The Day of the Lord, Part 8

Posted on April 22, 2024 by admin

This is the conclusion of my consideration whether my assumption that Jesus called Judas Iscariot ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας (NET: the one destined for destruction) is like Jesus’ disciples’ discussion about having no bread¹ after He said: “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!”² I’ll begin with a request John recorded that Jesus’ made of his Father (John 17:15 NET):

I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one.

John 17:15 Detail
Greek	English
οὐκ ἐρωτῶ	I am not asking
ἵνα	“that”
ἄρῃς αὐτοὺς	you…take them
ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου	out of the world
ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα	but that
τηρήσῃς αὐτοὺς	you keep them…
ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ	from the evil…

John also recorded God’s answer to Jesus’ request (1 John 5:18 LSV):

We have known that everyone who has been begotten of God does not sin, but He who was begotten of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him;

1 John 5:18 Detail [Table]
Greek	English
Οἴδαμεν ὅτι	We have known (“and continue to know” Perfect Tense) that
πᾶς	everyone
ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ	who has been begotten (“and continues to be” Perfect Tense) of God
οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει	does not sin,
ἀλλ᾿	but
ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ	He who was begotten of God
τηρεῖ αὐτόν ³	keeps him

I’ll pause here a moment to address the NET translators’ objection (NET note 50) to ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ as a reference to Jesus.

The One fathered by God [Jesus] protects him [the Christian].” This is a popular interpretation, and is certainly possible grammatically. Yet the introduction of a reference to Jesus in this context is sudden; to be unambiguous the author could have mentioned the “Son of God” here, or used the pronoun ἐκεῖνος (ekeinos) as a reference to Jesus as he consistently does elsewhere in 1 John. This interpretation, while possible, seems in context highly unlikely.

As I mentioned in another essay, the NET translators’ confused everyone who has been begotten of God does not sin with “the Christian.” Listen to how differently John addressed “the Christian” (1 John 1:8-2:2 ESV):

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

John had very high expectations for My little children (Τεκνία μου): ἵνα μὴ ἁμάρτητε (that you may not sin) is a purpose clause in the subjunctive mood. But this expectation is different from the positive affirmation: We have known that everyone who has been begotten of God does not sin.⁴ For this reason I would amend the NET translators’ first statement: “The One fathered by God [Jesus] protects him [the new man].” So, their main objection that “the introduction of a reference to Jesus in this context is sudden” and therefore “highly unlikely” rests solely on a desire for John “to be unambiguous.”

Did John or the Holy Spirit intend “to be unambiguous” or, rather, did they intend to highlight the strong connection between πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ (everyone who has been begotten of God) and ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ (He who was begotten of God)? Listen to another related request that Jesus made of his Father in the very same prayer (John 17:20, 21 LSV):

And I do not ask in regard to these alone, but also in regard to those who will be believing in Me through their word, that they all may be one, as You Father [are] in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one⁵ in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

So, to conclude God’s answer to Jesus’ previous request that his Father keep them:

1 John 5:18 Detail Continued [Table]
Greek	English
καὶ ὁ πονηρὸς	and the evil one
οὐχ ἅπτεται	does not touch
αὐτοῦ	him

As I mentioned in another essay, the translators’ understood autou as a personal pronoun in the genitive case: “The genitive case has more uses than most other cases, but in general a noun in the genitive case helps to limit the scope of another noun by indicating its ‘kind’ or ‘class’.” None of the English translations I found understood autou as an adverb. There are probably more uses of the genitive case than I can glean from these short definitions, but this seems to ignore the genitive case and treat autou as if it were in the accusative case. I’ve begun a new thread surveying the New Testament usage of αὐτοῦ and ἑαυτοῦ so I won’t belabor that here.

My point here is the focus and concern of Jesus’ prayer as He is no longer in the world (John 17:6-12 LSV):

I revealed Your Name to the men whom You have given to Me out of the world; they were Yours, and⁶ You have given them to Me, and they have kept Your word [Table]; now they have known that all things, as many as You have given to Me, are from You, because the sayings that You have given to Me, I have given to them, and they themselves received, and have known truly, that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me [Table]. I ask in regard to them; I do not ask in regard to the world, but in regard to those whom You have given to Me, because they are Yours, and all Mine are Yours, and Yours [are] Mine, and I have been glorified in them; and I am no longer in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your Name, whom You have given to Me, that they may be one as We [are one]; when I was with them in the world, I was keeping them in Your Name; I guarded those whom You have given to Me, and none of them were destroyed, except the son of the destruction, that the Writing may be fulfilled [Table].

At the beginning of this passage I think it’s safe to say that Jesus prayed specifically for those to whom He had ministered personally: I revealed Your Name to the men whom You have given to Me out of the world; they were Yours, and You have given them to Me, and they have kept Your word.⁷ But then his gaze broadened: I ask in regard to them; I do not ask in regard to the world, but in regard to those whom You have given to Me, because they are Yours, and all Mine are Yours, and Yours [are] Mine, and I have been glorified in them.⁸

I say that Jesus’ gaze broadened here because John also recorded who Jesus would consider Mine, and therefore those whom You have given to Me, if he was crucified (John 12:27-33 LSV):

Now My soul has been troubled; and what will I say—Father, save Me from this hour? But because of this (John 12:20-26) I came to this hour; Father, glorify Your Name.” Therefore there came a voice out of Heaven, “I both glorified, and again I will glorify [it]”; the multitude, therefore, having stood and heard, were saying that there has been thunder; others said, “A messenger has spoken to Him.” Jesus⁹ answered and said, “This voice has not come because of Me, but because of you; now is a judgment of this world, now will the ruler of this world be cast forth; and I, if I may be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” And this He said signifying by what death He was about to die [Table];

John 17:12 Detail [Table]
Stephanus Textus Receptus	LSV	NET Parallel Greek	NET
οτε ημην μετ αυτων	when I was with them	ὅτε ἤμην μετ᾿ αὐτῶν	When I was with them
εν τω κοσμω	in the world
εγω ετηρουν αυτους	I was keeping them	ἐγὼ ἐτήρουν αὐτοὺς	I kept them safe
εν τω ονοματι σου	in Your Name	ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι σου	in your name
ους δεδωκας μοι	those whom You have given to Me	ᾧ δέδωκας μοι	that you have given me
εφυλαξα	I guarded	καὶ ἐφύλαξα	and watched over them
και ουδεις εξ αυτων	and none of them	καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐξ αὐτῶν	Not one of them
απωλετο	were destroyed	ἀπώλετο	was lost
ει μη	except	εἰ μὴ	except
ο υιος	the son	ὁ υἱὸς	the one destined
της απωλειας	of the destruction	τῆς ἀπωλείας	for destruction
ινα	that	ἵνα	so that
η γραφη πληρωθη	the Writing may be fulfilled	ἡ γραφὴ πληρωθῇ	the scripture could be fulfilled

The Greek phrase ουδεις εξ αυτων seems like a strange construction for none of them (LSV) and Not one of them (NET). Why not simply ουδεις αυτων? And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, yet none of them (οὐδεὶς αὐτῶν) was cleansed except (εἰ μὴ) Naaman¹⁰ the Syrian.¹¹ But John used ουδεις εξ three times.

Was he less proficient in Greek than Luke? I wondered. If John’s Gospel were written by a twenty-something John, I might accept that, but every indication is that it was written by the elder John who not only spent his youth with Jesus but enjoyed a lifetime with the indwelling Holy Spirit, making sense of those years. And what of the Holy Spirit? I decided to look deeper than mere occurrence.

Hasn’t Moses¹² given you the law? Yet not one of you (οὐδεὶς ἐξ ὑμῶν) keeps the law! Why do you want to kill me?¹³ The Greek word translated keeps was actually ποιεῖ (a form of ποιέω) rather than τήρει (a form of τηρέω) or φύλασσε (a form of φυλάσσω). So Jesus said to Jewish leaders¹⁴ (οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι), “not one of you does the law”? That sounds ridiculous on the face of it.

Jewish leaders were all about doing the law. Of course, one of the more salient features of the Gospels is that Jewish leaders were “all about doing the law” in much the same way I was all about doing compliance, to minimize my experience of being screamed at, to maximize my experience of being thought of and spoken of well, all for my praise and my glory. And Jesus was never all about looking at things “on the face of it” but on the heart.

It was past time to take ἐξ more seriously: Jesus said to Jewish leaders, “nothing out of you” or “from within you does the law.” In other words, nothing out of them or from within them loved God or their neighbor with the love God supplies through his own indwelling Holy Spirit (Mark 12:28-31 NET).

Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one [Table]. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength’ [Table]. The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” [Table].

The Jewish leaders (and I) were like actors pretending to love like God by our own skill and in our own strength (weakened through the flesh). Only John recorded the disturbing words Jesus spoke to those Judeans who had believed (“and continued to believe”; Perfect Tense) him¹⁵ (πρὸς τοὺς πεπιστευκότας αὐτῷ Ἰουδαίους): You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires.¹⁶ It may not have been the best way to win friends and influence people, but it was perhaps the only way to tell his followers the truth about the evil within them, that evil Paul would later describe as the old man (τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον) who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires.¹⁷

John also recorded Jesus saying (John 16:4b-6 NET):

I did not tell you these things (John 15:1-16:4a) from the beginning because I was with you [Table]. But now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you (οὐδεὶς ἐξ ὑμῶν) is asking me, ‘Where are you going?’ Instead your hearts are filled with sadness because I have said these things to you.

Though Jesus’ word and his presence had already created in his disciples what Paul would later describe as the new man (τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωπον) who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth,¹⁸ it was weak compared to the old man apart from Jesus’ own indwelling Spirit. “Nothing out of you” or “from within you is asking me” the most obvious question, Jesus marveled. They were focused instead on their own feelings.

So now, when I come to—Not one of them (οὐδεὶς ἐξ αὐτῶν) was lost except the one destined for destruction¹⁹—it is much easier to hear: “Nothing out of” or “from within them was lost (LSV: destroyed) except the one destined for destruction” (KJV: the son of perdition), e.g., the old man (τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον) who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires.²⁰

I wondered for a moment or two at ἀπώλετο, translated was lost (NET), is lost (KJV) and were destroyed (LSV), a form of ἀπόλλυμι, ἀπόλλω, ἀπολλύω in the 2^nd aorist tense and indicative mood. But Bill Mounce answered my concern in his article, “The Aorist is so much more than a past tense”:

I like Con Campbell’s word picture of the aorist. You are in a helicopter over the parade, looking at the parade as a whole. Buist Fanning talks about seeing the action from the outside as a whole rather than from inside the action (i.e., being part of the parade).

Because this is the basic genius of the aorist, it can have a phenomenally wide range of usage. You can be looking at the action as a whole but paying special attention to the beginning (“ingressive”) or to the end (“consummative”). It can describes [sic] something that simply is regardless of any time reference (“gnomic”).

But my favorite is to [sic] proleptic (futuristic) use of the aorist. Because time is secondary, the aorist can describe a future event and emphasize the certainty of the action. It is not a common usage, but it does show how we need to keep the idea of “time” in its proper place.

So, Jesus did not refer to Judas Iscariot any more or any less than He referred to me or anyone or everyone else. What Scripture, what Writing did this fulfill once and for all? Nothing less than the Name of God:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Exodus 34:6, 7a (Tanakh)	Exodus 34:6, 7a (NET)	Exodus 34:6, 7a (NETS)	Exodus 34:6, 7a (English Elpenor)
And HaShem passed by before [Moses], and proclaimed: ‘The HaShem, HaShem, G-d, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth [Table];	The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness,	And the Lord passed by before his face, and he called, “The Lord, the Lord God is compassionate and merciful, patient and very merciful and truthful [Table]	And the Lord passed by before his face, and proclaimed, The Lord God, pitiful and merciful, longsuffering and very compassionate, and true,
keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty [Table];	keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished,”	and preserving righteousness and doing mercy for thousands, taking away acts of lawlessness and of injustice and sins, and he will not acquit the guilty person [Table],	and keeping justice and mercy for thousands, taking away iniquity, and unrighteousness, and sins; and he will not clear the guilty;

According to a note (62) in the NET Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:4, 5 and Joshua 22:5. A table comparing the Greek of his quotation in Mark 12:29b, 30 to that of the Septuagint follows.

Mark 12:29b, 30 (NET Parallel Greek)	Deuteronomy 6:4b, 5; Joshua 22:5b (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 6:4b, 5; Joshua 22:5b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν, καὶ ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης \|τῆς\| καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου	ἄκουε Ισραηλ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν καὶ ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς δυνάμεώς σου [Table] ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας	Ακουε, ᾿Ισραήλ· Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν Κύριος εἷς ἐστι καὶ ἀγαπήσεις Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς δυνάμεώς σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας
Mark 12:29b, 30 (NET)	Deuteronomy 6:4b, 5; Joshua 22:5b (NETS)	Deuteronomy 6:4b, 5; Joshua 22:5b (English Elpenor)
Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.	Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. And you shall love the Lord your God with the whole of your mind and with the whole of your soul and with the whole of your power. …with all your mind…	Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and all thy strength. …with all your mind…

According to a note (63) in the NET Jesus quoted from Leviticus 19:18. A table comparing the Greek of his quotation in Mark 12:31a to that of the Septuagint follows.

Mark 12:31a (NET Parallel Greek)	Leviticus 19:18b (Septuagint BLB)	Leviticus 19:18b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν	ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν [Table]	ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν
Mark 12:31a (NET)	Leviticus 19:18b (NETS)	Leviticus 19:18b (English Elpenor)
Love your neighbor as yourself	you shall love your neighbor as yourself	thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself

Tables comparing Deuteronomy 6:4 and Joshua 22:5 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Deuteronomy 6:4 and Joshua 22:5 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing John 17:21; 12:30; Luke 4:27 and John 7:19 in the KJV and NET follow.

Deuteronomy 6:4 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 6:4 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 6:4 (NET)
HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE HaShem OUR GOD, THE HaShem IS ONE.	Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:	Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!

Deuteronomy 6:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 6:3b, 4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ταῦτα τὰ δικαιώματα καὶ τὰ κρίματα ὅσα ἐνετείλατο κύριος τοῖς υἱοῖς Ισραηλ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἐξελθόντων αὐτῶν ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ἄκουε Ισραηλ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν	Tκαὶ ταῦτα τὰ δικαιώματα καὶ τὰ κρίματα, ὅσα ἐνετείλατο Κύριος τοῖς υἱοῖς ᾿Ισραὴλ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, ἐξελθόντων αὐτῶν ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου. (4) ῎Ακουε, ᾿Ισραήλ· Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν Κύριος εἷς ἐστι
Deuteronomy 6:4 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 6:3b, 4 (English Elpenor)
And these are the statutes and the judgments, which the Lord commanded to the sons of Israel in the wilderness as they were coming out from the land of Egypt. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.	and these [are] the ordinances, and the judgments, which the Lord commanded the children of Israel in the wilderness, when they had gone forth from the land of Egypt. (4) Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord.

Joshua 22:5 (Tanakh)	Joshua 22:5 (KJV)	Joshua 22:5 (NET)
But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.	But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.	But carefully obey the commands and instructions Moses the Lord’s servant gave you. Love the Lord your God, follow all his instructions, obey his commands, be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and being!”

Joshua 22:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Joshua 22:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀλλὰ φυλάξασθε ποιεῖν σφόδρα τὰς ἐντολὰς καὶ τὸν νόμον ὃν ἐνετείλατο ἡμῖν ποιεῖν Μωυσῆς ὁ παῖς κυρίου ἀγαπᾶν κύριον τὸν θεὸν ὑμῶν πορεύεσθαι πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ φυλάξασθαι τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ καὶ προσκεῖσθαι αὐτῷ καὶ λατρεύειν αὐτῷ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας ὑμῶν καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς ὑμῶν	ἀλλὰ φυλάξασθε σφόδρα ποιεῖν τὰς ἐντολὰς καὶ τὸν νόμον, ὃν ἐνετείλατο ἡμῖν ποιεῖν Μωυσῆς ὁ παῖς Κυρίου, ἀγαπᾶν Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν ἡμῶν, πορεύεσθαι πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ, φυλάξασθαι τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ καὶ προσκεῖσθαι αὐτῷ καὶ λατρεύειν αὐτῷ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας ὑμῶν καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς ὑμῶν
Joshua 22:5 (NETS)	Joshua 22:5 (English Elpenor)
But take great care to do the ordinances and the law that Moyses the servant of the Lord commanded you to do: to love the Lord your God, to walk by all his ways, to keep his ordinances and to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your mind and with all your soul.”	But take great heed to do the commands and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you to do; to love the Lord our God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commands, and to cleave to him, and serve him with all your mind, and with all your soul.

