Who Am I? Part 14

Posted on August 29, 2023 by admin

I came across a YouTube video recently: “5 Bible Passages That Caused Me to Lose My Faith” by Kristi Burke. It was short and to the point. Ms. Burke looked to be about my daughter’s age. My daughter won’t articulate her own deconstruction experience around me. She will only state her preference for the witchcraft/neopagan beliefs and community she espouses now. So, I clicked on the link.

It seems only fair to let Ms. Burke state her own purpose:

Hi, guys, welcome back to my channel, where we deconstruct all of the things we were taught not to question growing up in evangelical, fundamentalist, conservative christian churches.

We have similar backgrounds. But I can’t honestly say that I was “taught not to question.” Why didn’t I talk to anyone about what I was going through at the time?¹ I thought I already knew what they would say. Might I have been pleasantly surprised? I don’t know. I didn’t talk to anyone. But nothing is ever quite as simple as what I was taught “growing up in evangelical, fundamentalist, conservative christian churches.”

I had a home with parents and a brother and a sister. I went to school. I had friends (and enemies) at home, at school and at church. I played sports and had friends (and enemies) on various teams. And I knew more or less how to fit in in all of these different environments. The rub came sometime in what is now called my tween years, when I began to recognize that God didn’t create me to be a social chameleon, but one person made in his image in all of these different social environments.

I had a few years of experience by then (which felt like a lifetime at the time) of how adult advice didn’t often pan out when navigating all the different social environments they had placed me in. I “knew” I had to figure it out pretty much on my own. And about that time I also became more self-conscious of my own free will: “I want” (θέλω). What did I want in all of it?

Ms. Burke described her faith prior to encountering the “5 Bible Passages”:

I believed in a god who created all people, gave them free will and that he wanted all people to be saved but he couldn’t violate their free will to save them. And that it was the most loving thing he could do to give people freedom. And within that freedom they could either choose him and go to heaven or they could reject him and go to hell. And that would be entirely their choice.

This was essentially my belief except that Ms. Burke made no mention of Jesus or sin: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,² Paul wrote Timothy. I have not come to call the righteous, Jesus said, but sinners to repentance.³ Granted, Ms. Burke’s purpose was not to present a true or even a credible gospel but to “deconstruct all of the things we were taught not to question growing up in evangelical, fundamentalist, conservative christian churches.”

I’m coming fresh from reviewing the story of Eve and the serpent. Her free will led to an attempt to be like God by following the serpent’s advice. Could her free will have led her to reject the serpent’s advice once she saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasing for the eyes to look at and it was beautiful to contemplate?⁴ I don’t think so. All of that desire seems to have determined what she wanted and therefore shaped her free will.

What did Jesus say about his own free will?

Matthew 26:39 (NET) Table	John 10:17, 18 (NET)
Going a little farther, [Jesus] 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 (θέλω), but what you will.”	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 (ἐμαυτοῦ). 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.”

While I have no particular quarrel with translating ἀπ᾿ ἐμαυτοῦ of my own free will, I appreciate the precision of Scripture in Greek. Jesus did not use the verb θέλω here. His own will, what He wanted, was not to die a torturous death. And his ἐμαυτοῦ (NET: my own free will) was an authority (ἐξουσίαν, a form of ἐξουσία) received (ἔλαβον, a form of λαμβάνω) by commandment (ἐντολὴν, a form of ἐντολή) from God his Father.

The writer of Hebrews described Jesus’ purpose in the world (Hebrews 10:4-7 NET):

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. So when [Christ] came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.

Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in.

Then I said, ‘Here I am: I have come—it is written of me in the scroll of the book—to do your will (θέλημα), O God.’”

The Greek word θέλημα is the noun form of the verb θέλω. Those who believe that salvation is a choice made by a sinner’s free will tend to make the Gospel something that they think might appeal to a sinner’s free will: going to heaven rather than to hell, heaven being a euphemism here for not-hell. The pitch relies on the implication that heaven is where one gets what one wants (i.e., one’s own free will).

Jesus taught us to pray (Matthew 5:10 NET):

…may your kingdom come, may your will (θέλημα σου) be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The implication here is that God’s will is done in heaven. How much would a sinner striving faithfully to pursue a sinner’s free will care for Jesus’ heaven? Jesus said to Nicodemus (John 3:3 NET):

I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God [Table].

The Greek word translated see was ἰδεῖν (a form of εἴδω). It was the same root word Nicodemus used when he said (John 3:2 NET):

Rabbi, we know (οἴδαμεν, another form of εἴδω) that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him [Table].

In other words, Jesus didn’t threaten Nicodemus with eternal damnation, but commended his partial insight. It helps one to understand why He was so surprised that Nicodemus didn’t actually understand one of these earthly things (John 3:6, 7 NET).

What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’

Not all free will (θέλω) is born of the flesh. Jesus said (John 15:7 NET):

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want (θέλητε, another form of θέλω), and it will be done for you [Table].

Here, I would assume that as you remain in Jesus and his words remain in you, whatever you want is born of the Spirit. The Greek words translated whatever were ὃ ἐὰν. So how did Jesus’ Gospel presentation differ (Matthew 11:28-30 NET)?

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn from me because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls [Table]. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.

It doesn’t really matter if people are weary (κοπιῶντες, a form of κοπιάω) and burdened (πεφορτισμένοι, a form of φορτίζω) by their lives lived in sin—foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to various passions and desires, spending [their] lives in evil and envy, hateful and hating one another⁵—or from their attempts to make themselves righteous by obeying rules. While the invitation is sincere, Jesus also said (John 6:44, 45 NET):

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day [Table]. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me [Table].

These are not as contradictory as they seem in English. The Greek word translated come in the phrase come to me was the adverb δεῦτε, and in the phrase no one can come to me it was the verb ἐλθεῖν (a form of ἔρχομαι). Anyone who believes that salvation is the result of a sinner’s free will is unlikely to believe that they will all be taught by God effectually, but Jesus also said (John 12:31, 32 NET):

Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.

Disbelieving Him adversely impacts one’s knowledge of God, but doesn’t change his mind, no matter how many people refuse to take Him at his word: Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar,⁶ Paul wrote in response to his own rhetorical question: If some were unfaithful, their unfaithfulness will not nullify God’s faithfulness, will it?⁷

With that as background I’ll turn to Ms. Burke’s first Bible passage: “Romans 9, which was the starting point of my deconstruction journey,”⁸ she said. Though she began in verse 16, I’ll start at the beginning of the chapter to gain some context (Romans 9:1-6a NET):

I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me in the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed—cut off from Christ—for the sake of my people, my fellow countrymen [Table], who are Israelites. To them belong the adoption as sons, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, by human descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever! Amen.

It is not as though the word of God had failed.

Here was the perfect opportunity for Paul to explain how God “gave them free will and that he wanted all people to be saved but he couldn’t violate their free will to save them. And that it was the most loving thing he could do to give people freedom. And within that freedom they could either choose him and go to heaven or they could reject him and go to hell. And that would be entirely their choice.”⁹

Instead, Paul wrote (Romans 9:6b, 7 NET):

For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel, nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants; rather “through Isaac will your descendants be counted” [See Greek Table Comparison].

What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit, Jesus said. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’¹⁰ And Paul began here to explain the implications of that difference, contrasting the children of the flesh to the children of God or the children of promise (Romans 9:8-13 NET).

This means it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants. For this is what the promise declared: “About a year from now I will return and Sarah will have a son.” Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our ancestor Isaac—even before they were born or had done anything good or bad¹¹ (so that God’s purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling)—it was said¹² to her, “The older will serve the younger,” just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Those who believe salvation is a choice of a sinner’s free will would be content it seems to let those for whom Paul had great sorrow and unceasing anguish in [his] heart¹³ hear Jesus say: Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!¹⁴ It was, after all, their choice, wasn’t it?

There is no commandment of God granting any authority to sinners to come to Jesus of their own free will, according to Jesus: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.¹⁵ The “most loving thing he could do” is not “to give people freedom”¹⁶ to destroy themselves forever. For who are the children of promise that God’s purpose in election would stand, according to Jesus? And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.¹⁷

According to a note (5) in the NET Hebrews 10:5b-7 was a quotation from Psalm 40:6-8. A table follows comparing the Greek of Hebrews 10:5b-7 to that of the Septuagint.

Hebrews 10:5b, 6 (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 40:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 39:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας, σῶμα δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ εὐδόκησας	θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας ὠτία δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ᾔτησας	θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας, σῶμα δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι· ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ἐζήτησας
Hebrews 10:5b, 6 (NET)	Psalm 39:7 (NETS)	Psalm 39:7 (English Elpenor)
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me. Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in.	Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but ears you fashioned for me. Whole burnt offering and one for sin you did not request.	Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not; but a body hast thou prepared me: whole-burnt-offering and [sacrifice] for sin thou didst not require.
Hebrews 10:7 (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 40:7, 8a (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 39:8, 9a (Septuagint Elpenor)
τότε εἶπον· ἰδοὺ ἥκω, ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ, τοῦ ποιῆσαι ὁ θεὸς τὸ θέλημα σου	τότε εἶπον ἰδοὺ ἥκω ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου ὁ θεός μου ἐβουλήθην	τότε εἶπον· ἰδοὺ ἥκω, ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου, ὁ Θεός μου, ἐβουλήθην
Hebrews 10:7 (NET)	Psalm 39:8, 9a (NETS)	Psalm 39:8, 9a (English Elpenor)
Then I said, ‘Here I am: I have come—it is written of me in the scroll of the book—to do your will, O God.’”	Then I said, “Look, I have come; in a scroll of a book it is written of me. To do your will, O my God, I desired —	Then I said, Behold, I come: in the volume of the book it is written concerning me, I desired to do thy will, O my God,

I’m becoming more convinced that the Holy Spirit corrected the false pen of the scribes through the writer of Hebrews.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Jeremiah 8:8 (Tanakh/KJV)	Jeremiah 8:8 (NET)	Jeremiah 8:8 (NETS)	Jeremiah 8:8 (English Elpenor)
How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen (עֵ֖ט) of the scribes is in vain (שֶׁ֥קֶר).	How can you say, “We are wise! We have the law of the Lord”? The truth is, those who teach it have used their writings to make it say what it does not really mean [Note 24: The lying (šeqer, שקר) pen (ʿēṭ, עט) of the scribes has made (it) into a lie].	How will you say, “We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us?” A false pen (σχοῖνος ψευδὴς) has become of no use to scribes.	How will ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? In vain have the scribes used a false pen (σχοῖνος ψευδὴς).

According to a note (21) in the NET Romans 9:9b was a quotation from Genesis 18:10 and 14. Two tables follow comparing the Greek of Paul’s quotation to that of the Septuagint.

Romans 9:9b (NET Parallel Greek)	Genesis 18:10b (Septuagint BLB) Table	Genesis 18:10b (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἐλεύσομαι καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σάρρᾳ υἱός	κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον εἰς ὥρας καὶ ἕξει υἱὸν Σαρρα ἡ γυνή σου	κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον εἰς ὥρας, καὶ ἕξει υἱὸν Σάρρα ἡ γυνή σου
Romans 9:9b (NET)	Genesis 18:10b (NETS)	Genesis 18:10b (English Elpenor)
About a year from now I will return and Sarah will have a son.	I will come to you, when I return, during this season next year, and Sarra your wife shall have a son.	I will return and come to thee according to this period seasonably, and Sarrha thy wife shall have a son

Romans 9:9b (NET Parallel Greek)	Genesis 18:14b (Septuagint BLB) Table	Genesis 18:14b (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἐλεύσομαι καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σάρρᾳ υἱός	εἰς τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἀναστρέψω πρὸς σὲ εἰς ὥρας καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σαρρα υἱός	εἰς τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἀναστρέψω πρὸς σὲ εἰς ὥρας· καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σάρρᾳ υἱός
Romans 9:9b (NET)	Genesis 18:14b (NETS)	Genesis 18:14b (English Elpenor)
About a year from now I will return and Sarah will have a son.	In this season I will come back to you next year, and Sarra shall have a son.	I will return and come to thee according to this period seasonably, and Sarrha thy wife shall have a son

According to a note (27) in the NET Romans 9:12b was a quotation from Genesis 25:23. A table follows comparing the Greek of Paul’s quotation to that of the Septuagint.

Romans 9:12b (NET Parallel Greek)	Genesis 25:23b (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 25:23b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι	ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι	ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι
Romans 9:12b (NET)	Genesis 25:23b (NETS)	Genesis 25:23b (English Elpenor)
The older will serve the younger	the greater shall be subject to the lesser.	the elder shall serve the younger.

According to a note (28) in the NET Romans 9:13b was a quotation from Malachi 1:2, 3. A table follows comparing the Greek of Paul’s quotation to that of the Septuagint.

Romans 9:13b (NET Parallel Greek)	Malachi 1:2b, 3a (Septuagint BLB)	Malachi 1:2b, 3a (Septuagint Elpenor)
τὸν Ἰακὼβ ἠγάπησα, τὸν δὲ Ἠσαῦ ἐμίσησα	ἠγάπησα τὸν Ιακωβ τὸν δὲ Ησαυ ἐμίσησα	ἠγάπησα τόν ᾿Ιακώβ, τὸν δὲ ῾Ησαῦ ἐμίσησα
Romans 9:13b (NET)	Malachi 1:2b, 3a (NETS)	Malachi 1:2b, 3a (English Elpenor)
Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.	I loved Iakob, but I hated Esau	I loved Jacob, and hated Esau

Tables comparing Psalm 40:6; 40:7; 40:8; Jeremiah 8:8; Genesis 25:23; Malachi 1:2 and 1:3 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Psalm 40:6 (39:7); 40:7 (39:8); 40:8 (39:9); Jeremiah 8:8; Genesis 25:23; Malachi 1:2 and 1:3 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek, and a table comparing the Greek of Romans 9:11, 12 the NET and KJV follow.

Psalm 40:6 (Tanakh)	Psalm 40:6 (KJV)	Psalm 40:6 (NET)
Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.	Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.	Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. You make that quite clear to me. You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.

Psalm 40:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 39:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας ὠτία δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ᾔτησας	θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας, σῶμα δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι· ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ἐζήτησας
Psalm 39:7 (NETS)	Psalm 39:7 (English Elpenor)
Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but ears you fashioned for me. Whole burnt offering and one for sin you did not request.	Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not; but a body hast thou prepared me: whole-burnt-offering and [sacrifice] for sin thou didst not require.

Psalm 40:7 (Tanakh)	Psalm 40:7 (KJV)	Psalm 40:7 (NET)
Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,	Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,	Then I say, “Look, I come! What is written in the scroll pertains to me.

Psalm 40:7 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 39:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τότε εἶπον ἰδοὺ ἥκω ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ	τότε εἶπον· ἰδοὺ ἥκω, ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ
Psalm 39:8 (NETS)	Psalm 39:8 (English Elpenor)
Then I said, “Look, I have come; in a scroll of a book it is written of me.	Then I said, Behold, I come: in the volume of the book it is written concerning me,

Psalm 40:8 (Tanakh)	Psalm 40:8 (KJV)	Psalm 40:8 (NET)
I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.	I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.	I want to do what pleases you, my God. Your law dominates my thoughts.”

Psalm 40:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 39:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου ὁ θεός μου ἐβουλήθην καὶ τὸν νόμον σου ἐν μέσῳ τῆς κοιλίας μου	τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου, ὁ Θεός μου, ἐβουλήθην καὶ τὸν νόμον σου ἐν μέσῳ τῆς κοιλίας μου
Psalm 39:9 (NETS)	Psalm 39:9 (English Elpenor)
To do your will, O my God, I desired—and your law, within my belly.”	I desired to do thy will, O my God, and thy law in the midst of mine heart.

Jeremiah 8:8 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 8:8 (KJV)	Jeremiah 8:8 (NET)
How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.	How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.	How can you say, “We are wise! We have the law of the Lord”? The truth is, those who teach it have used their writings to make it say what it does not really mean.

Jeremiah 8:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 8:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πῶς ἐρεῖτε ὅτι σοφοί ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς καὶ νόμος κυρίου ἐστὶν μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν εἰς μάτην ἐγενήθη σχοῖνος ψευδὴς γραμματεῦσιν	πῶς ἐρεῖτε· ὅτι σοφοί ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς, καὶ νόμος Κυρίου μεθ’ ἡμῶν ἐστιν; εἰς μάτην ἐγενήθη σχοῖνος ψευδὴς γραμματεῦσιν
Jeremiah 8:8 (NETS)	Jeremiah 8:8 (English Elpenor)
How will you say, “We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us?” A false pen has become of no use to scribes.	How will ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? In vain have the scribes used a false pen.

Genesis 25:23 (Tanakh)	Genesis 25:23 (KJV)	Genesis 25:23 (NET)
And HaShem said unto her: Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.	And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.	and the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from within you. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”

Genesis 25:23 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 25:23 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος αὐτῇ δύο ἔθνη ἐν τῇ γαστρί σού εἰσιν καὶ δύο λαοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας σου διασταλήσονται καὶ λαὸς λαοῦ ὑπερέξει καὶ ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι	καὶ εἶπε Κύριος αὐτῇ· δύο ἔθνη ἐν γαστρί σου εἰσί, καὶ δύο λαοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας σου διασταλήσονται· καὶ λαὸς λαοῦ ὑπερέξει, καὶ ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι
Genesis 25:23 (NETS)	Genesis 25:23 (English Elpenor)
and the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from your uterus shall be divided, and a people shall excel over a people, and the greater shall be subject to the lesser.”	And the Lord said to her, There are two nations in thy womb, and two peoples shall be separated from thy belly, and one people shall excel the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.

Malachi 1:2 (Tanakh)

Malachi 1:2 (KJV)

Malachi 1:2 (NET)

I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,

“I have shown love to you,” says the Lord, but you say, “How have you shown love to us?”

“Esau was Jacob’s brother,” the Lord explains, “yet I chose Jacob

Malachi 1:2 (Septuagint BLB)	Malachi 1:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς λέγει κύριος καὶ εἴπατε ἐν τίνι ἠγάπησας ἡμᾶς οὐκ ἀδελφὸς ἦν Ησαυ τοῦ Ιακωβ λέγει κύριος καὶ ἠγάπησα τὸν Ιακωβ	᾿Ηγάπησα ὑμᾶς, λέγει Κύριος. καὶ εἴπατε· ἐν τίνι ἠγάπησας ἡμᾶς; οὐκ ἀδελφὸς ἦν ῾Ησαῦ τοῦ ᾿Ιακώβ; λέγει Κύριος, καὶ ἠγάπησα τόν ᾿Ιακώβ
Malachi 1:2 (NETS)	Malachi 1:2 (English Elpenor)
I loved you, says the Lord. And you said, “How did you love us?” Was not Esau Iakob’s brother? says the Lord. And I loved Iakob,	I have loved you, saith the Lord. And ye said, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob,

Malachi 1:3 (Tanakh)	Malachi 1:3 (KJV)	Malachi 1:3 (NET)
And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.	And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.	and rejected Esau. I turned Esau’s mountains into a deserted wasteland and gave his territory to the wild jackals.”

Malachi 1:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Malachi 1:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τὸν δὲ Ησαυ ἐμίσησα καὶ ἔταξα τὰ ὅρια αὐτοῦ εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καὶ τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ εἰς δόματα ἐρήμου	τὸν δὲ ῾Ησαῦ ἐμίσησα καὶ ἔταξα τὰ ὅρια αὐτοῦ εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καὶ τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ εἰς δώματα ἐρήμου
Malachi 1:3 (NETS)	Malachi 1:3 (English Elpenor)
but I hated Esau, and I made his mountains an annihilation and his heritage gifts of the wilderness.	and hated Esau and laid waste his borders, and made his heritage as dwellings of the wilderness?

Romans 9:11, 12 (NET)	Romans 9:11, 12 (KJV)
even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling)—	(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

Romans 9:11, 12a (NET Parallel Greek)	Romans 9:11 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Romans 9:11 (Byzantine Majority Text)
μήπω γὰρ γεννηθέντων μηδὲ πραξάντων τι ἀγαθὸν ἢ φαῦλον (ἵνα ἡ κατ᾿ ἐκλογὴν πρόθεσις τοῦ θεοῦ μένῃ (12a) οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦντος)	μηπω γαρ γεννηθεντων μηδε πραξαντων τι αγαθον η κακον ινα η κατ εκλογην του θεου προθεσις μενη ουκ εξ εργων αλλ εκ του καλουντος	μηπω γαρ γεννηθεντων μηδε πραξαντων τι αγαθον η κακον ινα η κατ εκλογην προθεσις του θεου μενη ουκ εξ εργων αλλ εκ του καλουντος

it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,”

It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

Romans 9:12b (NET Parallel Greek)	Romans 9:12 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Romans 9:12 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἐρρέθη αὐτῇ ὅτι ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι	ερρηθη αυτη οτι ο μειζων δουλευσει τω ελασσονι	ερρηθη αυτη οτι ο μειζων δουλευσει τω ελασσονι

Who Am I? Part 15

Back to Who Am I? Part 16

Back to Who Am I? Part 17

¹ Who Am I? Part 3; Torture, Part 4

² 1 Timothy 1:15b (NET)

³ Luke 5:32 (NET)

⁴ Genesis 3:6a (NETS) Table

⁵ Titus 3:3 (NET)

⁶ Romans 3:4b (NET) Table

⁷ Romans 3:3 (NET)

⁸ “5 Bible Passages That Caused Me to Lose My Faith,” Kristi Burke

⁹ Ibid.

¹⁰ John 3:6, 7 (NET)

¹¹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had φαῦλον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had κακον (KJV: evil).

¹² The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐρρέθη here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ερρηθη.

¹³ Romans 9:2 (NET)

¹⁴ Matthew 25:41b (NET)

¹⁵ John 6:44a (NET) Table

¹⁶ “5 Bible Passages That Caused Me to Lose My Faith,” Kristi Burke

¹⁷ John 12:32 (NET)

Nothing True, Part 1

Posted on March 17, 2023 by admin

The book of Job continues with a visitation by three friends. Job’s friends bring provocation rather than comfort, angering the Lord (Job 42:7, 8 NET):

After the Lord had spoken these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My anger is stirred up against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has [Table]. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will intercede for you, and I will respect him, so that I do not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.”

The Septuagint seems more expansive in its criticism of Job’s friends’ words than the Masoretic text.

Job 42:7, 8 (NETS)	Job 42:7, 8 (English Elpenor)
Now it happened after the Lord spoke all these words to Iob, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Thaimanite, “You have sinned, and your two friends, for you have spoken nothing true (ἀληθὲς οὐδὲν) in my presence, as has my attendant Iob.	And it came to pass after the Lord had spoken all these words to Job, [that] the Lord said to Eliphaz the Thaemanite, Thou hast sinned, and thy two friends: for ye have not said anything true (ἀληθὲς οὐδὲν) before me, as my servant Job [has].
Now then, take seven calves and seven rams, and go to my attendant Iob, and he will make offerings for you, and Iob, my attendant, will pray for you, [because only his face will I accept] for, if not for him, I would have destroyed you; for what you spoke against my attendant Job is not true (ἀληθὲς).”	Now then take seven bullocks, and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and he shall offer a burnt-offering for you. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will only accept him: for but his sake, I would have destroyed you, for ye have not spoken the truth (ἀληθὲς) against my servant Job.

