Psalms 32:1-2

Psalm 32 ¹ 

By David; a well-written song. ² 

32:1 How blessed ³  is the one whose rebellious acts are forgiven, ⁴ 

whose sin is pardoned! ⁵ 

32:2 How blessed is the one ⁶  whose wrongdoing the Lord does not punish, ⁷ 

in whose spirit there is no deceit. ⁸ 

Ecclesiastes 9:7

Life is Brief, so Cherish its Joys

9:7 Go, eat your food ⁹  with joy,

and drink your wine with a happy heart,

because God has already approved your works.

Isaiah 40:1-2

The Lord Returns to Jerusalem

40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”

says your ¹⁰  God.

40:2 “Speak kindly to ¹¹  Jerusalem, ¹²  and tell her

that her time of warfare is over, ¹³ 

that her punishment is completed. ¹⁴ 

For the Lord has made her pay double ¹⁵  for all her sins.”

Isaiah 44:22

44:22 I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud,

the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud. ¹⁶ 

Come back to me, for I protect ¹⁷  you.”

Jeremiah 31:33-34

31:33 “But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel ¹⁸  after I plant them back in the land,” ¹⁹  says the Lord. ²⁰  “I will ²¹  put my law within them ²²  and write it on their hearts and minds. ²³  I will be their God and they will be my people. ²⁴ 

31:34 “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. ²⁵  For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” ²⁶  says the Lord. “For ²⁷  I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

Luke 5:20

5:20 When ²⁸  Jesus ²⁹  saw their ³⁰  faith he said, “Friend, ³¹  your sins are forgiven.” ³² 

Luke 7:47-50

7:47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; ³³  but the one who is forgiven little loves little.” 7:48 Then ³⁴  Jesus ³⁵  said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ³⁶  7:49 But ³⁷  those who were at the table ³⁸  with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 7:50 He ³⁹  said to the woman, “Your faith ⁴⁰  has saved you; ⁴¹  go in peace.”

Acts 13:38-39

13:38 Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through this one ⁴²  forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 13:39 and by this one ⁴³  everyone who believes is justified ⁴⁴  from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify ⁴⁵  you. ⁴⁶ 

Romans 4:6-8

4:6 So even David himself speaks regarding the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

4:7 “Blessed ⁴⁷  are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

4:8 blessed is the one ⁴⁸  against whom the Lord will never count ⁴⁹  sin.” ⁵⁰ 

Romans 5:11

5:11 Not ⁵¹  only this, but we also rejoice ⁵²  in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

Colossians 1:12-14

1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ⁵³  in the saints’ ⁵⁴  inheritance in the light. 1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ⁵⁵  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ⁵⁶  the forgiveness of sins.

[32:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 32. The psalmist recalls the agony he experienced prior to confessing his sins and affirms that true happiness comes when one’s sins are forgiven. He then urges others not to be stubborn, but to turn to God while forgiveness is available, for God extends his mercy to the repentant, while the wicked experience nothing but sorrow.

[32:1]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[32:1]  ³ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15). Here it refers to the relief that one experiences when one’s sins are forgiven.

[32:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “lifted up.”

[32:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “covered over.”

[32:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “man.” The word choice reflects the perspective of the psalmist, who is male. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender and age specific “man” has been translated with the more neutral “one.”

[32:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “blessed [is] the man to whom the Lord does not impute wrongdoing.”

[32:2]  ⁸ sn In whose spirit there is no deceit. The point is not that the individual is sinless and pure. In this context, which focuses on confession and forgiveness of sin, the psalmist refers to one who refuses to deny or hide his sin, but instead honestly confesses it to God.

[9:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “your bread.”

[40:1]  ¹⁰ tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine plural. The identity of the addressee is uncertain: (1) God’s people may be addressed, or (2) the unidentified heralds commanded to comfort Jerusalem.

[40:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is personified as a woman.

[40:2]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[40:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “that she is filled [with] her warfare.” Some understand צָבָא (tsavah, “warfare”) as meaning “hard service” or “compulsory labor” in this context.

[40:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “that her punishment is accepted [as satisfactory].”

[40:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for she has received from the hand of the Lord double.” The principle of the double portion in punishment is also seen in Jer 16:18; 17:18 and Rev 18:6. For examples of the double portion in Israelite law, see Exod 22:4, 7, 9 (double restitution by a thief) and Deut 21:17 (double inheritance portion for the firstborn).

[44:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I blot out like a cloud your rebellious deeds, and like a cloud your sins.” “Rebellious deeds” and “sins” stand by metonymy for the guilt they produce. Both עָב (’av) and עָנָן (’anan) refer to the clouds in the sky. It is tempting for stylistic purposes to translate the second with “fog” or “mist” (cf. NAB, NRSV “cloud…mist”; NIV “cloud…morning mist”; NLT “morning mists…clouds”), but this distinction between the synonyms is unwarranted here. The point of the simile seems to be this: The Lord forgives their sins, causing them to vanish just as clouds disappear from the sky (see Job 7:9; 30:15).

[44:22]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “redeem.” See the note at 41:14.

[31:33]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “with the house of Israel.” All commentators agree that the term here refers to both the whole nation which was divided into the house of Israel and the house of Judah in v. 30.

[31:33]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “after those days.” Commentators are generally agreed that this refers to the return from exile and the repopulation of the land referred to in vv. 27-28 and not to something subsequent to the time mentioned in v. 30. This is the sequencing that is also presupposed in other new covenant passages such as Deut 30:1-6; Ezek 11:17-20; 36:24-28.