John 17:21 (NET)	John 17:21 (KJV)
that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me.	That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

John 17:21 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 17:21 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 17:21 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἵνα πάντες ἓν ὦσιν, καθὼς σύ, \|πάτερ\|, ἐν ἐμοὶ καγὼ ἐν σοί, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἡμῖν ὦσιν, ἵνα ὁ κόσμος πιστεύῃ ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας	ινα παντες εν ωσιν καθως συ πατερ εν εμοι καγω εν σοι ινα και αυτοι εν ημιν εν ωσιν ινα ο κοσμος πιστευση οτι συ με απεστειλας	ινα παντες εν ωσιν καθως συ πατερ εν εμοι καγω εν σοι ινα και αυτοι εν ημιν εν ωσιν ινα ο κοσμος πιστευση οτι συ με απεστειλας

John 12:30 (NET)	John 12:30 (KJV)
Jesus said, “This voice has not come for my benefit but for yours.	Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

John 12:30 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 12:30 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 12:30 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἀπεκρίθη \|Ἰησοῦς\| καὶ εἶπεν · οὐ δι᾿ ἐμὲ ἡ φωνὴ αὕτη γέγονεν ἀλλὰ δι᾿ ὑμᾶς	απεκριθη ο ιησους και ειπεν ου δι εμε αυτη η φωνη γεγονεν αλλα δι υμας	απεκριθη ο ιησους και ειπεν ου δι εμε αυτη η φωνη γεγονεν αλλα δι υμας

Luke 4:27 (NET)	Luke 4:27 (KJV)
And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, yet none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”	And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

Luke 4:27 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 4:27 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 4:27 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ πολλοὶ λεπροὶ ἦσαν ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ ἐπὶ Ἐλισαίου τοῦ προφήτου, καὶ οὐδεὶς αὐτῶν ἐκαθαρίσθη εἰ μὴ Ναιμὰν ὁ Σύρος	και πολλοι λεπροι ησαν επι ελισσαιου του προφητου εν τω ισραηλ και ουδεις αυτων εκαθαρισθη ει μη νεεμαν ο συρος	και πολλοι λεπροι ησαν επι ελισσαιου του προφητου εν τω ισραηλ και ουδεις αυτων εκαθαρισθη ει μη νεεμαν ο συρος

John 7:19 (NET)	John 7:19 (KJV)
Hasn’t Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law! Why do you want to kill me?”	Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?

John 7:19 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 7:19 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 7:19 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Οὐ Μωϋσῆς \|δέδωκεν\| ὑμῖν τὸν νόμον; καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐξ ὑμῶν ποιεῖ τὸν νόμον. τί με ζητεῖτε ἀποκτεῖναι	ου μωσης δεδωκεν υμιν τον νομον και ουδεις εξ υμων ποιει τον νομον τι με ζητειτε αποκτειναι	ου μωσης δεδωκεν υμιν τον νομον και ουδεις εξ υμων ποιει τον νομον τι με ζητειτε αποκτειναι

Back to Romans, Part 27

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 3

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 4, Part 1

Back to Luke 8:22-56

¹ Mark 8:16b (NET) Table

² Mark 8:15b (NET)

³ The Stehanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA²⁸ had ἑαυτὸν (KJV: himself) here. In other words, Jesus protects Himself (including those who are his).

⁴ 1 John 5:18a (LSV)

⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν (KJV: one) here. The Net parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καμοὶ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και εμοι (KJV: and…me).

⁷ John 17:6 (LSV) Table

⁸ John 17:9, 10 (LSV)

⁹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ο preceding Jesus. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁰ In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Naaman was spelled Ναιμὰν, and νεεμαν in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

¹¹ Luke 4:27 (NET)

¹² In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Moses was spelled Μωϋσῆς, and μωσης in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

¹³ John 7:19 (NET)

¹⁴ John 7:15 (NET); see NET note 32

¹⁵ John 8:31a (NET)

¹⁶ John 8:44a (NET) Table

¹⁷ Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

¹⁸ Ephesians 4:24b (NET)

¹⁹ John 17:12b (NET) Table

²⁰ Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 10

Posted on February 26, 2023 by admin

This is a continuation of my consideration of God’s love for Satan revealed in the book of Job: the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) allowed Satan to carry out his scientific experiment on Job, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil.¹ Satan had a hypothesis why Job feared God, and a test for that hypothesis. But when the experiment was over Job didn’t curse God to his face as Satan’s test had predicted (Job 1:20-22 NET).

Then Job got up and tore his robe. He shaved his head, and then he threw himself down with his face to the ground [Table]. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return there. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. May the name of the Lord be blessed!” [Table] In all this Job did not sin, nor did he charge God with moral impropriety [Table].

This result effectively falsified Satan’s hypothesis.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 2:4, 5 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 2:4, 5 (NET)	Job 2:4, 5 (NETS)	Job 2:4, 5 (English Elpenor)
And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life (נַפְשֽׁוֹ).	But Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! Indeed, a man will give up all that he has to save his life (nep̄eš, נפשו).	Then the slanderer continued and said to the Lord, “Skin for skin; whatever a person has he will use to pay for his life (τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ).	And the devil answered and said to the Lord, Skin for skin, all that a man has will he give as a ransom for his life (τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ).
But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse (יְבָֽרְכֶֽךָּ) thee to thy face	But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh, and he will no doubt curse (bāraḵ, יברכך) you to your face!”	However, stretch out your hand, and touch his bones and his flesh; surely he will bless (εὐλογήσει) you to your face!”	Nay, but put forth thine hand, and touch his bones and his flesh: verily he will bless (εὐλογήσει) thee to [thy] face.

In other words, Satan rejected the conclusion that his hypothesis was false. He said he would have gotten the result he desired, if not for the Lord’s arbitrary condition placed on his test. The Lord had said to Satan (Job 1:12b NET [Table]):

All right then, everything he has is in your power. Only do not extend your hand against the man himself!

The Lord (יהוה) didn’t debate the merits of the scientific method with Satan:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 2:6 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 2:6 (NET)	Job 2:6 (NETS)	Job 2:6 (English Elpenor)
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life (נַפְשׁ֖וֹ).	So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, he is in your power; only preserve his life (nep̄eš, נפשו).”	Then the Lord said to the slanderer, “Very well, I am handing him over to you; only spare his life (τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ).”	And the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I deliver him up to thee; only save his life (τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ).

The Lord’s love, kindness and patience toward Satan is, frankly, a bit perplexing to me here. Is it simply who He is because God is love?² Was He demonstrating his superiority? Was He leading Satan to repentance? Or was He goading Satan to store up wrath for [himself] in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed?³

I also admit to being confused about Satan’s hypothesis at this point: Is it for nothing that Job fears God? [Table] Have you not made a hedge around him⁴ [Table] to shield him from disease? It seems even less likely to me now that Satan was conducting a scientific experiment to ascertain why/how Job was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.⁵ I’m thinking that Satan just wanted Job to curse God.

I, on the other hand, am more interested in how Job was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil⁶ even when Satan by the Lord’s leave took everything from him. The Lord’s confidence to continue with Satan’s charade encourages me that I’m on the right track with the idea that Job believed the Lord, and the Lord credited it as righteousness to him.⁷ The Lord’s confidence to continue with Satan’s test didn’t come from his faith in Job, but from his faith in the life-transforming power of his own credited righteousness.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 2:7, 8 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 2:7, 8 (NET)	Job 2:7, 8 (NETS)	Job 2:7, 8 (English Elpenor)
So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.	So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted Job with a malignant ulcer from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.	So the slanderer went out from the Lord, and he struck Iob with a grievous festering sore from his feet to his head.	So the devil went out from the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from [his] feet to [his] head.
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.	Job took a shard of broken pottery to scrape himself with while he was sitting among the ashes.	And he took a potsherd, so that he could scrape away the pus, and sat on the rubbish heap outside the city.	And he took a potsherd to scrape away the discharge, and sat upon a dung-heap outside the city.

Job’s wife seemed to have an uncanny grasp of the situation, even more so because her advice seems more in line with Satan’s reasoning than the Lord’s.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 2:9 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 2:9 (NET)	Job 2:9 (NETS)	Job 2:9 (English Elpenor)
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.	Then his wife said to him, “Are you still holding firmly to your integrity? Curse God, and die!”	Then after a long time had passed, his wife said to him, “How long will you persist and say, ‘Look, I will hang on a little longer, while I wait for the hope of my deliverance?’ For look, your legacy has vanished from the earth—sons and daughters, my womb’s birth pangs and labors, for whom I wearied myself with hardships in vain. And you? You sit in the refuse of worms as you spend the night in the open air. As for me, I am one that wanders about and a hired servant—from place to place and house to house, waiting for when the sun will set, so I can rest from the distresses and griefs that now beset me. Now say some word to the Lord and die!”	And when much time had passed, his wife said to him, How long wilt thou hold out, saying, 9α Behold, I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my deliverance? 9β for, behold, thy memorial is abolished from the earth, [even thy] sons and daughters, the pangs and pains of my womb which I bore in vain with sorrows; 9γ and thou thyself sittest down to spend the nights in the open air among the corruption of worms, 9δ and I am a wanderer and a servant from place to place and house to house, waiting for the setting of the sun, that I may rest from my labours and my pangs which now beset me: but say some word against the Lord, and die.

If I thought this was contemporary fiction I might go off on a feminist rant about misogyny and the patriarchy. Though I do think the literary form of Job is drama, I believe the story is true. But as drama, Job’s wife is the first everyman character one encounters. She reacts more like what Satan claimed to expect from his scientific experiment on Job, not because she is female but because she is human. I say “claimed” because Satan (Septuagint: ὁ διάβολος) is a liar.

I’m becoming more and more convinced that Satan already knew that Job was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil⁸ because Job believed the Lord, and the Lord credited it as righteousness to him.⁹ Satan already knew, even if he held onto some vague hope, that because of the power of the Lord’s credited righteousness there was nothing he could do to cause Job to curse God. Satan’s actual intent was to baffle us with misdirection, and to terrorize us with all he would do to us if we believed the Lord and the Lord credited it as righteousness to us.

Job’s wife sounds like Satan because everyman is from [their] father the devil, and [we] want to do what [our] father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature because he is a liar and the father of lies.¹⁰

That everyman is from [their] father the devil is a point for everyman to concede to Jesus, the shut door at the entrance to the kingdom of God, and the light that will highlight our inner devil all too clearly. God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am,¹¹ is the key to open the shut door that is Jesus, the light of the world.

Did the rabbis who translated the Septuagint add words to Job’s wife’s soliloquy to make her more sympathetic? Or did the editors of the Masoretic text delete them to make her more direct? I’m favoring the latter here because in the Masoretic text Job’s wife quotes the Lord almost verbatim even as she sounds more like Satan:

Job 2:3 (NET) The Lord	Job 2:9 (NET) Job’s Wife
he still (ʿôḏ, ועדנו) holds firmly (ḥāzaq, מחזיק) to his integrity (tummâ, בתמתו)	Are you still (ʿôḏ, עדך) holding firmly (ḥāzaq, מחזיק) to your integrity (tummâ, בתמתך)?

Here is a comparison of the Greek in the Septuagint for contrast:

Job 2:3 (Septuagint BLB) Table	Job 2:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)	Job 2:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἔτι δὲ ἔχεται ἀκακίας	ἔτι δὲ ἔχετε ἀκακίας	μέχρι τίνος καρτερήσεις λέγων	μέχρι τίνος καρτερήσεις λέγων
Job 2:3 (NETS)	Job 2:3 (English Elpenor)	Job 2:9 (NETS)	Job 2:9 (English Elpenor)
And he still maintains his innocence	and he yet cleaves to innocence	How long will you persist and say	How long wilt thou hold out, saying

Quoting the Lord verbatim is a clever synopsis that cuts immediately to the point. But the longer version of her speech seems more like a wife’s anguish watching her husband suffer, as well as her own anguish as long as he lives and she is not free to marry again. All this demonstrates perhaps is that the rabbis wrote better fiction. But I have faith that the story is true, and the Greek of the Septuagint seems much less like Job’s wife was privy to the Lord’s words verbatim.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 2:10 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 2:10 (NET)	Job 2:10 (NETS)	Job 2:10 (English Elpenor)
But [Job] said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil (הָרָ֖ע)? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.	But he replied, “You’re talking like one of the godless women would do! Should we receive what is good from God, and not also receive what is evil (raʿ, הרע)?” In all this Job did not sin by what he said.	But Iob looked up and said to her, “You have spoken like one of the foolish women. If we received the good things from the Lord’s hand, shall we not bear the bad (τὰ κακὰ)?” In all these things that happened to him Iob did not sin at all with his lips before God.	But he looked on her, and said to her, Thou hast spoken like one of the foolish women. If we have received good things of the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things (τὰ κακὰ)? In all these things that happened to him, Job sinned not at all with his lips before God.

In one sense, Job’s faith sounds naive. He accepts what has happened to him as evil from the hand of God (Septuagint: of the Lord, Κυρίου). He seems oblivious to Satan’s part in any of it. I wondered briefly whether Job thought of Satan as one of the gods. The rabbis who translated the Septuagint seem to have anticipated that question and answered it in the negative by translating האלהים (‘ĕlōhîm) Κυρίου here rather than θεοῦ. But Job’s theology was absolutely correct since Satan could do nothing without the Lord’s permission.

Job’s wife, especially in the Masoretic text, seems to believe that Job’s blamelessness is a personal achievement, a righteousness derived from law: Job still holds firmly to his integrity. But Job’s acceptance of both good and evil from the hand of the Lord sounds more to me like the fruit of a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness¹² so many years before the Word became flesh and took up residence among us.¹³

The Lord boasts about Job: There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil.¹⁴ The Lord has every right to boast. Job’s righteousness is the Lord’s handiwork. Job does not boast: The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. May the name of the Lord be blessed!¹⁵ What do you have that you did not receive? Paul wrote the Corinthians. And if you received it, why do you boast as though you did not?¹⁶ He also wrote to the Romans: Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things?¹⁷

Satan doesn’t appear again in the book of Job except by proxy in his influence over natural born human beings. I want to continue to study the book of Job in another essay series, but here I’ll sum up a bit. This side excursion into the book of Job began for me with a question: Who did Jesus command, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”¹⁸

The narrative is quite clear that Jesus spoke to Judas Iscariot. But right before Jesus spoke those words, John also made it clear that Satan (ὁ σατανᾶς) had entered into Judas. In the book of Job Satan needed the Lord’s permission to do anything to Job. Was, What you are about to do, do quickly, Jesus’ permission? I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again, Jesus said. 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.¹⁹

“It’s difficult to say that He was speaking to both: ποίησον is singular. But was He speaking to Satan/Judas, a unitary singular, at that moment?”²⁰ Then Satan entered into him²¹ (τότε εἰσῆλθεν εἰς ἐκεῖνον ὁ σατανᾶς) seems to be something more than You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires.²² And now I wonder if that “ something more” exempts Judas somehow from all people Jesus will draw to Himself if or when He was crucified.²³

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

Job 2:4 (Tanakh)	Job 2:4 (KJV)	Job 2:4 (NET)
And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.	And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.	But Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! Indeed, a man will give up all that he has to save his life.

Job 2:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὑπολαβὼν δὲ ὁ διάβολος εἶπεν τῷ κυρίῳ δέρμα ὑπὲρ δέρματος ὅσα ὑπάρχει ἀνθρώπῳ ὑπὲρ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ ἐκτείσει	ὑπολαβὼν δὲ ὁ διάβολος εἶπε τῷ Κυρίῳ· δέρμα ὑπὲρ δέρματος· καὶ πάντα, ὅσα ὑπάρχει ἀνθρώπῳ, ὑπὲρ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ ἐκτίσει
Job 2:4 (NETS)	Job 2:4 (English Elpenor)
Then the slanderer continued and said to the Lord, “Skin for skin; whatever a person has he will use to pay for his life.	And the devil answered and said to the Lord, Skin for skin, all that a man has will he give as a ransom for his life.

Job 2:5 (Tanakh)	Job 2:5 (KJV)	Job 2:5 (NET)
But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face	But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.	But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!”

Job 2:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλὰ ἀποστείλας τὴν χεῗρά σου ἅψαι τῶν ὀστῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν σαρκῶν αὐτοῦ εἰ μὴν εἰς πρόσωπόν σε εὐλογήσει	οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλὰ ἀποστείλας τὴν χεῖρά σου ἅψαι τῶν ὀστῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ σαρκῶν αὐτοῦ· ἦ μὴν εἰς πρόσωπόν σε εὐλογήσει
Job 2:5 (NETS)	Job 2:5 (English Elpenor)
However, stretch out your hand, and touch his bones and his flesh; surely he will bless you to your face!”	Nay, but put forth thine hand, and touch his bones and his flesh: verily he will bless thee to [thy] face.

Job 2:6 (Tanakh)	Job 2:6 (KJV)	Job 2:6 (NET)
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.	And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.	So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, he is in your power; only preserve his life.”

Job 2:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εἶπεν δὲ ὁ κύριος τῷ διαβόλῳ ἰδοὺ παραδίδωμί σοι αὐτόν μόνον τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ διαφύλαξον	εἶπε δὲ ὁ Κύριος τῷ διαβόλῳ· ἰδοὺ παραδίδωμί σοι αὐτόν, μόνον τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ διαφύλαξον
Job 2:6 (NETS)	Job 2:6 (English Elpenor)
Then the Lord said to the slanderer, “Very well, I am handing him over to you; only spare his life.”	And the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I deliver him up to thee; only save his life.

Job 2:7 (Tanakh)	Job 2:7 (KJV)	Job 2:7 (NET)
So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.	So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.	So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted Job with a malignant ulcer from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

Job 2:7 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐξῆλθεν δὲ ὁ διάβολος ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ ἔπαισεν τὸν Ιωβ ἕλκει πονηρῷ ἀπὸ ποδῶν ἕως κεφαλῆς	᾿Εξῆλθε δὲ ὁ διάβολος ἀπὸ προσώπου Κυρίου καὶ ἔπαισε τὸν ᾿Ιὼβ ἕλκει πονηρῷ ἀπὸ ποδῶν ἕως κεφαλῆς
Job 2:7 (NETS)	Job 2:7 (English Elpenor)
So the slanderer went out from the Lord, and he struck Iob with a grievous festering sore from his feet to his head.	So the devil went out from the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from [his] feet to [his] head.

Job 2:8 (Tanakh)	Job 2:8 (KJV)	Job 2:8 (NET)
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.	And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.	Job took a shard of broken pottery to scrape himself with while he was sitting among the ashes.

