bodies, and the hair of their head was not burnt, and their coats were not scorched, nor was the smell of fire upon them.

Daniel 12:3 (Tanakh)	Daniel 12:3 (KJV)	Daniel 12:3 (NET)
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.	And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.	But the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavenly expanse. And those bringing many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever.

Daniel 12:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Daniel 12:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ οἱ συνιέντες ἐκλάμψουσιν ὡς ἡ λαμπρότης τοῦ στερεώματος καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν δικαίων τῶν πολλῶν ὡς οἱ ἀστέρες εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας καὶ ἔτι	καὶ οἱ συνιέντες ἐκλάμψουσιν ὡς ἡ λαμπρότης τοῦ στερεώματος καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν δικαίων τῶν πολλῶν ὡς οἱ ἀστέρες εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας καὶ ἔτι
Daniel 12:3 (NETS)	Daniel 12:3 (English Elpenor)
And those who are intelligent will shine like the splendor of the firmament, and some of the many righteous, like the stars forever and anon.	And the wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and [some] of the many righteous as the stars for ever and ever.

Matthew 13:24, 25 (NET)	Matthew 13:24, 25 (KJV)
He presented them with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field.	Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
῎Αλλην παραβολὴν παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· ὡμοιώθη ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ σπείραντι καλὸν σπέρμα ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ αὐτοῦ	αλλην παραβολην παρεθηκεν αυτοις λεγων ωμοιωθη η βασιλεια των ουρανων ανθρωπω σπειροντι καλον σπερμα εν τω αγρω αυτου	αλλην παραβολην παρεθηκεν αυτοις λεγων ωμοιωθη η βασιλεια των ουρανων ανθρωπω σπειροντι καλον σπερμα εν τω αγρω αυτου

But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed darnel among the wheat and went away.

But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἐν δὲ τῷ καθεύδειν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἦλθεν αὐτοῦ ὁ ἐχθρὸς καὶ ἐπέσπειρεν ζιζάνια ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σίτου καὶ ἀπῆλθεν	εν δε τω καθευδειν τους ανθρωπους ηλθεν αυτου ο εχθρος και εσπειρεν ζιζανια ανα μεσον του σιτου και απηλθεν	εν δε τω καθευδειν τους ανθρωπους ηλθεν αυτου ο εχθρος και εσπειρεν ζιζανια ανα μεσον του σιτου και απηλθεν

Matthew 13:30 (NET)	Matthew 13:30 (KJV)
Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn.”’”	Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἄφετε συναυξάνεσθαι ἀμφότερα ἕως τοῦ θερισμοῦ, καὶ ἐν καιρῷ τοῦ θερισμοῦ ἐρῶ τοῖς θερισταῖς· συλλέξατε πρῶτον τὰ ζιζάνια καὶ δήσατε αὐτὰ \|εἰς\| δέσμας πρὸς τὸ κατακαῦσαι αὐτά, τὸν δὲ σῖτον \|συναγάγετε\| εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην μου	αφετε συναυξανεσθαι αμφοτερα μεχρι του θερισμου και εν τω καιρω του θερισμου ερω τοις θερισταις συλλεξατε πρωτον τα ζιζανια και δησατε αυτα εις δεσμας προς το κατακαυσαι αυτα τον δε σιτον συναγαγετε εις την αποθηκην μου	αφετε συναυξανεσθαι αμφοτερα μεχρι του θερισμου και εν καιρω του θερισμου ερω τοις θερισταις συλλεξατε πρωτον τα ζιζανια και δησατε αυτα εις δεσμας προς το κατακαυσαι αυτα τον δε σιτον συναγαγετε εις την αποθηκην μου

Matthew 13:37 (NET)	Matthew 13:37 (KJV)
He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.	He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· ὁ σπείρων τὸ καλὸν σπέρμα ἐστὶν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις ο σπειρων το καλον σπερμα εστιν ο υιος του ανθρωπου	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις ο σπειρων το καλον σπερμα εστιν ο υιος του ανθρωπου

John 15:21, 22 (NET)	John 15:21, 22 (KJV)
But they will do all these things to you on account of my name because they do not know the one who sent me.	But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀλλὰ ταῦτα πάντα ποιήσουσιν εἰς ὑμᾶς διὰ τὸ ὄνομα μου, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδασιν τὸν πέμψαντα με	αλλα ταυτα παντα ποιησουσιν υμιν δια το ονομα μου οτι ουκ οιδασιν τον πεμψαντα με	αλλα ταυτα παντα ποιησουσιν υμιν δια το ονομα μου οτι ουκ οιδασιν τον πεμψαντα με

If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. But they no longer have any excuse for their sin.

If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἰ μὴ ἦλθον καὶ ἐλάλησα αὐτοῖς, ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ εἴχοσαν· νῦν δὲ πρόφασιν οὐκ ἔχουσιν περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν	ει μη ηλθον και ελαλησα αυτοις αμαρτιαν ουκ ειχον νυν δε προφασιν ουκ εχουσιν περι της αμαρτιας αυτων	ει μη ηλθον και ελαλησα αυτοις αμαρτιαν ουκ ειχον νυν δε προφασιν ουκ εχουσιν περι της αμαρτιας αυτων

John 15:24 (NET)	John 15:24 (KJV)
If I had not performed among them the miraculous deeds that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen the deeds and have hated both me and my Father.	If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἰ τὰ ἔργα μὴ ἐποίησα ἐν αὐτοῖς ἃ οὐδεὶς ἄλλος ἐποίησεν, ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ εἴχοσαν· νῦν δὲ καὶ ἑωράκασιν καὶ μεμισήκασιν καὶ ἐμὲ καὶ τὸν πατέρα μου.	ει τα εργα μη εποιησα εν αυτοις α ουδεις αλλος πεποιηκεν αμαρτιαν ουκ ειχον νυν δε και εωρακασιν και μεμισηκασιν και εμε και τον πατερα μου	ει τα εργα μη εποιησα εν αυτοις α ουδεις αλλος πεποιηκεν αμαρτιαν ουκ ειχον νυν δε και εωρακασιν και μεμισηκασιν και εμε και τον πατερα μου

John 15:26 (NET)	John 15:26 (KJV)
When the Advocate comes, whom I will send you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me,	But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὁ παράκλητος ὃν ἐγὼ πέμψω ὑμῖν παρὰ τοῦ πατρός, τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας ὃ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπορεύεται, ἐκεῖνος μαρτυρήσει περὶ ἐμοῦ	οταν δε ελθη ο παρακλητος ον εγω πεμψω υμιν παρα του πατρος το πνευμα της αληθειας ο παρα του πατρος εκπορευεται εκεινος μαρτυρησει περι εμου	οταν δε ελθη ο παρακλητος ον εγω πεμψω υμιν παρα του πατρος το πνευμα της αληθειας ο παρα του πατρος εκπορευεται εκεινος μαρτυρησει περι εμου

Matthew 13:43 (NET)	Matthew 13:43 (KJV)
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears had better listen!	Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
τότε οἱ δίκαιοι ἐκλάμψουσιν ὡς ὁ ἥλιος ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν. ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκουέτω	τοτε οι δικαιοι εκλαμψουσιν ως ο ηλιος εν τη βασιλεια του πατρος αυτων ο εχων ωτα ακουειν ακουετω	τοτε οι δικαιοι εκλαμψουσιν ως ο ηλιος εν τη βασιλεια του πατρος αυτων ο εχων ωτα ακουειν ακουετω

1 Corinthians 3:10-12 (NET)	1 Corinthians 3:10-12 (KJV)
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master-builder I laid a foundation, but someone else builds on it. And each one must be careful how he builds.	According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Κατὰ τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δοθεῖσαν μοι ὡς σοφὸς ἀρχιτέκτων θεμέλιον ἔθηκα, ἄλλος δὲ ἐποικοδομεῖ. ἕκαστος δὲ βλεπέτω πῶς ἐποικοδομεῖ	κατα την χαριν του θεου την δοθεισαν μοι ως σοφος αρχιτεκτων θεμελιον τεθεικα αλλος δε εποικοδομει εκαστος δε βλεπετω πως εποικοδομει	κατα την χαριν του θεου την δοθεισαν μοι ως σοφος αρχιτεκτων θεμελιον τεθεικα αλλος δε εποικοδομει εκαστος δε βλεπετω πως εποικοδομει

For no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus Christ.

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
θεμέλιον γὰρ ἄλλον οὐδεὶς δύναται θεῖναι παρὰ τὸν κείμενον, ὅς ἐστιν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός	θεμελιον γαρ αλλον ουδεις δυναται θειναι παρα τον κειμενον ος εστιν ιησους ο χριστος	θεμελιον γαρ αλλον ουδεις δυναται θειναι παρα τον κειμενον ος εστιν ιησους χριστος

If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,

Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἰ δέ τις ἐποικοδομεῖ ἐπὶ τὸν θεμέλιον \|χρυσόν, ἄργυρον\|, λίθους τιμίους, ξύλα, χόρτον, καλάμην,	ει δε τις εποικοδομει επι τον θεμελιον τουτον χρυσον αργυρον λιθους τιμιους ξυλα χορτον καλαμην	ει δε τις εποικοδομει επι τον θεμελιον τουτον χρυσον αργυρον λιθους τιμιους ξυλα χορτον καλαμην

1 Corinthians 3:14 (NET)	1 Corinthians 3:14 (KJV)
If what someone has built survives, he will receive a reward.	If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἴ τινος τὸ ἔργον μενεῖ ὃ ἐποικοδόμησεν, μισθὸν λήμψεται	ει τινος το εργον μενει ο επωκοδομησεν μισθον ληψεται	ει τινος το εργον μενει ο εποικοδομησεν μισθον ληψεται

^[1] John 17:17 (NET)

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

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

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

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

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

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

^[8] Romans 8:14 (NET)

^[9] John 12:32 (NET)

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

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

^[12] Matthew 26:39b (NET)

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

^[14] Galatians 5:17 (NET) Table

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

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

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

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

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

^[20] John 3:16 (KJV) Table

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Who Am I? Part 12

Posted on January 26, 2021 by admin

Jesus said, I always do those things that please him^[1] (literally: “I the pleasing things do always”).

“How?” I ask. I couldn’t even say, “I always lie.”

The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works,^[2] Jesus replied.

But I say, Paul wrote, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.^[3]

I’ve written that I became an atheist during my prodigal years. That is technically correct according to the definition that pops up in Google: “a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods.” I stopped believing in my god of punishment for a few years, and I certainly didn’t believe in the existence of any other gods. But I was by no means a practicing atheist.

To become a practicing atheist is at least as difficult as becoming a do-it-yourself-Christian. Atheists exist in a world where God the Father is making Jesus’ enemies a footstool for [his] feet;^[4] God the Holy Spirit is proving the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;^[5] and God the Son promised to draw all…to myself.^[6] The practicing atheist must be ever-vigilant to withstand his relentless love while striving to make this world the place where the omnipresent God is not. The atheist philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche lamented, “I am afraid we are not rid of God because we still have faith in grammar.”^[7]

It’s probably more meaningful to say that my free will became relatively unfettered from God for a time. Since I didn’t study the Bible in English, much less in Greek, I didn’t know anything about ἀπ᾿ ἐμαυτοῦ. I didn’t see the connection between ἀπ᾿ ἐμαυτοῦ and θέλημα. I was clueless that the noun θέλημα related to the verb θέλω: “I want.” But with my own free will relatively unfettered from God I was about to get a crash course in I want.

The following Gospel harmony provides a glimpse into Jesus’ free will as I want:

Matthew 26:36-39a (NET)	Mark 14:32-35 (NET)	Luke 22:39-41 (NET)	John 18:1 (NET)
			When he had said these things (John 13:31-17:26),
Then Jesus went with them	Then they went	Then Jesus went out and made his way, as he customarily did, to the Mount of Olives, and the^[8] disciples followed him.	Jesus went out with his disciples
			across the^[9] Kidron Valley. There was an orchard there,
to a place called Gethsemane,^[10]	to a place called Gethsemane,^[11]
		When he came to the place,
			and he and his disciples went into it.
and he said to the disciples,	and Jesus said to his disciples,	he said to them,
“Sit here while I go over there and pray.”	“Sit here while I pray.”
		“Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”
He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he became anguished and distressed. Then he^[12] said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.”	He took Peter, James,^[13] and John^[14] with him,^[15] and became very troubled and distressed. He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay alert.”
Going a little farther, he threw himself down with his face to the ground and prayed,	Going a little farther, he threw^[16] himself to the ground and prayed	He went away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed,
	that if it were possible the hour would pass from him.

Jesus’ will here, what He wanted, was not to be tortured to death. My Father, if possible, let this cup pass^[17] from me!^[18] He prayed according to Matthew’s Gospel narrative. Abba, Father, all things are possible for you, Mark’s Gospel narrative clarified. Take this cup away from me.^[19] This is perfectly intelligible to me.

I want to live, not to die. If I must die, I want that death to be as easy as possible. Viewed this way Jesus’ expressed a fundamental aspect of the human will. But viewed in the context of his own life and words, I get a very different picture. He had already stated quite publicly (John 12:27, 28a NET):

“Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me from this hour’? No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”

And then privately, alone in prayer with his Father, He did exactly that: He prayed that if it were possible the hour would pass from him.^[20] This is so pathetically human I can hear the pre-echo of Paul’s lament: Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?^[21] Jesus’ prayer was more nuanced, however, than I’ve made it seem. His free will was more constrained by the will of his Father.

Matthew 26:39b (NET)	Mark 14:36 (NET)	Luke 22:42 (NET)
	He said,
“My Father, if possible,	“Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.
		“Father, if you are willing,
let this cup pass from me! Yet not what I will, but what you will.”	Take this cup away from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”	take this cup away^[22] from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.”

Jesus’ will was subordinate to his Father’s will (letter C of the throne diagram). Father, if you are willing (εἰ βούλει), He prayed before his request in Luke’s Gospel narrative. Yet not my will (πλὴν μὴ τὸ θέλημα μου), followed his request, but yours be done (ἀλλὰ τὸ σὸν γινέσθω). Matthew’s and Mark’s Gospel narratives had the following after Jesus’ request:

Matthew 26:39c (NET)	Mark 14:36c (NET)
Yet not what I will, but what you will.	Yet not what I will, but what you will.
Matthew 26:39c (NET Parallel Greek)	Mark 14:36c (NET Parallel Greek)
πλὴν οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω ἀλλ᾿ ὡς σύ	ἀλλ᾿ οὐ τί ἐγὼ θέλω ἀλλὰ τί σύ

Though I didn’t study the Bible, this story was unavoidable as Easter approached. I don’t recall it being presented as a Gospel harmony. We were Protestant. Visual aids were not generally used upstairs in gownup church. I do remember flipping back and forth between Gospel accounts during sermons. That’s how I knew they “needed” harmonizing.

As a boy I found it embarrassing, even a little disconcerting, how much Jesus feared death. I’m sure preachers tried to explain how it wasn’t a fear of death, but that just seemed like a cover for their own embarrassment over Jesus’ lack of machismo. Besides, Jesus was so perfect, it was all going to work out okay in the end—for Him. What follows always seemed like the point of the story to me.

Matthew 26:40, 41 (NET)	Mark 14:37, 38 (NET)
Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He said to Peter,	Then he came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter,
	“Simon, are you sleeping?
“So, couldn’t you stay awake with me for one hour? Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”	Couldn’t you stay awake for one hour? Stay awake and pray that you will not fall^[23] into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

I thought I needed to be stronger than Peter and the other disciples, stronger even than Jesus perhaps:

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”;^[24]

[Jesus] did not need anyone to testify about man, for he knew what was in man.^[25] For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin.^[26] But I missed completely that when Jesus said, The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, He referred primarily to Himself. He wasn’t chiding his disciples so much as empathizing with them, as he continued to wrestle in prayer with the weakness of his own flesh.

Matthew 26:42 (NET)	Mark 14:39 (NET)	Luke 22:43 ,44 (NET)
He went away a second time and prayed,	He went away again and prayed the same thing.
		Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And in his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
“My Father, if this cup^[27] cannot be taken away^[28] unless I drink it, your will must be done.”

An argument could be made that the angel from heaven didn’t appear until Jesus’ third prayer session. I placed this appearance in the second because I know what comes next. We are taken from a scene of Jesus in anguish praying more earnestly with sweat…like drops of blood to a scene where Jesus is terrifyingly calm. These scenes are separated not by decades, nor years, not months, nor weeks, not even days: It was only a matter of moments before Jesus asked Peter and the other disciples: How then would the scriptures that say it must happen this way be fulfilled?^[29]

Despite my attempt to add a few moments here the angel may not have appeared before Jesus prayed: My Father, if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will must be done. The clause your will must be done (γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημα σου) struck me as I consider free will in general and Jesus’ free will in particular. The subject, your will, is τὸ θέλημα σου. The NET translators chose must be done for the verb γενηθήτω, a passive imperative form of γίνομαι. I laughed out loud at a passive imperative.

It was clear that must was intended to convey the imperative aspect and be done the passive aspect. But I couldn’t grasp whether the imperative aspect should hold sway (your will must be done by me), or the passive aspect (your will must be done to me). Gary Gagliardi’s insight on Christ’s Words — The Mysteries of Jesus’s Greek Revealed was helpful here:

The word translated as “be” means “to become,” that is, to enter into a new state. In Greek, especially as used by Jesus, it is the opposite of “being,” which is existence in the current state. It is in a form that doesn’t exist in English, the 3rd person command in the passive. In translation a 3rd person command is usually translated with a leading “let”, so “let your.”

