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Isaiah 1
New English Translation

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1 Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah reigned over Judah.[a]

Obedience, not Sacrifice

2 Listen, O heavens,
pay attention, O earth![b]
For the Lord speaks:
“I raised children,[c] I brought them up,[d]
but[e] they have rebelled[f] against me!
3 An ox recognizes its owner,
a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food;[g]
but Israel does not recognize me,[h]
my people do not understand.”
4 [i] Beware sinful nation,
the people weighed down by evil deeds.
They are offspring who do wrong,
children[j] who do wicked things.
They have abandoned the Lord,
and rejected the Holy One of Israel.[k]
They are alienated from him.[l]
5 [m] Why do you insist on being battered?
Why do you continue to rebel?[n]
Your head has a massive wound,[o]
your whole heart is sick.
6 From the soles of your feet to your head,
there is no spot that is unharmed.[p]
There are only bruises, cuts,
and open wounds.
They have not been cleansed[q] or bandaged,
nor have they been treated[r] with olive oil.[s]
7 Your land is devastated,
your cities burned with fire.
Right before your eyes your crops
are being destroyed by foreign invaders.[t]
They leave behind devastation and destruction.[u]
8 Daughter Zion[v] is left isolated,
like a hut in a vineyard,
or a shelter in a cucumber field;
she is a besieged city.[w]
9 If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[x] had not left us a few survivors,
we would have quickly been like Sodom,[y]
we would have become like Gomorrah.
10 Listen to the Lord’s message,
you leaders of Sodom![z]
Pay attention to our God’s rebuke,[aa]
people of Gomorrah!
11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?”[ab]
says the Lord.
“I have had my fill[ac] of burnt sacrifices,
of rams and the fat from steers.
The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats
I do not want.[ad]
12 When you enter my presence,
do you actually think I want this—
animals trampling on my courtyards?[ae]
13 Do not bring any more meaningless[af] offerings;
I consider your incense detestable![ag]
You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,
but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations![ah]
14 I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies;
they are a burden
that I am tired of carrying.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I look the other way;[ai]
when you offer your many prayers,
I do not listen,
because your hands are covered with blood.[aj]
16 [ak] Wash! Cleanse yourselves!
Remove your sinful deeds[al]
from my sight.
Stop sinning.
17 Learn to do what is right.
Promote justice.
Give the oppressed reason to celebrate.[am]
Take up the cause of the orphan.
Defend the rights of the widow.[an]
18 [ao] Come, let’s consider your options,”[ap] says the Lord.

“Though your sins have stained you like the color red,
you can become white[aq] like snow;
though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,
you can become[ar] white like wool.[as]
19 If you have a willing attitude and obey,[at]
then you will again eat the good crops of the land.
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be devoured[au] by the sword.”
Know for certain that the Lord has spoken.[av]

