Yesaya 59:20-21

59:20 “A protector ¹  comes to Zion,

to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,” ²  says the Lord.

59:21 “As for me, this is my promise to ³  them,” says the Lord. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,” ⁴  says the Lord.

Yeremia 32:38-41

32:38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. ⁵  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 ⁶  their own good and the good of the children who descend from them. 32:40 I will make a lasting covenant ⁷  with them that I will never stop doing good to them. ⁸  I will fill their hearts and minds with respect for me so that ⁹  they will never again turn ¹⁰  away from me. 32:41 I will take delight in doing good to them. I will faithfully and wholeheartedly plant them ¹¹  firmly in the land.’

Yeremia 33:8-9

33:8 I will purify them from all the sin that they committed against me. I will forgive all their sins which they committed in rebelling against me. ¹²  33:9 All the nations will hear about all the good things which I will do to them. This city will bring me fame, honor, and praise before them for the joy that I bring it. The nations will tremble in awe at all the peace and prosperity that I will provide for it.’ ¹³ 

Yehezkiel 11:19-20

11:19 I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; ¹⁴  I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies ¹⁵  and I will give them tender hearts, ¹⁶  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. ¹⁷ 

Yehezkiel 36:25-29

36:25 I will sprinkle you with pure water ¹⁸  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 ¹⁹  from your body and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁰  36:27 I will put my Spirit within you; ²¹  I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes ²²  and carefully observe my regulations. ²³  36:28 Then you will live in the land I gave to your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁴  36:29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and multiply it; I will not bring a famine on you.

Matius 1:21

1:21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him ²⁵  Jesus, ²⁶  because he will save his people from their sins.”

Efesus 5:26-27

5:26 to sanctify her by cleansing her ²⁷  with the washing of the water by the word, 5:27 so that he ²⁸  may present the church to himself as glorious – not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁹ 

Titus 2:11-14

2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. ³⁰  2:12 It trains us ³¹  to reject godless ways ³²  and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 2:13 as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing ³³  of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. ³⁴  2:14 He ³⁵  gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, ³⁶  who are eager to do good. ³⁷ 

Titus 2:1

Conduct Consistent with Sound Teaching

2:1 But as for you, communicate the behavior that goes with ³⁸  sound teaching.

Yohanes 3:5-8

3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, ³⁹  unless a person is born of water and spirit, ⁴⁰  he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 3:6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, ⁴¹  and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 3:7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all ⁴²  be born from above.’ ⁴³  3:8 The wind ⁴⁴  blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ⁴⁵ 

Yudas 1:24

Final Blessing

1:24 Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, ⁴⁶  and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, ⁴⁷  without blemish ⁴⁸  before his glorious presence, ⁴⁹ 

[59:20]  ¹ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[59:20]  ² tn Heb “and to those who turn from rebellion in Jacob.”

[59:21]  ³ tn Or “my covenant with” (so many English versions); NCV “my agreement with.”

[59:21]  sn The Lord promises the repentant (note “to them”) that they and their offspring will possess his spirit and function as his spokesmen. In this regard they follow in the footsteps of the Lord’s special servant. See 42:1; 49:2; 51:16.

[59:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “from now and on into the future.”

[32:38]  ⁵ sn The covenant formula setting forth the basic relationship is reinstituted along with a new covenant (v. 40). See also 24:7; 30:22; 31:1 and the study note on 30:22.

[32:39]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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.

[32:41]  ¹¹ tn Heb “will plant them in the land with faithfulness with all my heart and with all my soul.” The latter expressions are, of course, anthropomorphisms (see Deut 6:5).

[33:8]  ¹² sn Compare Jer 31:34; Ezek 36:25, 33.

[33:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “And it [the city] will be to me for a name for joy and for praise and for honor before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good things which I will do for them and which will be in awe and tremble for all the good things and all the peace [or prosperity] which I will do for them.” The long complex Hebrew sentence has been broken down to better conform with contemporary English style.

[11:19]  ¹⁴ tc The MT reads “you”; many Hebrew mss along with the LXX and other ancient versions read “within them.”

[11:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “their flesh.”

[11:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “heart of flesh.”

[11:20]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is responsive and obedient to God.

[36:27]  ²¹ tn Or “in the midst of you.” The word “you” is plural.

[36:27]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Heb “and my laws you will guard and you will do them.” Jer 31:31-34 is parallel to this passage.

[36:28]  ²⁴ sn This promise reflects the ancient covenantal ideal (see Exod 6:7).

[1:21]  ²⁵ tn Grk “you will call his name.”

