Tag Archives: Romans 3:4

Who Am I? Part 14

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What did Jesus say about his own free will?

Matthew 26:39 (NET) Table

John 10:17, 18 (NET)
Going a little farther, [Jesus] threw himself down with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet not what I will (θέλω), but what you will.” This is why the Father loves me—because I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will (ἐμαυτοῦ). I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This commandment I received from my Father.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hebrews 10:5b, 6 (NET Parallel Greek)

Psalm 40:6 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 39:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας, σῶμα δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ εὐδόκησας θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας ὠτία δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ᾔτησας θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας, σῶμα δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι· ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ἐζήτησας

Hebrews 10:5b, 6 (NET)

Psalm 39:7 (NETS)

Psalm 39:7 (English Elpenor)
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me. Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in. Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but ears you fashioned for me. Whole burnt offering and one for sin you did not request. Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not; but a body hast thou prepared me: whole-burnt-offering and [sacrifice] for sin thou didst not require.

Hebrews 10:7 (NET Parallel Greek)

Psalm 40:7, 8a (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 39:8, 9a (Septuagint Elpenor)
τότε εἶπον· ἰδοὺ ἥκω, ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ, τοῦ ποιῆσαι ὁ θεὸς τὸ θέλημα σου τότε εἶπον ἰδοὺ ἥκω ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου ὁ θεός μου ἐβουλήθην τότε εἶπον· ἰδοὺ ἥκω, ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου, ὁ Θεός μου, ἐβουλήθην

Hebrews 10:7 (NET)

Psalm 39:8, 9a (NETS)

Psalm 39:8, 9a (English Elpenor)
Then I said, ‘Here I am: I have come—it is written of me in the scroll of the book—to do your will, O God.’” Then I said, “Look, I have come; in a scroll of a book it is written of me. To do your will, O my God, I desired — Then I said, Behold, I come: in the volume of the book it is written concerning me, I desired to do thy will, O my God,

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

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Jeremiah 8:8 (Tanakh/KJV)

Jeremiah 8:8 (NET)

Jeremiah 8:8 (NETS)

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

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

Romans 9:9b (NET Parallel Greek)

Genesis 18:10b (Septuagint BLB) Table

Genesis 18:10b (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἐλεύσομαι καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σάρρᾳ υἱός κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον εἰς ὥρας καὶ ἕξει υἱὸν Σαρρα ἡ γυνή σου κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον εἰς ὥρας, καὶ ἕξει υἱὸν Σάρρα ἡ γυνή σου

Romans 9:9b (NET)

Genesis 18:10b (NETS)

Genesis 18:10b (English Elpenor)
About a year from now I will return and Sarah will have a son. I will come to you, when I return, during this season next year, and Sarra your wife shall have a son. I will return and come to thee according to this period seasonably, and Sarrha thy wife shall have a son

Romans 9:9b (NET Parallel Greek)

Genesis 18:14b (Septuagint BLB) Table

Genesis 18:14b (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἐλεύσομαι καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σάρρᾳ υἱός εἰς τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἀναστρέψω πρὸς σὲ εἰς ὥρας καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σαρρα υἱός εἰς τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἀναστρέψω πρὸς σὲ εἰς ὥρας· καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σάρρᾳ υἱός

Romans 9:9b (NET)

Genesis 18:14b (NETS)

Genesis 18:14b (English Elpenor)
About a year from now I will return and Sarah will have a son. In this season I will come back to you next year, and Sarra shall have a son. I will return and come to thee according to this period seasonably, and Sarrha thy wife shall have a son

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

Romans 9:12b (NET Parallel Greek)

Genesis 25:23b (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 25:23b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι

Romans 9:12b (NET)

Genesis 25:23b (NETS)

Genesis 25:23b (English Elpenor)
The older will serve the younger the greater shall be subject to the lesser. the elder shall serve the younger.

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

Romans 9:13b (NET Parallel Greek)

Malachi 1:2b, 3a (Septuagint BLB)

Malachi 1:2b, 3a (Septuagint Elpenor)
τὸν Ἰακὼβ ἠγάπησα, τὸν δὲ Ἠσαῦ ἐμίσησα ἠγάπησα τὸν Ιακωβ τὸν δὲ Ησαυ ἐμίσησα ἠγάπησα τόν ᾿Ιακώβ, τὸν δὲ ῾Ησαῦ ἐμίσησα

Romans 9:13b (NET)

Malachi 1:2b, 3a (NETS)

Malachi 1:2b, 3a (English Elpenor)
Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. I loved Iakob, but I hated Esau I loved Jacob, and hated Esau

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

Psalm 40:6 (Tanakh)

Psalm 40:6 (KJV)

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

Psalm 40:6 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 39:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας ὠτία δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ᾔτησας θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας, σῶμα δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι· ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ἐζήτησας

Psalm 39:7 (NETS)

Psalm 39:7 (English Elpenor)
Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but ears you fashioned for me. Whole burnt offering and one for sin you did not request. Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not; but a body hast thou prepared me: whole-burnt-offering and [sacrifice] for sin thou didst not require.

Psalm 40:7 (Tanakh)

Psalm 40:7 (KJV)

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

Psalm 40:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 39:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τότε εἶπον ἰδοὺ ἥκω ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ τότε εἶπον· ἰδοὺ ἥκω, ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ

Psalm 39:8 (NETS)

Psalm 39:8 (English Elpenor)
Then I said, “Look, I have come; in a scroll of a book it is written of me. Then I said, Behold, I come: in the volume of the book it is written concerning me,

Psalm 40:8 (Tanakh)

Psalm 40:8 (KJV)

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

Psalm 40:8 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 39:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου ὁ θεός μου ἐβουλήθην καὶ τὸν νόμον σου ἐν μέσῳ τῆς κοιλίας μου τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου, ὁ Θεός μου, ἐβουλήθην καὶ τὸν νόμον σου ἐν μέσῳ τῆς κοιλίας μου

Psalm 39:9 (NETS)

Psalm 39:9 (English Elpenor)
To do your will, O my God, I desired—and your law, within my belly.” I desired to do thy will, O my God, and thy law in the midst of mine heart.

Jeremiah 8:8 (Tanakh)

Jeremiah 8:8 (KJV)

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

Jeremiah 8:8 (Septuagint BLB)

Jeremiah 8:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πῶς ἐρεῖτε ὅτι σοφοί ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς καὶ νόμος κυρίου ἐστὶν μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν εἰς μάτην ἐγενήθη σχοῖνος ψευδὴς γραμματεῦσιν πῶς ἐρεῖτε· ὅτι σοφοί ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς, καὶ νόμος Κυρίου μεθ’ ἡμῶν ἐστιν; εἰς μάτην ἐγενήθη σχοῖνος ψευδὴς γραμματεῦσιν

Jeremiah 8:8 (NETS)

Jeremiah 8:8 (English Elpenor)
How will you say, “We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us?” A false pen has become of no use to scribes. How will ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? In vain have the scribes used a false pen.

Genesis 25:23 (Tanakh)

Genesis 25:23 (KJV)

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

Genesis 25:23 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 25:23 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος αὐτῇ δύο ἔθνη ἐν τῇ γαστρί σού εἰσιν καὶ δύο λαοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας σου διασταλήσονται καὶ λαὸς λαοῦ ὑπερέξει καὶ ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι καὶ εἶπε Κύριος αὐτῇ· δύο ἔθνη ἐν γαστρί σου εἰσί, καὶ δύο λαοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας σου διασταλήσονται· καὶ λαὸς λαοῦ ὑπερέξει, καὶ ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι

Genesis 25:23 (NETS)

Genesis 25:23 (English Elpenor)
and the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from your uterus shall be divided, and a people shall excel over a people, and the greater shall be subject to the lesser.” And the Lord said to her, There are two nations in thy womb, and two peoples shall be separated from thy belly, and one people shall excel the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.

Malachi 1:2 (Tanakh)

Malachi 1:2 (KJV)

Malachi 1:2 (NET)
I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, “I have shown love to you,” says the Lord, but you say, “How have you shown love to us?”

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

Malachi 1:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Malachi 1:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς λέγει κύριος καὶ εἴπατε ἐν τίνι ἠγάπησας ἡμᾶς οὐκ ἀδελφὸς ἦν Ησαυ τοῦ Ιακωβ λέγει κύριος καὶ ἠγάπησα τὸν Ιακωβ ᾿Ηγάπησα ὑμᾶς, λέγει Κύριος. καὶ εἴπατε· ἐν τίνι ἠγάπησας ἡμᾶς; οὐκ ἀδελφὸς ἦν ῾Ησαῦ τοῦ ᾿Ιακώβ; λέγει Κύριος, καὶ ἠγάπησα τόν ᾿Ιακώβ

Malachi 1:2 (NETS)

Malachi 1:2 (English Elpenor)
I loved you, says the Lord. And you said, “How did you love us?” Was not Esau Iakob’s brother? says the Lord. And I loved Iakob, I have loved you, saith the Lord. And ye said, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob,

Malachi 1:3 (Tanakh)

Malachi 1:3 (KJV)

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

Malachi 1:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Malachi 1:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τὸν δὲ Ησαυ ἐμίσησα καὶ ἔταξα τὰ ὅρια αὐτοῦ εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καὶ τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ εἰς δόματα ἐρήμου τὸν δὲ ῾Ησαῦ ἐμίσησα καὶ ἔταξα τὰ ὅρια αὐτοῦ εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καὶ τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ εἰς δώματα ἐρήμου

Malachi 1:3 (NETS)

Malachi 1:3 (English Elpenor)
but I hated Esau, and I made his mountains an annihilation and his heritage gifts of the wilderness. and hated Esau and laid waste his borders, and made his heritage as dwellings of the wilderness?

Romans 9:11, 12 (NET)

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

Romans 9:11, 12a (NET Parallel Greek)

Romans 9:11 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Romans 9:11 (Byzantine Majority Text)
μήπω γὰρ γεννηθέντων μηδὲ πραξάντων τι ἀγαθὸν ἢ φαῦλον (ἵνα ἡ κατ᾿ ἐκλογὴν πρόθεσις τοῦ θεοῦ μένῃ (12a) οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦντος) μηπω γαρ γεννηθεντων μηδε πραξαντων τι αγαθον η κακον ινα η κατ εκλογην του θεου προθεσις μενη ουκ εξ εργων αλλ εκ του καλουντος μηπω γαρ γεννηθεντων μηδε πραξαντων τι αγαθον η κακον ινα η κατ εκλογην προθεσις του θεου μενη ουκ εξ εργων αλλ εκ του καλουντος
it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,” It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

Romans 9:12b (NET Parallel Greek)

Romans 9:12 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Romans 9:12 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἐρρέθη αὐτῇ ὅτι ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι ερρηθη αυτη οτι ο μειζων δουλευσει τω ελασσονι ερρηθη αυτη οτι ο μειζων δουλευσει τω ελασσονι

2 1 Timothy 1:15b (NET)

3 Luke 5:32 (NET)

5 Titus 3:3 (NET)

6 Romans 3:4b (NET) Table

7 Romans 3:3 (NET)

9 Ibid.

10 John 3:6, 7 (NET)

13 Romans 9:2 (NET)

14 Matthew 25:41b (NET)

15 John 6:44a (NET) Table

17 John 12:32 (NET)

Romans, Part 58

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In this essay I’ll continue looking at the aftermath of Jesus feeding five thousand plus people in the light of his assessment of the Jewish leaders (Ἰουδαῖοι, a form of Ἰουδαῖος)[1] as an answer to how the Father seeking his own is not self-seeking.  And ultimately it is a continuing part of my attempt to view—Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord[2]—as a definition of love (ἀγάπη) rather than as rules.  Jesus spoke to those who followed Him not because [they] saw miraculous signs, but because [they] ate all the loaves of bread [they] wanted[3] after they began complaining about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven”[4] (John 6:43-45 NET):

Do not complain about me to one another.  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.  It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’  Everyone who hears and learns from (παρὰ) the Father comes to me.

As I’ve written elsewhere the translation draws may be understating the case a bit if I think in terms of the hymn, “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling.”[5]  The Greek word ἑλκύσῃ (a form of ἑλκύω) translated draws above means something more like drags more often than not in the New Testament.  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me [drags] him gives a little different picture of the situation.

Jesus’ summary of the prophets—‘And they will all be taught by God’—was translated as follows in the KJV: And they shall be all taught of God.  Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.[6]  To a contemporary ear this may sound like “they will all be taught about God” and “Everyone who has heard and learned about the Father, comes to Jesus.”  The editors of the NKJV, aware of this quirk of contemporary English, clarified the meaning of the text:  ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’  Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.[7]  And it becomes doubly clear when I recognize that Jesus, the Holy Spirit and John felt the need to include the parenthetical: Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from (παρὰ) God – he has seen the Father.[8]

I don’t want to pass by too quickly without examining Jesus’ summary of the prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’  A note in the NET claimed this as a quotation of Isaiah 54:13.  So I’ll look at that chapter a bit (Isaiah 54:4-13a NET):

Don’t be afraid, for you will not be put to shame!  Don’t be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated!  You will forget about the shame you experienced in your youth; you will no longer remember the disgrace of your abandonment.  For your husband is the one who made you – the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) who commands armies is his name.  He is your protector, the Holy One of Israel.  He is called “God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהי) of the entire earth.”