Purifying Judgment

21 How tragic that the once-faithful city
has become a prostitute![aw]
She was once a center of[ax] justice;
fairness resided in her—
but now only murderers![ay]
22 Your[az] silver has become scum,[ba]
your beer is diluted with water.[bb]
23 Your officials are rebels,[bc]
they associate with[bd] thieves.
All of them love bribery,
and look for[be] payoffs.[bf]
They do not take up the cause of the orphan,[bg]
or defend the rights of the widow.[bh]
24 Therefore, the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[bi]
the Powerful One of Israel,[bj] says this:
“Ah, I will seek vengeance[bk] against my adversaries,
I will take revenge against my enemies.[bl]
25 I will attack you;[bm]
I will purify your metal with flux.[bn]
I will remove all your slag.[bo]
26 I will reestablish honest judges as in former times,
wise advisers as in earlier days.[bp]
Then you will be called, ‘The Just City,
Faithful Town.’”
27 [bq] Zion will be freed by justice,[br]
and her returnees by righteousness.[bs]
28 All rebellious sinners will be shattered,[bt]
those who abandon the Lord will perish.
29 Indeed, they[bu] will be ashamed of the sacred trees
you[bv] find so desirable;
you will be embarrassed because of the sacred orchards[bw]
where you choose to worship.
30 For you will be like a tree whose leaves wither,
like an orchard[bx] that is unwatered.
31 The powerful will be like[by] a thread of yarn,
their deeds like a spark;
both will burn together,
and no one will put out the fire.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:1 tn Heb “The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”sn Isaiah’s prophetic career probably began in the final year of Uzziah’s reign (ca. 740 b.c., see Isa 6:1) and extended into the later years of Hezekiah’s reign, which ended in 686 b.c.
  2. Isaiah 1:2 sn The personified heavens and earth are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people. Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).
  3. Isaiah 1:2 tn Or “sons” (NAB, NASB).sn “Father” and “son” occur as common terms in ancient Near Eastern treaties and covenants, delineating the suzerain and vassal as participants in the covenant relationship. The prophet uses these terms, the reference to heavens and earth as witnesses, and allusions to deuteronomic covenant curses (1:7-9, 19-20) to set his prophecy firmly against the backdrop of Israel’s covenantal relationship with Yahweh.
  4. Isaiah 1:2 sn The normal word pair for giving birth to and raising children is יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”) and גָּדַל (gadal, “to grow, raise”). The pair גָּדַל and רוּם (rum, “to raise up”) probably occur here to highlight the fact that Yahweh made something important of Israel (cf. R. Mosis, TDOT 2:403).
  5. Isaiah 1:2 sn Against the backdrop of Yahweh’s care for his chosen people, Israel’s rebellion represents abhorrent treachery. The conjunction prefixed to a nonverbal element highlights the sad contrast between Yahweh’s compassionate care for His people and Israel’s thankless rebellion.
  6. Isaiah 1:2 sn To rebel carries the idea of “covenant treachery.” Although an act of פֶּשַׁע (peshaʿ, “rebellion”) often signifies a breach of the law, the legal offense also represents a violation of an existing covenantal relationship (E. Carpenter and M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 3:707).
  7. Isaiah 1:3 tn Heb “and the donkey the feeding trough of its owner.” The verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.
  8. Isaiah 1:3 tn Although both verbs have no object, the parallelism suggests that Israel fails to recognize the Lord as the one who provides for their needs. In both clauses, the placement of “Israel” and “my people” at the head of the clause focuses the reader’s attention on the rebellious nation (C. van der Merwe, J. Naudé, J. Kroeze, A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar, 346-47).
  9. Isaiah 1:4 sn Having summoned the witnesses and announced the Lord’s accusation against Israel, Isaiah mourns the nation’s impending doom. The third person references to the Lord in the second half of the verse suggest that the quotation from the Lord (cf. vv. 2-3) has concluded.
  10. Isaiah 1:4 tn Or “sons” (NASB). The prophet contrasts four terms of privilege—nation, people, offspring, children—with four terms that depict Israel’s sinful condition in Isaiah’s day—sinful, evil, wrong, wicked (see J. A. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah, 43).
  11. Isaiah 1:4 sn Holy One of Israel is one of Isaiah’s favorite divine titles for God. It pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.
  12. Isaiah 1:4 tn Heb “they are estranged backward.” The LXX omits this statement, which presents syntactical problems and seems to be outside the synonymous parallelistic structure of the verse.
  13. Isaiah 1:5 sn In vv. 5-9 Isaiah addresses the battered nation (5-8) and speaks as their representative (9).
  14. Isaiah 1:5 tn Heb “Why are you still beaten? [Why] do you continue rebellion?” The rhetorical questions express the prophet’s disbelief over Israel’s apparent masochism and obsession with sin. The interrogative construction in the first line does double duty in the parallelism. H. Wildberger (Isaiah, 1:18) offers another alternative by translating the two statements with one question: “Why do you still wish to be struck that you persist in revolt?”
  15. Isaiah 1:5 tn Heb “all the head is ill”; NRSV “the whole head is sick”; CEV “Your head is badly bruised.”
  16. Isaiah 1:6 tn Heb “there is not in it health”; NAB “there is no sound spot.”
  17. Isaiah 1:6 tn Heb “pressed out.”
  18. Isaiah 1:6 tn Heb “softened” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “soothed.”
  19. Isaiah 1:6 sn This verse describes wounds like those one would receive in battle. These wounds are comprehensive and without remedy.
  20. Isaiah 1:7 tn Heb “As for your land, before you foreigners are devouring it.”
  21. Isaiah 1:7 tn Heb “and [there is] devastation like an overthrow by foreigners.” The comparative preposition כ (kaf, “like, as”) has here the rhetorical nuance, “in every way like.” The point is that the land has all the earmarks of a destructive foreign invasion because that is what has indeed happened. One could paraphrase, “it is desolate as it can only be when foreigners destroy.” On this use of the preposition in general, see GKC 376 §118.x. Many also prefer to emend “foreigners” here to “Sodom,” though there is no external attestation for such a reading in the mss or ancient versions. Such an emendation finds support from the following context (vv. 9-10) and usage of the preceding noun מַהְפֵּכָה (mahpekhah, “overthrow”). In its five other uses, this noun is associated with the destruction of Sodom. If one accepts the emendation, then one might translate, “the devastation resembles the destruction of Sodom.”
  22. Isaiah 1:8 tn Heb “daughter of Zion” (so KJV, NASB, NIV). The genitive is appositional, identifying precisely which daughter is in view. By picturing Zion as a daughter, the prophet emphasizes her helplessness and vulnerability before the enemy.
  23. Isaiah 1:8 tn Heb “like a city besieged.” Unlike the preceding two comparisons, which are purely metaphorical, this third one identifies the reality of Israel’s condition. In this case the comparative preposition, as in v. 7b, has the force, “in every way like,” indicating that all the earmarks of a siege are visible because that is indeed what is taking place. The verb form in MT is Qal passive participle of נָצַר (natsar, “guard”), but since this verb is not often used of a siege (see BDB 666 s.v. I נָצַר), some prefer to repoint the form as a Niphal participle from II צוּר (tsur, “besiege”). However, the latter is not attested elsewhere in the Niphal (see BDB 848 s.v. II צוּר).
  24. Isaiah 1:9 tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts.” The title pictures God as the sovereign king who has at his disposal a multitude of attendants, messengers, and warriors to do his bidding. In some contexts, like this one, the military dimension of his rulership is highlighted. In this case, the title pictures him as one who leads armies into battle against his enemies.