Mr. Gagliardi’s translation, “let your desire come into being,” seemed like a perfect solution until I tried to make it more concrete with a simpler command: one in authority says, “I want you to wash the dishes.” “Let your desire come into being,” rings true if the one under authority says it on the way to washing the dishes. But if the one under authority simply stands there, or sits there, and says, “Let your desire come into being,” I have a fairly practical demonstration of James’ maxim (James 2:17 KJV):

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

The translation alone for the Greek word ἑαυτήν (NET: itself) seems to strengthen the connection to a later statement: You see^[30] that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone (μόνον, a form of μόνος; KJV: only).^[31] Jesus presented this same issue to the chief priests and elders of the people as a question (Matthew 21:28-31a NET):

What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today’ [Table]. The boy answered, ‘I will (θέλω) not.’ But later he had a change of heart and went. The father went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, ‘I will, sir (ἐγώ, κύριε),’ but did not go. Which of the two did (ἐποίησεν, a form of ποιέω) his father’s will (θέλημα) [Table]?

The works are so integrated into the faith we would probably call it faithworks if we were physicists. But who does these faithworks? Do I do them as continuous acts of my own free will or do they come from God? I expressed my current bias clearly at the beginning of this essay: The Father that dwelleth in me, Jesus said, he doeth the works.^[32]

The scene of Jesus’ anguish in prayer continued:

Matthew 26:43-46 (NET)	Mark 14:40-42 (NET)	Luke 22:45, 46 (NET)
		When he got up from prayer,
He came again and found^[33] them sleeping;	When he came^[34] again he found them sleeping;	he came to the disciples and found them sleeping,
		exhausted from grief.
they could not keep their eyes open.	they could not keep their eyes open.^[35]
.	And they did not know what to tell him.
		So he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you will not fall into temptation!”
So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same thing once more.^[36]
Then he came to the^[37] disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting?	He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting?
	Enough of that!
Look, the hour is approaching, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us go. Look! My betrayer is approaching!”	The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us go. Look! My betrayer is approaching!”

And that abruptly we are in a new scene: Jesus is back, large and in charge, and terrifyingly calm. It is probably time to call terrifyingly calm what it actually is: the peace (εἰρήνη) of God that surpasses all understanding,^[38] an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus, strengthened by an angel from heaven, prayed in anguish as the human response exemplified by his disciples was to sleep. Jesus exhibited the peace of God that surpasses all understanding when the human response exemplified by his disciples was fight (Matthew 26:51-54; Mark 14:47-49; Luke 22:49-52; John 18:10, 11) or flight (Matthew 26:56; Mark 14:50-52).

It becomes more and more impossible for me to believe that Jesus subordinated his will—“I want not to be tortured to death”—to his Father’s will by an act of his own free will, which was—“I want not to be tortured to death” at that moment. The apparent choices, willpower or the indwelling Spirit of God, are listed in a tabular form:

Willpower

The Indwelling Spirit of God

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 Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

But that’s Jesus. What about me? For it is God which worketh in you, Paul wrote to those who believe Jesus, both to will and to do of his good pleasure.^[39]

The Greek word translated worketh is ἐνεργῶν (a form of ἐνεργέω). The word translated to will is θέλειν (a form of θέλω). And the word translated to do is ἐνεργεῖν (another form of ἐνεργέω).

To conclude I’ll consider the passive imperative γενηθήτω again, not as a bad joke but as a source of real insight. I’m more confident that your will must be done by the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. But there is an aspect of your will must be done to me as well here:

Matthew 26:45b, 46 (NET)	Mark 14:41b, 42 (NET)
Look, the hour is approaching, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners…My betrayer is approaching!”	The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners…My betrayer is approaching!”

The Greek word translated betrayed is παραδίδοται (a form of παραδίδωμι). The same word was translated will be handed over when Jesus told his disciples, You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over (παραδίδοται) to be crucified.^[40] It was translated is delivered in the KJV when Jesus taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered (παραδίδοται) into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third^[41] day.^[42]

Though the emphasis above may be on the betrayer (παραδιδούς, another form of παραδίδωμι) Judas Iscariot, Jesus was handed over and delivered by God the Father long before Judas was born: How then would the scriptures that say it must happen this way be fulfilled?^[43] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten (μονογενῆ, a form of μονογενής) Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.^[44] Yet none of this was contrary to Jesus’ own free will (John 10:17, 18 NET).

This is why the Father loves me—because I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will. ^[45] I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This commandment I received from my Father.

This leads me to a third aspect: your will must be done through me. Whether this aspect is implicit in the passive imperative γενηθήτω or not, it is revealed in this story. These three aspects are difficult for me to hold in my mind simultaneously as one whole (not unlike the nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit). Those who believe have God’s promise to guide us through this and every faithwork.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 55:10, 11 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 55:10, 11 (NET)	Isaiah 55:10, 11 (NETS)	Isaiah 55:10, 11 (English Elpenor)
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:	The rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return, but instead water the earth and make it produce and yield crops, and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.	For as rain or snow comes down from heaven and will not return until it has soaked the earth and brought forth and blossomed and given seed to the sower and bread for food,	For as rain shall come down, or snow, from heaven, and shall not return until it have saturated the earth, and it bring forth, and bud, and give seed to the sower, and bread for food:
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.	In the same way, the promise that I make does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. No, it is realized as I desire and is fulfilled as I intend.”	so shall my word be, whatever goes out from my mouth; it shall not return until whatever I have willed (ἠθέλησα) is fulfilled, and I will prosper your ways and my commandments.	so shall my word be, whatever shall proceed out of my mouth, it shall by no means turn back, until all the things which I willed (ἠθέλησα) shall have been accomplished; and I will make thy^[46] ways prosperous, and [will effect] my commands.

Tables comparing Isaiah 55:10 and 55:11 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing Isaiah 55:10 and 55:11 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Matthew 26:36; 26:38, 39; Mark 14:32, 33; 14:35; Luke 22:39; John 18:1; Luke 22:42; Mark 14:38; Matthew 26:42; James 2:24; Matthew 26:43-45; Mark 14:40 and 9:31 in the NET and KJV follow.

Isaiah 55:10 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 55:10 (KJV)	Isaiah 55:10 (NET)
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:	For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:	The rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return, but instead water the earth and make it produce and yield crops, and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.

Isaiah 55:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 55:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὡς γὰρ ἐὰν καταβῇ ὑετὸς ἢ χιὼν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποστραφῇ ἕως ἂν μεθύσῃ τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐκτέκῃ καὶ ἐκβλαστήσῃ καὶ δῷ σπέρμα τῷ σπείροντι καὶ ἄρτον εἰς βρῶσιν	ὡς γὰρ ἂν καταβῇ ὁ ὑετὸς ἢ χιὼν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποστραφῇ, ἕως ἂν μεθύσῃ τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἐκτέκῃ καὶ ἐκβλαστήσῃ καὶ δῷ σπέρμα τῷ σπείραντι καὶ ἄρτον εἰς βρῶσιν
Isaiah 55:10 (NETS)	Isaiah 55:10 (English Elpenor)
For as rain or snow comes down from heaven and will not return until it has soaked the earth and brought forth and blossomed and given seed to the sower and bread for food,	For as rain shall come down, or snow, from heaven, and shall not return until it have saturated the earth, and it bring forth, and bud, and give seed to the sower, and bread for food:

Isaiah 55:11 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 55:11 (KJV)	Isaiah 55:11 (NET)
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.	So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.	In the same way, the promise that I make does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. No, it is realized as I desire and is fulfilled as I intend.”

Isaiah 55:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 55:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὕτως ἔσται τὸ ῥῆμά μου ὃ ἐὰν ἐξέλθῃ ἐκ τοῦ στόματός μου οὐ μὴ ἀποστραφῇ ἕως ἂν συντελεσθῇ ὅσα ἠθέλησα καὶ εὐοδώσω τὰς ὁδούς σου καὶ τὰ ἐντάλματά μου	οὕτως ἔσται τὸ ῥῆμά μου, ὃ ἐὰν ἐξέλθῃ ἐκ τοῦ στόματός μου, οὐ μὴ ἀποστραφῇ, ἕως ἂν τελεσθῇ ὅσα ἂν ἠθέλησα καὶ εὐοδώσω τὰς ὁδούς μου καὶ τὰ ἐντάλματά μου
Isaiah 55:11 (NETS)	Isaiah 55:11 (English Elpenor)
so shall my word be, whatever goes out from my mouth; it shall not return until whatever I have willed is fulfilled, and I will prosper your ways and my commandments.	so shall my word be, whatever shall proceed out of my mouth, it shall by no means turn back, until all the things which I willed shall have been accomplished; and I will make thy ways prosperous, and [will effect] my commands.

Matthew 26:36 (NET)	Matthew 26:36 (KJV)
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”	Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Τότε ἔρχεται μετ᾿ αὐτῶν ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς χωρίον λεγόμενον Γεθσημανὶ καὶ λέγει τοῖς μαθηταῖς· καθίσατε αὐτοῦ ἕως [οὗ] ἀπελθὼν ἐκεῖ προσεύξωμαι	τοτε ερχεται μετ αυτων ο ιησους εις χωριον λεγομενον γεθσημανη και λεγει τοις μαθηταις καθισατε αυτου εως ου απελθων προσευξωμαι εκει	τοτε ερχεται μετ αυτων ο ιησους εις χωριον λεγομενον γεθσημανη και λεγει τοις μαθηταις καθισατε αυτου εως ου απελθων προσευξωμαι εκει

Matthew 26:38, 39 (NET)	Matthew 26:38, 39 (KJV)
Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.”	Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
τότε λέγει αὐτοῖς· περίλυπος ἐστιν ἡ ψυχή μου ἕως θανάτου· μείνατε ὧδε καὶ γρηγορεῖτε μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ	τοτε λεγει αυτοις περιλυπος εστιν η ψυχη μου εως θανατου μεινατε ωδε και γρηγορειτε μετ εμου	τοτε λεγει αυτοις ο ιησους περιλυπος εστιν η ψυχη μου εως θανατου μεινατε ωδε και γρηγορειτε μετ εμου

Going a little farther, he threw himself down with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ προελθὼν μικρὸν ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ προσευχόμενος καὶ λέγων· πάτερ μου, εἰ δυνατόν ἐστιν, παρελθάτω ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο· πλὴν οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω ἀλλ᾿ ὡς σύ	και προελθων μικρον επεσεν επι προσωπον αυτου προσευχομενος και λεγων πατερ μου ει δυνατον εστιν παρελθετω απ εμου το ποτηριον τουτο πλην ουχ ως εγω θελω αλλ ως συ	και προσελθων μικρον επεσεν επι προσωπον αυτου προσευχομενος και λεγων πατερ μου ει δυνατον εστιν παρελθετω απ εμου το ποτηριον τουτο πλην ουχ ως εγω θελω αλλ ως συ

Mark 14:32, 33 (NET)	Mark 14:32, 33 (KJV)
Then they went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”	And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ ἔρχονται εἰς χωρίον οὗ τὸ ὄνομα Γεθσημανὶ καὶ λέγει τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ· καθίσατε ὧδε ἕως προσεύξωμαι	και ερχονται εις χωριον ου το ονομα γεθσημανη και λεγει τοις μαθηταις αυτου καθισατε ωδε εως προσευξωμαι	και ερχονται εις χωριον ου το ονομα γεθσημανη και λεγει τοις μαθηταις αυτου καθισατε ωδε εως προσευξωμαι

He took Peter, James, and John with him, and became very troubled and distressed.

And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ παραλαμβάνει τὸν Πέτρον καὶ [τὸν] Ἰάκωβον καὶ [τὸν] Ἰωάννην μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἤρξατο ἐκθαμβεῖσθαι καὶ ἀδημονεῖν	και παραλαμβανει τον πετρον και τον ιακωβον και ιωαννην μεθ εαυτου και ηρξατο εκθαμβεισθαι και αδημονειν	και παραλαμβανει τον πετρον και ιακωβον και ιωαννην μεθ εαυτου και ηρξατο εκθαμβεισθαι και αδημονειν

Mark 14:35 (NET)	Mark 14:35 (KJV)
Going a little farther, he threw himself to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour would pass from him.	And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ προελθὼν μικρὸν ἔπιπτεν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ προσηύχετο ἵνα εἰ δυνατόν ἐστιν παρέλθῃ ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἡ ὥρα	και προελθων μικρον επεσεν επι της γης και προσηυχετο ινα ει δυνατον εστιν παρελθη απ αυτου η ωρα	και προσελθων μικρον επεσεν επι της γης και προσηυχετο ινα ει δυνατον εστιν παρελθη απ αυτου η ωρα

Luke 22:39 (NET)	Luke 22:39 (KJV)
Then Jesus went out and made his way, as he customarily did, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.	And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἐπορεύθη κατὰ τὸ ἔθος εἰς τὸ ὄρος τῶν ἐλαιῶν, ἠκολούθησαν δὲ αὐτῷ \|καὶ\| οἱ μαθηταί	και εξελθων επορευθη κατα το εθος εις το ορος των ελαιων ηκολουθησαν δε αυτω και οι μαθηται αυτου	και εξελθων επορευθη κατα το εθος εις το ορος των ελαιων ηκολουθησαν δε αυτω και οι μαθηται αυτου

John 18:1 (NET)	John 18:1 (KJV)
When he had said these things, Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley. There was an orchard there, and he and his disciples went into it.	When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ταῦτα εἰπὼν Ἰησοῦς ἐξῆλθεν σὺν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ πέραν τοῦ χειμάρρου \|τοῦ\| Κεδρὼν ὅπου ἦν κῆπος, εἰς ὃν εἰσῆλθεν αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ	ταυτα ειπων ο ιησους εξηλθεν συν τοις μαθηταις αυτου περαν του χειμαρρου των κεδρων οπου ην κηπος εις ον εισηλθεν αυτος και οι μαθηται αυτου	ταυτα ειπων ο ιησους εξηλθεν συν τοις μαθηταις αυτου περαν του χειμαρρου των κεδρων οπου ην κηπος εις ον εισηλθεν αυτος και οι μαθηται αυτου

Luke 22:42 (NET)	Luke 22:42 (KJV)
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.”	Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
λέγων· πάτερ, εἰ βούλει παρένεγκε τοῦτο τὸ ποτήριον ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ· πλὴν μὴ τὸ θέλημα μου ἀλλὰ τὸ σὸν γινέσθω	λεγων πατερ ει βουλει παρενεγκειν το ποτηριον τουτο απ εμου πλην μη το θελημα μου αλλα το σον γενεσθω	λεγων πατερ ει βουλει παρενεγκειν το ποτηριον τουτο απ εμου πλην μη το θελημα μου αλλα το σον γενεσθω

Mark 14:38 (NET)	Mark 14:38 (KJV)
Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”	Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
γρηγορεῖτε καὶ προσεύχεσθε, ἵνα μὴ ἔλθητε εἰς πειρασμόν· τὸ μὲν πνεῦμα πρόθυμον ἡ δὲ σὰρξ ἀσθενής	γρηγορειτε και προσευχεσθε ινα μη εισελθητε εις πειρασμον το μεν πνευμα προθυμον η δε σαρξ ασθενης	γρηγορειτε και προσευχεσθε ινα μη εισελθητε εις πειρασμον το μεν πνευμα προθυμον η δε σαρξ ασθενης

Matthew 26:42 (NET)	Matthew 26:42 (KJV)
He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will must be done.”	He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
πάλιν ἐκ δευτέρου ἀπελθὼν προσηύξατο \|λέγων\|· πάτερ μου, εἰ οὐ δύναται τοῦτο παρελθεῖν ἐὰν μὴ αὐτὸ πίω, γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημα σου	παλιν εκ δευτερου απελθων προσηυξατο λεγων πατερ μου ει ου δυναται τουτο το ποτηριον παρελθειν απ εμου εαν μη αυτο πιω γενηθητω το θελημα σου	παλιν εκ δευτερου απελθων προσηυξατο λεγων πατερ μου ει ου δυναται τουτο το ποτηριον παρελθειν απ εμου εαν μη αυτο πιω γενηθητω το θελημα σου

James 2:24 (NET)	James 2:24 (KJV)
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.	Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὁρᾶτε ὅτι ἐξ ἔργων δικαιοῦται ἄνθρωπος καὶ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως μόνον	ορατε τοινυν οτι εξ εργων δικαιουται ανθρωπος και ουκ εκ πιστεως μονον	ορατε τοινυν οτι εξ εργων δικαιουται ανθρωπος και ουκ εκ πιστεως μονον

Matthew 26:43-45 (NET)	Matthew 26:43-45 (KJV)
He came again and found them sleeping; they could not keep their eyes open.	And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἐλθὼν πάλιν εὗρεν αὐτοὺς καθεύδοντας, ἦσαν γὰρ αὐτῶν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ βεβαρημένοι	και ελθων ευρισκει αυτους παλιν καθευδοντας ησαν γαρ αυτων οι οφθαλμοι βεβαρημενοι	και ελθων ευρισκει αυτους παλιν καθευδοντας ησαν γαρ αυτων οι οφθαλμοι βεβαρημενοι

So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same thing once more.