“Indeed, the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) will call you back like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression, like a young wife when she has been rejected,” says your God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהיך).  “For a short time I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you.  In a burst of anger I rejected you momentarily, but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,” says your protector, the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה).

“As far as I am concerned, this is like in Noah’s time, when I vowed that the waters of Noah’s flood would never again cover the earth.  In the same way I have vowed that I will not be angry at you or shout at you.  Even if the mountains are removed and the hills displaced, my devotion will not be removed from you, nor will my covenant of friendship be displaced,” says the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה), the one who has compassion on you.

“O afflicted one, driven away, and unconsoled!  Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony and I lay your foundation with lapis-lazuli.  I will make your pinnacles out of gems, your gates out of beryl, and your outer wall out of beautiful stones.  All your children will be followers of the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה)…

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion; he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.  And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”[9]

“Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה), “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.  It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt.  For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” says the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה).  “But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land,” says the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה).  “I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds.  I will be their God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, לאלהים) and they will be my people.

“People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me.  For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” says the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה).  “For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done” [Table].

The Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) has made a promise to Israel.  He promises it as the one who fixed the sun to give light by day and the moon and stars to give light by night.  He promises it as the one who stirs up the sea so that its waves roll.  He promises it as the one who is known as the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) who rules over all.[10]

A note in the NET acknowledges that, Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me, might have been translated “listens to the Father and learns.”  The latter translation actually fits the Greek word order (πᾶς ὁ ἀκούσας παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ μαθὼν ἔρχεται πρὸς ἐμέ) better than the former.  I’m pleasantly surprised that it was translated as it was.

A narrow path is created by 1) No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; 2) ‘And they will all be taught by God;’ and 3) Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me.  I definitely relate this to, So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (ρήματα, a form of ῥῆμα) of God.[11]  If everyone who hears from God also learns from God, they will all be taught by God carries a different weight than everyone who hears from God must learn on his own to come to Jesus.[12]

I found a thoughtful sermon online from John Piper that accurately portrays the teaching of my religion:

In John 6:44, Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” And in John 12:32, Jesus says, “I will draw all people to myself.” So John 6:44 teaches, I argued last week, that the Father draws people triumphantly to the Son, and all whom he draws come, because the drawing is decisive. And John 12:32 teaches that Jesus draws all to himself.[13]

The solution to this dilemma (dilemma because my religion rejects the notion of universal salvation) is that all in John 12:32 (NET)—And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself—does not mean all people (people is not in the original text).  All means “all the children of God” or “all of my sheep.”[14]  To my mind this limitation disregards, Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”[15]

If the Lord does not wish (βουλόμενος, a form of βούλομαι) for any to perish but for all to come to repentance,[16] we need to consider these “couplets,” as I think of them, in another way.  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him;[17] And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.[18]  So then, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy;[19] For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.[20]  And consider these in the light of his unilateral declaration: I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.[21]

All the Lord has to do is declare that these words justify Him to call as many, up to and including all, to repentance as He desires and John Piper and I have no way to contradict Him.  There are three reasons I won’t go all the way and say I believe in universal salvation: 1) I have no standing to tell the Lord He must save all; 2) my own theory how this might be possible, that universal salvation entails universal condemnation, while intellectually satisfying, is emotionally horrifying; and 3) it seems to me that the arguments of Scripture lock me out from determining such a thing at the same time they free me to pray for “the mercy on which everything depends, for it does not depend on human desire or exertion but on You who shows mercy, and You have consigned all to disobedience so that You may show mercy to all.”

Jesus continued (John 6:47-51 NET):

I tell you the solemn truth, the one who believes has eternal life.  I am the bread of life (Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς).  Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.  This is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person may eat from it and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever.  The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

Then the Ἰουδαῖοι began to argue with one another, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”[22]  The Church’s answer to their question was Transubstantiation.  If Transubstantiation is Jesus’ answer, too, then He might have said: “You will walk to the front of the congregation and kneel before the priest who will give you a morsel of bread and a sip of wine, the substance of which he has changed into my literal body and blood respectively, but it will still look and taste like bread and wine.”  And I’ll read what He actually said in that light (John 6:53-58 NET):

I tell you the solemn truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves.  The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink [Table].  The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me, and I in him.  Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes me will live because of me.  This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors ate, but then later died.  The one who eats this bread will live forever.

In this case I would assume that Jesus deliberately used offensive language to thin the herd of his followers.  If, on the other hand, I believe that Jesus’ answer to their question—How can this man give us his flesh to eat?—came later in the text when He spoke privately with his disciples, I will have a different perspective: The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature (σὰρξ) is of no help![23]  The words (ρήματα, a form of ῥῆμα) that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.[24]

I may still wonder if He spoke something like a parable that may have been misunderstood by others, that He explained to his core disciples, but I also recognize that He spoke of something deeper than my ability to learn in my natural self from spiritual teaching.  And I recall that the concept of eating the words of God was familiar to Jesus’ audience (Ezekiel 3:1-4 NET):

He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you see in front of you – eat this scroll – and then go and speak to the house of Israel.”  So I opened my mouth and he fed me the scroll.

He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving to you.”  So I ate it, and it was sweet like honey in my mouth.

He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them.”

In this case his hearers may not have been offended because they thought Jesus spoke of cannibalism.  They understood his allusion.  They were offended because Jesus didn’t hand them the law of Moses to eat, but Himself and his own teaching as the Spirit words to be ingested.  They rejected Him not because they were confused but because they understood Him perfectly and their hearts were hardened (Ezekiel 3:5-7 NET):

For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel – not to many peoples of unintelligible speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand – surely if I had sent you to them, they would listen to you!  But the house of Israel is unwilling to listen to you, because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.

 After this many of his disciples quit following him and did not accompany him any longer.  So Jesus said to the twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?”[25]

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go?  You have the words (ρήματα, a form of ῥῆμα) of eternal life.  We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God!”[26] 

If Jesus were only seeking those who have come to believe and to know that [He is] the Holy One of God, then I’m not sure if that would be self-serving or not.  If He is serious about seeking those who are his own in name only but in actual point of fact are hardened and reject Him, it is clear that seeking his own is not self-seeking, but clearly an act of the love that is not self-serving.[27]

[1] John 5:16-47 (NET) Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders (Ἰουδαῖοι) began persecuting him (verse 16) [Table].

[2] Romans 12:11 (NET) Table

[3] John 6:26 (NET)

[4] John 6:41 (NET)

[5] http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Softly_and_Tenderly/

[6] John 6:45 (KJV)

[7] John 6:45 (NKJV)

[8] John 6:46 (NET)

[9] Romans 11:26, 27 (NET)

[10] Jeremiah 31:31-35 (NET)

[11] Romans 10:17 (NKJV)

[12] Even the KJV translators chose this path: Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me (John 6:45b KJV).  Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me (John 6:45b NKJV).  I’m afraid I would have assumed in the past that learned was my own work, to blunt the impact of And they will all be taught by God (e.g., only those who learned by whatever wisdom or virtue they possessed innately would benefit from being taught by God or having heard from God).

[13] http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/they-will-all-be-taught-of-god

[14] http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/they-will-all-be-taught-of-god

[15] Romans 3:4 (NET)

[16] 2 Peter 3:9b (NET)

[17] John 6:44a (NET)

[18] John 12:32 (NET)

[19] Romans 9:16 (NET) Table

[20] Romans 11:32 (NET)

[21] Romans 9:15 (NET)

[22] John 6:52 (NET)

[23] ἡ σὰρξ οὐκ ὠφελεῖ οὐδέν appears almost as a double negative: “the flesh, no, it assists (is useful, advantageous or profitable, to) no one.”

[24] John 6:63 (NET)

[25] John 6:66, 67 (NET)

[26] John 6:68, 69 (NET)

[27] 1 Corinthians 13:5 (NET)

Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 7

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The third assumption I found in Richard Wayne Garganta’s attempt to eliminate “hell talk” from the Bible was: 3) Punishment is not merely consequential but effectual in purging or purifying sin.  I’ve selected a quote from “Bible Threatenings Explained”[1] that led me to consider this assumption as a major precursor of his views on hell:

What God is determined to destroy in the sinner is that which makes him a sinner.  Christ said He came to utterly destroy evil –  the works of the devil.  He said he came to save the world, not to destroy men.  God proceeds towards the wayward as a good parent must, to eradicate the evil by punishment.

While I must agree that God has proceeded “to eradicate the evil by punishment,” I am not convinced that He believes, or the Bible teaches, that punishment is the method that will “destroy in the sinner…that which makes him a sinner” or “utterly destroy evil.”

Before the flood the Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth.  Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time.  The Lord regretted that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended.  So the Lord said, “I will wipe humankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth – everything from humankind to animals, including creatures that move on the ground and birds of the air, for I regret that I have made them.”[2]  The earth was ruined in the sight of God; the earth was filled with violence.  God saw the earth, and indeed it was ruined, for all living creatures on the earth were sinful.[3]

Death by drowning is a kind of ultimate punishment.  I suppose it was effective for a time at purging wickedness, evil, violence and sinfulness from the earth, until Noah cursed Canaan for Ham’s witness(?)—Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness[4]—gossip(?)—Ham told his two brothers who were outside[5]—mockery, maybe?  Let’s be frank, wasn’t it Ham’s revelation of the frayed dirty edges of Noah’s righteousness that angered Noah?  Hadn’t Noah exposed himself, literally in a drunken stupor and figuratively when he cursed Ham’s son?  I should probably say figuratively in a drunken stupor and literally when he cursed Canaan, to keep the metaphor and reality straight.

My difficulty with Mr. Garganta’s third assumption is more personal and idiosyncratic to the path of righteousness I’m on than the others.  As the Holy Spirit convinced me that the Bible as a book of rules would never satisfy my God-given hunger and thirst for righteousness I needed a new understanding of Paul’s assurance: Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.[6]  One fruitful way of viewing the Bible is as a narrative of the tidal movement from human responsibility to God’s grace.

The highwater mark of human responsibility The highwater mark of God’s grace
Is it not true, God asked the murderer Cain, that if you do what is right, you will be fine?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door.  It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.

Genesis 4:7 (NET)

 I have been crucified with Christ, wrote the murderer Saul transformed as Paul the Apostle, 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.

Galatians 2:20 (NET)
Cain killed his brother in a jealous rage.  If it weren’t so tragic, the image of God telling this murderer to subdue the sin that desires to dominate him is laughable. Saul tried to cover his motives with law and religion, but Paul eventually recognized it as the very same jealous rage.[7]

I don’t get the impression that Cain expected God to bless that jealous rage as righteousness.  Saul did, superficially at least.  Something in Jesus’ words must have rung true somewhere deep within Saul, since we have the writings of Paul the Apostle, and not Saul the blind Inquisitor who withstood the “temptation” of the “demon” disguised as an angel of light on the road to Damascus.  Saul the blind Inquisitor was crucified with Christ there, or later in the desert.[8]  Paul himself related this death to baptism: 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.[9]

I will suggest that the most distance covered from human responsibility to the grace of God in the shortest amount of time is most evident in the two covenants[10] separated by forty days[11] and the incident with the golden calf.[12]  But I don’t think I would ever have recognized that movement apart from Paul’s writings and the Holy Spirit’s leading and guidance.  Here I want to consider that movement as revealed in the writings of the prophet Hosea and relate it to the assumption that punishment is/was effective at purging or purifying sin rather than merely a consequence of that sin.

[The people of the northern kingdom of Israel] consult their wooden idols, the Lord spoke through Hosea, and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle.  The wind of prostitution (zânûn) blows them astray; they commit spiritual (tachath) adultery (zânâh) against their God [Table].  They sacrifice (zâbach) on the mountaintops, and burn offerings on the hills; they sacrifice under (tachath) oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is so pleasant.  As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes (zânâh), and your daughters-in-law commit adultery (nâʼaph) [Table].  I will not punish (pâqad) your daughters when they commit prostitution (zânâh), nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery (nâʼaph).  For the men consort with harlots (zânâh), they sacrifice (zâbach) with temple prostitutes (qedêshâh).[13]

Ephraim [another name for the northern kingdom of Israel] has attached himself to idols, the Lord continued.  Do not go near him [Table]!  They consume their alcohol, then engage in cult prostitution (zânâh); they dearly love their shameful (qâlôn) behavior [Table].[14]  I assume that this was πορνεία (that zâbach was used facetiously, they offered sexual intercourse to God under shade trees with qedêshâh).  And I assume that this was essentially what was going on in the church at Pergamum:  But I have a few things against you, Jesus said: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality (πορνεῦσαι, a form of πορνεύω).[15]  It is clearly what was going on with the Moabite women after Balaam prophesied for, rather than against, Israel (Numbers 25:1-3 NET):

When Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to commit sexual immorality (zânâh) with the daughters of Moab.  These women invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods; then the people ate and bowed down to their gods.  When Israel joined themselves to Baal-peor, the anger of the Lord flared up against Israel.