[31:33]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:33]  ²¹ tn Heb “‘But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days:’ says the Lord, ‘I will….’” The sentence has been reworded and restructured to avoid the awkwardness of the original style.

[31:33]  ²² tn Heb “in their inward parts.” The Hebrew word here refers to the seat of the thoughts, emotions, and decisions (Jer 9:8 [9:7 HT]). It is essentially synonymous with “heart” in Hebrew psychological terms.

[31:33]  ²³ tn The words “and minds” is not in the text but is supplied in the translation to bring the English psychology more into line with the Hebrew where the “heart” is the center both of knowing/thinking/reflecting and deciding/willing.

[31:33]  ²⁴ sn Compare Jer 24:7; 30:22; 31:1 and see the study note on 30:2.

[31:34]  ²⁵ tn Heb “teach…, saying, ‘Know the Lord.’” The indirect quote has been chosen for stylistic reasons, i.e., to better parallel the following line.

[31:34]  ²⁶ sn This statement should be understood against the background of Jer 8:8-9 where class distinctions were drawn and certain people were considered to have more awareness and responsibility for knowing the law and also Jer 5:1-5 and 9:3-9 where the sinfulness of Israel was seen to be universal across these class distinctions and no trust was to be placed in friends, neighbors, or relatives because all without distinction had cast off God’s yoke (i.e., refused to submit themselves to his authority).

[31:34]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) that introduces this clause refers to more than just the preceding clause (i.e., that all will know the Lord) but to all of vv. 31-34a (See BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.c).

[5:20]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:20]  ²⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:20]  ³⁰ sn The plural pronoun their makes it clear that Jesus was responding to the faith of the entire group, not just the paralyzed man.

[5:20]  ³¹ tn Grk “Man,” but the term used in this way was not derogatory in Jewish culture. Used in address (as here) it means “friend” (see BDAG 82 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 8).

[5:20]  ³² tn Grk “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” Luke stresses the forgiveness of sins (cf. 1:77; 3:3; 24:47). In 5:20 he uses both the perfect ἀφέωνται and the personal pronoun σοι which together combine to heighten the subjective aspect of the experience of forgiveness. The σοι has been omitted in translation in light of normal English style.

[7:47]  ³³ tn Grk “for she loved much.” The connection between this statement and the preceding probably involves an ellipsis, to the effect that the ὅτι clause gives the evidence of forgiveness, not the ground. For similar examples of an “evidentiary” ὅτι, cf. Luke 1:22; 6:21; 13:2. See discussion in D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:703-5. Further evidence that this is the case here is the final statement: “the one who is forgiven little loves little” means that the one who is forgiven little is thus not able to love much. The REB renders this verse: “her great love proves that her many sins have been forgiven; where little has been forgiven, little love is shown.”

[7:48]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:48]  ³⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:48]  ³⁶ sn Jesus showed his authority to forgive sins, something that was quite controversial. See Luke 5:17-26 and the next verse.

[7:49]  ³⁷ tn Grk “And”; here καί (kai) has been translated as an adversative (contrastive).

[7:49]  ³⁸ tn Grk “were reclining at table.”

[7:50]  ³⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[7:50]  ⁴⁰ sn On faith see Luke 5:20; 7:9; 8:25; 12:28; 17:6; 18:8; 22:32.

[7:50]  ⁴¹ sn The questioning did not stop Jesus. He declared authoritatively that the woman was forgiven by God (your faith has saved you). This event is a concrete example of Luke 5:31-32.

[13:38]  ⁴² tn That is, Jesus. This pronoun is in emphatic position in the Greek text. Following this phrase in the Greek text is the pronoun ὑμῖν (Jumin, “to you”), so that the emphasis for the audience is that “through Jesus to you” these promises have come.

[13:39]  ⁴³ sn This one refers here to Jesus.

[13:39]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “is freed.” The translation of δικαιωθῆναι (dikaiwqhnai) and δικαιοῦται (dikaioutai) in Acts 13:38-39 is difficult. BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 3 categorizes δικαιωθῆναι in 13:38 (Greek text) under the meaning “make free/pure” but categorizes δικαιοῦται in Acts 13:39 as “be found in the right, be free of charges” (BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 2.b.β). In the interest of consistency both verbs are rendered as “justified” in this translation.

[13:39]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “could not free.”

[13:39]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation, with “by the law of Moses” becoming the subject of the final clause. The words “from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify you” are part of v. 38 in the Greek text, but due to English style and word order must be placed in v. 39 in the translation.

[4:7]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “Happy.”

[4:8]  ⁴⁸ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[4:8]  ⁴⁹ tn The verb translated “count” here is λογίζομαι (logizomai). It occurs eight times in Rom 4:1-12, including here, each time with the sense of “place on someone’s account.” By itself the word is neutral, but in particular contexts it can take on a positive or negative connotation. The other occurrences of the verb have been translated using a form of the English verb “credit” because they refer to a positive event: the application of righteousness to the individual believer. The use here in v. 8 is negative: the application of sin. A form of the verb “credit” was not used here because of the positive connotations associated with that English word, but it is important to recognize that the same concept is used here as in the other occurrences.

[4:8]  ⁵⁰ sn A quotation from Ps 32:1-2.

[5:11]  ⁵¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:11]  ⁵² tn Or “exult, boast.”

[1:12]  ⁵³ tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.

[1:12]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”

[1:13]  ⁵⁵ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:14]  ⁵⁶ tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.