  25. Isaiah 1:9 tc The translation assumes that כִּמְעָט (kimʿat, “quickly,” literally, “like a little”) goes with what follows, contrary to the MT accents, which take it with what precedes. In this case, one could translate the preceding line, “If the Lord who commands armies had not left us a few survivors.” If כִּמְעָט goes with the preceding line (following the MT accents), this expression highlights the idea that there would only be a few survivors (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:20; H. Zobel, TDOT 8:456). Israel would not be almost like Sodom but exactly like Sodom.
  26. Isaiah 1:10 sn Building on the simile of v. 9, the prophet sarcastically addresses the leaders and people of Jerusalem as if they were leaders and residents of ancient Sodom and Gomorrah. The sarcasm is appropriate, for if the judgment is comparable to Sodom’s, that must mean that the sin which prompted the judgment is comparable as well.
  27. Isaiah 1:10 tn Heb “to the instruction of our God.” In this context, which is highly accusatory and threatening, תּוֹרָה (torah, “law, instruction”) does not refer to mere teaching, but to corrective teaching and rebuke.
  28. Isaiah 1:11 tn Heb “Why to me the multitude of your sacrifices?” The sarcastic rhetorical question suggests that their many sacrifices are of no importance to the Lord. This phrase answers the possible objection that an Israelite could raise in response to God’s indictment: “But we are offering the sacrifices you commanded!”sn In this section the Lord refutes a potential objection that his sinful people might offer in their defense. He has charged them with rebellion (vv. 2-3), but they might respond that they have brought him many sacrifices. So he points out that he requires justice in society first and foremost, not empty ritual.
  29. Isaiah 1:11 tn The verb שָׂבַע (savaʿ, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill, to have had fully enough and want no more. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע. In some cases it means to have had more than enough of something and to want to not have any more (cf. Prov 25:17). The word picture builds on the Near Eastern viewpoint of sacrifices as food for the deity. God essentially says, “enough of that already;” what he wants is not more of that.
  30. Isaiah 1:11 sn In the chiastic structure of the verse, the verbs at the beginning and end highlight God’s displeasure, while the heaping up of references to animals, fat, and blood in the middle lines hints at why God wants no more of their sacrifices. They have, as it were, piled the food on his table and he needs no more.
  31. Isaiah 1:12 tn Heb “When you come to appear before me, who requires this from your hand, trampling of my courtyards?” The rhetorical question sarcastically makes the point that God does not require this parade of livestock. The verb “trample” probably refers to the eager worshipers and their sacrificial animals walking around in the temple area.
  32. Isaiah 1:13 tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”
  33. Isaiah 1:13 sn Notice some of the other practices that Yahweh regards as “detestable”: homosexuality (Lev 18:22-30; 20:13), idolatry (Deut 7:25; 13:15), human sacrifice (Deut 12:31), eating ritually unclean animals (Deut 14:3-8), sacrificing defective animals (Deut 17:1), engaging in occult activities (Deut 18:9-14), and practicing ritual prostitution (1 Kgs 14:23).
  34. Isaiah 1:13 tn Heb “sin and assembly” (these two nouns probably represent a hendiadys). The point is that their attempts at worship are unacceptable to God because the people’s everyday actions in the socio-economic realm prove they have no genuine devotion to God (see vv. 16-17).
  35. Isaiah 1:15 tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”
  36. Isaiah 1:15 sn This does not just refer to the blood of sacrificial animals, but also the blood, as it were, of their innocent victims. By depriving the poor and destitute of proper legal recourse and adequate access to the economic system, the oppressors have, for all intents and purposes, “killed” their victims.
  37. Isaiah 1:16 sn Having demonstrated the people’s guilt, the Lord calls them to repentance, which will involve concrete action in the socio-economic realm, not mere emotion.
  38. Isaiah 1:16 sn This phrase refers to Israel’s covenant treachery (cf. Deut 28:10; Jer 4:4; 21:12; 23:2, 22; 25:5; 26:3; 44:22; Hos 9:15; Ps 28:4). In general, the noun מַעַלְלֵיכֶם (maʿalleykhem) can simply be a reference to deeds, whether good or bad. However, Isaiah always uses it with a negative connotation (cf. 3:8, 10).
  39. Isaiah 1:17 tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The translation assumes an emendation of חָמוֹץ (khamots, “oppressor [?]”) to חָמוּץ (khamuts, “oppressed”), a passive participle from II חָמַץ (khamats, “oppress”; HALOT 329 s.v. II חמץ) and takes the verb II אָשַׁר (ʾashar) in the sense of “make happy” (the delocutive Piel, meaning “call/pronounce happy,” is metonymic here, referring to actually effecting happiness). The parallelism favors this interpretation, for the next two lines speak of positive actions on behalf of the destitute. The other option is to retain the MT pointing and translate, “set right the oppressor,” but the nuance “set right” is not clearly attested elsewhere for the verb I אשׁר. This verb does appear as a participle in Isa 3:12 and 9:16 with the meaning “to lead or guide.” If it can mean to “lead” or “rebuke/redirect” in this verse, the prophet could be contrasting this appeal for societal reformation (v. 17c) with a command to reorder their personal lives (v. 17a-b). J. A. Motyer (The Prophecy of Isaiah, 47) suggests that these three statements (v. 17a-c) provide “the contrast between the two ends of imperfect society, the oppressor and the needy, the one inflicting and the other suffering the hurt. Isaiah looks for a transformed society wherever it needs transforming.”
  40. Isaiah 1:17 tn This word refers to a woman who has lost her husband, by death or divorce. The orphan and widow are often mentioned in the OT as epitomizing the helpless and impoverished who have been left without the necessities of life due to the loss of a family provider.
  41. Isaiah 1:18 sn The Lord concludes his case against Israel by offering them the opportunity to be forgiven and by setting before them the alternatives of renewed blessing (as a reward for repentance) and final judgment (as punishment for persistence in sin).
  42. Isaiah 1:18 tn Traditionally, “let us reason together,” but the context suggests a judicial nuance. The Lord is giving the nation its options for the future.
  43. Isaiah 1:18 tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.
  44. Isaiah 1:18 tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.
  45. Isaiah 1:18 tn Heb “though your sins are like red, they will become white like snow; though they are red like scarlet, they will be like wool.” The point is not that the sins will be covered up, though still retained. The metaphorical language must be allowed some flexibility and should not be pressed into a rigid literalistic mold. The people’s sins will be removed and replaced by ethical purity. The sins that are now as obvious as the color red will be washed away and the ones who are sinful will be transformed.
  46. Isaiah 1:19 tn Heb “listen”; KJV “obedient”; NASB “If you consent and obey.”
  47. Isaiah 1:20 sn The wordplay in the Hebrew draws attention to the options. The people can obey, in which case they will “eat” v. 19 (תֹּאכֵלוּ [toʾkhelu], Qal active participle of אָכַל) God’s blessing, or they can disobey, in which case they will be devoured (Heb “eaten,” תְּאֻכְּלוּ, [teʾukkelu], Qal passive/Pual of אָכַל) by God’s judgment.
  48. Isaiah 1:20 tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the option chosen by the people will become reality (it is guaranteed by the divine word).
  49. Isaiah 1:21 tn Heb “How she has become a prostitute, the faithful city!” The exclamatory אֵיכָה (ʾekhah, “how!”) is used several times as the beginning of a lament (see Lam 1:1; 2:1; 4:1-2). Unlike a number of other OT passages that link references to Israel’s harlotry to idolatry, Isaiah here makes the connection with social and moral violations.
  50. Isaiah 1:21 tn Heb “filled with.”