The “Children of God” called it flirty fishing.[16]

I also assume this kind of πορνεία was practiced in the church at Thyatira:  You tolerate that woman Jezebel, Jesus said, who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality (πορνεῦσαι, a form of πορνεύω) and to eat food sacrificed to idols.  I have given her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality (πορνείας, a form of πορνεία).  Look!  I am throwing her onto a bed of violent illness, and those who commit adultery (μοιχεύοντας, a form of μοιχεύω) with her into terrible suffering, unless they repent of her deeds.  Furthermore, I will strike her followers with a deadly disease, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts.  I will repay each one of you what your deeds deserve.[17]

This is essentially the same punishment He brought upon Israel when they joined themselves to Baal-peor—Those that died in the plague were 24,000[18]—unless plague here is a euphemism for the men arrested and hanged[19] (not to mention skewered[20]).  But to the northern kingdom of Israel, He said, I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a young lion to the house of Judah.  I myself will tear them to pieces, then I will carry them off, and no one will be able to rescue them!  Then I will return again to my lair until they have suffered their punishment (ʼâsham).[21]  Then they will seek me; in their distress they will earnestly seek me.[22]

He continued to prophesy what Israel would say after they were punished (Hosea 6:1-3 NET):

Come on!  Let’s return to the Lord!  He himself has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us!  He has injured us, but he will bandage our wounds!  He will restore us in a very short time; he will heal us in a little while, so that we may live in his presence.  So let us acknowledge him!  Let us seek to acknowledge the Lord!  He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn, as certainly as the winter rain comes, as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land.

If I stopped here punishment would appear to be overwhelmingly effective at purging or purifying evil.  The Lord didn’t stop here so neither will I (Hosea 6:4 NET):

What am I going to do with you, O Ephraim?  What am I going to do with you, O Judah?  For your faithfulness is as fleeting as the morning mist; it disappears as quickly as dawn’s dew!

There is a refrain in Deuteronomy: In this way you must purge (bâʽar) out evil from within.[23]  In this way you will purge (bâʽar) evil from among you.[24]  …in this way you will purge (bâʽar) evil from Israel.[25]  …in this way you will purge (bâʽar) evil from among you.[26]  All refer to capital punishment, stoning primarily.  If that is all that Mr. Garganta meant by his assertion that “God proceeds…to eradicate the evil by punishment,” I concede the point.  But it seems clear that the survivors of punishment of lesser consequence than death, or those who merely fear punishment, are encouraged to hypocrisy by such punishment and fear.  They become actors, not poets or doers of the law.  They are devoid of the love that fulfills the law.  The Lord’s judgment was swift and severe (Hosea 6:5 NET):

Therefore, I will certainly cut you into pieces at the hands of the prophets; I will certainly kill you in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment; for my judgment will come forth like the light of the dawn.

The time of judgment is about to arrive, the Lord promised through Hosea.  The time of retribution is imminent!  Let Israel know!  The prophet is considered a fool – the inspired man is viewed as a madman – because of the multitude of your sins and your intense animosity.[27]  And it happened to them as He promised.  But there is still hope for them (Hosea 11:8, 9 NET):

How can I give you up, O Ephraim?  How can I surrender you, O Israel?  How can I treat you like Admah?  How can I make you like Zeboiim?  I have had a change of heart!  All my tender compassions are aroused [Table]!  I cannot carry out my fierce anger!  I cannot totally destroy Ephraim!  Because I am God, and not man – the Holy One among you – I will not come in wrath!

This sounds like grace, God’s unilateral decision, not something effected in any way by the punishment of death the inhabitants of the northern kingdom of Israel suffered.  It seems to me then that the failure of punishment to purge wickedness, evil, violence and sinfulness in the living is part of the justification for God’s unilateral grace: Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”[28]

 

 

 

As I worked on this essay my daughter suffered a stroke.  That is definitely things not going my way.  When I had the chance to consider if God was punishing her, me, or us for something, praying that her sins have more to do with me and mine than hers, making no real sense, just a jumble of thoughts…take it out on me not her…the Holy Spirit brought Scripture to my mind:  “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.”[29]

I don’t take Him to mean that this man and his parents lived lives of sinless perfection.  I don’t even take Him to mean necessarily that the parents’ sins in this case had no causal relationship to their son’s blindness.  I take Him to mean that He wanted his disciples to concern themselves with the revelation of the works of God rather than establishing blame.

[1] Richard Wayne Garganta, “Bible Threats Explained”

[2] Genesis 6:5-7 (NET)

[3] Genesis 6:11, 12 (NET)

[4] Genesis 9:22a (NET)

[5] Genesis 9:22b (NET)

[6] 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 (NET) Table1

[7] Acts 9:1; 26:9-11; Romans 10:19; 11:11, 14; 1 Timothy 1:13 In the past I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man (ISVNT).  The NET translators chose arrogant for ὑβριστήν, but acknowledged in a note that they might have chosen violent or cruel.

[8] Galatians 1:17 (NET)

[9] Romans 6:3, 4 (NET)

[10] The Two Covenants: The second “covenant,” however, is much more like a unilateral declaration, a promise, than a contract between two parties.  Why then was the law given?  It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the descendant [Jesus the Son of God] to whom the promise had been made.  It was administered through angels by an intermediary.  Now an intermediary is not for one party alone, but God is one [Father and Son].  Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God?  Absolutely not!  For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.  But the scripture imprisoned everything and everyone under sin so that the promise could be given – because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ – to those who believe.  Galatians 3:19-22 (NET)

[11] Exodus 24:18 (NET)

[12] Exodus 32 (NET)

[13] Hosea 4:12-14a (NET)

[14] Hosea 4:17, 18 (NET)

[15] Revelation 2:14 (NET)

[16] xFamily.org, “Flirty Fishing”

[17] Revelation 2:20-23 (NET)

[18] Numbers 25:9 (NET)

[19] Numbers 25:4, 5 (NET)

[20] Numbers 25:6-8 (NET)

[21] NET note: “The verb יֶאְשְׁמוּ (ye’shemu, Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural from אָשַׁם, ’asham, ‘to be guilty’) means ‘to bear their punishment’ (Ps 34:22-23; Prov 30:10; Isa 24:6; Jer 2:3; Hos 5:15; 10:2; 14:1; Zech 11:5; Ezek 6:6; BDB 79 s.v. אָשַׁם 3). Many English versions translate this as ‘admit their guilt’ (NIV, NLT) or ‘acknowledge their guilt’ (NASB, NRSV), but cf. NAB ‘pay for their guilt’ and TEV ‘have suffered enough for their sins.’”

[22] Hosea 5:14, 15 (NET)

[23] Deuteronomy 13:5 (NET)

[24] Deuteronomy 17:7; 22:21 (NET)

[25] Deuteronomy 22:22 (NET)

[26] Deuteronomy 22:24 (NET)

[27] Hosea 9:7 (NET)

[28] Romans 3:4 (NET)

[29] John 9:2, 3 (NKJV)

Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 5

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I want to continue considering the eternal gospel the angel flying directly overhead “evangelized” (εὐαγγελίσαι, a form of εὐαγγελίζω)[1] in its context.  It is one of three messages by three different angels: one “evangelized,” another declared (λέγων, a form of λέγω),[2] and another declared (λέγων, a form of λέγω) in a loud voice.

Three Angels
Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, and he had an eternal gospel (εὐαγγέλιον)[3] to proclaim (εὐαγγελίσαι, a form of εὐαγγελίζω) to those who live on the earth –  to every nation, tribe, language, and people.  He declared in a loud voice:

Revelation 14:6, 7a (NET)

 A second angel followed the first, declaring (λέγων, a form of λέγω):

Revelation 14:8a (NET)

 A third angel followed the first two, declaring (λέγων, a form of λέγω) in a loud voice:

Revelation 14:9a (NET)
“Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment (ἡ ὥρα τῆς κρίσεως αὐτοῦ) has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”

Revelation 14:7b (NET)

 “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city!  She made all the nations drink of the wine of her immoral (πορνείας, a form of πορνεία)[4] passion.”

Revelation 14:8b (NET)

 “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and takes the mark on his forehead or his hand, that person will also drink of the wine of God’s anger that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb.  And the smoke from their torture will go up forever and ever, and those who worship the beast and his image will have no rest day or night, along with anyone who receives the mark of his name.”

Revelation 14:9b-11 (NET)
This requires the steadfast endurance of the saints – those who obey God’s commandments and hold to their faith in Jesus.

Revelation 14:12 (NET)

At first I included the final statement with the declaration of the third angel only.  Then I realized that the eternal gospel the first angel “evangelized” was not exactly “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ before you die or burn in hell for all eternity.”  Nor was it 1 Corinthians 15:1-8.  In fact, it didn’t mention Jesus at all.  It occurred to me that seeing and hearing an angel evangelize an eternal gospel like this might also require some steadfast endurance of those who hold to their faith in Jesus (Galatians 1:8 NET).

But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell (ἀνάθεμα)![5]

I assumed that the fall of Babylon might require the same endurance for reasons that were not yet clear.  And at present I don’t know whether—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to their faith in Jesus—define the word saints or qualify which saints are under consideration here.  I’ll consider the torture of those who worship the beast in its own essay.

I related the two judgments to the three angels like this:

Three Angels
Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead…

Revelation 14:6, 7 (NET)

 A second angel followed the first…

Revelation 14:8 (NET)

 A third angel followed the first two…

Revelation 14:9-11 (NET)
Then I looked, and a white cloud appeared, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man!  He had a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

Revelation 14:14 (NET)

 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.

Revelation 14:17 (NET)
Then another angel came out of the temple, shouting in a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and start to reap, because the time to reap has come, since the earth’s harvest is ripe!”

Revelation 14:15 (NET)

 Another angel, who was in charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes off the vine of the earth, because its grapes are now ripe.”

Revelation 14:18 (NET)
So the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Revelation 14:16 (NET)

 So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth and tossed them into the great winepress of the wrath of God.  Then the winepress was stomped outside the city, and blood poured out of the winepress up to the height of horses’ bridles for a distance of almost two hundred miles.

Revelation 14:19, 20 (NET)

Despite everything I’ve been through I wanted to relate the outcome of the two judgments to the messages of the three angels like this:

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, and he had an eternal gospel (εὐαγγέλιον) to proclaim (εὐαγγελίσαι, a form of εὐαγγελίζω) to those who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language, and people.  He declared in a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment (ἡ ὥρα τῆς κρίσεως αὐτοῦ) has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”

Revelation 14:6, 7 (NET)

 A second angel followed the first, declaring (λέγων, a form of λέγω): “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city!  She made all the nations drink of the wine of her immoral (πορνείας, a form of πορνεία) passion.”

Revelation 14:8 (NET)

 

 A third angel followed the first two, declaring (λέγων, a form of λέγω) in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and takes the mark on his forehead or his hand, that person will also drink of the wine of God’s anger that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb.  And the smoke from their torture will go up forever and ever, and those who worship the beast and his image will have no rest day or night, along with anyone who receives the mark of his name.”

Revelation 14:9-11 (NET)
They sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: “Great and astounding are your deeds, Lord God, the All-Powerful!  Just and true are your ways, King over the nations!”

Revelation 15:3 (NET)

 …they blasphemed the name of God…and they would not repent and give him glory.

Revelation 16:9b (NET)
“Who will not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name, because you alone are holy?  All nations will come and worship before you for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Revelation 15:4 (NET)

 …they blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since it was so horrendous.

Revelation 16:21b (NET)

 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings and because of their sores, but nevertheless they still refused to repent of their deeds.

Revelation 16:11 (NET)
Then I looked, and a white cloud appeared, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man!  He had a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.  Then another angel came out of the temple, shouting in a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and start to reap, because the time to reap has come, since the earth’s harvest is ripe!”  So the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Revelation 14:14-16 (NET)

 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.  Another angel, who was in charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes off the vine of the earth, because its grapes are now ripe.”  So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth and tossed them into the great winepress of the wrath of God.  Then the winepress was stomped outside the city, and blood poured out of the winepress up to the height of horses’ bridles for a distance of almost two hundred miles.

Revelation 14:17-20 (NET)
Then I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and his image and the number of his name. They were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps given to them by God.

Revelation 15:2 (NET)

 Then I saw another great and astounding sign in heaven: seven angels who have seven final plagues (they are final because in them God’s anger is completed).

Revelation 15:1 (NET)

Judgment and condemnation would be easier for me to grasp if:

1) The first angel said, “Fear God and give him glory…and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”
2) Then in response to that people said, “Great and astounding are your deeds, Lord God, the All-Powerful!  Just and true are your ways, King over the nations!  Who will not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name, because you alone are holy?  All nations will come and worship before you for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
3) Then in response to that one like a son of man…swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped; that is, those who feared God and gave Him glory.
4) Then those who feared God and gave Him glory were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps given to them by God.