Apparently it is neither novel nor curious to translate נכונה (kûn), the thing that is right (Tanakh, KJV) or what is right (NET), ἀληθὲς in the Septuagint. The first occurrence in Genesis follows:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 41:32 (Tanakh) Table	Genesis 41:32 (NET)	Genesis 41:32 (NETS) Table	Genesis 41:32 (English Elpenor)
And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is established (נָכ֤וֹן) by G-d, and G-d will shortly bring it to pass.	The dream was repeated to Pharaoh because the matter has been decreed (kûn, נכון) by God, and God will make it happen soon.	And as for Pharao’s dream being repeated twice: because the matter that is from God will be real (ἀληθὲς ἔσται), and God will hasten to do it.	And concerning the repetition of the dream to Pharao twice, [it is] because the saying which is from God shall be true (ἀληθὲς ἔσται), and God will hasten to accomplish it.

The Hebrew word אלי (‘ēl) was translated of me (Tanakh, KJV) and about me (NET) in both Job 42:7 and 8. The rabbis who translated the Septuagint understood it as ἐνώπιόν μου, in my presence (NETS) and before me (English Elpenor), in verse 7, and κατὰ , against, in verse 8, if אלי (‘ēl) was the word they found in the Hebrew text they translated. Actually, the entire final clause is identical in the Hebrew of the Masoretic text.

The essentially Greek nature of the philosophical bent of my mind hears of me (Tanakh, KJV) and about me (NET) as a limitation of the Lord’s criticism specifically to what Job’s friends’ spoke about the Lord. Rather than assuming that the entire final clause of both verses 7 and 8 was altered by the Masoretes after the Septuagint was translated, perhaps I should understand that the rabbis foreknew the error of the essentially Greek nature of the philosophical bent of my mind.

Perhaps they have explained to me that אלי (‘ēl) does not limit the Lord’s criticism. On the contrary, since from him and through him and to him are all things,¹ Job’s friends have not said anything true (English Elpenor), and since Job was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil,² everything they said was against Job: The one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is understood by no one.³

Despite knowing the end and the beginning of the book of Job, when I’ve read it in the past I’ve gotten bogged down. My religious mind favors the arguments of Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar over those of Job. I hope this study will help me to know God better and to discern the errors of my religious mind.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 2:11-13 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 2:11-13 (NET)	Job 2:11-13 (NETS)	Job 2:11-13 (English Elpenor)
Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil (הָֽרָעָ֣ה) that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.	When Job’s three friends heard about all this calamity (raʿ, הרעה) that had happened to him, each of them came from his own country—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to come to show sympathy for him and to console him	Now when his three friends heard of all the troubles (τὰ κακὰ) that had come upon him, they came to him, each one from his own country—Eliphaz, the king of the Thaimanites, Baldad, the tyrant of the Sauchites, Sophar, the king of the Minites. And they came to him of one accord, to comfort and to visit with him.	Now his three friends having heard of all the evil (τὰ κακὰ) that was come upon him, came to him each from his own country: Eliphaz the king of the Thaemans, Baldad sovereign of the Saucheans, Sophar king of the Kinaeans: and they came to him with one accord, to comfort and to visit him.
And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.	But when they gazed intently from a distance but did not recognize him, they began to weep loudly. Each of them tore his robes, and they threw dust into the air over their heads.	But when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they cried out with a loud voice and wept; each of them tore his robe, and they sprinkled themselves with dust.	And when they saw him from a distance they did not know him; and they cried with a loud voice, and wept, and rent every one his garment, and sprinkled dust upon [their heads],
So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.	Then they sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, yet no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.	They sat with him seven days, [and seven nights] and none of them spoke, for they saw that the calamity was dire and very great.	and they sat down beside him seven days and seven nights, and not one of them spoke; for they saw that his affliction was dreadful and very great.

I visited some with my mother everyday she was in hospice care, but nothing like this. Job was first to break the silence.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 3:1-3 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 3:1-3 (NET)	Job 3:1-3 (NETS)	Job 3:1-3 (English Elpenor)
After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed (וַיְקַלֵּ֖ל) his day.	After this Job opened his mouth and cursed (qālal, ויקלל) the day he was born.	After this Iob opened his mouth and cursed (κατηράσατο) his day,	After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed (κατηράσατο) his day,
And Job spake, and said,	Job spoke up and said:	saying:	saying,
Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.	“Let the day on which I was born perish, and the night that said, ‘A man has been conceived!’	“May the day perish in which I was born, and the night in which they said, ‘Look, a man-child!’	Let the day perish in which I was born, and that night in which they said, Behold a man-child!

Moses had a similar lament:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Numbers 11:10-15 (Tanakh)	Numbers 11:10-15 (NET)	Numbers 11:10-15 (NETS)	Numbers 11:10-15 (English Elpenor)
And Moses heard the people weeping, family by family, every man at the door of his tent; and the anger of HaShem was kindled greatly; and Moses was displeased.	Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and when the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, Moses was also displeased.	And Moyses heard them weeping in their divisions. each one at his door. And the Lord was greatly angered with wrath, and before Moyses it was evil.	And Moses heard them weeping by their families, every one in his door: and the Lord was very angry; and the thing was evil in the sight of Moses.
And Moses said unto HaShem: ‘Wherefore hast Thou dealt ill with Thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in Thy sight, that Thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?	And Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you afflicted your servant? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of this entire people on me?	And Moyses said to the Lord, “Why have you mistreated your attendant, and why have I not found favor before you, to lay the onslaught of this people upon me?	And Moses said to the Lord, Why hast thou afflicted thy servant, and why have I not found grace in thy sight, that thou shouldest lay the weight of this people upon me?
Have I conceived all this people? have I brought them forth, that Thou shouldest say unto me: Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing-father carrieth the sucking child, unto the land which Thou didst swear unto their fathers?	Did I conceive this entire people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your arms, as a foster father bears a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to their fathers?	Was it I who carried in the womb all this people, or was it I who gave birth to them, that you are saying to me, ‘Take them to your bosom, as a nurse might take up the sucking child,’ into the land, which you swore to their fathers?	Have I conceived all this people, or have I born them? that thou sayest to me, Take them into thy bosom, as a nurse would take her suckling, into the land which thou swarest to their fathers?
Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they trouble me with their weeping, saying: Give us flesh, that we may eat.	From where shall I get meat to give to this entire people, for they cry to me, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat!’	From where do I get meat to give to all this people? For they are weeping to me, saying, ‘Give us meat so that we may eat!’	Whence have I flesh to give to all this people? for they weep to me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.
I am not able to bear all this people myself alone, because it is too heavy for me.	I am not able to bear this entire people alone, because it is too heavy for me!	I shall not be able to bear this people alone, because this thing is too heavy for me.	I shall not be able to bear this people alone, for this thing is too heavy for me.
And if Thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray Thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in Thy sight; and let me not look upon my wretchedness.’	But if you are going to deal with me like this, then kill me immediately. If I have found favor in your sight then do not let me see my trouble.”	But if this is how you are going to treat me, kill me by slaying if I have found mercy with you so that I may not see my suffering.”	And if thou doest thus to me, slay me utterly, if I have found favour with thee, that I may not see my affliction.

Job lamenting the day of his birth seems benign by comparison.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 3:4 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 3:4 (NET)	Job 3:4 (NETS)	Job 3:4 (English Elpenor)
Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above (מִמָּ֑עַל), neither let the light shine upon it.	That day—let it be darkness; let not God on high (maʿal, ממעל) regard it, nor let light shine on it!	May that day be darkness! And may the Lord above (ἄνωθεν) not seek it, or light come to it.	Let that night be darkness, and let not the Lord regard it from above (ἄνωθεν), neither let light come upon it.

I’ll pause here a moment to point out that the Hebrew word מִמָּ֑עַל (maʿal), from above (Tanakh/KJV), on high (NET) was translated ἄνωθεν, above (NETS), from above (English Elpenor), in the Septuagint. “I tell you the solemn truth,” Jesus said to Nicodemus, “unless a person is born from above (ἄνωθεν), he cannot see the kingdom of God.”⁴ Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above (ἄνωθεν).’⁵

Job continued to lament the day of his birth:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 3:5-10 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 3:5-10 (NET)	Job 3:5-10 (NETS)	Job 3:5-10 (English Elpenor)
Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.	Let darkness and the deepest shadow claim it; let a cloud settle on it; let whatever blackens the day terrify it.	But may darkness and deathly shadow seize it. May gloom come upon it.	But let darkness and the shadow of death seize it; let blackness come upon it;
As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.	That night—let darkness seize it; let it not be included among the days of the year; let it not enter among the number of the months!	May that day and night be cursed; may darkness carry it away! May it not exist among the days of the year or be numbered among the days of the months.	let that day and night be cursed, let darkness carry them away; let it not come into the days of the year, neither let it be numbered with the days of the months.
Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.	Indeed, let that night be barren; let no shout of joy penetrate it!	Rather, may the night be anguish, and may gladness and joy not come upon it.	But let that night be pain, and let not mirth come upon it, nor joy.
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning (לִוְיָתָֽן).	Let those who curse the day curse it—those who are prepared to rouse Leviathan⁶ (livyāṯān, לויתן).	Rather, may he who curses that day curse it—he who is about to subdue the great sea-monster (κῆτος).	But let him that curses that day curse it, [even] he that is ready to attack the great whale (κῆτος).
Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:	Let its morning stars be darkened; let it wait for daylight but find none, nor let it see the first rays of dawn,	May the stars of that night be dark; may it remain so and not be lit up, and may it not see the morning-star rising—	Let the stars of that night be darkened; let it remain [dark], and not come into light; and let it not see the morning star arise:
Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.	because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb on me, nor did it hide trouble from my eyes.	because it did not shut the gates of my mother’s womb, for it would have put away trouble from my eyes.	because it shut not up the gates of my mother’s womb, for [so] it would have removed sorrow from my eyes.

Job wasn’t finished but I want to consider a similar lament voiced by Jeremiah:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Jeremiah 20:14-18 (Tanakh/KJV)	Jeremiah 20:14-18 (NET)	Jeremiah 20:14-18 (NETS)	Jeremiah 20:14-18 (English Elpenor)
Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.	Cursed be the day I was born! May that day not be blessed when my mother gave birth to me.	Cursed be the day on which I was born on it! The day on which my mother bore me—let it not be longed for!	Cursed be the day wherein I was born: the day wherein my mother brought me forth, let it not be blessed.
Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.	Cursed be the man who made my father very glad when he brought him the news that a baby boy had been born to him!	Cursed be the person who brought the good news to my father, saying, “A male child was born to you,” being glad.	Cursed be the man who brought the glad tidings to my father, saying, A male child is born to thee.
And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;	May that man be like the cities that the Lord destroyed without showing any mercy. May he hear a cry of distress in the morning and a battle cry at noon.	Let that person be like the cities that the Lord overthrew in anger and did not repent; let him hear a cry in the morning and a shouting at noon,	Let that man rejoice as the cities which the Lord overthrew in wrath, and repented not: let him hear crying in the morning, and loud lamentation at noon;
Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.	For he did not kill me before I came from the womb, making my pregnant mother’s womb my grave forever.	because he did not kill me in the womb, and my mother became my grave and the womb one of perpetual conception.	because he slew me not in the womb, and my mother became not my tomb, and her womb always great with me.
Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?	Why did I ever come forth from my mother’s womb? All I experience is trouble and grief, and I spend my days in shame.	Why is it that I came forth from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and my days continued in shame?	Why is it that I came forth of the womb to see troubles and distresses, and my days are spent in shame?

I’ll continue with Job’s lament in another essay.

Tables comparing Job 42:8; 2:11; 2:12; 2:13; 3:1; 3:2; 3:3; Numbers 11:10; 11:11; 11:12; 11:13; 11:14; 11:15; Job 3:4; 3:5; 3:6; 3:7; 3:8; 3:9; 3:10; Jeremiah 20:14; 20:15; 20:16; 20:17 and 20:18 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Job 42:8; 2:11; 2:12; 2:13; 3:1 (3:1, 2a); 3:2 (3:2b); 3:3; Numbers 11:10; 11:11; 11:12; 11:13; 11:14; 11:15; Job 3:4; 3:5; 3:6; 3:7; 3:8; 3:9; 3:10; Jeremiah 20:14; 20:15; 20:16; 20:17 and 20:18 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Job 42:8 (Tanakh)	Job 42:8 (KJV)	Job 42:8 (NET)
Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.	Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.	So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will intercede for you, and I will respect him, so that I do not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.”

Job 42:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 42:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
νῦν δὲ λάβετε ἑπτὰ μόσχους καὶ ἑπτὰ κριοὺς καὶ πορεύθητε πρὸς τὸν θεράποντά μου Ιωβ καὶ ποιήσει κάρπωσιν περὶ ὑμῶν Ιωβ δὲ ὁ θεράπων μου εὔξεται περὶ ὑμῶν ὅτι εἰ μὴ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ λήμψομαι εἰ μὴ γὰρ δι᾽ αὐτόν ἀπώλεσα ἂν ὑμᾶς οὐ γὰρ ἐλαλήσατε ἀληθὲς κατὰ τοῦ θεράποντός μου Ιωβ	νῦν δὲ λάβετε ἑπτὰ μόσχους καὶ ἑπτὰ κριοὺς καὶ πορεύθητε πρὸς τὸν θεράποντά μου ᾿Ιώβ, καὶ ποιήσει κάρπωσιν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν. ᾿Ιὼβ δὲ ὁ θεράπων μου εὔξεται περὶ ὑμῶν, ὅτι εἰ μὴ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ λήψομαι· εἰ μὴ γὰρ δι᾿ αὐτόν, ἀπώλεσα ἂν ὑμᾶς· οὐ γὰρ ἐλαλήσατε ἀληθὲς κατὰ τοῦ θεράποντός μου ᾿Ιώβ
Job 42:8 (NETS)	Job 42:8 (English Elpenor)
Now then, take seven calves and seven rams, and go to my attendant Iob, and he will make offerings for you, and Iob, my attendant, will pray for you, [because only his face will I accept] for, if not for him, I would have destroyed you; for what you spoke against my attendant Job is not true.”	Now then take seven bullocks, and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and he shall offer a burnt-offering for you. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will only accept him: for but his sake, I would have destroyed you, for ye have not spoken the truth against my servant Job.

Job 2:11 (Tanakh)	Job 2:11 (KJV)	Job 2:11 (NET)
Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.	Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.	When Job’s three friends heard about all this calamity that had happened to him, each of them came from his own country—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to come to show sympathy for him and to console him.

Job 2:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀκούσαντες δὲ οἱ τρεῗς φίλοι αὐτοῦ τὰ κακὰ πάντα τὰ ἐπελθόντα αὐτῷ παρεγένοντο ἕκαστος ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας χώρας πρὸς αὐτόν Ελιφας ὁ Θαιμανων βασιλεύς Βαλδαδ ὁ Σαυχαίων τύραννος Σωφαρ ὁ Μιναίων βασιλεύς καὶ παρεγένοντο πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁμοθυμαδὸν τοῦ παρακαλέσαι καὶ ἐπισκέψασθαι αὐτόν	ἀκούσαντες δὲ οἱ τρεῖς φίλοι αὐτοῦ τὰ κακὰ πάντα τὰ ἐπελθόντα αὐτῷ, παρεγένοντο ἕκαστος ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας χώρας πρὸς αὐτόν· ᾿Ελιφὰζ ὁ Θαιμανῶν βασιλεύς, Βαλδὰδ ὁ Σαυχαίων τύραννος, Σωφὰρ ὁ Μιναίων βασιλεύς, καὶ παρεγένοντο πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁμοθυμαδόν, τοῦ παρακαλέσαι καὶ ἐπισκέψασθαι αὐτόν
Job 2:11 (NETS)	Job 2:11 (English Elpenor)
Now when his three friends heard of all the troubles that had come upon him, they came to him, each one from his own country—Eliphaz, the king of the Thaimanites, Baldad, the tyrant of the Sauchites, Sophar, the king of the Minites. And they came to him of one accord, to comfort and to visit with him.	Now his three friends having heard of all the evil that was come upon him, came to him each from his own country: Eliphaz the king of the Thaemans, Baldad sovereign of the Saucheans, Sophar king of the Kinaeans: and they came to him with one accord, to comfort and to visit him.

Job 2:12 (Tanakh)	Job 2:12 (KJV)	Job 2:12 (NET)
And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.	And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.	But when they gazed intently from a distance but did not recognize him, they began to weep loudly. Each of them tore his robes, and they threw dust into the air over their heads.

Job 2:12 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἰδόντες δὲ αὐτὸν πόρρωθεν οὐκ ἐπέγνωσαν καὶ βοήσαντες φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ἔκλαυσαν ῥήξαντες ἕκαστος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ στολὴν καὶ καταπασάμενοι γῆν	ἰδόντες δὲ αὐτὸν πόρρωθεν οὐκ ἐπέγνωσαν· καὶ βοήσαντες φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ἔκλαυσαν ρήξαντες ἕκαστος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ στολήν. καὶ καταπασάμενοι γῆν
Job 2:12 (NETS)	Job 2:12 (English Elpenor)
But when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they cried out with a loud voice and wept; each of them tore his robe, and they sprinkled themselves with dust.	And when they saw him from a distance they did not know him; and they cried with a loud voice, and wept, and rent every one his garment, and sprinkled dust upon [their heads],

Job 2:13 (Tanakh)	Job 2:13 (KJV)	Job 2:13 (NET)
So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.	So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.	Then they sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, yet no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

Job 2:13 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
παρεκάθισαν αὐτῷ ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας καὶ ἑπτὰ νύκτας καὶ οὐδεὶς αὐτῶν ἐλάλησεν ἑώρων γὰρ τὴν πληγὴν δεινὴν οὖσαν καὶ μεγάλην σφόδρα	παρεκάθισαν αὐτῷ ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας καὶ ἑπτὰ νύκτας, καὶ οὐδεὶς αὐτῶν ἐλάλησεν· ἑώρων γὰρ τὴν πληγὴν δεινὴν οὖσαν καὶ μεγάλην σφόδρα
Job 2:13 (NETS)	Job 2:13 (English Elpenor)
They sat with him seven days, [and seven nights] and none of them spoke, for they saw that the calamity was dire and very great.	and they sat down beside him seven days and seven nights, and not one of them spoke; for they saw that his affliction was dreadful and very great.

Job 3:1 (Tanakh)	Job 3:1 (KJV)	Job 3:1 (NET)
After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.	After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.	After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born.

Job 3:1, 2a (Septuagint BLB)	Job 3:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)
μετὰ τοῦτο ἤνοιξεν Ιωβ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ (2) καὶ κατηράσατο τὴν ἡμέραν αὐτοῦ	ΜΕΤΑ τοῦτο ἤνοιξεν ᾿Ιὼβ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ καὶ κατηράσατο τὴν ἡμέραν αὐτοῦ
Job 3:1 (NETS)	Job 3:1 (English Elpenor)
After this Iob opened his mouth and cursed his day,	After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day,

Job 3:2 (Tanakh)	Job 3:2 (KJV)	Job 3:2 (NET)
And Job spake, and said,	And Job spake, and said,	Job spoke up and said:

Job 3:2b (Septuagint BLB)	Job 3:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
λέγων	λέγων
Job 3:2 (NETS)	Job 3:2 (English Elpenor)
saying:	saying,

Job 3:3 (Tanakh)	Job 3:3 (KJV)	Job 3:3 (NET)
Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.	Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.	“Let the day on which I was born perish, and the night that said, ‘A man has been conceived!’

Job 3:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 3:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀπόλοιτο ἡ ἡμέρα ἐν ᾗ ἐγεννήθην καὶ ἡ νύξ ἐν ᾗ εἶπαν ἰδοὺ ἄρσεν	ἀπόλοιτο ἡ ἡμέρα, ἐν ᾗ ἐγεννήθην, καὶ ἡ νὺξ ἐκείνη ᾗ εἶπαν· ἰδοὺ ἄρσεν
Job 3:3 (NETS)	3:3 (English Elpenor)
“May the day perish in which I was born, and the night in which they said, ‘Look, a man-child!’	Let the day perish in which I was born, and that night in which they said, Behold a man-child!

Numbers 11:10 (Tanakh)	Numbers 11:10 (KJV)	Numbers 11:10 (NET)
And Moses heard the people weeping, family by family, every man at the door of his tent; and the anger of HaShem was kindled greatly; and Moses was displeased.	Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased.	Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and when the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, Moses was also displeased.

Numbers 11:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 11:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἤκουσεν Μωυσῆς κλαιόντων αὐτῶν κατὰ δήμους αὐτῶν ἕκαστον ἐπὶ τῆς θύρας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐθυμώθη ὀργῇ κύριος σφόδρα καὶ ἔναντι Μωυσῆ ἦν πονηρόν	καὶ ἤκουσε Μωυσῆς κλαιόντων αὐτῶν κατὰ δήμους αὐτῶν, ἕκαστον ἐπὶ τῆς θύρας αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐθυμώθη ὀργῇ Κύριος σφόδρα, καὶ ἔναντι Μωυσῆ ἦν πονηρόν
Numbers 11:10 (NETS)	Numbers 11:10 (English Elpenor)
And Moyses heard them weeping in their divisions. each one at his door. And the Lord was greatly angered with wrath, and before Moyses it was evil.	And Moses heard them weeping by their families, every one in his door: and the Lord was very angry; and the thing was evil in the sight of Moses.

Numbers 11:11 (Tanakh)	Numbers 11:11 (KJV)	Numbers 11:11 (NET)
And Moses said unto HaShem: ‘Wherefore hast Thou dealt ill with Thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in Thy sight, that Thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?	And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?	And Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you afflicted your servant? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of this entire people on me?

Numbers 11:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 11:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν Μωυσῆς πρὸς κύριον ἵνα τί ἐκάκωσας τὸν θεράποντά σου καὶ διὰ τί οὐχ εὕρηκα χάριν ἐναντίον σου ἐπιθεῖναι τὴν ὁρμὴν τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου ἐπ᾽ ἐμέ	καὶ εἶπε Μωυσῆς πρὸς Κύριον· ἱνατί ἐκάκωσας τὸν θεράποντά σου, καὶ διατί οὐχ εὕρηκα χάριν ἐναντίον σου, ἐπιθεῖναι τὴν ὁρμὴν τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου ἐπ’ ἐμέ
Numbers 11:11 (NETS)	Numbers 11:11 (English Elpenor)
And Moyses said to the Lord, “Why have you mistreated your attendant, and why have I not found favor before you, to lay the onslaught of this people upon me?	And Moses said to the Lord, Why hast thou afflicted thy servant, and why have I not found grace in thy sight, that thou shouldest lay the weight of this people upon me?

Numbers 11:12 (Tanakh)	Numbers 11:12 (KJV)	Numbers 11:12 (NET)
Have I conceived all this people? have I brought them forth, that Thou shouldest say unto me: Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing-father carrieth the sucking child, unto the land which Thou didst swear unto their fathers?	Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?	Did I conceive this entire people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your arms, as a foster father bears a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to their fathers?

