Imamat 18:5

18:5 So you must keep ¹  my statutes and my regulations; anyone who does so will live by keeping them. ²  I am the Lord.

Imamat 18:30

18:30 You must obey my charge to not practice any of the abominable statutes ³  that have been done before you, so that you do not ⁴  defile yourselves by them. I am the Lord your God.’”

Ulangan 4:1-2

The Privileges of the Covenant

4:1 Now, Israel, pay attention to the statutes and ordinances ⁵  I am about to teach you, so that you might live and go on to enter and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, ⁶  is giving you. 4:2 Do not add a thing to what I command you nor subtract from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I am delivering to ⁷  you.

Ulangan 4:40

4:40 Keep his statutes and commandments that I am setting forth ⁸  today so that it may go well with you and your descendants and that you may enjoy longevity in the land that the Lord your God is about to give you as a permanent possession.

Ulangan 12:32

Idolatry and False Prophets

12:32 (13:1) ⁹  You ¹⁰  must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it! ¹¹ 

Mazmur 105:44-45

105:44 He handed the territory of nations over to them,

and they took possession of what other peoples had produced, ¹² 

105:45 so that they might keep his commands

and obey ¹³  his laws.

Praise the Lord!

Lukas 8:15

8:15 But as for the seed that landed on good soil, these are the ones who, after hearing ¹⁴  the word, cling to it ¹⁵  with an honest and good ¹⁶  heart, and bear fruit with steadfast endurance. ¹⁷ 

Lukas 11:28

11:28 But he replied, ¹⁸  “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey ¹⁹  it!”

Yohanes 14:15

Teaching on the Holy Spirit

14:15 “If you love me, you will obey ²⁰  my commandments. ²¹ 

Yohanes 14:21-23

14:21 The person who has my commandments and obeys ²²  them is the one who loves me. ²³  The one ²⁴  who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal ²⁵  myself to him.”

14:22 “Lord,” Judas (not Judas Iscariot) ²⁶  said, ²⁷  “what has happened that you are going to reveal ²⁸  yourself to us and not to the world?” 14:23 Jesus replied, ²⁹  “If anyone loves me, he will obey ³⁰  my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him. ³¹ 

Yohanes 15:14

15:14 You are my friends ³²  if you do what I command you.

[18:5]  ¹ tn Heb “And you shall keep.”

[18:5]  ² tn Heb “which the man shall do them and shall live in them.” The term for “a man, human being; mankind” (אָדָם, ’adam; see the note on Lev 1:2) in this case refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female. The expression וָחַי (vakhay, “and shall live”) looks like the adjective “living” so it is written וְחָיָה (vÿkhayah) in Smr, but the MT form is simply the same verb written as a double ayin verb (see HALOT 309 s.v. חיה qal and GKC 218 §76.i; cf. Lev 25:35).

[18:30]  ³ tn Heb “to not do from the statutes of the detestable acts.”

[18:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “and you will not.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.

[4:1]  ⁵ tn These technical Hebrew terms (חֻקִּים [khuqqim] and מִשְׁפָּטִים [mishpatim]) occur repeatedly throughout the Book of Deuteronomy to describe the covenant stipulations to which Israel had been called to subscribe (see, in this chapter alone, vv. 1, 5, 6, 8). The word חֻקִּים derives from the verb חֹק (khoq, “to inscribe; to carve”) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim) from שָׁפַט (shafat, “to judge”). They are virtually synonymous and are used interchangeably in Deuteronomy.

[4:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 31, 37).

[4:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “commanding.”

[4:40]  ⁸ tn Heb “commanding” (so NRSV).

