Esther 7
New International Version - UK
Haman impaled
7 So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, 2 and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, ‘Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.’
3 Then Queen Esther answered, ‘If I have found favour with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life – this is my petition. And spare my people – this is my request. 4 For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.[a]’
5 King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, ‘Who is he? Where is he – the man who has dared to do such a thing?’
6 Esther said, ‘An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!’
Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 7 The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realising that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.
8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banqueting hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.
The king exclaimed, ‘Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?’
As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, ‘A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits[b] stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.’
The king said, ‘Impale him on it!’ 10 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.
Footnotes
- Esther 7:4 Or quiet, but the compensation our adversary offers cannot be compared with the loss the king would suffer
- Esther 7:9 That is, about 23 metres
Esther 7
New English Translation
The King Has Haman Executed
7 So the king and Haman came to dine[a] with Queen Esther. 2 On the second day of the banquet of wine the king asked Esther, “What is your request, Queen Esther? It shall be granted to you. And what is your petition? Ask for up to half the kingdom, and it shall be done.”
3 Queen Esther replied, “If I have met with your approval,[b] O king, and if the king is so inclined, grant me my life as my request, and my people as my petition. 4 For we have been sold[c]—both I and my people—to destruction and to slaughter and to annihilation. If we had simply been sold as male and female slaves, I would have remained silent, for such distress would not have been sufficient for troubling the king.”
5 Then King Ahasuerus responded[d] to Queen Esther, “Who is this individual? Where is this person to be found who is presumptuous enough[e] to act in this way?”
6 Esther replied, “The oppressor and enemy is this evil Haman!”
Then Haman became terrified in the presence of the king and queen. 7 In rage the king arose from the banquet of wine and withdrew to the palace garden. Meanwhile, Haman stood to beg Queen Esther for his life,[f] for he realized that the king had now determined a catastrophic end for him.[g]
8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet of wine, Haman was throwing himself down[h] on the couch where Esther was lying.[i] The king exclaimed, “Will he also attempt to rape the queen while I am still in the building?”
As these words left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Harbona,[j] one of the king’s eunuchs, said, “Indeed, there is the gallows that Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke out on the king’s behalf. It stands near Haman’s home and is 75 feet[k] high.”
The king said, “Hang him on it!” 10 So they hanged Haman on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. The king’s rage then abated.
Footnotes
- Esther 7:1 tn Heb “to drink”; NASB “to drink wine.” The expression is a metaphor for lavish feasting, cf. NRSV “to feast”; KJV “to banquet.”
- Esther 7:3 tn Heb “If I have found grace in your eyes” (so also in 8:5); TEV “If it please Your Majesty.”
- Esther 7:4 sn The passive verb (“have been sold”) is noncommittal and nonaccusatory with regard to the king’s role in the decision to annihilate the Jews.
- Esther 7:5 tc The second occurrence of the Hebrew verb וַיּאמֶר (vayyoʾmer, “and he said”) in the MT should probably be disregarded. The repetition is unnecessary in the context and may be the result of dittography in the MT.
- Esther 7:5 tn Heb “has so filled his heart”; NAB “who has dared to do this.”
- Esther 7:7 sn There is great irony here in that the man who set out to destroy all the Jews now finds himself begging for his own life from a Jew.
- Esther 7:7 tn Heb “for he saw that calamity was determined for him from the king”; NAB “the king had decided on his doom”; NRSV “the king had determined to destroy him.”
- Esther 7:8 tn Heb “falling”; NAB, NRSV “had (+ just TEV) thrown himself (+ down TEV).”
- Esther 7:8 tn Heb “where Esther was” (so KJV, NASB). The term “lying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “was reclining.”
- Esther 7:9 sn Cf. 1:10, where Harbona is one of the seven eunuchs sent by the king to summon Queen Vashti to his banquet.
- Esther 7:9 tn Heb “50 cubits.” See the note on this expression in Esth 5:14.
Esther 8
New International Version - UK
The king’s edict on behalf of the Jews
8 That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. 2 The king took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman’s estate.
3 Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews. 4 Then the king extended the gold sceptre to Esther and she arose and stood before him.
5 ‘If it pleases the king,’ she said, ‘and if he regards me with favour and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces. 6 For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?’
7 King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, ‘Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have impaled him on the pole he set up. 8 Now write another decree in the king’s name on behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring – for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.’
9 At once the royal secretaries were summoned – on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out all Mordecai’s orders to the Jews, and to the satraps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush.[a] These orders were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also to the Jews in their own script and language. 10 Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king’s signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king.