Or conversely that:

1) Those who did not fear God but worshipped the beast and his image…
2) Were those who blasphemed the name of God, who would not repent and give Him glory…
3) And they were tossed…into the great winepress of the wrath of God…
4) To face the seven final plagues.

But that isn’t what’s revealed here, is it?  Those who sang the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb probably conquered the beast and his image and the number of his name[6] by refusing to worship him, his image or take the mark.  What looked to John like their “reaping” by one like a son of man, will probably look like mass executions to their contemporaries on earth.  Their “reaping” is immediately preceded by Revelation 14:13 (NET):

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: ‘Blessed are the dead, those who die in the Lord from this moment on!’”  “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they can rest from their hard work, because their deeds will follow them.”

It is after they find themselves standing by the sea of glass, holding harps given to them by God[7] that they give glory[8] to God—Great and astounding are your deeds, Lord God, the All-Powerful!  Just and true are your ways[9]—and can’t imagine how or why anyone would not fear Him—Who will not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name, because you alone are holy?[10]

Meanwhile, back on the earth, those who worshiped the beast, and were tossed…into the great winepress of the wrath of God,[11] when the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was permitted to scorch people with fire, and they were scorched by the terrible heat, yet (καὶ)[12] they blasphemed the name of God, who has ruling authority over these plagues, and they would not repent and give him glory.[13]  When the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast so that darkness covered his kingdom, and people began to bite their tongues because of their pain, they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings and because of their sores, but nevertheless[14] (καὶ) they still refused to repent of their deeds.[15]  And finally, when Babylon the great was remembered before God, and was given the cup filled with the wine made of God’s furious wrath,[16] gigantic hailstones, weighing about a hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people, but (καὶ) they blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since it was so horrendous.[17]

The Greek word καὶ is usually translated and (see the KJV, NKJV, ASV, DNT, and YLT).  Three times the translators of the NET tried to create a contrast that may not be there in the text.  Without that contrast there is a very simple and obvious story here.  All deserved God’s wrath.  Those who received his mercy (albeit through refusing the mark of the beast and suffering execution) feared Him and glorified Him.  Those who received the wrath they deserved cursed Him and would not repent of their deeds.

God’s judgment is not about my righteousness.  It does not reflect or demonstrate my righteousness, but his.  The key here is in the song of Moses and the Lamb: you alone are holy.[18]  Why do you call me good? Jesus answered a question with another.  No one is good except God alone.[19]  For a long time I’ve thought that Jesus was asserting his divinity here in a backhanded, double reverse sort of way.  Now it seems so clear that He was fully embracing his humanity, walking humbly, led by the Spirit, dependent on the Holy Spirit’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.[20]  No one is good except God alone, Jesus said.

We are told explicitly who will worship the beast (Revelation 13:7, 8 NET):

The beast was permitted to go to war against the saints and conquer them.  He was given ruling authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation, and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast, everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed.

In other words, the judgment (and the condemnation, for that matter) was made even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling).[21]  So John on Patmos had a vision confirming the most difficult words Paul wrote (Romans 9:14-18 NET):

What shall we say then?  Is there injustice with God?  Absolutely not!  For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  So then, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.  For the scripture says to Pharaoh: “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”  So then, God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden.

My religious mind screams, “That’s not fair!”  But Paul heard my religious mind, or maybe his own (Romans 9:19-21 NET):

You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault?  For who has ever resisted his will?”  But who indeed are you – a mere human being – to talk back to God?  Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?”  Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?

And my religious mind says, “No!  Hell, no!”  But the new man following the Spirit, hears the Lord Jesus say, “deny [your]self, take up [your] cross, and follow me,”[22] and listens as He prays to our Father in heaven, “not my will but yours be done.”[23]  Let God be proven true, Paul wrote, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you [i.e., God, Paul quoted David at prayer here] will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”[24]  And as I fully embrace my humanity and truly believe that it does not depend on [my] desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy, I can hear something else in a fresh and new way (Romans 11:32-36 NET):

For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.  Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!  For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?  Or who has first given to God, that God needs to repay him?  For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be glory forever!  Amen.

They sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb (Revelation 15:3, 4 NET):

“Great and astounding are your deeds, Lord God, the All-Powerful!  Just and true are your ways, King over the nations!  Who will not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name, because you alone are holy?  All nations will come and worship before you for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 6

Back to Torture, Part 3

Back to Torture, Part 5

Back to Cult Prostitutes

[6] Revelation 15:2 (NET)

[7] Revelation 15:2 (NET)

[8] Revelation 14:7 (NET)

[9] Revelation 15:3 (NET)

[10] Revelation 15:4a (NET)

[11] Revelation 14:19 (NET)

[12] NET Note: “Here καί (kai) has been translated as ‘yet’ to indicate the contrast present in this context.”

[13] Revelation 16:8, 9 (NET)

[14] NET Note: “Grk ‘and they did not repent.’ Here καί (kai) has been translated as ‘but nevertheless’ to express the contrast here.”

[15] Revelation 16:10, 11 (NET)

[16] Revelation 16:19b (NET)

[17] Revelation 16:21 (NET)

[18] Revelation 15:4 (NET)

[19] Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19 (NET)

[20] Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

[21] Romans 9:11 (NET)

[22] Matthew 16:24 (NET)

[23] Luke 22:42b (NET)

[24] Romans 3:4 (NET)

Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 4

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Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities in which he had done many of his miracles, because they did not repent.  “Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  If the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment (ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως) than for you![1]

Here, potentially, I have another instance where more bearable meant that fewer people rise up at the judgment to condemn the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon than the inhabitants of Chorazin and Bethsaida, those who witnessed Jesus’ miracles and yet rejected his message.  The same may be true of Capernaum relative to Sodom (Matthew 11:23, 24 NET).

And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven?  No, you will be thrown down to Hades!  For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have continued to this day.  But I tell you, it will be more bearable for the region (γῇ)[2] of Sodom on the day of judgment (ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως) than for you!

But all of this assumes that my intuition that κρίσεως[3] is limited to judgment and does not expand to mean condemnation is correct.  In Revelation κρίσεως may mean condemnation as I understand it: Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, and he had an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language, and people.  He declared in a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment (ἡ ὥρα[4] τῆς κρίσεως αὐτοῦ) has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”[5]

Granted, the first thing that happens after the announcement of the hour of his judgment is a distinction I recognize as judgment.  One like a son of man seated on a cloud reaped the harvest of the earth for some unspecified purpose, at the command of an angel who came out of the temple in heaven.[6]  Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven and reaped the earth at the command of another angel who was in charge of the fire.  Those harvested in this way were the grapes from the vineyard of the earth, and were tossed into the great winepress of the wrath of God.[7]

So far so good.  But what I would consider the condemnation of the great winepress of the wrath of God was spelled out in some detail later as the seven bowls containing God’s wrath.

First Bowl

Revelation 16:2 (NET)

 …ugly and painful sores appeared on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.
Second Bowl

Revelation 16:3 (NET)

 …the sea…turned into blood, like that of a corpse, and every living creature that was in the sea died.
Third Bowl

Revelation 16:4-7 (NET)

 …the rivers and the springs of water…turned into blood.
Fourth Bowl

Revelation 16:8, 9 (NET)

 …the sun…was permitted to scorch people with fire.
Fifth Bowl

Revelation 16:10, 11 (NET)

 …on the throne of the beast so that darkness covered his kingdom, and people began to bite their tongues because of their pain.
Sixth Bowl

Revelation 16:12-16 (NET)

 …on the great river Euphrates and dried up its water to prepare the way for the kings from the east.
Seventh Bowl

Revelation 16:17-21 (NET)

 Then there were flashes of lightning, roaring, and crashes of thunder, and there was a tremendous earthquake – an earthquake unequaled since humanity has been on the earth, so tremendous was that earthquake.  The great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations collapsed….Every island fled away and no mountains could be found.  And gigantic hailstones, weighing about a hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people…

After the third bowl containing God’s wrath John recorded:  Now I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are just – the one who is and who was, the Holy One – because (ὅτι)[8] you have passed these judgments (ἔκρινας, a form of κρίνω),[9] because (ὅτι) they poured out the blood of your saints and prophets, so you have given them blood to drink.  They got what they deserved!”  Then I heard the altar reply, “Yes, Lord God, the All-Powerful, your judgments (κρίσεις, a form of κρίσις)[10] are true and just!”[11]  Here both κρίνω and κρίσις were used for the adverse sentence, condemnation as I understand it.  It makes my careful distinctions moot.

I don’t recant because: 1) I’m not comfortable deriving the meaning of words from the most esoteric and figurative book in the Bible; and 2) the angel’s reasoning sounds vaguely demonic to me.  (And, yes, I recognize the audacity of that statement.)  Perhaps that is all demonic means.  Perhaps a demon is nothing more than an angel who has elevated his own reasoning above the will and word of God.  But I don’t believe that God is just or righteous because he passed these judgments (KJV, hast judged thus).

I don’t believe that God is just or righteous because He conforms to some abstract conception of justice or righteousness: they poured out the blood of your saints and prophets, so you have given them blood to drink.  They got what they deserved!  I believe that God is just and righteous because he is the Holy One, who is and who was.  What He does, how He judges, is just or righteous because of who He is.  Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, Paul wrote the Romans, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”[12]  But I suspect here that God is judged not only by human beings, but by angels.  Or, perhaps, ὅτι should have been translated—regarding the fact that—as in Acts 13:34 (NET).

But regarding the fact that (ὅτι) he has raised Jesus from the dead, never again to be in a state of decay, God has spoken in this way: “I will give you the holy and trustworthy promises made to David.”

I don’t have any issue with the altar’s reply—Yes, Lord God, the All-Powerful, your judgments are true and just!—except its tacit and uncritical acceptance of the angel’s reasoning (if his statement is translated correctly).  And, no, I’m not particularly troubled by a living altar in heaven capable of speech and reason.

Perhaps Genesis 1:11 and 12 is simply a poetic and figurative way of expressing God’s creation of plant life on the earth, or perhaps it is meant to be understood as God’s way of expressing how He created a living earth with a God-given ability to create plant life.  What is conspicuously absent from the text is any mention of God’s direct action in the creation of plant life, as is the case of animals in the sea and birds in the air (Genesis 1:21), animals on the earth (Genesis 1:25) and human beings (Genesis 1:26).  Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live before him,[13] Jesus said in a different but potentially related context.

If the angel flying directly overhead had the seven bowls in mind, condemnation as I understand it, when he said ἡ ὥρα τῆς κρίσεως αὐτοῦ (the hour of his judgment) then Jesus’ contrasts may have a different meaning as well.  The regions of Sodom, Gomorrah, Tyre and Sidon may be places of refuge from ugly and painful sores, rivers and springs of water turned into blood, and the scorching fire of the sun relative to Chorazin, Behtsaida, Capernaum or any town in Israel where the inhabitants rejected Jesus’ disciples’ message, The kingdom of heaven is near!  That is, of course, if the angel flying directly overhead was reasoning correctly and not thinking as backwards as the angel of the waters (if the angel of the waters was translated correctly).  So I’m conflicted here and continue in the spirit of giving the angel flying directly overhead the benefit of the doubt.

“Fear God and give him glory, the angel flying directly overhead said, because the hour of his judgment (ἡ ὥρα τῆς κρίσεως αὐτοῦ) has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”  After the fourth bowl was poured out, people were scorched by the terrible heat, yet they blasphemed the name of God, who has ruling authority over these plagues, and they would not repent and give him glory.[14]  After the fifth bowl, They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings and because of their sores, but nevertheless they still refused to repent of their deeds.[15]  After the seventh bowl, gigantic hailstones, weighing about a hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people, but they blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since it was so horrendous.[16]  This makes it more plausible that κρίσεως here meant the condemnation of the seven bowls, the great winepress of the wrath of God, and not merely the judgment of Revelation 14:14-19.

In that case, however, I would tend to understand Jesus’ words like this: Furthermore, the Father does not [condemn (κρίνει, a form of κρίνω)] anyone, but has assigned all [condemnation (κρίσιν, a form of κρίσις)] to the Son…[17]  For just as the Father has life in himself, thus he has granted the Son to have life in himself, and he has granted the Son authority to execute (ποιεῖν, a form of ποιέω)[18] [condemnation (κρίσιν, a form of κρίσις)], because he is the Son of Man.[19]  The writer of Hebrews would have written, And just as people are appointed to die once, and then to face [condemnation (κρίσις)], so also, after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation.[20]

I’ve been through this before.[21]  This is why I would like to keep κρίνω as judge rather than condemn (κατακρίνω),[22] and κρίσις as judgment rather than condemnation (κατάκρισις,[23] κατάκριμα[24]).  Though I suppose it doesn’t matter really whether the Father assigned all judgment or all condemnation to the Son, or whether He has the authority to execute judgment or condemnation, if He does not judge or condemn the world because God sent Him into the world…that the world should be saved through him[25] instead.

