Yeremia 7:26

7:26 But your ancestors ¹  did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate ²  and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”

Yeremia 7:2

7:2 “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s temple and proclaim ³  this message: ‘Listen, all you people of Judah who have passed through these gates to worship the Lord. ⁴  Hear what the Lord has to say.

Titus 3:13

3:13 Make every effort to help ⁵  Zenas the lawyer ⁶  and Apollos on their way; make sure they have what they need. ⁷ 

[7:26]  ¹ tn Or “But your predecessors…”; Heb “But they….” There is a confusing interchange in the pronouns in vv. 25-26 which has led to some leveling in the ancient versions and the modern English versions. What is involved here are four levels of referents, the “you” of the present generation (vv. 21-22a), the ancestors who were delivered from Egypt (i.e., the “they” of vv. 22b-24), the “you” of v. 25 which involves all the Israelites from the Exodus to the time of speaking, and the “they” of v. 26 which cannot be the ancestors of vv. 22-24 (since they cannot be more wicked than themselves) but must be an indefinite entity which is a part of the “you” of v. 25, i.e., the more immediate ancestors of the present generation. If this is kept in mind, there is no need to level the pronouns to “they” and “them” or to “you” and “your” as some of the ancient versions and modern English versions have done.

[7:26]  ² tn Heb “hardened [or made stiff] their neck.”

[7:2]  ³ tn Heb “Proclaim there…” The adverb is unnecessary in English style.

[7:2]  ⁴ sn That is, all those who have passed through the gates of the outer court and are standing in the courtyard of the temple.

[3:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “Eagerly help.”

[3:13]  ⁶ tn Although it is possible the term νομικός (nomikos) indicates an expert in Jewish religious law here, according to L&N 33.338 and 56.37 it is more probable that Zenas was a specialist in civil law.

[3:13]  ⁷ tn Grk “that nothing may be lacking for them.”