And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἀφεὶς αὐτοὺς πάλιν ἀπελθὼν προσηύξατο ἐκ τρίτου τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον εἰπὼν πάλιν	και αφεις αυτους απελθων παλιν προσηυξατο εκ τριτου τον αυτον λογον ειπων	και αφεις αυτους απελθων παλιν προσηυξατο εκ τριτου τον αυτον λογον ειπων

Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is approaching, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
τότε ἔρχεται πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· καθεύδετε [τὸ] λοιπὸν καὶ ἀναπαύεσθε· ἰδοὺ ἤγγικεν ἡ ὥρα καὶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παραδίδοται εἰς χεῖρας ἁμαρτωλῶν	τοτε ερχεται προς τους μαθητας αυτου και λεγει αυτοις καθευδετε το λοιπον και αναπαυεσθε ιδου ηγγικεν η ωρα και ο υιος του ανθρωπου παραδιδοται εις χειρας αμαρτωλων	τοτε ερχεται προς τους μαθητας αυτου και λεγει αυτοις καθευδετε το λοιπον και αναπαυεσθε ιδου ηγγικεν η ωρα και ο υιος του ανθρωπου παραδιδοται εις χειρας αμαρτωλων

Mark 14:40 (NET)	Mark 14:40 (KJV)
When he came again he found them sleeping; they could not keep their eyes open. And they did not know what to tell him.	And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ πάλιν ἐλθὼν εὗρεν αὐτοὺς καθεύδοντας, ἦσαν γὰρ αὐτῶν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ καταβαρυνόμενοι, καὶ οὐκ ᾔδεισαν τί ἀποκριθῶσιν αὐτῷ	και υποστρεψας ευρεν αυτους παλιν καθευδοντας ησαν γαρ οι οφθαλμοι αυτων βεβαρημενοι και ουκ ηδεισαν τι αυτω αποκριθωσιν	και υποστρεψας ευρεν αυτους παλιν καθευδοντας ησαν γαρ οι οφθαλμοι αυτων βεβαρημενοι και ουκ ηδεισαν τι αυτω αποκριθωσιν

Mark 9:31 (NET)	Mark 9:31 (KJV)
for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”	For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἐδίδασκεν γὰρ τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔλεγεν \|αὐτοῖς\| ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παραδίδοται εἰς χεῖρας ἀνθρώπων, καὶ ἀποκτενοῦσιν αὐτόν, καὶ ἀποκτανθεὶς μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἀναστήσεται	εδιδασκεν γαρ τους μαθητας αυτου και ελεγεν αυτοις οτι ο υιος του ανθρωπου παραδιδοται εις χειρας ανθρωπων και αποκτενουσιν αυτον και αποκτανθεις τη τριτη ημερα αναστησεται	εδιδασκεν γαρ τους μαθητας αυτου και ελεγεν αυτοις οτι ο υιος του ανθρωπου παραδιδοται εις χειρας ανθρωπων και αποκτενουσιν αυτον και αποκτανθεις τη τριτη ημερα αναστησεται

Who Am I? Part 13

Back to Psalm 22, Part 7

Back to Psalm 22, Part 8

Back to Romans, Part 17

Back to Romans, Part 18

Back to Adultery in the Prophets, Part 2

Back to The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 11

Back to Who Am I? Part 14

^[1] John 8:29b (NET)

^[2] John 14:10b (KJV)

^[3] Galatians 5:16 (NET)

^[4] Hebrews 1:13; Luke 20:43; Acts 2:35 (NET)

^[5] John 16:8 (NET)

^[6] John 12:32 (NET)

^[7] Quoted from “Nietzsche, Grammar & God,” by Timothy T.C. McGhee, on Timothy T. C. McGhee online.

^[8] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτου (KJV: his) here. The NET parallel Geek text and NA²⁸ did not.

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

^[10] In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Gethsemane was spelled Γεθσημανὶ, and γεθσημανη in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

^[11] In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Gethsemane was spelled Γεθσημανὶ, and γεθσημανη in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

^[12] The Byzantine Majority Text had ο ιησους here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

^[13] The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article τὸν preceding James. The Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[14] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the article τὸν preceding John. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[15] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μεθ εαυτου.

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

^[17] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had παρελθάτω here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had παρελθετω.

^[18] Matthew 26:39b (NET)

^[19] Mark 14:36a (NET)

^[20] Mark 14:35b (NET)

^[21] Romans 7:24 (NET)

^[22] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had παρένεγκε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had παρενεγκειν (KJV: remove).

^[23] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἔλθητε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εισελθητε (KJV: ye enter).

^[24] If, Rudyard Kipling. This poem was a favorite admonition of my Dad’s.

^[25] John 2:25 (NET)

^[26] Hebrews 4:15 (NET)

^[27] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had το ποτηριον here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[28] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απ εμου (KJV: from me) following be taken away (KJV: pass away). The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[29] Matthew 26:54 (NET)

^[30] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τοινυν (KJV: then) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[31] James 2:24 (NET)

^[32] John 14:10b (KJV)

^[33] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εὗρεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ευρισκει.

^[34] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐλθὼν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had υποστρεψας (KJV: when he returned).

^[35] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καταβαρυνόμενοι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had βεβαρημενοι (KJV: heavy).

^[36] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had πάλιν here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[37] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτου (KJV: his) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[38] Philippians 4:7 (NET)

^[39] Philippians 2:13 (KJV) Table

^[40] Matthew 26:2 (NET)

^[41] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τη τριτη here, where the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had μετὰ τρεῖς (NET: after three).

^[42] Mark 9:31 (KJV)

^[43] Matthew 26:54 (NET)

^[44] John 3:16 (KJV) Table

^[45] Who Am I? Part 11

^[46] The Greek is μου here though the parallel English is thy.

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 1

Posted on August 30, 2020 by admin

This study originated in another essay: “I plan to look at all the differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint here.” (My take on Isaiah 53:10a can be found there.) I decided to give Isaiah 53:10-12 its own thread when I felt rushed and unwilling to spend the time it deserved as an aside in another thread.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 53:10b (Tanakh) Table	Isaiah 53:10b (NET)	Isaiah 53:10b (NETS)	Isaiah 53:10b (Elpenor English)
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,	once restitution is made,	If you offer for sin,	If ye can give an offering for sin,

A note (28) in the NET after the line—once restitution is made—reads:

The meaning of this line is uncertain. It reads literally, “if you/she makes, a reparation offering, his life.” The verb תָּשִׂים (tasim) could be second masculine singular, in which case it would have to be addressed to the servant or to God. However, the servant is only addressed once in this servant song (see 52:14a), and God either speaks or is spoken about in this servant song; he is never addressed. Furthermore, the idea of God himself making a reparation offering is odd. If the verb is taken as third feminine singular, then the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) at the end of the line is the likely subject. In this case one can take the suffixed form of the noun as equivalent to a pronoun and translate, “if he [literally, “his life”] makes a reparation offering.”

“Furthermore, the idea of God himself making a reparation offering is odd,” practically leapt off the page at me. Assuming the NET translators considered וַֽיהֹוָ֞ה (y^ehôvâh) here^[1] as the Father and taking Jesus literally—The Father and I are one^[2]—I ask, who but יְהֹוָה (y^ehôvâh) could make a meaningful “reparation offering”? For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.^[3] The writer of Hebrews explained (Hebrews 9:22-26 NET):

Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. So it was necessary for the sketches of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves required better sacrifices than these. For Christ^[4] did not enter a sanctuary made with hands—the representation of the true sanctuary—but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us [Table]. And he did not enter to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the sanctuary year after year with blood that is not his own, for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But now^[5] he has appeared once for all at the consummation of the ages to put away sin^[6] by his sacrifice [Table].

Who wrote the letter to the Hebrews? It seems important now to explain what I’m thinking since I can’t calculate how much affect that speculation has on my interpretation.

Matthew 22:34-40 (NET)	Mark 12:28-31 (NET)
	Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them debating.
Now when the Pharisees heard that [Jesus] had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together.
	When he saw that Jesus answered them well,
And one of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test him:^[7]	he asked him,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”	“Which commandment is the most important of all?”
Jesus said^[8] to him,	Jesus answered,
	“The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one [Table].
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’	Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength’ [Table].
This is the first and greatest commandment [Table].
The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’	The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments” [Table].
	There is no other commandment greater than these” [Table].

If I had read Matthew’s account only I would have thought this unnamed Pharisee tried to entrap Jesus in his words. Mark pointed out that he saw that Jesus answered [the Sadducees] well. This insight makes me suspect that the unnamed Pharisee became known to Mark or Peter at some later time. At that particular moment he may have hoped his brother Pharisees perceived his question as a test (πειράζων, a form of πειράζω) but I wonder if, secretly, it was more like what John described: Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test (δοκιμάζετε, a form of δοκιμάζω) the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.^[9]

Mark’s Gospel narrative continued (Mark 12:32-34a NET):

The expert in the law said to him, “That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him. And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices”^[10] [Table]. When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

Jesus’ affirmation along with this unnamed Pharisee’s desire for a love [that] is the fulfillment of the law^[11] causes me to think he stood in the background among the other disciples as Jesus, after his resurrection, taught them what became the content of the letter to the Hebrews. Though I quoted Paul, I don’t think this unnamed Pharisee was Saul. The Pharisee who became the Apostle Paul was off doing his own thing, advancing in Judaism beyond many of [his] contemporaries in [his] nation, and was extremely zealous for the traditions of [his] ancestors.^[12]

I think the Eleven plus Matthias (Acts 1:15-26) struggled mentally to force Jesus’ death and resurrection into their hypothesis of a political revolutionary who would free Israel from Roman domination. Jesus’ teaching washed over them, virtually unheard and unheeded. It was too technical, too religious, perhaps even too “heretical” to fully sink in.

This is not to say that the unnamed Pharisee was untroubled by Jesus’ teaching. But I think that he was not a zealot in any sense of the word. He was more patient, more thoughtful, more attuned to these particular technicalities and more willing to entertain Jesus’ notions, though he, too, would need time and the indwelling Holy Spirit to fully embrace them.

Sometime prior to the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:54-8:3) this unnamed Pharisee recalled Jesus’ teaching as a solution to signs of defection he witnessed among his brothers, and he wrote it down. I don’t know if he showed it to anyone or not. To the apostles in Jerusalem, seeing themselves primarily as a Jewish reform movement (Acts 21:18-24), it may have seemed too radical, like pouring fuel on a smoldering fire (Acts 21:26-31).

I imagine this unnamed Pharisee standing again in the background at the Jerusalem Council. He sensed a kindred spirit in Paul and handed him a copy, perhaps his only copy, of the manuscript of the letter to the Hebrews. John could have confirmed its contents as Jesus’ teaching if Paul had asked. I don’t know how Paul might have reacted.

He seemed content with the results of the Jerusalem Council initially: As [he and Timothy] went through the towns, they passed on the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the Gentile believers to obey.^[13]

After Paul journeyed through Athens and Corinth, however, perhaps during the affliction that happened to [him] in the province of Asia,^[14] I think Jesus’ teaching in the unnamed Pharisee’s writing known as Hebrews percolated, along with his recent experience and the Holy Spirit’s answers to the things that had troubled him (Romans 9-11), into that masterful Gospel commentary known today as Paul’s Letter to the Romans. That unnamed Pharisee’s account of Jesus’ teaching had a much better opportunity for widespread circulation in Paul’s traveling library of scrolls and parchments.

This is all conjecture on my part, more like a screenwriter or an actor developing a backstory. I share it here because I promised I would and because it may have some influence on my interpretation of Hebrews.

I searched all the occurrences of אָשָׁם֙ (ʼâshâm), translated offering for sin (Tanakh, KJV) and restitution (NET), and made the following table of those with identical consonants (no prefixes or suffixes) to see how the rabbis translated each of them in the Septuagint.

Reference	Hebrew – Chabad.org	Tanakh	NET	Septuagint BLB	Septuagint Elpenor
Isaiah 53:10	אָשָׁם֙	an offering for sin	restitution	περὶ ἁμαρτίας	περὶ ἁμαρτίας
Genesis 26:10	אָשָֽׁם	guiltiness	guilt	ἄγνοιαν, a form of ἄγνοια	ἄγνοιαν, a form of ἄγνοια
Leviticus 5:19	אָשָׁ֖ם	a guilt-offering	a guilt offering	n/a	n/a
Leviticus 7:5	אָשָׁ֖ם	a guilt-offering	a guilt offering	πλημμελείας, a form of πλημμέλεια	πλημμελείας, a form of πλημμέλεια
Leviticus 14:21	אָשָׁ֛ם	a guilt-offering	a guilt offering	ἐπλημμέλησεν, a form of πλημμελέω	ἐπλημμέλησεν, a form of πλημμελέω
Leviticus 19:21	אָשָֽׁם	a guilt-offering	a guilt-offering	πλημμελείας, a form of πλημμέλεια	πλημμελείας, a form of πλημμέλεια
1 Samuel (Kings) 6:3	אָשָׁ֑ם	a guilt-offering	a guilt offering	ἀποδιδόντες a form of ἀποδίδωμι	ἀποδιδόντες a form of ἀποδίδωμι
1 Samuel (Kings) 6:8	אָשָׁ֔ם	a guilt-offering	a guilt offering	ἀποδώσετε…τῆς βασάνου	ἀποδώσετε…τῆς βασάνου
1 Samuel (Kings) 6:17	אָשָׁ֖ם	a guilt-offering	a guilt offering	ἀπέδωκαν…τῆς βασάνου	ἀπέδωκαν…τῆς βασάνου
2 Kings 12:16 (4 Kings 12:17)	אָשָׁם֙	forfeit	reparation offerings	περὶ ἁμαρτίας	περὶ ἁμαρτίας
Proverbs 14:9	אָשָׁ֑ם	sin	reparation	ὀφειλήσουσιν καθαρισμόν	ὀφειλήσουσι καθαρισμόν
Jeremiah 51:5 (28:5)	אָשָׁ֔ם	sin	guilt	ἀδικίας, a form of ἀδικία	ἀδικίας, a form of ἀδικία

Only 2 Kings 12:16 (4 Kings 12:17) matched the vowel points with the occurrence in Isaiah 53:10. Both were translated περὶ ἁμαρτίας (for sin). A table of the homograph אָשַׁ֥ם (ʼâsham) yielded no additional vowel point matches.

Reference	Hebrew – Chabad.org	Tanakh	NET	Septuagint BLB	Septuagint Elpenor
Leviticus 5:19	אָשֹׁ֥ם	is certainly	was surely	ἐπλημμέλησεν	ἐπλημμέλησε
Leviticus 5:19	אָשַׁ֖ם	guilty	guilty	πλημμέλησιν	πλημμελείᾳ
Numbers 5:7	אָשַׁ֥ם	he hath been guilty	he wronged	ἐπλημμέλησεν	ἐπλημμέλησεν

The exercise persuaded me that אָשָׁם֙ (ʼâshâm) was the Hebrew word the rabbis intended to understand and translate in the Septuagint. Then I searched all occurrences of תָּשִׂ֚ים (suwm), translated thou shalt make (Tanakh, KJV) and is made (NET), and made the following table of those with identical consonants (no prefixes or suffixes).

Reference	Hebrew – Chabad.org	Tanakh	NET	Septuagint BLB	Septuagint Elpenor
Isaiah 53:10	תָּשִׂ֚ים	thou shalt make	is made	δῶτε, a (2^nd person plural) form of δίδωμι	δῶτε, a (2^nd person plural) form of δίδωμι
Genesis 6:16	תָּשִׂ֑ים	shalt thou set	Put	ποιήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of ποιέω	ποιήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of ποιέω
Genesis 44:2	תָּשִׂים֙	put	put	ἐμβάλατε, a (2^nd person plural) form of ἐμβάλλω	ἐμβάλετε, a (2^nd person plural) form of ἐμβάλλω
Exodus 21:1	תָּשִׂ֖ים	thou shalt set	you will set	παραθήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of παρατίθημι	παραθήσῃ, a (2^nd person singular) form of παρατίθημι
Deuteronomy 17:15	תָּשִׂ֤ים	thou shalt…set	you must select	καταστήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of καθίστημι	καταστήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of καθίστημι
Deuteronomy 17:15	תָּשִׂ֤ים	shalt thou set	you must appoint	καταστήσεις	καταστήσεις
Deuteronomy 22:8	תָשִׂ֤ים	thou bring	being	ποιήσεις	ποιήσεις
1 Samuel (Kings) 10:19	תָּשִֹ֣ים	set	Appoint	στήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of ἵστημι	καταστήσεις
1 Kings 20:34 (3 Kings 21:34)	תָּשִֹ֨ים	thou shalt make	You may set up	θήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of τίθημι	θήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of τίθημι
Job 7:12	תָשִׂ֖ים	thou settest	you must put	κατέταξας, a (2^nd person singular) form of κατατάσσω	κατέταξας, a (2^nd person singular) form of κατατάσσω
Job 38:33	תָּשִׂ֖ים	thou set	you set up	n/a	n/a
Isaiah 41:15	תָּשִֽׂים	and shalt make	you will make	θήσεις	θήσεις
Ezekiel 21:20 (21:25)	תָּשִׂ֔ים	Appoint	Mark out	n/a	n/a
Ezekiel 24:17	תָּשִׂ֣ים	and put on	and put	n/a	n/a

None of the other occurrences of תָּשִׂ֚ים (suwm) matched the vowel points exactly. All were translated into Greek as 2^nd person verbs, most were singular. The plural exceptions were Isaiah 53:10 [Table] and Genesis 44:2.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 44:2 (Tanakh)	Genesis 44:2 (NET)	Genesis 44:2 (NETS)	Genesis 44:2 (Elpenor English)
And put (תָּשִׂים֙) my goblet, the silver goblet, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money.’ And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.	Then put (suwm, תשׁים) my cup—the silver cup—in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” He did as Joseph instructed.	and put (ἐμβάλατε) my silver cup into the bag of the younger one, with the price of his grain.” And it happened according to the word of Joseph, just as he said.	And put (ἐμβάλετε) my silver cup into the sack of the youngest, and the price of his corn. And it was done according to the word of Joseph, as he said.