Condemnation of Judgment? – Part 5

Back to Justice, Vengeance and Punishment

 

[1] Matthew 11:20-22 (NET)

[5] Revelation 14:6, 7 (NET)

[6] Revelation 14:14-16 (NET)

[7] Revelation 14:17-19 (NET)

[11] Revelation 16:5-7 (NET)

[12] Romans 3:4 (NET)

[13] Luke 20:38 (NET)

[14] Revelation 16:9 (NET)

[15] Revelation 16:11 (NET)

[16] Revelation 16:21 (NET)

[17] John 5:22 (NET)

[19] John 5:26, 27 (NET)

[20] Hebrews 9:27, 28 (NET)

[25] John 3:17 (NET)

Romans, Part 41

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Now I am speaking to you Gentiles, Paul continued.  Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy (παραζηλώσω, a form of παραζηλόω)[1] and save some of them.[2]  Here Paul referred back to the Lord’s prophesy through Moses, I will make you jealous (παραζηλώσω, a form of παραζηλόω) by those who are not a nation; with a senseless nation I will provoke you to anger.[3]

The complete verse reads, They have made me jealous (Septuagint: παρεζήλωσάν, another form of παραζηλόω) with false gods, enraging me with their worthless gods; so I will make them jealous (Septuagint: παραζηλώσω, a form of παραζηλόω) with a people they do not recognize, with a nation slow to learn I will enrage them.[4]  And so I have the karmic reason: Israel made God jealous with false gods, so He made them jealous with senseless, slow to learn or foolish people.  But Paul alluded to a grace reason as well: I ask then, [Israel] did not stumble into an irrevocable fall, did they?  Absolutely not!  But by their transgression [e.g., making God jealous with false gods] salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous (παραζηλῶσαι, another form of παραζηλόω).[5]  And so Paul hoped to provoke [his] people to jealousy (παραζηλώσω, a form of παραζηλόω) and save some of them.

For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, Paul continued, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?[6]  Then he said something odd: If the first portion of the dough offered is holy, then the whole batch is holy…[7]  The phrase the first portion of the dough offered is one word in Greek, ἀπαρχὴ,[8] firstfruits.  At first I thought Paul was referencing the firstfruits offering from the law.

You must offer up a cake of the first (rêʼshı̂yth)[9] of your finely ground flour as a raised offering; as you offer the raised offering of the threshing floor, so you must offer it up.  You must give to the Lord some of the first (rêʼshı̂yth) of your finely ground flour as a raised offering in your future generations.[10]  But the firstfruits belonged to the priests and their immediate families:  All the best of the olive oil and all the best of the wine and of the wheat, the first fruits (rêʼshı̂yth) of these things that they give to the Lord, I have given to you.  And whatever first ripe fruit in their land they bring to the Lord will be yours; everyone who is ceremonially clean in your household may eat of it.[11]

So if the whole batch became holy because of the offering of the firstfruits, the people would have starved, because the whole batch would have belonged to the priests and their immediate families.  Paul used the word ἀπαρχὴ in another context in 1 Corinthians.  But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits (ἀπαρχὴ)[12] of those who have fallen asleep.  For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man.  For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.  But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits (ἀπαρχὴ); then when Christ comes, those who belong to him.[13]

So I think Christ was the fristfruits (ἀπαρχὴ) Paul wrote about, and making the whole batch… holy was not something true of, or done by, the law.  It is accomplished through Christ.  Later in Romans Paul wrote that the people of Israel are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers.[14]  I don’t think he meant that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were of such special merit that their merit would be extended to their descendants.  I think he referenced the promises the Lord Jesus made to them, about their descendents, as Yahweh.  As Paul wrote earlier, Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”[15]

And Paul continued, if the root is holy, so too are the branches.[16]  Here again the Lord Jesus is the root:  At that time a root from Jesse will stand like a signal flag for the nations.  Nations will look to him for guidance, and his residence will be majestic.  At that time the sovereign master will again lift his hand to reclaim the remnant of his people…[17]  The Lord Jesus is holy and all who spring forth from him are holy, too.

Then Paul began to describe the attitude Gentile believers should have toward the people of Israel.  Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in the richness of the olive root, do not boast over the branches.[18]  “I am part of a senseless nation grafted in to make Israel jealous!” is not much to brag about anyway.  But if you boast, Paul continued, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.  Then you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”[19]  Here is a good place to review why the branches were broken off (Jeremiah 11:15-17 NET).

The Lord says to the people of Judah, “What right do you have to be in my temple, my beloved people?  Many of you have done wicked things.  Can your acts of treachery be so easily canceled by sacred offerings that you take joy in doing evil even while you make them?  I, the Lord, once called you a thriving olive tree, one that produced beautiful fruit.  But I will set you on fire, fire that will blaze with a mighty roar.  Then all your branches will be good for nothing.  For though I, the Lord who rules over all, planted you in the land, I now decree that disaster will come on you because the nations of Israel and Judah have done evil and have made me angry by offering sacrifices to the god Baal.”

Granted! Paul continued.  They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith.  Do not be arrogant, but fear (φοβοῦ, a form of φοβέω)![20]  This word φοβοῦ in this form occurs most often in the New Testament as the divine greeting to the fearful flesh of Adam: Do not be afraid (φοβοῦ)![21]  Do not be afraid (φοβοῦ), Zechariah…[22]  Do not be afraid (φοβοῦ), Mary…[23]  Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid (φοβοῦ)…”[24]  Do not be afraid (φοβοῦ), little flock…[25]  Do not be afraid (φοβοῦ), people of Zion…[26]  The Lord said to Paul by a vision in the night, “Do not be afraid (φοβοῦ)…”[27]  Do not be afraid (φοβοῦ), Paul![28]  Do not be afraid (φοβοῦ) of the things you are about to suffer.[29]  But Paul used it twice in Romans to say, But if you do wrong, be in fear (φοβοῦ)…[30]  For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you.[31]

I must be an adulteress[32] at heart.  I can’t count how many times I came to this place in Paul’s letter to the Romans, ignored everything I had heard thus far, and ran back to the law.  It was like an all-consuming lust that blinded me and made me deaf to everything Paul had said about the law:  For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous.[33]

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God.  For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.  But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed – namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe.[34]

For we consider that a person is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law.[35]  Do we then nullify the law through faith?  Absolutely not!  Instead we uphold the law.[36]  For the law brings wrath…[37]  Now the law came in so that the transgression may increase…[38]  For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.  What then?  Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?  Absolutely not![39]

Or do you not know, brothers and sisters (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law is lord over a person as long as he lives?  For a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of the marriage.  So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is alive, she will be called an adulteress.  But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she is joined to another man, she is not an adulteress.  So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God.  For when we were in the flesh, the sinful desires, aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.  But now we have been released from the law, because we have died to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code.[40]

Despite all this when Paul said, Do not be arrogant, but fear (φοβοῦ), I fled in terror from Jesus my Savior back to the law.  A Baal worshiper may have thought that he was worshipping the true God.  I’m sure I did at the time.  A Baal worshiper may have thought that he had found a better god.  But I was worshiping myself and my own ability to keep the law, even after years of practical experience and empirical proofs that I could not keep it.  Do not be afraid (φοβοῦ); just believe.[41]  Do not be afraid (φοβοῦ); just believe…[42]

Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God, Paul continued, harshness toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.  And even they – if they do not continue in their unbelief – will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.  For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree?[43]

Romans, Part 42

[2] Romans 11:13, 14 (NET)

[3] Romans 10:19 (NET) Table

[4] Deuteronomy 32:21 (NET) Table

[5] Romans 11:11 (NET)

[6] Romans 11:15 (NET)

[7] Romans 11:16a (NET)

[10] Numbers 15:20, 21 (NET)

[11] Numbers 18:12, 13 (NET)

[13] 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (NET)

[14] Romans 11:28b (NET)

[15] Romans 3:4 (NET)

[16] Romans 11:16b (NET)

[17] Isaiah 11:10, 11a (NET)

[18] Romans 11:17, 18a (NET)

[19] Romans 11:18b, 19 (NET)

[20] Romans 11:20 (NET)

[21] Revelation 1:17 (NET)

[22] Luke 1:13 (NET)

[23] Luke 1:30 (NET)

[24] Luke 5:10 (NET)

[25] Luke 12:32 (NET)

[26] John 12:15 (NET)

[27] Acts 18:9 (NET)

[28] Acts 27:24 (NET)

[29] Revelation 2:10 (NET)

[30] Romans 13:4 (NET)

[31] Romans 11:21 (NET)

[33] Romans 2:13 (NET)

[34] Romans 3:19-22a (NET)

[35] Romans 3:28 (NET) Table

[36] Romans 3:31 (NET)

[37] Romans 4:15a (NET)

[38] Romans 5:20a (NET)

[39] Romans 6:14, 15 (NET)

[40] Romans 7:1-6 (NET)

[43] Romans 11:22-24 (NET)

Son of God – John, Part 1

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

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

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

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

KJV

NAS

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

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

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

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

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

KJV

NAS

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

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

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

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

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

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

[2] John 1:50 (NET)

[3] John 3:16 (NET)

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

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

[12] Romans 3:4 (NET)

Romans, Part 13

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Therefore what advantage (περισσὸν, a form of περισσός) does the Jew have,1 Paul asked.  The word translated advantage (περισσὸν) is also found in Jesus’ saying, I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly (περισσὸν, a form of περισσός).2  Paul continued, or what is the value (ὠφέλεια) of circumcision?3  The Greek word ὠφέλεια was only used here and once more negatively by Jude (ὠφελείας, a form of ὠφέλεια; for their own gain), but it comes from ὠφέλιμος.

For “physical exercise has some value (ὠφέλιμος),” Paul wrote Timothy, “but godliness is valuable (ὠφέλιμος) in every way.  It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.”4  Every scripture is inspired by God and useful (ὠφέλιμος) for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness [Table], that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.5  To Titus Paul wrote, This saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on such truths, so that those who have placed their faith in God6 may be intent on engaging in good works.  These things are good7 and beneficial (ὠφέλιμα, a form of ὠφέλιμος) for all people.8

So again, there is a mini-Gospel lesson embedded in the words περισσός and ὠφέλιμος, waiting for anyone who wants to know what advantage (περισσὸν, a form of περισσός) Jews have or what the value (ὠφέλεια) of circumcision is.

Actually, there are many advantages (literally, “much in every way”).  First of all,9 the Jews were entrusted (ἐπιστεύθησαν, a form of πιστεύω) with the oracles (λόγια, a form of λόγιον) of God.10  And in this they were faithful, the right people for the job—mission accomplished.  When I consider the wars and conquests, the captivities and apostasies, and how often it would have been easier and seemed more advantageous to lose or alter those words to make them more accommodating to the times, or at least a little more flattering to the people…I can only say, thank you.

Paul moved directly to another question, and let the advantages the Jews have and the value of circumcision drop.  He listed them later in a context where they might be missed.  To them belong the adoption as sons, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.  To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, by human descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever!  Amen.11

What then? Paul continued.  If some did not believe (ἠπίστησαν, a form of ἀπιστέω), does their unbelief (ἀπιστία) nullify (καταργήσει, a form of καταργέω) the faithfulness (πίστιν, a form of πίστις) of God?12  Both ἀπιστέω and ἀπιστία are derived from ἄπιστος the negation of πιστός.  Both πιστός and πίστις are derived from πείθω, to convince by argument.  I’m laboring over the relationship of these words for faith and unbelief so that I can grasp what Paul was thinking.  Why would Paul even think that someone might think that the unbelief (ἀπιστία) of some people might nullify (καταργήσει, a form of καταργέω) the faithfulness (πίστιν, a form of πίστις) of God?

To review, Paul was convinced that Gentiles did not need to be circumcised.  He was content enough with the letter circulated after the Jerusalem Council to spread its teaching himself.  Then he went to Corinth.  In Corinth, hampered by his allegiance to James’ abbreviated version of the law, Paul called adultery, or a violation of Leviticus 18:8, πορνεία.13  It is evident later in Romans (Romans 9-11) that he was perplexed by the fact that God called the sexually immoral (πόρνοι, a form of πόρνος), idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers [Table]14 to faith and repentance, while so many of his own people rejected the very same Gospel message.

When Paul wrote faith comes by hearing,15 that understanding was coming right out of his experience and the meaning and derivation of the Greek word πίστις from πείθω:  Faith comes by hearing the argument (e.g., the Gospel presented as a reasoned discourse).  The NET translators have rendered it, faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ [Table].16  There is apparently a manuscript dispute whether God or Christ is the older, more original, word.  Frankly, I don’t care about that at all.  The NET translators have focused on the content of the message in both clauses.  Faith comes from what is heard (i.e., the preached word of Christ) and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ seems a bit redundant to me.  The content of the message is certainly extremely important, but I don’t think Paul was talking about content in the second clause.

I think the New King James translation is more to Paul’s point in its austerity.  So then faith comes by hearing (ἀκοῆς, a form of ἀκοή), and hearing (ἀκοὴ) by the word (ρήματος, a form of ῥῆμα) of God.17 This is the conclusion of an argument that began with a contrast of righteousness by law and righteousness by faith.  For Moses18 writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.”19  Paul quoted from the introduction to the Laws of Sexual Regulations in Leviticus 18:6-33.  You must not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you have been living, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan into which I am about to bring you; you must not walk in their statutes.  You must observe my regulations and you must be sure to walk in my statutes…anyone who does so will live by keeping them.20

Paul saw something different in Deuteronomy 30, the righteousness that is by faith.21  Deuteronomy 30 was written (and spoken) prophetically to people who have rebelled against the Lord, who have not kept his commandments and statutes (Deuteronomy 30:1-3a, 9b, 10).