Numbers 11:12 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 11:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
μὴ ἐγὼ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔλαβον πάντα τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον ἢ ἐγὼ ἔτεκον αὐτούς ὅτι λέγεις μοι λαβὲ αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν κόλπον σου ὡσεὶ ἄραι τιθηνὸς τὸν θηλάζοντα εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν ὤμοσας τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν	μὴ ἐγὼ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔλαβον πάντα τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον, ἢ ἐγὼ ἔτεκον αὐτούς, ὅτι λέγεις μοι, λάβε αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν κόλπον σου, ὡσεὶ ἄραι τιθηνὸς τὸν θηλάζοντα, εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν ὤμοσας τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν
Numbers 11:12 (NETS)	Numbers 11:12 (English Elpenor)
Was it I who carried in the womb all this people, or was it I who gave birth to them, that you are saying to me, ‘Take them to your bosom, as a nurse might take up the sucking child,’ into the land, which you swore to their fathers?	Have I conceived all this people, or have I born them? that thou sayest to me, Take them into thy bosom, as a nurse would take her suckling, into the land which thou swarest to their fathers?

Numbers 11:13 (Tanakh)	Numbers 11:13 (KJV)	Numbers 11:13 (NET)
Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they trouble me with their weeping, saying: Give us flesh, that we may eat.	Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.	From where shall I get meat to give to this entire people, for they cry to me, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat!’

Numbers 11:13 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 11:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πόθεν μοι κρέα δοῦναι παντὶ τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ ὅτι κλαίουσιν ἐπ᾽ ἐμοὶ λέγοντες δὸς ἡμῖν κρέα ἵνα φάγωμεν	πόθεν μοι κρέα δοῦναι παντὶ τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ; ὅτι κλαίουσιν ἐπ’ ἐμοί, λέγοντες· δὸς ἡμῖν κρέα, ἵνα φάγωμεν
Numbers 11:13 (NETS)	Numbers 11:13 (English Elpenor)
From where do I get meat to give to all this people? For they are weeping to me, saying, ‘Give us meat so that we may eat!’	Whence have I flesh to give to all this people? for they weep to me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.

Numbers 11:14 (Tanakh)	Numbers 11:14 (KJV)	Numbers 11:14 (NET)
I am not able to bear all this people myself alone, because it is too heavy for me.	I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.	I am not able to bear this entire people alone, because it is too heavy for me!

Numbers 11:14 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 11:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ δυνήσομαι ἐγὼ μόνος φέρειν τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον ὅτι βαρύτερόν μοί ἐστιν τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο	οὐ δυνήσομαι ἐγὼ μόνος φέρειν τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον, ὅτι βαρύτερόν μοί ἐστι τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο
Numbers 11:14 (NETS)	Numbers 11:14 (English Elpenor)
I shall not be able to bear this people alone, because this thing is too heavy for me.	I shall not be able to bear this people alone, for this thing is too heavy for me.

Numbers 11:15 (Tanakh)	Numbers 11:15 (KJV)	Numbers 11:15 (NET)
And if Thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray Thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in Thy sight; and let me not look upon my wretchedness.’	And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.	But if you are going to deal with me like this, then kill me immediately. If I have found favor in your sight then do not let me see my trouble.”

Numbers 11:15 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 11:15 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εἰ δὲ οὕτως σὺ ποιεῖς μοι ἀπόκτεινόν με ἀναιρέσει εἰ εὕρηκα ἔλεος παρὰ σοί ἵνα μὴ ἴδω μου τὴν κάκωσιν	εἰ δ’ οὕτω σὺ ποιεῖς μοι, ἀπόκτεινόν με ἀναιρέσει, εἰ εὕρηκα ἔλεος παρὰ σοί, ἵνα μὴ ἴδω τὴν κάκωσίν μου
Numbers 11:15 (NETS)	Numbers 11:15 (English Elpenor)
But if this is how you are going to treat me, kill me by slaying if I have found mercy with you so that I may not see my suffering.”	And if thou doest thus to me, slay me utterly, if I have found favour with thee, that I may not see my affliction.

Job 3:4 (Tanakh)	Job 3:4 (KJV)	Job 3:4 (NET)
Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.	Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.	That day—let it be darkness; let not God on high regard it, nor let light shine on it!

Job 3:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 3:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἡ ἡμέρα ἐκείνη εἴη σκότος καὶ μὴ ἀναζητήσαι αὐτὴν ὁ κύριος ἄνωθεν μηδὲ ἔλθοι εἰς αὐτὴν φέγγος	ἡ νὺξ ἐκείνη εἴη σκότος, καὶ μὴ ἀναζητήσαι αὐτὴν ὁ Κύριος ἄνωθεν, μηδὲ ἔλθοι εἰς αὐτὴν φέγγος
Job 3:4 (NETS)	Job 3:4 (English Elpenor)
May that day be darkness! And may the Lord above not seek it, or light come to it.	Let that night be darkness, and let not the Lord regard it from above, neither let light come upon it.

Job 3:5 (Tanakh)	Job 3:5 (KJV)	Job 3:5 (NET)
Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.	Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.	Let darkness and the deepest shadow claim it; let a cloud settle on it; let whatever blackens the day terrify it.

Job 3:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 3:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐκλάβοι δὲ αὐτὴν σκότος καὶ σκιὰ θανάτου ἐπέλθοι ἐπ᾽ αὐτὴν γνόφος	ἐκλάβοι δὲ αὐτὴν σκότος καὶ σκιὰ θανάτου, ἐπέλθοι ἐπ᾿ αὐτὴν γνόφος. καταραθείη ἡ ἡμέρα
Job 3:5 (NETS)	Job 3:5 (English Elpenor)
But may darkness and deathly shadow seize it. May gloom come upon it.	But let darkness and the shadow of death seize it; let blackness come upon it;

Job 3:6 (Tanakh)	Job 3:6 (KJV)	Job 3:6 (NET)
As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.	As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.	That night—let darkness seize it; let it not be included among the days of the year; let it not enter among the number of the months!

Job 3:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 3:5b, 6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καταραθείη ἡ ἡμέρα καὶ ἡ νὺξ ἐκείνη ἀπενέγκαιτο αὐτὴν σκότος μὴ εἴη εἰς ἡμέρας ἐνιαυτοῦ μηδὲ ἀριθμηθείη εἰς ἡμέρας μηνῶν	(5b) καταραθείη ἡ ἡμέρα (6) καὶ ἡ νὺξ ἐκείνη, ἀπενέγκαιτο αὐτὴν σκότος· μὴ εἴη εἰς ἡμέρας ἐνιαυτοῦ, μηδὲ ἀριθμηθείη εἰς ἡμέρας μηνῶν
Job 3:6 (NETS)	Job 3:6 (English Elpenor)
May that day and night be cursed; may darkness carry it away! May it not exist among the days of the year or be numbered among the days of the months.	let that day and night be cursed, let darkness carry them away; let it not come into the days of the year, neither let it be numbered with the days of the months.

Job 3:7 (Tanakh)	Job 3:7 (KJV)	Job 3:7 (NET)
Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.	Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.	Indeed, let that night be barren; let no shout of joy penetrate it!

Job 3:7 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 3:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀλλὰ ἡ νὺξ ἐκείνη εἴη ὀδύνη καὶ μὴ ἔλθοι ἐπ᾽ αὐτὴν εὐφροσύνη μηδὲ χαρμονή	ἀλλὰ ἡ νὺξ ἐκείνη εἴη ὀδύνη, καὶ μὴ ἔλθοι ἐπ᾿ αὐτὴν εὐφροσύνη μηδὲ χαρμονή
Job 3:7 (NETS)	Job 3:7 (English Elpenor)
Rather, may the night be anguish, and may gladness and joy not come upon it.	But let that night be pain, and let not mirth come upon it, nor joy.

Job 3:8 (Tanakh)	Job 3:8 (KJV)	Job 3:8 (NET)
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.	Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.	Let those who curse the day curse it—those who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.

Job 3:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 3:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀλλὰ καταράσαιτο αὐτὴν ὁ καταρώμενος τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην ὁ μέλλων τὸ μέγα κῆτος χειρώσασθαι	ἀλλὰ καταράσαιτο αὐτὴν ὁ καταρώμενος τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην, ὁ μέλλων τὸ μέγα κῆτος χειρώσασθαι
Job 3:8 (NETS)	Job 3:8 (English Elpenor)
Rather, may he who curses that day curse it—he who is about to subdue the great sea-monster.	But let him that curses that day curse it, [even] he that is ready to attack the great whale.

Job 3:9 (Tanakh)	Job 3:9 (KJV)	Job 3:9 (NET)
Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:	Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:	Let its morning stars be darkened; let it wait for daylight but find none, nor let it see the first rays of dawn,

Job 3:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 3:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
σκοτωθείη τὰ ἄστρα τῆς νυκτὸς ἐκείνης ὑπομείναι καὶ εἰς φωτισμὸν μὴ ἔλθοι καὶ μὴ ἴδοι ἑωσφόρον ἀνατέλλοντα	σκοτωθείη τὰ ἄστρα τῆς νυκτὸς ἐκείνης, ὑπομείναι καὶ εἰς φωτισμὸν μὴ ἔλθοι καὶ μὴ ἴδοι ἑωσφόρον ἀνατέλλοντα
Job 3:9 (NETS)	Job 3:9 (English Elpenor)
May the stars of that night be dark; may it remain so and not be lit up, and may it not see the morning-star rising—	Let the stars of that night be darkened; let it remain [dark], and not come into light; and let it not see the morning star arise:

Job 3:10 (Tanakh)	Job 3:10 (KJV)	Job 3:10 (NET)
Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.	Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.	because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb on me, nor did it hide trouble from my eyes.

Job 3:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 3:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι οὐ συνέκλεισεν πύλας γαστρὸς μητρός μου ἀπήλλαξεν γὰρ ἂν πόνον ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμῶν μου	ὅτι οὐ συνέκλεισε πύλας γαστρὸς μητρός μου· ἀπήλλαξε γὰρ ἂν πόνον ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμῶν μου
Job 3:10 (NETS)	Job 3:10 (English Elpenor)
because it did not shut the gates of my mother’s womb, for it would have put away trouble from my eyes.	because it shut not up the gates of my mother’s womb, for [so] it would have removed sorrow from my eyes.

Jeremiah 20:14 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 20:14 (KJV)	Jeremiah 20:14 (NET)
Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.	Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.	Cursed be the day I was born! May that day not be blessed when my mother gave birth to me.

Jeremiah 20:14 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 20:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐπικατάρατος ἡ ἡμέρα ἐν ᾗ ἐτέχθην ἐν αὐτῇ ἡ ἡμέρα ἐν ᾗ ἔτεκέν με ἡ μήτηρ μου μὴ ἔστω ἐπευκτή	᾿Επικατάρατος ἡ ἡμέρα, ἐν ᾗ ἐτέχθην ἐν αὐτῇ· ἡ ἡμέρα, ἐν ᾗ ἔτεκέ με ἡ μήτηρ μου, μὴ ἔστω ἐπευκτή
Jeremiah 20:14 (NETS)	Jeremiah 20:14 (English Elpenor)
Cursed be the day on which I was born on it! The day on which my mother bore me—let it not be longed for!	Cursed be the day wherein I was born: the day wherein my mother brought me forth, let it not be blessed.

Jeremiah 20:15 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 20:15 (KJV)	Jeremiah 20:15 (NET)
Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.	Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.	Cursed be the man who made my father very glad when he brought him the news that a baby boy had been born to him!

Jeremiah 20:15 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 20:15 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐπικατάρατος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ εὐαγγελισάμενος τῷ πατρί μου λέγων ἐτέχθη σοι ἄρσεν εὐφραινόμενος	ἐπικατάρατος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ εὐαγγελισάμενος τῷ πατρί μου λέγων· ἐτέχθη σοι ἄρσην, εὐφραινόμενος
Jeremiah 20:15 (NETS)	Jeremiah 20:15 (English Elpenor)
Cursed be the person who brought the good news to my father, saying, “A male child was born to you,” being glad.	Cursed be the man who brought the glad tidings to my father, saying, A male child is born to thee.

Jeremiah 20:16 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 20:16 (KJV)	Jeremiah 20:16 (NET)
And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;	And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;	May that man be like the cities that the Lord destroyed without showing any mercy. May he hear a cry of distress in the morning and a battle cry at noon.

Jeremiah 20:16 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 20:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἔστω ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος ὡς αἱ πόλεις ἃς κατέστρεψεν κύριος ἐν θυμῷ καὶ οὐ μετεμελήθη ἀκουσάτω κραυγῆς τὸ πρωὶ καὶ ἀλαλαγμοῦ μεσημβρίας	ἔστω ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος ὡς αἱ πόλεις, ἃς κατέστρεψε Κύριος ἐν θυμῷ καὶ οὐ μετεμελήθη· ἀκουσάτω κραυγῆς τῷ πρωΐ καὶ ἀλαλαγμοῦ μεσημβρίας
Jeremiah 20:16 (NETS)	Jeremiah 20:16 (English Elpenor)
Let that person be like the cities that the Lord overthrew in anger and did not repent; let him hear a cry in the morning and a shouting at noon,	Let that man rejoice as the cities which the Lord overthrew in wrath, and repented not: let him hear crying in the morning, and loud lamentation at noon;

Jeremiah 20:17 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 20:17 (KJV)	Jeremiah 20:17 (NET)
Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.	Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.	For he did not kill me before I came from the womb, making my pregnant mother’s womb my grave forever.

Jeremiah 20:17 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 20:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι οὐκ ἀπέκτεινέν με ἐν μήτρᾳ μητρὸς καὶ ἐγένετό μοι ἡ μήτηρ μου τάφος μου καὶ ἡ μήτρα συλλήμψεως αἰωνίας	ὅτι οὐκ ἀπέκτεινέ με ἐν μήτρᾳ μητρὸς καὶ ἐγένετό μοι ἡ μήτηρ μου τάφος μου καὶ ἡ μήτρα συλλήψεως αἰωνίας
Jeremiah 20:17 (NETS)	Jeremiah 20:17 (English Elpenor)
because he did not kill me in the womb, and my mother became my grave and the womb one of perpetual conception.	because he slew me not in the womb, and my mother became not my tomb, and her womb always great with me.

Jeremiah 20:18 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 20:18 (KJV)	Jeremiah 20:18 (NET)
Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?	Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?	Why did I ever come forth from my mother’s womb? All I experience is trouble and grief, and I spend my days in shame.

Jeremiah 20:18 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 20:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἵνα τί τοῦτο ἐξῆλθον ἐκ μήτρας τοῦ βλέπειν κόπους καὶ πόνους καὶ διετέλεσαν ἐν αἰσχύνῃ αἱ ἡμέραι μου	ἱνατί τοῦτο ἐξῆλθον ἐκ μήτρας τοῦ βλέπειν κόπους καὶ πόνους, καὶ διετέλεσαν ἐν αἰσχύνῃ αἱ ἡμέραι μου
Jeremiah 20:18 (NETS)	Jeremiah 20:18 (English Elpenor)
Why is it that I came forth from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and my days continued in shame?	Why is it that I came forth of the womb to see troubles and distresses, and my days are spent in shame?

Nothing True, Part 2

Back to The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 10

Back to Nothing True, Part 3

Back to Nothing True, Part 4

Back to Nothing True, Part 5

Back to Nothing True, Part 6

¹ Romans 11:36a (NET)

² Job 1:1b (NET) Table

³ 1 Corinthians 2:15 (NET) Table

⁴ John 3:3 (NET) Table

⁵ John 3:7 (NET)

⁶ Job 41

The Book of Life, Part 2

Posted on May 25, 2022 by admin

To the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who holds the seven¹ spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation² (ὄνομα) that you are alive, but in reality you are dead.³

This angel (ἀγγέλῳ) may be the human messenger of God to the Sardis Church. This message is addressed to a singular you: your (σου) deeds, you have (ἔχεις). It is probably most prudent for human messengers to assume it is addressed to them and for members of their congregations to assume it is addressed to them as individuals. It is worth noting that ὄνομα was used here in the sense of reputation, that for which one is known, falsely in this particular instance.

But⁴ you have (ἔχεις) a few individuals (ὀνόματα, a form of ὄνομα) in⁵ Sardis who have not stained their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed in white because they are worthy.⁶

Here, however, I would assume that you have (ἔχεις) referred to the church in Sardis as a singular collective. And here, also, ὀνόματα, a plural form of ὄνομα was translated individuals, names understood as persons. The pertinent verse for a consideration of the book of life follows (Revelation 3:5 NET).

The one who conquers (νικῶν) will be dressed like them⁷ [i.e., the names in Sardis who have not stained their clothes] in white clothing, and I will never erase his name (ὄνομα) from the book of life (τῆς βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς), but will declare⁸ his name (ὄνομα) before my Father and before his angels.

This is an encouraging promise: Jesus (Revelation 1:12-18) will never (οὐ μὴ) erase (ἐξαλείψω) [the] name [of t]he one who conquers…from the book of life. This is called the subjunctive of emphatic negation,⁹ though ἐξαλείψω in this particular occurrence is in the future tense and indicative mood. It harmonizes perfectly with the Lord’s wish…for all come to repentance.¹⁰ The implication, however, that one who does not conquer may not be so blessed, coupled with the statement—If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire¹¹—leaves a different impression.

This is as good a place as any to point out that name (ὄνομα) is not found in Revelation 20:15 in the Greek texts [see Table below] but was added by the translators. If I consider the different usages of ὄνομα in the previous passage, I begin to wonder if Jesus will declare the personal name of the one who conquers…before my Father and before his angels, or the reputation of the one who conquers. Likewise, is it the personal name of the one who conquers He will never erase…from the book of life? Or is it the reputation of the one who conquers that He will never erase…from the book of life?

I have thought that the book of life lists the names of those who will not be thrown into the lake of fire. Perhaps it contains the true reputation or character of the one who conquers instead. If I limited myself to considering only Revelation 3:1-5, I would assume that the one who conquers completes his or her deeds in the sight of Jesus’¹² God,¹³ remembers what he or she has received and heard, obeys it, and repents,¹⁴ and doesn’t dribble food or drink on his or her clothing.

A little familiarity with Isaiah, however, persuades me that stained…clothes has more to do with sin than with sloppy eating or drinking (Isaiah 1:18 ESV Table):

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ is fairly explicit about those whose place will be in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8 NET):

But as for the¹⁵ cowards, unbelievers,¹⁶ detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells,¹⁷ idol worshipers, and all those who lie, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. That is the second¹⁸ death.¹⁹

So, I tend to add not being or doing these things to the list of requirements that defines the one who conquers. Without discounting any of these achievements, I recognize from many other statements in the Bible that the path to these achievements is not through my adherence to rules. That would be hypocrisy, the work of an actor.

I suspect that this sort of do-it-yourself religion was the reason Jesus told John to write to the angel of the church in Sardis,²⁰ I have not found your deeds complete (πεπληρωμένα, a form of πληρόω) in the sight of my God.²¹ Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill (πληρῶσαι, another form of πληρόω) them,²² Jesus promised.

The path to all of these achievements is through Jesus Christ (John 14:5-7 NET):

Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How²³ can we know the way?” Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you have known²⁴ me, you will know²⁵ my Father too. And from now on you do know him and have seen him.”

All of these achievements are the work of God through Our Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:3, 5-8 NET):

Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God [Table]…I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God [Table]. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’ The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

When asked, “What should we do, brothers?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”²⁶

Paul wrote (Galatians 5:16-18 NET):

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

And again (Romans 8:1-4 NET):

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death [Table]. For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled (πληρωθῇ, another form of πληρόω) in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

I admit that here and now I think of the sin he condemned (κατέκρινεν, a form of κατακρίνω) in my flesh as imprisoned there. The coward and unbeliever imprisoned in my flesh don’t prevent me from trusting Jesus or receiving his faith in God’s word. The detestable person imprisoned in my flesh doesn’t prevent Him from sharing his holiness with me. The murderer imprisoned in my flesh is not free to go on a killing spree. The sexual predator imprisoned in my flesh is restrained from victimizing women, men, girls, boys and animals, or making a religious rite of victimizing them. The magical thinking idol worshiper imprisoned in my flesh cannot stop me from hearing the Word of God, nor can the liar imprisoned there dissuade me from the truth of his word.

Still, the ultimate destination of all this sin he condemned in my flesh is the lake of fire²⁷ along with Death and Hades,²⁸ the place of the dead. It’s a very hopeful thing that when Jesus raises me up at²⁹ the last day³⁰ I’ll no longer be burdened with all this sinful residue. While I can appreciate in a hypothetical sense that those who define themselves by, or take pride in, the sin he condemned in their flesh may not perceive things quite this way, I see no reason to despair over the persistence of human sinfulness while I trust in the persistence of the One who does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.³¹I’m willing to continue, expecting the book of life to be something more than a list of personal names (ὀνοματογραφία) of those who will not be thrown into the lake of fire.³²

Thus far the Greek words translated the book were τῇ βίβλῳ (Revelation 20:15) and τῆς βίβλου (Revelation 3:5), forms of βίβλος. Now I’ll consider an occurrence of τὸ βιβλίον (Revelation 17:8 NET).

The³³ beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss and then go to destruction. The inhabitants of the earth—all those whose names³⁴ have not been written in (ἐπὶ) the book of life (τὸ βιβλίον τῆς ζωῆς) since the foundation of the world—will be astounded³⁵ when they see that³⁶ the beast was, and is not, but is to come.³⁷

The words all those appear to have been added by the translators. They have no counterpart in the Greek text. So, The inhabitants of the earth…whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world—will be astounded. If I understand the singular τὸ ὄνομα (translated: names) as reputation or character, then I can assume it is the reputation or character of the one who conquers which has been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world and that those who do net yet possess this character, those who have not yet lived this reputation, those who have not yet received God’s salvation in Jesus Christ, will be astounded.

The alternative, that the names, τα ονοματα, are personal names implies that there are inhabitants of the earth for whom God never cared but predestined to be thrown into the lake of fire since the foundation of the world. Since that would make the Lord’s wish..for all to come to repentance³⁸ not merely sentimental but a bald-faced lie, I will continue to consider that it is the reputation or character of the one who conquers which has been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world.

I’ll pick this up in another essay. The table mentioned above follows:

A note (41) in the NET reads: “The word ‘name’ is not in the Greek text, but is implied.”

Revelation 20:15 (NET)	Revelation 20:15 (KJV)
If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.	And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ εἴ τις οὐχ εὑρέθη ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ τῆς ζωῆς γεγραμμένος, ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρός	και ει τις ουχ ευρεθη εν τη βιβλω της ζωης γεγραμμενος εβληθη εις την λιμνην του πυρος	και ει τις ουχ ευρεθη εν τω βιβλιω της ζωης γεγραμμενος εβληθη εις την λιμνην του πυρος

Tables comparing Revelation 3:1; 3:4; 3:5; 3:2; 3:3; 21:8; John 14:5; 14:7 and Revelation 17:8 in the NET and KJV follow.