I don’t see any reason for a plural verb here but its existence gives me pause to consider the similar occurrence in Isaiah 53:10 as the translators’ interpretive choice. Since “third [person] feminine singular” was another option cited in the NET note above I made a table of those occurrences as well.

Reference	Hebrew – Chabad.org	Tanakh	NET	Septuagint BLB	Septuagint Elpenor
Exodus 2:3	וַתָּ֤שֶׂם	put	put	ἐνέβαλεν, a (3^rd person singular) form of ἐμβάλλω	ἐνέβαλε, a (3^rd person singular) form of ἐμβάλλω
Exodus 2:3	וַתָּ֥שֶׂם	laid	set	ἔθηκεν, a (3^rd person singular) form of τίθημι	ἔθηκεν, a (3^rd person singular) form of τίθημι
1 Samuel (Kings) 25:18	וַתָּ֖שֶׂם	and laid	She loaded	ἔθετο, a (3^rd person singular) form of τίθημι	ἔθετο, a (3^rd person singular) form of τίθημι
2 Samuel (Kings) 13:19	וַתָּ֚שֶׂם	and she laid	She put	ἐπέθηκεν, a (3^rd person singular) form of ἐπιτίθημι	ἐπέθηκε, a (3^rd person singular) form of ἐπιτίθημι
2 Kings (4 Kings) 9:30	וַתָּ֨שֶׂם	and she painted	she put on	ἐστιμίσατο, a (3^rd person singular) form of στιμίζω	ἐστιμίσατο, a (3^rd person singular) form of στιμίζω
Esther 8:2	וַתָּ֧שֶׂם	And…set	And…designated	κατέστησεν, a (3^rd person singular) form of καθίστημι	κατέστησεν, a (3^rd person singular) form of καθίστημι
Job 13:27	וְתָ֘שֵׂ֚ם	Thou puttest	And you put	ἔθου, a (2^nd person singular) form of τίθημι	ἔθου, a (2^nd person singular) form of τίθημι

The final occurrence (Job 13:27), though its consonants were identical to the others, was clearly “second [person] masculine singular.” And none of these was an exact match for the occurrence in Isaiah 53:10. I noted one other form which was translated as forms of τίθημι in the Septuagint.

Reference	Hebrew – Chabad.org	Tanakh	NET	Septuagint BLB	Septuagint Elpenor
1 Samuel (Kings) 9:20	תָּ֧שֶׂם	set	be	θῇς, a (2^nd person singular) form of τίθημι	θῇς, a (2^nd person singular) form of τίθημι
Psalm 66:9 (65:9)	הַשָּׂ֣ם	Which holdeth	He preserves	θεμένου, a (singular participle) form of τίθημι	θεμένου, a (singular participle) form of τίθημι
Psalm 104:3 (103:3)	הַשָּֽׂם	who maketh	He makes	τιθεὶς, a (singular participle) form of τίθημι	τιθεὶς, a (singular participle) form of τίθημι
Psalm 147:14 (147:3)	הַשָּׂ֣ם	He maketh	He brings	τιθεὶς	τιθεὶς
Isaiah 63:11	הַשָּׂ֥ם	he that put	who placed	θεὶς, a (singular participle) form of τίθημι	θεὶς, a (singular participle) form of τίθημι

This exercise made me willing to consider that תָּשִׂ֚ים (suwm) might be original to Isaiah 53:10, the Hebrew word the rabbis intended to understand and translate in the Septuagint. Paul, in his greeting to believers in Galatia, had also used a (singular) form of δίδωμι (Galatians 1:3-5 NET):

Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave (δόντος, another form of δίδωμι) himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father [Table], to whom be glory forever and ever! Amen.

Though I still need to consider נַפְשׁ֔וֹ (nephesh), translated his soul (Tannakh, KJV), I began to consider: if this—when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin—is the more legitimate understanding of this clause, how did God make his soul an offering for sin?

What follows is a fictional explanation from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, offered as the intellectual equivalent of an appetizer, to get the mind warmed up to the taste and smell of this issue:

“It means,” said Aslan, “that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.”^[15]

The understanding that was part of my own socialization is perhaps best exemplified by an excerpt from “The Death of Christ,” a sermon delivered by Charles Haddon Spurgeon on January 24, 1858:

Understand, then, the sense in which Christ was made a sacrifice for sin. But here lies the glory of this matter. It was as a substitute for sin that he did actually and literally suffer punishment for the sin of all his elect. When I say this, I am not to be understood as using any figure whatever, but as saying actually what I mean. Man for his sin was condemned to eternal fire; when God took Christ to be the substitute, it is true, he did not send Christ into eternal fire, but he poured upon him grief so desperate, that it was a valid payment for even an eternity of fire. Man was condemned to live forever in hell. God did not send Christ forever into hell; but he put on Christ, punishment that was equivalent for that. Although he did not give Christ to drink the actual hells of believers, yet he gave him a quid pro quo—something that was equivalent thereunto. He took the cup of Christ’s agony, and he put in there, suffering, misery, and anguish such as only God can imagine or dream of, that was the exact equivalent for all the suffering, all the woe, and all the eternal tortures of every one that shall at last stand in heaven, bought with the blood of Christ.

Both of these explanations share a common theme: God made Christ “a sacrifice for sin” by conforming to something presumed to be innate to the created cosmos. In C.S. Lewis’ fiction He conformed to the “deeper magic” and in Charles Spurgeon’s sermon He conformed to some idea of judicial or commercial equivalence: “something that was equivalent” to “a valid payment for even an eternity of fire” since “Man was condemned to live forever in hell.”

I think God made Christ “a sacrifice for sin” by the truth, power and authority of his word.

God said, Let Christ be the offering for sin. And God made Christ the offering for sin, and it was so (John 3:16 NET Table):

For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

God said, Let Christ be the offering for sin. And it was so (John 11:49-53 NET):

Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is more to your advantage to have one man die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.” (Now he did not say this on his own, but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish nation [Table], and not for the Jewish nation only, but to gather together into one the children of God who are scattered.) So from that day they planned together to kill him [Table].

God said, Let Christ be the offering for sin. And it was so. The Christ obeyed God his Father (John 10:17, 18 NET).

This is why the Father loves me—because I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This commandment I received from my Father.”

Tables comparing Genesis 44:2 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing Genesis 44:2 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and a table comparing Matthew 22:35 in the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 44:2 (Tanakh)	Genesis 44:2 (KJV)	Genesis 44:2 (NET)
And put my goblet, the silver goblet, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money.’ And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.	And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.	Then put my cup—the silver cup—in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” He did as Joseph instructed.

Genesis 44:2 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 44:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ τὸ κόνδυ μου τὸ ἀργυροῦν ἐμβάλατε εἰς τὸν μάρσιππον τοῦ νεωτέρου καὶ τὴν τιμὴν τοῦ σίτου αὐτοῦ ἐγενήθη δὲ κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμα Ιωσηφ καθὼς εἶπεν	καὶ τὸ κόνδυ μου τὸ ἀργυροῦν ἐμβάλετε εἰς τὸν μάρσιππον τοῦ νεωτέρου καὶ τὴν τιμὴν τοῦ σίτου αὐτοῦ. ἐγενήθη δὲ κατὰ τὸ ρῆμα ᾿Ιωσήφ, καθὼς εἶπε
Genesis 44:2 (NETS)	Genesis 44:2 (English Elpenor)
and put my silver cup into the bag of the younger one, with the price of his grain.” And it happened according to the word of Joseph, just as he said.	And put my silver cup into the sack of the youngest, and the price of his corn. And it was done according to the word of Joseph, as he said.

Matthew 22:35 (NET)	Matthew 22:35 (KJV)
And one of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test him:	Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν [νομικὸς] πειράζων αὐτόν	και επηρωτησεν εις εξ αυτων νομικος πειραζων αυτον και λεγων	και επηρωτησεν εις εξ αυτων νομικος πειραζων αυτον και λεγων

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 2

Back to A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 7

^[1] Isaiah 53:10a

^[2] John 10:30 (NET)

^[3] Hebrews 10:4 (NET)

^[4] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ο preceding Christ. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

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

^[6] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the article τῆς preceding sin. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

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

^[8] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had ιησους ειπεν here. The Byzantine Majority Text had ιησους εφη. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had simply ἔφη.

^[9] 1 John 4:1 (NET)

^[10] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article των preceding sacrifices. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[11] Romans 13:10b (NET)

^[12] Galatians 1:14 (NET)

^[13] Acts 16:4 (NET) Table

^[14] 2 Corinthians 1:8a (NET)

^[15] The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Spark Notes

The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 2

Posted on May 1, 2020 by admin

Lazarus had been buried four days. Jesus raised him from the dead (John 11:38-44). John recalled the aftermath (John 11:45-53 NET):

Then many of the people, who had come with Mary and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and reported to them what Jesus had done [Table]. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called the council together and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs. If we allow him to go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary and our nation.”

Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is more to your^[1] advantage to have one man die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.” (Now he did not say this on his own, but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied^[2] that Jesus^[3] was going to die for the Jewish nation, and not for the Jewish nation only, but to gather together into one the children of God who are scattered.) So from that day they planned together^[4] to kill him.

The Greek word translated perish was ἀπόληται (a form of ἀπόλλυμι). I don’t think for a moment that Caiaphas meant: it is more to your advantage to have one man die for the people than for the whole nation to burn in hell for all eternity. Caiaphas feared something more like what happened in 70 AD. But Caiaphas was high priest that year, John recalled, he did not say this on his own but prophesied. So what did the Holy Spirit mean? The events of 70 AD were not averted by Jesus’ death.

I tell you, my friends, Jesus said, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do [Table]. But I will warn you whom you should fear: Fear the one who, after the killing, has authority to throw you into hell (γέενναν, a form of γέεννα). Yes, I tell you, fear him!^[5]

The Greek word ἀπόληται was also translated perish in, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.^[6] If I’m not careful I read this as God…gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not burn in hell for all eternity but go to heaven. This reading is so ingrained I find it difficult to accept Jesus’ judgment if He proposes different criteria for departing into the eternal fire (Matthew 25:31-46).

Condemning those, however, who have demonstrated no care or concern for Jesus’ brothers and sisters into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels^[7] is consistent with Jesus’ teaching on the greatest commandment (Mark 12:28-34a NET):

Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them debating. When he saw^[8] that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”^[9] Jesus^[10] answered,^[11] “The most important^[12] is:^[13] ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one [Table]. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength’^[14] [Table]. The^[15] second is:^[16] ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” The expert in the law said to him, “That is true, Teacher; you are right to say^[17] that he^[18] is one, and there is no one else besides him. And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind,^[19] and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important^[20] than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” [Table]. When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

For there is no partiality with God [Table], Paul wrote believers in Rome (Romans 2:11-16 NET).

For all who have sinned apart from the law will also perish (ἀπολοῦνται, a form of ἀπόλλυμι) apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged (κριθήσονται, a form of κρίνω) by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous [Table]. For whenever the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things required by the law, these who do not have the law are a law to themselves [Table]. They show that the work of the law is written in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend them, on the day when God will judge (κρίνει, a form of κρίνω) the secrets of human hearts, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.

We who have believed in Jesus, been born from above, received his Holy Spirit and rested in God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control have a clear advantage. But do we have the monopoly on being among those who do not hear, Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels? I could argue that we do.

Frankly, I expected so much more of the righteous before God…those who do the law, than merely something other than the absolute negation^[21] of those who saw a brother or sister of Jesus hungry and…gave them nothing (οὐκ) to eat…thirsty and…gave [them] nothing (οὐκ) to drink…a stranger and…did not (οὐ) receive them as a guest, naked and…did not (οὐ) clothe them, sick and in prison and…did not (οὐκ) visit them.^[22] Perhaps Jesus didn’t mean what it sounds like He said.

How can one go from nothing one does pleases God (Romans 3:10-18) to almost anything one does that demonstrates some care or concern for Jesus’ brothers or sisters is sufficient to be called righteous by the Judge and to hear: Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world?^[23] Surely, this implies that one has been delivered…from the power of darkness and transferred…to the kingdom of the Son he loves^[24] already! But my argument falls apart faster than I can make it.

The great commission is to make disciples of all nations, not to save people from burning in hell for all eternity (Matthew 28:18-20 NET):

Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth^[25] has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey (τηρεῖν, a form of τηρέω) everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”^[26]

Should I be surprised if the righteousness of disciples exceeds that of those who escape the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels by demonstrating some care or concern for Jesus’ disciples? (Yes, I’m equating Jesus’ disciples with his brothers or sisters.) I’m tired of arguing with the Judge who has received all authority in heaven and on earth. I lack standing to dispute with Him who gives life to whomever he wishes.^[27] As a matter of fear toward the one who, after the killing, has authority to throw me into hell I concede the point.

But who can live in a manner worthy of such a calling?

I begin to understand why the monastic system may have formed. Don’t worry, I also see how it went awry. Even if the master was led by the Holy Spirit, the initiates perceived that their master lived by following certain rules, and then eventually believed they could become like their master by obeying the rules they had mistakenly perceived as the source of the master’s way of life. Still, I agree that the most important thing I do any and every day is to pray God’s grace and mercy for all in Jesus’ name.

He has tried to get me to reconsider my understanding of—God…gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not burn in hell for all eternity but go to heaven—before. I can grasp the absolute negation in Greek. Those who hear, Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels,^[28] don’t hear it because of some minor lapses in their care or concern for Jesus’ brothers and sisters. But the qualified negation—so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life^[29]—is more difficult for me to grasp.

My first stab at it was that the qualified negation allowed for the possibility that one could both perish and have eternal life. A tear streaked my cheek as I recognized that ἀπόληται could hardly mean “burn in hell for all eternity” if that were true. Though I value such emotional experiences I don’t take them as proof of truth necessarily. I get all teary-eyed when Reggie (Freddy Rodriguez) steps up as the Guardian to defend the Narf (Bryce Dallas Howard) from a Scrunt in the movie Lady in the Water.

I consider that emotional experience a testament to M. Night Shyamalan’s skill as a story-teller, which is not to disparage Bryce Dallas Howard’s skill portraying a vulnerable and precious child or Paul Giametti’s skill portraying a bereaved father desperate to nurture and protect her. Jesus is a better story-teller than Mr. Shyamalan and I have all kinds of emotional reactions to being folded into his story. Besides I’ve already imagined a possible scenario where I the old human burn for all eternity in a lake of fire even as I the new human am face to face with God. How’s that for a salvation by faith predicated on a human choice?

I looked online for some help understanding the qualified negation in Greek. I found some shock therapy on Gary Gagliardi’s site “Christ’s Words — What Is Lost in Translation from Greek.” His translation of John 3:16 and his explanation of the qualified negation in that verse follow:

Therefore, since God was fond of the world order, he appointed the son unique in order that all believing in him might not want to cease to exist but might possess life eternal.

The negative “not” used here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests. The sense is that “you don’t want” to do something, not that it isn’t done or don’t think something that might be true. If it wasn’t done or wasn’t true, the objective negative of fact would be used. The sense here is that the person doesn’t “want” to cease to exist.

The word translated as “shall…perish” means “to cease to exist.” The form is one of possibility not the future tense. With the negative used, the sense is “might not want to cease to exist”. This seems…[to] indicate that those who do not trust in him do not want to continue to exist. The sense is that not trusting in his promise equates to no trusting in a continued life and having access to it.

I’m not implying that this is the one and only true translation and interpretation of John 3:16. All things considered Mr. Gagliardi’s translation qualifies as an outlier among English translations of John 3:16. It is interesting as a potential translation as I try to overcome my misunderstanding.

At his arrest Jesus said, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, let these men go.” And John added, He said this to fulfill the word he had spoken, “I have not lost a single one of those whom you gave me.”^[30] The word translated lost was ἀπώλεσα, an active form of ἀπόλλυμι: “to ruin, destroy; to demolish, dismantle, trash, wreck; to lose; to take away; to conceal and make inaccessible; to be unavailable, be taken away; not to be found, have vanished, have gone missing.” The negation is ουκ (a form of οὐ) the absolute negation, so nothing tricky about it.

Before I continue I want to back up and consider Mr. Gagliardi’s translation and explanation of ἀπώλετο in John 17:12.

At that time I was with them, I watched over them in your name, whoever you appointed to me, and I have defended them [formed them into a tribe] and none from them has been lost except the child of the lost so that what is written might be completed.

Also, from the translation, you wouldn’t know that the word translated as “lost” from “none of them have been lost” is the verb form of the same word translated as “perdition.” The verse actually says that none have been lost except for the son of the lost. The word’s primary meaning is “to destroy” so the translation would then come out as “none have been destroyed except the son of destruction.”

So this leads me to a Gospel harmony of how Judas was lost or “destroyed.”

