Lukas 6:47-48

6:47 “Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice ¹  – I will show you what he is like: 6:48 He is like a man ²  building a house, who dug down deep, ³  and laid the foundation on bedrock. When ⁴  a flood came, the river ⁵  burst against that house but ⁶  could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁷ 

Lukas 8:21

8:21 But he replied ⁸  to them, “My mother and my brothers are those ⁹  who hear the word of God and do it.” ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 1:1-3

Book 1
(Psalms 1-41)

Psalm 1 ¹¹ 

1:1 How blessed ¹²  is the one ¹³  who does not follow ¹⁴  the advice ¹⁵  of the wicked, ¹⁶ 

or stand in the pathway ¹⁷  with sinners,

or sit in the assembly ¹⁸  of scoffers! ¹⁹ 

1:2 Instead ²⁰  he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; ²¹ 

he meditates on ²²  his commands ²³  day and night.

1:3 He is like ²⁴  a tree planted by flowing streams; ²⁵ 

it ²⁶  yields ²⁷  its fruit at the proper time, ²⁸ 

and its leaves never fall off. ²⁹ 

He succeeds in everything he attempts. ³⁰ 

Mazmur 112:1

Psalm 112 ³¹ 

112:1 Praise the Lord!

How blessed is the one ³²  who obeys ³³  the Lord,

who takes great delight in keeping his commands. ³⁴ 

Mazmur 119:1-6

Psalm 119 ³⁵ 

א (Alef)

119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, ³⁶ 

who obey ³⁷  the law of the Lord.

119:2 How blessed are those who observe his rules,

and seek him with all their heart,

119:3 who, moreover, do no wrong,

but follow in his footsteps. ³⁸ 

119:4 You demand that your precepts

be carefully kept. ³⁹ 

119:5 If only I were predisposed ⁴⁰ 

to keep your statutes!

119:6 Then I would not be ashamed,

if ⁴¹  I were focused on ⁴²  all your commands.

Mazmur 128:1

Psalm 128 ⁴³ 

A song of ascents. ⁴⁴ 

128:1 How blessed is every one of the Lord’s loyal followers, ⁴⁵ 

each one who keeps his commands! ⁴⁶ 

Yesaya 48:17-18

48:17 This is what the Lord, your protector, ⁴⁷  says,

the Holy One of Israel: ⁴⁸ 

“I am the Lord your God,

who teaches you how to succeed,

who leads you in the way you should go.

48:18 If only you had obeyed my ⁴⁹  commandments,

prosperity would have flowed to you like a river, ⁵⁰ 

deliverance would have come to you like the waves of the sea. ⁵¹ 

Matius 7:21-25

Judgment of Pretenders

7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ ⁵²  will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 7:22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do ⁵³  many powerful deeds?’ 7:23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’ ⁵⁴ 

Hearing and Doing

7:24 “Everyone ⁵⁵  who hears these words of mine and does them is like ⁵⁶  a wise man ⁵⁷  who built his house on rock. 7:25 The rain fell, the flood ⁵⁸  came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock.

Matius 12:48-50

12:48 To the one who had said this, Jesus ⁵⁹  replied, ⁶⁰  “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” 12:49 And pointing ⁶¹  toward his disciples he said, “Here ⁶²  are my mother and my brothers! 12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is ⁶³  my brother and sister and mother.”

Yohanes 13:17

13:17 If you understand ⁶⁴  these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Yakobus 1:21-25

1:21 So put away all filth and evil excess and humbly ⁶⁵  welcome the message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls. 1:22 But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves. 1:23 For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone ⁶⁶  who gazes at his own face ⁶⁷  in a mirror. 1:24 For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets ⁶⁸  what sort of person he was. 1:25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, ⁶⁹  and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – he ⁷⁰  will be blessed in what he does. ⁷¹ 

Yakobus 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From James, ⁷²  a slave ⁷³  of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. ⁷⁴  Greetings!