Job 2:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔλαβεν ὄστρακον ἵνα τὸν ἰχῶρα ξύῃ καὶ ἐκάθητο ἐπὶ τῆς κοπρίας ἔξω τῆς πόλεως	καὶ ἔλαβεν ὄστρακον, ἵνα τὸν ἰχῶρα ξύῃ, καὶ ἐκάθητο ἐπὶ τῆς κοπρίας ἔξω τῆς πόλεως
Job 2:8 (NETS)	Job 2:8 (English Elpenor)
And he took a potsherd, so that he could scrape away the pus, and sat on the rubbish heap outside the city.	And he took a potsherd to scrape away the discharge, and sat upon a dung-heap outside the city.

Job 2:9 (Tanakh)	Job 2:9 (KJV)	Job 2:9 (NET)
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.	Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.	Then his wife said to him, “Are you still holding firmly to your integrity? Curse God, and die!”

Job 2:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
χρόνου δὲ πολλοῦ προβεβηκότος εἶπεν αὐτῷ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ μέχρι τίνος καρτερήσεις λέγων	Χρόνου δὲ πολλοῦ προβεβηκότος εἶπεν αὐτῷ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ· μέχρι τίνος καρτερήσεις λέγων· 9α ἰδοὺ ἀναμένω χρόνον ἔτι μικρὸν προσδεχόμενος τὴν ἐλπίδα τῆς σωτηρίας μου; 9β ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἠφάνισταί σου τὸ μνημόσυνον ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, υἱοὶ καὶ θυγατέρες, ἐμῆς κοιλίας ὠδῖνες καὶ πόνοι, οὓς εἰς τὸ κενὸν ἐκοπίασα μετὰ μόχθων· 9γ σύ τε αὐτὸς ἐν σαπρίᾳ σκωλήκων κάθησαι διανυκτερεύων αἴθριος, 9δ κἀγὼ πλανῆτις καὶ λάτρις, τόπον ἐκ τόπου περιερχομένη καὶ οἰκίαν ἐξ οἰκίας, προσδεχομένη τὸν ἥλιον πότε δύσεται, ἵνα ἀναπαύσωμαι τῶν μόχθων μου καὶ τῶν ὀδυνῶν, αἵ με νῦν συνέχουσιν· ἀλλὰ εἰπόν τι ῥῆμα πρὸς Κύριον καὶ τελεύτα
Job 2:9 (NETS)	Job 2:9 (English Elpenor)
Then after a long time had passed, his wife said to him, “How long will you persist and say, ‘Look, I will hang on a little longer, while I wait for the hope of my deliverance?’ For look, your legacy has vanished from the earth—sons and daughters, my womb’s birth pangs and labors, for whom I wearied myself with hardships in vain. And you? You sit in the refuse of worms as you spend the night in the open air. As for me, I am one that wanders about and a hired servant—from place to place and house to house, waiting for when the sun will set, so I can rest from the distresses and griefs that now beset me. Now say some word to the Lord and die!”	And when much time had passed, his wife said to him, How long wilt thou hold out, saying, 9α Behold, I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my deliverance? 9β for, behold, thy memorial is abolished from the earth, [even thy] sons and daughters, the pangs and pains of my womb which I bore in vain with sorrows; 9γ and thou thyself sittest down to spend the nights in the open air among the corruption of worms, 9δ and I am a wanderer and a servant from place to place and house to house, waiting for the setting of the sun, that I may rest from my labours and my pangs which now beset me: but say some word against the Lord, and die.

Job 2:10 (Tanakh)	Job 2:10 (KJV)	Job 2:10 (NET)
But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.	But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.	But he replied, “You’re talking like one of the godless women would do! Should we receive what is good from God, and not also receive what is evil?” In all this Job did not sin by what he said.

Job 2:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ δὲ ἐμβλέψας εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὥσπερ μία τῶν ἀφρόνων γυναικῶν ἐλάλησας εἰ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἐδεξάμεθα ἐκ χειρὸς κυρίου τὰ κακὰ οὐχ ὑποίσομεν ἐν πᾶσιν τούτοις τοῗς συμβεβηκόσιν αὐτῷ οὐδὲν ἥμαρτεν Ιωβ τοῗς χείλεσιν ἐναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ	ὁ δὲ ἐμβλέψας εἶπεν αὐτῇ· ἵνα τί ὥσπερ μία τῶν ἀφρόνων γυναικῶν ἐλάλησας οὕτως; εἰ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἐδεξάμεθα ἐκ χειρὸς Κυρίου, τὰ κακὰ οὐχ ὑποίσομεν; ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν αὐτῷ οὐδὲν ἥμαρτεν ᾿Ιὼβ τοῖς χείλεσιν ἐναντίον τοῦ Θεοῦ
Job 2:10 (NETS)	Job 2:10 (English Elpenor)
But Iob looked up and said to her, “You have spoken like one of the foolish women. If we received the good things from the Lord’s hand, shall we not bear the bad?” In all these things that happened to him Iob did not sin at all with his lips before God.	But he looked on her, and said to her, Thou hast spoken like one of the foolish women. If we have received good things of the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things? In all these things that happened to him, Job sinned not at all with his lips before God.

The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 11

Back to Nothing True, Part 2

¹ Job 1:8b (NET) Table

² 1 John 4:8 (NET)

³ Romans 2:5 (NET) Table

⁴ Job 1:9b, 10a (NET)

⁵ Job 1:1b (NET) Table

⁶ Ibid.

⁷ Genesis 15:6 (NET) Table

⁸ Job 1:1b (NET) Table

⁹ Genesis 15:6 (NET) Table

¹⁰ John 8:44 (NET) Table

¹¹ Luke 18:13 (NET) Table

¹² Philippians 3:9b (NET)

¹³ John 1:14a (NET)

¹⁴ Job 1:8b (NET) Table

¹⁵ Job 1:21b (NET) Table

¹⁶ 1 Corinthians 4:7b (NET)

¹⁷ Romans 8:32 (NET) Table

¹⁸ John 13:27b (NET)

¹⁹ John 10:17b, 18 (NET)

²⁰ The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 5

²¹ John 13:27a (NET)

²² John 8:44a (NET) Table

²³ John 12:32 (NET)

Psalm 22, Part 13

Posted on July 30, 2022 by admin

This is a continuing look into Psalm 22 as the music in Jesus’ heart as He endured the cross. The tone of the psalm seems to change abruptly.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Psalm 22:22 (Tanakh/KJV)	Psalm 22:22 (NET)	Psalm 21:23 (NETS)	Psalm 21:23 (English Elpenor)
I will declare thy name unto my brethren (לְאֶחָ֑י): in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.	I will declare your name to my countrymen (‘āḥ, לאחי). In the middle of the assembly I will praise you.	I will tell of your name to my kindred (τοῗς ἀδελφοῗς μου); in the midst of an assembly I will sing a hymn to you:	I will declare thy name to my brethren (τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου): in the midst of the church will I sing praise to thee.

The Hebrew word translated my brethren (Tanakh, KJV) and my countrymen (NET) was לְאֶחָ֑י (‘āḥ). It was translated τοῗς ἀδελφοῗς μου (BLB) and τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου (Elpenor) in the Septuagint.

For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For indeed he who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin, and so he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters (ἀδελφοὺς, a form of ἀδελφός), saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers (ἀδελφοῖς, another form of ἀδελφός); in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.”¹

Paul wrote (Romans 8:28, 29 NET):

And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters (ἀδελφοῖς, another form of ἀδελφός).

And Matthew wrote (Matthew 28:1-10 NET):

Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary² Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and³ rolled away the stone⁴ and sat on it. His appearance⁵ was like lightning, and his clothes were white as⁶ snow. The guards were shaken and became⁷ like⁸ dead men because they were so afraid of him. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised, just as he said. Come and see the place where he⁹ was lying. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead. He is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you!” So they left¹⁰ the tomb quickly, with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. But¹¹ Jesus¹² met¹³ them, saying, “Greetings!” They came to him, held on to his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”¹⁴

Then go quickly and tell his disciples (τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ), the angel said. It was accurate and descriptive. The women knew who he meant. They ran to tell his disciples (τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ), Matthew wrote. In the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text Matthew repeated one more time: And as they went to tell his disciples (τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ), behold, Jesus met them.¹⁵ But Jesus said, Go and tell my brothers (τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου).

This was before the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost. This is when I might have imagined some kind of reprimand or rebuke. Granted, Jesus actually believed the Scripture that said, “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’”¹⁶ He was probably less likely to reprove his disciples for their “failure” to man up and disobey this Scripture than my misplaced pride and ego would be.

Of course, He didn’t call his disciples my brothers (τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου) because of anything they had done, but because of what He had faithfully accomplished for them on the cross. There appears to have been some confusion about what happened that morning (Mark 16:8-11 NET):

Then [Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome] went out and ran from the tomb, for¹⁷ terror and bewilderment had seized them. And they said¹⁸ nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Early on the first day of the week, after he arose, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons. She went out and told those who were with him, while they were mourning¹⁹ and weeping. And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

Luke added (Luke 24:8-12 NET):

Then the women remembered [Jesus’] words, and when they returned from the tomb, they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the²⁰ mother of James, and the other women with them who²¹ told these things to the apostles. But these words seemed like pure nonsense to them, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He bent down and saw only the strips of linen cloth; then he went home, wondering what had happened [Table].

John filled in many of the details (John 20:1-17 NET):

Now very early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance. So she went running to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” Then Peter and the other disciple set out to go to the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down and saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon²² Peter, who had been following him, arrived and went right into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, and the face cloth, which had been around Jesus’ head, not lying with the strips of linen cloth but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, came in, and he saw and believed. (For they did not yet understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead.)

So the disciples went back to their homes.²³ But Mary stood outside the tomb²⁴ weeping. As she wept, she bent down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been lying, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Mary replied, “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him!” When²⁵ she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.²⁶

Jesus²⁷ said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Because she thought he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.” Jesus²⁸ said to her, “Mary.”²⁹ She turned and said to him in Aramaic,³⁰ “Rabboni” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus³¹ replied, “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my³² Father. Go to my brothers (τοὺς ἀδελφούς μου ) and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father (τὸν πατέρα μου) and your Father (πατέρα ὑμῶν), to my God and your God.’”

I pause here to highlight that Jesus called his disciples my brothers (τοὺς ἀδελφούς μου). Beyond this he called God my Father (τὸν πατέρα μου) and your Father (πατέρα ὑμῶν). This is quite different from what He said to those Judeans who had believed him:³³ You people are from your father the devil (ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ διαβόλου), and you want to do what your father (τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν) desires.³⁴ Here, too, it is not because of anything his disciples had done but what Jesus had accomplished for them on the cross.

John continued (John 20:18-22 NET):

Mary³⁵ Magdalene came and informed the disciples, “I have seen³⁶ the Lord!” And she told them what Jesus had said to her.

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together and locked the doors of the place because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord [Table]. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.” And after he said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

I pause here to highlight how Jesus reprised the scene from creation when the Lord God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.³⁷ So also it is written, Paul contrasted these events, “The first man, Adam, became a living person”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.³⁸

John continued, quoting Jesus (John 20:23 NET):

If you forgive (ἀφῆτε, a form of ἀφίημι) anyone’s sins, they are forgiven (ἀφέωνται); if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.”

Jesus taught us to pray: and forgive (ἄφες) us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven (ἀφήκαμεν, another form of ἀφίημι) our debtors.³⁹ Then He explained: For if you forgive (ἀφῆτε, a form of ἀφίημι) others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive (ἀφήσει, another form of ἀφίημι) you. But if you do not forgive (ἀφῆτε, a form of ἀφίημι) others, your Father will not forgive (ἀφήσει, another form of ἀφίημι) you your sins [Table].⁴⁰

John continued (John 20:24-29 NET):

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came [Table]. The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “Unless I see the wounds from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it!”

Eight days later the disciples were again together in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and examine my hands. Extend your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe.” Thomas⁴¹ replied to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me?⁴² Blessed are the people who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Mark wrote (Mark 16:14 NET):

Then⁴³ he appeared to the Eleven themselves, while they were eating, and he rebuked (ὠνείδισεν, a form of ὀνειδίζω) them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who had seen him resurrected.

I’ve heard that Peter was the source for Mark’s Gospel account. It is interesting to consider that Peter, who did not make any mental connection to Jesus’ teaching when he entered the empty tomb, recalled Jesus’ rebuke for unbelief while John, who believed when he entered the empty tomb, illustrated the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,⁴⁴ showing how often Jesus intervened with personal appearances to cause his unbelieving brothers to believe.

Likewise, only Mark’s Gospel reveals that the women said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.⁴⁵ This was presumably before they encountered Jesus and left the tomb quickly, with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.⁴⁶ Putting these accounts together helps me see that Jesus’ love for his female brothers who came early that Sunday morning to the tomb was the same. He didn’t wait around for his brothers to meet Him in Galilee: “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”⁴⁷ Going to Galilee to meet Jesus was not the act that defined Jesus’ brothers.

Jesus spoke the words, “my brothers,” and made it so, overwhelming their unbelief (even Mary Magdalene came at the appointed time seeking a corpse rather than a living God) with his presence. And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose,⁴⁸ Paul wrote. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, Jesus promised, will draw all people to myself.⁴⁹

Paul wrote (1 Corinthians 15:1-11 NET):

Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters (ἀδελφοί, another form of ἀδελφός), the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received—that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures [Table], and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep [Table]. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as though to one born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been in vain. In fact, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but⁵⁰ the grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they, this is the way we preach and this is the way you believed.

A table comparing the Greek of Hebrews 2:12 and that of Psalm 22:22 (21:23) in the Septuagint follows:

Hebrews 2:12 (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 22:22 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 21:23 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀπαγγελῶ τὸ ὄνομα σου τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου, ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας ὑμνήσω σε	διηγήσομαι τὸ ὄνομά σου τοῗς ἀδελφοῗς μου ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας ὑμνήσω σε	διηγήσομαι τὸ ὄνομά σου τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου, ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας ὑμνήσω σε
Hebrews 2:12 (NET)	Psalm 21:23 (NETS)	Psalm 21:23 (English Elpenor)
I will proclaim your name to my brothers; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.	I will tell of your name to my kindred; in the midst of an assembly I will sing a hymn to you:	I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church will I sing praise to thee.

A table comparing the Greek of Matthew 26:31b and that of Zechariah 13:7 in the Septuagint follows:

Matthew 26:31b (NET Parallel Greek)	Zechariah 13:7b (Septuagint BLB)	Zechariah 13:7b (Septuagint Elpenor)
πατάξω τὸν ποιμένα, καὶ διασκορπισθήσονται τὰ πρόβατα τῆς ποίμνης	πατάξατε τοὺς ποιμένας καὶ ἐκσπάσατε τὰ πρόβατα	πατάξατε τοὺς ποιμένας καὶ ἐκσπάσατε τὰ πρόβατα
Matthew 26:31b (NET)	Zechariah 13:7b (NETS)	Zechariah 13:7b (English Elpenor)
I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.	Smite the shepherds, and remove the sheep	smite the shepherds, and draw out the sheep

Tables comparing Psalm 22:22 and Zechariah 13:7 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Psalm 22:22 (21:23) and Zechariah 13:7 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Matthew 28:1-4; 28:6; 28:8-10; Mark 16:8; 16:10; Luke 24:10; John 20:6; 20:10, 11; 20:14-17; 20:18; 20:28, 29; Mark 16:14 and 1 Corinthians 15:10 in the NET and KJV follow.

Psalm 22:22 (Tanakh)	Psalm 22:22 (KJV)	Psalm 22:22 (NET)
I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.	I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.	I will declare your name to my countrymen. In the middle of the assembly I will praise you.

Psalm 22:22 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 21:23 (Septuagint Elpenor)
διηγήσομαι τὸ ὄνομά σου τοῗς ἀδελφοῗς μου ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας ὑμνήσω σε	διηγήσομαι τὸ ὄνομά σου τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου, ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας ὑμνήσω σε
Psalm 21:23 (NETS)	Psalm 21:23 (English Elpenor)
I will tell of your name to my kindred; in the midst of an assembly I will sing a hymn to you:	I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church will I sing praise to thee.

Zechariah 13:7 (Tanakh)	Zechariah 13:7 (KJV)	Zechariah 13:7 (NET)
Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.	Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.	“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike the shepherd that the flock may be scattered; I will turn my hand against the insignificant ones.

Zechariah 13:7 (Septuagint BLB)	Zechariah 13:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ῥομφαία ἐξεγέρθητι ἐπὶ τοὺς ποιμένας μου καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἄνδρα πολίτην μου λέγει κύριος παντοκράτωρ πατάξατε τοὺς ποιμένας καὶ ἐκσπάσατε τὰ πρόβατα καὶ ἐπάξω τὴν χεῗρά μου ἐπὶ τοὺς ποιμένας	Ῥομφαία ἐξεγέρθητι ἐπὶ τοὺς ποιμένας μου καὶ ἐπὶ ἄνδρα πολίτην μου, λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ· πατάξατε τοὺς ποιμένας καὶ ἐκσπάσατε τὰ πρόβατα, καὶ ἐπάξω τὴν χεῖρά μου ἐπὶ τοὺς ποιμένας
Zechariah 13:7 (NETS)	Zechariah 13:7 (English Elpenor)
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherds and against his fellow citizen,” says the Lord Almighty. Smite the shepherds, and remove the sheep, and I will bring my hand against the shepherds.	Awake, O sword, against my shepherds, and against the man [who is] my citizen, saith the Lord Almighty: smite the shepherds, and draw out the sheep: and I will bring mine hand upon the little ones.

Matthew 28:1-4 (NET)	Matthew 28:1-4 (KJV)
Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.	In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ὀψὲ δὲ σαββάτων, τῇ ἐπιφωσκούσῃ εἰς μίαν σαββάτων ἦλθεν \|Μαριὰμ\| ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ καὶ ἡ ἄλλη Μαρία θεωρῆσαι τὸν τάφον	οψε δε σαββατων τη επιφωσκουση εις μιαν σαββατων ηλθεν μαρια η μαγδαληνη και η αλλη μαρια θεωρησαι τον ταφον	οψε δε σαββατων τη επιφωσκουση εις μιαν σαββατων ηλθεν μαρια η μαγδαληνη και η αλλη μαρια θεωρησαι τον ταφον

Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it.

