1 Raja-raja 18:37

18:37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are the true God ¹  and that you are winning back their allegiance.” ² 

Mazmur 80:3

80:3 O God, restore us!

Smile on us! ³  Then we will be delivered! ⁴ 

Mazmur 80:7

80:7 O God, invincible warrior, ⁵  restore us!

Smile on us! ⁶  Then we will be delivered! ⁷ 

Mazmur 80:19

80:19 O Lord God, invincible warrior, ⁸  restore us!

Smile on us! ⁹  Then we will be delivered! ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 85:4

85:4 Restore us, O God our deliverer!

Do not be displeased with us! ¹¹ 

Yeremia 31:18

31:18 I have indeed ¹²  heard the people of Israel ¹³  say mournfully,

‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. ¹⁴ 

You disciplined us and we learned from it. ¹⁵ 

Let us come back to you and we will do so, ¹⁶ 

for you are the Lord our God.

Yeremia 32:39-40

32:39 I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for ¹⁷  their own good and the good of the children who descend from them. 32:40 I will make a lasting covenant ¹⁸  with them that I will never stop doing good to them. ¹⁹  I will fill their hearts and minds with respect for me so that ²⁰  they will never again turn ²¹  away from me.

Yehezkiel 11:19-20

11:19 I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; ²²  I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies ²³  and I will give them tender hearts, ²⁴  11:20 so that they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. ²⁵ 

Yehezkiel 36:25-27

36:25 I will sprinkle you with pure water ²⁶  and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols. 36:26 I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone ²⁷  from your body and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁸  36:27 I will put my Spirit within you; ²⁹  I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes ³⁰  and carefully observe my regulations. ³¹ 

Yehezkiel 36:37

36:37 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will allow the house of Israel to ask me to do this for them: ³²  I will multiply their people like sheep. ³³ 

Habakuk 3:2

3:2 Lord, I have heard the report of what you did; ³⁴ 

I am awed, ³⁵  Lord, by what you accomplished. ³⁶ 

In our time ³⁷  repeat those deeds; ³⁸ 

in our time reveal them again. ³⁹ 

But when you cause turmoil, remember to show us mercy! ⁴⁰ 

[18:37]  ¹ tn Heb “the God.”

[18:37]  ² tn Heb “that you are turning their heart[s] back.”

[80:3]  ³ tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[80:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.

[80:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “O God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also v. 4 for a similar construction.

[80:7]  ⁶ tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[80:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.

[80:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “O Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also vv. 4, 7, 14 for a similar construction.

[80:19]  ⁹ tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[80:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.

[85:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “break your displeasure with us.” Some prefer to emend הָפֵר (hafer, “break”) to הָסֵר (haser, “turn aside”).

[31:18]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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).

[32:39]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will give to them one heart and one way to [= in order that they may] fear me all the days for good to them.” The phrase “one heart” refers both to unanimity of will and accord (cf. 1 Chr 12:38 [12:39 HT]; 2 Chr 30:12) and to singleness of purpose or intent (cf. Ezek 11:19 and see BDB 525 s.v. ֵלב 4 where reference is made to “inclinations, resolutions, and determinations of the will”). The phrase “one way” refers to one way of life or conduct (cf. BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a where reference is made to moral action and character), a way of life that is further qualified by the goal of showing “fear, reverence, respect” for the Lord. The Hebrew sentence has been broken up to avoid a long complex sentence in English which is contrary to contemporary English style. However, an attempt has been made to preserve all the connections of the original.

[32:39]  sn Other passages also speak about the “single-minded purpose” (Heb “one heart”) and “living in a way that shows respect for me.” Deut 30:6-8 speaks of a circumcised heart that will love him, obey him, and keep his commands. Ezek 11:20-21 speaks of the removal of a stony heart and the giving of a single-minded, “fleshy” heart and a new spirit that will follow his decrees and keep his laws. Ezek 36:26-27 speaks of the removal of a stony heart and the giving of a new, “fleshy” heart and a new spirit and an infusion of God’s own spirit so that they will be able to follow his decrees and keep his laws. Jer 24:7 speaks of the giving of a (new) heart so that they might “know” him. And Jer 31:33 speaks of God writing his law on their hearts. All this shows that there is a new motivation and a new enablement for fulfilling the old stipulations, especially that of whole-hearted devotion to him (cf. Deut 6:4-6).

[32:40]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “an everlasting covenant.” For the rationale for the rendering “agreement” and the nature of the biblical covenants see the study note on 11:2.

