1 Korintus 11:28

11:28 A person should examine himself first, ¹  and in this way ²  let him eat the bread and drink of the cup.

Mazmur 32:3-5

32:3 When I refused to confess my sin, ³ 

my whole body wasted away, ⁴ 

while I groaned in pain all day long.

32:4 For day and night you tormented me; ⁵ 

you tried to destroy me ⁶  in the intense heat ⁷  of summer. ⁸  (Selah)

32:5 Then I confessed my sin;

I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.

I said, “I will confess ⁹  my rebellious acts to the Lord.”

And then you forgave my sins. ¹⁰  (Selah)

Yeremia 31:18-20

31:18 I have indeed ¹¹  heard the people of Israel ¹²  say mournfully,

‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. ¹³ 

You disciplined us and we learned from it. ¹⁴ 

Let us come back to you and we will do so, ¹⁵ 

for you are the Lord our God.

31:19 For after we turned away from you we repented.

After we came to our senses ¹⁶  we beat our breasts in sorrow. ¹⁷ 

We are ashamed and humiliated

because of the disgraceful things we did previously.’ ¹⁸ 

31:20 Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children.

They are the children I take delight in. ¹⁹ 

For even though I must often rebuke them,

I still remember them with fondness.

So I am deeply moved with pity for them ²⁰ 

and will surely have compassion on them.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ²¹ 

Lukas 15:18-20

15:18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned ²²  against heaven ²³  and against ²⁴  you. 15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me ²⁵  like one of your hired workers.”’ 15:20 So ²⁶  he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home ²⁷  his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; ²⁸  he ran and hugged ²⁹  his son ³⁰  and kissed him.

Lukas 15:1

The Parable of the Lost Sheep and Coin

15:1 Now all the tax collectors ³¹  and sinners were coming ³²  to hear him.

Yohanes 1:9

1:9 The true light, who gives light to everyone, ³³  was coming into the world. ³⁴ 

Wahyu 2:5

2:5 Therefore, remember from what high state ³⁵  you have fallen and repent! Do ³⁶  the deeds you did at the first; ³⁷  if not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place – that is, if you do not repent. ³⁸ 

Wahyu 3:2-3

3:2 Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about ³⁹  to die, because I have not found your deeds complete ⁴⁰  in the sight ⁴¹  of my God. 3:3 Therefore, remember what you received and heard, ⁴²  and obey it, ⁴³  and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never ⁴⁴  know at what hour I will come against ⁴⁵  you.

[11:28]  ¹ tn The word “first” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. It has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[11:28]  ² tn Grk “in this manner.”

[32:3]  ³ tn Heb “when I was silent.”

[32:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “my bones became brittle.” The psalmist pictures himself as aging and growing physically weak. Trying to cover up his sin brought severe physical consequences.

[32:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “your hand was heavy upon me.”

[32:4]  ⁶ tc Heb “my [?] was turned.” The meaning of the Hebrew term לְשַׁד (lÿshad) is uncertain. A noun לָשָׁד (lashad, “cake”) is attested in Num 11:8, but it would make no sense to understand that word in this context. It is better to emend the form to לְשֻׁדִּי (lÿshuddiy, “to my destruction”) and understand “your hand” as the subject of the verb “was turned.” In this case the text reads, “[your hand] was turned to my destruction.” In Lam 3:3 the author laments that God’s “hand” was “turned” (הָפַךְ, hafakh) against him in a hostile sense.

[32:4]  sn You tried to destroy me. The psalmist’s statement reflects his perspective. As far as he was concerned, it seemed as if the Lord was trying to kill him.

[32:4]  ⁷ tn The translation assumes that the plural form indicates degree. If one understands the form as a true plural, then one might translate, “in the times of drought.”

[32:4]  ⁸ sn Summer. Perhaps the psalmist suffered during the hot season and perceived the very weather as being an instrument of divine judgment. Another option is that he compares his time of suffering to the uncomfortable and oppressive heat of summer.

[32:5]  ⁹ tn The Hiphil of ידה normally means “give thanks, praise,” but here, as in Prov 28:13, it means “confess.”

[32:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the wrongdoing of my sin.” By joining synonyms for “sin” in this way, the psalmist may be emphasizing the degree of his wrongdoing.