Matthew 26:1-5, 14-16 (NET)	Mark 14:1,2, 10, 11 (NET)	Luke 22:1-6 (NET)
When Jesus had finished saying all these things (Matthew 24-25), he told his disciples,
“You know that after two days the Passover is coming,	Two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread,	Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching.
and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
Then the chief priests^[31] and the elders of the people met together in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas.
They planned to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.	the chief priests and the experts in the law were trying to find a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.	The chief priests and the experts in the law were trying to find some way to execute Jesus,
But they said, “Not during the feast, so that there won’t be a riot among the people.”	For^[32] they said, “Not during the feast, so there won’t be a riot among the people.”
		for they were afraid of the people.
		Then Satan^[33] entered Judas, the one called^[34] Iscariot, who was one of the twelve.
Then one of the twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests	Then Judas^[35] Iscariot,^[36] one of the twelve, went to the chief priests	He went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers of the temple guard
	to betray^[37] Jesus into their hands.	how he might betray Jesus, handing him over to them.
and said, “What will you give me to betray him into your hands?”
	When they heard this, they were delighted and promised to give him money.	They were delighted and arranged to give him money.
So they set out thirty silver coins for him.
		So Judas agreed
From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray him.	So Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray^[38] him.	and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus
		when no crowd was present.

John let this stand without comment in his Gospel narrative, except to reinforce at the last supper that the devil had already put into the heart of Judas^[39] Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray^[40] Jesus.^[41] Jesus specified which prophecy Judas would fulfill: I know the ones^[42] I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who eats my^[43] bread has turned against me.’^[44]

A table comparing this to Psalm 41:9b (the presumed source text) in the Septuagint follows. It is more thought for thought than a word for word quotation.

John 13:18a (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 41:9b (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 40:10b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ τρώγων μου τὸν ἄρτον ἐπῆρεν ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ τὴν πτέρναν αὐτοῦ	ὁ ἐσθίων ἄρτους μου ἐμεγάλυνεν ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ πτερνισμόν	ὁ ἐσθίων ἄρτους μου, ἐμεγάλυνεν ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ πτερνισμόν
John 13:18b (NET)	Psalm 40:10b (NETS)	Psalm 40:10b (English Elpenor)
The one who eats my bread has turned against me.	he who would eat of my bread, magnified trickery against me.	who ate my bread, lifted up [his] heel against me.

If I accept the NET translation piece of bread for ψωμίον, Jesus fulfilled this prophecy deliberately (John 13:21-27 NET):

When he had said these things (John 13:18-20), Jesus was greatly distressed in spirit, and testified, “I tell you the solemn truth, one of you will betray me.” The^[45] disciples began to look at one another, worried and perplexed to know which of them he was talking about. One^[46] of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, was at the table to the right of Jesus in a place of honor.^[47] So Simon Peter gestured to this disciple to ask Jesus who it was he was referring to. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved^[48] leaned back^[49] against Jesus’ chest and asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus replied, “It is the one to whom I will give^[50] this piece of bread after I have dipped^[51] it in the dish.” Then^[52] he dipped^[53] the piece of bread in the dish and^[54] gave it to Judas Iscariot,^[55] Simon’s son. And after Judas took the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”

Before I did this study I assumed that Jesus’ concern in the garden was that his remaining disciples were not arrested and killed. Now I’m reasonably convinced that He was concerned that they not be arrested, threatened with death perhaps, and apart from Him and before receiving the Holy Spirit, be turned away from Him as Judas was. In other words, He did not want them to be lost or “destroyed.”

Tables comparing Psalm 41:9 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and Psalm 41:9 (40:10) in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow. Following those are tables comparing John 11:50, 51; 11:53; Matthew 28:18; 28:20; John 18:8; Matthew 26:3; Mark 14:2; 14:10, 11; Luke 22:3; John 13:2; 13:18; 13:22, 23 and 13:25, 26 in the NET and KJV.

Psalm 41:9 (Tanakh)	Psalm 41:9 (KJV)	Psalm 41:9 (NET)
Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.	Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.	Even my close friend whom I trusted, he who shared meals with me, has turned against me.

Psalm 41:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 40:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς εἰρήνης μου ἐφ᾽ ὃν ἤλπισα ὁ ἐσθίων ἄρτους μου ἐμεγάλυνεν ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ πτερνισμόν	καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς εἰρήνης μου, ἐφ᾿ ὃν ἤλπισα, ὁ ἐσθίων ἄρτους μου, ἐμεγάλυνεν ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ πτερνισμόν
Psalm 40:10 (NETS)	Psalm 40:10 (English Elpenor)
Indeed, the person at peace with me, in whom I hoped, he who would eat of my bread, magnified trickery against me.	For even the man of my peace, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, lifted up [his] heel against me.

John 11:50, 51 (NET)	John 11:50, 51 (KJV)
You do not realize that it is more to your advantage to have one man die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.”	Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
οὐδὲ λογίζεσθε ὅτι συμφέρει ὑμῖν ἵνα εἷς ἄνθρωπος ἀποθάνῃ ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ μὴ ὅλον τὸ ἔθνος ἀπόληται	ουδε διαλογιζεσθε οτι συμφερει ημιν ινα εις ανθρωπος αποθανη υπερ του λαου και μη ολον το εθνος αποληται	ουδε διαλογιζεσθε οτι συμφερει ημιν ινα εις ανθρωπος αποθανη υπερ του λαου και μη ολον το εθνος αποληται

(Now he did not say this on his own, but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish nation,

And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
(τοῦτο δὲ ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ οὐκ εἶπεν, ἀλλὰ ἀρχιερεὺς ὢν τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ἐκείνου ἐπροφήτευσεν ὅτι ἔμελλεν Ἰησοῦς ἀποθνῄσκειν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἔθνους	τουτο δε αφ εαυτου ουκ ειπεν αλλα αρχιερευς ων του ενιαυτου εκεινου προεφητευσεν οτι εμελλεν ο ιησους αποθνησκειν υπερ του εθνους	τουτο δε αφ εαυτου ουκ ειπεν αλλα αρχιερευς ων του ενιαυτου εκεινου προεφητευσεν οτι εμελλεν ιησους αποθνησκειν υπερ του εθνους

John 11:53 (NET)	John 11:53 (KJV)
So from that day they planned together to kill him.	Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπ᾿ ἐκείνης οὖν τῆς ἡμέρας ἐβουλεύσαντο ἵνα ἀποκτείνωσιν αὐτόν	απ εκεινης ουν της ημερας συνεβουλευσαντο ινα αποκτεινωσιν αυτον	απ εκεινης ουν της ημερας συνεβουλευσαντο ινα αποκτεινωσιν αυτον

Matthew 28:18 (NET)	Matthew 28:18 (KJV)
Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.	And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἐξουσία ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ [τῆς] γῆς	και προσελθων ο ιησους ελαλησεν αυτοις λεγων εδοθη μοι πασα εξουσια εν ουρανω και επι γης	και προσελθων ο ιησους ελαλησεν αυτοις λεγων εδοθη μοι πασα εξουσια εν ουρανω και επι γης

Matthew 28:20 (NET)	Matthew 28:20 (KJV)
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”	Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ᾿ ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος	διδασκοντες αυτους τηρειν παντα οσα ενετειλαμην υμιν και ιδου εγω μεθ υμων ειμι πασας τας ημερας εως της συντελειας του αιωνος αμην	διδασκοντες αυτους τηρειν παντα οσα ενετειλαμην υμιν και ιδου εγω μεθ υμων ειμι πασας τας ημερας εως της συντελειας του αιωνος αμην

John 18:8 (NET)	John 18:8 (KJV)
Jesus replied, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, let these men go.”	Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς· εἶπον ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι. εἰ οὖν ἐμὲ ζητεῖτε, ἄφετε τούτους ὑπάγειν	απεκριθη ο ιησους ειπον υμιν οτι εγω ειμι ει ουν εμε ζητειτε αφετε τουτους υπαγειν	απεκριθη ιησους ειπον υμιν οτι εγω ειμι ει ουν εμε ζητειτε αφετε τουτους υπαγειν

Matthew 26:3 (NET)	Matthew 26:3 (KJV)
Then the chief priests and the elders of the people met together in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas.	Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Τότε συνήχθησαν οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι τοῦ λαοῦ εἰς τὴν αὐλὴν τοῦ ἀρχιερέως τοῦ λεγομένου Καϊάφα	τοτε συνηχθησαν οι αρχιερεις και οι γραμματεις και οι πρεσβυτεροι του λαου εις την αυλην του αρχιερεως του λεγομενου καιαφα	τοτε συνηχθησαν οι αρχιερεις και οι γραμματεις και οι πρεσβυτεροι του λαου εις την αυλην του αρχιερεως του λεγομενου καιαφα

Mark 14:2 (NET)	Mark 14:2 (KJV)
For they said, “Not during the feast, so there won’t be a riot among the people.”	But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἔλεγον γάρ μὴ ἐν τῇ ἑορτῇ, μήποτε ἔσται θόρυβος τοῦ λαοῦ	ελεγον δε μη εν τη εορτη μηποτε θορυβος εσται του λαου	ελεγον δε μη εν τη εορτη μηποτε θορυβος εσται του λαου

Mark 14:10, 11 (NET)	Mark 14:10, 11 (KJV)
Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus into their hands.	And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριὼθ ὁ εἷς τῶν δώδεκα ἀπῆλθεν πρὸς τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς ἵνα αὐτὸν παραδοῖ αὐτοῖς	και ο ιουδας ο ισκαριωτης εις των δωδεκα απηλθεν προς τους αρχιερεις ινα παραδω αυτον αυτοις	και ο ιουδας ο ισκαριωτης εις των δωδεκα απηλθεν προς τους αρχιερεις ινα παραδω αυτον αυτοις

When they heard this, they were delighted and promised to give him money. So Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray him.

And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες ἐχάρησαν καὶ ἐπηγγείλαντο αὐτῷ ἀργύριον δοῦναι. καὶ ἐζήτει πῶς αὐτὸν εὐκαίρως παραδοῖ	οι δε ακουσαντες εχαρησαν και επηγγειλαντο αυτω αργυριον δουναι και εζητει πως ευκαιρως αυτον παραδω	οι δε ακουσαντες εχαρησαν και επηγγειλαντο αυτω αργυριον δουναι και εζητει πως ευκαιρως αυτον παραδω

Luke 22:3 (NET)	Luke 22:3 (KJV)
Then Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve.	Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Εἰσῆλθεν δὲ σατανᾶς εἰς Ἰούδαν τὸν καλούμενον Ἰσκαριώτην, ὄντα ἐκ τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ τῶν δώδεκα	εισηλθεν δε ο σατανας εις ιουδαν τον επικαλουμενον ισκαριωτην οντα εκ του αριθμου των δωδεκα	εισηλθεν δε σατανας εις ιουδαν τον επικαλουμενον ισκαριωτην οντα εκ του αριθμου των δωδεκα

John 13:2 (NET)	John 13:2 (KJV)
The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray Jesus.	And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ δείπνου γινομένου, τοῦ διαβόλου ἤδη βεβληκότος εἰς τὴν καρδίαν ἵνα παραδοῖ αὐτὸν Ἰούδας Σίμωνος \|Ἰσκαριώτου\|	και δειπνου γενομενου του διαβολου ηδη βεβληκοτος εις την καρδιαν ιουδα σιμωνος ισκαριωτου ινα αυτον παραδω	και δειπνου γενομενου του διαβολου ηδη βεβληκοτος εις την καρδιαν ιουδα σιμωνος ισκαριωτου ινα αυτον παραδω

John 13:18 (NET)	John 13:18 (KJV)
“What I am saying does not refer to all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who eats my bread has turned against me.’	I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Οὐ περὶ πάντων ὑμῶν λέγω· ἐγὼ οἶδα τίνας ἐξελεξάμην· ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα ἡ γραφὴ πληρωθῇ· ὁ τρώγων μου τὸν ἄρτον ἐπῆρεν ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ τὴν πτέρναν αὐτοῦ	ου περι παντων υμων λεγω εγω οιδα ους εξελεξαμην αλλ ινα η γραφη πληρωθη ο τρωγων μετ εμου τον αρτον επηρεν επ εμε την πτερναν αυτου	ου περι παντων υμων λεγω εγω οιδα ους εξελεξαμην αλλ ινα η γραφη πληρωθη ο τρωγων μετ εμου τον αρτον επηρεν επ εμε την πτερναν αυτου

John 13:22, 23 (NET)	John 13:22, 23 (KJV)
The disciples began to look at one another, worried and perplexed to know which of them he was talking about.	Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἔβλεπον εἰς ἀλλήλους οἱ μαθηταὶ ἀπορούμενοι περὶ τίνος λέγει	εβλεπον ουν εις αλληλους οι μαθηται απορουμενοι περι τινος λεγει	εβλεπον ουν εις αλληλους οι μαθηται απορουμενοι περι τινος λεγει

One of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, was at the table to the right of Jesus in a place of honor.

Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἦν ἀνακείμενος εἷς ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ὃν ἠγάπα \|ὁ\| Ἰησοῦς	ην δε ανακειμενος εις των μαθητων αυτου εν τω κολπω του ιησου ον ηγαπα ο ιησους	ην δε ανακειμενος εις των μαθητων αυτου εν τω κολπω του ιησου ον ηγαπα ο ιησους

John 13:25, 26 (NET)	John 13:25, 26 (KJV)
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved leaned back against Jesus’ chest and asked him, “Lord, who is it?”	He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀναπεσὼν \|οὖν\| ἐκεῖνος οὕτως ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος τοῦ Ἰησοῦ λέγει αὐτῷ· κύριε, τίς ἐστιν	επιπεσων δε εκεινος επι το στηθος του ιησου λεγει αυτω κυριε τις εστιν	επιπεσων δε εκεινος ουτως επι το στηθος του ιησου λεγει αυτω κυριε τις εστιν

Jesus replied, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread after I have dipped it in the dish.” Then he dipped the piece of bread in the dish and gave it to Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son.

Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀποκρίνεται [ὁ] Ἰησοῦς· ἐκεῖνος ἐστιν ᾧ ἐγὼ βάψω τὸ ψωμίον καὶ δώσω αὐτῷ. βάψας οὖν \|τὸ\| ψωμίον [λαμβάνει καὶ] δίδωσιν Ἰούδᾳ Σίμωνος Ἰσκαριώτου	αποκρινεται ο ιησους εκεινος εστιν ω εγω βαψας το ψωμιον επιδωσω και εμβαψας το ψωμιον διδωσιν ιουδα σιμωνος ισκαριωτη	αποκρινεται ο ιησους εκεινος εστιν ω εγω βαψας το ψωμιον επιδωσω και εμβαψας το ψωμιον διδωσιν ιουδα σιμωνος ισκαριωτη

The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 3

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 1

Back to The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 5

Back to The New Covenant, Part 3

Back to Christianity, Part 2

Back to Christianity, Part 8

Back to The Day of the Lord, Part 5

Back to Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 10

Back to Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 11

Back to The Day of the Lord, Part 8

^[1] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὑμῖν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ημιν (KJV: for us).

^[2] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐπροφήτευσεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had προεφητευσε.

^[3] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article ο preceding Jesus. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[4] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐβουλεύσαντ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had συνεβουλευσαντο (KJV: took counsel together).

^[5] Luke 12:4, 5 (NET)

^[6] John 3:16b (NET)

^[7] Matthew 25:41b (NET)

^[8] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἰδὼν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειδως (KJV: perceiving).

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

^[10] The Stephanus Textus Receptu and Byzantine Majority Text had δε (KJV: And) preceding Jesus. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[11] The Stephanus Textus Receptu and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτω (KJV: him) following answered. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[12] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had πασων των εντολων (KJV: of all the commandments) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[13] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐστίν here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[14] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτη πρωτη εντολη (KJV: this is the first commandment) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[15] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: And) at the beginning of this clause. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[16] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ομοια (KJV: like) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[17] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἶπες here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειπας (KJV: thou hast said).

^[18] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had θεος (KJV: God) here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[19] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και εξ ολης της ψυχης (KJV: and with all the soul) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[20] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had περισσότερον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had πλειον (KJV: more).

^[21] Here are a few essays where I began to grapple with the absolute and qualified or relative negation in New Testament Greek: Son of God – John, Part 2; Fear – Genesis, Part 7; Son of God – John, Part 3

^[22] Matthew 25:42, 43 (NET)

^[23] Matthew 25:34 (NET)

^[24] Colossians 1:13 (NET)

^[25] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the article τῆς preceding earth. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[26] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αμην (KJV: Amen) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not

^[27] John 5:21b (NET)

^[28] Matthew 25:41 (NET)

^[29] John 3:16b (NET)

^[30] John 18:8, 9 (NET)

^[31] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και οι γραμματεις (KJV: and the scribes) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[32] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had γάρ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δε (KJV: But).

^[33] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article ο preceding Satan. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[34] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καλούμενον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had επικαλουμενον (KJV: surnamed).

^[35] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ο preceding Judas. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[36] In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Iscariot was spelled Ἰσκαριὼθ, and ισκαριωτης in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

^[37] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had παραδοῖ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had παραδω.

^[38] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had παραδοῖ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had παραδω.

^[39] In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Judas was spelled Ἰούδας, and ιουδα in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

^[40] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had παραδοῖ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had παραδω.

^[41] John 13:2b (NET)

^[42] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τίνας here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the pronoun ους (KJV: whom).