11 The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children,[b] and to plunder the property of their enemies. 12 The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. 13 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
14 The couriers, riding the royal horses, went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.
The triumph of the Jews
15 When Mordecai left the king’s presence, he was wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration. 16 For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honour. 17 In every province and in every city to which the edict of the king came, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.
Footnotes
- Esther 8:9 That is, the upper Nile region
- Esther 8:11 Or province, together with their women and children, who might attack them;
Esther 8
New English Translation
The King Acts to Protect the Jews
8 On that same day King Ahasuerus gave the estate[a] of Haman, that adversary of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Now Mordecai had come before the king, for Esther had revealed how he was related to her. 2 The king then removed his signet ring (the very one he had taken back from Haman) and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther designated Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s estate.
3 Then Esther again spoke with the king, falling at his feet. She wept and begged him for mercy, that he might nullify the evil of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had intended against the Jews.[b] 4 When the king extended to Esther the gold scepter, she[c] arose and stood before the king.
5 She said, “If the king is so inclined, and if I have met with his approval, and if the matter is agreeable to the king, and if I am attractive to him, let an edict be written rescinding those recorded intentions of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite,[d] which he wrote in order to destroy the Jews who are throughout all the king’s provinces. 6 For how can I watch the calamity that will befall my people, and how can I watch the destruction of my relatives?”[e]
7 King Ahasuerus replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have already given Haman’s estate to Esther, and he has been hanged on the gallows because he took hostile action[f] against the Jews. 8 Now write in the king’s name whatever in your opinion is appropriate concerning the Jews and seal it with the king’s signet ring. Any decree that is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be rescinded.”
9 The king’s scribes were quickly[g] summoned—in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day.[h] They wrote out[i] everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews, and to the satraps, and the governors, and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia[j]—127 provinces in all—to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language. 10 Mordecai[k] wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. He then sent letters by couriers, who rode royal horses that were very swift.
11 The king thereby allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and to stand up for themselves—to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any army of whatever people or province that should become their adversaries, including their women and children,[l] and to confiscate their property. 12 This was to take place on a certain day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus—namely, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar). 13 A copy of the edict was to be presented as law throughout each and every province and made known to all peoples, so that the Jews might be prepared on that[m] day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
14 The couriers who were riding the royal horses went forth with the king’s edict without delay.[n] And the law was presented in Susa the citadel as well.
15 Now Mordecai went out from the king’s presence in blue and white royal attire, with a large golden crown and a purple linen mantle. The city of Susa shouted with joy.[o] 16 For the Jews there was radiant happiness and joyous honor.[p] 17 Throughout every province and throughout every city where the king’s edict and his law arrived, the Jews experienced happiness and joy, banquets and holidays. Many of the resident peoples[q] pretended to be Jews,[r] because the fear of the Jews had overcome them.[s]
Footnotes
- Esther 8:1 tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV; also in vv. 2, 7). Cf. TEV “all the property.”
- Esther 8:3 sn As in 7:4 Esther avoids implicating the king in this plot. Instead Haman is given sole responsibility for the plan to destroy the Jews.
- Esther 8:4 tn Heb “Esther.” The pronoun (“she”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. A repetition of the proper name is redundant here in terms of contemporary English style.
- Esther 8:5 tc The LXX does not include the expression “the Agagite.”
- Esther 8:6 tn Heb “my kindred” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NAB “my race”; NIV “my family”; NLT “my people and my family.”
- Esther 8:7 tn Heb “sent forth his hand”; NAB, NIV “attacked”; NLT “tried to destroy.” Cf. 9:2.
- Esther 8:9 tn Heb “in that time”; NIV “At once.”
- Esther 8:9 sn Cf. 3:12. Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews.
- Esther 8:9 tn Heb “it was written”; this passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
- Esther 8:9 tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV), referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. Cf. KJV and most other English versions “Ethiopia.”
- Esther 8:10 tn Heb “He”; the referent (Mordecai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Esther 8:11 tn Heb “children and women.” As in 3:13, the translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.
- Esther 8:13 tn Heb “this” (so NASB); most English versions read “that” here for stylistic reasons.
- Esther 8:14 tn Heb “making haste and hurrying”; KJV, ASV “being hastened and pressed.”
- Esther 8:15 tn Heb “shouted and rejoiced.” The expression is a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).
- Esther 8:16 tn Heb “light and gladness and joy and honor” (so NASB). The present translation understands the four terms to be a double hendiadys.
- Esther 8:17 tn Heb “peoples of the land” (so NASB); NIV “people of other nationalities”; NRSV “peoples of the country.”