  51. Isaiah 1:21 tn Or “assassins.” This refers to the oppressive rich and/or their henchmen. R. Ortlund (Whoredom, 78) posits that it serves as a synecdoche for all varieties of criminals, the worst being mentioned to imply all lesser ones. Since Isaiah often addressed his strongest rebuke to the rulers and leaders of Israel, he may have in mind the officials who bore the responsibility to uphold justice and righteousness.
  52. Isaiah 1:22 tn The pronoun is feminine singular; personified Jerusalem (see v. 21) is addressed.
  53. Isaiah 1:22 tn Or “dross.” The word refers to the scum or impurites floating on the top of melted metal.
  54. Isaiah 1:22 sn The metaphors of silver becoming impure and beer being watered down picture the moral and ethical degeneration that had occurred in Jerusalem.
  55. Isaiah 1:23 tn Or “stubborn”; CEV “have rejected me.”
  56. Isaiah 1:23 tn Heb “and companions of” (so KJV, NASB); CEV “friends of crooks.”
  57. Isaiah 1:23 tn Heb “pursue”; NIV “chase after gifts.”
  58. Isaiah 1:23 sn Isaiah may have chosen the word for gifts (שַׁלְמוֹנִים, shalmonim; a hapax legomenon here), as a sarcastic pun on what these rulers should have been doing. Instead of attending to peace and wholeness (שָׁלוֹם, shalom), they sought after payoffs (שַׁלְמוֹנִים).
  59. Isaiah 1:23 sn See the note at v. 17.
  60. Isaiah 1:23 sn The rich oppressors referred to in Isaiah and the other eighth-century prophets were not rich capitalists in the modern sense of the word. They were members of the royal military and judicial bureaucracies in Israel and Judah. As these bureaucracies grew, they acquired more and more land and gradually commandeered the economy and legal system. At various administrative levels bribery and graft become commonplace. The common people outside the urban administrative centers were vulnerable to exploitation in such a system, especially those, like widows and orphans, who had lost their family provider through death. Through confiscatory taxation, conscription, excessive interest rates, and other oppressive governmental measures and policies, they were gradually disenfranchised and lost their landed property, and with it, their rights as citizens. The socio-economic equilibrium envisioned in the law of Moses was radically disturbed.
  61. Isaiah 1:24 tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, “the Lord of hosts”].” On the title “the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,” see the note at v. 9.
  62. Isaiah 1:24 tn Or “the Mighty One of Israel.”
  63. Isaiah 1:24 tn Heb “console myself” (i.e., by getting revenge); NRSV “pour out my wrath on.”
  64. Isaiah 1:24 sn The Lord here identifies with the oppressed and comes as their defender and vindicator.
  65. Isaiah 1:25 tn Heb “turn my hand against you.” The second person pronouns in vv. 25-26 are feminine singular. Personified Jerusalem is addressed. The idiom “turn the hand against” has the nuance of “strike with the hand, attack,” in Ps 81:15 HT (81:14 ET); Ezek 38:12; Amos 1:8; Zech 13:7. In Jer 6:9 it is used of gleaning grapes.
  66. Isaiah 1:25 tn Heb “I will purify your dross as [with] flux.” “Flux” refers here to minerals added to the metals in a furnace to prevent oxides from forming. For this interpretation of II בֹּר (bor), see HALOT 153 s.v. II בֹּר and 750 s.v. סִיג.
  67. Isaiah 1:25 sn The metaphor comes from metallurgy; slag is the substance left over after the metallic ore has been refined.
  68. Isaiah 1:26 tn Heb “I will restore your judges as in the beginning, and your counselors as in the beginning.” In this context, where social injustice and legal corruption are denounced (see v. 23), the “judges” are probably government officials responsible for making legal decisions, while the “advisers” are probably officials who helped the king establish policies. Both offices are also mentioned in 3:2.
  69. Isaiah 1:27 sn The third person reference to the Lord in v. 28 indicates that the prophet is again (see vv. 21-24a) speaking. Since v. 27 is connected to v. 28 by a conjunction, it is likely that the prophet’s words begin with v. 27.
  70. Isaiah 1:27 tn Heb “Zion will be ransomed with justice.” Both cola in this verse end with similar terms: justice and righteousness (each preceded by the preposition בְּ [be]). At issue is whether these virtues describe the means or result of the deliverance and whether they delineate God’s justice/righteousness or that of the covenant people. If the righteousness of Israelite returnees is in view, the point seems to be that the reestablishment of Zion as a center of justice (God’s people living in conformity with God’s demand for equity and justice) will deliver the city from its past humiliation and restore it to a place of prominence (see 2:2-4; cf. E. Kissane, Isaiah, 1:19). Most scholars conclude that “righteousness and “justice” refers to God alone (J. Ridderbos, Isaiah [BSC], 50; J. Watts, Isaiah [WBC], 1:25; E. J. Young, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:89; cf. NLT, TEV) or serves as a double reference to both divine and human justice and righteousness (J. A. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah, 51; J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:10; H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:72). If it refers to both sides of the coin, these terms highlight the objective divine work of redemption and the subjective human response of penitence (Motyer, 51).
  71. Isaiah 1:27 tc The Hebrew text has, “her repentant ones/returnees with righteousness.” The form שָׁבֶיהָ (shaveha, “her repentant ones”), as pointed in MT, is a masculine plural Qal participle from שׁוּב (shuv, “return”). Used substantivally, it refers to the “returning (i.e., repentant) ones.” It is possible that the parallel line (with its allusion to being freed by a ransom payment) suggests that the form be repointed to שִׁבְיָהּ (shivyah, “her captivity”), a reading that has support from the LXX. Some slightly emend the form to read וְשָׁבָה (veshavah, “and will return”). According to this view, the verb from the first line applies to the second line as well with the following translation as a result: “she will be released when fairness is restored.” Regardless, it makes best sense in the context to regard this as a reference to repentant Israelites returning to the land of promise. This understanding provides a better contrast with the rebels and sinners in 1:28.
  72. Isaiah 1:28 tn Heb “and [there will be] a shattering of rebels and sinners together.”
  73. Isaiah 1:29 tc The Hebrew text (and the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa) has the third person here, though a few Hebrew mss (and Targums) read the second person, which is certainly more consistent with the following context. The third person form is the more difficult reading and probably original. This disagreement in person has caused some to emend the first verb (third plural) to a second plural form (followed by most English translations). The BHS textual apparatus suggests that the second plural form be read even though there is only sparse textual evidence. LXX, Syriac, and the Vulgate change all the second person verbs in 1:29-31 to third person verbs. It is likely that the change to a second person form represents an attempt at syntactical harmonization (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 10). The abrupt change from third person to second person may have been intentional for rhetorical impact (GKC 462 §144.p). The rapid change from exclamation (they did!) to reproach (you desired!) might be regarded as a rhetorical figure focusing attention on the addressees and their conditions (de Waard, 10; E. König, Stilistik, Rhetorik, Poetik, 239). This use of the third person could also be understood as an impersonal third person: “one will be ashamed” (de Waard, 10). In v. 29 the prophet continues his description of the sinners (v. 28), but then suddenly makes a transition to direct address (switching from third to second person) in the middle of his sentence.
  74. Isaiah 1:29 tn The second person pronouns in vv. 29-30 are masculine plural, indicating that the rebellious sinners (v. 28) are addressed.
  75. Isaiah 1:29 tn Or “gardens” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “groves.”
  76. Isaiah 1:30 tn Or “a garden” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
  77. Isaiah 1:31 tn Heb “will become” (so NASB, NIV).
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Amos 5
New English Translation

