Kejadian 20:16

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ¹  to your ‘brother.’ ²  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ³ 

Imamat 19:17

19:17 You must not hate your brother in your heart. You must surely reprove your fellow citizen so that you do not incur sin on account of him. ⁴ 

Mazmur 141:5

141:5 May the godly strike me in love and correct me!

May my head not refuse ⁵  choice oil! ⁶ 

Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds. ⁷ 

Amsal 9:7-8

9:7 Whoever corrects ⁸  a mocker is asking for ⁹  insult; ¹⁰ 

whoever reproves a wicked person receives ¹¹  abuse.

9:8 Do not reprove ¹²  a mocker or ¹³  he will hate you;

reprove a wise person and he will love you.

Amsal 13:18

13:18 The one who neglects ¹⁴  discipline ends up in ¹⁵  poverty and shame,

but the one who accepts reproof is honored. ¹⁶ 

Amsal 15:12

15:12 The scorner does not love ¹⁷  one who corrects him; ¹⁸ 

he will not go to ¹⁹  the wise.

Amsal 19:25

19:25 Flog ²⁰  a scorner, and as a result the simpleton ²¹  will learn prudence; ²² 

correct a discerning person, and as a result he will understand knowledge. ²³ 

Amsal 25:12

25:12 Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold, ²⁴ 

so is a wise reprover to the ear of the one who listens. ²⁵ 

Amsal 29:1

29:1 The one who stiffens his neck ²⁶  after numerous rebukes ²⁷ 

will suddenly be destroyed ²⁸  without remedy. ²⁹ 

Yesaya 29:21

29:21 those who bear false testimony against a person, ³⁰ 

who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate ³¹ 

and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges. ³² 

Matius 18:15

Restoring Christian Relationships

18:15 “If ³³  your brother ³⁴  sins, ³⁵  go and show him his fault ³⁶  when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother.

Lukas 3:19

3:19 But when John rebuked Herod ³⁷  the tetrarch ³⁸  because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, ³⁹  and because of all the evil deeds ⁴⁰  that he had done,

Lukas 3:1

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, ⁴¹  when Pontius Pilate ⁴²  was governor of Judea, and Herod ⁴³  was tetrarch ⁴⁴  of Galilee, and his brother Philip ⁴⁵  was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ⁴⁶  was tetrarch of Abilene,

Titus 1:1-2

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁴⁷  a slave ⁴⁸  of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith ⁴⁹  of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness, 1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. ⁵⁰ 

Titus 1:2

1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. ⁵¹ 

Titus 2:15

2:15 So communicate these things with the sort of exhortation or rebuke ⁵²  that carries full authority. ⁵³  Don’t let anyone look down ⁵⁴  on you.

[20:16]  ¹ sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).

[20:16]  ² sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).

[20:16]  ³ tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).

[19:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “and you will not lift up on him sin.” The meaning of the line is somewhat obscure. It means either (1) that one should rebuke one’s neighbor when he sins lest one also becomes guilty, which is the way it is rendered here (see NIV, NRSV, NEB, JB; see also B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 129-30, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 303, and the discussion on pp. 316-17), or (2) one may rebuke one’s neighbor without incurring sin just as long as he does not hate him in his heart (see the first part of the verse; cf. NASB, NAB).

[141:5]  ⁵ tn The form יָנִי (yaniy) appears to be derived from the verbal root נוּא (nu’). Another option is to emend the form to יְנָא (yÿna’), a Piel from נָאָה (na’ah), and translate “may choice oil not adorn my head” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 271). In this case, choice oil, like delicacies in v. 4, symbolize the pleasures of sin.

[141:5]  ⁶ sn May my head not refuse choice oil. The psalmist compares the constructive criticism of the godly (see the previous line) to having refreshing olive oil poured over one’s head.

[141:5]  ⁷ tc Heb “for still, and my prayer [is] against their evil deeds.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult; the sequence -כִּי־עוֹד וּ (kiy-’od u-, “for still and”) occurs only here. The translation assumes an emendation to כִּי עֵד תְפלָּתִי (“indeed a witness [is] my prayer”). The psalmist’s lament about the evil actions of sinful men (see v. 4) testifies against the wicked in the divine court.