^[43] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had μου here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μετ εμου (KJV: with me).

^[44] John 13:18b (NET)

^[45] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουν (KJV: Then) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[46] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δε (KJV: Now) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[47] NET note 57 explains the idiom.

^[48] The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἐκεῖνος οὕτως here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had simply εκεινος (KJV: He).

^[49] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀναπεσὼν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had επιπεσων (KJV: lying on).

^[50] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καὶ δώσω αὐτῷ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had επιδωσω (KJV: shall give).

^[51] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had βάψω here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had βαψας.

^[52] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had οὖν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: And).

^[53] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had βαψας here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εμβαψας (KJV: had dipped).

^[54] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had λαμβάνει καὶ (λαμβάνει was not translated in the NET) here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[55] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had Ἰσκαριώτου here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ισκαριωτη.

Hannah’s Prayer, Part 4

Posted on August 7, 2019 by admin

Near the end of Part 3 I began to consider whether the Masoretes added—for the pillars of the earth are HaShem’S, and He hath set the world upon them^[1]—to Hannah’s prayer. I suggested that they made the abrupt switch from the Savior/Judge Hannah had praised to the Creator as misdirection, so that one would not hear: He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, He lifteth up the needy from the dung-hill, to make them sit with princes, and inherit the throne of glory^[2] leading inexorably to Jesus: He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.^[3]

But how effective could such misdirection actually be? If I think of Hannah’s Savior, I think of Jesus (Mathew 1:18-21 NET):

Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately. When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit [Table]. She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus (Ἰησοῦν, a form of Ἰησοῦς), because he will save his people from their sins.”

If I think of Hannah’s Judge, I think of Jesus (John 5:19-23 NET):

So Jesus answered them,^[4] “I tell you the solemn truth, the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does, and will show him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. Furthermore, the Father does not judge (κρίνει, a form of κρίνω) anyone, but has assigned all judgment (κρίσιν, a form of κρίσις) to the Son, so that all people will honor^[5] the Son just as they honor^[6] the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

So, given that the Father…has assigned all judgment to the Son, Jesus is the One to fear (Luke 12:4, 5 NET):

I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid (φοβηθῆτε, a form of φοβέω) of those who kill^[7] the body, and after that have nothing more they can do. But I will warn you whom you should fear (φοβηθῆτε): Fear (φοβήθητε, another form of φοβέω) the one who, after the killing, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear (φοβήθητε) him!

But given that the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing, the One to fear said (Luke 12:32-34 NET):

Do not be afraid (φοβοῦ, another form of φοβέω), little flock, for your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves purses^[8] that do not wear out – a treasure in heaven that never decreases, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.^[9] And it doesn’t really matter if Hannah or the Masoretes made the abrupt switch to the Creator: I still think of Jesus (John 1:1-18 NET).

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it.

A man came, sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that everyone might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was created by him, but the world did not recognize him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not receive him. But to all who have received him – those who believe in his name – he has given the right to become God’s children – children not born by human parents or by human desire or a husband’s decision, but by God.

Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father. John testified about him and shouted out, “This one was the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am, because he existed before me.’” For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ (Table). No one has ever seen God. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God known (Table).

If inherit the throne of glory upset the Masoretes as I’ve suggested, why add for the pillars of the earth are HaShem’S, and He hath set the world upon them for misdirection? Why not simply remove inherit the throne of glory?

I suspect that the throne of glory was still important to the Masoretes, its geographical location, if not the One who will sit upon it: At that time (when they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more), Jeremiah prophesied, they shall call Jerusalem the throne (כִּסֵּ֣א) of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.^[10]

Jeremiah was sent to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah with a warning of coming devastation at the hands of the Babylonians (Jeremiah 14:17, 18 Tanakh):

Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow. If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.

I admit to being confused (Table7 below) whether Jeremiah continued with the words he was given or began, disobediently, to intercede for the people despite his best intentions (Jeremiah 14:19, 20 Tanakh):

Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble! We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.

How Judah sinned (חָטָ֖אנוּ; Septuagint: ἡμάρτομεν, a form of ἁμαρτάνω) against God had been discussed previously.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Jeremiah 3:6-11 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 3:6-11 (NET)	Jeremiah 3:6-11 (NETS)	Jeremiah 3:6-11 (Elpenor English)
The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.	When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods.	And the Lord said to me in the days of King Iosias: Have you seen what the settlement of Israel did to me? They went to every high mountain and under every woodland tree and played the whore there.	And the Lord said to me in the days of Josias the king, Hast thou seen what things the house of Israel has done to me? they have gone on every high mountain, and under every shady tree, and have committed fornication there.
And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.	Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me. But she did not. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did.	And I said after she did all these things, “Return to me,” but she did not return, and faithless Iouda saw her faithlessness.	And I said after she had committed all these acts of fornication, Turn again to me. Yet she returned not. And faithless Juda saw her faithlessness.
And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.	She also saw that, because of wayward Israel’s adulterous worship of other gods, I sent her away and gave her divorce papers. But still her unfaithful sister Judah was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods.	And I saw that for everything in which the settlement of Israel was caught, [in which she committed adultery], and I sent her away and gave her a document of dismissal, and faithless Iouda did not fear, but she too went and played the whore.	And I saw that (for all the sins of which she was convicted, wherein the house of Israel committed adultery, and I put her away, and gave into her hands a bill of divorcement,) yet faithless Juda feared not, but went and herself also committed fornication.
And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.	Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone.	And her whoredom came to nothing, and she committed adultery with tree and stone.	And her fornication was nothing accounted of; and she committed adultery with wood and stone.
And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.	In spite of all this, Israel’s sister, unfaithful Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity; she has only pretended to do so,” says the Lord.	And in all these things faithless Iouda did not return to me with her whole heart, but only in pretense.	And for all these things faithless Juda turned not to me with all her heart, but falsely.
And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.	Then the Lord said to me, “Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah.	And the Lord said to me: Israel has justified his soul vis-à-vis faithless Iouda.	And the Lord said to me, Israel has justified himself more than faithless Juda.

The southern kingdom of Judah worshiped the gods of the nations around them and engaged in the sexual practices of that worship,^[11] as the northern kingdom of Israel had done before them. Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, Jeremiah continued, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us. Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.^[12]

Though a time will come when Jerusalem will be called the throne (כִּסֵּ֣א) of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, it was not to be at this this time, though Jeremiah prayed do not disgrace the throne (כִּסֵּ֣א) of thy glory (Jeremiah 15:1-6 Tanakh).

Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity. And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy. And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh (2 Kings 21:1-9) the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest? Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.

This reminds me of Jesus’ warning to his followers (Hebrews 10:26-31 NET):

For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us, but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume God’s enemies. Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses (Table). How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for the Son of God, and profanes the blood of the covenant that made him holy, and insults the Spirit of grace? For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people” (Table). It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

As I recall my own life, knowing that God’s patience with sinners is finite, I wonder: How is it that I have not exhausted his patience?

The only answer that makes any sense to me is that I have Jesus, a merciful and faithful high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that the Lord, not^[13] man, set up^[14] (Hebrews 7:24-28 NET).

[H]e holds his priesthood permanently since he lives forever. So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. For it is indeed fitting for us to have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens (Table). He has no need to do every day what those priests do, to offer sacrifices first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people, since he did this in offering himself once for all. For the law appoints as high priests men subject to weakness, but the word of solemn affirmation that came after the law appoints a son made perfect forever.

Though I still can’t determine for certain whether the Masoretes added, or the rabbis failed to translate—for the pillars of the earth are HaShem’S, and He hath set the world upon them—I trust that this study has helped me to mitigate any ill intent.

Tables comparing Jeremiah 3:16, 17; 14:17; 14:18; 14:19; 14:20; 3:6; 3:7; 3:8; 3:9; 3:10; 3:11; 14:21; 14:22; 15:1; 15:2; 15:3; 15:4; 15:5 and 15:6 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET and tables comparing Jeremiah 3:16, 17; 14:17; 14:18; 14:19; 14:20; 3:6; 3:7; 3:8; 3:9; 3:10; 3:11; 14:21; 14:22; 15:1; 15:2; 15:3; 15:4; 15:5 and 15:6 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow. Following these are tables comparing John 5:19; 5:23; Luke 12:4; 12:33 and Hebrews 8:2 in the NET and KJV.

Jeremiah 3:16, 17 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 3:16, 17 (KJV)	Jeremiah 3:16, 17 (NET)
And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.	And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.	In those days, your population will greatly increase in the land. At that time,” says the Lord, “people will no longer talk about having the ark that contains the Lord’s covenant with us. They will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it. No, that will not be done any more!
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.	At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.	At that time the city of Jerusalem will be called the Lord’s throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the Lord’s name. They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts.

Jeremiah 3:16, 17 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 3:16, 17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔσται ἐὰν πληθυνθῆτε καὶ αὐξηθῆτε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐν ταῗς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις λέγει κύριος οὐκ ἐροῦσιν ἔτι κιβωτὸς διαθήκης ἁγίου Ισραηλ οὐκ ἀναβήσεται ἐπὶ καρδίαν οὐκ ὀνομασθήσεται οὐδὲ ἐπισκεφθήσεται καὶ οὐ ποιηθήσεται ἔτι	καὶ ἔσται ἐὰν πληθυνθῆτε καὶ αὐξηθῆτε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, λέγει Κύριος, ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, οὐκ ἐροῦσιν ἔτι· κιβωτὸς διαθήκης ἁγίου ᾿Ισραήλ, οὐκ ἀναβήσεται ἐπὶ καρδίαν, οὐκ ὀνομασθήσεται οὐδὲ ἐπισκεφθήσεται καὶ οὐ ποιηθήσεται ἔτι
ἐν ταῗς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις καὶ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ καλέσουσιν τὴν Ιερουσαλημ θρόνος κυρίου καὶ συναχθήσονται εἰς αὐτὴν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη καὶ οὐ πορεύσονται ἔτι ὀπίσω τῶν ἐνθυμημάτων τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν τῆς πονηρᾶς	ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις καὶ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ καλέσουσι τὴν ῾Ιερουσαλὴμ Θρόνον Κυρίου, καὶ συναχθήσονται πάντα τὰ ἔθνη εἰς αὐτὴν καὶ οὐ πορεύσονται ἔτι ὀπίσω τῶν ἐνθυμημάτων τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν τῆς πονηρᾶς
Jeremiah 3:16, 17 (NETS)	Jeremiah 3:16, 17 (English Elpenor)
And it will be, if you multiply and increase in the land, in those days, says the Lord, they shall no longer say, “Ark of the covenant of the holy one of Israel.” It shall not come up in the heart; it shall not be named nor be considered, and it shall not be made again.	And it shall come to pass that when ye are multiplied and increased upon the land, saith the Lord, in those days they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Holy One of Israel: it shall not come to mind; it shall not be named; neither shall it be visited; nor shall [this] be done any more.
In those days and at that time they shall call Ierousalem “The Lord’s Throne,” and all the nations shall be gathered into her, and they shall no longer walk after the notions of their own evil heart.	In those days and at that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered to it: and they shall not walk any more after the imaginations of their evil heart.

Jeremiah 14:17 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 14:17 (KJV)	Jeremiah 14:17 (NET)
Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.	Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.	“Tell these people this, Jeremiah: ‘My eyes overflow with tears day and night without ceasing. For my people, my dear children, have suffered a crushing blow. They have suffered a serious wound

Jeremiah 14:17 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 14:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐρεῗς πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὸν λόγον τοῦτον καταγάγετε ἐπ᾽ ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν δάκρυα ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός καὶ μὴ διαλιπέτωσαν ὅτι συντρίμματι συνετρίβη θυγάτηρ λαοῦ μου καὶ πληγῇ ὀδυνηρᾷ σφόδρα	καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὸν λόγον τοῦτον· καταγάγετε ἐπ’ ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν δάκρυα ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός, καὶ μὴ διαλιπέτωσαν, ὅτι συντρίμματι συνετρίβη θυγάτηρ λαοῦ μου καὶ πληγὴ ὀδυνηρὰ σφόδρα
Jeremiah 14:17 (NETS)	Jeremiah 14:17 (English Elpenor)
And you shall say to them this word: Bring down upon your eyes tears day and night, and let them not cease, because the daughter of my people was shattered with a fracture and with a very grievous blow.	And thou shalt speak this word to them; Let your eyes shed tears day and night, and let them not cease: for the daughter of my people has been sorely bruised, and her plague is very grievous.

Jeremiah 14:18 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 14:18 (KJV)	Jeremiah 14:18 (NET)
If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.	If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.	If I go out into the countryside, I see those who have been killed in battle. If I go into the city, I see those who are sick because of starvation. For both prophet and priest–they go peddling in the land but they are not humbled.’”

Jeremiah 14:18 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 14:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐὰν ἐξέλθω εἰς τὸ πεδίον καὶ ἰδοὺ τραυματίαι μαχαίρας καὶ ἐὰν εἰσέλθω εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ ἰδοὺ πόνος λιμοῦ ὅτι ἱερεὺς καὶ προφήτης ἐπορεύθησαν εἰς γῆν ἣν οὐκ ᾔδεισαν	ἐὰν ἐξέλθω εἰς τὸ πεδίον, καὶ ἰδοὺ τραυματίαι μαχαίρας, καὶ ἐὰν εἰσέλθω εἰς τὴν πόλιν, καὶ ἰδοὺ πόνος λιμοῦ· ὅτι ἱερεὺς καὶ προφήτης ἐπορεύθησαν εἰς γῆν, ἣν οὐκ ᾔδεισαν
Jeremiah 14:18 (NETS)	Jeremiah 14:18 (English Elpenor)
If I go out into the plain, and behold, casualties of a dagger! And if I enter into the city, and behold, hardship of famine, because priest and prophet went to a land of which they had no knowledge!	If I go forth into the plain, then behold the slain by the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold the distress of famine! for priest and prophet have gone to a land which they knew not.

Jeremiah 14:19 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 14:19 (KJV)	Jeremiah 14:19 (NET)
Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!	Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!	Then I said, “Lord, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah? Do you despise the city of Zion? Why have you struck us with such force that we are beyond recovery? We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it. We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror.

Jeremiah 14:19 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 14:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
μὴ ἀποδοκιμάζων ἀπεδοκίμασας τὸν Ιουδαν καὶ ἀπὸ Σιων ἀπέστη ἡ ψυχή σου ἵνα τί ἔπαισας ἡμᾶς καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῗν ἴασις ὑπεμείναμεν εἰς εἰρήνην καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἀγαθά εἰς καιρὸν ἰάσεως καὶ ἰδοὺ ταραχή	μὴ ἀποδοκιμάζων ἀπεδοκίμασας τὸν ᾿Ιούδαν, καὶ ἀπὸ Σιὼν ἀπέστη ἡ ψυχή σου; ἱνατί ἔπαισας ἡμᾶς, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἴασις; ὑπεμείναμεν εἰς εἰρήνην, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἀγαθά· εἰς καιρὸν ἰάσεως, καὶ ἰδοὺ ταραχή
Jeremiah 14:19 (NETS)	Jeremiah 14:19 (English Elpenor)
Surely when rejecting, you did not reject Iouda? And has your soul departed from Sion? We waited for peace, and there was no good, for a time of healing, and behold, disturbance.	Hast thou utterly rejected Juda? and has thy soul departed from Sion? wherefore has thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we waited for peace, but there was no prosperity; for a time of healing, and behold trouble!

Jeremiah 14:20 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 14:20 (KJV)	Jeremiah 14:20 (NET)
We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.	We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.	Lord, we confess that we have been wicked. We confess that our ancestors have done wrong. We have indeed sinned against you.

Jeremiah 14:20 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 14:20 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἔγνωμεν κύριε ἁμαρτήματα ἡμῶν ἀδικίας πατέρων ἡμῶν ὅτι ἡμάρτομεν ἐναντίον σου	ἔγνωμεν, Κύριε, ἁμαρτήματα ἡμῶν, ἀδικίας πατέρων ἡμῶν, ὅτι ἡμάρτομεν ἐναντίον σου
Jeremiah 14:20 (NETS)	Jeremiah 14:20 (English Elpenor)
We were aware of our sins, O Lord, injustices of our fathers, because we have sinned before you.	We know, O Lord, our sins, [and] the iniquities of our fathers: for we have sinned before thee.

Jeremiah 3:6 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 3:6 (KJV)	Jeremiah 3:6 (NET)
The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.	The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.	When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods.

Jeremiah 3:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 3:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρός με ἐν ταῗς ἡμέραις Ιωσια τοῦ βασιλέως εἶδες ἃ ἐποίησέν μοι ἡ κατοικία τοῦ Ισραηλ ἐπορεύθησαν ἐπὶ πᾶν ὄρος ὑψηλὸν καὶ ὑποκάτω παντὸς ξύλου ἀλσώδους καὶ ἐπόρνευσαν ἐκεῗ	Καὶ εἶπε Κύριος πρός με ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ᾿Ιωσίου τοῦ βασιλέως· εἶδες ἃ ἐποίησέ μοι ἡ κατοικία τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ; ἐπορεύθησαν ἐπὶ πᾶν ὄρος ὑψηλὸν καὶ ὑποκάτω παντὸς ξύλου ἀλσώδους, καὶ ἐπόρνευσαν ἐκεῖ
Jeremiah 3:6 (NETS)	Jeremiah 3:6 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord said to me in the days of King Iosias: Have you seen what the settlement of Israel did to me? They went to every high mountain and under every woodland tree and played the whore there.	And the Lord said to me in the days of Josias the king, Hast thou seen what things the house of Israel has done to me? they have gone on every high mountain, and under every shady tree, and have committed fornication there.