Death is Imminent

5 Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you,[a] family[b] of Israel:

2 “The virgin[c] Israel has fallen down and will not get up again.
She is abandoned on her own land
with no one to help her get up.”[d]

3 The Sovereign Lord says this:

“The city that marches out with a thousand soldiers[e] will have only a hundred left;
the town[f] that marches out with a hundred soldiers[g] will have only ten left for the family of Israel.”[h]

4 The Lord says this to the family[i] of Israel:

“Seek me[j] so you can live!
5 Do not seek Bethel.[k]
Do not visit Gilgal.
Do not journey down[l] to Beer Sheba.
For the people of Gilgal[m] will certainly be carried into exile,[n]
and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.”[o]
6 Seek the Lord so you can live!

Otherwise he will break out[p] like fire against Joseph’s[q] family;[r]
the fire[s] will consume
and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel.[t]
7 The Israelites[u] turn justice into bitterness;[v]
they throw what is fair and right[w] to the ground.[x]
8 But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion;

he can turn the darkness into morning
and daylight[y] into night.
He summons the water of the seas
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name!
9 He flashes[z] destruction down upon the strong
so that destruction overwhelms[aa] the fortified places.
10 The Israelites[ab] hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate;[ac]

they despise anyone who speaks honestly.
11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops[ad]
and exact a grain tax from them,
you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone,
nor will you drink the wine from the fine[ae] vineyards you planted.[af]
12 Certainly[ag] I am aware of[ah] your many rebellious acts[ai]
and your numerous sins.
You[aj] torment the innocent, you take bribes,
and you deny justice to[ak] the needy at the city gate.[al]
13 For this reason whoever is smart[am] keeps quiet[an] in such a time,
for it is an evil[ao] time.
14 Seek good and not evil so you can live!

Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies just might be with you,
as you claim he is.
15 Hate what is wrong, love what is right.
Promote[ap] justice at the city gate.[aq]
Maybe the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on[ar] those who are left from[as] Joseph.[at]

16 Because of Israel’s sins[au] this is what the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[av] says:

“In all the squares there will be wailing,
in all the streets they will mourn the dead.[aw]
They will tell the field workers[ax] to lament
and the professional mourners[ay] to wail.
17 In all the vineyards there will be wailing,
for I will pass through[az] your midst,” says the Lord.

The Lord Demands Justice

18 Woe[ba] to those who wish for the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come?
It will bring darkness, not light.
19 Disaster will be inescapable,[bb]
as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,
then escaped into[bc] a house,
leaned his hand against the wall,
and was bitten by a poisonous snake.
20 Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring[bd] darkness, not light—
gloomy blackness, not bright light?
21 “I absolutely despise[be] your festivals!

I get no pleasure[bf] from your religious assemblies.
22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings,[bg] I will not be satisfied;
I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves.[bh]
23 Take away from me your[bi] noisy songs;
I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments.[bj]
24 Justice must flow like torrents of water,
righteous actions[bk] like a stream that never dries up.
25 You did not bring me[bl] sacrifices and grain offerings during the forty years you spent in the wilderness, family[bm] of Israel.