- Esther 8:17 tn Heb “were becoming Jews”; NAB “embraced Judaism.” However, the Hitpael stem of the verb is sometimes used of a feigning action rather than a genuine one (see, e.g., 2 Sam 13:5, 6), which is the way the present translation understands the use of the word here (cf. NEB “professed themselves Jews”; NRSV “professed to be Jews”). This is the only occurrence of this verb in the Hebrew Bible, so there are no exact parallels. However, in the context of v. 17 the motivation of their conversion (Heb “the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them”) should not be overlooked. The LXX apparently understood the conversion described here to be genuine, since it adds the words “they were being circumcised and” before “they became Jews.”
- Esther 8:17 tn Heb “had fallen upon them” (so NRSV); NIV “had seized them.”
Obadiah
New International Version - UK
Obadiah’s vision
1 The vision of Obadiah.
This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom –
We have heard a message from the Lord:
an envoy was sent to the nations to say,
‘Rise, let us go against her for battle’–
2 ‘See, I will make you small among the nations;
you will be utterly despised.
3 The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks[a]
and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
“Who can bring me down to the ground?”
4 Though you soar like the eagle
and make your nest among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,’
declares the Lord.
5 ‘If thieves came to you,
if robbers in the night –
oh, what a disaster awaits you –
would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
If grape pickers came to you,
would they not leave a few grapes?
6 But how Esau will be ransacked,
his hidden treasures pillaged!
7 All your allies will force you to the border;
your friends will deceive and overpower you;
those who eat your bread will set a trap for you,[b]
but you will not detect it.
8 ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord,
‘will I not destroy the wise men of Edom,
those of understanding in the mountains of Esau?
9 Your warriors, Teman, will be terrified,
and everyone in Esau’s mountains
will be cut down in the slaughter.
10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob,
you will be covered with shame;
you will be destroyed for ever.
11 On the day you stood aloof
while strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you were like one of them.
12 You should not gloat over your brother
in the day of his misfortune,
nor rejoice over the people of Judah
in the day of their destruction,
nor boast so much
in the day of their trouble.
13 You should not march through the gates of my people
in the day of their disaster,
nor gloat over them in their calamity
in the day of their disaster,
nor seize their wealth
in the day of their disaster.
14 You should not wait at the crossroads
to cut down their fugitives,
nor hand over their survivors
in the day of their trouble.
15 ‘The day of the Lord is near
for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
your deeds will return upon your own head.
16 Just as you drank on my holy hill,
so all the nations will drink continually;
they will drink and drink
and be as if they had never been.
17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;
it will be holy,
and Jacob will possess his inheritance.
18 Jacob will be a fire
and Joseph a flame;
Esau will be stubble,
and they will set him on fire and destroy him.
There will be no survivors
from Esau.’
The Lord has spoken.
19 People from the Negev will occupy
the mountains of Esau,
and people from the foothills will possess
the land of the Philistines.
They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria,
and Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20 This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan
will possess the land as far as Zarephath;
the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
will possess the towns of the Negev.
21 Deliverers will go up on[c] Mount Zion
to govern the mountains of Esau.
And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.
Footnotes
- Obadiah 1:3 Or of Sela
- Obadiah 1:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Obadiah 1:21 Or from
Obadiah
New English Translation
God’s Judgment on Edom
Edom’s Approaching Destruction
We have heard a report from the Lord.
An envoy was sent among the nations, saying,[g]
“Arise! Let us make war against Edom!”[h]
2 The Lord says,[i] “Look! I will[j] make you a weak nation;[k]
you will be greatly despised!
3 Your presumptuous heart[l] has deceived you—
you who reside in the safety of the rocky cliffs,[m]
whose home is high in the mountains.[n]
You think to yourself,[o]
‘No one can[p] bring me down to the ground!’[q]
4 Even if you were to soar high like an eagle,[r]
even if you[s] were to make your nest among the stars,
I can bring you down even from there!” says the Lord.
5 “If thieves came to rob you[t] during the night,[u]
they would steal only as much as they wanted.[v]
If grape pickers came to harvest your vineyards,[w]
they would leave some behind for the poor.[x]
But you will be totally destroyed![y]
6 How the people of Esau[z] will be thoroughly plundered![aa]
Their[ab] hidden valuables will be ransacked![ac]
7 All your allies[ad] will force[ae] you from your homeland![af]
Your treaty partners[ag] will deceive you and overpower you.
Your trusted friends[ah] will set an ambush[ai] for[aj] you
that will take you by surprise![ak]
8 At that time,”[al] the Lord says,
“I will destroy the wise sages of Edom,[am]
the advisers[an] from Esau’s mountain.