When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses I have set before you, you will reflect upon them in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you.  Then if you and your descendants turn to the Lord your God and obey him with your whole mind and being just as I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will reverse your captivity and have pity on you…For the Lord your God will once more rejoice over you to make you prosperous just as he rejoiced over your ancestors, if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this scroll of the law.  But you must turn to him with your whole mind and being.

Paul wrote, But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).  But what does it say? “The word (ρῆμα, another form of ῥῆμα) is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word [ρῆμα, another form of ῥῆμα] of faith that we preach)…22

Paul knew he preached the same content to the Pharisee that he preached to the πόρνοι (a form of πόρνος) in Corinth.  In fact, if anyone was short changed it was the πόρνοι in Corinth, for Corinth is where Paul prejudged the people as too immature for wisdom.  But it was in Corinth that the πόρνοι believed the content of the message, and it was in Jerusalem and in synagogues throughout the Roman Empire where the Pharisees did not.  When Paul penned, faith comes by hearing (ἀκοῆς, a form of ἀκοή), and hearing (ἀκοὴ, another form of ἀκοή) by the word (ρήματος, a form of ῥῆμα) of God,23 he meant something like hearing comes by God (or Christ) uttering, “hear.”  That was the only explanation he had for the difference between the πόρνοι and the Pharisees.  And it was certainly his own experience on the Damascus road in a singularly dramatic fashion.

What then? Paul asked.  If some did not believe; namely, the Jews (for whom the content of the message was intended) because God or Christ had not yet uttered, “hear,” does their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God?24  Suddenly the question is much more than a straw man.  How can I trust this God who would do this to his own people? or not do this for his own people, as the case may be?  But Paul reassured me that it does not nullify the faithfulness of God.  Absolutely not!  Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified (δικαιωθῇς, a form of δικαιόω) in your words (λόγοις, a form of λόγος) and will prevail when you are judged (κρίνεσθαι, a form of κρίνω).”25

Though I may never fully understand the sequencing of who-believes-when, I can accept that it has something to do with God being proven true, being justified in his words, and prevailing when He is judged.  And I’ve already seen some connection between this and all things working together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose,26 and its corollary, Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow.27

 

Addendum: February 11, 2021
A comparison of the Greek of Paul’s quotation of Leviticus 18:5 from the Septuagint follows

Romans 10:5b (NET Parallel Greek) Leviticus 18:5b (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 18:5b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ ποιήσας |αὐτὰ| ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν |αὐτοῖς| ἃ ποιήσας ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῗς ἃ ποιήσας αὐτά ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς

Romans 10:5b (NET)

 Leviticus 18:5b (NETS)

Leviticus 18:5b (English Elpenor)
The one who does these things will live by them. as for the things a person does, he shall live by them which if a man do, he shall live in them

A comparison of the Greek of Paul’s quotation from Deuteronomy 9:4 in the Septuagint follows:

Romans 10:6b (NET Parallel Greek)

 Deuteronomy 9:4a (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 9:4a (Septuagint Elpenor)
μὴ εἴπῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου μὴ εἴπῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου μὴ εἴπῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου

Romans 10:6b (NET)

 Deuteronomy 9:4a (NETS)

Deuteronomy 9:4a (English Elpenor)
Do not say in your heart, do not say in your heart, Speak not in thine heart,

It was perhaps a poignant historical reminder to those who knew the Scriptures, ‘For my righteousness HaShem hath brought me in to possess this land.’28

A comparison of the Greek of Paul’s quotation from Deuteronomy 30:12 in the Septuagint follows:

Romans 10:6c (NET Parallel Greek)

 Deuteronomy 30:12b (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 30:12b (Septuagint Elpenor)
τίς ἀναβήσεται εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν τίς ἀναβήσεται ἡμῗν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν τίς ἀναβήσεται ἡμῖν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν

Romans 10:6c (NET)

 Deuteronomy 30:12b (NETS)

Deuteronomy 30:12b (English Elpenor)
Who will ascend into heaven? Who will go up to the sky…for us? Who shall go up for us into heaven,

A comparison (mostly a contrast) of Paul’s “quotation” with Deuteronomy 30:13 in the Septuagint follows:

Romans 10:7a (NET Parallel Greek)

 Deuteronomy 30:13b (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 30:13b (Septuagint Elpenor)
τίς καταβήσεται εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον τίς διαπεράσει ἡμῗν εἰς τὸ πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης τίς διαπεράσει ἡμῖν εἰς τὸ πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης

Romans 10:7a (NET)

 Deuteronomy 30:13b (NETS)

Deuteronomy 30:13b (English Elpenor)
Who will descend into the abyss? Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us Who will go over for us to the other side of the sea…for us

A comparison of the Greek of Paul’s quotation from Deuteronomy 30:14 in the Septuagint follows:

Romans 10:8b (NET Parallel Greek)

 Deuteronomy 30:14a (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 30:14a (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐγγύς σου τὸ ρῆμα ἐστιν ἐν τῷ στόματι σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ἔστιν σου ἐγγὺς τὸ ῥῆμα σφόδρα ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ἐγγύς σού ἐστι τὸ ρῆμα σφόδρα ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου

Romans 10:8b (NET)

 Deuteronomy 30:14a (NETS)

Deuteronomy 30:14a (English Elpenor)
The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart The word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart The word is very near thee, in thy mouth, and in thine heart

If Paul quoted from the Septuagint it may be worth noting that he stopped prior to καὶ ἐν ταῖς χερσί σου ποιεῖν αὐτό (and in thine hands to do it).

Tables comparing Leviticus 18:5; 18:3; 18:4; Deuteronomy 30:1; 30:2; 30:3; 30:9; 30:10; 9:4; 30:12; 30:13 and 30:14 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing Leviticus 18:5; 18:3; 18:4; Deuteronomy 30:1; 30:2; 30:3; 30:9; 30:10; 9:4; 30:12; 30:13 and 30:14 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Titus 3:8, Romans 3:2 and 10:5 in the NET and KJV follow.

Leviticus 18:5 (Tanakh)

 Leviticus 18:5 (KJV)

Leviticus 18:5 (NET)
Ye shall therefore keep My statutes, and Mine ordinances, which if a man do, he shall live by them: I am HaShem. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD. So you must keep my statutes and my regulations; anyone who does so will live by keeping them.  I am the Lord.

Leviticus 18:5 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 18:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ φυλάξεσθε πάντα τὰ προστάγματά μου καὶ πάντα τὰ κρίματά μου καὶ ποιήσετε αὐτά ἃ ποιήσας ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῗς ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν καὶ φυλάξεσθε πάντα τὰ προστάγματά μου καὶ πάντα τὰ κρίματά μου καὶ ποιήσετε αὐτά, ἃ ποιήσας αὐτά ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς· ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὑμῶν

Leviticus 18:5 (NETS)

Leviticus 18:5 (English Elpenor)
And you shall keep all my ordinances and all my judgments, and you shall do them; as for the things a person does, he shall live by them; I am the Lord your God. So ye shall keep all my ordinances, and all my judgments, and do them; which if a man do, he shall live in them: I [am] the Lord your God.

Leviticus 18:3 (Tanakh)

 Leviticus 18:3 (KJV)

Leviticus 18:3 (NET)
After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do; and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do; neither shall ye walk in their statutes. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. You must not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you have been living, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan into which I am about to bring you; you must not walk in their statutes.

Leviticus 18:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 18:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατὰ τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα γῆς Αἰγύπτου ἐν ᾗ κατῳκήσατε ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ οὐ ποιήσετε καὶ κατὰ τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα γῆς Χανααν εἰς ἣν ἐγὼ εἰσάγω ὑμᾶς ἐκεῗ οὐ ποιήσετε καὶ τοῗς νομίμοις αὐτῶν οὐ πορεύσεσθε κατά τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα Αἰγύπτου, ἐν ᾗ κατῳκήσατε ἐπ᾿ αὐτῇ, οὐ ποιήσετε καὶ κατὰ τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα γῆς Χαναάν, εἰς ἣν ἐγὼ εἰσάγω ὑμᾶς ἐκεῖ, οὐ ποιήσετε καὶ τοῖς νομίμοις αὐτῶν οὐ πορεύσεσθε

Leviticus 18:3 (NETS)

Leviticus 18:3 (English Elpenor)
You shall not act according to the practices of the land of Egypt, wherein you lived, and you shall not act according to the practices of the land of Chanaan, there where I am bringing you, and you shall not live by their precepts. Ye shall not do according to the devices of Egypt, in which ye dwelt: and according to the devices of the land of Chanaan, into which I bring you, ye shall not do; and ye shall not walk in their ordinances.

Leviticus 18:4 (Tanakh)

 Leviticus 18:4 (KJV)

Leviticus 18:4 (NET)
Mine ordinances shall ye do, and My statutes shall ye keep, to walk therein: I am HaShem your G-d. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. You must observe my regulations, and you must be sure to walk in my statutes. I am the Lord your God.

Leviticus 18:4 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 18:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τὰ κρίματά μου ποιήσετε καὶ τὰ προστάγματά μου φυλάξεσθε πορεύεσθαι ἐν αὐτοῗς ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν τὰ κρίματά μου ποιήσετε καὶ τὰ προστάγματά μου φυλάξεσθε καὶ πορεύεσθε ἐν αὐτοῖς· ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὑμῶν

Leviticus 18:4 (NETS)

Leviticus 18:4 (English Elpenor)
My judgments you shall perform, and my ordinances you shall keep, to walk by them; I am the Lord your God. Ye shall observe my judgments, and shall keep my ordinances, and shall walk in them: I [am] the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 30:1 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 30:1 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 30:1 (NET)
And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt bethink thyself among all the nations, whither HaShem thy G-d hath driven thee, And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, “When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses I have set before you, you will reflect upon them in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you.

Deuteronomy 30:1 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 30:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔσται ὡς ἂν ἔλθωσιν ἐπὶ σὲ πάντα τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα ἡ εὐλογία καὶ ἡ κατάρα ἣν ἔδωκα πρὸ προσώπου σου καὶ δέξῃ εἰς τὴν καρδίαν σου ἐν πᾶσιν τοῗς ἔθνεσιν οὗ ἐάν σε διασκορπίσῃ κύριος ἐκεῗ ΚΑΙ ἔσται ὡς ἂν ἔλθωσιν ἐπὶ σὲ πάντα τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα, ἡ εὐλογία καὶ ἡ κατάρα, ἣν ἔδωκα πρὸ προσώπου σου, καὶ δέξῃ εἰς τὴν καρδίαν σου ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, οὗ ἐὰν διασκορπίσῃ σε Κύριος ἐκεῖ,

Deuteronomy 30:1 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 30:1 (English Elpenor)
And it shall be, when all these words come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I gave before you, that you shall receive them into your heart among all the nations wherever the Lord may scatter you there, And it shall come to pass when all these things shall have come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thy face, and thou shalt call [them] to mind among all the nations, wherein the Lord shall have scattered thee,

Deuteronomy 30:2 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 30:2 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 30:2 (NET)
and shalt return unto HaShem thy G-d, and hearken to His voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul; And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; Then if you and your descendants turn to the Lord your God and obey him with your whole mind and being just as I am commanding you today,

Deuteronomy 30:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 30:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐπιστραφήσῃ ἐπὶ κύριον τὸν θεόν σου καὶ ὑπακούσῃ τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ κατὰ πάντα ὅσα ἐγὼ ἐντέλλομαί σοι σήμερον ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐπιστραφήσῃ ἐπὶ Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου καὶ εἰσακούσῃ τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ κατὰ πάντα, ὅσα ἐγὼ ἐντέλλομαί σοι σήμερον, ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου

Deuteronomy 30:2 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 30:2 (English Elpenor)
and you shall return to the Lord your God and obey his voice regarding everything I command you today, with the whole of your heart and with the whole of your soul. and shalt return to the Lord thy God, and shalt hearken to his voice, according to all things which I charge thee this day, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul;

Deuteronomy 30:3 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 30:3 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 30:3 (NET)
that then HaShem thy G-d will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the peoples, whither HaShem thy G-d hath scattered thee. That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. the Lord your God will reverse your captivity and have pity on you.  He will turn and gather you from all the peoples among whom he has scattered you.

Deuteronomy 30:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 30:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἰάσεται κύριος τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου καὶ ἐλεήσει σε καὶ πάλιν συνάξει σε ἐκ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰς οὓς διεσκόρπισέν σε κύριος ἐκεῗ καὶ ἰάσεται Κύριος τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου καὶ ἐλεήσει σε καὶ πάλιν συνάξει σε ἐκ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν, εἰς οὓς διεσκόρπισέ σε Κύριος ἐκεῖ

Deuteronomy 30:3 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 30:3 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord will heal your sins and have mercy on you and gather you again from all the nations among whom the Lord has scattered you there. then the Lord shall heal thine iniquities, and shall pity thee, and shall again gather thee out from all the nations, among which the Lord has scattered thee.