26 You will pick up your images[bn] of Sikkuth,[bo] your king,[bp]
and Kiyyun,[bq] your star god, which you made for yourselves,
27 and I will drive you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord.
He is called the God of Heaven’s Armies.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 5:1 tn Heb “Listen to this word which I am about to take up against you, a funeral song.”
  2. Amos 5:1 tn Heb “house.”
  3. Amos 5:2 tn Or “young lady.” The term “Israel” is an appositional genitive.
  4. Amos 5:2 tn Or “with no one to lift her up.”
  5. Amos 5:3 tn The word “soldiers” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
  6. Amos 5:3 tn Heb “The one.” The word “town” has been used in the translation in keeping with the relative sizes of the armed contingents sent out by each. It is also possible that this line is speaking of the same city of the previous line. In other words, the contingent sent by that one city would have suffered a ninety percent casualty loss.
  7. Amos 5:3 tn The word “soldiers” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
  8. Amos 5:3 tn Heb “for/to the house of Israel.” The translation assumes that this is a graphic picture of what is left over for the defense of the nation (NEB, NJB, NASB, NKJV). Others suggest that this phrase completes the introductory formula (“The sovereign Lord says this…”; see v. 4a; NJPS). Another option is that the preposition has a vocative force, “O house of Israel” (F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos [AB], 476). Some simply delete the phrase as dittography from the following line (NIV).
  9. Amos 5:4 tn Heb “house.”
  10. Amos 5:4 sn The following verses explain what it meant to seek the Lord. Israel was to abandon the mere formalism and distorted view of God and reality that characterized religious activity at the worship sites, as well as the social injustice that permeated Israelite society. Instead the people were to repent and promote justice in the land. This call to seek the Lord echoes the challenge in 4:13 to prepare to meet him as he truly is.
  11. Amos 5:5 sn Ironically, Israel was to seek after the Lord, but not at Bethel (the name Bethel means “the house of God” in Hebrew).
  12. Amos 5:5 tn Heb “cross over.”sn To worship at Beer Sheba, northern worshipers had to journey down (i.e., cross the border) between Israel and Judah. Apparently, the popular religion of Israel for some included pilgrimage to holy sites in the South.
  13. Amos 5:5 tn Heb “For Gilgal.” By metonymy the place name “Gilgal” is used instead of referring directly to the inhabitants. The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  14. Amos 5:5 tn In the Hebrew text the statement is emphasized by sound play. The name “Gilgal” sounds like the verb גָּלָה (galah, “to go into exile”), which occurs here in the infinitival + finite verb construction (גָּלֹה יִגְלֶה, galoh yigleh). The repetition of the “ג” (g) and “ל” (l) sounds draws attention to the announcement and suggests that Gilgal’s destiny is inherent in its very name.sn That the people of Gilgal would be taken into exile is ironic, for Gilgal was Israel’s first campsite when the people entered the land under Joshua and the city became a symbol of Israel’s possession of the promised land.
  15. Amos 5:5 tn Heb “disaster,” or “nothing”; cf. NIV “Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”sn Again there is irony. The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew. How surprising and tragic that Bethel, the “house of God” where Jacob received the inheritance given to Abraham, would be overrun by disaster.
  16. Amos 5:6 tn Heb “rush.” The verb depicts swift movement.
  17. Amos 5:6 sn Here Joseph (= Ephraim and Manasseh), as the most prominent of the Israelite tribes, represents the entire northern kingdom.
  18. Amos 5:6 tn Heb “house.”
  19. Amos 5:6 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  20. Amos 5:6 tn Heb “to/for Bethel.” The translation assumes that the preposition indicates advantage, “on behalf of.” Another option is to take the preposition as vocative, “O Bethel.”
  21. Amos 5:7 tn Heb “Those who”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity. In light of vv. 11-13, it is also possible that the words are directed at a more limited group within the nation—those with social and economic power.
  22. Amos 5:7 tn There is an interesting wordplay here with the verb הָפַךְ (hafakh, “overturn, turn”). Israel “turns” justice into wormwood (cf. 6:12), while the Lord “turns” darkness into morning (v. 8; cf. 4:11; 8:10). Israel’s turning is for evil, whereas the Lord’s is to demonstrate his absolute power and sovereignty.
  23. Amos 5:7 tn Heb “they throw righteousness.”
  24. Amos 5:7 sn In v. 7 the prophet begins to describe the guilty Israelites but then interrupts his word picture with a parenthetical, yet powerful, description of the judge they must face (vv. 8-9). He resumes his description of the sinners in v. 10.
  25. Amos 5:8 tn Heb “darkens the day into night.”
  26. Amos 5:9 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb בָּלַג (balag, translated here “flashes”) is uncertain.
  27. Amos 5:9 tn Heb “comes upon.” Many prefer to repoint the verb as Hiphil and translate, “he brings destruction upon the fortified places.”
  28. Amos 5:10 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  29. Amos 5:10 sn In ancient Israelite culture, legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.
  30. Amos 5:11 tn Traditionally, “because you trample on the poor” (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The traditional view derives the verb from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”; cf. Isa. 14:25), but more likely it is cognate to an Akkadian verb meaning “to exact an agricultural tax” (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49; S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 172-73).
  31. Amos 5:11 tn Or “lovely”; cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “pleasant,” NAB “choice,” NIV “lush.”
  32. Amos 5:11 tn Heb “Houses of chiseled stone you built, but you will not live in them. Fine vineyards you planted, but you will not drink their wine.”
  33. Amos 5:12 tn Or “for.”
  34. Amos 5:12 tn Or “I know” (so most English versions).
  35. Amos 5:12 tn Or “transgressions,” “sins.” See the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3 and on the phrase “covenant violations” in 2:4.
  36. Amos 5:12 tn Heb “Those who.”
  37. Amos 5:12 tn Heb “turn aside.” They “turn aside” the needy by denying them the justice they deserve at the city gate (where legal decisions were made, and therefore where justice should be done).