Revelation 3:1 (NET)	Revelation 3:1 (KJV)
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation that you are alive, but in reality you are dead.	And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Σάρδεσιν ἐκκλησίας γράψον· Τάδε λέγει ὁ ἔχων τὰ ἑπτὰ πνεύματα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἀστέρας· οἶδα σου τὰ ἔργα ὅτι ὄνομα ἔχεις ὅτι ζῇς, καὶ νεκρὸς εἶ	και τω αγγελω της εν σαρδεσιν εκκλησιας γραψον ταδε λεγει ο εχων τα πνευματα του θεου και τους επτα αστερας οιδα σου τα εργα οτι το ονομα εχεις οτι ζης και νεκρος ει	και τω αγγελω της εν σαρδεσιν εκκλησιας γραψον ταδε λεγει ο εχων τα επτα πνευματα του θεου και τους επτα αστερας οιδα σου τα εργα οτι ονομα εχεις οτι ζης και νεκρος ει

Revelation 3:4 (NET)	Revelation 3:4 (KJV)
But you have a few individuals in Sardis who have not stained their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed in white because they are worthy.	Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀλλὰ ἔχεις ὀλίγα ὀνόματα ἐν Σάρδεσιν ἃ οὐκ ἐμόλυναν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτῶν, καὶ περιπατήσουσιν μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἐν λευκοῖς, ὅτι ἄξιοι εἰσιν	εχεις ολιγα ονοματα και εν σαρδεσιν α ουκ εμολυναν τα ιματια αυτων και περιπατησουσιν μετ εμου εν λευκοις οτι αξιοι εισιν	αλλ ολιγα εχεις ονοματα εν σαρδεσιν α ουκ εμολυναν τα ιματια αυτων και περιπατησουσιν μετ εμου εν λευκοις οτι αξιοι εισιν

Revelation 3:5 (NET)	Revelation 3:5 (KJV)
The one who conquers will be dressed like them in white clothing, and I will never erase his name from the book of life, but will declare his name before my Father and before his angels.	He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ὁ νικῶν οὕτως περιβαλεῖται ἐν ἱματίοις λευκοῖς καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐξαλείψω τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῆς βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς καὶ ὁμολογήσω τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιον τοῦ πατρός μου καὶ ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ	ο νικων ουτος περιβαλειται εν ιματιοις λευκοις και ου μη εξαλειψω το ονομα αυτου εκ της βιβλου της ζωης και εξομολογησομαι το ονομα αυτου ενωπιον του πατρος μου και ενωπιον των αγγελων αυτου	ο νικων ουτος περιβαλειται εν ιματιοις λευκοις και ου μη εξαλειψω το ονομα αυτου εκ της βιβλου της ζωης και ομολογησω το ονομα αυτου ενωπιον του πατρος μου και ενωπιον των αγγελων αυτου

Revelation 3:2 (NET)	Revelation 3:2 (KJV)
Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about to die, because I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.	Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
γίνου γρηγορῶν καὶ στήρισον τὰ λοιπὰ ἃ ἔμελλον ἀποθανεῖν, οὐ γὰρ εὕρηκα σου \|τὰ\| ἔργα πεπληρωμένα ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ μου	γινου γρηγορων και στηριξον τα λοιπα α μελλει αποθανειν ου γαρ ευρηκα σου τα εργα πεπληρωμενα ενωπιον του θεου	γινου γρηγορων και στηρισον τα λοιπα α εμελλες αποβαλλειν ου γαρ ευρηκα σου τα εργα πεπληρωμενα ενωπιον του θεου μου

Revelation 3:3 (NET)	Revelation 3:3 (KJV)
Therefore, remember what you received and heard, and obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come against you.	Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
μνημόνευε οὖν πῶς εἴληφας καὶ ἤκουσας καὶ τήρει καὶ μετανόησον. ἐὰν οὖν μὴ γρηγορήσῃς, ἥξω ὡς κλέπτης, καὶ οὐ μὴ γνῷς ποίαν ὥραν ἥξω ἐπὶ σέ	μνημονευε ουν πως ειληφας και ηκουσας και τηρει και μετανοησον εαν ουν μη γρηγορησης ηξω επι σε ως κλεπτης και ου μη γνως ποιαν ωραν ηξω επι σε	μνημονευε ουν πως ειληφας και ηκουσας και τηρει και μετανοησον εαν ουν μη γρηγορησης ηξω επι σε ως κλεπτης και ου μη γνως ποιαν ωραν ηξω επι σε

Revelation 21:8 (NET)	Revelation 21:8 (KJV)
But as for the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, idol worshipers, and all those who lie, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. That is the second death.	But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
τοῖς δὲ δειλοῖς καὶ ἀπίστοις καὶ ἐβδελυγμένοις καὶ φονεῦσιν καὶ πόρνοις καὶ φαρμάκοις καὶ εἰδωλολάτραις καὶ πᾶσιν τοῖς ψευδέσιν τὸ μέρος αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ λίμνῃ τῇ καιομένῃ πυρὶ καὶ θείῳ, ὅ ἐστιν ὁ θάνατος ὁ δεύτερος	δειλοις δε και απιστοις και εβδελυγμενοις και φονευσιν και πορνοις και φαρμακευσιν και ειδωλολατραις και πασιν τοις ψευδεσιν το μερος αυτων εν τη λιμνη τη καιομενη πυρι και θειω ο εστιν δευτερος θανατος	τοις δε δειλοις και απιστοις και αμαρτωλοις και εβδελυγμενοις και φονευσιν και πορνοις και φαρμακοις και ειδωλολατραις και πασιν τοις ψευδεσιν το μερος αυτων εν τη λιμνη τη καιομενη πυρι και θειω ο εστιν ο θανατος ο δευτερος

John 14:5 (NET)	John 14:5 (KJV)
Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”	Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Λέγει αὐτῷ Θωμᾶς· κύριε, οὐκ οἴδαμεν ποῦ ὑπάγεις· πῶς \|δυνάμεθα\| τὴν ὁδὸν \|εἰδέναι\|	λεγει αυτω θωμας κυριε ουκ οιδαμεν που υπαγεις και πως δυναμεθα την οδον ειδεναι	λεγει αυτω θωμας κυριε ουκ οιδαμεν που υπαγεις και πως δυναμεθα την οδον ειδεναι

John 14:7 (NET)	John 14:7 (KJV)
If you have known me, you will know my Father too. And from now on you do know him and have seen him.”	If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἰ \|ἐγνώκατε\| με, καὶ τὸν πατέρα μου \|γνώσεσθε. καὶ\| ἀπ᾿ ἄρτι γινώσκετε αὐτὸν καὶ ἑωράκατε \|αὐτόν\|	ει εγνωκειτε με και τον πατερα μου εγνωκειτε αν και απ αρτι γινωσκετε αυτον και εωρακατε αυτον	ει εγνωκειτε με και τον πατερα μου εγνωκειτε αν και απ αρτι γινωσκετε αυτον και εωρακατε αυτον

Revelation 17:8 (NET)	Revelation 17:8 (KJV)
The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss and then go to destruction. The inhabitants of the earth—all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world—will be astounded when they see that the beast was, and is not, but is to come.	The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Τὸ θηρίον ὃ εἶδες ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν καὶ μέλλει ἀναβαίνειν ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου καὶ εἰς ἀπώλειαν ὑπάγει, καὶ θαυμασθήσονται οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὧν οὐ γέγραπται τὸ ὄνομα ἐπὶ τὸ βιβλίον τῆς ζωῆς ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, βλεπόντων τὸ θηρίον ὅτι ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν καὶ παρέσται	θηριον ο ειδες ην και ουκ εστιν και μελλει αναβαινειν εκ της αβυσσου και εις απωλειαν υπαγειν και θαυμασονται οι κατοικουντες επι της γης ων ου γεγραπται τα ονοματα επι το βιβλιον της ζωης απο καταβολης κοσμου βλεποντες το θηριον ο τι ην και ουκ εστιν καιπερ εστιν	το θηριον ο ειδες ην και ουκ εστιν και μελλει αναβαινειν εκ της αβυσσου και εις απωλειαν υπαγειν και θαυμασονται οι κατοικουντες επι της γης ων ου γεγραπται τα ονοματα επι το βιβλιον της ζωης απο καταβολης κοσμου βλεποντων οτι ην το θηριον και ουκ εστιν και παρεσται

The Book of Life, Part 3

Back to Who Am I? Part 16

¹ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἑπτὰ here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

² The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article το preceding reputation (KJV: name). The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

³ Revelation 3:1 (NET)

⁴ The NET parallel Greek text had ἀλλὰ here, where the NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἀλλ’. The Stephanus Textus Receptus had neither.

⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had και (KJV: even) preceding in. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

⁶ Revelation 3:4 (NET)

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

⁸ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ὁμολογήσω here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had εξομολογησομαι (KJV: I will confess).

⁹ Subjunctive of Emphatic Negation

a) This is a way to strongly deny that something will happen. It is the strongest way to negate something in Greek.

b) It is formed by using a double negative (ou mh) with an aorist subjunctive verb (or possibly future indicative). While ou plus the indicative denies a certainty, ou mh plus the subjunctive denies even the potentiality.

c) It is translated “certainly not” or “never”, with the English future tense

¹⁰ 2 Peter 3:9b (NET) Table

¹¹ Revelation 20:15 (NET)

¹² The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had μου here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not (KJV: God).

¹³ Revelation 3:2b

¹⁴ Revelation 3:3a

¹⁵ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τοῖς here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

¹⁶ The Byzantine Majority Text had και αμαρτωλοις (“and sinners”) following unbelievers. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

¹⁷ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had φαρμάκοις here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had φαρμακευσιν (KJV: sorcerers).

¹⁸ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ὁ preceding second. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

¹⁹ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ὁ preceding death. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

²⁰ Revelation 3:1a (NET)

²¹ Revelation 3:2b (NET)

²² Matthew 5:17 (NET)

²³ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: and) preceding how. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐγνώκατε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εγνωκειτε (KJV: ye had known).

²⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had γνώσεσθε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εγνωκειτε αν (KJV: ye should have known).

²⁶ Acts 2:37b, 38 (NET) Table

²⁷ Revelation 21:8

²⁸ Revelation 20:14 Table

²⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐν here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

³⁰ John 6:40b (NET)

³¹ 2 Peter 3:9b (NET) Table

³² Revelation 20:15 (NET)

³³ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article Τὸ preceding beast. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

³⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τὸ ὄνομα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τα ονοματα.

³⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had θαυμασθήσονται here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had θαυμασονται (KJV: shall wonder).

³⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὅτι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ο τι.

A note (23) in the NET reads: Some translations take the ὅτι (hoti) here as causal: “because he was, and is not, but is to come” (so NIV, NRSV), but it is much more likely that the subject of the ὅτι clause has been assimilated into the main clause: “when they see the beast, that he was…” = “when they see that the beast was” (so BDAG 732 s.v. ὅτι 1.f, where Rev 17:8 is listed).

³⁷ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had παρέσται here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had καιπερ εστιν (KJV: and yet is).

³⁸ 2 Peter 3:9b (NET) Table

Father, Forgive Them – Part 4

Posted on May 2, 2018 by admin

I have attempted to cleanse Jesus’ words of the crime/punishment motif I think the translators of the NET and NASB superimposed upon them, so that his mercy—planning the offspring of vipers’ escape from being condemned to hell—shines through (Matthew 23:33-35 NET; Matthew 23:36 NASB):

You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

For this reason I am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

It is possible that the translators shaded Matthew’s Gospel account some to make it conform better to Luke’s parallel account:

Luke 11:46-48 (NET)	Luke 11:46-48 (NASB)	Luke 11:46-48 (KJV)
But Jesus replied, “Woe to you experts in religious law as well! You load people down with burdens difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch the burdens with even one of your fingers!	But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.	And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.
Woe to you! You build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed.	Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them.	Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
So you testify that you approve of the deeds of your ancestors, because they killed the prophets and you build their tombs!	So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs.	Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἄρα μάρτυρες ἐστε καὶ συνευδοκεῖτε τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν πατέρων ὑμῶν, ὅτι αὐτοὶ μὲν ἀπέκτειναν αὐτούς, ὑμεῖς δὲ οἰκοδομεῖτε	αρα μαρτυρειτε και συνευδοκειτε τοις εργοις των πατερων υμων οτι αυτοι μεν απεκτειναν αυτους υμεις δε οικοδομειτε αυτων τα μνημεια	αρα μαρτυρειτε και συνευδοκειτε τοις εργοις των πατερων υμων οτι αυτοι μεν απεκτειναν αυτους υμεις δε οικοδομειτε αυτων τα μνημεια

Luke 11:49 (NET)	Luke 11:49 (NASB)	Luke 11:49 (KJV)
For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’	For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute,	Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ εἶπεν· ἀποστελῶ εἰς αὐτοὺς προφήτας καὶ ἀποστόλους, καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀποκτενοῦσιν καὶ διώξουσιν	δια τουτο και η σοφια του θεου ειπεν αποστελω εις αυτους προφητας και αποστολους και εξ αυτων αποκτενουσιν και εκδιωξουσιν	δια τουτο και η σοφια του θεου ειπεν αποστελω εις αυτους προφητας και αποστολους και εξ αυτων αποκτενουσιν και εκδιωξουσιν

Luke 11:50, 51 (NET)	Luke 11:50, 51 (NASB)	Luke 11:50, 51 (KJV)
so that this generation may be held accountable (ἐκζητηθῇ, a form of ἐκζητέω) for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,	so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation,	That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged (ἐκζητηθήσεται, another form of ἐκζητέω) against this generation.	from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation.’	From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπὸ αἵματος Ἅβελ ἕως αἵματος Ζαχαρίου τοῦ ἀπολομένου μεταξὺ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου καὶ τοῦ οἴκου· ναὶ λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐκζητηθήσεται ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης	απο του αιματος αβελ εως του αιματος ζαχαριου του απολομενου μεταξυ του θυσιαστηριου και του οικου ναι λεγω υμιν εκζητηθησεται απο της γενεας ταυτης	απο του αιματος αβελ εως του αιματος ζαχαριου του απολομενου μεταξυ του θυσιαστηριου και του οικου ναι λεγω υμιν εκζητηθησεται απο της γενεας ταυτης

Luke 11:52 (NET)	Luke 11:52 (NASB)	Luke 11:52 (KJV)
Woe to you experts in religious law! You have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were going in.”	Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”	Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν τοῖς νομικοῖς, ὅτι ἤρατε τὴν κλεῖδα τῆς γνώσεως· αὐτοὶ οὐκ εἰσήλθατε καὶ τοὺς εἰσερχομένους ἐκωλύσατε	ουαι υμιν τοις νομικοις οτι ηρατε την κλειδα της γνωσεως αυτοι ουκ εισηλθετε και τους εισερχομενους εκωλυσατε	ουαι υμιν τοις νομικοις οτι ηρατε την κλειδα της γνωσεως αυτοι ουκ εισηλθετε και τους εισερχομενους εκωλυσατε

Here the crime/punishment motif wasn’t superimposed upon ἥξει (a form of ἥκω), translated will be held responsible (See: Table), or ἔλθῃ (a form of ἔρχομαι), translated may fall the guilt (See: Table). Rather, the Greek words ἐκζητηθῇ, translated may be held accountable, and ἐκζητηθήσεται, translated it will be charged, are both forms of ἐκζητέω (See Table1 below). And again this subject matter was spun by translating a word in a unique way, radically different from any of its other occurrences in the New Testament.

According to the Koine Greek Lexicon online ἐκζητηθῇ is an aorist passive subjunctive 3^rd person singular verb. Since αἷμα, translated for the blood, is a nominative / accusative singular neuter noun according to the Koine Greek Lexicon and γενεᾶς (a form of γενεά), translated generation, is a genitive singular feminine noun according to the same lexicon, I assume that blood is the more likely subject of the sentence: “so that the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world may be sought by this generation.”

Perhaps one could take it to mean that God sought the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world against this generation—in other words, He would hold them accountable for sins they didn’t commit—but I don’t see that in the text, and the verb is passive. To my ear the translations—may be held accountable (NET), may be charged (NASB) and even may be required (KJV)—sound more like interpretations. So I offer the following alternative interpretation.

The experts in the law and the Pharisees didn’t think building tombs for the prophets meant that they approved of their fathers’ deeds: And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.^[1] For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute…^[2] God gave them their own prophets to do with as they pleased, to demonstrate to themselves how sinful they actually were. So that the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world may be sought by this generation in the persons of the prophets and apostles sent to them in their own time.

I can dispense with the word may: “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.”^[3] And the Greek word ἐκζητηθήσεται, translated it will be charged, is a future passive indicative 3^rd person singular verb according to the Koine Greek Lexicon. And so Jesus stated empahtically, “it will be sought by this generation.” They would seek the blood of the prophets of their generation just as their fathers before them had done to the prophets of their time.

Consider Paul’s lament in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 4:9-13 NET):

For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to die, because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to people. We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, we are dishonored! To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, poorly clothed, brutally treated, and without a roof over our heads. We do hard work, toiling with our own hands. When we are verbally abused, we respond with a blessing, when persecuted, we endure, when people lie about us, we answer in a friendly manner. We are the world’s dirt and scum, even now.

And consider how this lament became his battle cry in his letter to the Romans (Romans 8:36-39 NET):

As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered [Table].” No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

My aim is to know him, Paul wrote the Philippians, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.^[4] But the religious mind covets a place of honor at banquets, the best seats in the house, respectful greetings in public places and to be revered as teacher (Matthew 23:6, 7). Anything less it considers “persecution” and “affliction.” The suggestion that God might hand his redeemed one over to others, to be abused by them, that the others in turn might recognize their own sinfulness, is anathema to the religious mind. It is not too hard to imagine that the temptation to cover or disguise anything, even Scripture, which suggests such a thing would be difficult to resist. I suspect, however, that most of us suffer from our own sins ^[5], and that far fewer of us are considered worthy to suffer dishonor directly from the sins of others for the sake of the name.^[6]

Granted, once the serpents, the brood of vipers, sought the blood of the prophets of their generation, all the righteous blood shed on earth came upon them and their people. So there is a judicial aspect to these events, but reducing them to crime and punishment alone smears all of the vibrant colors of God’s mercy, love and grace through Jesus Christ until they become a murky gray. Besides, their “punishment,” if you will, was not mystical, magical or supernatural in any way, but all too human.

While their leaders were preoccupied killing and persecuting the prophets who brought them the knowledge Jeremiah prophesied (Jeremiah 31:31-34) and the desire of Moses (Numbers 11:25-29) prophesied by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 36:22-27), virulent strains of Judaism fought for ascendency. By brute force and political manipulation most in Jerusalem accepted this murderous faith in fact and action whether they believed it in their hearts or not. The devil, after all, seeks compliance not faith. Robert A. Dahl’s definition of power—“A has power over B to the extent that he can get B to do something that B would not otherwise do”^[7]—was still taught in political science classes as of 2014,^[8] and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one^[9] (1 John 5:18-21; Ephesians 2:1-3; 2 Timothy 2:24-26).

The zealots and sicarii were anything but those with Jesus’ fountain of water—his own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control^[10]—springing up to eternal life^[11] inside of them. “I don’t need to punish people,” Papa (Octavia Spencer) said in the movie The Shack. “Sin is its own punishment.” But it seems to be part of the human condition to deny Jesus’ insight: You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him.^[12] Even when our sinfulness is self-evident we search for other explanations.

Before I began this study I tacitly assumed this devious plot that led to the destruction of Jerusalem was the wisdom (σοφία) of God rather than an easily anticipated trajectory of human sinfulness filtered through a particular brand of the religious mind. Hear Paul on the subject of God’s wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2:6-16; 3:18-20; Colossians 4:5, 6 NET).

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom (σοφίαν, another form of σοφία) of the wise, and I will thwart the cleverness of the intelligent.” Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic law? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made the wisdom (σοφίαν, another form of σοφία) of the world foolish [Table]? For since in the wisdom (σοφίᾳ) of God the world by its wisdom (σοφίας, another form of σοφία) did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching. For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom (σοφίαν, another form of σοφία), but we preach about a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles [Table]. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom (σοφίαν, another form of σοφία) of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength [Table].

Now we do speak wisdom (Σοφίαν, another form of σοφία) among the mature, but not a wisdom (σοφίαν, another form of σοφία) of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing. Instead we speak the wisdom (σοφίαν, another form of σοφία) of God, hidden in a mystery, that God determined before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But just as it is written, “Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him.” God has revealed these to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the things of a man except the man’s spirit within him? So too, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 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 to us by God. And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom (σοφίας, another form of σοφία), but with those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people [Table]. The unbeliever does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is understood by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to advise him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Guard against self-deception, each of you. If someone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become foolish so that he can become wise. For the wisdom (σοφία) of this age is foolishness with God. As it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”

Conduct yourselves with wisdom (σοφίᾳ) toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.

And James wrote (James 3:13-18 NET):

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom (σοφίας, another form of σοφία) brings. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. Such wisdom (σοφία) does not come from above but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom (σοφία) from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and not hypocritical. And the fruit that consists of righteousness is planted in peace among those who make peace.

James contrasted wisdom from above (ἄνωθεν) to that which is not from above (ἄνωθεν) with the same word Jesus used to describe the birth of the new human: I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above (ἄνωθεν), he cannot see the kingdom of God.^[13] Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above (ἄνωθεν).’^[14]

Tables of forms of ἐκζητέω and occurrences of σοφία follow with their translations in the KJV and NET. If the parallel Greek of the NET differed from the Textus Receptus I broke the table to contrast them along with the Byzantine Majority Text.

Form of ἐκζητέω	Reference	KJV	NET
ἐκζητήσας	Hebrews 12:17	…though he sought it carefully with tears.	…although he sought the blessing with tears.
ἐκζητήσωσιν	Acts 15:17	That the residue of men might seek after the Lord…	…so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord…

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὅπως ἂν ἐκζητήσωσιν οἱ κατάλοιποι τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸν κύριον καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ἐφ᾿ οὓς ἐπικέκληται τὸ ὄνομα μου ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς, λέγει κύριος ποιῶν ταῦτα	οπως αν εκζητησωσιν οι καταλοιποι των ανθρωπων τον κυριον και παντα τα εθνη εφ ους επικεκληται το ονομα μου επ αυτους λεγει κυριος ο ποιων ταυτα παντα	οπως αν εκζητησωσιν οι καταλοιποι των ανθρωπων τον κυριον και παντα τα εθνη εφ ους επικεκληται το ονομα μου επ αυτους λεγει κυριος ο ποιων ταυτα παντα

ἐκζητηθῇ

Luke 11:50

…may be required of this generation…

…so that this generation may be held accountable for the blood…

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἵνα ἐκζητηθῇ τὸ αἷμα πάντων τῶν προφητῶν τὸ ἐκκεχυμένον ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης	ινα εκζητηθη το αιμα παντων των προφητων το εκχυνομενον απο καταβολης κοσμου απο της γενεας ταυτης	ινα εκζητηθη το αιμα παντων των προφητων το εκχυνομενον απο καταβολης κοσμου απο της γενεας ταυτης

ἐκζητηθήσεται

Luke 11:51

It shall be required of this generation.