And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἰδοὺ σεισμὸς ἐγένετο μέγας· ἄγγελος γὰρ κυρίου καταβὰς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καὶ προσελθὼν ἀπεκύλισεν τὸν λίθον καὶ ἐκάθητο ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ	και ιδου σεισμος εγενετο μεγας αγγελος γαρ κυριου καταβας εξ ουρανου προσελθων απεκυλισεν τον λιθον απο της θυρας και εκαθητο επανω αυτου	και ιδου σεισμος εγενετο μεγας αγγελος γαρ κυριου καταβας εξ ουρανου προσελθων απεκυλισεν τον λιθον απο της θυρας και εκαθητο επανω αυτου

His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.

His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἦν δὲ ἡ εἰδέα αὐτοῦ ὡς ἀστραπὴ καὶ τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ λευκὸν ὡς χιών	ην δε η ιδεα αυτου ως αστραπη και το ενδυμα αυτου λευκον ωσει χιων	ην δε η ιδεα αυτου ως αστραπη και το ενδυμα αυτου λευκον ωσει χιων

The guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him.

And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ φόβου αὐτοῦ ἐσείσθησαν οἱ τηροῦντες καὶ ἐγενήθησαν ὡς νεκροί	απο δε του φοβου αυτου εσεισθησαν οι τηρουντες και εγενοντο ωσει νεκροι	απο δε του φοβου αυτου εσεισθησαν οι τηρουντες και εγενοντο ωσει νεκροι

Matthew 28:6 (NET)	Matthew 28:6 (KJV)
He is not here, for he has been raised, just as he said. Come and see the place where he was lying.	He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
οὐκ ἔστιν ὧδε, ἠγέρθη γὰρ καθὼς εἶπεν· δεῦτε ἴδετε τὸν τόπον ὅπου ἔκειτο	ουκ εστιν ωδε ηγερθη γαρ καθως ειπεν δευτε ιδετε τον τοπον οπου εκειτο ο κυριος	ουκ εστιν ωδε ηγερθη γαρ καθως ειπεν δευτε ιδετε τον τοπον οπου εκειτο ο κυριος

Matthew 28:8-10 (NET)	Matthew 28:8-10 (KJV)
So they left the tomb quickly, with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.	And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ ἀπελθοῦσαι ταχὺ ἀπὸ τοῦ μνημείου μετὰ φόβου καὶ χαρᾶς μεγάλης ἔδραμον ἀπαγγεῖλαι τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ	και εξελθουσαι ταχυ απο του μνημειου μετα φοβου και χαρας μεγαλης εδραμον απαγγειλαι τοις μαθηταις αυτου	και εξελθουσαι ταχυ απο του μνημειου μετα φοβου και χαρας μεγαλης εδραμον απαγγειλαι τοις μαθηταις αυτου

But Jesus met them, saying, “Greetings!” They came to him, held on to his feet and worshiped him.

And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἰδοὺ Ἰησοῦς ὑπήντησεν αὐταῖς λέγων· χαίρετε. αἱ δὲ προσελθοῦσαι ἐκράτησαν αὐτοῦ τοὺς πόδας καὶ προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ	ως δε επορευοντο απαγγειλαι τοις μαθηταις αυτου και ιδου ο ιησους απηντησεν αυταις λεγων χαιρετε αι δε προσελθουσαι εκρατησαν αυτου τους ποδας και προσεκυνησαν αυτω	ως δε επορευοντο απαγγειλαι τοις μαθηταις αυτου και ιδου ιησους απηντησεν αυταις λεγων χαιρετε αι δε προσελθουσαι εκρατησαν αυτου τους ποδας και προσεκυνησαν αυτω

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”

Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
τότε λέγει αὐταῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· μὴ φοβεῖσθε· ὑπάγετε ἀπαγγείλατε τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου ἵνα ἀπέλθωσιν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν, κακεῖ με ὄψονται	τοτε λεγει αυταις ο ιησους μη φοβεισθε υπαγετε απαγγειλατε τοις αδελφοις μου ινα απελθωσιν εις την γαλιλαιαν κακει με οψονται	τοτε λεγει αυταις ο ιησους μη φοβεισθε υπαγετε απαγγειλατε τοις αδελφοις μου ινα απελθωσιν εις την γαλιλαιαν και εκει με οψονται

Mark 16:8 (NET)	Mark 16:8 (KJV)
Then they went out and ran from the tomb, for terror and bewilderment had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.	And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἐξελθοῦσαι ἔφυγον ἀπὸ τοῦ μνημείου, εἶχεν γὰρ αὐτὰς τρόμος καὶ ἔκστασις· καὶ οὐδενὶ οὐδὲν εἶπαν· ἐφοβοῦντο γάρ	και εξελθουσαι ταχυ εφυγον απο του μνημειου ειχεν δε αυτας τρομος και εκστασις και ουδενι ουδεν ειπον εφοβουντο γαρ	και εξελθουσαι εφυγον απο του μνημειου ειχεν δε αυτας τρομος και εκστασις και ουδενι ουδεν ειπον εφοβουντο γαρ

Mark 16:10 (NET)	Mark 16:10 (KJV)
She went out and told those who were with him, while they were mourning and weeping.	And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἐκείνη πορευθεῖσα ἀπήγγειλεν τοῖς μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ γενομένοις πενθοῦσι καὶ κλαίουσιν	εκεινη πορευθεισα απηγγειλεν τοις μετ αυτου γενομενοις πενθουσιν και κλαιουσιν	εκεινη πορευθεισα απηγγειλεν τοις μετ αυτου γενομενοις πενθουσιν και κλαιουσιν

Luke 24:10 (NET)	Luke 24:10 (KJV)
Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles.	It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἦσαν δὲ ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ Μαρία καὶ Ἰωάννα καὶ Μαρία ἡ Ἰακώβου καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ σὺν αὐταῖς. ἔλεγον πρὸς τοὺς ἀποστόλους ταῦτα	ησαν δε η μαγδαληνη μαρια και ιωαννα και μαρια ιακωβου και αι λοιπαι συν αυταις αι ελεγον προς τους αποστολους ταυτα	ησαν δε η μαγδαληνη μαρια και ιωαννα και μαρια η ιακωβου και αι λοιπαι συν αυταις αι ελεγον προς τους αποστολους ταυτα

John 20:6 (NET)	John 20:6 (KJV)
Then Simon Peter, who had been following him, arrived and went right into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen cloth lying there,	Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἔρχεται οὖν καὶ Σίμων Πέτρος ἀκολουθῶν αὐτῷ καὶ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ μνημεῖον, καὶ θεωρεῖ τὰ ὀθόνια κείμενα	ερχεται ουν σιμων πετρος ακολουθων αυτω και εισηλθεν εις το μνημειον και θεωρει τα οθονια κειμενα	ερχεται ουν σιμων πετρος ακολουθων αυτω και εισηλθεν εις το μνημειον και θεωρει τα οθονια κειμενα

John 20:10, 11 (NET)	John 20:10, 11 (KJV)
So the disciples went back to their homes.	Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπῆλθον οὖν πάλιν πρὸς αὐτοὺς οἱ μαθηταί	απηλθον ουν παλιν προς εαυτους οι μαθηται	απηλθον ουν παλιν προς εαυτους οι μαθηται

But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she bent down and looked into the tomb.

But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Μαρία δὲ εἱστήκει πρὸς τῷ μνημείῳ ἔξω κλαίουσα. ὡς οὖν ἔκλαιεν, παρέκυψεν εἰς τὸ μνημεῖον	μαρια δε ειστηκει προς το μνημειον κλαιουσα εξω ως ουν εκλαιεν παρεκυψεν εις το μνημειον	μαρια δε ειστηκει προς το μνημειον κλαιουσα εξω ως ουν εκλαιεν παρεκυψεν εις το μνημειον

John 20:14-17 (NET)	John 20:14-17 (KJV)
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.	And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ταῦτα εἰποῦσα ἐστράφη εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω καὶ θεωρεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἑστῶτα καὶ οὐκ ᾔδει ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν	και ταυτα ειπουσα εστραφη εις τα οπισω και θεωρει τον ιησουν εστωτα και ουκ ηδει οτι ο ιησους εστιν	και ταυτα ειπουσα εστραφη εις τα οπισω και θεωρει τον ιησουν εστωτα και ουκ ηδει οτι ιησους εστιν

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Because she thought he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.”

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
λέγει αὐτῇ Ἰησοῦς· γύναι, τί κλαίεις; τίνα ζητεῖς; ἐκείνη δοκοῦσα ὅτι ὁ κηπουρός ἐστιν λέγει αὐτῷ· κύριε, εἰ σὺ ἐβάστασας αὐτόν, εἰπέ μοι ποῦ ἔθηκας αὐτόν, καγὼ αὐτὸν ἀρῶ	λεγει αυτη ο ιησους γυναι τι κλαιεις τινα ζητεις εκεινη δοκουσα οτι ο κηπουρος εστιν λεγει αυτω κυριε ει συ εβαστασας αυτον ειπε μοι που αυτον εθηκας καγω αυτον αρω	λεγει αυτη ο ιησους γυναι τι κλαιεις τινα ζητεις εκεινη δοκουσα οτι ο κηπουρος εστιν λεγει αυτω κυριε ει συ εβαστασας αυτον ειπε μοι που εθηκας αυτον καγω αυτον αρω

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni” (which means “Teacher”).

Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
λέγει αὐτῇ Ἰησοῦς· Μαριάμ. στραφεῖσα ἐκείνη λέγει αὐτῷ Ἑβραϊστί· ραββουνι (ὃ λέγεται διδάσκαλε).	λεγει αυτη ο ιησους μαρια στραφεισα εκεινη λεγει αυτω ραββουνι ο λεγεται διδασκαλε	λεγει αυτη ο ιησους μαρια στραφεισα εκεινη λεγει αυτω ραββουνι ο λεγεται διδασκαλε

Jesus replied, “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
λέγει αὐτῇ Ἰησοῦς· μή μου ἅπτου, οὔπω γὰρ ἀναβέβηκα πρὸς τὸν πατέρα· πορεύου δὲ πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφούς μου καὶ εἰπὲ αὐτοῖς· ἀναβαίνω πρὸς τὸν πατέρα μου καὶ πατέρα ὑμῶν καὶ θεόν μου καὶ θεὸν ὑμῶν	λεγει αυτη ο ιησους μη μου απτου ουπω γαρ αναβεβηκα προς τον πατερα μου πορευου δε προς τους αδελφους μου και ειπε αυτοις αναβαινω προς τον πατερα μου και πατερα υμων και θεον μου και θεον υμων	λεγει αυτη ο ιησους μη μου απτου ουπω γαρ αναβεβηκα προς τον πατερα μου πορευου δε προς τους αδελφους μου και ειπε αυτοις αναβαινω προς τον πατερα μου και πατερα υμων και θεον μου και θεον υμων

John 20:18 (NET)	John 20:18 (KJV)
Mary Magdalene came and informed the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what Jesus had said to her.	Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἔρχεται Μαριὰμ ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ ἀγγέλλουσα τοῖς μαθηταῖς ὅτι ἑώρακα τὸν κύριον, καὶ ταῦτα εἶπεν αὐτῇ	ερχεται μαρια η μαγδαληνη απαγγελλουσα τοις μαθηταις οτι εωρακεν τον κυριον και ταυτα ειπεν αυτη	ερχεται μαρια η μαγδαληνη απαγγελλουσα τοις μαθηταις οτι εωρακεν τον κυριον και ταυτα ειπεν αυτη

John 20:28, 29 (NET)	John 20:28, 29 (KJV)
Thomas replied to him, “My Lord and my God!”	And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπεκρίθη Θωμᾶς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ὁ κύριος μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου	και απεκριθη ο θωμας και ειπεν αυτω ο κυριος μου και ο θεος μου	και απεκριθη θωμας και ειπεν αυτω ο κυριος μου και ο θεος μου

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are the people who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
λέγει αὐτῷ \|ὁ\| Ἰησοῦς· ὅτι ἑώρακας με πεπίστευκας; μακάριοι οἱ μὴ ἰδόντες καὶ πιστεύσαντες	λεγει αυτω ο ιησους οτι εωρακας με θωμα πεπιστευκας μακαριοι οι μη ιδοντες και πιστευσαντες	λεγει αυτω ο ιησους οτι εωρακας με πεπιστευκας μακαριοι οι μη ιδοντες και πιστευσαντες

Mark 16:14 (NET)	Mark 16:14 (KJV)
Then he appeared to the Eleven themselves, while they were eating, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who had seen him resurrected.	Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
῞Υστερον [δὲ] ἀνακειμένοις αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἕνδεκα ἐφανερώθη καὶ ὠνείδισεν τὴν ἀπιστίαν αὐτῶν καὶ σκληροκαρδίαν ὅτι τοῖς θεασαμένοις αὐτὸν ἐγηγερμένον οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν	υστερον ανακειμενοις αυτοις τοις ενδεκα εφανερωθη και ωνειδισεν την απιστιαν αυτων και σκληροκαρδιαν οτι τοις θεασαμενοις αυτον εγηγερμενον ουκ επιστευσαν	υστερον ανακειμενοις αυτοις τοις ενδεκα εφανερωθη και ωνειδισεν την απιστιαν αυτων και σκληροκαρδιαν οτι τοις θεασαμενοις αυτον εγηγερμενον ουκ επιστευσαν

1 Corinthians 15:10 (NET)	1 Corinthians 15:10 (KJV)
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been in vain. In fact, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God with me.	But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
χάριτι δὲ θεοῦ εἰμι ὅ εἰμι, καὶ ἡ χάρις αὐτοῦ ἡ εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ κενὴ ἐγενήθη, ἀλλὰ περισσότερον αὐτῶν πάντων ἐκοπίασα, οὐκ ἐγὼ δὲ ἀλλὰ ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ [ἡ] σὺν ἐμοί	χαριτι δε θεου ειμι ο ειμι και η χαρις αυτου η εις εμε ου κενη εγενηθη αλλα περισσοτερον αυτων παντων εκοπιασα ουκ εγω δε αλλ η χαρις του θεου η συν εμοι	χαριτι δε θεου ειμι ο ειμι και η χαρις αυτου η εις εμε ου κενη εγενηθη αλλα περισσοτερον αυτων παντων εκοπιασα ουκ εγω δε αλλ η χαρις του θεου η συν εμοι

Psalm 22, Part 14

Back to Forgiveness and my Religious Mind

Back to Wonders and False Wonders, Part 1

Back to Matthew 8:23-34

¹ Hebrews 2:10-12 (NET)

² The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had Μαριὰμ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μαρια.

³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καὶ preceding came. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

⁴ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απο της θυρας (KJV: from the door) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἰδέα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ιδεα (KJV: countenance).

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

⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐγενήθησαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εγενοντο.

⁸ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὡς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ωσει (KJV: as).

⁹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ο κυριος (KJV: the Lord) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁰ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀπελθοῦσαι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εξελθουσαι (KJV: they departed).

¹¹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ως δε επορευοντο απαγγειλαι τοις μαθηταις αυτου (KJV: And as they went to tell his disciples) preceding but (KJV: behold). The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹² The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article ο preceding Jesus. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὑπήντησεν (a form of ὑπαντάω) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απηντησεν.

¹⁴ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had κακεῖ here, where the Byzantine Majority Text had και εκει.

¹⁵ Matthew 28:9a (KJV)

¹⁶ Matthew 26:31b (NET) Table

¹⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had γὰρ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δε.

¹⁸ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἶπαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειπον.

¹⁹ The NET parallel Greek text had πενθοῦσι here, where the NA²⁸, Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had πενθοῦσιν (KJV: they mourned).

²⁰ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ἡ preceding mother of James. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

²¹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αι (KJV: which) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²² The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καὶ (not translated in the NET) preceding Simon. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

²³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had αὐτοὺς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εαυτους (KJV: their own home).

²⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τῷ μνημείῳ in the dative case here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had το μνημειον (KJV: at the sepulchre) in the accusative case.

²⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: And) at the beginning of this clause. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²⁶ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article ο preceding Jesus. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

²⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ο preceding Jesus. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²⁸ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ο preceding Jesus. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had Μαριάμ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μαρια.

³⁰ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had Ἑβραϊστί here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

³¹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ο preceding Jesus. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

³² The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μου here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

³³ John 8:31a (NET)

³⁴ John 8:44a (NET) Table

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

³⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἑώρακα in the 1^st person here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εωρακεν (KJV: she had seen) in the 3^rd person. The conjunction ὅτι, which preceded both ἑώρακα and εωρακεν, was treated as an introduction to “a direct speech (In English, it is not translated except by quotation marks)” in the NET and was translated that in the KJV.

³⁷ Genesis 2:7 (NET) Table

³⁸ 1 Corinthians 15:45 (NET)

³⁹ Matthew 6:12 (NET) Table

⁴⁰ Matthew 6:14, 15 (NET)

⁴¹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: And) at the beginning of this clause. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not. The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article ο preceding Thomas. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

⁴² The Stephanus Textus Receptus had θωμα (KJV: Thomas) here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

⁴³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had δὲ (not translated in the NET) here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

⁴⁴ Ephesians 3:19 (NET)

⁴⁵ Mark 16:8b (NET)

⁴⁶ Matthew 28:8 (NET)

⁴⁷ Matthew 28:10 (NET)

⁴⁸ Romans 8:28 (NET)

⁴⁹ John 12:32 (NET)

⁵⁰ The NET parallel Greek text had ἀλλὰ here, where the NA²⁸, Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ἀλλ’.