Jeremiah 3:7 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 3:7 (KJV)	Jeremiah 3:7 (NET)
And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.	And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.	Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me. But she did not. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did.

Jeremiah 3:7 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 3:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπα μετὰ τὸ πορνεῦσαι αὐτὴν ταῦτα πάντα πρός με ἀνάστρεψον καὶ οὐκ ἀνέστρεψεν καὶ εἶδεν τὴν ἀσυνθεσίαν αὐτῆς ἡ ἀσύνθετος Ιουδα	καὶ εἶπα μετὰ τὸ πορνεῦσαι αὐτὴν ταῦτα πάντα· πρός με ἀνάστρεψον, καὶ οὐκ ἀνέστρεψε· καὶ εἶδε τὴν ἀσυνθεσίαν αὐτῆς ἡ ἀσύνθετος ᾿Ιούδα
Jeremiah 3:7 (NETS)	Jeremiah 3:7 (English Elpenor)
And I said after she did all these things, “Return to me,” but she did not return, and faithless Iouda saw her faithlessness.	And I said after she had committed all these acts of fornication, Turn again to me. Yet she returned not. And faithless Juda saw her faithlessness.

Jeremiah 3:8 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 3:8 (KJV)	Jeremiah 3:8 (NET)
And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.	And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.	She also saw that, because of wayward Israel’s adulterous worship of other gods, I sent her away and gave her divorce papers. But still her unfaithful sister Judah was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods.

Jeremiah 3:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 3:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶδον διότι περὶ πάντων ὧν κατελήμφθη ἐν οἷς ἐμοιχᾶτο ἡ κατοικία τοῦ Ισραηλ καὶ ἐξαπέστειλα αὐτὴν καὶ ἔδωκα αὐτῇ βιβλίον ἀποστασίου εἰς τὰς χεῗρας αὐτῆς καὶ οὐκ ἐφοβήθη ἡ ἀσύνθετος Ιουδα καὶ ἐπορεύθη καὶ ἐπόρνευσεν καὶ αὐτή	καὶ εἶδον διότι περὶ πάντων ὧν κατελήφθη, ἐν οἷς ἐμοιχᾶτο ἡ κατοικία ᾿Ισραήλ, καὶ ἐξαπέστειλα αὐτὴν καὶ ἔδωκα αὐτῇ βιβλίον ἀποστασίου εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῆς· καὶ οὐκ ἐφοβήθη ἡ ἀσύνθετος ᾿Ιούδα καὶ ἐπορεύθη καὶ ἐπόρνευσε καὶ αὐτή
Jeremiah 3:8 (NETS)	Jeremiah 3:8 (English Elpenor)
And I saw that for everything in which the settlement of Israel was caught, [in which she committed adultery], and I sent her away and gave her a document of dismissal, and faithless Iouda did not fear, but she too went and played the whore.	And I saw that (for all the sins of which she was convicted, wherein the house of Israel committed adultery, and I put her away, and gave into her hands a bill of divorcement,) yet faithless Juda feared not, but went and herself also committed fornication.

Jeremiah 3:9 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 3:9 (KJV)	Jeremiah 3:9 (NET)
And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.	And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.	Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone.

Jeremiah 3:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 3:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐγένετο εἰς οὐθὲν ἡ πορνεία αὐτῆς καὶ ἐμοίχευσεν τὸ ξύλον καὶ τὸν λίθον	καὶ ἐγένετο εἰς οὐθὲν ἡ πορνεία αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐμοίχευσε τὸ ξύλον καὶ τὸν λίθον
Jeremiah 3:9 (NETS)	Jeremiah 3:9 (English Elpenor)
And her whoredom came to nothing, and she committed adultery with tree and stone.	And her fornication was nothing accounted of; and she committed adultery with wood and stone.

Jeremiah 3:10 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 3:10 (KJV)	Jeremiah 3:10 (NET)
And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.	And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.	In spite of all this, Israel’s sister, unfaithful Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity; she has only pretended to do so,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 3:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 3:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν τούτοις οὐκ ἐπεστράφη πρός με ἡ ἀσύνθετος Ιουδα ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας αὐτῆς ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ ψεύδει	καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις οὐκ ἀπεστράφη πρός με ἡ ἀσύνθετος ᾿Ιούδα ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας αὐτῆς, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ ψεύδει
Jeremiah 3:10 (NETS)	Jeremiah 3:10 (English Elpenor)
And in all these things faithless Iouda did not return to me with her whole heart, but only in pretense.	And for all these things faithless Juda turned not to me with all her heart, but falsely.

Jeremiah 3:11 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 3:11 (KJV)	Jeremiah 3:11 (NET)
And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.	And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.	Then the Lord said to me, “Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah.

Jeremiah 3:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 3:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρός με ἐδικαίωσεν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ Ισραηλ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀσυνθέτου Ιουδα	καὶ εἶπε Κύριος πρός με· ἐδικαίωσε τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ᾿Ισραὴλ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀσυνθέτου ᾿Ιούδα
Jeremiah 3:11 (NETS)	Jeremiah 3:11 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord said to me: Israel has justified his soul vis-à-vis faithless Iouda.	And the Lord said to me, Israel has justified himself more than faithless Juda.

Jeremiah 14:21 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 14:21 (KJV)	Jeremiah 14:21 (NET)
Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne (כִּסֵּ֣א) of thy glory (כְבוֹדֶ֑ךָ): remember, break not thy covenant with us.	Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne (כסא) of thy glory (כבודך): remember, break not thy covenant with us.	For the honor of your name, do not treat Jerusalem with contempt. Do not treat with disdain the place where your glorious (kâbôd, כבודך) throne (kissêʼ, כסא) sits. Be mindful of your covenant with us. Do not break it!

Jeremiah 14:21 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 14:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)
κόπασον διὰ τὸ ὄνομά σου μὴ ἀπολέσῃς θρόνον δόξης σου μνήσθητι μὴ διασκεδάσῃς τὴν διαθήκην σου τὴν μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν	κόπασον διὰ τὸ ὄνομά σου, μὴ ἀπολέσῃς θρόνον δόξης σου· μνήσθητι, μὴ διασκεδάσῃς τὴν διαθήκην σου τὴν μεθ’ ἡμῶν
Jeremiah 14:21 (NETS)	Jeremiah 14:21 (English Elpenor)
Stop for your name’s sake; do not destroy the throne of your glory; remember, do not scatter your covenant with us.	Refrain for thy name’s sake, destroy not the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.

Jeremiah 14:22 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 14:22 (KJV)	Jeremiah 14:22 (NET)
Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.	Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.	Do any of the worthless idols of the nations cause rain to fall? Do the skies themselves send showers? Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this? So we put our hopes in you because you alone do all this.”

Jeremiah 14:22 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 14:22 (Septuagint Elpenor)
μὴ ἔστιν ἐν εἰδώλοις τῶν ἐθνῶν ὑετίζων καὶ εἰ ὁ οὐρανὸς δώσει πλησμονὴν αὐτοῦ οὐχὶ σὺ εἶ αὐτός καὶ ὑπομενοῦμέν σε ὅτι σὺ ἐποίησας πάντα ταῦτα	μὴ ἔστιν ἐν εἰδώλοις τῶν ἐθνῶν ὑετίζων; καὶ εἰ ὁ οὐρανὸς δώσει πλησμονὴν αὐτοῦ, οὐχὶ σὺ εἶ αὐτός; καὶ ὑπομενοῦμέν σε, Κύριε, ὅτι σὺ ἐποίησας πάντα ταῦτα
Jeremiah 14:22 (NETS)	Jeremiah 14:22 (English Elpenor)
Surely, there is no one among idols of the nations that brings rain? And whether the sky will give its abundance…? Is it not you yourself? And we will wait on you, because it is you who did all these things.	Is there any one among the idols of the Gentiles that can give rain? and will the sky yield his fulness [at their bidding]? Art not thou he? we will even wait on thee, O Lord: for thou hast made all these things.

Jeremiah 15:1 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 15:1 (KJV)	Jeremiah 15:1 (NET)
Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.	Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.	Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I would not feel pity for them! Get them away from me! Tell them to go away!

Jeremiah 15:1 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 15:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρός με ἐὰν στῇ Μωυσῆς καὶ Σαμουηλ πρὸ προσώπου μου οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ ψυχή μου πρὸς αὐτούς ἐξαπόστειλον τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον καὶ ἐξελθέτωσαν	ΚΑΙ εἶπε Κύριος πρός με· ἐὰν στῇ Μωσῆς καὶ Σαμουὴλ πρὸ προσώπου μου, οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ ψυχή μου πρὸς αὐτούς· ἐξαπόστειλον τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον, καὶ ἐξελθέτωσαν
Jeremiah 15:1 (NETS)	Jeremiah 15:1 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord said to me: If Moyses and Samouel stood before me, my soul would not be toward them. Send this people away, and let them go!	And the Lord said to me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before my face, my soul could not be toward them: dismiss this people, and let them go forth.

Jeremiah 15:2 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 15:2 (KJV)	Jeremiah 15:2 (NET)
And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.	And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.	If they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ tell them the Lord says this: “Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease. Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war. Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation. Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile.”

Jeremiah 15:2 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 15:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔσται ἐὰν εἴπωσιν πρὸς σέ ποῦ ἐξελευσόμεθα καὶ ἐρεῗς πρὸς αὐτούς τάδε λέγει κύριος ὅσοι εἰς θάνατον εἰς θάνατον καὶ ὅσοι εἰς μάχαιραν εἰς μάχαιραν καὶ ὅσοι εἰς λιμόν εἰς λιμόν καὶ ὅσοι εἰς αἰχμαλωσίαν εἰς αἰχμαλωσίαν	καὶ ἔσται ἐὰν εἴπωσι πρὸς σέ· ποῦ ἐξελευσόμεθα; καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτούς· τάδε λέγει Κύριος· ὅσοι εἰς θάνατον, εἰς θάνατον· καὶ ὅσοι εἰς μάχαιραν, εἰς μάχαιραν· καί ὅσοι εἰς λιμόν, εἰς λιμόν· καὶ ὅσοι εἰς αἰχμαλωσίαν, εἰς αἰχμαλωσίαν
Jeremiah 15:2 (NETS)	Jeremiah 15:2 (English Elpenor)
And it shall be, if they say to you, “Where shall we go?” you shall also say to them: This is what the Lord says: Those destined for death, to death, and those destined for a dagger, to a dagger; and those destined for famine, to famine, and those destined for captivity, to captivity.	And it shall be, if they say to thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord; As many as are for death, to death; and as many as are for famine, to famine; and as many as are for the sword, to the sword; and as many as are for captivity, to captivity.

Jeremiah 15:3 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 15:3 (KJV)	Jeremiah 15:3 (NET)
And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.	And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.	“I will punish them in four different ways: I will have war kill them. I will have dogs drag off their dead bodies. I will have birds and wild beasts devour and destroy their corpses.

Jeremiah 15:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 15:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐκδικήσω ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς τέσσαρα εἴδη λέγει κύριος τὴν μάχαιραν εἰς σφαγὴν καὶ τοὺς κύνας εἰς διασπασμὸν καὶ τὰ θηρία τῆς γῆς καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ εἰς διαφθοράν	καὶ ἐκδικήσω ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς τέσσαρα εἴδη, λέγει Κύριος· τὴν μάχαιραν εἰς σφαγὴν καὶ τοὺς κύνας εἰς διασπασμὸν καὶ τὰ θηρία τῆς γῆς καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ εἰς διαφθοράν
Jeremiah 15:3 (NETS)	Jeremiah 15:3 (English Elpenor)
And I will avenge on them four kinds, says the Lord: the dagger for slaughter and the dogs for tearing and the wild animals of the earth and the birds of the air for eating and for corruption.	And I will punish them with four kinds [of death], saith the Lord, the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the wild beasts of the earth, and the birds of the sky to devour and destroy.

Jeremiah 15:4 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 15:4 (KJV)	Jeremiah 15:4 (NET)
And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.	And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.	I will make all the people in all the kingdoms of the world horrified at what has happened to them because of what Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.”

Jeremiah 15:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 15:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ παραδώσω αὐτοὺς εἰς ἀνάγκας πάσαις ταῗς βασιλείαις τῆς γῆς διὰ Μανασση υἱὸν Εζεκιου βασιλέα Ιουδα περὶ πάντων ὧν ἐποίησεν ἐν Ιερουσαλημ	καὶ παραδώσω αὐτοὺς εἰς ἀνάγκας πάσαις ταῖς βασιλείαις τῆς γῆς διὰ Μανασσῆ υἱὸν ᾿Εζεκίου βασιλέως ᾿Ιούδα, περὶ πάντων ὧν ἐποίησεν ἐν ῾Ιερουσαλήμ
Jeremiah 15:4 (NETS)	Jeremiah 15:4 (English Elpenor)
And I will hand them over for anguish to all the kingdoms of the earth on account of King Manasse son of Hezekias of Iouda concerning all he did in Ierousalem.	And I will deliver them up for distress to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasses son of Ezekias king of Juda, for all that he did in Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 15:5 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 15:5 (KJV)	Jeremiah 15:5 (NET)
For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?	For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?	The Lord cried out, “Who in the world will have pity on you, Jerusalem? Who will grieve over you? Who will stop long enough to inquire about how you are doing?

Jeremiah 15:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 15:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τίς φείσεται ἐπὶ σοί Ιερουσαλημ καὶ τίς δειλιάσει ἐπὶ σοί ἢ τίς ἀνακάμψει εἰς εἰρήνην σοι	τίς φείσεται ἐπὶ σοί, ῾Ιερουσαλήμ; καὶ τίς δειλιάσει ἐπὶ σοί; ἢ τίς ἀνακάμψει εἰς εἰρήνην σοι
Jeremiah 15:5 (NETS)	Jeremiah 15:5 (English Elpenor)
Who will be sparing over you, O Ierousalem, and who will be indread over you, or who will double back for peace for you?	Who will spare thee, O Jerusalem? and who will fear for thee? or who will turn back [to] [ask] for thy welfare?

Jeremiah 15:6 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 15:6 (KJV)	Jeremiah 15:6 (NET)
Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.	Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.	I, the Lord, say: ‘You people have deserted me! You keep turning your back on me.’ So I have unleashed my power against you and have begun to destroy you. I have grown tired of feeling sorry for you!”

Jeremiah 15:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 15:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
σὺ ἀπεστράφης με λέγει κύριος ὀπίσω πορεύσῃ καὶ ἐκτενῶ τὴν χεῗρά μου καὶ διαφθερῶ σε καὶ οὐκέτι ἀνήσω αὐτούς	σὺ ἀπεστράφης με, λέγει Κύριος, ὀπίσω πορεύσῃ, καὶ ἐκτενῶ τὴν χεῖρά μου καὶ διαφθερῶ σε, καὶ οὐκέτι ἀνήσω αὐτούς
Jeremiah 15:6 (NETS)	Jeremiah 15:6 (English Elpenor)
It is you that have turned away from me, says the Lord; you will go backward, and I will stretch out my hand and destroy you, and I will let them off no more.	Thou hast turned away from me, saith the Lord, thou wilt go back: therefore I will stretch out my hand, and will destroy thee, and will no more spare them.

