Psalm 33:6-9
New English Translation
6 By the Lord’s decree[a] the heavens were made,
and by the breath[b] of his mouth all the starry hosts.
7 He piles up the water of the sea;[c]
he puts the oceans[d] in storehouses.
8 Let the whole earth fear[e] the Lord.
Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him.
9 For he spoke, and it[f] came into existence.
He issued the decree,[g] and it stood firm.
Footnotes
- Psalm 33:6 tn Heb “word.”
- Psalm 33:6 tn The word רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit, wind, breath”) is used in the creation account in Gen 1:2 “the Spirit of God was moving.” Here parallel to “decree/word,” it recalls the account of God speaking in order to create (cf. Gen 1:14).
- Psalm 33:7 tn Heb “[he] gathers like a pile the waters of the sea.” Some prefer to emend נֵד (ned, “heap, pile”; cf. NASB) to נֹד (nod, “bottle”; cf. NRSV; NIV “into jars”), but “pile” is used elsewhere to describe water that the Lord confines to one place (Exod 15:8; Josh 3:13, 16; Ps 78:13). This verse appears to refer to Gen 1:9, where God decrees that the watery deep be gathered to one place so that dry land might appear. If so, the participles in this and the following line depict this action with special vividness, as if the reader were present on the occasion. Another option is that the participles picture the confinement of the sea to one place as an ongoing divine activity.
- Psalm 33:7 tn Or “watery depths.” The form תְּהוֹמוֹת (tehomot, “watery depths”) is the plural form of תְּהוֹם (tehom, “great deep”; see Gen 1:2).
- Psalm 33:8 tn In this context “fear” probably means “to demonstrate respect for the Lord’s power and authority by worshiping him and obeying his commandments.”
- Psalm 33:9 tn That is, “all the earth” in the first line of v. 8. The apparent antecedent of the masculine subject of the verbs in v. 9 (note וַיֶּהִי [vayyehiy] and וַיַּעֲמֹד [vayyaʿamod]) is “earth” or “world,” both of which are feminine nouns. However, כָּל (kol, “all”) may be the antecedent, or the apparent lack of agreement may be explained by the collective nature of the nouns involved here (see GKC 463 §145.e).
- Psalm 33:9 tn Heb “he commanded.”
Matthew 19:16-22
New English Translation
The Rich Young Man
16 Now[a] someone came up to him and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to gain eternal life?”[b] 17 He said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” he asked. Jesus replied, “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,[c] and love your neighbor as yourself.”[d] 20 The young man said to him, “I have wholeheartedly obeyed[e] all these laws.[f] What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money[g] to the poor, and you will have treasure[h] in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 But when the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.[i]
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- Matthew 19:16 tn Grk “And behold one came.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
- Matthew 19:16 sn Here the questioner asks how to gain eternal life. In several places Matthew uses “life” or “eternal life” in proximity with “the kingdom of heaven” or merely “the kingdom,” suggesting a close relationship between the two concepts (compare Matt 25:34 with v. 46; Matt 19:16, 17, 29 with vv. 23, 24). Matthew consistently portrays “eternal life” as something a person enters in the world to come, whereas the Gospel of John sees “eternal life” as beginning in the present and continuing into the future (cf. John 5:24).
- Matthew 19:19 sn A quotation from Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20.
- Matthew 19:19 sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.
- Matthew 19:20 tn Grk “kept.” The implication of this verb is that the man has obeyed the commandments without fail, so the adverb “wholeheartedly” has been added to the translation to bring out this nuance.
- Matthew 19:20 tn Grk “these things.” The referent of the pronoun (the laws mentioned by Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.sn While the rich man was probably being sincere when he insisted I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws, he had confined his righteousness to external obedience. The rich man’s response to Jesus’ command—to give away all he had—revealed that internally he loved money more than God.
- Matthew 19:21 tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
- Matthew 19:21 sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: You will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.
- Matthew 19:22 tn Grk “he had many possessions.” This term (κτῆμα, ktēma) is often used for land as a possession.
1 Peter 1:18
New English Translation
18 You know that from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors you were ransomed—not by perishable things like silver or gold,
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Hebrews 2:14-15
New English Translation
14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in[a] their humanity,[b] so that through death he could destroy[c] the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), 15 and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death.
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- Hebrews 2:14 tn Or “partook of” (this is a different word than the one in v. 14a).
- Hebrews 2:14 tn Grk “the same.”
- Hebrews 2:14 tn Or “break the power of,” “reduce to nothing.”
Exodus 9:14
New English Translation
14 For this time I will send all my plagues[a] on your very self[b] and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
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- Exodus 9:14 tn The expression “all my plagues” points to the rest of the plagues and anticipates the proper outcome. Another view is to take the expression to mean the full brunt of the attack on the Egyptian people.
- Exodus 9:14 tn Heb “to your heart.” The expression is unusual, but it may be an allusion to the hard heartedness of Pharaoh—his stubbornness and blindness (B. Jacob, Exodus, 274).
Psalm 50:10
New English Translation
10 For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me,
as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills.[a]
Footnotes
- Psalm 50:10 tn Heb “[the] animals on a thousand hills.” The words “that graze” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The term בְּהֵמוֹה (behemot, “animal”) refers here to cattle (see Ps 104:14).
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