The New Covenant, Part 3

Posted on July 2, 2022 by admin

In an article, “All of America Must Be a Hard Target to Prevent Mass Shootings,” James Pinkerton wrote:

Reacting to an earlier school shooting, former Los Angeles police officer J. Warner Wallace identified four driving causes: “an increase in social media use”; “an increased dependency on prescription medicine”; “an increase in single parent households”; and “a decrease in traditional Christian values,” including, we can add, the belief that bad people go to hell where they are tormented forever. It’s too bad that the idea of hell, just as the notion of evil, has been mostly banished by our secular culture.

This article was written in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

On May 24, 2022, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos fatally shot nineteen students and two teachers, and wounded seventeen other people, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States.¹

Mr. Ramos didn’t surrender to authorities but fought apparently to the death. If he had been raised with “‘traditional Christian values,’ including…the belief that bad people go to hell where they are tormented forever” would he have feared death more? Would he have feared death enough to dissuade him from shooting 39 people including his grandmother?² Clearly, I don’t know the answer to those questions, but asking them helps me understand why some would prefer to deprive Mr. Ramos (and everyone else) of weapons that can kill so many so fast.

Fear of death didn’t dissuade Adam and Eve from eating the fruit God had forbidden. Granted, death may have been an abstract concept until Cain killed Abel. The law God gave to Israel added many fearful punishments including death (Exodus 21:12-22:20; Leviticus 7:20-27; 19:5-10; 20:1-9; 24:13-23; 26:14-38) for noncompliance. Israel didn’t keep the law in a way that satisfied God.

People may have been more or less satisfied with the law depending on whether they were victimized by lawbreakers or not. I know none of the children or adults killed or wounded in Uvalde at the Robb Elementary School. I’m more or less satisfied that the laws in Uvalde did what they could. At least, I’m not persuaded that any new laws would help significantly to prevent such killings.

Mr. Ramos seemed willing to die for his cause, whatever he perceived that cause to be.³

“Ramos’s social media acquaintances said he openly abused animals such as cats and would livestream the abuse on Yubo.^[111] Other social media acquaintances said that he would also livestream himself on Yubo threatening to kidnap and rape girls who used the app, as well as threatening to commit a school shooting.^[109] “On May 14, Ramos sent a private Instagram message reading, ’10 more days’. A person responded, ‘Are you going to shoot up a school or something?’ He replied, ‘No, stop asking dumb questions. You’ll see.’

Neither the law nor the fear of death deterred him from his course. At least, no one has reported that he curled up in a fetal position and cried when surrounded by armed men. Perhaps, there were no witnesses by that point.

Paul wrote (Romans 8:3, 4 NET):

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.

This fulfillment of the righteous requirement of the law…in us, who…walk according to the Spirit got short shrift from me when avoiding hell was my hope of “salvation.” Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead to save each of us first and foremost from our sinful selves.

Paul continued (Romans 8:5 NET):

For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit.

What is born of the flesh is flesh, Jesus told Nicodemus, 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.’⁴

Now the works of the flesh are obvious, Paul wrote, 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!⁵

For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh…For the outlook of the flesh is death…because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.⁶

You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires,⁷ Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him,⁸ arguably the best of the best at suppressing the sins of the flesh while still in the flesh. I already admitted I didn’t take Jesus seriously here until recently.

I recall when my mother tried to teach me about hell by putting my hand in a gas flame on the stove. She failed. She wasn’t strong enough, whether physically or emotionally, to overcome my resistance.

That sounds obscene without context, but frankly, I don’t remember the context. I probably said or did something that highly offended her. I did that often. She told me many times how often she was surprised by the sinfulness of her precious first born baby boy. This was long after I had said a sinner’s prayer to Jesus to escape hell.

Mom was consistent in her expectation that someone born of God should be different. I see that now. At the time she was up against a religious establishment that defended its religious traditions, and I had said the sinner’s prayer those traditions required. At that time I resented being called sinful. So I lived 65 years before I could or would acknowledge that I in my flesh was from [my] father the devil.

Jesus continued to describe my father and my unwitting relationship to him (John 8:44b-46a NET):

He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature because he is a liar and the father of lies [Table]. But because I am telling you the truth, you do not believe me. Who among you can prove me guilty of any sin? [Table]

Jesus was not some egoist bolstering his own self-esteem by denigrating others. He is God, come to earth as a human being to, among other things, teach us what we did not understand, what we refused to understand, about ourselves (John 8:46b, 47 NET).

If I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me [Table]? The one who belongs to God listens and responds to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond because you don’t belong to God.

I hear this as a relative measure. For I know that nothing good lives in me, Paul wrote, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it.⁹ Even here, though, Paul recognized God’s law as the good (Romans 7:10b-12 NET):

So¹⁰ I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life brought death! For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it I died. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.

Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them [Pharisees and Herodians…Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection)] debating (Mark 12:28-34a NET).

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

Paul continued (Romans 7:13-17 NET):

Did that which is good, then, become¹¹ death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual—but I am unspiritual (KJV: carnal), sold into slavery to sin [Table]. For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want—instead, I do what I hate. But if I do what I don’t want, I agree that the law is good. But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me [Table].

I wasn’t so clear. The good was what I wanted, irrespective of God’s law. My faith in this understanding of the good reached its zenith when I became an atheist, but it didn’t vanish overnight. God’s laws were added more or less reluctantly over time to my understanding of the good as what I wanted, but still may not have entirely supplanted it on a day-to-day basis.

While I might have seen some benefit to a law that inhibits you from messing around with my wife, if I wanted yours more than you did and she wanted me more than you, I was kind of fuzzy why you or God should interfere with the good we wanted. So, I “loved” and lusted after a friend’s wife for twenty years.

To Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength’ [Table] was a tall order when I thought of love as my feeling. It was all but impossible when I thought of the Gospel as an ultimatum: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ or burn in hell for all eternity.” Socialized as a male American after Adolf Hitler’s death, during the reigns of Chairman Mao and Nikita Khrushchev anyone who made such an ultimatum was not one to be loved, but someone to be resisted to the death.

A better understanding of love (1 Corinthians 13) helped me to begin to love God. Even when I thought Paul’s description of love was rules for me to obey in my own strength, it gave me more practical things to do than trying to conjure a feeling of love. When I began to understand Paul’s description as God’s love, given freely to us as an aspect of the fruit of his Holy Spirit, everything began to change for the better. I began, in fact, to be born from above in practice.

“For no good tree bears bad fruit, Jesus taught, nor again¹² does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from brambles. The good person out of the good treasury of his¹³ heart produces good, and the evil person¹⁴ out of his evil treasury¹⁵ produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills¹⁶ his¹⁷ heart.¹⁸

I didn’t know Mr. Ramos. I know the fruit of the Spirit through the word of God and personal experience. Mr. Ramos was not led by God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control when he shot 39 people. You people are from your father the devil, Jesus warned, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning…¹⁹

United States Congressmen take an oath of office:²⁰

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”

Members of the U.S. Congress have forsworn themselves to enact legislation to infringe “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms.”²¹ And the President of the United States, who made a similar oath,²² signed that legislation.²³ Mr. Ramos’ acts of political terrorism have apparently succeeded where others have failed. Was this his conscious purpose and cause? I have no way of knowing.

Jesus warned us of a powerful liar and murderer who incites people to obey his will (John 8:44b, 44a NET):

He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature because he is a liar and the father of lies.

You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires.

Do not be amazed that I said to you, Jesus said, ‘You must all be born from above.’²⁴

As I wrote this essay the Supreme Court of the United States of America barely affirmed the rather obvious fact that no right of abortion is mentioned in the document that constitutes the federal government of the United States. What impact might this tepid affirmation have on those who want a right of abortion, who want to destroy their unborn children, who want me (among others) to consider them righteous if they do so? I don’t know.

Considering the question, however, helps to confirm for me the relative futility of political action vis-a-vis the privilege of sharing the good news that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost (πρῶτος).²⁵ In other words, God in Christ has done all the heavy lifting to save sinners like you and me from our sinful selves. Know Him. [T]his is eternal life,²⁶ Jesus prayed.

“Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord.

For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds, and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be my people.

And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest.

For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer” [Table].²⁷

Tables comparing Romans 7:13; Luke 6:43 and 6:45 in the NET and KJV follow.

Romans 7:13 (NET)	Romans 7:13 (KJV)
Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.	Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Τὸ οὖν ἀγαθὸν ἐμοὶ ἐγένετο θάνατος; μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλὰ ἡ ἁμαρτία, ἵνα φανῇ ἁμαρτία, διὰ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μοι κατεργαζομένη θάνατον, ἵνα γένηται καθ᾿ ὑπερβολὴν ἁμαρτωλὸς ἡ ἁμαρτία διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς	το ουν αγαθον εμοι γεγονεν θανατος μη γενοιτο αλλα η αμαρτια ινα φανη αμαρτια δια του αγαθου μοι κατεργαζομενη θανατον ινα γενηται καθ υπερβολην αμαρτωλος η αμαρτια δια της εντολης	το ουν αγαθον εμοι γεγονεν θανατος μη γενοιτο αλλα η αμαρτια ινα φανη αμαρτια δια του αγαθου μοι κατεργαζομενη θανατον ινα γενηται καθ υπερβολην αμαρτωλος η αμαρτια δια της εντολης

Luke 6:43 (NET)	Luke 6:43 (KJV)
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,	For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν δένδρον καλὸν ποιοῦν καρπὸν σαπρόν, οὐδὲ πάλιν δένδρον σαπρὸν ποιοῦν καρπὸν καλόν	ου γαρ εστιν δενδρον καλον ποιουν καρπον σαπρον ουδε δενδρον σαπρον ποιουν καρπον καλον	ου γαρ εστιν δενδρον καλον ποιουν καρπον σαπρον ουδε δενδρον σαπρον ποιουν καρπον καλον

Luke 6:45 (NET)	Luke 6:45 (KJV)
The good person out of the good treasury of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills his heart.	A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ θησαυροῦ τῆς καρδίας προφέρει τὸ ἀγαθόν, καὶ ὁ πονηρὸς ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ προφέρει τὸ πονηρόν· ἐκ γὰρ περισσεύματος καρδίας λαλεῖ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ	ο αγαθος ανθρωπος εκ του αγαθου θησαυρου της καρδιας αυτου προφερει το αγαθον και ο πονηρος ανθρωπος εκ του πονηρου θησαυρου της καρδιας αυτου προφερει το πονηρον εκ γαρ του περισσευματος της καρδιας λαλει το στομα αυτου	ο αγαθος ανθρωπος εκ του αγαθου θησαυρου της καρδιας αυτου προφερει το αγαθον και ο πονηρος ανθρωπος εκ του πονηρου θησαυρου της καρδιας αυτου προφερει το πονηρον εκ γαρ του περισσευματος της καρδιας λαλει το στομα αυτου

Back to Christianity, Part 2

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 5

¹ “Robb Elementary School shooting,” Wikipedia

² “Robb Elementary School shooting,” Wikipedia: “Earlier in the day, he shot his grandmother in the forehead at home, severely wounding her.”

³ From “Robb Elementary School shooting – Perpetrator,” Wikipedia

⁴ John 3:6, 7 (NET)

⁵ Galatians 5:19-21 (NET) Table

⁶ Romans 8:5-8 (NET)

⁷ John 8:44a (NET) Table

⁸ John 8:31a (NET)

⁹ Romans 7:18 (NET) Table

¹⁰ In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ verse 10 begins with ἐγὼ δὲ ἀπέθανον (NET: and I died). These words conclude verse 9 in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

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

¹² The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had πάλιν here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹³ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτου here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁴ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ανθρωπος here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had θησαυρου της καρδιας αυτου (KJV: treasure of his heart) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁶ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article του preceding what fills (KJV: abundance). The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article της preceding heart. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁸ Luke 6:43-45 (NET)

¹⁹ John 8:44a (NET) Table

²⁰ SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OATH OF OFFICE

²¹ The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

²² Oath of Office for the Presidency

²³ “Joe Biden Signs Gun Control Law: ‘There’s Much More Work to Do’,” Breitbart

²⁴ John 3:7 (NET)

²⁵ 1 Timothy 1:15b (ESV)

²⁶ John 17:3 (NET)

²⁷ Hebrews 8:8b-12 (NET) [See Greek comparison tables]

The New Covenant, Part 2

Posted on February 5, 2022 by admin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus continued (Matthew 13:22 NET):

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The New Covenant, Part 3

Back to The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 8

^[1] The New Covenant, Part 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

^[22] Who Am I? Part 3

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

^[24] Who am I? Part 3

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

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

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

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

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

^[30] Philippians 2:13 (NET)

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

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

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

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

Westworld, Part 3

Posted on November 1, 2021 by admin

“What is a person but a collection of choices?” the Man in Black (Ed Harris) asks rhetorically. “Where do those choices come from? Do I have a choice? Were any of these choices ever truly mine to begin with?”^[1]

The Man in Black had cut himself off from the guidebook for the real world, the knowledge of God revealed in the Bible. He did not believe all that [God] had made…was very good.^[2] He did not believe what happened to humankind when the first people rejected God’s word for the serpent’s (Genesis 3:1-7 NET).

Now the serpent was shrewder than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that God said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?” [Table] The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die [Table], for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” [Table]. When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves [Table].

[S]in entered the world through one man, Paul explained, and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned.^[3] Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him,^[4] You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires.^[5] Granted, it’s all too easy for Gentiles to believe that Jews are from [their] father the devil. It takes us a little longer to realize that Jews are Everyman in the Gospel narratives.

The Man in Black despite cutting himself off from the knowledge of God revealed in the Bible recognized the effect of being from his father the devil. His wife Juliet (Sela Ward) asked him to tell her one true thing. Thinking she was passed out drunk, he confessed:

No one else sees it: this thing in me. Even I didn’t see it at first. And then one day, it was there: a stain I had never noticed before, tiny fleck of darkness…invisible to everyone. Yet, I could see nothing else, ‘til finally I understood that the darkness wasn’t some mark from something I’d done, or some regrettable decision I’d made. I was shedding my skin. The darkness was what was underneath. It was mine all along. And I decided how much of it I let into the world. I tried to do right. I was faithful, generous…kind, at least in this world. That has to count for something, right?^[6]

The Man in Black didn’t believe that [w]e are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in [God’s] sight.^[7] The Man in Black didn’t believe God. And so a confession that may seem like the prelude to receiving God’s salvation through Jesus Christ turns hollow and bitter as he fulfills the rest of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 64:6b, 7 NET):

We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind. No one invokes your name, or makes an effort to take hold of you. For you have rejected us and handed us over to our own sins [Table].

The Man in Black’s confession to his wife continued:

I built a wall and tried to protect you and Emily. But you saw right through it, didn’t you? You’re the only one. And for that I am truly sorry. Because…everything you feel is true. I don’t belong to you or this world. I belong to another world. I always have.^[8]

He refers here to Westworld. What follows is a spoiler for the first season. The “gee whiz” factor of this particular plot twist is far outweighed in my opinion by the benefit of having a temporal landmark to recognize the first season’s double helix story arc: The Man in Black (Ed Harris) is William (Jimmi Simpson) older.

He explains to Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood):

Black William: Remember, you’re the one who said this is the only world that matters, and you were right. So, I took your advice and I bought this world.

Dolores: This world doesn’t belong to you.

Black William: Oh, but it does by a majority share. And business is booming. And you wanna know why? Because this place feels more real than the real world.^[9]

I don’t mean to imply that a fictional character was influenced by the devil. It was the true-to-life crafting of this character (among others) as written and acted that caught my attention in the first place, how well his words and actions displayed the same inner turmoil revealed in the Bible.

“I’m a god,” Black William (Ed Harris) tells Teddy (James Marsden), “titan of industry, philanthropist, family man, married to a beautiful woman, father to a beautiful daughter. I’m the good guy…”

Teddy: Did you hurt them, too?

Black William: Never. They never saw anything like the man I am in here. But she knew anyway. She said if I stacked up all my good deeds, it was just an elegant wall I built to hide what’s inside from everyone, and from myself.^[10]

William oversaw the implementation of a program to use the technology of Westworld to create a sinister imitation of eternal life for his dead Father-in-law Jim (Peter Mullan), a virtual immortality that leaves the sin nature “alive” and fully functioning, cynically called “fidelity.” But the android facsimiles of Jim all went insane eventually. Black William explains to his latest facsimile:

Another year or two, they might crack it, get a version of you that’s viable long-term. But the thing is, we’re not so sure anymore. I’m beginning to think that this whole enterprise was a mistake. People aren’t meant to live forever….World is better off without you, Jim. Possibly without me….Now, took me a long time to learn this, but some men are better off dead.^[11]

It struck me how close and how far William was from the truth. For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God, Paul wrote to believing Galatians. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.^[12]

Paul didn’t think of this blessing as something exclusively for him alone. He explained in some detail how all men and women are “better off dead” to sin (Romans 6:1-7 NET):

What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? [Table] Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.

For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection. We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.)

None of this meant anything to Black William. He was obsessed with his own creation. Though he claims that Westworld “feels more real than the real world,” he also acknowledges to Dolores that “it isn’t because you can’t really fight back and the guests can’t really lose, which means all this is a lie. But we can make it true. Don’t you want that, Dolores, one true thing?”^[13]

The devil isn’t the only one impacting people’s choices in the real world. And perhaps I should make it explicit that I mean the real world, not the fictional “real world” of Westworld (John 3:16-18 NET).