…it will be charged against this generation.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπὸ αἵματος Ἅβελ ἕως αἵματος Ζαχαρίου τοῦ ἀπολομένου μεταξὺ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου καὶ τοῦ οἴκου· ναὶ λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐκζητηθήσεται ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης	απο του αιματος αβελ εως του αιματος ζαχαριου του απολομενου μεταξυ του θυσιαστηριου και του οικου ναι λεγω υμιν εκζητηθησεται απο της γενεας ταυτης	απο του αιματος αβελ εως του αιματος ζαχαριου του απολομενου μεταξυ του θυσιαστηριου και του οικου ναι λεγω υμιν εκζητηθησεται απο της γενεας ταυτης

ἐκζητῶν	Romans 3:11	…there is none that seeketh after God.	…there is no one who seeks God.
ἐκζητοῦσιν	Hebrews 11:6	…he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.	…he rewards those who seek him.
ἐξεζήτησαν	1 Peter 1:10	…the prophets have inquired and searched diligently…	…searched and investigated carefully.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
περὶ ἧς σωτηρίας ἐξεζήτησαν καὶ ἐξηραύνησαν προφῆται οἱ περὶ τῆς εἰς ὑμᾶς χάριτος προφητεύσαντες	περι ης σωτηριας εξεζητησαν και εξηρευνησαν προφηται οι περι της εις υμας χαριτος προφητευσαντες	περι ης σωτηριας εξεζητησαν και εξηρευνησαν προφηται οι περι της εις υμας χαριτος προφητευσαντες

σοφία	Reference	KJV	NET
σοφία	Matthew 11:19	…wisdom is justified of her children…	…wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἦλθεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων, καὶ λέγουσιν· ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπος φάγος καὶ οἰνοπότης, τελωνῶν φίλος καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν. καὶ ἐδικαιώθη ἡ σοφία ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῆς	ηλθεν ο υιος του ανθρωπου εσθιων και πινων και λεγουσιν ιδου ανθρωπος φαγος και οινοποτης τελωνων φιλος και αμαρτωλων και εδικαιωθη η σοφια απο των τεκνων αυτης	ηλθεν ο υιος του ανθρωπου εσθιων και πινων και λεγουσιν ιδου ανθρωπος φαγος και οινοποτης τελωνων φιλος και αμαρτωλων και εδικαιωθη η σοφια απο των τεκνων αυτης

σοφία

Matthew 13:54

Whence hath this man this wisdom…

Where did this man get such wisdom…

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἐλθὼν εἰς τὴν πατρίδα αὐτοῦ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ αὐτῶν, ὥστε ἐκπλήσσεσθαι αὐτοὺς καὶ λέγειν· πόθεν τούτῳ ἡ σοφία αὕτη καὶ αἱ δυνάμεις	και ελθων εις την πατριδα αυτου εδιδασκεν αυτους εν τη συναγωγη αυτων ωστε εκπληττεσθαι αυτους και λεγειν ποθεν τουτω η σοφια αυτη και αι δυναμεις	και ελθων εις την πατριδα αυτου εδιδασκεν αυτους εν τη συναγωγη αυτων ωστε εκπληττεσθαι αυτους και λεγειν ποθεν τουτω η σοφια αυτη και αι δυναμεις

σοφία

Mark 6:2

…what wisdom is this which is given unto him…

…what is this wisdom that has been given to him?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ γενομένου σαββάτου ἤρξατο διδάσκειν ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ, καὶ πολλοὶ ἀκούοντες ἐξεπλήσσοντο λέγοντες· πόθεν τούτῳ ταῦτα, καὶ τίς ἡ σοφία ἡ δοθεῖσα τούτῳ, καὶ αἱ δυνάμεις τοιαῦται διὰ τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ γινόμεναι	και γενομενου σαββατου ηρξατο εν τη συναγωγη διδασκειν και πολλοι ακουοντες εξεπλησσοντο λεγοντες ποθεν τουτω ταυτα και τις η σοφια η δοθεισα αυτω οτι^[15] και δυναμεις τοιαυται δια των χειρων αυτου γινονται	και γενομενου σαββατου ηρξατο εν τη συναγωγη διδασκειν και πολλοι ακουοντες εξεπλησσοντο λεγοντες ποθεν τουτω ταυτα και τις η σοφια η δοθεισα αυτω και δυναμεις τοιαυται δια των χειρων αυτου γινονται

σοφίᾳ

Luke 2:40

…filled with wisdom…

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Τὸ δὲ παιδίον ἠύξανεν καὶ ἐκραταιοῦτο πληρούμενον σοφίᾳ, καὶ χάρις θεοῦ ἦν ἐπ᾿ αὐτό	το δε παιδιον ηυξανεν και εκραταιουτο πνευματι πληρουμενον σοφιας και χαρις θεου ην επ αυτο	το δε παιδιον ηυξανεν και εκραταιουτο πνευματι πληρουμενον σοφιας και χαρις θεου ην επ αυτο

σοφίᾳ

Luke 2:52

And Jesus increased in wisdom…

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ Ἰησοῦς προέκοπτεν [ἐν τῇ] σοφίᾳ καὶ ἡλικίᾳ καὶ χάριτι παρὰ θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις	και ιησους προεκοπτεν σοφια και ηλικια και χαριτι παρα θεω και ανθρωποις	και ιησους προεκοπτεν σοφια και ηλικια και χαριτι παρα θεω και ανθρωποις

σοφία	Luke 7:35	…wisdom is justified of all her children.	…wisdom is vindicated by all her children.
σοφία	Luke 11:49	Therefore also said the wisdom of God…	For this reason also the wisdom of God said…

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ εἶπεν· ἀποστελῶ εἰς αὐτοὺς προφήτας καὶ ἀποστόλους, καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀποκτενοῦσιν καὶ διώξουσιν	δια τουτο και η σοφια του θεου ειπεν αποστελω εις αυτους προφητας και αποστολους και εξ αυτων αποκτενουσιν και εκδιωξουσιν	δια τουτο και η σοφια του θεου ειπεν αποστελω εις αυτους προφητας και αποστολους και εξ αυτων αποκτενουσιν και εκδιωξουσιν

σοφίᾳ	Acts 6:10	…the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.	…the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.
σοφίᾳ	Acts 7:22	…Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians…	…Moses was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians…

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἐπαιδεύθη Μωϋσῆς [ἐν] πάσῃ σοφίᾳ Ἀιγυπτίων, ἦν δὲ δυνατὸς ἐν λόγοις καὶ ἔργοις αὐτοῦ	και επαιδευθη μωσης παση σοφια αιγυπτιων ην δε δυνατος εν λογοις και εν εργοις	και επαιδευθη μωσης παση σοφια αιγυπτιων ην δε δυνατος εν λογοις και εργοις

σοφίᾳ

1 Corinthians 1:17

…not with wisdom of words…

…and not with clever speech…

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν με Χριστὸς βαπτίζειν ἀλλὰ εὐαγγελίζεσθαι, οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου, ἵνα μὴ κενωθῇ ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ Χριστοῦ	ου γαρ απεστειλεν με χριστος βαπτιζειν αλλ ευαγγελιζεσθαι ουκ εν σοφια λογου ινα μη κενωθη ο σταυρος του χριστου	ου γαρ απεστειλεν με χριστος βαπτιζειν αλλ ευαγγελιζεσθαι ουκ εν σοφια λογου ινα μη κενωθη ο σταυρος του χριστου

σοφίᾳ	1 Corinthians 1:21	For after that in the wisdom of God…	For since in the wisdom of God…
σοφία	1 Corinthians 1:30	…who of God is made unto us wisdom…	…who became for us wisdom from God…
σοφίᾳ	1 Corinthians 2:5	That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men…	…that your faith would not be based on human wisdom…
σοφία	1 Corinthians 3:19	For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.	For the wisdom of this age^[16] is foolishness with God.
σοφίᾳ	2 Corinthians 1:12	…not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God…	…not by human wisdom but by the grace of God…

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ἡ γὰρ καύχησις ἡμῶν αὕτη ἐστίν, τὸ μαρτύριον τῆς συνειδήσεως ἡμῶν, ὅτι ἐν \|ἁπλότητι\| καὶ εἰλικρινείᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ, [καὶ] οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ σαρκικῇ ἀλλ᾿ ἐν χάριτι θεοῦ, ἀνεστράφημεν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, περισσοτέρως δὲ πρὸς ὑμᾶς	η γαρ καυχησις ημων αυτη εστιν το μαρτυριον της συνειδησεως ημων οτι εν απλοτητι και ειλικρινεια θεου ουκ εν σοφια σαρκικη αλλ εν χαριτι θεου ανεστραφημεν εν τω κοσμω περισσοτερως δε προς υμας	η γαρ καυχησις ημων αυτη εστιν το μαρτυριον της συνειδησεως ημων οτι εν απλοτητι και ειλικρινεια θεου ουκ εν σοφια σαρκικη αλλ εν χαριτι θεου ανεστραφημεν εν τω κοσμω περισσοτερως δε προς υμας

σοφίᾳ	Ephesians 1:8	…hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence…	…lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.
σοφία	Ephesians 3:10	…might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God…	… through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God should now be disclosed…
σοφίᾳ	Colossians 1:9	…in all wisdom and spiritual understanding…	…in all spiritual wisdom and understanding…
σοφίᾳ	Colossians 1:28	…teaching every man in all wisdom…	…teaching all people with all wisdom…

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὃν ἡμεῖς καταγγέλλομεν νουθετοῦντες πάντα ἄνθρωπον καὶ διδάσκοντες πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ, ἵνα παραστήσωμεν πάντα ἄνθρωπον τέλειον ἐν Χριστῷ	ον ημεις καταγγελλομεν νουθετουντες παντα ανθρωπον και διδασκοντες παντα ανθρωπον εν παση σοφια ινα παραστησωμεν παντα ανθρωπον τελειον εν χριστω ιησου	ον ημεις καταγγελλομεν νουθετουντες παντα ανθρωπον και διδασκοντες παντα ανθρωπον εν παση σοφια ινα παραστησωμεν παντα ανθρωπον τελειον εν χριστω ιησου

σοφίᾳ

Colossians 3:16

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom…

…teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom…

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ὁ λόγος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐνοικείτω ἐν ὑμῖν πλουσίως, ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ διδάσκοντες καὶ νουθετοῦντες ἑαυτοὺς, ψαλμοῖς ὕμνοις ᾠδαῖς πνευματικαῖς ἐν [τῇ] χάριτι ᾄδοντες ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν τῷ θεῷ	ο λογος του χριστου ενοικειτω εν υμιν πλουσιως εν παση σοφια διδασκοντες και νουθετουντες εαυτους ψαλμοις και υμνοις και ωδαις πνευματικαις εν χαριτι αδοντες εν τη καρδια υμων τω κυριω	ο λογος του χριστου ενοικειτω εν υμιν πλουσιως εν παση σοφια διδασκοντες και νουθετουντες εαυτους ψαλμοις και υμνοις και ωδαις πνευματικαις εν χαριτι αδοντες εν τη καρδια υμων τω κυριω

σοφίᾳ	Colossians 4:5	Walk in wisdom toward them that are without…	Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders…
σοφία	James 3:15	This wisdom descendeth not from above…	Such wisdom does not come from above…

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
οὐκ ἔστιν αὕτη ἡ σοφία ἄνωθεν κατερχομένη ἀλλὰ ἐπίγειος, ψυχική, δαιμονιώδης	ουκ εστιν αυτη η σοφια ανωθεν κατερχομενη αλλ επιγειος ψυχικη δαιμονιωδης	ουκ εστιν αυτη η σοφια ανωθεν κατερχομενη αλλ επιγειος ψυχικη δαιμονιωδης

σοφία

James 3:17

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure…

But the wisdom from above is first pure…

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἡ δὲ ἄνωθεν σοφία πρῶτον μὲν ἁγνή ἐστιν, ἔπειτα εἰρηνική, ἐπιεικής, εὐπειθής, μεστὴ ἐλέους καὶ καρπῶν ἀγαθῶν, ἀδιάκριτος, ἀνυπόκριτος	η δε ανωθεν σοφια πρωτον μεν αγνη εστιν επειτα ειρηνικη επιεικης ευπειθης μεστη ελεους και καρπων αγαθων αδιακριτος και ανυποκριτος	η δε ανωθεν σοφια πρωτον μεν αγνη εστιν επειτα ειρηνικη επιεικης ευπειθης μεστη ελεους και καρπων αγαθων αδιακριτος και ανυποκριτος

σοφία	Revelation 7:12	Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving…	Praise and glory, and wisdom and thanksgiving…
σοφία	Revelation 13:18	Here is wisdom.	This calls for wisdom…

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ωδε ἡ σοφία ἐστίν ὁ ἔχων νοῦν ψηφισάτω τὸν ἀριθμὸν τοῦ θηρίου, ἀριθμὸς γὰρ ἀνθρώπου ἐστίν, καὶ ὁ ἀριθμὸς αὐτοῦ ἑξακόσιοι ἑξήκοντα ἕξ	ωδε η σοφια εστιν ο εχων τον νουν ψηφισατω τον αριθμον του θηριου αριθμος γαρ ανθρωπου εστιν και ο αριθμος αυτου χξς	ωδε η σοφια εστιν ο εχων νουν ψηφισατω τον αριθμον του θηριου αριθμος γαρ ανθρωπου εστιν και ο αριθμος αυτου εστιν χξς

Father, Forgive Them – Part 5

Back to Atonement, Part 7

^[1] Matthew 23:30 (NET)

^[2] Luke 11:49 (NET)

^[3] https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/verbs1.htm#SUBJUNCTIVE

^[4] Philippians 3:10, 11 (NET)

^[5] The Greek word translated meddler (NIV), busybody in other men’s matters (KJV), or troublemaker (NET) was ἀλλοτριεπίσκοπος, and is notable for its mention along with a murderer or thief or criminal.

^[6] Acts 5:41b (NET) Table

^[7] Robert A. Dahl, “The Concept of Power”

^[8] Michael Valdivieso, “Three dimensions of power,” September 28, 2014, International Association for Political Science Students

^[9] 1 John 5:19b (NET)

^[10] Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

^[11] John 4:14b (NET)

^[12] John 8:44a (NET)

^[13] John 3:3 (NET) Table

^[14] John 3:7 (NET)

^[15] The word οτι (τούτῳ may have the same effect as αυτω οτι) in the Stephanus Textus Receptus relates the δυναμεις to the σοφια: …that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands (KJV); What are these miracles that are done through his hands? (NET) Consider this in relation to deeds being the children of wisdom.

^[16] Matthew 24:3

Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 1

Posted on November 28, 2016 by admin

Then we left Horeb, Moses said, and passed through all that immense, forbidding (yârêʼ, והנורא) wilderness that you saw on the way to the Amorite hill country as the Lord our God had commanded us to do, finally arriving at Kadesh Barnea.^[1] The word forbidding gives the impression that the fearfulness of the wilderness was primarily environmental. But I would be remiss in a study of fear to ignore what happened in that immense, forbidding wilderness (Numbers 11:1, 2 NET).

When the people complained, it displeased the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה). When the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) heard it, his anger burned, and so the fire of the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) burned among them and consumed some of the outer parts of the camp. When the people cried to Moses, he prayed to the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה), and the fire died out.

Without minimizing the fearfulness of this incident the word complained may be a little misleading, particularly in light of the subject headings: The Israelites Complain, Complaints about Food and Moses’ Complaint to the Lord. The Tanakh reads: And the people were as murmurers, speaking evil in the ears of HaShem;^[2] and when HaShem heard it, His anger was kindled… The implication seems to be that the people thought yehôvâh would not or could not hear them. And the people cried unto Moses; and Moses prayed unto HaShem, and the fire abated. They got that message. Their complaints about food were made more or less to Moses (Numbers 11:4-6 NET).

Now the mixed multitude who were among them craved more desirable foods, and so the Israelites wept again and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we used to eat freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now we are dried up, and there is nothing at all before us except this manna!”

Moses did not respond as a murmurer. He took his frustration directly to yehôvâh (Numbers 11:11-15 NET):

“Why have you afflicted your servant? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of this entire people on me? Did I conceive this entire people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your arms, as a foster father bears a nursing child,’ to the land which you swore to their fathers? From where shall I get meat to give to this entire people, for they cry to me, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat!’ I am not able to bear this entire people alone, because it is too heavy for me! But if you are going to deal with me like this, then kill me immediately. If I have found favor in your sight then do not let me see my trouble.”

The fire of yehôvâh did not fall upon Moses. He received help instead. I’ve written elsewhere about the help Moses received. Here I want to return to fear. “And say to the people,” yehôvâh said to Moses (Numbers 11:18-20 NET):

‘…you have wept in the hearing of the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה), saying, “Who will give us meat to eat, for life was good for us in Egypt?” Therefore the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) will give you meat, and you will eat. You will eat, not just one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out your nostrils and makes you sick, because you have despised the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we ever come out of Egypt?”’”

Even Moses was concerned about making such a promise publicly. “The people around me are 600,000 on foot,” He said, “but you say, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.’ Would they have enough if the flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? If all the fish of the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?”^[3]

“Is the Lord’s (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) hand shortened?” y^ehôvâh replied. “Now you will see whether my word to you will come true or not!” So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord (y^ehôvâh).^[4] The mere fact of complaining was not so much the issue as the manner of the complaint and the faithfulness of the complainant (Numbers 11:31-33 NET).

Now a wind went out from the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) and brought quail from the sea, and let them fall near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about three feet high on the surface of the ground. And the people stayed up all that day, all that night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail. The one who gathered the least gathered ten homers, and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. But while the meat was still between their teeth, before they chewed it, the anger of the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) burned against the people, and the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) struck the people with a very great plague.

I’ve written about Miriam’s challenge to Moses’ authority and what happened to her elsewhere. The people of Israel had ample opportunity to fear y^ehôvâh in that immense, forbidding wilderness. And here I am thinking of what y^ehôvâh told Isaiah, admittedly, many centuries later (Isaiah 8:12, 13 NET):

“Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word. Don’t be afraid (yârêʼ, תיראו) of what scares (môrâʼ, מוראו) them; don’t be terrified (ʽârats, תעריצו). You must recognize the authority (môrâʼ, מוראכם) of the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) who commands armies. He is the one you must respect (ʽârats, מערצכם); he is the one you must fear.”

In the Septuagint the Hebrew word yârêʼ (והנורא; translated forbidding in Deuteronomy 1:19) was translated φοβερὰν (a form of φοβερός) in Greek. Though φοβερὰν doesn’t occur in the New Testament, other forms of φοβερός do (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 (φοβερὰ, another form of φοβερός) 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. 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.” It is a terrifying (φοβερὸν, another form of φοβερός) thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The people of Israel were plagued by a fearful expectation of judgment rather than a fear of y^ehôvâh that entailed faith or reverence. And that fearful expectation of judgment led to a chronic mistrust of y^ehôvâh’s motives. I hear it even in their request to send spies into the promised land. I made the following table assuming that Moses consulted y^ehôvâh before acting on the people’s request.

Numbers 13:1-3 (NET)	Deuteronomy 1:20-23 (NET)
	Then I said to you, “You have come to the Amorite hill country which the Lord our God is about to give us. Look, he has placed the land in front of you! Go up, take possession of it, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to do. Do not be afraid or discouraged!” So all of you approached me and said, “Let’s send some men ahead of us to scout out the land and bring us back word as to how we should attack it and what the cities are like there.” I thought this was a good idea…
The Lord spoke to Moses: “Send out men to investigate the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites.
You are to send one man from each ancestral tribe, each one a leader among them.” So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command of the Lord.	…so I sent twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.
All of them were leaders of the Israelites.

Most of the spies returned from the promised land fearing the people who lived there rather than y^ehôvâh. “We are not able to go up against these people,” they said, “because they are stronger than we are!”^[5] The rest of the people of Israel defied y^ehôvâh and refused to enter the promised land, saying, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had perished in this wilderness [Table]! Why has the Lord brought us into this land only to be killed by the sword, that our wives and our children should become plunder? Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt [Table]?” So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and return to Egypt [Table].”^[6]

Their mistrust was evident to Moses: You complained among yourselves privately and said, “Because the Lord hates us he brought us from Egypt to deliver us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us! What is going to happen to us? Our brothers have drained away our courage by describing people who are more numerous and taller than we are, and great cities whose defenses appear to be as high as heaven itself! Moreover, they said they saw Anakites there.”^[7]

At Sinai Moses said to the people, “Do not fear (yârêʼ, תיראו), for God has come to test you, that the fear (yirʼâh, יראתו) of him may be before you so that you do not sin.”^[8] It is important to recognize the results of that test: The fear of the Lord is weakened through the flesh, just like the law. Jesus gave Nicodemus his summation of the human condition revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures (John 3:3, 5-8, 10 NET):

“I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God [Table]…unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’ The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit…Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things?”

Precious few in Israel were led by his Spirit (Numbers 11:16, 17 NET):

The Lord said to Moses, “Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know are elders of the people and officials over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting; let them take their position there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take part of the spirit that is on you, and will put it on them, and they will bear some of the burden of the people with you, so that you do not bear it all by yourself.”

I am certainly no better than the people in that immense, forbidding wilderness, arguably worse given my advantages. I told Him I preferred not to have been born. The fire of y^ehôvâh did not consume me because He came to earth in human flesh as Jesus the Messiah and died for our sins: he himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the whole world.^[9]

Though his Holy Spirit had been given, I was so busy doing I was still fairly clueless how to be led by Him. In fact, if I remember correctly, I was thinking that the written words in the Bible were similar to divine programming taking over my mind. Oh, well. It kept me reading and trying to know Him through those written words. None of this is to say that I am some kind of genius at being led by the Holy Spirit now. Anyone who knows me knows that I have my fearful moments when I wrest back control resulting, more often than not, in an outburst of anger (Galatians 5:19-21 NET).

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!

I have no excuse for it. But it happens at work mostly, when I’m responsible for the quality of others’ work. (Sometimes I work alone or someone else is lead.) Though the work is seasonal we are salaried. I don’t work again until January. I definitely want to finish my working career at this job. Though the knowledge and self-awareness of my fear of losing this job would seem to be helpful, it’s not when I think about it too much. Then I add the fearful expectation that God will allow, or cause, all hell to break loose when I’m the lead to test me and make me better: The I-prayed-for-patience-so-God-gave-me-children syndrome.

Do not be afraid (yârêʼ, תירא) or discouraged!^[10] Moses said. The Greek word used for yârêʼ in the Septuagint was φοβεῖσθε (a form of φοβέω). When the disciples saw [Jesus] walking on the water they were terrified (ἐταράχθησαν, a form of ταράσσω) and said, “It’s a ghost!” and cried out with fear (φόβου, a form of φόβος). But immediately Jesus spoke to them: “Have courage (θαρσεῖτε, a form of θαρσέω)! It is I. Do not be afraid (φοβεῖσθε, a form of φοβέω).”^[11]

Then I said to you, Moses said, “Do not be terrified (ʽârats, תערצון), or afraid (yârêʼ, תיראון) of them!”^[12] The Greek word used for yârêʼ in the Septuagint was φοβηθῆτε (another form of φοβέω). But I will warn you whom you should fear (φοβηθῆτε) Jesus said. 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!^[13]

I would do well to remember this if I persist in turning back from being led by the Holy Spirit. But I freely admit, fear doesn’t work well on me for anything positive. It is weakened through the flesh. I respond better to love and mercy. Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Jesus continued. Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. In fact, even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid (φοβεῖσθε, a form of φοβέω); you are more valuable than many sparrows.^[14]

I should take that more to heart when I’m afraid of losing my job, and be more thankful. I have a much more violent, hair-trigger temper than the one that comes out to play at work. And having been forgiven for the very same fear and mistrust, I find it much easier now than when I began to study the Old Testament to forgive the people of Israel and to learn from their mistakes (Romans 15:4 NET).

For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope.

Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 2

Back to Paul’s Religious Mind Revisited, Part 6

Back to Peter’s First Gospel Proclamation Revisited, Part 1

^[1] Deuteronomy 1:19 (NET)

^[2] From Names of God in Judaism under the heading ‘Other names and titles’: As the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton came to be avoided in the Hellenistic period, Jews began to read “Adonai” at its appearances in scripture and to say “Adonai” in its place in prayer. Owing to the expansion of chumra (the idea of “building a fence around the Torah”), Adonai itself has come to be too holy to say for Orthodox Jews, leading to its replacement by HaShem (“The Name”).

^[3] Numbers 11:21, 22 (NET)

^[4] Numbers 11:23, 24a (NET)

^[5] Numbers 13:31b (NET) Table

^[6] Numbers 14:2b-4 (NET)

^[7] Deuteronomy 1:27, 28 (NET)

^[8] Exodus 20:20 (NET)

^[9] 1 John 2:2 (NET)

^[10] Deuteronomy 1:21b (NET)

^[11] Matthew 14:26, 27 (NET)

^[12] Deuteronomy 1:29 (NKJV)

^[13] Luke 12:5 (NET)

^[14] Luke 12:6, 7 (NET)

Forgiven or Passed Over? Part 2

Posted on April 8, 2015 by admin

I studied ʽâbar through Genesis. Nothing so far justifies translating it forgiven in Nathan’s response to David’s confession—Yes, and the Lord has forgiven (ʽâbar, העביר; Septuagint: παρεβίβασεν) your sin.^[1] But ʽâbar kept some evocative company for anyone studying the Torah in Hebrew (Genesis 6:5-7, 11-13 NET).

But the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time. The Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) regretted that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended. So the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) said, “I will wipe humankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth – everything from humankind to animals, including creatures that move on the ground and birds of the air, for I regret that I have made them.”

The earth was ruined in the sight of God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, האלהים); the earth was filled with violence. God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהים) saw the earth, and indeed it was ruined, for all living creatures on the earth were sinful. So God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהים) said to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy them and the earth.

His chosen method of destruction was water: I am about to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy from under the sky all the living creatures that have the breath of life in them. Everything that is on the earth will die…^[2] The waters completely overwhelmed the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters.^[3] So [He] destroyed every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived. The waters prevailed over the earth for 150 days.^[4]

Then ʽâbar was the action of the wind that proceeded (if not caused) the recession of the waters of this destruction: But God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהים) remembered Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהים) caused a wind to blow (ʽâbar, ויעבר; Septuagint: ἐπήγαγεν) over the earth and the waters receded.^[5]

The next occurrences of ʽâbar are found in the story of Abram/Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3 NET):

Now the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) said to Abram, “Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household to the land that I will show you [Table]. Then I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, so that you will exemplify divine blessing [Table]. I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, and all the families of the earth will bless one another by your name” [Table].

So Abram left, just as the Lord had told him to do,^[6] and ʽâbar was what Abram did as he obeyed y^ehôvâh. Abram traveled (ʽâbar, ויעבר; Septuagint: διώδευσεν^[7]) through the land as far as the oak tree of Moreh at Shechem.^[8]

I am the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה), He said to Abram still clearly within the word of the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) that came to Abram in a vision,^[9] who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.^[10] O sovereign (ʼădônây, אדני) Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה), by what can I know that I am to possess it?^[11] Take for me a heifer, He answered, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.^[12]

I suppose it is possible that Abram took all these for him and then cut them in two and placed each half opposite the other^[13] outside of the vision of verses 1-9. Perhaps I am meant to take—When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away^[14]—in precisely that mundane way. Then when the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, and great terror overwhelmed him^[15] and Abram had a second vision.

My problem with this interpretation is that as Abram slept nocturnal birds of prey came to feast upon the carcasses of the heifer, the goat, the ram, the dove and the pigeon he had protected all day for y^ehôvâh in the real world, even as Abram heard and saw something completely different in a dream. I am more inclined to take the text at face value and assume that Abram acted within the vision of Genesis 15:1 and that he was a dream within a vision deep in Genesis 15:13-16 (NET):

Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign country. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years [Table]. But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. Afterward they will come out with many possessions [Table]. But as for you, you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age [Table]. In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit [Table].

Then ʽâbar was the action of a smoking firepot with a flaming torch in a vision designed to overcome the doubts of Abram the believer:^[16] When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch passed (ʽâbar, עבר; Septuagint: διῆλθον) between the animal parts.^[17] It would have been disconcerting, to say the least, if Abram woke up the next morning to find the bones picked clean by nocturnal birds and other scavengers.

That day, the vision concluded, the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) made a covenant with Abram: “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River [Table]– the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, [Table] Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, [Table] Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites [Table].”^[18]

This brings me to the beginning of the Parashat Vayera (פרשת וירא), Genesis 18:1-22:24. Ben Zion Katz, a pediatrician and self-proclaimed recreational Bible scholar, in an essay—“God’s Appearance to Abraham: Vision or Visit?”—posted on TheTorah.com contrasted “The Traditional Approach” to “A Peshat Reading” of Genesis 18. In the traditional approach Abraham interrupted a vision of God to entertain three guests. “This reading thus exemplifies the performance of two mitzvot – visiting the sick and welcoming guests.”

Even when I searched the Bible for mitzvot I was never quite this clever. I certainly recognized Abraham’s hospitality but had serious doubts and questions about Lot’s practice of the same with two of the same men. And I didn’t see “visiting the sick” here until I read Dr. Katz article: “God is ‘visiting’ Abraham (in a vision) because Abraham was recuperating from his circumcision.” As long as I searched the Bible for rules to obey I, like Nicodemus, didn’t see—I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God^[19]—as the take away message of the Old Testament.

I was taught that I must be born again. I was taught to mock Nicodemus’ dull-wittedness: How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time, can he?^[20] And, How can these things be?^[21] But I didn’t understand Jesus’ retort either (John 3:10-12 NET):

Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things? I tell you the solemn truth, we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. If I have told you people about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?

I was George McFly in the diner in “Back to the Future.” I felt as bullied by Jesus as he did by Biff Tannen. When Jesus turned his attention to Nicodemus, like Biff’s followers turned on Marty, I could feel like a winner for a moment, piling on Nicodemus. But only for a moment, for Jesus was soon back to bullying me as his words seemed at the time. God come to earth, mocking everyone who was not God.

The revolution came when I began to see Jesus as a baby and a child learning everything anew. He studied the Hebrew Bible, what I call the Old Testament, and from it through the Holy Spirit learned the solemn truth (John 3:5-8 NET):

unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’ The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

You must all be born from above, because no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.^[22] God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.^[23]

Dr. Katz continued:

Although clever and ethically uplifting, the traditional reading is not the peshat, the plain meaning of the text. The peshat reading, which is in consonance with modern literary analysis, is rather straightforward. In verse 1, we are given an introduction that God appeared to Abraham. That appearance then begins in verse 2, and of the 3 “people” Abraham sees, one is God personified while the other 2 are angels or messengers of God.

My lord (ʼâdôn, אדני), Abraham said, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass (ʽâbar, תעבר; Septuagint: παρέλθῃς^[24]) by and leave your servant.^[25] Here ʽâbar became the action that y^ehôvâh would take if He did not favor Abraham. Let a little water be brought so that you may all wash your feet and rest under the tree,^[26] Abraham continued. It sounds to me as if Abraham wished to honor his guests in a manner in keeping with the favor their consenting to be his guests implied. But in the “traditional” commentary Abraham was seen as a strict adherent 430 years before the law:

and bathe your feet: He thought that they were Arabs, who prostrate themselves to the dust of their feet, and he was strict not to allow any idolatry into his house. But Lot, who was not strict, mentioned lodging before washing, as it is said (below 19:2): “and lodge and bathe your feet.” – [from Gen. Rabbah 54:4]

And let me get a bit of food, Abraham continued, so that you may refresh yourselves since you have passed (ʽâbar, עברתם; Septuagint: ἐξεκλίνατε^[27]) by your servant’s home. After that you may (ʽâbar, תעברו; Septuagint: παρελεύσεσθε^[28]) be on your way.^[29] Here even the “traditional” commentary recognized the honor Abraham perceived:

because you have passed by: For I request this from you [i.e., to sustain your hearts] because you have passed by me [i.e., have stopped in my home] to honor me.

If y^ehôvâh consented not to ʽâbar by Abraham, Abraham’s hospitality would become the reason that y^ehôvâh ʽâbar Abraham’s tent. All right, y^ehôvâh and his two companions replied, you may do as you say.^[30]

After Sarah died Abraham negotiated with Ephron for a field with a cave to bury her body. It was a curious negotiation. As a wanderer in the promised land Abraham owned no property. As a respected prince Ephron was willing to give him the property, but Abraham insisted that he would pay full price. Here ʽâbar was according to the standard of that price: So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price and weighed out for him the price that Ephron had quoted in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard (ʽâbar, עבר; Septuagint: δοκίμου) measurement at the time.^[31] The note in the NET reads: “Heb ‘passing for the merchant.’ The final clause affirms that the measurement of silver was according to the standards used by the merchants of the time.”

I’ll continue in the next essay.

Forgiven or Passed Over? Part 3

Back to Romans, Part 19

^[1] 2 Samuel 12:13b (NET) Table

^[2] Genesis 6:17 (NET)

^[3] Genesis 7:18 (NET)

^[4] Genesis 7:23, 24 (NET)

^[5] Genesis 8:1 (NET)

^[6] Genesis 12:4a (NET)

^[7] διώδευσεν, a form of διοδεύω

^[8] Genesis 12:6a (NET)

^[9] Genesis 15:1 (NET)

^[10] Genesis 15:7 (NET)

^[11] Genesis 15:8 (NET)

^[12] Genesis 15:9 (NET) Table

^[13] Genesis 15:10 (NET) Table

^[14] Genesis 15:11 (NET) Table

^[15] Genesis 15:12 (NET) Table

^[16] For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3 NET, quoting Genesis 15:6 NKJV)

^[17] Genesis 15:17 (NET) Table

^[18] Genesis 15:18-21 (NET)

^[19] John 3:3 (NET) Table

^[20] John 3:4 (NET)

^[21] John 3:9 (NET)

^[22] Romans 3:20 (NET)

^[23] Romans 8:3, 4 (NET)

^[24] παρέλθῃς, a form of παρέρχομαι

^[25] Genesis 18:3 (NET)

^[26] Genesis 18:4 (NET)

^[27] ἐξεκλίνατε, a form of ἐκκλίνω

^[28] παρελεύσεσθε, another form of παρέρχομαι

^[29] Genesis 18:5a (NET)

^[30] Genesis 18:5b (NET)

^[31] Genesis 23:16 (NET)

Fear – Genesis, Part 8

Posted on February 20, 2013 by admin

So Judah and his brothers came back to Joseph’s house.^[1] Suddenly Judah, though not the eldest, has taken the lead in the narrative. He and his brothers threw themselves to the ground before^[2] Joseph. We are now my lord’s slaves, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found,^[3] Judah said. But Joseph refused: The man in whose hand the cup was found will become my slave, but the rest of you may go back to your father in peace.^[4] Then Judah, the man credited with the plan to profit from Joseph’s sale as a slave,^[5] approached Joseph and related the tale of Jacob’s love for Rachel’s sons (Genesis 44:27-34 NET):

“Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife gave me two sons. The first disappeared and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” I have not seen him since. If you take this one from me too and an accident happens to him, then you will bring down my gray hair in tragedy to the grave.’ So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us – his very life is bound up in his son’s life. When he sees the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father in sorrow to the grave. Indeed, your servant pledged security for the boy with my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame before my father all my life.’ So now, please let your servant remain as my lord’s slave instead of the boy. As for the boy, let him go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see my father’s pain.”

Joseph was no longer able to control himself before all his attendants, so he cried out, “Make everyone go out from my presence!”^[6] Then he said to his brothers, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.^[7] What follows is one of the most beautiful expressions of forgiveness in the Bible: Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to preserve life!^[8] I admit, I want to reach back in time and say to Joseph, “Next time? Lead with that.” But I can believe that it took some time to come to that conclusion. Maybe he even needed to hear Judah’s changed heart before he could fully understand that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose…^[9]

God sent me ahead of you to preserve you on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance, Joseph continued. So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God.^[10] As far as Joseph was concerned, Though [his brothers’ sin was] like scarlet, [the Lord had made it] as white as snow; Though [it was] red like crimson, [He had made it] as wool.^[11] Then Joseph sent his brothers home with provisions to bring their father and all their families back to Egypt. When he heard the news, Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them. But when they related to him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, their father Jacob’s spirit revived. Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive! I will go and see him before I die.”^[12] Once again the pattern holds: Jacob was unbelieving but Israel was persuaded and ready to go.

On the journey God spoke to Jacob’s unbelief, Jacob, Jacob…I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid (yârêʼ) to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt and I myself will certainly bring you back from there. Joseph will close your eyes.^[13] The rabbis who translated the Septuagint chose φοβοῦ (a form of φοβέω)^[14] here. Now Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing around him to hear the word of God.^[15]

There were two boats onshore owned by Peter and his business partners James and John. Jesus got into Peter’s boat and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.^[16] After He finished teaching He told Peter to put out into deeper water for a catch of fish. Peter was tired. He had been up all night and hadn’t caught a thing. But he did as Jesus said. He caught so many fish the net was tearing and he needed help from the other boat. Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”^[17] It is an odd way to react to a benefactor, but I think it illustrates the fearfulness of those born only of the flesh of Adam.

“Do not be afraid (φοβοῦ),” Jesus said to him, “from now on you will be catching people.” So when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.^[18]

Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years.^[19] Then he died there with Joseph as God had promised him. When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay us in full for all the harm we did to him?”^[20] And so, prompted by this fear, they lied and concocted the following scheme: they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave these instructions before he died: ‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father.” When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept. Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said, “Here we are; we are your slaves.”^[21]

But Joseph’s forgiveness, offered so many years earlier, was sincere. “Don’t be afraid (yârêʼ),” he said. “Am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day. So now, don’t be afraid (yârêʼ). I will provide for you and your little children.” Then he consoled them and spoke kindly to them.^[22] In the Septuagint fear was φοβεῖσθε (another form of φοβέω) again.

In the previous essay I discussed Matthew 10:28-31 (NET). Here I will simply quote it.

Do not be afraid (φοβεῖσθε) of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear (φοβεῖσθε) the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. So do not be afraid (φοβεῖσθε); you are more valuable than many sparrows.

And Jesus said to Nicodemus, I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God [Table]…What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, “You must all be born from above.”^[23]

Fear – Exodus, Part 1

Back to Jedidiah, Part 4

Back to Jedidiah, Part 5

Back to Romans, Part 43

^[1] Genesis 44:14a (NET)

^[2] Genesis 44:14b (NET)

^[3] Genesis 44:16b (NET)

^[4] Genesis 44:17 (NET)

^[5] Genesis 37:26, 27 (NET)

^[6] Genesis 45:1a (NET)

^[7] Genesis 45:4b

^[8] Genesis 45:5 (NET)

^[9] Romans 8:28 (NET)

^[10] Genesis 45:7, 8a (NET)

^[11] Paraphrase of Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV)

^[12] Genesis 45:26b-28 (NET)

^[13] Genesis 46:2b-4 (NET)

^[15] Luke 5:1 (NET)

^[16] Luke 5:3 (NET)

^[17] Luke 5:8 (NET)

^[18] Luke 5:10, 11 (NET)

^[19] Genesis 47:28a (NET)

^[20] Genesis 50:15 (NET)

^[21] Genesis 50:16-18 (NET)

^[22] Genesis 50:19-21 (NET)

^[23] John 3:3, 6, 7 (NET)

Romans, Part 2

Posted on July 25, 2012 by admin

By the time he wrote his letter to the Romans Paul was back. He abandoned all pretense of being concerned about nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.¹ His letter began with a history lesson like those he preached at Pisidian Antioch and Athens. It was the history of sin since the flood. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness…²

I think it is important not to confuse ungodliness here with sinful acts. The word is ἀσέβειαν (a form of ἀσέβεια) in Greek from ἀσεβής, a compound word, the negation of σέβομαι (a form of σέβω; “to worship, honour, revere”). This ἀσέβεια is something in people that causes them not to revere God in truth. What I am calling the religious mind is surely part of this ἀσέβεια (ungodliness). Because of this ἀσέβεια people either ignored or denied the obvious truths that were made plain to them by the creation itself, because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes – his eternal power (δύναμις) and divine nature – have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse.³

So people are culpable for their failure to worship Him in truth, and his wrath was visited upon them as they worshiped after their own inclinations (not unlike Nadab and Abihu in some cases). For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks,⁴ but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.⁵

In other words both people and the rest of creation were made in such a way by God that it should have been plain to us that no human being, bird, mammal or reptile made everything that had been made. But this ἀσέβεια in human beings makes our thoughts futile, our hearts senseless, and though it may flatter us that we are wise, ultimately it makes fools of us before God. And so God’s wrath against our ἀσέβειαν (a form of ἀσέβεια) and our unrighteous worship was revealed (Ἀποκαλύπτεται, a form of ἀποκαλύπτω) from heaven.

Unrighteous Worship

The Wrath of God Revealed from Heaven

For although they knew God, they did not glorify (ἐδόξασαν, a form of δοξάζω) him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.

Romans 1:21-23 NET

Therefore God gave (παρέδωκεν, a form of παραδίδωμι) them over in the desires (ἐπιθυμίαις, a form of ἐπιθυμία) of their hearts to impurity (ἀκαθαρσίαν, a form of ἀκαθαρσία), to dishonor (ἀτιμάζεσθαι, a form of ἀτιμάζω) their bodies (σώματα, a form of σῶμα) among themselves.⁶

Romans 1:24 NET

The desires of their hearts were not necessarily evil because of the Greek word ἐπιθυμίαις (a form of ἐπιθυμία). Jesus said, I have earnestly (ἐπιθυμίᾳ, another form of ἐπιθυμία) desired (ἐπεθύμησα, a form of ἐπιθυμέω) to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.⁷ But ἀσέβεια (ungodliness) even in religious people nudges those desires toward evil. You people are from your father the devil, Jesus said to those who were trying to kill him,⁸ and you want to do what your father desires (ἐπιθυμίας, a form of ἐπιθυμία). He was a murderer from the beginning…⁹

So the idea here is that when God gave those who exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles over to impurity (ἀκαθαρσίαν, a form of ἀκαθαρσία), this was their own desire (ἐπιθυμίαις τῶν καρδιῶν, “desire of the heart”). In other words, He stopped restraining their urges. Later, Paul wrote the believers in Ephesus (Ephesians 4:17-19 NET):

So I say this, and insist in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles¹⁰ do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts [Table]. Because they are callous, they have given themselves over (παρέδωκαν, a form of παραδίδωμι) to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity (ἀκαθαρσίας, a form of ἀκαθαρσία) with greediness.

The Greek word ἀκαθαρσίας (a form of ἀκαθαρσία) comes from the word ἀκάθαρτος, (unclean), used extensively in the Gospels to describe unclean¹¹ spirits. I mean, Paul wrote the Corinthians, that what the pagans¹² sacrifice¹³ is to demons and not to God.¹⁴ Paul was not the originator of this explanation of the gods, he paraphrased Moses’ prophecy to Israel: They made him jealous with other gods, they enraged him with abhorrent idols. They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods they had not known; to new gods who had recently come along, gods your ancestors had not known about.¹⁵

So God gave them—who exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles—over in the desires of their hearts to the impurity of demon worship, to dishonor (ἀτιμάζεσθαι, a form of ἀτιμάζω) their bodies (σώματα, a form of σῶμα) among themselves. The word ἀτιμάζω is from ἄτιμος, the negation of τιμή. Paul wrote the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 NET):

For this is God’s will (θέλημα): that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality (πορνείας, a form of πορνεία), that each of you know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor (τιμῇ, a form of τιμή), not in lustful (ἐπιθυμίας, another form of ἐπιθυμία) passion (πάθει, a form of πάθος) like the Gentiles who do not know (εἰδότα, a form of εἴδω) God.

These Gentiles did not know (εἰδότα, a form of εἴδω) or see God because they were not born from above. I tell you the solemn truth, Jesus explained to Nicodemus, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see (ἰδεῖν, another form of εἴδω) the kingdom of God.¹⁶ So I know the cure, or antidote, Paul proposed to this ἀσέβειαν (ἀσέβεια, ungodliness) that caused the Gentiles not to εἰδότα (εἴδω) God. And I am beginning to get a fairly clear picture of how the demon worshippers dishonored their bodies among themselves. They were in this fix because they did not glorify (ἐδόξασαν, a form of δοξάζω) him as God or give him thanks. Paul wrote the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 6:18-20 NET Table):

Flee sexual immorality (πορνείαν, another form of πορνεία)! “Every sin a person commits is outside of the body (σώματος, another form of σῶμα)” – but the immoral person (πορνεύων, a form of πορνεύω) sins against his own body (σῶμα). Or do you not know that your body (σῶμα) is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify (δοξάσατε, another form of δοξάζω) God with your body (σώματι, another form of σῶμα).

I’m convinced the ἀτιμάζεσθαι (ἀτιμάζω) Paul referred to was πορνείας (πορνεία), the cultic worship practices that even descendants of Israel followed before (and after) they were liberated from Egypt. (And as I mentioned before I hope that Paul used the word πορνείας in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 to describe adultery rather than cultic worship practices.) So where my religious mind may have conceived of God’s wrath as punishment (even as atonement) for sin, Paul’s Christ mind conceived God’s wrath as God releasing people to even more sinfulness—the desires of their hearts—because it is God who makes people righteous, not people themselves.

Addendum: April 21, 2020
Tables comparing Deuteronomy 32:16 and 32:17 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and Deuteronomy 32:16 and 32:17 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow. Following those are tables comparing Romans 1:21; 1:24; Ephesians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 10:20 and John 3:3 in the NET and KJV.

Deuteronomy 32:16 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 32:16 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 32:16 (NET)
They roused Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations did they provoke Him.	They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.	They made him jealous with other gods, they enraged him with abhorrent idols.

Deuteronomy 32:16 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 32:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
παρώξυνάν με ἐπ᾽ ἀλλοτρίοις ἐν βδελύγμασιν αὐτῶν ἐξεπίκρανάν με	παρώξυνάν με ἐπ᾿ ἀλλοτρίοις, ἐν βδελύγμασιν αὐτῶν παρεπίκρανάν με
Deuteronomy 32:16 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 32:16 (English Elpenor)
They provoked me with foreign things; by their abominations they embittered me.	They provoked me to anger with strange gods; with their abominations they bitterly angered me.

Deuteronomy 32:17 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 32:17 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 32:17 (NET)
They sacrificed unto demons, no-gods, gods that they knew not, new gods that came up of late, which your fathers dreaded not.	They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.	They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods they had not known; to new gods who had recently come along, gods your ancestors had not known about.

Deuteronomy 32:17 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 32:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἔθυσαν δαιμονίοις καὶ οὐ θεῷ θεοῗς οἷς οὐκ ᾔδεισαν καινοὶ πρόσφατοι ἥκασιν οὓς οὐκ ᾔδεισαν οἱ πατέρες αὐτῶν	ἔθυσαν δαιμονίοις καὶ οὐ Θεῷ, θεοῖς, οἷς οὐκ ᾔδεισαν· καινοὶ καὶ πρόσφατοι ἥκασιν, οὓς οὐκ ᾔδεισαν οἱ πατέρες αὐτῶν
Deuteronomy 32:17 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 32:17 (English Elpenor)
They sacrificed to demons and not to God, to gods they did not know. New, recent ones have come, whom their fathers did not know.	They sacrificed to devils, and not to God; to gods whom they knew not: new and fresh [gods] came in, whom their fathers knew not.