[9:7]  ⁸ tn The active participle יֹסֵר (yoser) describes one who tries to correct by means of instruction and discipline; it is paralleled by the Hiphil participle which refers to someone who rebukes or reproves another. Anyone trying this on these types of people would be inviting trouble.

[9:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “receives for himself.”

[9:7]  ¹⁰ tn The word means “dishonor” or “disgrace.” It is paralleled with מוּמוֹ (mumo), translated “abuse.” The latter term means “blemish,” although some would emend the text to read “reproach.” The MT is figurative but not impossible to interpret: Whoever tries to rebuke a wicked person will receive only insults and perhaps physical attack.

[9:7]  ¹¹ tn The verb “receives” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[9:8]  ¹² tn In view of the expected response for reproof, the text now uses a negated jussive to advise against the attempt. This is paralleled antithetically by the imperative in the second colon. This imperative is in an understood conditional clause: “if you reprove a wise person.”

[9:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “lest he hate you.” The particle פֶּן (pen, “lest”) expresses fear or precaution (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 79, §476). The antonyms “love” and “hate” suggest that the latter means “reject” and the former means “choosing and embracing.”

[13:18]  ¹⁴ tn The verb III פָּרַע (para’) normally means “to let go; to let alone” and here “to neglect; to avoid; to reject” (BDB 828 s.v.).

[13:18]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase “ends up in” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[13:18]  ¹⁶ sn Honor and success are contrasted with poverty and shame; the key to enjoying the one and escaping the other is discipline and correction. W. McKane, Proverbs (OTL), 456, notes that it is a difference between a man of weight (power and wealth, from the idea of “heavy” for “honor”) and the man of straw (lowly esteemed and poor).

[15:12]  ¹⁷ sn This is an understatement, the opposite being intended (a figure called tapeinosis). A scorner rejects any efforts to reform him.

[15:12]  ¹⁸ tn The form הוֹכֵחַ (hokheakh) is a Hiphil infinitive absolute. It could function as the object of the verb (cf. NIV, NRSV) or as a finite verb (cf. KJV, NASB, NLT). The latter has been chosen here because of the prepositional phrase following it, although that is not a conclusive argument.

[15:12]  ¹⁹ tc The MT has אֶל (’el, “to [the wise]”), suggesting seeking the advice of the wise. The LXX, however, has “with the wise,” suggesting אֶת (’et).

[19:25]  ²⁰ tn The Hiphil imperfect תַּכֶּה (takeh) is followed by another imperfect. It could be rendered: “strike a scorner [imperfect of instruction] and a simpleton will become prudent.” But the first of the parallel verbs can also be subordinated to the second as a temporal or conditional clause. Some English versions translate “beat” (NAB “if you beat an arrogant man”), but this could be understood to refer to competition rather than physical punishment. Therefore “flog” has been used in the translation, since it is normally associated with punishment or discipline.

[19:25]  ²¹ sn Different people learn differently. There are three types of people in this proverb: the scorner with a closed mind, the simpleton with an empty mind, and the discerning person with an open mind (D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 135). The simpleton learns by observing a scoffer being punished, even though the punishment will have no effect on the scoffer.

[19:25]  ²² sn The word is related to “shrewdness” (cf. 1:4). The simpleton will learn at least where the traps are and how to avoid them.

[19:25]  ²³ tn The second half begins with הוֹכִיחַ (hokhiakh), the Hiphil infinitive construct. This parallels the imperfect tense beginning the first half; it forms a temporal or conditional clause as well, so that the main verb is “he will understand.”

[19:25]  sn The discerning person will learn from verbal rebukes. The contrast is caught in a wordplay in the Midrash: “For the wise a hint [r’mizo], for the fool a fist [kurmezo]” (Mishle 22:6).

[25:12]  ²⁴ sn This saying is another example of emblematic parallelism; the first half is the simile, and the second half makes the point from it: A wise rebuke that is properly received is of lasting value. The rebuke in the ear of an obedient student is like ornaments of fine jewelry.

[25:12]  ²⁵ tn The “ear of the listener” refers to the obedient disciple, the one who complies with the reproof he hears. Cf. KJV, ASV, NAB “an obedient ear.”

[29:1]  ²⁶ tn The idiom “to harden the neck” (מַקְשֶׁה־עֹרֶף, maqsheh-’oref) is the idea of resisting the rebukes and persisting in obstinacy (e.g., Exod 32:9). The opposite of a “stiff neck” would be the bending back, i.e., submission.