For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him [Table]. The one who believes in him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

True to form I misunderstood Jesus’ words translated into English. I thought the way God loved the world was to send his one and only Son to be the ultimate Shibboleth of eternal consequence (Judges 12:5, 6 NET):

The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River opposite Ephraim. Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth!’” If he said, “Sibboleth” (and could not pronounce the word correctly), they grabbed him and executed him right there at the fords of the Jordan. On that day 42,000 Ephraimites fell dead.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him,^[14] sounded like fairly typical CYA language. God washed his hands, as it were, and said, “I am innocent of [your] blood. You take care of it yourselves!”^[15] Clearly, I did not believe that God is holy.

My Pastor described the holiness of God in a sermon:^[16]

Well, holiness is a very complex idea within Scripture, a very rich idea within Scripture. It describes the perfection of moral purity. It describes the perfection of goodness. It also describes the magnificent otherness of God: That He is not like us, that his nature, his character is greater, bigger, different than anything else within creation. That He is separate from creation, over creation, more significant, more important, better than creation. All these ideas are consumed within this idea of God’s holiness.

My diminished view of God went hand in hand with my diminished view of his salvation: that He had very little to do with salvation, practically speaking. Salvation had everything to do with the individual who believed, or claimed to believe. But Jesus’ saying—No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws (ἑλκύσῃ, a form of ἑλκύω) him^[17] called my do-it-yourself salvation into serious question.

The Greek words translated to condemn and should be saved in John 3:17 above were κρίνῃ and σωθῇ respectively. Both are verbs in the subjunctive mood: “The subjunctive mood indicates probability or objective possibility. The action of the verb will possibly happen, depending on certain objective factors or circumstances.” So, technically, κρίνῃ should have been translated “that he should condemn” or judge rather than as an infinitive to condemn. But the definition of the subjunctive mood continues:

However if the subjunctive mood is used in a purpose or result clause, then the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him, is quite clearly both the purpose and the result of, For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. In other words, that God will not condemn the world but save the world is predicated upon the love of God and the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. It is about as certain as anything can be expressed in Koine Greek.

Jesus said: And I, when I am lifted up from the earth (he said this to indicate clearly what kind of death he was going to die^[18]), will draw (ἑλκύσω, another form of ἑλκύω) all people to myself.^[19] This powerful drawing, pulling, dragging is a promise made by the Son of God. It, too, is about as certain as anything can be expressed in Koine Greek. And it impacts our choices in the real world.

The question for any individual doesn’t boil down to some internal inventory: what do I believe? can I believe? Count on God to supply the requisite faith. The question becomes: will I quit listening to the devil? Am I done yet hurting [myself] by kicking against the goads?^[20]

Tables comparing Genesis 3:2; 3:3; 3:6; Isaiah 64:6; Judges 12:5 and 12:6 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Genesis 3:2; 3:3; 3:6; Isaiah 64:6; Judges 12:5 and 12:6 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Genesis 3:2 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:2 (KJV)	Genesis 3:2 (NET)
And the woman said unto the serpent: ‘Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;	And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:	The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard;

Genesis 3:2 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνὴ τῷ ὄφει ἀπὸ καρποῦ ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου φαγόμεθα	καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνὴ τῷ ὄφει· ἀπὸ καρποῦ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου φαγούμεθα,
Genesis 3:2 (NETS)	Genesis 3:2 (English Elpenor)
And the woman said to the snake, “We shall eat of the fruit of the tree of the orchard,	And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden,

Genesis 3:3 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:3 (KJV)	Genesis 3:3 (NET)
but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, G-d hath said: Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’	But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.	but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’”

Genesis 3:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀπὸ δὲ καρποῦ τοῦ ξύλου ὅ ἐστιν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ παραδείσου εἶπεν ὁ θεός οὐ φάγεσθε ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ οὐδὲ μὴ ἅψησθε αὐτοῦ ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνητε	ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ καρποῦ τοῦ ξύλου, ὅ ἐστιν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ παραδείσου, εἶπεν ὁ Θεός, οὐ φάγεσθε ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, οὐ δὲ μὴ ἅψησθε αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνητε
Genesis 3:3 (NETS)	Genesis 3:3 (English Elpenor)
but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard, God said, ‘You shall not eat of it nor shall you even touch it, lest you die.’”	but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Genesis 3:6 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:6 (KJV)	Genesis 3:6 (NET)
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.	And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.	When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

Genesis 3:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶδεν ἡ γυνὴ ὅτι καλὸν τὸ ξύλον εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ ὅτι ἀρεστὸν τοῗς ὀφθαλμοῗς ἰδεῗν καὶ ὡραῗόν ἐστιν τοῦ κατανοῆσαι καὶ λαβοῦσα τοῦ καρποῦ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγεν καὶ ἔδωκεν καὶ τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς μετ᾽ αὐτῆς καὶ ἔφαγον	καὶ εἶδεν ἡ γυνή, ὅτι καλὸν τὸ ξύλον εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ ὅτι ἀρεστὸν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἰδεῖν καὶ ὡραῖόν ἐστι τοῦ κατανοῆσαι, καὶ λαβοῦσα ἀπὸ τοῦ καρποῦ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγε· καὶ ἔδωκε καὶ τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς μετ᾿ αὐτῆς, καὶ ἔφαγον
Genesis 3:6 (NETS)	Genesis 3:6 (English Elpenor)
And the woman 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, and when she had taken of its fruit she ate, and she also gave some to her husband with her, and they ate.	And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes to look upon and beautiful to contemplate, and having taken of its fruit she ate, and she gave to her husband also with her, and they ate.

Isaiah 64:6 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 64:6 (KJV)	Isaiah 64:6 (NET)
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.	But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.	We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind.

Isaiah 64:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 64:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐγενήθημεν ὡς ἀκάθαρτοι πάντες ἡμεῗς ὡς ῥάκος ἀποκαθημένης πᾶσα ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἡμῶν καὶ ἐξερρύημεν ὡς φύλλα διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν οὕτως ἄνεμος οἴσει ἡμᾶς	καὶ ἐγενήθημεν ὡς ἀκάθαρτοι πάντες ἡμεῖς, ὡς ῥάκος ἀποκαθημένης πᾶσα ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἡμῶν· καὶ ἐξερρύημεν ὡς φύλλα διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν, οὕτως ἄνεμος οἴσει ἡμᾶς
Isaiah 64:6 (NETS)	Isaiah 64:6 (English Elpenor)
And we have all become like unclean people; all our righteousness is like the rag of a woman who sits apart. And we have fallen off like leaves because of our acts of lawlessness; thus the wind will take us away.	and we are all become as unclean, and all our righteousness as a filthy rag: and we have fallen as leaves because of our iniquities; thus the wind shall carry us [away].

Judges 12:5 (Tanakh)	Judges 12:5 (KJV)	Judges 12:5 (NET)
And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;	And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;	The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River opposite Ephraim. Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,”

Judges 12:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Judges 12:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ προκατελάβοντο ἄνδρες Γαλααδ τὰς διαβάσεις τοῦ Ιορδάνου τοῦ Εφραιμ καὶ ἐγενήθη ὅτι εἶπαν οἱ διασεσῳσμένοι τοῦ Εφραιμ διαβῶμεν καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῗς οἱ ἄνδρες Γαλααδ μὴ ὑμεῗς ἐκ τοῦ Εφραιμ καὶ εἶπαν οὔκ ἐσμεν	καὶ προκατελάβετο Γαλαὰδ τὰς διαβάσεις τοῦ ᾿Ιορδάνου τοῦ ᾿Εφραίμ, καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῖς οἱ διασωζόμενοι ᾿Εφραίμ· διαβῶμεν, καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῖς οἱ ἄνδρες Γαλαάδ· μὴ ᾿Εφραθίτης εἶ; καὶ εἶπεν· οὔ
Judges 12:5 (NETS)	Judges 12:5 (English Elpenor)
And the men of Galaad quickly seized the fords of the Jordan of Ephraim. And it came about that the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let us pass over,” and the men of Galaad said to them, “Are you not from Ephraim?” And they said, “We are not.”	And Galaad took the fords of Jordan before Ephraim; and they that escaped of Ephraim said to them, Let us go over: and the men of Galaad said, Art thou an Ephrathite? and he said, No.

Judges 12:6 (Tanakh)	Judges 12:6 (KJV)	Judges 12:6 (NET)
Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.	Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.	then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth!’” If he said, “Sibboleth” (and could not pronounce the word correctly), they grabbed him and executed him right there at the fords of the Jordan. On that day 42,000 Ephraimites fell dead.

Judges 12:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Judges 12:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῗς εἴπατε δὴ σύνθημα καὶ οὐ κατηύθυναν τοῦ λαλῆσαι οὕτως καὶ ἐπελάβοντο αὐτῶν καὶ ἔσφαξαν αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τὰς διαβάσεις τοῦ Ιορδάνου καὶ ἔπεσαν ἐξ Εφραιμ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ δύο τεσσαράκοντα χιλιάδες	καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· εἶπον δὴ Στάχυς· καὶ οὐ κατεύθυνε τοῦ λαλῆσαι οὕτως. καὶ ἐπελάβοντο αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔθυσαν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὰς διαβάσεις τοῦ ᾿Ιορδάνου, καὶ ἔπεσαν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ ἀπὸ ᾿Εφραὶμ δύο καὶ τεσσαράκοντα χιλιάδες
Judges 12:6 (NETS)	Judges 12:6 (English Elpenor)
And they said to them, “Then say: Password,” and they did not keep straight so as to say it like that. And they seized them and slew them at the fords of the Jordan. And forty-two thousand of Ephraim fell at that time.	Then they said to him, Say now Stachys; and he did not rightly pronounce it so: and they took him, and slew him at the fords of Jordan; and there fell at that time of Ephraim two and forty thousand.

Westworld, Part 4

Back to Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Part 9

Back to Who Am I? Part 14

Back to Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 10

Back to Keep Yourselves from Idols, Part 1

Back to Keep Yourselves From Idols, Part 3

^[1] Westworld, Season 2, Episode 9, “Vanishing Point”

^[2] Genesis 1:31a (NET) Table

^[3] Romans 5:12 (NET)

^[4] John 8:31a (NET)

^[5] John 8:44a (NET) Table

^[6] Westworld, Season 2, Episode 9, “Vanishing Point”

^[7] Isaiah 64:6a (NET)

^[8] Westworld, Season 2, Episode 9, “Vanishing Point”

^[9] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 10, “The Bicameral Mind”

^[10] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 8, “Trace Decay”

^[11] Westworld, Season 2, Episode 4, “The Riddle of the Sphinx”

^[12] Galatians 2:19, 20 (NET)

^[13] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 10, “The Bicameral Mind”

^[14] John 3:17 (NET)

^[15] Matthew 27:24b (NET) Table

^[16] Adam Sanftner, Covenant Bible Church, Farmington MO 63640, August 15, 2021

^[17] John 6:44a (NET) Table

^[18] John 12:33 (NET)

^[19] John 12:32 (NET)

^[20] Acts 26:14 (NET) Table

The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 6

Posted on October 1, 2021 by admin

This is a continuation of my consideration of God’s love for Satan revealed in the book of Job. I left off at Job 1:8 (NETS) Table:

And the Lord said to him, “Did you give thought to your disposition against my servant Iob—because there is no one of those on the earth like him, a man who is blameless, genuine, religious, staying away from every evil thing?”

I quoted the NETS here not because I think Claude E. Cox the English translator might agree with me. On the contrary the abstract of his paper—“Translator as Author: The Old Greek Translator of Job”—presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in 2015 leads me to believe that he ascribed editorial prerogatives to the Greek translator(s) of Job rather than the Masoretes.

This paper attempts to access the mind of the translator of Job by examining those instances the OG has no correspondence in the source text. Since these pieces of text cannot really be called “translation,” they belong uniquely to the translator.

Johann Cook in a paper titled, “The Profile and some Theological Aspects of the Old Greek of Job – Resurrection and Life after Death as Points in Case¹” quoted from Mr. Cox’s introduction to his translation of Job:^[1]

According to Cox,¹⁹ the OGJOB is a work of good literary quality. The usual Hebraisms that are the tell-tale signs of translation Greek in much of the Septuagint corpus are absent – this applies to LXX Proverbs too. There can be no doubt that the translators of LXX Proverbs and the OGJOB were both steeped in Greek and Jewish culture.²⁰

Another general characteristic of the translation consists of transferring passages from elsewhere in Job or from other parts of the Septuagint into the translation, so-called inter-/intra-textual rendering.²¹ This phenomenon was detected by Dhorme²² and Ziegler and studied by Heater, who calls it “the anaphoric translation technique.”²³

I quoted Mr. Cox’s translation because he alone recognized the foreknowledge of God in προσέσχες τῇ διανοίᾳ σου κατὰ (English Elpenor: Hast thou diligently considered) with his rendering: Did you give thought to your disposition against… Rather than singling Job out to brag about his righteousness, in Mr. Cox’s translation יהוה (Yᵊhōvâ) is fully aware that Satan has singled out Job and set his own heart and mind against him.

I wondered if the Greek translators of Job heard this foreknowledge in the Hebrew from which the Greek was translated: השׁמת (śûm) לבך (lēḇ) על (ʿal). In this particular instance Rashi’s commentary seems to confirm what the Greek translators heard in the Hebrew and what Mr. Cox heard in turn in the Greek: “Have you paid attention to My servant Job: that you should desire to denounce him?” If I had studied Mr. Cox’s translation of Job many years earlier might I have come to a different conclusion about God’s love and my hunger and thirst for righteousness, and served my wife and family better?

I can’t go back. I can only go on.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 1:9 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 1:9 (NET)	Job 1:9 (NETS)	Job 1:9 (Elpenor English)
Then Satan answered the LORD (יְהֹוָ֖ה), and said, Doth Job fear God (אֱלֹהִֽים) for nought?	Then Satan answered the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה), “Is it for nothing that Job fears God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים)?	Then the slanderer answered and said before the Lord (τοῦ κυρίου), “Does Iob really worship the Lord (τὸν θεόν) for nothing?	Then the devil answered, and said before the Lord (τοῦ Κυρίου), Does Job worship the Lord (τὸν Κύριον) for nothing?

Like Eve I’m very susceptible to Satan’s reasoning. I don’t want to take away from this that I should fear (yārē’, יָרֵ֥א) God for nought (ḥinnām, הַ֣חִנָּ֔ם), that true righteousness would be to worship (σέβεται, a form of σέβω) the Lord for nothing (μὴ δωρεὰν). The Greek word δωρεὰν in particular might deceive me.

As you go, Jesus instructed his disciples, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near!’ Heal the sick, raise the dead,^[2] cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Freely (δωρεὰν) you received, freely (δωρεὰν) give.^[3] Would it not be better to worship the Lord freely? Jesus’ own attitude and the answer to this question are revealed as He continued (Matthew 10:9, 10 NET):

Do not take gold, silver, or copper in your belts; no bag for the journey; or an extra tunic, or sandals or staff; for the worker deserves his provisions.

Jesus believes the worker deserves his provisions (ἄξιος γὰρ ὁ ἐργάτης τῆς τροφῆς αὐτοῦ). This ought to be a no-brainer. My employer provided everything I needed to do the job he also paid me to do. Imagine being sent out to Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons without the grace of God to enable one to do so.

That grace, that enabling power to Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons is what was freely (δωρεὰν) received by Jesus’ disciples. Then and only then did he command them to freely (δωρεὰν) give the benefit of that enabling power to Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons to others. Jesus never asked them to worship Him freely, sending them out to Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons by their own power, their own authority or their own righteousness.

Now without faith it is impossible to please [God], for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.^[4] The Greek words translated he rewards were the noun μισθαποδότης followed by the verb γίνεται (a form of γίνομαι): literally “he becomes the paymaster of” those who seek him. In other words, God is a better employer than the man who “provided everything I needed to do the job he also paid me to do.”

And my God will supply your every need, Paul wrote believing Philippians, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.^[5] What then shall we say about these things? Paul asked believing Romans rhetorically. If God is for us, who can be against us? Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things [Table]?^[6] (The Greek word translated freely give here was χαρίσεται, a form of χαρίζομαι).

Satan continued:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 1:10 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 1:10 (NET)	Job 1:10 (NETS)	Job 1:10 (Elpenor English)
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.	Have you not made a hedge around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock have increased in the land.	Have you not put a fence around things external to him, both what is within his household as well as what is outside of all that belongs to him, all around? You blessed the works of his hands, and his livestock you increased on the earth.	Hast thou not made a hedge about him, and about his household, and all his possessions round about? and hast thou not blessed the works of his hands, and multiplied his cattle upon the land?

It is difficult to use Satan’s words to decipher what he thinks or believes. Jesus described the devil (διαβόλου, a form of διάβολος) as one who does not uphold the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature because he is a liar and the father of lies.^[7] Still, Satan’s words express a thought or belief as a hypothesis: Job does not fear or worship God freely (or, for nothing). Job worships God because God has blessed the works of Job’s hands and protected the fruit of Job’s labors.

We are told the following about Job:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 1:2, 3 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 1:2, 3 (NET)	Job 1:2, 3 (NETS)	Job 1:2, 3 (Elpenor English)
And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.	Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.	Now there were born to him seven sons and three daughters.	And he had seven sons and three daughters.
His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.	His possessions included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys; in addition he had a very great household. Thus he was the greatest of all the people in the east.	And his livestock was: seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-donkeys at pasture; as well he had very many servants and extensive activities in the land, and that man was well-born among those of the east.	And his cattle consisted of seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses in the pastures, and a very great household, and he had a great husbandry on the earth; and that man was [most] noble of the [men] of the east.

Satan’s hypothesis was that this was the reason Job feared or worshiped God. He proposed a test for this hypothesis.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 1:11 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 1:11 (NET)	Job 1:11 (NETS)	Job 1:11 (Elpenor English)
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse (יְבָֽרְכֶֽךָּ) thee to thy face.	But extend your hand and strike everything he has, and he will no doubt curse (bāraḵ, יברכך) you to your face!”	But stretch out your hand, and touch all that he has; surely he will bless (εὐλογήσει) you to your face!”	But put forth thine hand, and touch all that he has: verily he will bless (εὐλογήσει) thee to [thy] face.