Deuteronomy 30:9 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 30:9 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 30:9 (NET)
And HaShem thy G-d will make thee over-abundant in all the work of thy hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good; for HaShem will again rejoice over thee for good, as He rejoiced over thy fathers; And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: The Lord your God will make the labor of your hands abundantly successful and multiply your children, the offspring of your cattle, and the produce of your soil.  For the Lord will once more rejoice over you to make you prosperous just as he rejoiced over your ancestors,

Deuteronomy 30:9 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 30:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ πολυωρήσει σε κύριος ὁ θεός σου ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ τῶν χειρῶν σου ἐν τοῗς ἐκγόνοις τῆς κοιλίας σου καὶ ἐν τοῗς γενήμασιν τῆς γῆς σου καὶ ἐν τοῗς ἐκγόνοις τῶν κτηνῶν σου ὅτι ἐπιστρέψει κύριος ὁ θεός σου εὐφρανθῆναι ἐπὶ σὲ εἰς ἀγαθά καθότι ηὐφράνθη ἐπὶ τοῗς πατράσιν σου καὶ πολυωρήσει σε Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ τῶν χειρῶν σου, ἐν τοῖς ἐκγόνοις τῆς κοιλίας σου καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐκγόνοις τῶν κτηνῶν σου καὶ ἐν τοῖς γενήμασι τῆς γῆς σου· ὅτι ἐπιστρέψει Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου εὐφρανθῆναι ἐπὶ σοὶ εἰς ἀγαθά, καθότι εὐφράνθη ἐπὶ τοῖς πατράσι σου,

Deuteronomy 30:9 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 30:9 (English Elpenor)
and the Lord your God will treat you with care in every work of your hands, in the progeny of your belly and in the produce of your land and in the progeny of your livestock.  For the Lord your God will turn to be joyful toward you for good things, just as he was joyful over your fathers, And the Lord thy God shall bless thee in every work of thine hands, in the offspring of thy body, and in the offspring of thy cattle, and in the fruits of thy land, because the Lord thy God will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:

Deuteronomy 30:10 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 30:10 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 30:10 (NET)
if thou shalt hearken to the voice of HaShem thy G-d, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law; if thou turn unto HaShem thy G-d with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this scroll of the law.  But you must turn to him with your whole mind and being.

Deuteronomy 30:10 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 30:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐὰν εἰσακούσῃς τῆς φωνῆς κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου φυλάσσεσθαι καὶ ποιεῗν πάσας τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ δικαιώματα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς κρίσεις αὐτοῦ τὰς γεγραμμένας ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τοῦ νόμου τούτου ἐὰν ἐπιστραφῇς ἐπὶ κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου ἐὰν εἰσακούσῃς τῆς φωνῆς Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου, φυλάσσεσθαι τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ δικαιώματα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς κρίσεις αὐτοῦ τὰς γεγραμμένας ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τοῦ νόμου τούτου, ἐὰν ἐπιστραφῇς ἐπὶ Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου

Deuteronomy 30:10 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 30:10 (English Elpenor)
if you listen to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments that are written in the book of this law, if you turn to the Lord your God with the whole of your heart and with the whole of your soul, if thou wilt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments, and his ordinances, and his judgments written in the book of this law, if thou turn to the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

Deuteronomy 9:4 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 9:4 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 9:4 (NET)
Speak not thou in thy heart, after that HaShem thy G-d hath thrust them out from before thee, saying: ‘For my righteousness HaShem hath brought me in to possess this land’; whereas for the wickedness of these nations HaShem doth drive them out from before thee. Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee. Do not think to yourself after the Lord your God has driven them out before you, “Because of my own righteousness the Lord has brought me here to possess this land.”  It is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out ahead of you.

Deuteronomy 9:4 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 9:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
μὴ εἴπῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ἐν τῷ ἐξαναλῶσαι κύριον τὸν θεόν σου τὰ ἔθνη ταῦτα ἀπὸ προσώπου σου λέγων διὰ τὰς δικαιοσύνας μου εἰσήγαγέν με κύριος κληρονομῆσαι τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθὴν ταύτην ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν ἀσέβειαν τῶν ἐθνῶν τούτων κύριος ἐξολεθρεύσει αὐτοὺς πρὸ προσώπου σου μὴ εἴπῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ἐν τῷ ἐξαναλῶσαι Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου τὰ ἔθνη ταῦτα πρὸ προσώπου σου λέγων· διὰ τὰς δικαιοσύνας μου εἰσήγαγέ με Κύριος κληρονομῆσαι τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθὴν ταύτην

Deuteronomy 9:4 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 9:4 (English Elpenor)
When the Lord your God eliminates these nations before you, do not say in your heart, saying: “It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to inherit this good land,” but because of the impiety of these nations the Lord will destroy them utterly before you. Speak not in thine heart, when the Lord thy God has destroyed these nations before thy face, saying, For my righteousness the Lord brought me in to inherit this good land.

Deuteronomy 30:12 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 30:12 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 30:12 (NET)
It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say: ‘Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it?’ It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it? It is not in heaven, as though one must say, ‘Who will go up to heaven to get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’

Deuteronomy 30:12 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 30:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐκ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω ἐστὶν λέγων τίς ἀναβήσεται ἡμῗν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ λήμψεται αὐτὴν ἡμῗν καὶ ἀκούσαντες αὐτὴν ποιήσομεν οὐκ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω ἐστὶ λέγων· τίς ἀναβήσεται ἡμῖν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ λήψεται ἡμῖν αὐτήν, καὶ ἀκούσαντες αὐτὴν ποιήσομεν

Deuteronomy 30:12 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 30:12 (English Elpenor)
It is not up in the sky, saying, “Who will go up to the sky and get it for us?  And when we hear it, we shall do it.” It is not in heaven above, [as if there were one] saying, Who shall go up for us into heaven, and shall take it for us, and we will hear and do it?

Deuteronomy 30:13 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 30:13 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 30:13 (NET)
Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say: ‘Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? And it is not across the sea, as though one must say, ‘Who will cross over to the other side of the sea and get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’

Deuteronomy 30:13 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 30:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐδὲ πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης ἐστὶν λέγων τίς διαπεράσει ἡμῗν εἰς τὸ πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ λήμψεται ἡμῗν αὐτήν καὶ ἀκουστὴν ἡμῗν ποιήσει αὐτήν καὶ ποιήσομεν οὐδὲ πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης ἐστὶ λέγων· τίς διαπεράσει ἡμῖν εἰς τὸ πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ λήψεται ἡμῖν αὐτήν, καὶ ἀκουστὴν ἡμῖν ποιήσῃ αὐτήν, καὶ ποιήσομεν

Deuteronomy 30:13 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 30:13 (English Elpenor)
Neither is it beyond the sea, saying, “Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us and get it for us?  And when we hear it, we shall do it.” Neither is it beyond the sea, saying, Who will go over for us to the other side of the sea, and take it for us, and make it audible to us, and we will do it?

Deuteronomy 30:14 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 30:14 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 30:14 (NET)
But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. For the thing is very near you—it is in your mouth and in your mind so that you can do it.

Deuteronomy 30:14 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 30:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἔστιν σου ἐγγὺς τὸ ῥῆμα σφόδρα ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου καὶ ἐν ταῗς χερσίν σου αὐτὸ ποιεῗν ἐγγύς σού ἐστι τὸ ρῆμα σφόδρα ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου καὶ ἐν ταῖς χερσί σου ποιεῖν αὐτό

Deuteronomy 30:14 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 30:14 (English Elpenor)
The word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart and in your hands, to do it. The word is very near thee, in thy mouth, and in thine heart, and in thine hands to do it.

Titus 3:8 (NET)

Titus 3:8 (KJV)
This saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on such truths, so that those who have placed their faith in God may be intent on engaging in good works.  These things are good and beneficial for all people. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.  These things are good and profitable unto men.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος· καὶ περὶ τούτων βούλομαι σε διαβεβαιοῦσθαι, ἵνα φροντίζωσιν καλῶν ἔργων προΐστασθαι οἱ πεπιστευκότες θεῷ· ταῦτα ἐστιν καλὰ καὶ ὠφέλιμα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις πιστος ο λογος και περι τουτων βουλομαι σε διαβεβαιουσθαι ινα φροντιζωσιν καλων εργων προιστασθαι οι πεπιστευκοτες τω θεω ταυτα εστιν τα καλα και ωφελιμα τοις ανθρωποις πιστος ο λογος και περι τουτων βουλομαι σε διαβεβαιουσθαι ινα φροντιζωσιν καλων εργων προιστασθαι οι πεπιστευκοτες θεω ταυτα εστιν τα καλα και ωφελιμα τοις ανθρωποις

Romans 3:2 (NET)

Romans 3:2 (KJV)
Actually, there are many advantages.  First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
πολὺ κατὰ πάντα τρόπον. πρῶτον μὲν ὅτι ἐπιστεύθησαν τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ. πολυ κατα παντα τροπον πρωτον μεν γαρ οτι επιστευθησαν τα λογια του θεου πολυ κατα παντα τροπον πρωτον μεν γαρ οτι επιστευθησαν τα λογια του θεου

Romans 10:5 (NET)

Romans 10:5 (KJV)
For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.” For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Μωϋσῆς γὰρ γράφει  τὴν δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐκ [τοῦ] νόμου [ὅτι] ὁ ποιήσας |αὐτὰ| ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν |αὐτοῖς| μωσης γαρ γραφει την δικαιοσυνην την εκ του νομου οτι ο ποιησας αυτα ανθρωπος ζησεται εν αυτοις μωυσης γαρ γραφει την δικαιοσυνην την εκ του νομου οτι ο ποιησας αυτα ανθρωπος ζησεται εν αυτοις

1 Romans 3:1a (NET)

2 John 10:10b (NET)

3 Romans 3:1b (NET)

4 1 Timothy 4:8 (NET)

5 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 (NET)

6 The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article τω preceding God.  The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

7 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τα preceding good.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

8 Titus 3:8 (NET)

9 The NA28, Stephanus Textus Receptus (KJV: because) and Byzantine Majority Text had μὲν γὰρ here, where the NET parallel Greek text had simply μὲν.

10 Romans 3:2 (NET)

11 Romans 9:4, 5 (NET)

12 Romans 3:3 (NET)

14 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NET)

15 Romans 10:17a (NKJV)

16 Romans 10:17 (NET)

17 Romans 10:17 (NKJV)

19 Romans 10:5 (NET)

20 Leviticus 18:3-5 (NET)

21 Romans 10:6 (NET)

22 Romans 10:6-8 (NET)

23 Romans 10:17 (NKJV) Table

24 Romans 3:3 (NET)

25 Romans 3:4 (NET) Table

27 Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV) Table

28 Deuteronomy 9:4b (Tanakh)

Jedidiah, Part 3

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Apparently God sent Nathan to forgive David while David still believed he had gotten away with his cover up.  God was certainly overreaching the limits of our contract.  More to the point, probably, He was shattering and prying away the pieces of the hard shell my contract had become, a shell that was preventing me from knowing Him.  After I saw God’s overreaching with David, I saw it with Jesus and Peter, too (Luke 22:31-34 NET).

Simon, Simon, pay attention!  Satan has demanded to have you all, to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.  When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers [Table].  But Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!”  And Jesus replied, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know me” [Table].

Was I going completely nuts?  Or had Jesus covered for Peter by transmuting foreknowledge of Peter’s three strike denial into a prophetic utterance as sure and certain as any prophecy in Scripture?

Cleanse me of my sin! David’s song continued.  For I am aware of my rebellious acts; I am forever conscious of my sin.  Against you – you above all – I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.  So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me.1

Joshua said to Achan, My son, honor the Lord God of Israel and give him praise!  Tell me what you did; don’t hide anything from me!2  David amplified how confession of sin honors and praises God:  The repentant sinner agrees with God and proclaims in effect, you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me.  Paul quoted this same verse in his letter to the Romans, so that you will be justified (δικαιωθῇς, a form of δικαιόω in your words and will prevail when you are judged (κρίνεσθαι, a form of κρίνω).3 Here again, Paul quoted from the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Old Testament completed about 200 years before the birth of Jesus, but Bible translators have preferred the Hebrew text since about the fifth century.  Below is a comparison of the text from Isaiah 51:4b in the Septuagint and the Greek text of Romans 3:4b used for the NET translation.