[12:32]  ⁹ sn Beginning with 12:32, the verse numbers through 13:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 12:32 ET = 13:1 HT, 13:1 ET = 13:2 HT, 13:2 ET = 13:3 HT, etc., through 13:18 ET = 13:19 HT. With 14:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[12:32]  ¹⁰ tn This verse highlights a phenomenon found throughout Deuteronomy, but most especially in chap. 12, namely, the alternation of grammatical singular and plural forms of the pronoun (known as Numeruswechsel in German scholarship). Critical scholarship in general resolves the “problem” by suggesting varying literary traditions – one favorable to the singular pronoun and the other to the plural – which appear in the (obviously rough) redacted text at hand. Even the ancient versions were troubled by the lack of harmony of grammatical number and in this verse, for example, offered a number of alternate readings. The MT reads “Everything I am commanding you (plural) you (plural) must be careful to do; you (singular) must not add to it nor should you (singular) subtract form it.” Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate suggest singular for the first two pronouns but a few Smr mss propose plural for the last two. What both ancient and modern scholars tend to overlook, however, is the covenantal theological tone of the Book of Deuteronomy, one that views Israel as a collective body (singular) made up of many individuals (plural). See M. Weinfeld, Deuteronomy 1–11 (AB), 15-16; J. A. Thompson, Deuteronomy (TOTC), 21-23.

[12:32]  ¹¹ sn Do not add to it or subtract from it. This prohibition makes at least two profound theological points: (1) This work by Moses is of divine origination (i.e., it is inspired) and therefore can tolerate no human alteration; and (2) the work is complete as it stands (i.e., it is canonical).

[105:44]  ¹² tn Heb “and the [product of the] work of peoples they possessed.”

[105:45]  ¹³ tn Heb “guard.”

[8:15]  ¹⁴ tn The aorist participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") has been taken temporally, reflecting action antecedent (prior to) that of the main verb.

[8:15]  ¹⁵ sn There is a tenacity that is a part of spiritual fruitfulness.

[8:15]  ¹⁶ sn In an ancient context, the qualifier good described the ethical person who possessed integrity. Here it is integrity concerning God’s revelation through Jesus.

[8:15]  ¹⁷ sn Given the pressures noted in the previous soils, bearing fruit takes time (steadfast endurance), just as it does for the farmer. See Jas 1:2-4.

[11:28]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “said.”

[11:28]  ¹⁹ sn This is another reference to hearing and doing the word of God, which here describes Jesus’ teaching; see Luke 8:21.

[14:15]  ²⁰ tn Or “will keep.”

[14:15]  ²¹ sn Jesus’ statement If you love me, you will obey my commandments provides the transition between the promises of answered prayer which Jesus makes to his disciples in vv. 13-14 and the promise of the Holy Spirit which is introduced in v. 16. Obedience is the proof of genuine love.

[14:21]  ²² tn Or “keeps.”

[14:21]  ²³ tn Grk “obeys them, that one is the one who loves me.”

[14:21]  ²⁴ tn Grk “And the one.” Here the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated to improve the English style.

[14:21]  ²⁵ tn Or “will disclose.”

[14:22]  ²⁶ tn Grk “(not Iscariot).” The proper noun (Judas) has been repeated for clarity and smoothness in English style.

[14:22]  sn This is a parenthetical comment by the author.

[14:22]  ²⁷ tn Grk “said to him.”

[14:22]  ²⁸ tn Or “disclose.”

[14:22]  sn The disciples still expected at this point that Jesus, as Messiah, was going to reveal his identity as such to the world (cf. 7:4).

[14:23]  ²⁹ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[14:23]  ³⁰ tn Or “will keep.”

[14:23]  ³¹ tn Grk “we will come to him and will make our dwelling place with him.” The context here is individual rather than corporate indwelling, so the masculine singular pronoun has been retained throughout v. 23. It is important to note, however, that the pronoun is used generically here and refers equally to men, women, and children.

[15:14]  ³² sn This verse really explains John 15:10 in another way. Those who keep Jesus’ commandments are called his friends, those friends for whom he lays down his life (v. 13). It is possible to understand this verse as referring to a smaller group within Christianity as a whole, perhaps only the apostles who were present when Jesus spoke these words. Some have supported this by comparing it to the small group of associates and advisers to the Roman Emperor who were called “Friends of the Emperor.” Others would see these words as addressed only to those Christians who as disciples were obedient to Jesus. In either case the result would be to create a sort of “inner circle” of Christians who are more privileged than mere “believers” or average Christians. In context, it seems clear that Jesus’ words must be addressed to all true Christians, not just some narrower category of believers, because Jesus’ sacrificial death, which is his act of love toward his friends (v. 13) applies to all Christians equally (cf. John 13:1).