[29:1]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew construction is אִישׁ תּוֹכָחוֹת (’ish tokhakhot, “a man of rebukes”), meaning “a man who has (or receives) many rebukes.” This describes a person who is deserving of punishment and who has been given many warnings. The text says, then, “a man of rebukes hardening himself.”

[29:1]  ²⁸ sn The stubborn person refuses to listen; he will suddenly be destroyed when the calamity strikes (e.g., Prov 6:15; 13:18; 15:10).

[29:1]  ²⁹ tn Or “healing” (NRSV).

[29:21]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the ones who make a man a sinner with a word.” The Hiphil of חָטָא (khata’) here has a delocutive sense: “declare a man sinful/guilty.”

[29:21]  ³¹ sn Legal disputes were resolved at the city gate, where the town elders met. See Amos 5:10.

[29:21]  ³² tn Heb “and deprive by emptiness the innocent.”

[18:15]  ³³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. All the “if” clauses in this paragraph are third class conditions in Greek.

[18:15]  ³⁴ tn The Greek term “brother” can mean “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a) whether male or female. It can also refer to siblings, though here it is used in a broader sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God. Therefore, because of the familial connotations, “brother” has been retained in the translation here in preference to the more generic “fellow believer” (“fellow Christian” would be anachronistic in this context).

[18:15]  ³⁵ tc ‡ The earliest and best witnesses lack “against you” after “if your brother sins.” It is quite possible that the shorter reading in these witnesses (א B, as well as 0281 ˹ 579 pc sa) occurred when scribes either intentionally changed the text (to make it more universal in application) or unintentionally changed the text (owing to the similar sound of the end of the verb ἁμαρτήσῃ [Jamarthsh] and the prepositional phrase εἰς σέ [eis se]). However, if the mss were normally copied by sight rather than by sound, especially in the early centuries of Christianity, such an unintentional change is not as likely for these mss. And since scribes normally added material rather than deleted it for intentional changes, on balance, the shorter reading appears to be original. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[18:15]  ³⁶ tn Grk “go reprove him.”

[3:19]  ³⁷ sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.

[3:19]  ³⁸ sn See the note on tetrarch in 3:1.

[3:19]  ³⁹ tc Several mss (A C K W Ψ 33 565 579 1424 2542 al bo) read τῆς γυναικὸς Φιλίππου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ (th" gunaiko" Filippou tou adelfou autou, “the wife of his brother Philip”), specifying whose wife Herodias was. The addition of “Philip,” however, is an assimilation to Matt 14:3 and is lacking in the better witnesses.

[3:19]  sn This marriage to his brother’s wife was a violation of OT law (Lev 18:16; 20:21). In addition, both Herod Antipas and Herodias had each left previous marriages to enter into this union.

[3:19]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “immoralities.”

[3:1]  ⁴¹ tn Or “Emperor Tiberius” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[3:1]  sn Tiberius Caesar was the Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus, who ruled from a.d. 14-37.

[3:1]  ⁴² sn The rule of Pontius Pilate is also described by Josephus, J. W. 2.9.2-4 (2.169-177) and Ant. 18.3.1 (18.55-59).

[3:1]  ⁴³ sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. He ruled from 4 b.c.-a.d. 39, sharing the rule of his father’s realm with his two brothers. One brother, Archelaus (Matt 2:22) was banished in a.d. 6 and died in a.d. 18; the other brother, Herod Philip (mentioned next) died in a.d. 34.

[3:1]  ⁴⁴ sn A tetrarch was a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, who ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod tetrarch of Galilee is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage.

[3:1]  ⁴⁵ sn Philip refers to Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great and brother of Herod Antipas. Philip ruled as tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis from 4 b.c.-a.d. 34.

[3:1]  ⁴⁶ sn Nothing else is known about Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene.

[1:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁴⁸ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  sn Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.”

[1:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”

[1:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “before eternal ages.”

[1:2]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “before eternal ages.”

[2:15]  ⁵² tn Or “reproof,” “censure.” The Greek word ἐλέγχω (elencw) implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.

[2:15]  ⁵³ tn Grk “speak these things and exhort and rebuke with all authority.”

[2:15]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “let anyone despise you”; or “let anyone disregard you.”