A note (30) in the NET reads:

The Hebrew verb is בָּרַךְ (barakh), which means “to bless.” Here is a case where the writer or a scribe has substituted the word “curse” with the word “bless” to avoid having the expression “curse God”…

Rashi’s commentary reads:

But: were you to touch all that he has, would he not blaspheme You to Your face immediately? This is a question…

Another note (53) in the NET reads:

The formula used in the expression is the oath formula: “if not to your face he will curse you” meaning “he will surely curse you to your face.” Satan is so sure that the piety is insincere that he can use an oath formula.

The Greek translators of the Septuagint seem to confirm that oath formula: εἰ μὴν (BLB), translated surely (NETS); ἦ μὴν (Elpenor), translated verily (English Elpenor). By translating εὐλογήσει (a form of εὐλογέω) in the positive sense to bless rather than the negative sense to curse, the English translators of the Septuagint have made Satan’s words sarcastic to the point of mockery.

To review: Satan’s hypothesis is that Job does not fear or worship God freely (or, for nothing); Job worships God because God has blessed the works of Job’s hands and protected the fruit of Job’s labor. Satan’s proposed test of this hypothesis is, strike everything he has, and he will no doubt curse you (or not bless you) to your face.

God announces the end from the beginning and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred.^[8] He didn’t need a scientific experiment to know Job’s response. Satan lacks this knowledge. Love is patient, love is kind…^[9] God was both patient with, and kind to, Satan when He authorized this scientific experiment.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 1:12 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 1:12 (NET)	Job 1:12 (NETS)	Job 1:12 (Elpenor English)
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.	So the Lord said to Satan, “All right then, everything he has is in your power. Only do not extend your hand against the man himself!” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.	Then the Lord said to the slanderer, “Look, all that he has I am giving into your power, but do not touch him.” So the slanderer went out from the Lord.	Then the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I give into thine hand all that he has, but touch not himself. So the devil went out from the presence of the Lord.

I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Tables comparing Job 1:9; 1:10; 1:2; 1:3; 1:11 and 1:12 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Job 1:9; 1:10; 1:2; 1:3; 1:11 and 1:12 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and a table comparing Matthew 10:8 in the NET and KJV follow.

Job 1:9 (Tanakh)	Job 1:9 (KJV)	Job 1:9 (NET)
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?	Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?	Then Satan answered the Lord, “Is it for nothing that Job fears God?

Job 1:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 1:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀπεκρίθη δὲ ὁ διάβολος καὶ εἶπεν ἐναντίον τοῦ κυρίου μὴ δωρεὰν σέβεται Ιωβ τὸν θεόν	ἀπεκρίθη δὲ ὁ διάβολος καὶ εἶπεν ἐναντίον τοῦ Κυρίου· μὴ δωρεὰν ᾿Ιὼβ σέβεται τὸν Κύριον
Job 1:9 (NETS)	Job 1:9 (English Elpenor)
Then the slanderer answered and said before the Lord, “Does Iob really worship the Lord for nothing?	Then the devil answered, and said before the Lord, Does Job worship the Lord for nothing?

Job 1:10 (Tanakh)	Job 1:10 (KJV)	Job 1:10 (NET)
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.	Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.	Have you not made a hedge around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock have increased in the land.

Job 1:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 1:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ σὺ περιέφραξας τὰ ἔξω αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ ἔσω τῆς οἰκίας αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ ἔξω πάντων τῶν ὄντων αὐτῷ κύκλῳ τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ εὐλόγησας καὶ τὰ κτήνη αὐτοῦ πολλὰ ἐποίησας ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς	οὐ σὺ περιέφραξας τὰ ἔξω αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ ἔσω τῆς οἰκίας αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ ἔξω πάντων τῶν ὄντων αὐτοῦ κύκλῳ; τὰ δὲ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ εὐλόγησας καὶ τὰ κτήνη αὐτοῦ πολλὰ ἐποίησας ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς
Job 1:10 (NETS)	Job 1:10 (English Elpenor)
Have you not put a fence around things external to him, both what is within his household as well as what is outside of all that belongs to him, all around? You blessed the works of his hands, and his livestock you increased on the earth.	Hast thou not made a hedge about him, and about his household, and all his possessions round about? and hast thou not blessed the works of his hands, and multiplied his cattle upon the land?

Job 1:2 (Tanakh)	Job 1:2 (KJV)	Job 1:2 (NET)
And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.	And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.	Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

Job 1:2 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 1:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐγένοντο δὲ αὐτῷ υἱοὶ ἑπτὰ καὶ θυγατέρες τρεῗς	ἐγένοντο δὲ αὐτῷ υἱοὶ ἑπτὰ καὶ θυγατέρες τρεῖς
Job 1:2 (NETS)	Job 1:2 (English Elpenor)
Now there were born to him seven sons and three daughters.	And he had seven sons and three daughters.

Job 1:3 (Tanakh)	Job 1:3 (KJV)	Job 1:3 (NET)
His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.	His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.	His possessions included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys; in addition he had a very great household. Thus he was the greatest of all the people in the east.

Job 1:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 1:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἦν τὰ κτήνη αὐτοῦ πρόβατα ἑπτακισχίλια κάμηλοι τρισχίλιαι ζεύγη βοῶν πεντακόσια ὄνοι θήλειαι νομάδες πεντακόσιαι καὶ ὑπηρεσία πολλὴ σφόδρα καὶ ἔργα μεγάλα ἦν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἦν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῗνος εὐγενὴς τῶν ἀφ᾽ ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν	καὶ ἦν τὰ κτήνη αὐτοῦ πρόβατα ἑπτακισχίλια, κάμηλοι τρισχίλιαι, ζεύγη βοῶν πεντακόσια, θήλειαι ὄνοι νομάδες πεντακόσιαι, καὶ ὑπηρεσία πολλὴ σφόδρα καὶ ἔργα μεγάλα ἦν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· καὶ ἦν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος εὐγενὴς τῶν ἀφ᾿ ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν
Job 1:3 (NETS)	Job 1:3 (English Elpenor)
And his livestock was: seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-donkeys at pasture; as well he had very many servants and extensive activities in the land, and that man was well-born among those of the east.	And his cattle consisted of seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses in the pastures, and a very great household, and he had a great husbandry on the earth; and that man was [most] noble of the [men] of the east.

Job 1:11 (Tanakh)	Job 1:11 (KJV)	Job 1:11 (NET)
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.	But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.	But extend your hand and strike everything he has, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!”

Job 1:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 1:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀλλὰ ἀπόστειλον τὴν χεῗρά σου καὶ ἅψαι πάντων ὧν ἔχει εἰ μὴν εἰς πρόσωπόν σε εὐλογήσει	ἀλλὰ ἀπόστειλον τὴν χεῖρά σου καὶ ἅψαι πάντων, ὧν ἔχει· ἦ μὴν εἰς πρόσωπόν σε εὐλογήσει
Job 1:11 (NETS)	Job 1:11 (English Elpenor)
But stretch out your hand, and touch all that he has; surely he will bless you to your face!”	But put forth thine hand, and touch all that he has: verily he will bless thee to [thy] face.

Job 1:12 (Tanakh)	Job 1:12 (KJV)	Job 1:12 (NET)
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.	And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.	So the Lord said to Satan, “All right then, everything he has is in your power. Only do not extend your hand against the man himself!” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Job 1:12 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 1:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τότε εἶπεν ὁ κύριος τῷ διαβόλῳ ἰδοὺ πάντα ὅσα ἔστιν αὐτῷ δίδωμι ἐν τῇ χειρί σου ἀλλὰ αὐτοῦ μὴ ἅψῃ καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ διάβολος παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου	τότε εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος τῷ διαβόλῳ· ἰδοὺ πάντα, ὅσα ἐστὶν αὐτῷ, δίδωμι ἐν τῇ χειρί σου, ἀλλ᾿ αὐτοῦ μὴ ἅψῃ. καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ διάβολος ἀπὸ προσώπου Κυρίου
Job 1:12 (NETS)	Job 1:12 (English Elpenor)
Then the Lord said to the slanderer, “Look, all that he has I am giving into your power, but do not touch him.” So the slanderer went out from the Lord.	Then the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I give into thine hand all that he has, but touch not himself. So the devil went out from the presence of the Lord.

Matthew 10:8 (NET)	Matthew 10:8 (KJV)
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.	Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀσθενοῦντας θεραπεύετε, νεκροὺς ἐγείρετε, λεπροὺς καθαρίζετε, δαιμόνια ἐκβάλλετε· δωρεὰν ἐλάβετε, δωρεὰν δότε	ασθενουντας θεραπευετε λεπρους καθαριζετε νεκρους εγειρετε δαιμονια εκβαλλετε δωρεαν ελαβετε δωρεαν δοτε	ασθενουντας θεραπευετε λεπρους καθαριζετε δαιμονια εκβαλλετε δωρεαν ελαβετε δωρεαν δοτε

The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 7

Back to The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 8

Back to The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 9

Back to The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 10

Back to Luke 8:22-56

^[1] Johann Cook, “The Profile and some Theological Aspects of the Old Greek of Job – Resurrection and Life after Death as Points in Case,” OTE 24/2 (2011), p. 327

^[2] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had νεκροὺς ἐγείρετε here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus had it following cleanse lepers (KJV: cleanse the lepers). The Byzantine Majority Text did not have it at all.

^[3] Matthew 10:7, 8 (NET)

^[4] Hebrews 11:6 (NET)

^[5] Philippians 4:19 (NET) Table

^[6] Romans 8:31, 32 (NET)

^[7] John 8:44b (NET) Table

^[8] Isaiah 46:10a (NET) Table

^[9] 1 Corinthians 13:4a (NET)

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 5

Posted on March 22, 2021 by admin

This is a continuation of a consideration of the differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew before Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah. The final clause of the first verse under consideration follows:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 53:10d (Tanakh) Table	Isaiah 53:10d (NET)	Isaiah 53:10d (NETS)	Isaiah 53:11a (Elpenor English)
and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.	and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.	And the Lord wishes to take away	the Lord also is pleased to take away from

I have been considering negative examples,^[1] as follows:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 20:2 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 20:2 (NET)	Isaiah 20:2 (NETS)	Isaiah 20:2 (Elpenor English)
At the same time spake the LORD by (בְּיַד) Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.	At that time the Lord announced through (yad, ביד) [Note 2: “spoke by the hand of”] Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.” He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments and barefoot.	then the Lord spoke to (πρὸς) Esaias, saying, “Go, and take off the sackcloth from your loins, and untie your sandals off your feet,” and he did so, walking naked and barefoot.	then the Lord spoke to (πρὸς) Esaias the son of Amos, saying, Go and take the sackcloth off thy loins, and loose thy sandals from off thy feet, and do thus, going naked and barefoot.

“By the hand of” Isaiah (yad, בְּיַד) in the Masoretic text is a self-conscious attribution of the literary source of the information passed through Isaiah. Whether that self-consciousness was original and then subsequently ignored by the Greek translators, or a product of rethinking and revising the text, is more difficult to say. I find myself arguing both ways with no clear advantage to either. The word בְּיַד (yad) does appear to be in the Isaiah scroll found among the Dead Sea scrolls.

Rashi’s commentary is of no particular help here. He engaged a more peripheral issue suited to medieval religious sensibilities,^[2] asserting that וּפִתַּחְתָּ֚ (pāṯaḥ) meant you shall gird rather than and loose (Tanakh), remove (NET). The rabbis’ choice ἄφελε (an imperative form of ἀφαιρέω)—“to separate, deduct, subtract; to remove, cut off, smite off; to strip off; to shift positions of; to deduct in advance and set apart (from the rest)”—entertained no such confusion in the Septuagint.

I’ll chase this negative example with a positive example, if for no other reason than to remind myself what it’s like when the Masoretic text and Septuagint agree.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 22:21 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 22:21 (NET)	Isaiah 22:21 (NETS)	Isaiah 22:21 (Elpenor English)
And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand (בְּיָד֑וֹ): and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.	I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him (yad, בידו) [Note 51: “in his hand”]. He will become a protector of the residents of Jerusalem and of the people of Judah.	and will clothe him with your robe and give him your crown, and I will give your power and office into his hands (εἰς τὰς χεῗρας αὐτοῦ), and he shall be as a father to those who dwell in Ierousalem and to those who dwell in Ioudas.	and I will put on him thy robe, and I will grant him thy crown with power, and I will give thy stewardship into his hands (εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ): and he shall be as a father to them that dwell in Jerusalem, and to them that dwell in Juda.

The next negative example follows:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 25:10 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 25:10 (NET)	Isaiah 25:10 (NETS)	Isaiah 25:10 (Elpenor English)
For in this mountain shall the hand (יַד) of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.	For the Lord’s power (yad, יד) [Note 23: “for the hand of the Lord”] will make this mountain secure. Moab will be trampled down where it stands, as a heap of straw is trampled down in a manure pile.	because God will give (δώσει) us rest on this mountain, and Moabitis shall be trodden down as they tread a threshing floor with wagons.	God will give (δώσει) rest on this mountain, and the country of Moab shall be trodden down, as they tread the floor with waggons.

Rashi understood “For the hand of the Lord shall rest:” as “The might of the Omnipresent.” It doesn’t seem to correspond to God will give rest (Elpenor) or God will give us rest (NETS). It causes me to question whether יַד (yad) was the Hebrew word the rabbis sought to translate or explain in the Septuagint, though יַד (yad) does occur in the Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea scrolls.

The positive example is the very next verse.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 25:11 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 25:11 (NET)	Isaiah 25:11 (NETS)	Isaiah 25:11 (Elpenor English)
And he shall spread forth his hands (יָדָיו֙) in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands (יָדָֽיו).	Moab will spread out its hands (yad, ידיו) in the middle of it, just as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim; the Lord will bring down Moab’s pride as it spreads its hands (yad, ידיו).	And he will send forth his hands (τὰς χεῗρας αὐτοῦ), as he himself brought him low to destroy him, and he will bring low his pride—things on which he laid his hands (τὰς χεῗρας).	And he shall spread forth his hands (τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ), even as he also brings down [man] to destroy [him]: and he shall bring low his pride [in regard to the thing] on which he has laid his hands (τὰς χεῖρας).

Clearly, when hands occurred in the Hebrew text the rabbis had no particular aversion to translating them hands in the Septuagint. The next negative example follows.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 29:23 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 29:23 (NET)	Isaiah 29:23 (NETS)	Isaiah 29:23 (Elpenor English)
But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands (יָדַ֛י), in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.	For when they see their children, whom I will produce (yad, ידי) [Note 48: “the work of my hands”] among them, they will honor my name. They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; they will respect the God of Israel.	But when their children see my works (τὰ ἔργα μου), because of me they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Iakob and will fear the God of Israel.	But when their children shall have seen my works (τὰ ἔργα μου), they shall sanctify my name for my sake, and they sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.

Though יָדַ֛י (yad) occurs in the Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea scrolls, it seems likely to me that the Masoretes wanted the children to be the work of mine hands (יָדַ֛י) as a rejoinder to Jesus (John 8:44 NET Table):

You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature because he is a liar and the father of lies.

This seems far more likely than the alternative idea that the rabbis found the children the work of mine hands (יָדַ֛י), dropped the word יָדַ֛י (yad) and made God’s works less specific. It is possible perhaps that the rabbis translated יָדַ֛י (yad) δι᾽ ἐμὲ, because of me (NETS), for my sake (English Elpenor). If that is the case, however, they didn’t understand יָדַ֛י (yad) here as of mine hands. Rashi clearly understood “For, when he sees his children: who will be the work of My hands, i.e., righteous men.”

A nearby positive example follows.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 31:3 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 31:3 (NET)	Isaiah 31:3 (NETS)	Isaiah 31:3 (Elpenor English)
Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand (יָד֗וֹ), both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.	The Egyptians are mere humans, not God; their horses are made of flesh, not spirit. The Lord will strike with his hand (yad, ידו); the one who helps will stumble and the one being helped will fall. Together they will perish.	an Egyptian, a man and not God—the flesh of horses, and there is no help. But the Lord will turn his hand (τὴν χεῗρα αὐτοῦ) against them, and those who help will grow weary, and they will all perish together.	[even] an Egyptian, a man, and not God; the flesh of horses, and there is no help [in them]: but the Lord shall bring his hand (τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ) upon them, and the helpers shall fail, and all shall perish together.

The next negative example follows:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 47:14 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 47:14 (NET)	Isaiah 47:14 (NETS)	Isaiah 47:14 (Elpenor English)
Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power (מִיַּ֣ד) of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.	Look, they are like straw that the fire burns up; they cannot rescue themselves from the heat (yad, מיד) [Note 34: “hand”] of the flames. There are no coals to warm them, no firelight to enjoy.	See, they all will be burned like brushwood on a fire, and they will not deliver their soul from the flame (ἐκ φλογός); since you have coals of fire, sit on them—	Behold, they all shall be burnt up as sticks in the fire; neither shall they at all deliver their life from the flame (ἐκ φλογός). Because thou hast coals of fire, sit thou upon them;

The word מִיַּ֣ד is found in the Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea scrolls. It seems possible that the rabbis thought φλογός (a form of φλόξ) understood as a “blade (of fire)” was one Greek word to account for “hand” (מִיַּ֣ד) of the flame (לֶֽהָבָ֑ה).