Blue Letter Bible (Septuagint)

NET Bible (Greek parallel text)
ὅπως ἂν δικαιωθῇς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σου καὶ νικήσῃς ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαί σε

Isaiah 51:4b

 οπως αν δικαιωθης εν τοις λογοις σου και νικησεις εν τω κρινεσθαι σε

Romans 3:4b

I found a website by Bill Braun4 that is very helpful for these quotations from the Septuagint (except Acts).  He actually knows Greek, and wrote of these verses: “There is only one difference between the Greek texts.  This involves a change in the form of the verb νικάω.  The NT presents the verb in the future active indicative (νικήσεις), whereas the LXX uses the aorist active subjunctive form (νικήσῃς). This difference does not significantly effect the meaning of the passage.”

Though I haven’t read everything on his site yet, I get the impression that Mr. Braun is a peacemaker.  He sees the differences between the Hebrew and Greek texts as mostly insubstantial.  I am not so holy.  I see that at a specific point in time before Jesus was born the Hebrew was translated into Greek a certain way.  Then after Jesus was rejected as Messiah that translation can no longer be teased out of the Hebrew.  Am I being anti-Semitic or blaming the Jews?  On the contrary, I admire their faith.  I’ve practically admitted that I would do the same thing.  But this is how faith works.

One’s faith obviously effects one’s scholarship.  It chooses what one sees, why one pursues it, and how one interprets it.  The point isn’t will my faith make a fool of me.  Of course it will.  Eventually faith in anything or anyone will either make me foolish, or make me appear foolish to others.  That really isn’t the question.  The question is, Is Jesus worthy of my faith whether I am, or appear to be, foolish or not?  The keepers of the Hebrew language of the Old Testament have bet the farm on their faith that Jesus is not their Messiah.  I am betting that Jesus is Yahweh become human flesh.

To get back to David’s song, I’ve already mentioned what sense might be made of, So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me, as translated from Hebrew currently.  What possible sense could so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged have made two centuries before Jesus was born?  Who judges God?  Well, every one of us judges God, every moment of everyday.  Granted, those of us with a philosophical bent of mind do it consciously more often than others.

Consider how cruelly Jephthah judged God when he sacrificed his daughter to keep a reckless vow.  How harshly might he judge God for forgiving David for adultery and murder if David did not confess, Against you – you above all – I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight, the very thing Jephthah refused to acknowledge about his oath?

Consider how foolishly the men of Ezra’s day judged the God who hates divorce, when they divorced their foreign wives and sent their children away to earn his favor.  How harshly might they judge God for forgiving David for adultery and murder if David did not pray, Wash away my wrongdoing!  Cleanse me of my sin!  For I am aware of my rebellious acts; I am forever conscious of my sin, the very thing the men of Ezra’s day did not do as they tried to establish their own righteousness according to the law?5  For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.6 

Look, I was guilty of sin from birth, David’s song continued, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.7  David was not acknowledging that his mother was a uniquely sinful woman who gave birth to especially sin-filled children, but that all parents are sinners who give birth to sinful children like themselves.  [F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans.  But they are justified (δικαιούμενοι, another form of δικαιόω) freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.  God publicly displayed him at his death as the mercy seat (ἱλαστήριον) accessible through faith.8

The mercy seat was the top of the ark of the covenant in the holy of holies in the temple in Jerusalem.  In this ark, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews explained, were the golden urn containing the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.  And above the ark were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat (ἱλαστήριον) [Table].9  The high priest entered into the most holy place once a year not without blood that he offer[ed] for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.  The Holy Spirit is making clear that the way into the holy place had not yet appeared as long as the old tabernacle was standing.10

But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come.11  He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, and he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured eternal redemption,12 the writer of Hebrews concluded.

This was to demonstrate his righteousness (δικαιοσύνης, a form of δικαιοσύνη), Paul continued in his letter to the Romans, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed.  This was also to demonstrate13 his righteousness (δικαιοσύνης, a form of δικαιοσύνη) in the present time, so that he would be just (δίκαιον, a form of δίκαιος) and the justifier (δικαιοῦντα, another form of δικαιόω) of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness.14

It is difficult to judge the Lord Jesus too harshly for forgiving David, or anyone else for that matter, since He accepted the death penalty in our place.  But forgiveness as a concept in the Bible doesn’t end here.

 

Addendum: December 16, 2019
A table comparing Psalm 51:4 translated from the Masoretic text and the Septuagint follows:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Psalm 51:4 (Tanakh) Psalm 51:4 (NET) Psalm 50:6 (NETS)

Psalm 50:6 (Elpenor English)
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Against you—you above all—I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.  So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me. Against you alone did I sin, and what is eveil before you I did, so that you may be justified in your words and be victorious when you go to law. Against thee only have I sinned, and done evil before thee: that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Here is the last clause—and be clear when thou judgest —as defined by Morfix.

Psalm 51:4d (51:6d)
Hebrew Tanakh Homographs English Definitions
תִּזְכֶּ֥ה תזכה and be clear זָכָה to win (lottery, prize); to achieve, to get
זִכָּה (law) to acquit; to grant (right, privilege, favor etc.); (accounting) to credit; to grant, to provide
זֻכָּה to be acquitted
בְשָׁפְטֶֽךָ when thou judgest שָׁפַט to judge; to sentence; (sports) to referee

Though Morfix recognized a passive form (“to be acquitted”) for תזכה (Tanakh: and be clear; NET: you are right), neither בְשָׁפְטֶֽךָ (Tanakh: when thou judgest) nor בשפטך (NET: when you condemn me) elicited any passive form.  The Greek κρίνεσθαί is a middle/passive form of κρίνω, but when I consider the definitions in the Koine Greek Lexicon—“to dispute, quarrel, debate; to contest a legal case; to contend with, contest with”—I begin to question whether when thou art judged is the most precise English translation.

Tables comparing Psalm 51:3; 51:4; Joshua 7:19; Ezra 10:3 and Psalm 51:5 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing Psalm 51:3 (50:5); 51:4 (50:6); Joshua 7:19; Ezra (2 Esdras) 10:3 and Psalm 51:5 (50:7) in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.  Following those are tables comparing Hebrews 9:11 and Romans 3:26 in the NET and KJV.

Psalm 51:3 (Tanakh)

 Psalm 51:3 (KJV)

Psalm 51:3 (NET)
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. For I am aware of my rebellious acts; I am forever conscious of my sin.

Psalm 51:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 50:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι τὴν ἀνομίαν μου ἐγὼ γινώσκω καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία μου ἐνώπιόν μού ἐστιν διὰ παντός ὅτι τὴν ἀνομίαν μου ἐγὼ γινώσκω, καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία μου ἐνώπιόν μού ἐστι διαπαντός

Psalm 50:5 (NETS)

Psalm 50:5 (English Elpenor)
because my lawlessness I know and my sin is ever before me. For I am conscious of mine iniquity; and my sin is continually before me.

Psalm 51:4 (Tanakh)

 Psalm 51:4 (KJV)

Psalm 51:4 (NET)
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Against you—you above all—I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.  So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me.

Psalm 51:4 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 50:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
σοὶ μόνῳ ἥμαρτον καὶ τὸ πονηρὸν ἐνώπιόν σου ἐποίησα ὅπως ἂν δικαιωθῇς ἐν τοῗς λόγοις σου καὶ νικήσῃς ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαί σε σοὶ μόνῳ ἥμαρτον καὶ τὸ πονηρὸν ἐνώπιόν σου ἐποίησα, ὅπως ἂν δικαιωθῇς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σου, καὶ νικήσῃς ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαί σε

Psalm 50:6 (NETS)

Psalm 50:6 (English Elpenor)
Against you alone did I sin, and what is eveil before you I did, so that you may be justified in your words and be victorious when you go to law. Against thee only have I sinned, and done evil before thee: that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Joshua 7:19 (Tanakh)

 Joshua 7:19 (KJV)

Joshua 7:19 (NET)
And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, honor the Lord God of Israel and give him praise!  Tell me what you did; don’t hide anything from me.”

Joshua 7:19 (Septuagint BLB)

Joshua 7:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν Ἰησοῦς τῷ Αχαρ δὸς δόξαν σήμερον τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ Ισραηλ καὶ δὸς τὴν ἐξομολόγησιν καὶ ἀνάγγειλόν μοι τί ἐποίησας καὶ μὴ κρύψῃς ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ καὶ εἶπεν ᾿Ιησοῦς τῷ ῎Αχαρ· δὸς δόξαν σήμερον τῷ Κυρίῳ Θεῷ ᾿Ισραὴλ καὶ δὸς τὴν ἐξομολόγησιν καὶ ἀνάγγειλόν μοι τί ἐποίησας καὶ μὴ κρύψῃς ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ

Joshua 7:19 (NETS)

Joshua 7:19 (English Elpenor)
And Iesous said to Achar, “Give glory today to the Lord, God of Israel, and make the confession.  And tell me what you have done, and do not hide it from me.” And Joshua said to Achar, Give glory this day to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession; and tell me what thou hast done, and hide it not from me.

Ezra 10:3 (Tanakh)

 Ezra 10:3 (KJV)

Ezra 10:3 (NET)
Now therefore let us make a covenant with our G-d to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of HaShem, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our G-d; and let it be done according to the law. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Therefore let us enact a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord, and that of those who respect the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law.

Ezra 10:3 (Septuagint BLB)

2 Esdras 10:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ νῦν διαθώμεθα διαθήκην τῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν ἐκβαλεῗν πάσας τὰς γυναῗκας καὶ τὰ γενόμενα ἐξ αὐτῶν ὡς ἂν βούλῃ ἀνάστηθι καὶ φοβέρισον αὐτοὺς ἐν ἐντολαῗς θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ ὡς ὁ νόμος γενηθήτω καὶ νῦν διαθώμεθα διαθήκην τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν ἐκβαλεῖν πάσας τὰς γυναῖκας καὶ τὰ γενόμενα ἐξ αὐτῶν, ὡς ἂν βούλη· ἀνάστηθι, καὶ φοβέρισον αὐτοὺς ἐν ἐντολαῖς Θεοῦ ἡμῶν, καὶ ὡς ὁ νόμος γενηθήτω.

2 Esdras 10:3 (NETS)

2 Esdras 10:3 (English Elpenor)
And now let us make a covenant with our God to cast out all the women and the issue from them, however you want.  Arise, and scare them with the commandments of our God, and let it be done according to the law. Now then let us make a covenant with our God, to put away all the wives, and their offspring, as thou shalt advise: [4a] arise, and alarm them with the commands of our God; and let [it] be done according to the law.

Psalm 51:5 (Tanakh)

 Psalm 51:5 (KJV)

Psalm 51:5 (NET)
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me. Look, I was guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.

Psalm 51:5 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 50:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἐν ἀνομίαις συνελήμφθην καὶ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἐκίσσησέν με ἡ μήτηρ μου ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἐν ἀνομίαις συνελήφθην, καὶ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἐκίσσησέ με ἡ μήτηρ μου

Psalm 50:7 (NETS)

Psalm 50:7 (English Elpenor)
For, look, I was conceived in lawlessness, and in sin did my mother crave for me. For, behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceive me.

Hebrews 9:11 (NET)

Hebrews 9:11 (KJV)
But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Χριστὸς δὲ παραγενόμενος ἀρχιερεὺς τῶν γενομένων ἀγαθῶν διὰ τῆς μείζονος καὶ τελειοτέρας σκηνῆς οὐ χειροποιήτου, τοῦτ᾿ ἔστιν οὐ ταύτης τῆς κτίσεως χριστος δε παραγενομενος αρχιερευς των μελλοντων αγαθων δια της μειζονος και τελειοτερας σκηνης ου χειροποιητου τουτ εστιν ου ταυτης της κτισεως χριστος δε παραγενομενος αρχιερευς των μελλοντων αγαθων δια της μειζονος και τελειοτερας σκηνης ου χειροποιητου τουτ εστιν ου ταυτης της κτισεως

Romans 3:26 (NET)

Romans 3:26 (KJV)
This was also to demonstrate his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness. To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἐν τῇ ἀνοχῇ τοῦ θεοῦ, πρὸς τὴν ἔνδειξιν τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν δίκαιον καὶ δικαιοῦντα τὸν ἐκ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ εν τη ανοχη του θεου προς ενδειξιν της δικαιοσυνης αυτου εν τω νυν καιρω εις το ειναι αυτον δικαιον και δικαιουντα τον εκ πιστεως ιησου εν τη ανοχη του θεου προς ενδειξιν της δικαιοσυνης αυτου εν τω νυν καιρω εις το ειναι αυτον δικαιον και δικαιουντα τον εκ πιστεως ιησου

1 Psalm 51:2b-4 (NET) Table

2 Joshua 7:19 (NET)

3 Romans 3:4 (NET) Table

4 Mr. Braun’s site is no longer accessible online.  This is a little like an author who quoted from a manuscript that is no longer extant.

5 Ezra 10:3 (NET)

6 Romans 10:3 (NET)

7 Psalm 51:5 (NET)

8 Romans 3:23-25a (NET)

9 Hebrews 9:4b, 5a (NET)

10 Hebrews 9:7, 8 (NET)

12 Hebrews 9:11, 12 (NET)

13 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the article τὴν preceding demonstrate (πρὸς τὴν ἔνδειξιν; literally: “to the proof”).  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

14 Romans 3:25b-26 (NET)