[1:21]  ²⁶ sn The Greek form of the name Ihsous, which was translated into Latin as Jesus, is the same as the Hebrew Yeshua (Joshua), which means “Yahweh saves” (Yahweh is typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT). It was a fairly common name among Jews in 1st century Palestine, as references to a number of people by this name in the LXX and Josephus indicate.

[5:26]  ²⁷ tn The direct object “her” is implied, but not found in the Greek text. It has been supplied in the English translation to clarify the sense of the passage.

[5:27]  ²⁸ tn The use of the pronoun αὐτός (autos) is intensive and focuses attention on Christ as the one who has made the church glorious.

[5:27]  ²⁹ tn Grk “but in order that it may be holy and blameless.”

[2:11]  ³⁰ tn Grk “all men”; but ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpois) is generic here, referring to both men and women.

[2:12]  ³¹ tn Grk “training us” (as a continuation of the previous clause). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 by translating the participle παιδεύουσα (paideuousa) as a finite verb and supplying the pronoun “it” as subject.

[2:12]  ³² tn Grk “ungodliness.”

[2:13]  ³³ tn Grk “the blessed hope and glorious appearing.”

[2:13]  ³⁴ tn The terms “God and Savior” both refer to the same person, Jesus Christ. This is one of the clearest statements in the NT concerning the deity of Christ. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. The only issue is whether terms such as “God” and “Savior” could be considered common nouns as opposed to proper names. Sharp and others who followed (such as T. F. Middleton in his masterful The Doctrine of the Greek Article) demonstrated that a proper name in Greek was one that could not be pluralized. Since both “God” (θεός, qeos) and “savior” (σωτήρ, swthr) were occasionally found in the plural, they did not constitute proper names, and hence, do fit Sharp’s rule. Although there have been 200 years of attempts to dislodge Sharp’s rule, all attempts have been futile. Sharp’s rule stands vindicated after all the dust has settled. For more information on Sharp’s rule see ExSyn 270-78, esp. 276. See also 2 Pet 1:1 and Jude 4.

[2:14]  ³⁵ tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

[2:14]  ³⁶ tn Or “a people who are his very own.”

[2:14]  ³⁷ tn Grk “for good works.”

[2:1]  ³⁸ tn Grk “say what is fitting for sound teaching” (introducing the behavior called for in this chapter.).

[3:5]  ³⁹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “born of water and wind” (the same Greek word, πνεύματος [pneumatos], may be translated either “spirit/Spirit” or “wind”).

[3:5]  sn Jesus’ somewhat enigmatic statement points to the necessity of being born “from above,” because water and wind/spirit/Spirit come from above. Isaiah 44:3-5 and Ezek 37:9-10 are pertinent examples of water and wind as life-giving symbols of the Spirit of God in his work among people. Both occur in contexts that deal with the future restoration of Israel as a nation prior to the establishment of the messianic kingdom. It is therefore particularly appropriate that Jesus should introduce them in a conversation about entering the kingdom of God. Note that the Greek word πνεύματος is anarthrous (has no article) in v. 5. This does not mean that spirit in the verse should be read as a direct reference to the Holy Spirit, but that both water and wind are figures (based on passages in the OT, which Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel should have known) that represent the regenerating work of the Spirit in the lives of men and women.

[3:6]  ⁴¹ sn What is born of the flesh is flesh, i.e., what is born of physical heritage is physical. (It is interesting to compare this terminology with that of the dialogue in John 4, especially 4:23, 24.) For John the “flesh” (σάρξ, sarx) emphasizes merely the weakness and mortality of the creature – a neutral term, not necessarily sinful as in Paul. This is confirmed by the reference in John 1:14 to the Logos becoming “flesh.” The author avoids associating sinfulness with the incarnate Christ.

[3:7]  ⁴² tn “All” has been supplied to indicate the plural pronoun in the Greek text.

[3:7]  ⁴³ tn Or “born again.” The same Greek word with the same double meaning occurs in v. 3.

[3:8]  ⁴⁴ tn The same Greek word, πνεύματος (pneumatos), may be translated “wind” or “spirit.”

[3:8]  ⁴⁵ sn Again, the physical illustrates the spiritual, although the force is heightened by the word-play here on wind-spirit (see the note on wind at the beginning of this verse). By the end of the verse, however, the final usage of πνεύματος (pneumatos) refers to the Holy Spirit.

[1:24]  ⁴⁶ tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “free from falling” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “with rejoicing.” The prepositional clause is placed after “his glorious presence” in Greek, but most likely goes with “cause you to stand.”

[1:24]  ⁴⁸ tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “without blemish” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “in the presence of his glory,” “before his glory.”