[31:18]  ¹¹ tn The use of “indeed” is intended to reflect the infinitive absolute which precedes the verb for emphasis (see IBHS 585-86 §35.3.1f).

[31:18]  ¹² tn Heb “Ephraim.” See the study note on 31:9. The more familiar term is used, the term “people” added to it, and plural pronouns used throughout the verse to aid in understanding.

[31:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “like an untrained calf.” The metaphor is that of a calf who has never been broken to bear the yoke (cf. Hos 4:16; 10:11).

[31:18]  sn Jer 2:20; 5:5 already referred to Israel’s refusal to bear the yoke of loyalty and obedience to the Lord’s demands. Here Israel expresses that she has learned from the discipline of exile and is ready to bear his yoke.

[31:18]  ¹⁴ tn The verb here is from the same root as the preceding and is probably an example of the “tolerative Niphal,” i.e., “I let myself be disciplined/I responded to it.” See IBHS 389-90 §23.4g and note the translation of some of the examples there, especially Isa 19:22; 65:1.

[31:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Bring me back in order that I may come back.” For the use of the plural pronouns see the marginal note at the beginning of the verse. The verb “bring back” and “come back” are from the same root in two different verbal stems and in the context express the idea of spiritual repentance and restoration of relationship not physical return to the land. (See BDB 999 s.v. שׁוּב Hiph.2.a for the first verb and 997 s.v. Qal.6.c for the second.) For the use of the cohortative to express purpose after the imperative see GKC 320 §108.d or IBHS 575 §34.5.2b.

[31:18]  sn There is a wordplay on several different nuances of the same Hebrew verb in vv. 16-19. The Hebrew verb shub refers both to their turning away from God (v. 19) and to their turning back to him (v. 18). It is also the word that is used for their return to their homeland (vv. 16-17).

[31:19]  ¹⁶ tn For this meaning of the verb see HAL 374 s.v. יָדַע Nif 5 or W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 129. REB translates “Now that I am submissive” relating the verb to a second root meaning “be submissive.” (See HALOT 375 s.v. II יָדַע and J. Barr, Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament, 19-21, for evidence for this verb. Other passages cited with this nuance are Judg 8:16; Prov 10:9; Job 20:20.)

[31:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I struck my thigh.” This was a gesture of grief and anguish (cf. Ezek 21:12 [21:17 HT]). The modern equivalent is “to beat the breast.”

[31:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “because I bear the reproach of my youth.” For the plural referents see the note at the beginning of v. 18.

[31:19]  sn The expression the disgraceful things we did in our earlier history refers to the disgrace that accompanied the sins that Israel did in her earlier years before she learned the painful lesson of submission to the Lord through the discipline of exile. For earlier references to the sins of her youth (i.e., in her earlier years as a nation) see 3:24-25; 22:21 and see also 32:29. At the time that these verses were written, neither northern Israel or Judah had expressed the kind of contrition voiced in vv. 18-19. As one commentator notes, the words here are both prophetic and instructive.

[31:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Is Ephraim a dear son to me or a child of delight?” For the substitution of Israel for Ephraim and the plural pronouns for the singular see the note on v. 18. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.c the question is rhetorical having the force of an impassioned affirmation. See 1 Sam 2:27; Job 41:9 (41:1 HT) for parallel usage.

[31:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “my stomach churns for him.” The parallelism shows that this refers to pity or compassion.

[31:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[15:18]  ²² sn In the confession “I have sinned” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”

[15:18]  ²³ sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.

[15:18]  ²⁴ tn According to BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνωπιον 4.a, “in relation to ἁμαρτάνειν ἐ. τινος sin against someone Lk 15:18, 21 (cf. Jdth 5:17; 1 Km 7:6; 20:1).”

[15:19]  ²⁵ tn Or “make me.” Here is a sign of total humility.

[15:20]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the son’s decision to return home. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[15:20]  ²⁷ tn Grk “a long way off from [home].” The word “home” is implied (L&N 85.16).

[15:20]  ²⁸ tn Or “felt great affection for him,” “felt great pity for him.”

[15:20]  sn The major figure of the parable, the forgiving father, represents God the Father and his compassionate response. God is ready with open arms to welcome the sinner who comes back to him.

[15:20]  ²⁹ tn Grk “he fell on his neck,” an idiom for showing special affection for someone by throwing one’s arms around them. The picture is of the father hanging on the son’s neck in welcome.