9 Your warriors will be shattered, O Teman,[ao]
so that[ap] everyone[aq] will be destroyed[ar] from Esau’s mountain!
Edom’s Treachery Against Judah
10 “Because[as] you violently slaughtered[at] your relatives,[au] the people of Jacob,[av]
shame will cover you, and you will be destroyed[aw] forever.
11 You stood aloof[ax] while strangers took his army[ay] captive,
and foreigners advanced to his gates.[az]
When they cast lots[ba] over Jerusalem,
you behaved as though you were in league[bb] with them.
12 You should not[bc] have gloated[bd] when your relatives[be] suffered calamity.[bf]
You should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah when they were destroyed.[bg]
You should not have boasted[bh] when they suffered adversity.[bi]
13 You should not have entered the city[bj] of my people when they experienced distress.[bk]
You should not have joined[bl] in gloating over their misfortune when they suffered distress.[bm]
You should not have looted[bn] their wealth when they endured distress.[bo]
14 You should not have stood at the fork in the road[bp] to slaughter[bq] those trying to escape.[br]
You should not have captured their refugees when they suffered adversity.[bs]
The Coming Day of the Lord
15 “For the day of the Lord[bt] is approaching[bu] for all the nations![bv]
Just as you have done, so it will be done to you.
You will get exactly what your deeds deserve.[bw]
16 For just as you[bx] have drunk[by] on my holy mountain,
so all the nations will drink continually.[bz]
They will drink, and they will gulp down;
they will be as though they had never been.
17 But on Mount Zion there will be a remnant of those who escape,[ca]
and it will be a holy place once again.
The descendants[cb] of Jacob will conquer[cc]
those who had conquered them.[cd]
18 The descendants of Jacob will be a fire,
and the descendants of Joseph a flame.
The descendants of Esau will be like stubble.
They will burn them up and devour them.
There will not be a single survivor[ce] of the descendants of Esau!”
Indeed, the Lord has spoken it.
19 The people of the Negev[cf] will take possession[cg] of Esau’s mountain,
and the people of the foothills[ch] will take
possession[ci] of the land of[cj] the Philistines.
They will also take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,
and the people of Benjamin will take possession[ck] of Gilead.[cl]
20 The exiles of this fortress[cm] of the people of Israel
will take possession[cn] of what belongs to
the people of Canaan, as far as Zarephath,[co]
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad[cp]
will take possession of the towns of the Negev.
21 Those who have been delivered[cq] will go up on Mount Zion
in order to rule over[cr] Esau’s mountain.
Then the Lord will reign as King![cs]
Footnotes
- Obadiah 1:1 sn The date of the book of Obadiah is very difficult to determine. Since there is no direct indication of chronological setting clearly suggested by the book itself, and since the historical identity of the author is uncertain as well, a possible date for the book can be arrived at only on the basis of internal evidence. When did the hostile actions of Edom against Judah that are described in this book take place? Many nineteenth-century scholars linked the events of the book to a historical note found in 2 Kgs 8:20 (cf. 2 Chr 21:16-17): “In [Jehoram’s] days Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah and established a king over themselves.” If this is the backdrop against which Obadiah should be read, it would suggest a ninth-century b.c. date for the book, since Jehoram reigned ca. 852-841 b.c. But the evidence presented for this view is not entirely convincing, and most contemporary Old Testament scholars reject a ninth-century scenario. A more popular view, held by many biblical scholars from Luther to the present, understands the historical situation presupposed in the book to be the Babylonian invasion of Judah in the sixth century (cf. Ps 137:7; Lam 4:18-22; Ezek 25:12-14; 35:1-15). Understood in this way, Obadiah would be describing a situation in which the Edomites assisted in the Babylonian sack of Jerusalem. Although it must be admitted that a sixth-century setting for the book of Obadiah cannot be proven, the details of the book fit reasonably well into such a context. Other views on the dating of the book, such as an eighth-century date in the time of Ahaz (ca. 732-716 b.c.) or a fifth-century date in the postexilic period, are less convincing. Parallels between the book of Obadiah and Jer 49:1-22 clearly suggest some kind of literary dependence, but it is not entirely clear whether Jeremiah drew on Obadiah or whether Obadiah drew upon Jeremiah, In any case, the close relationship between Obadiah and Jer 49 might suggest the sixth-century setting.
- Obadiah 1:1 sn The name Obadiah in Hebrew means “servant of the Lord.” A dozen or so individuals in the OT have this name, none of whom may be safely identified with the author of this book. In reality we know very little about this prophet with regard to his exact identity or historical circumstances.