Yohanes 3:21-24

3:21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God. ⁷⁵ 

Further Testimony About Jesus by John the Baptist

3:22 After this, ⁷⁶  Jesus and his disciples came into Judean territory, and there he spent time with them and was baptizing. 3:23 John ⁷⁷  was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, ⁷⁸  because water was plentiful there, and people were coming ⁷⁹  to him ⁸⁰  and being baptized. 3:24 (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.) ⁸¹ 

Wahyu 22:14

22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can have access ⁸²  to the tree of life and can enter into the city by the gates.

[6:47]  ¹ tn Grk “and does them.”

[6:48]  ² tn Here and in v. 49 the Greek text reads ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), while the parallel account in Matt 7:24-27 uses ἀνήρ (anhr) in vv. 24 and 26.

[6:48]  ³ tn There are actually two different Greek verbs used here: “who dug (ἔσκαψεν, eskayen) and dug deep (ἐβάθυνεν, ebaqunen).” Jesus is placing emphasis on the effort to which the man went to prepare his foundation.

[6:48]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[6:48]  ⁵ sn The picture here is of a river overflowing its banks and causing flooding and chaos.

[6:48]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the context.

[6:48]  ⁷ tc Most mss, especially later ones (A C D Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï latt), read “because he built [it] on the rock” rather than “because it had been well built” (Ì^75vid א B L W Ξ 33 579 892 1241 2542 pc sa). The reading of the later mss seems to be a harmonization to Matt 7:25, rendering it most likely secondary.

[8:21]  ⁸ tn Grk “answering, he said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “he replied.”

[8:21]  ⁹ tn There is some discussion about the grammar of this verse in Greek. If “these” is the subject, then it reads, “These are my mother and brothers, those who.” If “these” is a nominative absolute, which is slightly more likely, then the verse more literally reads, “So my mother and brothers, they are those who.” The sense in either case is the same.

[8:21]  ¹⁰ sn Hearing and doing the word of God is another important NT theme: Luke 6:47-49; Jas 1:22-25.

[1:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 1. In this wisdom psalm the author advises his audience to reject the lifestyle of the wicked and to be loyal to God. The psalmist contrasts the destiny of the wicked with that of the righteous, emphasizing that the wicked are eventually destroyed while the godly prosper under the Lord’s protective care.

[1:1]  ¹² tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see v. 3; Pss 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[1:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” (Generic “he” is employed in vv. 2-3). Since the godly man described in the psalm is representative of followers of God (note the plural form צַדִּיקִים [tsadiqim, “righteous, godly”] in vv. 5-6), one could translate the collective singular with the plural “those” both here and in vv. 2-3, where singular pronouns and verbal forms are utilized in the Hebrew text (cf. NRSV). However, here the singular form may emphasize that godly individuals are usually outnumbered by the wicked. Retaining the singular allows the translation to retain this emphasis.

[1:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “walk in.” The three perfect verbal forms in v. 1 refer in this context to characteristic behavior. The sequence “walk–stand–sit” envisions a progression from relatively casual association with the wicked to complete identification with them.

[1:1]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew noun translated “advice” most often refers to the “counsel” or “advice” one receives from others. To “walk in the advice of the wicked” means to allow their evil advice to impact and determine one’s behavior.

[1:1]  ¹⁶ tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21).

[1:1]  ¹⁷ tn “Pathway” here refers to the lifestyle of sinners. To “stand in the pathway of/with sinners” means to closely associate with them in their sinful behavior.

[1:1]  ¹⁸ tn Here the Hebrew term מוֹשַׁב (moshav), although often translated “seat” (cf. NEB, NIV), appears to refer to the whole assembly of evildoers. The word also carries the semantic nuance “assembly” in Ps 107:32, where it is in synonymous parallelism with קָהָל (qahal, “assembly”).

[1:1]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew word refers to arrogant individuals (Prov 21:24) who love conflict (Prov 22:10) and vociferously reject wisdom and correction (Prov 1:22; 9:7-8; 13:1; 15:12). To “sit in the assembly” of such people means to completely identify with them in their proud, sinful plans and behavior.