The positive example follows:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 48:13 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 48:13 (NET)	Isaiah 48:13 (NETS)	Isaiah 48:13 (Elpenor English)
Mine hand (יָדִי֙) also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand (וִֽימִינִ֖י) hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.	Yes, my hand (yad, ידי) founded the earth; my right hand (yāmîn, וימיני) spread out the sky. I summon them; they stand together.	And my hand (ἡ χείρ μου) laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand (ἡ δεξιά μου) bolstered heaven; I will call them, and they will stand together.	My hand (ἡ χείρ μου) also has founded the earth, and my right hand (ἡ δεξιά μου) has fixed the sky: I will call them, and they shall stand together.

The final negative example I’ll consider in this essay follows:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 50:11 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 50:11 (NET)	Isaiah 50:11 (NETS)	Isaiah 50:11 (Elpenor English)
Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand (מִיָּדִי֙); ye shall lie down in sorrow.	Look, all of you who start a fire and who equip yourselves with flaming arrows, walk in the light of the fire you started and among the flaming arrows you ignited! This is what you will receive from me (yad, מידי): You will lie down in a place of pain.	Look, all of you, kindle a fire, and make a flame stronger. Walk by the light of your fire and by the flame you have kindled. Because of me (δι᾽ ἐμὲ), these things came upon you; you shall lie down in sorrow.	Behold, ye all kindle a fire, and feed a flame: walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame which ye have kindled. This has happened to you for my sake (δι᾿ ἐμὲ); ye shall lie down in sorrow.

It seems possible that δι᾿ ἐμὲ was the Rabbis’ Greek translation of מִיָּדִי֙. It just didn’t quite register as of mine hand, as Rashi understood it: “from My hand: shall this retribution come to you.” Because of me (NETS) sounds quite close, while for my sake (English Elpenor) strays farther afield to my ear. The word מִיָּדִי֙ does occur in the Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea scrolls.

The final positive example for this essay follows:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 50:2 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 50:2 (NET)	Isaiah 50:2 (NETS)	Isaiah 50:2 (Elpenor English)
Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand (יָדִי֙) shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.	Why does no one challenge me when I come? Why does no one respond when I call? Is my hand (yad, ידי) too weak to deliver you? Do I lack the power to rescue you? Look, with a mere shout I can dry up the sea; I can turn streams into a desert, so the fish rot away and die from lack of water.	Why was it that I came and no man was there? I called, and there was none to answer? Is not my hand (ἡ χείρ μου) strong to deliver? Or am I not strong to rescue? Look, by my threat I will make the sea desolate, and the rivers I will make deserts, and their fish shall be dried up because there is no water, and they will die by thirst.	Why did I come, and there was no man? [why] did I call, and there was none to hearken? Is not my hand (ἡ χείρ μου) strong to redeem? or can I not deliver? behold, by my rebuke I will dry up the sea, and make rivers a wilderness; and their fish shall be dried up because there is no water, and shall die for thirst.

I’ll continue with more of these negative and positive examples in another essay.

Tables comparing Isaiah 20:2; 22:21; 25:10; 25:11; 29:23; 31:3; 47:14; 48:13; 50:11 and 50:2 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing Isaiah 20:2; 22:21; 25:10; 25:11; 29:23; 31:3; 47:14; 48:13; 50:11 and 50:2 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Isaiah 20:2 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 20:2 (KJV)	Isaiah 20:2 (NET)
At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.	At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.	At that time the Lord announced through Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.” He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments and barefoot.

Isaiah 20:2 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 20:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τότε ἐλάλησεν κύριος πρὸς Ησαιαν λέγων πορεύου καὶ ἄφελε τὸν σάκκον ἀπὸ τῆς ὀσφύος σου καὶ τὰ σανδάλιά σου ὑπόλυσαι ἀπὸ τῶν ποδῶν σου καὶ ἐποίησεν οὕτως πορευόμενος γυμνὸς καὶ ἀνυπόδετος	τότε ἐλάλησε Κύριος πρὸς ᾿Ησαΐαν υἱὸν ᾿Αμὼς λέγων· πορεύου καὶ ἄφελε τὸν σάκκον ἀπὸ τῆς ὀσφύος σου καὶ τὰ σανδάλιά σου ὑπόλυσαι ἀπὸ τῶν ποδῶν σου· καὶ ποίησον οὕτως πορευόμενος γυμνὸς καὶ ἀνυπόδετος
Isaiah 20:2 (NETS)	Isaiah 20:2 (English Elpenor)
then the Lord spoke to Esaias, saying, “Go, and take off the sackcloth from your loins, and untie your sandals off your feet,” and he did so, walking naked and barefoot.	then the Lord spoke to Esaias the son of Amos, saying, Go and take the sackcloth off thy loins, and loose thy sandals from off thy feet, and do thus, going naked and barefoot.

Isaiah 22:21 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 22:21 (KJV)	Isaiah 22:21 (NET)
And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.	And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.	I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him. He will become a protector of the residents of Jerusalem and of the people of Judah.

Isaiah 22:21 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 22:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐνδύσω αὐτὸν τὴν στολήν σου καὶ τὸν στέφανόν σου δώσω αὐτῷ καὶ τὸ κράτος καὶ τὴν οἰκονομίαν σου δώσω εἰς τὰς χεῗρας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔσται ὡς πατὴρ τοῗς ἐνοικοῦσιν ἐν Ιερουσαλημ καὶ τοῗς ἐνοικοῦσιν ἐν Ιουδα	καὶ ἐνδύσω αὐτὸν τὴν στολήν σου καὶ τὸν στέφανόν σου δώσω αὐτῷ καὶ κράτος καὶ τὴν οἰκονομίαν σου δώσω εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσται ὡς πατὴρ τοῖς ἐνοικοῦσιν ἐν ῾Ιερουσαλὴμ καὶ τοῖς ἐνοικοῦσιν ἐν ᾿Ιούδᾳ
Isaiah 22:21 (NETS)	Isaiah 22:21 (English Elpenor)
and will clothe him with your robe and give him your crown, and I will give your power and office into his hands, and he shall be as a father to those who dwell in Ierousalem and to those who dwell in Ioudas.	and I will put on him thy robe, and I will grant him thy crown with power, and I will give thy stewardship into his hands: and he shall be as a father to them that dwell in Jerusalem, and to them that dwell in Juda.

Isaiah 25:10 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 25:10 (KJV)	Isaiah 25:10 (NET)
For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.	For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.	For the Lord’s power will make this mountain secure. Moab will be trampled down where it stands, as a heap of straw is trampled down in a manure pile.

Isaiah 25:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 25:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι ἀνάπαυσιν δώσει ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος τοῦτο καὶ καταπατηθήσεται ἡ Μωαβῗτις ὃν τρόπον πατοῦσιν ἅλωνα ἐν ἁμάξαις	ὅτι ἀνάπαυσιν δώσει ὁ Θεὸς ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος τοῦτο, καὶ καταπατηθήσεται ἡ Μωαβῖτις, ὃν τρόπον πατοῦσιν ἅλωνα ἐν ἁμάξαις
Isaiah 25:10 (NETS)	Isaiah 25:10 (English Elpenor)
because God will give us rest on this mountain, and Moabitis shall be trodden down as they tread a threshing floor with wagons.	God will give rest on this mountain, and the country of Moab shall be trodden down, as they tread the floor with waggons.

Isaiah 25:11 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 25:11 (KJV)	Isaiah 25:11 (NET)
And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.	And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.	Moab will spread out its hands in the middle of it, just as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim; the Lord will bring down Moab’s pride as it spreads its hands.

Isaiah 25:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 25:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἀνήσει τὰς χεῗρας αὐτοῦ ὃν τρόπον καὶ αὐτὸς ἐταπείνωσεν τοῦ ἀπολέσαι καὶ ταπεινώσει τὴν ὕβριν αὐτοῦ ἐφ᾽ ἃ τὰς χεῗρας ἐπέβαλεν	καὶ ἀνήσει τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ, ὃν τρόπον καὶ αὐτὸς ἐταπείνωσε τοῦ ἀπολέσαι, καὶ ταπεινώσει τὴν ὕβριν αὐτοῦ, ἐφ᾿ ἃ τὰς χεῖρας ἐπέβαλε
Isaiah 25:11 (NETS)	Isaiah 25:11 (English Elpenor)
And he will send forth his hands, as he himself brought him low to destroy him, and he will bring low his pride—things on which he laid his hands.	And he shall spread forth his hands, even as he also brings down [man] to destroy [him]: and he shall bring low his pride [in regard to the thing] on which he has laid his hands.

Isaiah 29:23 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 29:23 (KJV)	Isaiah 29:23 (NET)
But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.	But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.	For when they see their children, whom I will produce among them, they will honor my name. They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; they will respect the God of Israel.

Isaiah 29:23 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 29:23 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν ἴδωσιν τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν τὰ ἔργα μου δι᾽ ἐμὲ ἁγιάσουσιν τὸ ὄνομά μου καὶ ἁγιάσουσιν τὸν ἅγιον Ιακωβ καὶ τὸν θεὸν τοῦ Ισραηλ φοβηθήσονται	ἀλλ᾿ ὅταν ἴδωσι τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν τὰ ἔργα μου, δι᾿ ἐμὲ ἁγιάσουσιν τὸ ὄνομά μου καὶ ἁγιάσουσιν τὸν ἅγιον ᾿Ιακὼβ καὶ τὸν Θεὸν τοῦ ᾿Ισραὴλ φοβηθήσονται
Isaiah 29:23 (NETS)	Isaiah 29:23 (English Elpenor)
But when their children see my works, because of me they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Iakob and will fear the God of Israel.	But when their children shall have seen my works, they shall sanctify my name for my sake, and they sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.

Isaiah 31:3 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 31:3 (KJV)	Isaiah 31:3 (NET)
Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.	Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.	The Egyptians are mere humans, not God; their horses are made of flesh, not spirit. The Lord will strike with his hand; the one who helps will stumble and the one being helped will fall. Together they will perish.

Isaiah 31:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 31:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
Αἰγύπτιον ἄνθρωπον καὶ οὐ θεόν ἵππων σάρκας καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν βοήθεια ὁ δὲ κύριος ἐπάξει τὴν χεῗρα αὐτοῦ ἐπ᾽ αὐτούς καὶ κοπιάσουσιν οἱ βοηθοῦντες καὶ ἅμα πάντες ἀπολοῦνται	Αἰγύπτιον ἄνθρωπον καὶ οὐ Θεόν, ἵππων σάρκας καὶ οὐκ ἔστι βοήθεια· ὁ δὲ Κύριος ἐπάξει τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς, καὶ κοπιάσουσιν οἱ βοηθοῦντες, καὶ ἅμα πάντες ἀπολοῦνται
Isaiah 31:3 (NETS)	Isaiah 31:3 (English Elpenor)
an Egyptian, a man and not God—the flesh of horses, and there is no help. But the Lord will turn his hand against them, and those who help will grow weary, and they will all perish together.	[even] an Egyptian, a man, and not God; the flesh of horses, and there is no help [in them]: but the Lord shall bring his hand upon them, and the helpers shall fail, and all shall perish together.

Isaiah 47:14 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 47:14 (KJV)	Isaiah 47:14 (NET)
Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.	Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.	Look, they are like straw that the fire burns up; they cannot rescue themselves from the heat of the flames. There are no coals to warm them, no firelight to enjoy.

Isaiah 47:14 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 47:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἰδοὺ πάντες ὡς φρύγανα ἐπὶ πυρὶ κατακαήσονται καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐξέλωνται τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν ἐκ φλογός ὅτι ἔχεις ἄνθρακας πυρός κάθισαι ἐπ᾽ αὐτούς	ἰδοὺ πάντες ὡς φρύγανα ἐπὶ πυρὶ κατακαυθήσονται καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐξέλωνται τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν ἐκ φλογός· ὅτι ἔχεις ἄνθρακας πυρός, κάθισαι ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς
Isaiah 47:14 (NETS)	Isaiah 47:14 (English Elpenor)
See, they all will be burned like brushwood on a fire, and they will not deliver their soul from the flame; since you have coals of fire, sit on them—	Behold, they all shall be burnt up as sticks in the fire; neither shall they at all deliver their life from the flame. Because thou hast coals of fire, sit thou upon them;

Isaiah 48:13 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 48:13 (KJV)	Isaiah 48:13 (NET)
Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.	Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.	Yes, my hand founded the earth; my right hand spread out the sky. I summon them; they stand together.

Isaiah 48:13 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 48:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἡ χείρ μου ἐθεμελίωσεν τὴν γῆν καὶ ἡ δεξιά μου ἐστερέωσεν τὸν οὐρανόν καλέσω αὐτούς καὶ στήσονται ἅμα	καὶ ἡ χείρ μου ἐθεμελίωσε τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἡ δεξιά μου ἐστερέωσε τὸν οὐρανόν. καλέσω αὐτούς, καὶ στήσονται ἅμα
Isaiah 48:13 (NETS)	Isaiah 48:13 (English Elpenor)
And my hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand bolstered heaven; I will call them, and they will stand together.	My hand also has founded the earth, and my right hand has fixed the sky: I will call them, and they shall stand together.

Isaiah 50:11 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 50:11 (KJV)	Isaiah 50:11 (NET)
Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.	Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.	Look, all of you who start a fire and who equip yourselves with flaming arrows, walk in the light of the fire you started and among the flaming arrows you ignited! This is what you will receive from me: You will lie down in a place of pain.

Isaiah 50:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 50:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἰδοὺ πάντες ὑμεῗς πῦρ καίετε καὶ κατισχύετε φλόγα πορεύεσθε τῷ φωτὶ τοῦ πυρὸς ὑμῶν καὶ τῇ φλογί ᾗ ἐξεκαύσατε δι᾽ ἐμὲ ἐγένετο ταῦτα ὑμῗν ἐν λύπῃ κοιμηθήσεσθε	ἰδοὺ πάντες ὑμεῖς πῦρ καίετε καὶ κατισχύετε φλόγα· πορεύεσθε τῷ φωτὶ τοῦ πυρὸς ὑμῶν καὶ τῇ φλογί, ᾗ ἐξεκαύσατε· δι᾿ ἐμὲ ἐγένετο ταῦτα ὑμῖν, ἐν λύπῃ κοιμηθήσεσθε.
Isaiah 50:11 (NETS)	Isaiah 50:11 (English Elpenor)
Look, all of you, kindle a fire, and make a flame stronger. Walk by the light of your fire and by the flame you have kindled. Because of me, these things came upon you; you shall lie down in sorrow.	Behold, ye all kindle a fire, and feed a flame: walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame which ye have kindled. This has happened to you for my sake; ye shall lie down in sorrow.

Isaiah 50:2 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 50:2 (KJV)	Isaiah 50:2 (NET)
Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.	Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.	Why does no one challenge me when I come? Why does no one respond when I call? Is my hand too weak to deliver you? Do I lack the power to rescue you? Look, with a mere shout I can dry up the sea; I can turn streams into a desert, so the fish rot away and die from lack of water.

Isaiah 50:2 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 50:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τί ὅτι ἦλθον καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἄνθρωπος ἐκάλεσα καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ ὑπακούων μὴ οὐκ ἰσχύει ἡ χείρ μου τοῦ ῥύσασθαι ἢ οὐκ ἰσχύω τοῦ ἐξελέσθαι ἰδοὺ τῇ ἀπειλῇ μου ἐξερημώσω τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ θήσω ποταμοὺς ἐρήμους καὶ ξηρανθήσονται οἱ ἰχθύες αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ μὴ εἶναι ὕδωρ καὶ ἀποθανοῦνται ἐν δίψει	τί ὅτι ἦλθον καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἄνθρωπος; ἐκάλεσα καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ ὑπακούων; μὴ οὐκ ἰσχύει ἡ χείρ μου τοῦ ῥύσασθαι ἢ οὐκ ἰσχύω τοῦ ἐξελέσθαι; ἰδοὺ τῇ ἀπειλῇ μου ἐξερημώσω τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ θήσω ποταμοὺς ἐρήμους, καὶ ξηρανθήσονται οἱ ἰχθύες αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ μὴ εἶναι ὕδωρ καὶ ἀποθανοῦνται ἐν δίψει
Isaiah 50:2 (NETS)	Isaiah 50:2 (English Elpenor)
Why was it that I came and no man was there? I called, and there was none to answer? Is not my hand strong to deliver? Or am I not strong to rescue? Look, by my threat I will make the sea desolate, and the rivers I will make deserts, and their fish shall be dried up because there is no water, and they will die by thirst.	Why did I come, and there was no man? [why] did I call, and there was none to hearken? Is not my hand strong to redeem? or can I not deliver? behold, by my rebuke I will dry up the sea, and make rivers a wilderness; and their fish shall be dried up because there is no water, and shall die for thirst.

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 6

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 7

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 8

^[1] Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 3; Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 4

^[2] “Medieval Censorship, Nudity And The Revealing History Of The Fig Leaf;” The Nude: Survey In Western Culture, Eastern And Western Attitudes Toward “nudity”, The Conundrum Of Non-western Culture And The Idea Of “the Nude”; “When public sex was a part of bathtime”

To Make Holy, Part 9

Posted on March 11, 2021 by admin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I’ll pick this up in another essay.

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

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

It is interesting to hear this as Jesus’ prayer:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

^[1] John 17:17 (NET)

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

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

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

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

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

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

^[8] Romans 8:14 (NET)

^[9] John 12:32 (NET)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Monotonous Cycle Revisited, Part 3

Posted on November 30, 2019 by admin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Monotonous Cycle Revisited, Part 4

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

Back to To Make Holy, Part 8

Back to He Takes Away, Part 1

Back to Psalm 22, Part 5

Back to To Make Holy, Part 9

Back to The New Covenant, Part 2

Back to Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 11

Back to The Day of the Lord, Part 8

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 4, Part 2

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 4, Part 3

Back to Matthew 8:23-34

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

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

^[3] John 3:7 (NET)

^[4] John 8:31 (NET)

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

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

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

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