[15:20]  ³⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:1]  ³¹ sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.

[15:1]  ³² tn Grk “were drawing near.”

[1:9]  ³³ tn Grk “every man” (but in a generic sense, “every person,” or “every human being”).

[1:9]  ³⁴ tn Or “He was the true light, who gives light to everyone who comes into the world.” The participle ἐρχόμενον (ercomenon) may be either (1) neuter nominative, agreeing with τὸ φῶς (to fw"), or (2) masculine accusative, agreeing with ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon). Option (1) results in a periphrastic imperfect with ἦν (hn), ἦν τὸ φῶς… ἐρχόμενον, referring to the incarnation. Option (2) would have the participle modifying ἄνθρωπον and referring to the true light as enlightening “every man who comes into the world.” Option (2) has some rabbinic parallels: The phrase “all who come into the world” is a fairly common expression for “every man” (cf. Leviticus Rabbah 31.6). But (1) must be preferred here, because: (a) In the next verse the light is in the world; it is logical for v. 9 to speak of its entering the world; (b) in other passages Jesus is described as “coming into the world” (6:14, 9:39, 11:27, 16:28) and in 12:46 Jesus says: ἐγὼ φῶς εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐλήλυθα (egw fw" ei" ton kosmon elhluqa); (c) use of a periphrastic participle with the imperfect tense is typical Johannine style: 1:28, 2:6, 3:23, 10:40, 11:1, 13:23, 18:18 and 25. In every one of these except 13:23 the finite verb is first and separated by one or more intervening words from the participle.

[1:9]  sn In v. 9 the world (κόσμος, kosmos) is mentioned for the first time. This is another important theme word for John. Generally, the world as a Johannine concept does not refer to the totality of creation (the universe), although there are exceptions at 11:9. 17:5, 24, 21:25, but to the world of human beings and human affairs. Even in 1:10 the world created through the Logos is a world capable of knowing (or reprehensibly not knowing) its Creator. Sometimes the world is further qualified as this world (ὁ κόσμος οὗτος, Jo kosmos Joutos) as in 8:23, 9:39, 11:9, 12:25, 31; 13:1, 16:11, 18:36. This is not merely equivalent to the rabbinic phrase “this present age” (ὁ αἰών οὗτος, Jo aiwn Joutos) and contrasted with “the world to come.” For John it is also contrasted to a world other than this one, already existing; this is the lower world, corresponding to which there is a world above (see especially 8:23, 18:36). Jesus appears not only as the Messiah by means of whom an eschatological future is anticipated (as in the synoptic gospels) but also as an envoy from the heavenly world to this world.

[2:5]  ³⁵ tn Grk “from where,” but status is in view rather than physical position. On this term BDAG 838 s.v. πόθεν 1 states, “from what place? from where?…In imagery μνημόνευε πόθεν πέπτωκες remember from what (state) you have fallen Rv 2:5.”

[2:5]  ³⁶ tn Grk “and do” (a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text). For stylistic reasons in English a new sentence was started here in the translation. The repeated mention of repenting at the end of the verse suggests that the intervening material (“do the deeds you did at first”) specifies how the repentance is to be demonstrated.

[2:5]  ³⁷ tn Or “you did formerly.”

[2:5]  ³⁸ tn Although the final clause is somewhat awkward, it is typical of the style of Revelation.

[3:2]  ³⁹ tn The verb ἔμελλον (emellon) is in the imperfect tense.

[3:2]  ⁴⁰ tn The perfect passive participle has been translated as an intensive (resultative) perfect here.

[3:2]  ⁴¹ tn Or “in the judgment.” BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 3 states, “in the opinion/judgment of…As a rule…of θεός or κύριος; so after…πεπληρωμένος Rv 3:2.”

[3:3]  ⁴² tn The expression πῶς εἴληφας καὶ ἤκουσας (pw" eilhfa" kai hkousa") probably refers to the initial instruction in the Christian life they had received and been taught; this included doctrine and ethical teaching.

[3:3]  ⁴³ tn Grk “keep it,” in the sense of obeying what they had initially been taught.

[3:3]  ⁴⁴ tn The negation here is with οὐ μή (ou mh, the strongest possible form of negation in Koine Greek).

[3:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “come on.”