[32:40]  sn For other references to the lasting (or everlasting) nature of the new covenant see Isa 55:3; 61:8; Jer 50:5; Ezek 16:60; 37:26. The new covenant appears to be similar to the ancient Near Eastern covenants of grants whereby a great king gave a loyal vassal a grant of land or dynastic dominion over a realm in perpetuity in recognition of past loyalty. The right to such was perpetual as long as the great king exercised dominion, but the actual enjoyment could be forfeited by individual members of the vassal’s dynasty. The best example of such an covenant in the OT is the Davidic covenant where the dynasty was given perpetual right to rule over Israel. Individual kings might be disciplined and their right to enjoy dominion taken away, but the dynasty still maintained the right to rule (see 2 Sam 23:5; Ps 89:26-37 and note especially 1 Kgs 11:23-39). The new covenant appears to be the renewal of God’s promise to Abraham to always be the God of his descendants and for his descendants to be his special people (Gen 17:7) something they appear to have forfeited by their disobedience (see Hos 1:9). However, under the new covenant he promises to never stop doing them good and grants them a new heart, a new spirit, the infusion of his own spirit, and the love and reverence necessary to keep from turning away from him. The new covenant is not based on their past loyalty but on his gracious forgiveness and his gifts.

[32:40]  ¹⁹ tn Or “stop being gracious to them” or “stop blessing them with good”; Heb “turn back from them to do good to them.”

[32:40]  ²⁰ tn Or “I will make them want to fear and respect me so much that”; Heb “I will put the fear of me in their hearts.” However, as has been noted several times, “heart” in Hebrew is more the center of the volition (and intellect) than the center of emotions as it is in English. Both translations are intended to reflect the difference in psychology.

[32:40]  ²¹ tn The words “never again” are not in the text but are implicit from the context and are supplied not only by this translation but by a number of others.

[11:19]  ²² tc The MT reads “you”; many Hebrew mss along with the LXX and other ancient versions read “within them.”

[11:19]  ²³ tn Heb “their flesh.”

[11:19]  ²⁴ tn Heb “heart of flesh.”

[11:20]  ²⁵ sn The expression They will be my people, and I will be their God occurs as a promise to Abraham (Gen 17:8), Moses (Exod 6:7), and the nation (Exod 29:45).

[36:25]  ²⁶ sn The Lord here uses a metaphor from the realm of ritual purification. For the use of water in ritual cleansing, see Exod 30:19-20; Lev 14:51; Num 19:18; Heb 10:22.

[36:26]  ²⁷ sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is stubborn and unresponsive (see 1 Sam 25:37). In Rabbinic literature a “stone” was associated with an evil inclination (b. Sukkah 52a).

[36:26]  ²⁸ sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is responsive and obedient to God.

[36:27]  ²⁹ tn Or “in the midst of you.” The word “you” is plural.

[36:27]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and I will do that which in my statutes you will walk.” The awkward syntax (verb “to do, act” + accusative sign + relative clause + prepositional phrase + second person verb) is unique, though Eccl 3:14 contains a similar construction. In the last line of that verse we read that “God acts so that (relative pronoun) they fear before him.” However, unlike Ezek 36:27, the statement has no accusative sign before the relative pronoun.

[36:27]  ³¹ tn Heb “and my laws you will guard and you will do them.” Jer 31:31-34 is parallel to this passage.

[36:37]  ³² tn The Niphal verb may have a tolerative function here, “Again (for) this I will allow myself to be sought by the house of Israel to act for them.” Or it may be reflexive: “I will reveal myself to the house of Israel by doing this also.”

[36:37]  ³³ sn Heb “I will multiply them like sheep, human(s).”

[3:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “your report,” that is, “the report concerning you.”

[3:2]  ³⁵ tn Heb “I fear.” Some prefer to read, “I saw, Lord, what you accomplished” (cf. NEB).

[3:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “your work.”

[3:2]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in the midst of years.” The meaning of the phrase, which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain (cf. NIV “in our day”; NEB, NASB “in the midst of the years”).

[3:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “revive it” (i.e., “your work”).

[3:2]  ³⁹ tn Heb “make known.” The implied object is “your deeds”; the pronoun “them,” referring to “deeds” in the previous line, was employed in the translation to avoid redundancy. The suffix on the form חַיֵּיהוּ (khayyehu, “revive it”) does double duty in the parallelism.

[3:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “in turmoil remember [to show] compassion.”