[1:2]  ²⁰ tn Here the Hebrew expression כִּי־אִם (ki-’im, “instead”) introduces a contrast between the sinful behavior depicted in v. 1 and the godly lifestyle described in v. 2.

[1:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “his delight [is] in the law of the Lord.” In light of the following line, which focuses on studying the Lord’s law, one might translate, “he finds pleasure in studying the Lord’s commands.” However, even if one translates the line this way, it is important to recognize that mere study and intellectual awareness are not ultimately what bring divine favor. Study of the law is metonymic here for the correct attitudes and behavior that should result from an awareness of and commitment to God’s moral will; thus “obeying” has been used in the translation rather than “studying.”

[1:2]  ²² tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the characteristic behavior described here and lends support to the hyperbolic adverbial phrase “day and night.” The verb הָגָה (hagag) means “to recite quietly; to meditate” and refers metonymically to intense study and reflection.

[1:2]  ²³ tn Or “his law.”

[1:3]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the same characteristic force as the imperfect in the preceding verse. According to the psalmist, the one who studies and obeys God’s commands typically prospers.

[1:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “channels of water.”

[1:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “which.”

[1:3]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 draw attention to the typical nature of the actions/states they describe.

[1:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “in its season.”

[1:3]  ²⁹ tn Or “fade”; “wither.”

[1:3]  sn The author compares the godly individual to a tree that has a rich water supply (planted by flowing streams), develops a strong root system, and is filled with leaves and fruit. The simile suggests that the godly have a continual source of life which in turn produces stability and uninterrupted prosperity.

[1:3]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and all which he does prospers”; or “and all which he does he causes to prosper.” (The simile of the tree does not extend to this line.) It is not certain if the Hiphil verbal form (יַצְלִיחַ, yatsliakh) is intransitive-exhibitive (“prospers”) or causative (“causes to prosper”) here. If the verb is intransitive, then כֹּל (kol, “all, everything”) is the subject. If the verb is causative, then the godly individual or the Lord himself is the subject and כֹּל is the object. The wording is reminiscent of Josh 1:8, where the Lord tells Joshua: “This law scroll must not leave your lips! You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper (literally, “cause your way to prosper”) and be successful.”

[112:1]  ³¹ sn Psalm 112. This wisdom psalm lists some of the benefits of living a godly life. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[112:1]  ³² tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The individual is representative of a larger group, called the “godly” in vv. 3-4. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in the following verses.

[112:1]  ³³ tn Heb “fears.”

[112:1]  ³⁴ tn Heb “in his commands he delights very much.” The words “in keeping” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Taking delight in the law is metonymic here for obeying God’s moral will. See Ps 1:2.

[119:1]  ³⁵ sn Psalm 119. The psalmist celebrates God’s law and the guidance it provides his people. He expresses his desire to know God’s law thoroughly so that he might experience the blessings that come to those who obey it. This lengthy psalm exhibits an elaborate acrostic pattern. The psalm is divided into twenty-two sections (corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each of which is comprised of eight verses. Each of the verses in the first section (vv. 1-8) begins with the letter alef (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This pattern continues throughout the psalm as each new section highlights a successive letter of the alphabet. Each verse in section two (vv. 9-16) begins with the second letter of the alphabet, each verse in section three (vv. 17-24) with the third letter, etc. This rigid pattern creates a sense of order and completeness and may have facilitated memorization.

[119:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”

[119:1]  ³⁷ tn Heb “walk in.”

[119:3]  ³⁸ tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[119:4]  ³⁹ tn Heb “you, you commanded your precepts, to keep, very much.”

[119:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “if only my ways were established.”

[119:6]  ⁴¹ tn Or “when.”

[119:6]  ⁴² tn Heb “I gaze at.”

[128:1]  ⁴³ sn Psalm 128. The psalmist observes that the godly individual has genuine happiness because the Lord rewards such a person with prosperity and numerous children.

[128:1]  ⁴⁴ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[128:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “every fearer of the Lord.”