Romans 1:21 (NET)	Romans 1:21 (KJV)
For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened.	Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
διότι γνόντες τὸν θεὸν οὐχ ὡς θεὸν ἐδόξασαν ἢ ἠυχαρίστησαν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐματαιώθησαν ἐν τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς αὐτῶν καὶ ἐσκοτίσθη ἡ ἀσύνετος αὐτῶν καρδία	διοτι γνοντες τον θεον ουχ ως θεον εδοξασαν η ευχαριστησαν αλλ εματαιωθησαν εν τοις διαλογισμοις αυτων και εσκοτισθη η ασυνετος αυτων καρδια	διοτι γνοντες τον θεον ουχ ως θεον εδοξασαν η ευχαριστησαν αλλ εματαιωθησαν εν τοις διαλογισμοις αυτων και εσκοτισθη η ασυνετος αυτων καρδια

Romans 1:24 (NET)	Romans 1:24 (KJV)
Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves.	Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Διὸ παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῶν καρδιῶν αὐτῶν εἰς ἀκαθαρσίαν τοῦ ἀτιμάζεσθαι τὰ σώματα αὐτῶν ἐν αὐτοίς	διο και παρεδωκεν αυτους ο θεος εν ταις επιθυμιαις των καρδιων αυτων εις ακαθαρσιαν του ατιμαζεσθαι τα σωματα αυτων εν εαυτοις	διο και παρεδωκεν αυτους ο θεος εν ταις επιθυμιαις των καρδιων αυτων εις ακαθαρσιαν του ατιμαζεσθαι τα σωματα αυτων εν εαυτοις

Ephesians 4:17 (NET)	Ephesians 4:17 (KJV)
So I say this, and insist in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.	This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Τοῦτο οὖν λέγω καὶ μαρτύρομαι ἐν κυρίῳ, μηκέτι ὑμᾶς περιπατεῖν, καθὼς καὶ τὰ ἔθνη περιπατεῖ ἐν ματαιότητι τοῦ νοὸς αὐτῶν	τουτο ουν λεγω και μαρτυρομαι εν κυριω μηκετι υμας περιπατειν καθως και τα λοιπα εθνη περιπατει εν ματαιοτητι του νοος αυτων	τουτο ουν λεγω και μαρτυρομαι εν κυριω μηκετι υμας περιπατειν καθως και τα λοιπα εθνη περιπατει εν ματαιοτητι του νοος αυτων

1 Corinthians 10:20 (NET)	1 Corinthians 10:20 (KJV)
No, I mean that what the pagans sacrifice is to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons.	But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀλλ᾿ ὅτι ἃ θύουσιν, δαιμονίοις καὶ οὐ θεῷ [θύουσιν]· οὐ θέλω δὲ ὑμᾶς κοινωνοὺς τῶν δαιμονίων γίνεσθαι	αλλ οτι α θυει τα εθνη δαιμονιοις θυει και ου θεω ου θελω δε υμας κοινωνους των δαιμονιων γινεσθαι	αλλ οτι α θυει τα εθνη δαιμονιοις θυει και ου θεω ου θελω δε υμας κοινωνους των δαιμονιων γινεσθαι

John 3:3 (NET)	John 3:3 (KJV)
Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”	Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν, οὐ δύναται ἰδεῖν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ	απεκριθη ο ιησους και ειπεν αυτω αμην αμην λεγω σοι εαν μη τις γεννηθη ανωθεν ου δυναται ιδειν την βασιλειαν του θεου	απεκριθη ο ιησους και ειπεν αυτω αμην αμην λεγω σοι εαν μη τις γεννηθη ανωθεν ου δυναται ιδειν την βασιλειαν του θεου

Romans, Part 3

Back to Romans, Part 4

Back to Romans, Part 5

Back to Romans, Part 6

Back to Romans, Part 7

Back to Romans, Part 24

Back to Fear – Genesis, Part 2

Back to Fear – Exodus, Part 5

Back to My Reasons and My Reason, Part 1

Back to My Reasons and My Reason, Part 6

Back to Paul’s Religious Mind Revisited, Part 3

Back to Saving Demons, Part 1

Back to Romans, Part 85

Back to To Make Holy, Part 4

Back to Romans, Part 14

Back to Romans, Part 22

Back to Romans, Part 67

Back to My Reasons and My Reason, Part 2

Back to My Reasons and My Reason, Part 5

Back to Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 16

Back to Sowing to the Flesh, Part 1

Back to Romans, Part 35

Back to Romans, Part 73

Back to Romans, Part 81

Back to Romans, Part 89

Back to A Monotonous Cycle, Part 2

Back to A Monotonous Cycle, Part 5

Back to Ezra and Divorce

Back to Fear – Genesis, Part 8

Back to Forgiven or Passed Over? Part 2

Back to Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 1

Back to Father, Forgive Them – Part 4

Back to Peter’s First Gospel Proclamation Revisited, Part 1

Back to Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 15

Back to Romans, Part 8

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 1

Back to The Will of God – Jesus, Part 2

Back to The Book of Life, Part 2

Back to Christianity, Part 1

Back to Nothing True, Part 1

Back to The Day of the Lord, Part 1

Back to Who Am I? Part 14

Back to Keep Yourselves from Idols, Part 1

Back to Christianity, Part 15

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 5

¹ 1 Corinthians 2:2 (NET) Table

² Romans 1:18 (NET)

³ Romans 1:19, 20 (NET)

⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἠυχαρίστησαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ευχαριστησαν (KJV: were thankful).

⁵ Romans 1:21-23 (NET)

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had αὐτοίς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εαυτοις.

⁷ Luke 22:15 (NET)

⁸ John 8:40 (NET)

⁹ John 8:44 (NET) Table

¹⁰ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had λοιπα (KJV: other) preceding Gentiles. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹¹ Matthew 10:1; 12:43; Mark 1:23, 26, 27; 3:11, 30 (said of Jesus); 5:2, 8, 13; 6:7; 7:25; 9:25; Luke 4:33, 36; 6:18; 8:29; 9:42; 11:24

¹² The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τα εθνη (KJV: the Gentiles) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had θύουσιν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had θυει

¹⁴ 1 Corinthians 10:20a (NET)

¹⁵ Deuteronomy 32:16, 17 (NET)

¹⁶ John 3:3 (NET)

Ezra and Divorce

Posted on May 28, 2012 by admin

I have gone through similar changes in my response to Paul as those I mentioned in response to Jesus. There was a time when I thought Paul had written extraordinary claims, statements so exaggerated that they should never be taken literally or at face value. Not the least of these was Romans 3:20 (NET), For no one is declared righteous before [God] by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

The story at the end of Ezra was one of my proof texts, how wrong Paul had gotten it, for the men who had married foreign wives among the exiles who returned to Israel were certainly declared righteous before [God] by the works of the law (Ezra 10:2-4, 7, 8, 12-17 NET):

Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the descendants of Elam, addressed Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the local peoples. Nonetheless, there is still hope for Israel in this regard. Therefore let us enact a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord, and that of those who respect the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law (Table). Get up, for this matter concerns you. We are with you, so be strong and act decisively!”… A proclamation was circulated throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles were to be assembled in Jerusalem. Everyone who did not come within three days would thereby forfeit all his property, in keeping with the counsel of the officials and the elders. Furthermore, he himself would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles…. All the assembly replied in a loud voice: “We will do just as you have said! However, the people are numerous and it is the rainy season. We are unable to stand here outside. Furthermore, this business cannot be resolved in a day or two, for we have sinned greatly in this matter. Let our leaders take steps on behalf of all the assembly. Let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at an appointed time, and with them the elders of each town and its judges, until the hot anger of our God is turned away from us in this matter.”

Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah were against this, assisted by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite. So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out by name men who were leaders in their family groups. They sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month, and on the first day of the first month they finished considering all the men who had married foreign wives.

In time, though, I had to change my mind about the meaning of this story in Ezra, about Paul and about the reliability of Romans 3:20. I had my facts more or less correct. What I had forgotten to consider was God’s response to those facts. I found that response eventually in the book of the prophet Malachi. Here are the two passages side by side:

The Facts

God’s Response to Those Facts

…the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the local residents who practice detestable things similar to those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites [Table]. Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all of this [Table]!” When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and my robe and ripped out some of the hair from my head and beard. Then I sat down, quite devastated. Everyone who held the words of the God of Israel in awe gathered around me because of the unfaithful acts of the people of the exile. Devastated, I continued to sit there until the evening offering. At the time of the evening offering I got up from my self-abasement, with my tunic and robe torn, and then dropped to my knees and spread my hands to the Lord my God.

Ezra 9:1-5 (NET)

Judah has become disloyal, and unspeakable sins have been committed in Israel and Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the holy things that the Lord loves and has turned to a foreign god (literally, has married the daughter of a foreign god) [See Addendum below]! May the Lord cut off from the community of Jacob every last person who does this, as well as the person who presents improper offerings to the Lord who rules over all!

Malachi 2:11, 12 (NET)

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites – men, women, and children alike – gathered around him. The people wept loudly. Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the descendants of Elam, addressed Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the local peoples. Nonetheless, there is still hope for Israel in this regard. Therefore let us enact a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord, and that of those who respect the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law [Table]. Get up, for this matter concerns you. We are with you, so be strong and act decisively!”

Ezra 10:1-4 (NET)

You also do this: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears as you weep and groan, because he no longer pays any attention to the offering nor accepts it favorably from you. Yet you ask, “Why?” The Lord is testifying against you on behalf of the wife you married when you were young, to whom you have become unfaithful even though she is your companion and wife by law. No one who has even a small portion of the Spirit in him does this. What did our ancestor do when seeking a child from God? Be attentive, then, to your own spirit, for one should not be disloyal to the wife he took in his youth. “I hate divorce,” says the Lord God of Israel, “and the one who is guilty of violence,” says the Lord who rules over all. “Pay attention to your conscience, and do not be unfaithful.”

Malachi 2:13-16 (NET)

It is difficult, to say the least, for me to accept that Jesus proposed divorce as a remedy for even unlawful marriage in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9. It was, in fact, this new understanding of Ezra (and Jephthah in Judges 10:6-12:7) that first led me to consider what I now call the religious mind. (I am too pharisaical myself to have ever seen it initially in the Pharisees in the New Testament.) They were good (relatively speaking) well-intentioned men led astray by their misunderstanding of God. Whether that misunderstanding was stubborn willfulness or honest mistake I’m in no position to judge. Given my own propensity for making the same kind of mistakes, I’m more than willing to be generous and give them the benefit of the doubt.

The enigma of Ezra and Malachi which ends the Old Testament thematically—that God was angered by intermarriage between Israelites and the idolatrous women around them, and equally angered by the self-righteous strategy to send those women and their children away, calling it violence—is unraveled in the New Testament for those with ears to hear (John 3:3, 5-7 NET):

I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God [Table]….unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God [Table]. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, “You must all be born from above.”

Addendum: December 6, 2021
The rabbis who translated the Septuagint did not translate וּבָעַ֖ל and בַּת (Tanakh/KJV: and hath married the daughter) literally in Malachi 2:11. If these words occurred in the Hebrew from which they translated, they were treated idiomatically or extremely euphemistically as ἐπετήδευσεν (a form of ἐπιτηδεύω), busied (NETS), has gone after (English Elpenor). The translators of the NET adopted a similar approach to the current Hebrew text, has turned to.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Malachi 2:11 (Tanakh/KJV)	Malachi 2:11 (NET)	Malachi 2:11 (NETS)	Malachi 2:11 (English Elpenor)
Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married (וּבָעַ֖ל) the daughter (בַּת) of a strange god.	Judah has become disloyal, and unspeakable sins have been committed in Israel and Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the holy things that the Lord loves and has turned to a foreign god! [Note 15: Heb “has married (bāʿal, ובעל) the daughter (baṯ, בת) of a foreign god.”]	Ioudas was forsaken, and an abomination occurred in Israel and in Ierousalem, for Ioudas profaned the sacred things of the Lord with which he loved and busied (ἐπετήδευσεν) himself with foreign gods.	Juda has been forsaken, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Juda has profaned the holy things of the Lord, which he delighted in, and has gone after (ἐπετήδευσεν) other gods.

Ezra 9:2 follows for comparison:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Ezra 9:2 (Tanakh) Table	Ezra 9:2 (NET)	Ezra 9:2 (NETS) Table	Ezra 9:2 (English Elpenor)
For they have taken (נָשְׂא֣וּ) of their daughters (מִבְּנֹֽתֵיהֶ֗ם) for themselves and for their sons; so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the peoples of the lands; yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been first in this faithlessness.’	Indeed, they have taken (nāśā’, נשׁאו) some of their daughters (baṯ, מבנתיהם) as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all this unfaithfulness!”	because they have taken (ἐλάβοσαν) from their daughters (ἀπὸ θυγατέρων αὐτῶν) for themselves and for their sons, and the holy seed was influenced by the peoples of the lands, and the hand of the rulers was in this faithlessness in the beginning.”	For they have taken (ἐλάβοσαν) of their daughters (ἀπὸ θυγατέρων αὐτῶν) for themselves and their sons; and the holy seed has passed among the nations of the lands, and the hand of the rulers [has been] first in this transgression.

Tables comparing Ezra 10:2; 10:4; 10:7; 10:8; 10:12; 10:13; 10:14; 10:15; 10:16; 10:17; 9:3; 9:4; 9:5; Malachi 2:11; 2:12; Ezra 10:1; Malachi 2:13; 2:14; 2:15 and 2:16 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Ezra (2 Esdras) 10:2; 10:4; 10:7; 10:8; 10:12; 10:13; 10:14; 10:15; 10:16; 10:17; 9:3; 9:4; 9:5; Malachi 2:11; 2:12; Ezra (2 Esdras) 10:1; Malachi 2:13; 2:14; 2:15 and 2:16 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Ezra 10:2 (Tanakh)	Ezra 10:2 (KJV)	Ezra 10:2 (NET)
And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra: ‘We have broken faith with our G-d, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing.	And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.	Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the descendants of Elam, addressed Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the local peoples. Nonetheless, there is still hope for Israel in this regard.

Ezra 10:2 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Esdras 10:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἀπεκρίθη Σεχενιας υἱὸς Ιιηλ ἀπὸ υἱῶν Ηλαμ καὶ εἶπεν τῷ Εσδρα ἡμεῗς ἠσυνθετήσαμεν τῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν καὶ ἐκαθίσαμεν γυναῗκας ἀλλοτρίας ἀπὸ λαῶν τῆς γῆς καὶ νῦν ἔστιν ὑπομονὴ τῷ Ισραηλ ἐπὶ τούτῳ	καὶ ἀπεκρίθη Σεχενίας υἱὸς ᾿Ιεὴλ ἀπὸ υἱῶν ᾿Ηλάμ, καὶ εἶπε τῷ ῎Εσδρᾳ· ἡμεῖς ἠσυνθετήσαμεν τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν καὶ ἐκαθίσαμεν γυναῖκας ἀλλοτρίας ἀπὸ τῶν λαῶν τῆς γῆς· καὶ νῦν ἐστιν ὑπομονὴ τῷ ᾿Ισραὴλ ἐπὶ τούτῳ
2 Esdras 10:2 (NETS)	2 Esdras 10:2 (English Elpenor)
And Sechenias son of Ieiel, of Elam’s sons, answered and said to Esdras, “We were faithless with our God and set up foreign women from the peoples of the land, and now there is endurance for Israel in this.	And Sechenias the son of Jeel, of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Esdras, We have broken covenant with our God, and have taken strange wives of the nations of the land: yet now there is patience [of hope] to Israel concerning this thing.

Ezra 10:4 (Tanakh)	Ezra 10:4 (KJV)	Ezra 10:4 (NET)
Arise; for the matter belongeth unto thee, and we are with thee; be of good courage, and do it.’	Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.	Get up, for this matter concerns you. We are with you, so be strong and act decisively!”

Ezra 10:4 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Esdras 10:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀνάστα ὅτι ἐπὶ σὲ τὸ ῥῆμα καὶ ἡμεῗς μετὰ σοῦ κραταιοῦ καὶ ποίησον	ἀνάστα, ὅτι ἐπὶ σὲ τὸ ῥῆμα, καὶ ἡμεῖς μετὰ σοῦ· κραταιοῦ καὶ ποίησον
2 Esdras 10:4 (NETS)	2 Esdras 10:4 (English Elpenor)
Arise! The word is upon you, and we are with you; be strong, and act.”	Rise up, for the matter [is] upon thee; and we [are] with thee: be strong and do.

Ezra 10:7 (Tanakh)	Ezra 10:7 (KJV)	Ezra 10:7 (NET)
And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem;	And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem;	A proclamation was circulated throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles were to be assembled in Jerusalem.

Ezra 10:7 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Esdras 10:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ παρήνεγκαν φωνὴν ἐν Ιουδα καὶ ἐν Ιερουσαλημ πᾶσιν τοῗς υἱοῗς τῆς ἀποικίας τοῦ συναθροισθῆναι εἰς Ιερουσαλημ	καὶ παρήνεγκαν φωνὴν ἐν ᾿Ιούδᾳ καὶ ἐν ῾Ιερουσαλὴμ πᾶσι τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀποικίας τοῦ συναθροισθῆναι εἰς ῾Ιερουαλήμ
2 Esdras 10:7 (NETS)	2 Esdras 10:7 (English Elpenor)
And they presented an utterance in Iouda and in Ierousalem to all the sons of the exile that they should assemble in Ierousalem:	And they made proclamation throughout Juda and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should assemble at Jerusalem, [saying],

Ezra 10:8 (Tanakh)	Ezra 10:8 (KJV)	Ezra 10:8 (NET)
and that whosoever came not within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of the captivity.	And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.	Everyone who did not come within three days would thereby forfeit all his property, in keeping with the counsel of the officials and the elders. Furthermore, he himself would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.

Ezra 10:8 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Esdras 10:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ πᾶς ὃς ἂν μὴ ἔλθῃ εἰς τρεῗς ἡμέρας ὡς ἡ βουλὴ τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων ἀναθεματισθήσεται πᾶσα ἡ ὕπαρξις αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς διασταλήσεται ἀπὸ ἐκκλησίας τῆς ἀποικίας	πᾶς, ὃς ἂν μὴ ἔλθῃ εἰς τρεῖς ἡμέρας, ὡς ἡ βουλὴ τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων, ἀναθεματισθήσεται πᾶσα ἡ ὕπαρξις αὐτοῦ, καὶ αὐτὸς διασταλήσεται ἀπὸ ἐκκλησίας τῆς ἀποικίας
2 Esdras 10:8 (NETS)	2 Esdras 10:8 (English Elpenor)
“Anyone who does not come within three days, as the council of the rulers and the eldeers demands–all his property will be anathematized, and he himself banned from the assembly of the exile.”	Every one who shall not arrive within three days, as [is] the counsel of the rulers and the elders, all his substance shall be forfeited, and he shall be separated from the congregation of the captivity.

Ezra 10:12 (Tanakh)	Ezra 10:12 (KJV)	Ezra 10:12 (NET)
Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice: ‘As thou hast said, so it is for us to do.	Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.	All the assembly replied in a loud voice: “We will do just as you have said!

Ezra 10:12 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Esdras 10:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἀπεκρίθησαν πᾶσα ἡ ἐκκλησία καὶ εἶπαν μέγα τοῦτο τὸ ῥῆμά σου ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς ποιῆσαι	καὶ ἀπεκρίθησαν πᾶσα ἡ ἐκκλησία καὶ εἶπαν· μέγα τοῦτο τὸ ρῆμά σου ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς ποιῆσαι
2 Esdras 10:12 (NETS)	2 Esdras 10:12 (English Elpenor)
And all the assembly answered and said, “This word of yours is a big thing for us to do.	Then all the congregation answered and said, This thy word [is] powerful upon us to do it.

Ezra 10:13 (Tanakh)	Ezra 10:13 (KJV)	Ezra 10:13 (NET)
But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two; for we have greatly transgressed in this matter.	But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.	However, the people are numerous and it is the rainy season. We are unable to stand here outside. Furthermore, this business cannot be resolved in a day or two, for we have sinned greatly in this matter.

Ezra 10:13 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Esdras 10:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀλλὰ ὁ λαὸς πολύς καὶ ὁ καιρὸς χειμερινός καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν δύναμις στῆναι ἔξω καὶ τὸ ἔργον οὐκ εἰς ἡμέραν μίαν καὶ οὐκ εἰς δύο ὅτι ἐπληθύναμεν τοῦ ἀδικῆσαι ἐν τῷ ῥήματι τούτῳ	ἀλλὰ ὁ λαὸς πολύς, καὶ ὁ καιρὸς χειμερινός, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι δύναμις στῆναι ἔξω· καὶ τὸ ἔργον οὐκ εἰς ἡμέραν μίαν καὶ οὐκ εἰς δύο, ὅτι ἐπληθύναμεν τοῦ ἀδικῆσαι ἐν τῷ ρήματι τούτῳ
2 Esdras 10:13 (NETS)	2 Esdras 10:13 (English Elpenor)
But the people are many, and it is the winter season, and their is no ability to stand outside, and the task is not for one day and not for two, because we have multiplied in doing wrong in this matter.	But the people [is] numerous, and the season [is] stormy, and there is no power to stand without, and the work is more than enough for one day or for two; for we have greatly sinned in this matter.

Ezra 10:14 (Tanakh)	Ezra 10:14 (KJV)	Ezra 10:14 (NET)
Let now our princes of all the congregation stand, and let all them that are in our cities that have married foreign women come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our G-d be turned from us, as touching this matter.’	Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.	Let our leaders take steps on behalf of all the assembly. Let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at an appointed time, and with them the elders of each town and its judges, until the hot anger of our God is turned away from us in this matter.”

Ezra 10:14 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Esdras 10:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
στήτωσαν δὴ οἱ ἄρχοντες ἡμῶν τῇ πάσῃ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ πάντες οἱ ἐν πόλεσιν ἡμῶν ὃς ἐκάθισεν γυναῗκας ἀλλοτρίας ἐλθέτωσαν εἰς καιροὺς ἀπὸ συνταγῶν καὶ μετ᾽ αὐτῶν πρεσβύτεροι πόλεως καὶ πόλεως καὶ κριταὶ τοῦ ἀποστρέψαι ὀργὴν θυμοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἐξ ἡμῶν περὶ τοῦ ῥήματος τούτου	στήτωσαν δὴ ἄρχοντες ἡμῶν πάσῃ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ πάντες οἱ ἐν πόλεσιν ἡμῶν, ὃς ἐκάθισε γυναῖκας ἀλλοτρίας, ἐλθέτωσαν εἰς καιροὺς ἀπὸ συνταγῶν καὶ μετ᾿ αὐτῶν πρεσβύτεροι πόλεως καὶ πόλεως καὶ κριταὶ τοῦ ἀποστρέψαι ὀργὴν θυμοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἐξ ἡμῶν περὶ τοῦ ρήματος τούτου
2 Esdras 10:14 (NETS)	2 Esdras 10:14 (English Elpenor)
Let now our rulers stand fast for the whole assembly and for all those in our cities. As for him who has set up foreign women—let them come at appropriate times as instructed, and with them elders of city by city and judges, in order to turn away from us the anger of the wrath of our God concerning this matter.”	Let now our rulers stand, and for all those in our cities who have taken strange wives, let them come at appointed times, and with them elders from every several city, and judges, to turn away the fierce wrath of our God from us concerning this matter.