John 5:19 (NET)	John 5:19 (KJV)
So Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.	Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ἀπεκρίνατο οὖν \|ὁ Ἰησοῦς\| καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐ δύναται ὁ υἱὸς ποιεῖν ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ οὐδὲν ἐὰν μή τι βλέπῃ τὸν πατέρα ποιοῦντα· ἃ γὰρ ἂν ἐκεῖνος ποιῇ, ταῦτα καὶ ὁ υἱὸς ὁμοίως ποιεῖ	απεκρινατο ουν ο ιησους και ειπεν αυτοις αμην αμην λεγω υμιν ου δυναται ο υιος ποιειν αφ εαυτου ουδεν εαν μη τι βλεπη τον πατερα ποιουντα α γαρ αν εκεινος ποιη ταυτα και ο υιος ομοιως ποιει	απεκρινατο ουν ο ιησους και ειπεν αυτοις αμην αμην λεγω υμιν ου δυναται ο υιος ποιειν αφ εαυτου ουδεν εαν μη τι βλεπη τον πατερα ποιουντα α γαρ αν εκεινος ποιη ταυτα και ο υιος ομοιως ποιει

John 5:23 (NET)	John 5:23 (KJV)
so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.	That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἵνα πάντες τιμῶσι τὸν υἱὸν καθὼς τιμῶσι τὸν πατέρα. ὁ μὴ τιμῶν τὸν υἱὸν οὐ τιμᾷ τὸν πατέρα τὸν πέμψαντα αὐτόν	ινα παντες τιμωσιν τον υιον καθως τιμωσιν τον πατερα ο μη τιμων τον υιον ου τιμα τον πατερα τον πεμψαντα αυτον	ινα παντες τιμωσιν τον υιον καθως τιμωσιν τον πατερα ο μη τιμων τον υιον ου τιμα τον πατερα τον πεμψαντα αυτον

Luke 12:4 (NET)	Luke 12:4 (KJV)
I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do.	And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν τοῖς φίλοις μου, μὴ φοβηθῆτε ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποκτεινόντων τὸ σῶμα καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα μὴ ἐχόντων περισσότερον τι ποιῆσαι	λεγω δε υμιν τοις φιλοις μου μη φοβηθητε απο των αποκτεινοντων το σωμα και μετα ταυτα μη εχοντων περισσοτερον τι ποιησαι	λεγω δε υμιν τοις φιλοις μου μη φοβηθητε απο των αποκτενοντων το σωμα και μετα ταυτα μη εχοντων περισσοτερον τι ποιησαι

Luke 12:33 (NET)	Luke 12:33 (KJV)
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out – a treasure in heaven that never decreases, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.	Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Πωλήσατε τὰ ὑπάρχοντα ὑμῶν καὶ δότε ἐλεημοσύνην· ποιήσατε ἑαυτοῖς βαλλάντια μὴ παλαιούμενα, θησαυρὸν ἀνέκλειπτον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ὅπου κλέπτης οὐκ ἐγγίζει οὐδὲ σὴς διαφθείρει	πωλησατε τα υπαρχοντα υμων και δοτε ελεημοσυνην ποιησατε εαυτοις βαλαντια μη παλαιουμενα θησαυρον ανεκλειπτον εν τοις ουρανοις οπου κλεπτης ουκ εγγιζει ουδε σης διαφθειρει	πωλησατε τα υπαρχοντα υμων και δοτε ελεημοσυνην ποιησατε εαυτοις βαλαντια μη παλαιουμενα θησαυρον ανεκλειπτον εν τοις ουρανοις οπου κλεπτης ουκ εγγιζει ουδε σης διαφθειρει

Hebrews 8:2 (NET)	Hebrews 8:2 (KJV)
a minister in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up.	A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
τῶν ἁγίων λειτουργὸς καὶ τῆς σκηνῆς τῆς ἀληθινῆς, ἣν ἔπηξεν ὁ κύριος, οὐκ ἄνθρωπος	των αγιων λειτουργος και της σκηνης της αληθινης ην επηξεν ο κυριος και ουκ ανθρωπος	των αγιων λειτουργος και της σκηνης της αληθινης ην επηξεν ο κυριος και ουκ ανθρωπος

Hannah’s Prayer, Part 5

Back to Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 14

Back to A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 5

Back to The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 2

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 3

Back to The Will of God – Jesus, Part 1

Back to The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 7

Back to Adultery in the Prophets, Part 2

Back to Christianity, Part 4

Back to Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 10

^[1] 1 Samuel 2:8b (Tanakh) Table

^[2] 1 Samuel 2:8a (Tanakh)

^[3] Luke 1:32, 33 (NET) Table

^[4] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς (untranslated in the NET) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και ειπεν αυτοις (KJV: and said unto them).

^[5] The NET parallel Greek text had τιμῶσι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA²⁸ had τιμωσιν (KJV: honour).

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

^[7] The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had ἀποκτεινόντων here, where the Byzantine Majority Text had αποκτενοντων.

^[8] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had βαλλάντια here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had βαλαντια (KJV: bags).

^[9] John 3:16 (NET) Table

^[10] Jeremiah 3:16b, 17 (Tanakh)

^[11] “And her whoredom (πορνεία) came to nothing, and she committed adultery (ἐμοίχευσεν) with tree and stone” (Table18 above).

^[12] Jeremiah 14:21, 22 (Tanakh)

^[13] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: and) preceding not. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[14] Hebrews 8:1b, 2 (NET)

My Reasons and My Reason, Part 5

Posted on October 18, 2014 by admin

Late that summer before we began our senior years of high school, I asked B if she wanted to have sex for real. “I think you already know the answer to that,” she said. Actually, I didn’t. That’s why I asked. But I took her evasion for a negative answer. When I asked C to the first football game of the season, I imagine that B felt rejected for her refusal. But I had been biding my time all summer, waiting for the seniors who buzzed around C to leave for college. I didn’t have the connection with B, that sense of loyalty and commitment, I had experienced with A.

A week or so after that football game C and I had sex for real for the first time, for both of us. Everything began to change for me. I didn’t think so concretely at the time, but if someone had tried to communicate the fruit of the Spirit to me then, I would have argued that sex with C was my source of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and, after I failed to inaugurate my water brothers scheme, faithfulness and self-control. I had my parents’ example.

They could barely tolerate one another. I might have suspected, since I existed, that sex lacked the staying power I thought, and hoped for, at the time. I reasoned instead that my parents didn’t do it right, and suspected that their religion inhibited and prohibited them from doing it right. Now, I believe that the forbidden fruit was a forbidden fruit, that Adam enjoyed a blessed wedding night and a wonderful afterglow that first Sabbath with his beautiful naked wife (Proverbs 5:18, 19 NET).

May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in your young wife –a loving doe, a graceful deer; may her breasts satisfy you at all times, may you be captivated by her love always.

But at seventeen it was all too easy to assume that forbidden fruit was a religious euphemism for sex. I didn’t recognize that new-found faithfulness and self-control as something alien to me, as something quite contrary to my own will in fact. I assumed that I had changed my mind. It was My love for C, after all, that filled me with joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, even faithfulness and self-control. Isn’t that what we mean and expect of someone who loves us? He/She is filled with joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and even self-control (as it pertains to another) in our presence? And aches for the want of these things in our absence?

It wasn’t long before C and I discovered a mutual attraction for spanking and whipping (though I had more affinity for dominant-submissive role-play than she did). It became a routine part of our foreplay. Yes, I was spanked as a child. No, she was not. But I’m not interested in psychological explanations. What interests me is the wrath of God…revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness.^[1]

Clearly, I did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but [I] became futile in [my] thoughts and [my] senseless [heart was] darkened. Although [I] claimed to be wise, [I] became [a fool] and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings…^[2]

I didn’t know that Jesus was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.^[3] I didn’t know that Jesus was fully God.^[4] I had wondered about John’s mysterious Word, thrilled to the sound of the words that sang its praises, but hadn’t connected that Word with Jesus.

Jesus was the Son of God, less than God by definition, I thought. I believed in Jesus as a child but later (about twelve or thirteen) I put childish things away and prayed to God the Father, the true God, instead. Jesus was the bait; God the Father was the switch.^[5] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,^[6] sounded wonderful in the sales pitch. When I learned that faith wasn’t enough, that I had to live as a child of God, the deal changed dramatically: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.^[7] And Jesus being found in fashion as a man, was the image of the good son: he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.^[8] But at the critical moment when Jesus was most obedient to God the Father’s will, God the Father abandoned Him because, Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity…^{^[9]} Or, as another story goes, rather than abandoning Jesus on the cross God the Father hurled even more secret punishments at Him, because his death alone was not sufficient to atone for sins.

I feel bad about the previous paragraph, and can’t continue without correcting it. Though the Scriptures are true, my tone was all off. The surprise when Jesus appeared on earth as a man born of a virgin was not that Yahweh had a Son, but that He had a Father: Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham came into existence, I am!”^[10] For this is the way God [the Father] loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.^[11] He gave Him in the garden of Eden, and in the burning bush, and on Mount Sinai, and at Bethlehem and on Golgotha. No one [not Adam, not Eve, not Moses] has ever seen God [the Father]. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God [the Father] known.^[12]

When Philip said to Jesus, Lord, show us the Father, and we will be content,^[13] Jesus said: Have I been with you for so long, and you have not known me, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father! How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father residing in me performs his miraculous deeds.^[14] To imagine secret punishments (and one must imagine them since they are not revealed in Scripture) which God the Father hurled at Jesus on the cross, is to misunderstand his salvation (Colossians 1:13-20 NET):

He [God the Father] delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. For God [the Father] was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

The reason Jesus’ death on a cross makes any peace or atonement is that God the Father is pleased to accept it as such. Human attempts to rationalize his salvation are rationalizations by definition. And in context Habakkuk had whined that Yahweh/Son/Jesus was too longsuffering (Habakkuk 1:13 NET):

You are too just to tolerate evil; you are unable to condone wrongdoing. So why do you put up with such treacherous people? Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour those more righteous than they are?

The point here is that He was putting up with such treacherous people. It is not particularly prudent then to turn it around and use poetic language—Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity—to make a rule forbidding God the Father from drawing near to, or compelling Him to turn away from, God the Son at the moment He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God,^[15] when Scripture states otherwise (Psalm 22:21b-24 NET):

You have answered me! I will declare your name to my countrymen! In the middle of the assembly I will praise you! You loyal followers of the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him! For he did not despise or detest the suffering of the oppressed; he did not ignore him; when he cried out to him, he responded.

This is the very Psalm Jesus quoted from the cross, when he cried out in Aramaic, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”^[16] Psalm 22 is a heartrendingly accurate prophecy of the death of Yahweh the Son of God from his own point of view. Whether one believes that it was a psalm of David or not, it was clearly part of the Scripture translated into Greek in the Septuagint a couple of centuries before Jesus died in Jerusalem. It is fitting that He, who lived by every word that comes from the mouth of God,^[17] died with that word in his heart and mind as well.

But even years later after I returned to faith, I strove with every Zen particle of my being to let patience have her perfect work, that [I] may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.^[18] When I read my sister’s annotated Shakespeare and realized for the first time that, “Wherefore art thou Romeo,” means, “why is your name Montague,” I got my first Bible translated in my own tongue. I was shocked to learn that wanting nothing meant lacking in nothing (James 1:4 NASB):

And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The King James translation had made sense to me. Nothing angered my father more than my wanting something from him. I assumed that God the Father was the same. Wanting nothing was difficult but possible to achieve, I thought. But lacking in nothing? How could I achieve that through some form of meditation or patience or endurance? It was crazy stuff.

I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man—the Holy One among you.^[19] I didn’t believe it at first. I thought it was some evil introduced into a modern translation. So I checked the Bible, you know, the King James version: I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee:^[20]

In my mind to carry out fierce anger was the essence of God the Father, the Lord Jehovah. How could He turn it around and blame it on man? How did He dare try to distinguish God, the Holy One among you, from man with a statement like, I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again? It was nuts.

So, I was guilty. I had a man-made image of God in my mind, one much more like a man—my father^[21]—than like God revealed in Scripture. And I endeavored to worship that image, even after I prayed, if You are there I want to know You. Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves.^[22] I have connected this to, Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin a person commits is outside of the body” – but the immoral person sins against his own body.^[23] So, I have considered unfaithfulness to a spouse to be the impurity to which God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves.

In an absolute sense taking up with C may have been a matter of infidelity to B or A, but in dynamic terms I was returning to a belief in faithfulness to one woman. Now, I credit that to the Holy Spirit trying mightily to get through to me. At the time I thought it was my doing. After C and before my first wife (or, second, depending on your willingness to receive the law) there were other women, not enough to brag about, just enough to be ashamed of. Two of those women were married. The first was separated from her husband. The second was living with her husband, but I was beyond caring. If this was God’s wrath revealed from heaven I can easily attest to its justice, for I recall it as a time of profound loneliness, a loneliness I have not experienced since though I have mostly been alone (without a wife).

I’ll pick this up again in the next essay.

My Reasons and My Reason, Part 6

Back to Sexual Immorality Revisited, Part 3

Back to Who Am I? Part 7

Back to Romans, Part 90

Back to Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Part 1

Back to Who Am I? Part 10

Back to Psalm 22, Part 3

Back to Christianity, Part 13

^[1] Romans 1:18 (NET)

^[2] Romans 1:21-23 (NET)

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

^[4] John 1:1 (NET)

^[5] bait-and-switch

^[6] John 3:16 (KJV)

^[7] Hebrews 12:6 (KJV)

^[8] Philippians 2:8 (KJV)

^[9] Habakkuk 1:13a (KJV)

^[10] John 8:58 (NET)

^[11] John 3:16 (NET)

^[12] John 1:18 (NET)

^[13] John 14:8 (NET)

^[14] John 14:9, 10 (NET)

^[15] 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NET)

^[16] Mark 15:34; Psalm 22:1 (NET)

^[17] Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3 (NET)

^[18] James 1:4 (KJV)

^[19] Hosea 11:9 (NIV)

^[20] Hosea 11:9 (KJV)

^[21] Though to be fair, my father had serious reservations about, and had stopped attending, the church where I became an atheist, and to which I returned after I returned to faith.

^[22] Romans 1:24 (NET) Table

^[23] 1 Corinthians 6:18 (NET)

Son of God – John, Part 1

Posted on February 12, 2013 by admin

The first time the phrase Son of God (υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ) occurs in John’s Gospel account is in the story when Nathaniel first met Jesus (John 1:47-49 NET).

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel!”

Earlier Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”^[1] Nathaniel put his prejudice aside and did exactly that. But it says to me that he already had a preconceived notion that the one Moses and the prophets wrote about, the king of Israel, was also the Son of God. Even Jesus seemed a bit surprised at how easily Nathaniel believed: Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.^[2]

For this is the way God loved the world, the next time there is mention of God’s Son in John’s Gospel began, He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.^[3] I want to compare the King James Version (KJV), and the New American Standard Bible (NAS) with the New English Translation (NET).

	KJV	NAS	NET
3:16	For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.	“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.	For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

The first thing I noticed was that the KJV and NAS share the phrase only begotten Son (τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ^[4]) where the NET has one and only Son. The note in the NET explains: “Although this word is often translated ‘only begotten,’ such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clement 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant. 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means ‘one-of-a-kind’ and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God (τέκνα θεοῦ, tekna theou), Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).”

I am unclear what the term “metaphysical relationship” meant, so I want to repeat what Luke’s Gospel said about Jesus’ ‘one-of-a-kind’ relationship to his Father. When Mary Jesus’ mother was visited by the angel Gabriel and told of his birth, she asked, “How will this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon (ἐπελεύσεται, a form of ἐπέρχομαι)^[5] you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow (ἐπισκιάσει, a form of ἐπισκιάζω)^[6] you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God (υἱὸς θεοῦ).^[7]

While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, Matthew wrote, but before they came together (συνελθεῖν, a form of συνέρχομαι),^[8] she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately. When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived (γεννηθὲν, a form of γεννάω)^[9] in her is from the Holy Spirit.”^[10]

The next thing I noticed was that the KJV has no quotation marks. The translators proposed no theory of who was speaking in John 3:16-21. The NAS translators on the other hand used quotation marks to indicate their belief that Jesus was still speaking to Nicodemus. The NET translators ended Jesus’ quotation marks at verse 15, indicating their belief that John was speaking.

	KJV	NAS	NET
3:17	For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.	“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”	For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him.

Here I noticed that the KJV and NET have condemn where the NAS has judge for the Greek word κρίνῃ.^[11] For clarity I’ll work through the NET definitions of κρίνῃ. God did not send his Son into the world 1) to separate, put asunder, to pick out, select, or choose the world; God did not send his Son into the world 2) to approve, esteem, or to prefer the world; God did not send his Son into the world 3) to be of the world’s opinion, or to deem, or think like the world; God did not send his Son into the world 4) to determine, resolve, or decree the world; God did not send his Son into the world 5) to judge the world or 5a) to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong 5a1) or to summon the world to trial or 5b) to pronounce judgment upon, or to subject the world to censure or 5b1) to act the part of judge or arbiter in matters of common life, or pass judgment on the deeds and words of others; God did not send his Son into the world 6) to rule, or govern the world or 6a) to preside over it with the power of giving judicial decisions; God did not send his Son into the world 7) to contend together, as a warrior or combatant with the world; or 7a) to dispute with it or 7b1) have suit at law with the world.

Ordinarily I soar over this rugged terrain at about 30,000 feet. I already know what it means. I know most people die and go to hell. This was Jesus, or John, certainly the Holy Spirit, vindicating God of the destruction of so many souls: God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world. Let God be proven true, Paul wrote, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”^[12] But as I sit here now, a relativist, gazing up at this majestic rocky cliff face of absolute negation, I begin to wonder, “Is that all it means? Is it really just God saving face? What did God send his Son into the world to do?”

God sent his Son into the world that the world should be saved through him. Here I noticed that the KJV and NAS have might be where the NET had should be saved. The Greek is ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος δι᾿ αὐτοῦ: ἀλλ᾿ (but) ἵνα (that) σωθῇ (to save) ὁ (the) κόσμος (world) δι᾿ (through) αὐτοῦ (him). I know I’m no Greek scholar, but I don’t find any might be or should be in this text. Is one or the other of them really contained within the word ending? Is it a theological interpretation? Is it just to make the English flow better? I admit I don’t know, but I’m willing to keep on searching.

[Addendum: July 20, 2019] The Greek verb σωθῇ (should be saved) is in the subjunctive mood. According to the “Greek Verbs (Shorter Definitions)” at ntgreek.org: “The subjunctive mood indicates probability or objective possibility. The action of the verb will possibly happen, depending on certain objective factors or circumstances. It is oftentimes used in conditional statements (i.e. ‘If…then…’ clauses) or in purpose clauses. However if the subjunctive mood is used in a purpose or result clause, then the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.” How one translates σωθῇ here depends then on whether one considers it to be in a “result clause” or not.

Son of God – John, Part 2

Back to Son of God – John, Part 5

Back to A Door of Hope, Part 1

^[1] John 1:45, 46 (NET)

^[2] John 1:50 (NET)

^[3] John 3:16 (NET)

^[7] Luke 1:34, 35 (NET)

^[10] Matthew 1:18b-20 (NET) Table

^[12] Romans 3:4 (NET)

The Gospel and the Religious Mind

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

Tag Archives: John 3:16