  38. Amos 5:12 sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.
  39. Amos 5:13 tn Or “the wise”; or “the prudent.” Another option is to translate “the successful, prosperous” and understand this as a reference to the rich oppressors. See G. V. Smith, Amos, 169-70. In this case the following verb will also have a different nuance, that is, the wealthy remain silent before the abuses they perpetuate. See the note on the verb translated “keeps quiet” later in this verse.
  40. Amos 5:13 tn Or “moans, laments,” from a homonymic verbal root. If the rich oppressors are in view, then the verb (whether translated “will be silenced” or “will lament”) describes the result of God’s judgment upon them. See G. V. Smith, Amos, 170.
  41. Amos 5:13 tn If this is a judgment announcement against the rich, then the Hebrew phrase עֵת רָעָה (ʿet raʿah) must be translated, “[a] disastrous time.” See G. V. Smith, Amos, 170.
  42. Amos 5:15 tn Heb “set up, establish.” In the ancient Near East it was the responsibility especially of the king to establish justice. Here the prophet extends that demand to local leaders and to the nation as a whole (cf. 5:24).
  43. Amos 5:15 sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate (see the note in v. 12). This repetition of this phrase serves to highlight a deliberate contrast to the injustices cited in vv. 11-13.
  44. Amos 5:15 tn Or “will show favor to.”
  45. Amos 5:15 tn Or “the remnant of” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); cf. CEV “what’s left of your people.”
  46. Amos 5:15 sn Joseph (= Ephraim and Manasseh), as the most prominent of the Israelite tribes, represents the entire northern kingdom.
  47. Amos 5:16 tn Heb “Therefore.” This logical connector relates back to the accusation of vv. 10-13, not to the parenthetical call to repentance in vv. 14-15. To indicate this clearly, the phrase “Because of Israel’s sins” is used in the translation.
  48. Amos 5:16 tn Or “the Lord.” The Hebrew term translated “sovereign One” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
  49. Amos 5:16 tn Heb “they will say, ‘Ah! Ah!’” The Hebrew term הוֹ (ho, “ah, woe”) is an alternate form of הוֹי (hoy), a word used to mourn the dead and express outwardly one’s sorrow. See 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5. This wordplay follows quickly, as v. 18 begins with הוֹי (“woe”).
  50. Amos 5:16 tn Or “farmers” (NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
  51. Amos 5:16 tn Heb “those who know lamentation.”sn Professional mourners are referred to elsewhere in the OT (2 Chr 35:25; Jer 9:17) and ancient Near Eastern literature. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 180.
  52. Amos 5:17 sn The expression pass through your midst alludes to Exod 12:12, where the Lord announced he would “pass through” Egypt and bring death to the Egyptian firstborn.
  53. Amos 5:18 tn The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”) was used when mourning the dead (see the note on the word “dead” in 5:16). The prophet here either engages in role playing and mourns the death of the nation in advance or sarcastically taunts those who hold to this misplaced belief.
  54. Amos 5:19 tn The words “Disaster will be inescapable” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  55. Amos 5:19 tn Heb “went” (so KJV, NRSV).
  56. Amos 5:20 tn Heb “Will not the day of the Lord be.”
  57. Amos 5:21 tn Heb “I hate”; “I despise.”
  58. Amos 5:21 tn Heb “I will not smell.” These verses are full of vivid descriptions of the Lord’s total rejection of Israelite worship. In the first half of this verse two verbs are used together for emphasis. Here the verb alludes to the sense of smell, a fitting observation since offerings would have been burned on the altar ideally to provide a sweet aroma to God (see, e.g., Lev 1:9, 13, 17; Num 29:36). Other senses that are mentioned include sight and hearing in vv. 22-23.
  59. Amos 5:22 tn Heb “burnt offerings and your grain offerings.”
  60. Amos 5:22 tn Heb “Peace offering[s], your fattened calves, I will not look at.”
  61. Amos 5:23 tn In this verse the second person suffixes are singular and not plural like they are in vv. 21-22 and vv. 25-27. Some have suggested that perhaps a specific individual or group within the nation is in view.
  62. Amos 5:23 tn The Hebrew word probably refers to “harps” (NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “lutes” (NEB).
  63. Amos 5:24 tn Traditionally, “righteousness.”
  64. Amos 5:25 tn Heb “Did you bring me…?” This rhetorical question expects a negative answer. The point seems to be this: Since sacrifices did not characterize God’s relationship with Israel during the nation’s formative years, the people should not consider them to be so fundamental. The Lord places a higher priority on justice than he does on empty ritual.sn Like Jer 7:22-23, this passage seems to contradict the Pentateuchal accounts that indicate Israel did offer sacrifices during the wilderness period. It is likely that both Amos and Jeremiah overstate the case to emphasize the relative insignificance of sacrifices in comparison to weightier matters of the covenant. See R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 428.
  65. Amos 5:25 tn Heb “house.”
  66. Amos 5:26 tn This word appears in an awkward position in the Hebrew, following “Kiyyun.” It is placed here for better sense.
  67. Amos 5:26 tn The Hebrew term סִכּוּת (sikkut) apparently refers to Sakkuth, a Mesopotamian star god identified with Ninurta in an Ugaritic god list. The name is vocalized in the Hebrew text after the pattern of שִׁקּוּץ (shiqquts, “detestable thing”). See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 195-96. Some English versions, following the LXX, translate as “tent” or “shrine” (NEB, NIV), pointing the term as סֻכַּת (sukkat; cf. 9:11).
  68. Amos 5:26 tc LXX, Vulgate, and Acts 7:43 read “Moloch” (cf. KJV). The Hebrew consonants are the same for both “king” and “Moloch” (מֹלֶךְ; molekh).
  69. Amos 5:26 tn The Hebrew term כִּיּוּן (kiyyun) apparently refers to the Mesopotamian god Kayamanu, or Saturn. The name, like “Sikkuth” in the previous line, is vocalized in the Hebrew text after the pattern of שִׁקּוּץ (shiqquts, “detestable thing”). See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 195-96. Some versions translate as “pedestal” (NEB, NIV), relating the term to the root כּוּן (kun).
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Romans 1:16-32
New English Translation