Ezra 10:15 (Tanakh)	Ezra 10:15 (KJV)	Ezra 10:15 (NET)
Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah stood up against this matter; and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.	Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.	Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah were against this, assisted by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite.

Ezra 10:15 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Esdras 10:15 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πλὴν Ιωναθαν υἱὸς Ασαηλ καὶ Ιαζια υἱὸς Θεκουε μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ περὶ τούτου καὶ Μεσουλαμ καὶ Σαβαθαι ὁ Λευίτης βοηθῶν αὐτοῗς	πλὴν ᾿Ιωνάθαν υἱὸς ᾿Ασαὴλ καὶ ᾿Ιαζίας υἱὸς Θεκωὲ μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ περὶ τούτου, καὶ Μεσολλὰμ καὶ Σαββαθαΐ ὁ Λευίτης βοηθῶν αὐτοῖς
2 Esdras 10:15 (NETS)	2 Esdras 10:15 (English Elpenor)
Only Ionathan son of Asael and Iazias son of Thekoue are with me in this, and Mesoulam and Sabbathai the Leuite supporting them.	Only Jonathan the son of Asael, and Jazias the son of Thecoe [were] with me concerning this; and Mesollam, and Sabbathai the Levite helped them.

Ezra 10:16 (Tanakh)	Ezra 10:16 (KJV)	Ezra 10:16 (NET)
And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain heads of fathers’ houses, after their fathers’ houses, and all of them by their names, were separated; and they sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.	And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.	So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out by name men who were leaders in their family groups. They sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month,

Ezra 10:16 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Esdras 10:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐποίησαν οὕτως υἱοὶ τῆς ἀποικίας καὶ διεστάλησαν Εσδρας ὁ ἱερεὺς καὶ ἄνδρες ἄρχοντες πατριῶν τῷ οἴκῳ καὶ πάντες ἐν ὀνόμασιν ὅτι ἐπέστρεψαν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ τοῦ μηνὸς τοῦ δεκάτου ἐκζητῆσαι τὸ ῥῆμα	καὶ ἐποίησαν οὕτως υἱοὶ τῆς ἀποικίας. καὶ διεστάλησαν ῎Εσδρας ὁ ἱερεὺς καὶ ἄνδρες ἄρχοντες πατριῶν τῷ οἴκῳ καὶ πάντες ἐν ὀνόμασιν, ὅτι ἐπέστρεψαν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ τοῦ μηνὸς τοῦ δεκάτου ἐκζητῆσαι τὸ ρῆμα
2 Esdras 10:16 (NETS)	2 Esdras 10:16 (English Elpenor)
And the sons of the exile did so. And Esdras the priest and men ruling the paternal houses were set apart, and all by name, because of the first day of the tenth month they turned to investigate the matter.	And the children of the captivity did thus: and Esdras the priest, and heads of families according to [their] house were separated, and all by their names, for they returned in the first day of the tenth month to search out the matter.

Ezra 10:17 (Tanakh)	Ezra 10:17 (KJV)	Ezra 10:17 (NET)
And they were finished with all the men that had married foreign women by the first day of the first month.	And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.	and on the first day of the first month they finished considering all the men who had married foreign wives.

Ezra 10:17 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Esdras 10:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐτέλεσαν ἐν πᾶσιν ἀνδράσιν οἳ ἐκάθισαν γυναῗκας ἀλλοτρίας ἕως ἡμέρας μιᾶς τοῦ μηνὸς τοῦ πρώτου	καὶ ἐτέλεσαν ἐν πᾶσιν ἀνδράσιν, οἳ ἐκάθισαν γυναῖκας ἀλλοτρίας, ἕως ἡμέρας μιᾶς τοῦ μηνὸς τοῦ πρώτου
2 Esdras 10:17 (NETS)	2 Esdras 10:17 (English Elpenor)
And they finished with all the men who had set up foreign women by the first day of the first month.	And they made an end with all the men who had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.

Ezra 9:3 (Tanakh)	Ezra 9:3 (KJV)	Ezra 9:3 (NET)
And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down appalled.	And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.	When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and my robe and ripped out some of the hair from my head and beard. Then I sat down, quite devastated.

Ezra 9:3 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Esdras 9:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ὡς ἤκουσα τὸν λόγον τοῦτον διέρρηξα τὰ ἱμάτιά μου καὶ ἐπαλλόμην καὶ ἔτιλλον ἀπὸ τῶν τριχῶν τῆς κεφαλῆς μου καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πώγωνός μου καὶ ἐκαθήμην ἠρεμάζων	καὶ ὡς ἤκουσα τὸν λόγον τοῦτον, διέρρηξα τὰ ἱμάτιά μου καὶ ἐπαλλόμην καὶ ἔτιλλον ἀπὸ τῶν τριχῶν τῆς κεφαλῆς μου καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πώγωνός μου καὶ ἐκαθήμην ἠρεμάζων
2 Esdras 9:3 (NETS)	2 Esdras 9:3 (English Elpenor)
And when I heard this word, I tore my garments and was quivering and was pulling out some of the hair of my head and some of my beard and was sitting in silence.	And when I heard this thing, I rent my garments, and trembled, and plucked [some] of the hairs of my head and of my beard, and sat down mourning.

Ezra 9:4 (Tanakh)	Ezra 9:4 (KJV)	Ezra 9:4 (NET)
Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the G-d of Israel, because of the faithlessness of them of the captivity; and I sat appalled until the evening offering.	Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.	Everyone who held the words of the God of Israel in awe gathered around me because of the unfaithful acts of the people of the exile. Devastated, I continued to sit there until the evening offering.

Ezra 9:4 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Esdras 9:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ συνήχθησαν πρός με πᾶς ὁ διώκων λόγον θεοῦ Ισραηλ ἐπὶ ἀσυνθεσίᾳ τῆς ἀποικίας καὶ ἐγὼ καθήμενος ἠρεμάζων ἕως τῆς θυσίας τῆς ἑσπερινῆς	καὶ συνήχθησαν πρός με πᾶς ὁ διώκων λόγον Θεοῦ ᾿Ισραὴλ ἐπὶ ἀσυνθεσίᾳ τῆς ἀποικίας, κἀγὼ καθήμενος ἠρεμάζων ἕως τῆς θυσίας τῆς ἑσπερινῆς
2 Esdras 9:4 (NETS)	2 Esdras 9:4 (English Elpenor)
And everyone who pursued the word of Israel’s God, because of the faithlessness of the exiles—they gathered to me, and I kept sitting in silence until the evening sacrifice.	Then there assembled to me all that followed the word of the God of Israel, on account of the transgression of the captivity; and I remained mourning until the evening sacrifice.

Ezra 9:5 (Tanakh)	Ezra 9:5 (KJV)	Ezra 9:5 (NET)
And at the evening offering I arose up from my fasting, even with my garment and my mantle rent; and I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto HaShem my G-d;	And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,	At the time of the evening offering I got up from my self-abasement, with my tunic and robe torn, and then dropped to my knees and spread my hands to the Lord my God.

Ezra 9:5 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Esdras 9:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐν θυσίᾳ τῇ ἑσπερινῇ ἀνέστην ἀπὸ ταπεινώσεώς μου καὶ ἐν τῷ διαρρῆξαί με τὰ ἱμάτιά μου καὶ ἐπαλλόμην καὶ κλίνω ἐπὶ τὰ γόνατά μου καὶ ἐκπετάζω τὰς χεῗράς μου πρὸς κύριον τὸν θεὸν	καὶ ἐν θυσίᾳ τῇ ἑσπερινῇ ἀνέστην ἀπὸ ταπεινώσεώς μου· καὶ ἐν τῷ διαρρῆξαί με τὰ ἱμάτιά μου καὶ ἐπαλλόμην καὶ κλίνω ἐπὶ τὰ γόνατά μου καὶ ἐκπετάζω τὰς χεῖράς μου πρὸς Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν
2 Esdras 9:5 (NETS)	2 Esdras 9:5 (English Elpenor)
And at the evening sacrifice I got up from my humiliation. And when I had torn my garments, and I was quivering and was getting down on my knees and spreading out my hands to the Lord God	And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my humiliation; and when I had rent my garments, then I trembled, and I bow myself on my knees, and spread out my hands to the Lord God,

Malachi 2:11 (Tanakh)	Malachi 2:11 (KJV)	Malachi 2:11 (NET)
Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.	Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.	Judah has become disloyal, and unspeakable sins have been committed in Israel and Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the holy things that the Lord loves and has turned to a foreign god!

Malachi 2:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Malachi 2:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐγκατελείφθη Ιουδας καὶ βδέλυγμα ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ Ισραηλ καὶ ἐν Ιερουσαλημ διότι ἐβεβήλωσεν Ιουδας τὰ ἅγια κυρίου ἐν οἷς ἠγάπησεν καὶ ἐπετήδευσεν εἰς θεοὺς ἀλλοτρίους	ἐγκατελείφθη ᾿Ιούδας, καὶ βδέλυγμα ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ᾿Ισραὴλ καὶ ἐν ῾Ιερουσαλήμ, διότι ἐβεβήλωσεν ᾿Ιούδας τὰ ἅγια Κυρίου, ἐν οἷς ἠγάπησε, καὶ ἐπετήδευσεν εἰς θεοὺς ἀλλοτρίους
Malachi 2:11 (NETS)	Malachi 2:11 (English Elpenor)
Ioudas was forsaken, and an abomination occurred in Israel and in Ierousalem, for Ioudas profaned the sacred things of the Lord with which he loved and busied himself with foreign gods.	Juda has been forsaken, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Juda has profaned the holy things of the Lord, which he delighted in, and has gone after other gods.

Malachi 2:12 (Tanakh)	Malachi 2:12 (KJV)	Malachi 2:12 (NET)
The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.	The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.	May the Lord cut off from the community of Jacob every last person who does this, as well as the person who presents improper offerings to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!

Malachi 2:12 (Septuagint BLB)	Malachi 2:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐξολεθρεύσει κύριος τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν ποιοῦντα ταῦτα ἕως καὶ ταπεινωθῇ ἐκ σκηνωμάτων Ιακωβ καὶ ἐκ προσαγόντων θυσίαν τῷ κυρίῳ παντοκράτορι	ἐξολοθρεύσει Κύριος τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν ποιοῦντα ταῦτα, ἕως καὶ ταπεινωθῇ ἐκ σκηνωμάτων ᾿Ιακὼβ καὶ ἐκ προσαγόντων θυσίαν τῷ Κυρίῳ παντοκράτορι
Malachi 2:12 (NETS)	Malachi 2:12 (English Elpenor)
The Lord will utterly destroy the person who does this until he has even been humiliated from the tents of Iakob and from those who bring sacrifice to the Lord Almighty.	The Lord will utterly destroy the man that does these things, until he be even cast down from out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and from among them that offer sacrifice to the Lord Almighty.

Ezra 10:1 (Tanakh)	Ezra 10:1 (KJV)	Ezra 10:1 (NET)
Now while Ezra prayed, and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of G-d, there was gathered together unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children; for the people wept very sore.	Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.	While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites—men, women, and children alike—gathered around him. The people wept loudly.

Ezra 10:1 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Esdras 10:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ὡς προσηύξατο Εσδρας καὶ ὡς ἐξηγόρευσεν κλαίων καὶ προσευχόμενος ἐνώπιον οἴκου τοῦ θεοῦ συνήχθησαν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπὸ Ισραηλ ἐκκλησία πολλὴ σφόδρα ἄνδρες καὶ γυναῗκες καὶ νεανίσκοι ὅτι ἔκλαυσεν ὁ λαὸς καὶ ὕψωσεν κλαίων	ΚΑΙ ὡς προσηύξατο ῎Εσδρας καὶ ὡς ἐξηγόρευσε κλαίων καὶ προσευχόμενος ἐνώπιον οἴκου τοῦ Θεοῦ, συνήχθησαν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπὸ ᾿Ισραὴλ ἐκκλησία πολλὴ σφόδρα, ἄνδρες καὶ γυναῖκες καὶ νεανίσκοι, ὅτι ἔκλαυσαν ὁ λαὸς καὶ ὕψωσε κλαίων
2 Esdras 10:1 (NETS)	2 Esdras 10:1 (English Elpenor)
And as Esdras prayed and as he declared, weeping and praying before the house of God, a very great assembly—men and women and young men—gathered to him from Israel, because the people wept and lifted up while weeping.	So when Esdras [had] prayed, and when he [had] confessed, weeping and praying before the house of God, a very great assembly of Israel came together to him, men and women and youths; for the people wept, and wept aloud.

Malachi 2:13 (Tanakh)	Malachi 2:13 (KJV)	Malachi 2:13 (NET)
And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.	And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.	You also do this: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears as you weep and groan, because he no longer pays any attention to the offering nor accepts it favorably from you.

Malachi 2:13 (Septuagint BLB)	Malachi 2:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ταῦτα ἃ ἐμίσουν ἐποιεῗτε ἐκαλύπτετε δάκρυσιν τὸ θυσιαστήριον κυρίου καὶ κλαυθμῷ καὶ στεναγμῷ ἐκ κόπων ἔτι ἄξιον ἐπιβλέψαι εἰς θυσίαν ἢ λαβεῗν δεκτὸν ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν ὑμῶν	καὶ ταῦτα, ἃ ἐμίσουν, ἐποιεῖτε· ἐκαλύπτετε δάκρυσι τὸ θυσιαστήριον Κυρίου καὶ κλαυθμῷ καὶ στεναγμῷ ἐκ κόπων. ἔτι ἄξιον ἐπιβλέψαι εἰς θυσίαν ἢ λαβεῖν δεκτὸν ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν ὑμῶν
Malachi 2:13 (NETS)	Malachi 2:13 (English Elpenor)
And these things, which I hated, you kept doing: you would cover the altar of the Lord with tears and weeping and laborious groaning. Is it still appropriate to look at sacrifice or to receive as something acceptable from your hands?	And these things which I hated, ye did: ye covered with tears the altar of the Lord, and with weeping and groaning because of troubles: [is it] meet [for me] to have respect to your sacrifice, or to receive [anything] from your hands [as] welcome?

Malachi 2:14 (Tanakh)	Malachi 2:14 (KJV)	Malachi 2:14 (NET)
Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.	Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.	Yet you ask, “Why?” The Lord is testifying against you on behalf of the wife you married when you were young, to whom you have become unfaithful even though she is your companion and wife by law.

Malachi 2:14 (Septuagint BLB)	Malachi 2:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἴπατε ἕνεκεν τίνος ὅτι κύριος διεμαρτύρατο ἀνὰ μέσον σοῦ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον γυναικὸς νεότητός σου ἣν ἐγκατέλιπες καὶ αὐτὴ κοινωνός σου καὶ γυνὴ διαθήκης σου	καὶ εἴπατε· ἕνεκεν τίνος; ὅτι Κύριος διεμαρτύρατο ἀναμέσον σοῦ καὶ ἀναμέσον γυναικὸς νεότητός σου, ἣν ἐγκατέλιπες, καὶ αὕτη κοινωνός σου καὶ γυνὴ διαθήκης σου
Malachi 2:14 (NETS)	Malachi 2:14 (English Elpenor)
And you said, “Why?” Because the Lord was a witness between you and between the wife of your youth, whom you abandoned, though she is your companion and the wife of your covenant.	Yet ye said, Wherefore? Because the Lord has borne witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, whom thou has forsaken, and [yet] she was thy partner, and the wife of thy covenant.

Malachi 2:15 (Tanakh)	Malachi 2:15 (KJV)	Malachi 2:15 (NET)
And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.	And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.	No one who has even a small portion of the Spirit in him does this. What did our ancestor do when seeking a child from God? Be attentive, then, to your own spirit, for one should not be disloyal to the wife he took in his youth.

Malachi 2:15 (Septuagint BLB)	Malachi 2:15 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ οὐκ ἄλλος ἐποίησεν καὶ ὑπόλειμμα πνεύματος αὐτοῦ καὶ εἴπατε τί ἄλλο ἀλλ᾽ ἢ σπέρμα ζητεῗ ὁ θεός καὶ φυλάξασθε ἐν τῷ πνεύματι ὑμῶν καὶ γυναῗκα νεότητός σου μὴ ἐγκαταλίπῃς	καὶ οὐκ ἄλλος ἐποίησε, καὶ ὑπόλειμμα πνεύματος αὐτοῦ. καὶ εἴπατε· τί ἄλλο ἀλλ᾿ ἢ σπέρμα ζητεῖ ὁ Θεός; καὶ φυλάξασθε ἐν τῷ πνεύματι ὑμῶν, καὶ γυναῖκα νεότητός σου μὴ ἐγκαταλίπῃς
Malachi 2:15 (NETS)	Malachi 2:15 (English Elpenor)
And no one else did it and the remnant of his spirit. And you said, “What else does God seek but offspring?” And be vigilant in your spirit, and do not forsake the wife of your youth.	And did he not do well? and [there was] the residue of his spirit. But ye said, What does God seek but a seed? But take ye heed to your spirit, and forsake not the wife of thy youth.

Malachi 2:16 (Tanakh)	Malachi 2:16 (KJV)	Malachi 2:16 (NET)
For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.	For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.	“I hate divorce,” says the Lord God of Israel, “and the one who is guilty of violence,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Pay attention to your conscience, and do not be unfaithful.”

Malachi 2:16 (Septuagint BLB)	Malachi 2:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀλλὰ ἐὰν μισήσας ἐξαποστείλῃς λέγει κύριος ὁ θεὸς τοῦ Ισραηλ καὶ καλύψει ἀσέβεια ἐπὶ τὰ ἐνθυμήματά σου λέγει κύριος παντοκράτωρ καὶ φυλάξασθε ἐν τῷ πνεύματι ὑμῶν καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐγκαταλίπητε	ἀλλὰ ἐὰν μισήσας ἐξαποστείλῃς, λέγει Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ, καὶ καλύψει ἀσέβεια ἐπὶ τὰ ἐνθυμήματά σου, λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ. καὶ φυλάξασθε ἐν τῷ πνεύματι ὑμῶν καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐγκαταλίπητε
Malachi 2:16 (NETS)	Malachi 2:16 (English Elpenor)
But if, since you hate her, you should send her away, says the Lord, the God of Israel, then impiety will cover over his garments, says the Lord Almighty. And be vigilant in your spirit, and do not abandon her.	But if thou shouldest hate [thy wife] and put her away, saith the Lord God of Israel, then ungodliness shall cover thy thoughts, saith the Lord Almighty: therefore take ye heed to your spirit, and forsake [them] not,

Adultery in the Prophets, Part 1

Back to Jephthah and Moses

Back to Jedidiah, Part 3

Back to Romans, Part 52

Back to Paul’s Religious Mind Revisited – Part 1

Back to Sexual Immorality Revisited, Part 2

Back to Sexual Immorality Revisited, Part 3

Back to Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 13

Back to Forgiven or Passed Over? Part 6

Back to Adultery in the Prophets, Part 3

Back to Forgiven or Passed Over? Part 1

A Monotonous Cycle, Part 5

Posted on May 17, 2012 by admin

Though I’ve been proposing that God intervened in Israel’s history to divide the kingdom of Israel, his primary method seems to have been nonintervention. God allowed people who rebelled against him by seeking a king in the first place to continue on that same trajectory for about four generations. He didn’t send a prophet with an astute hypothetical, adroit questions, or revelations that might have enlightened and turned them from a self-destructive course. He did not grant them the insight that Solomon’s reign was, in fact, as good as their current course could get, or the wisdom to reason that their continued dissatisfaction might require a change of course. To simply change kings was to simply miss the point.

Now how can I speak of Israelite history as if it had a point? This is absurd to the in-the-box thinking of the historical critic and his fellow travelers. But I believe I have been granted the wisdom not merely to perceive a point but to know precisely what it is.

When Nicodemus was slow to understand Jesus’ statement about the necessity of being born from above, Jesus responded incredulously, Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things?¹ Now I need to confess that I have gone through many changes in my response to Jesus as revealed in the Scriptures. My first response as I already mentioned was that He was just about the rudest person I had ever met. It was best just to keep my mouth shut around Him because He would take anything I said and berate and ridicule me for it. As I began to know Him better and came to realize that He wasn’t as mean as I made Him out to be, I changed my tone. I assumed then that Jesus had a flare for dramatic exaggeration. He knew that Nicodemus didn’t understand. How could He expect anyone to understand so novel a concept as being born from above or again? But these days I believe that Jesus was expressing a sincere surprise and maybe even a hint of frustration that a man so admirable and so well educated as Nicodemus did not grasp this most basic point of the Hebrew Scriptures: I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.²

So the change of course the Israelites needed to make was to be born from above, just like Jesus told Nicodemus. That is the point of Israelite history as revealed in the Bible, according to Jesus. Of course, I didn’t get it either, not until I read about Jesus and Nicodemus, over and over and over again, and then returned to the Old Testament with Jesus’ conclusion already in mind.

I realize how far it seems I have come from the simple goodness of, God said it; I believe it; that settles it. I’ve put words in God’s mouth, suggesting that He might have comforted Solomon and Rehoboam with the same comfort He gave Samuel. I’ve denied that the words spoken by the Israelite rebels recorded in the Bible actually reflected their real motives. An interpretation like this might have alarmed me when I was a philosophical and legalistic young man fighting his way back from atheism. But these days I see some faith in it.

Solomon’s wealth and wisdom fit into a context that starts, for the sake of this discussion, with the rejection of God in the person of Samuel the last judge of Israel, and the desire for a new leader like all the other nations; and it ends with the continued rejection of God in the person of that new leader—King Rehoboam. And all of this nestles in the context of the point of the Old Testament proclaimed by Jesus, You must all be born from above. God said it—For it is not you that they have rejected, but it is me that they have rejected as their king. I believe that dynamic continued to hold sway not only thus far in the Old Testament narrative but beyond. And for the moment I’m fairly content with the truth of that interpretation, especially if I compare it to the alternative.

I just can’t bring myself to start with the rebels’ pronouncement—Your father made us work too hard—and then try to mold and cajole the Bible into something that supports that contention, especially when that molding and cajoling is actually a process of ripping out and throwing away large portions of the testimony that is in fact included there. And why should I rip them out?

Well, because they don’t belong, according to Nietzsche: God could not inspire ancient Israelite writers to speak and write his words truthfully because God doesn’t exist. The illusion of God speaking, that I am so enamored with in the Bible, was created much later by—still relatively ancient people, completely unknown to history, yet oddly familiar as perennial scapegoats—a conspiracy of lying Jews. This theory of Bible interpretation held a lot of sway in mainline American churches in the early decades of the twentieth century. Today it seems important to acknowledge that its ultimate contriver is the arch-enemy, not only of the Jews, but of us all.

Addendum: December 12, 2018
A table comparing John 3:10 in the NET and KJV follows.

John 3:10 (NET)	John 3:10 (KJV)
Jesus answered, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things?	Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· σὺ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ταῦτα οὐ γινώσκεις	απεκριθη ο ιησους και ειπεν αυτω συ ει ο διδασκαλος του ισραηλ και ταυτα ου γινωσκεις	απεκριθη ιησους και ειπεν αυτω συ ει ο διδασκαλος του ισραηλ και ταυτα ου γινωσκεις