Bilangan 23:19

23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie,

nor a human being, ¹  that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? ² 

Bilangan 23:1

Balaam Blesses Israel

23:1 ³ Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”

1 Samuel 15:29

15:29 The Preeminent One ⁴  of Israel does not go back on his word ⁵  or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind.” ⁶ 

1 Samuel 15:1

Saul Is Rejected as King

15:1 Then Samuel said to Saul, “I was the one the Lord sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord says. ⁷ 

1 Samuel 2:13

2:13 Now the priests would always treat the people in the following way: ⁸  Whenever anyone was making a sacrifice, while the meat was boiling, the priest’s attendant would come with a three-pronged fork ⁹  in his hand.

1 Samuel 2:2

2:2 No one is holy ¹⁰  like the Lord!

There is no one other than you!

There is no rock ¹¹  like our God!

Titus 2:13

2:13 as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing ¹²  of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. ¹³ 

Ibrani 6:17-18

6:17 In the same way ¹⁴  God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, ¹⁵  and so he intervened with an oath, 6:18 so that we who have found refuge in him ¹⁶  may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie.

[23:19]  ¹ tn Heb “son of man.”

[23:19]  ² tn The verb is the Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “to cause to rise; to make stand”). The meaning here is more of the sense of fulfilling the promises made.

[23:1]  ³ sn The first part of Balaam’s activity ends in disaster for Balak – he blesses Israel. The chapter falls into four units: the first prophecy (vv. 1-10), the relocation (vv. 11-17), the second prophecy (vv. 18-24), and a further location (vv. 25-30).

[15:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “splendor,” used here by metonymy as a title for the Lord.

[15:29]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “does not lie.”

[15:29]  ⁶ sn This observation marks the preceding statement (v. 28) as an unconditional, unalterable decree. When God makes such a decree he will not alter it or change his mind. This does not mean that God never deviates from his stated intentions or changes his mind. On the contrary, several passages describe him as changing his mind. In fact, his willingness to do so is one of his fundamental divine attributes (see Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). For a fuller discussion see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Change His Mind?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.

[15:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “to the voice of the words of the Lord” (so KJV).

[2:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “the habit of the priests with the people [was this].”

[2:13]  ⁹ sn The Hebrew word occurs only twice in the OT, here and again in v. 14. Its exact meaning is not entirely clear, although from the context it appears to be a sacrificial tool used for retrieving things from boiling water.

[2:2]  ¹⁰ sn In this context God’s holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.

[2:2]  ¹¹ tn The LXX has “and there is none righteous like our God.” The Hebrew term translated “rock” refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people. Cf. TEV “no protector like our God”; CEV “We’re safer with you than on a high mountain.”

[2:13]  ¹² tn Grk “the blessed hope and glorious appearing.”

[2:13]  ¹³ 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.

[6:17]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “in which.”

[6:17]  ¹⁵ tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”

[6:18]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “have taken refuge”; the basis of that refuge is implied in the preceding verse.