The Power of the Gospel

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.[a] 17 For the righteousness[b] of God is revealed in the gospel[c] from faith to faith,[d] just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.”[e]

The Condemnation of the Unrighteous

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people[f] who suppress the truth by their[g] unrighteousness,[h] 19 because what can be known about God is plain to them,[i] because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people[j] are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts[k] were darkened. 22 Although they claimed[l] to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings[m] or birds or four-footed animals[n] or reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them over[o] in the desires of their hearts to impurity,[p] to dishonor[q] their bodies among themselves.[r] 25 They[s] exchanged the truth of God for a lie[t] and worshiped and served the creation[u] rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones,[v] 27 and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women[w] and were inflamed in their passions[x] for one another. Men[y] committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God,[z] God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done.[aa] 29 They are filled[ab] with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with[ac] envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 senseless, covenant-breakers,[ad] heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they fully know[ae] God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die,[af] they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them.[ag]

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 1:16 sn Here the Greek refers to anyone who is not Jewish.
  2. Romans 1:17 tn The nature of the “righteousness” described here and the force of the genitive θεοῦ (“of God”) which follows have been much debated. (1) Some (e.g. C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:98) understand “righteousness” to refer to the righteous status given to believers as a result of God’s justifying activity, and see the genitive “of God” as a genitive of source (= “from God”). (2) Others see the “righteousness” as God’s act or declaration that makes righteous (i.e., justifies) those who turn to him in faith, taking the genitive “of God” as a subjective genitive (see E. Käsemann, Romans, 25-30). (3) Still others see the “righteousness of God” mentioned here as the attribute of God himself, understanding the genitive “of God” as a possessive genitive (“God’s righteousness”).
  3. Romans 1:17 tn Grk “in it”; the referent (the gospel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  4. Romans 1:17 tn Or “by faith for faith,” or “by faith to faith.” There are many interpretations of the phrase ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pisteōs eis pistin). It may have the idea that this righteousness is obtained by faith (ἐκ πίστεως) because it was designed for faith (εἰς πίστιν). For a summary see J. Murray, Romans (NICNT), 1:363-74.
  5. Romans 1:17 sn A quotation from Hab 2:4.
  6. Romans 1:18 tn The genitive ἀνθρώπων could be taken as an attributed genitive, in which case the phrase should be translated “against all ungodly and unrighteous people” (cf. “the truth of God” in v. 25 which is also probably an attributed genitive). C. E. B. Cranfield takes the section 1:18-32 to refer to all people (not just Gentiles), while 2:1-3:20 points out that the Jew is no exception (Romans [ICC], 1:104-6; 1:137-38).
  7. Romans 1:18 tn “Their” is implied in the Greek, but is supplied because of English style.
  8. Romans 1:18 tn Or “by means of unrighteousness.” Grk “in (by) unrighteousness.”
  9. Romans 1:19 tn Grk “is manifest to/in them.”
  10. Romans 1:20 tn Grk “they”; the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  11. Romans 1:21 tn Grk “heart.”
  12. Romans 1:22 tn The participle φάσκοντες (phaskontes) is used concessively here.
  13. Romans 1:23 tn Grk “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God in likeness of an image of corruptible man.” Here there is a wordplay on the Greek terms ἄφθαρτος (aphthartos, “immortal, imperishable, incorruptible”) and φθαρτός (phthartos, “mortal, corruptible, subject to decay”).
  14. Romans 1:23 sn Possibly an allusion to Ps 106:19-20.
  15. Romans 1:24 sn Possibly an allusion to Ps 81:12.
  16. Romans 1:24 tn Or “God delivered them up to the desires of their hearts for impurity.” It is possible that a technical, legal idiom is used here; if so, it would describe God delivering sinners up to a custodian for punishment (see R. Jewett, Romans [Hermeneia], 166-67). In this instance, then, sinners would be given over to their own desires for the express purpose of working more impurity.
  17. Romans 1:24 tn The genitive articular infinitive τοῦ ἀτιμάζεσθαι (tou atimazesthai, “to dishonor”) has been taken as (1) an infinitive of purpose; (2) an infinitive of result; or (3) an epexegetical (i.e., explanatory) infinitive, expanding the previous clause.
  18. Romans 1:24 tn Grk “among them.”
  19. Romans 1:25 tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  20. Romans 1:25 tn Grk “the lie.”
  21. Romans 1:25 tn Or “creature, created things.”
  22. Romans 1:26 tn Grk “for their females exchanged the natural function for that which is contrary to nature.” The term χρῆσις (chrēsis) has the force of “sexual relations” here (L&N 23.65).
  23. Romans 1:27 tn Grk “likewise so also the males abandoning the natural function of the female.”
  24. Romans 1:27 tn Grk “burned with intense desire” (L&N 25.16).
  25. Romans 1:27 tn Grk “another, men committing…and receiving,” continuing the description of their deeds. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  26. Romans 1:28 tn Grk “and just as they did not approve to have God in knowledge.”
  27. Romans 1:28 tn Grk “the things that are improper.”
  28. Romans 1:29 tn Grk “being filled” or “having been filled,” referring to those described in v. 28. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  29. Romans 1:29 tn Grk “malice, full of,” continuing the description. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  30. Romans 1:31 tn Or “promise-breakers.”
  31. Romans 1:32 tn Grk “who, knowing…, not only do them but also approve…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  32. Romans 1:32 tn Grk “are worthy of death.”
  33. Romans 1:32 sn “Vice lists” like vv. 28-32 can be found elsewhere in the NT in Matt 15:19; Gal 5:19-21; 1 Tim 1:9-10; and 1 Pet 4:3. An example from the intertestamental period can be found in Wis 14:25-26.
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