[128:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “the one who walks in his ways.”

[48:17]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[48:17]  ⁴⁸ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[48:18]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “paid attention to” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “had listened to.”

[48:18]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “like a river your peace would have been.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom) probably refers here to the peace and prosperity which God promised in return for obedience to the covenant.

[48:18]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) probably refers here to divine deliverance from enemies. See v. 19.

[7:21]  ⁵² sn The double use of the vocative is normally used in situations of high emotion or emphasis. Even an emphatic confession without action means little.

[7:22]  ⁵³ tn Grk “and in your name do.” This phrase was not repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:23]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “workers of lawlessness.”

[7:24]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “Therefore everyone.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

[7:24]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “will be like.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.

[7:24]  ⁵⁷ tn Here and in v. 26 the Greek text reads ἀνήρ (anhr), while the parallel account in Luke 6:47-49 uses ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") in vv. 48 and 49.

[7:25]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “the rivers.”

[12:48]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:48]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “And answering, he said to the one who had said this.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) at the beginning of the clause has not been translated.

[12:49]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “extending his hand.”

[12:49]  ⁶² tn Grk “Behold my mother and my brothers.”

[12:50]  ⁶³ tn The pleonastic pronoun αὐτός (autos, “he”) which precedes this verb has not been translated.

[13:17]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “If you know.”

[1:21]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “with meekness.”

[1:23]  ⁶⁶ tn The word for “man” or “individual” 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.”

[1:23]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “the face of his beginning [or origin].”

[1:24]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “and he has gone out and immediately has forgotten.”

[1:25]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “continues.”

[1:25]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “this one.”

[1:25]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “in his doing.”

[1:1]  ⁷² tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁷³ 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]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.

[3:21]  ⁷⁵ sn John 3:16-21 provides an introduction to the (so-called) “realized” eschatology of the Fourth Gospel: Judgment has come; eternal life may be possessed now, in the present life, as well as in the future. The terminology “realized eschatology” was originally coined by E. Haenchen and used by J. Jeremias in discussion with C. H. Dodd, but is now characteristically used to describe Dodd’s own formulation. See L. Goppelt, Theology of the New Testament, 1:54, note 10, and R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:cxvii-cxviii) for further discussion. Especially important to note is the element of choice portrayed in John’s Gospel. If there is a twofold reaction to Jesus in John’s Gospel, it should be emphasized that that reaction is very much dependent on a person’s choice, a choice that is influenced by his way of life, whether his deeds are wicked or are done in God (John 3:20-21). For John there is virtually no trace of determinism at the surface. Only when one looks beneath the surface does one find statements like “no one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

[3:22]  ⁷⁶ tn This section is related loosely to the preceding by μετὰ ταῦτα (meta tauta). This constitutes an indefinite temporal reference; the intervening time is not specified.

[3:23]  ⁷⁷ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[3:23]  ⁷⁸ tn The precise locations of Αἰνών (Ainwn) and Σαλείμ (Saleim) are unknown. Three possibilities are suggested: (1) In Perea, which is in Transjordan (cf. 1:28). Perea is just across the river from Judea. (2) In the northern Jordan Valley, on the west bank some 8 miles [13 km] south of Scythopolis. But with the Jordan River so close, the reference to abundant water (3:23) seems superfluous. (3) Thus Samaria has been suggested. 4 miles (6.6 km) east of Shechem is a town called Salim, and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Salim lies modern Ainun. In the general vicinity are many springs. Because of the meanings of the names (Αἰνών = “springs” in Aramaic and Σαλείμ = Salem, “peace”) some have attempted to allegorize here that John the Baptist is near salvation. Obviously there is no need for this. It is far more probable that the author has in mind real places, even if their locations cannot be determined with certainty.

[3:23]  ⁷⁹ tn Or “people were continually coming.”

[3:23]  ⁸⁰ tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[3:24]  ⁸¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[22:14]  ⁸² tn Grk “so that there will be to them authority over the tree of life.”