- Obadiah 1:1 tn Heb “the vision of Obadiah” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); cf. TEV “This is the prophecy of Obadiah.”
- Obadiah 1:1 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The phrase אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה (ʾadonay yehvih) is customarily rendered by Jewish tradition as “Lord God” (cf. NIV, TEV, NLT “Sovereign Lord”).
- Obadiah 1:1 tn The Hebrew preposition לְ (le) is better translated here as “concerning” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV, NLT) or “about” (so NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV) Edom than as “to” Edom, although much of the book does speak directly to Edom.
- Obadiah 1:1 sn The name Edom derives from a Hebrew root that means “red.” Edom was located to the south of the Dead Sea in an area with numerous rocky crags that provided ideal military advantages for protection. Much of the sandstone of this area has a reddish color. The Edomites were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob (Gen 25:19-26).
- Obadiah 1:1 tn Although the word “saying” is not in the Hebrew text, it has been supplied in the translation because what follows seems to be the content of the envoy’s message (cf. ASV, NASB, NCV “saying,” and NIV, NLT “to say.”
- Obadiah 1:1 tn Heb “Arise, and let us arise against her in battle!” The term “Edom” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation to specify the otherwise ambiguous referent of the term “her.”
- Obadiah 1:2 tn The introductory phrase “the Lord says” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation to clarify the identity of the speaker.
- Obadiah 1:2 tn The Hebrew perfect verb form used here usually describes past events. However, here and several times in the following verses it is best understood as portraying certain fulfillment of events that at the time of writing were still future. It is the perfect of certitude. See GKC 312-13 §106.n; Joüon 2:363 §112.h.
- Obadiah 1:2 sn Heb “I will make you small among the nations” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); cf. NRSV “least among the nations,” NCV “the smallest of nations.”
- Obadiah 1:3 tn Heb “the presumption of your heart”; cf. NAB, NIV “the pride of your heart,” NASB “arrogance of your heart.”
- Obadiah 1:3 tn Heb “in the concealed places of the rock”; cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “in the clefts of the rock”; NCV “the hollow places of the cliff”; CEV “a mountain fortress.” sn The word rock in Hebrew (סֶלַע, selaʿ) is a wordplay on Sela, the name of a prominent Edomite city. Its impregnability was a cause for arrogance on the part of its ancient inhabitants.
- Obadiah 1:3 tn Heb “on high (is) his dwelling”; cf. NASB “in the loftiness of your dwelling place,” NRSV “whose dwelling (NAB “abode”) is in the heights.”
- Obadiah 1:3 tn Heb “the one who says in his heart.”
- Obadiah 1:3 tn The Hebrew imperfect verb used here is best understood in a modal sense (“Who can bring me down?”) rather than in the sense of a simple future (“Who will bring me down?”). So also in v. 4 (“I can bring you down”). The question is not so much whether this will happen at some time in the future, but whether it even lies in the realm of possible events. In their hubris the Edomites were boasting that no one had the capability of breaching their impregnable defenses. However, their pride caused them to fail to consider the vast capabilities of Yahweh as warrior.
- Obadiah 1:3 tn Heb “Who can bring me down?” This rhetorical question implies a negative answer: “No one!”
- Obadiah 1:4 sn The eagle was often used in the ancient Near East as a symbol of strength and swiftness.
- Obadiah 1:4 tc The present translation follows the reading תָּשִׂים (tasim; active) rather than שִׁים (sim; passive) of the MT (cf. NAB “and your nest be set among the stars”). Cf. LXX, Syriac, and Vg.
- Obadiah 1:5 sn Obadiah uses two illustrations to show the totality of Edom’s approaching destruction. Both robbers and harvesters would have left at least something behind. Such will not be the case, however, with the calamity that is about to befall Edom. A virtually identical saying appears in Jer 49:9-10.
- Obadiah 1:5 tn Heb “If thieves came to you, or if plunderers of the night” (NRSV similar). The repetition here adds rhetorical emphasis.
- Obadiah 1:5 tn Heb “Would they not have stolen only their sufficiency?” The rhetorical question is used to make an emphatic assertion, which is perhaps best represented by the indicative form in the translation.
- Obadiah 1:5 tn Heb “If grape pickers came to you.” The phrase “to harvest your vineyards” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation to clarify the point of the entire simile that is assumed.
- Obadiah 1:5 tn Heb “Would they not have left some gleanings?” The rhetorical question makes an emphatic assertion, which for the sake of clarity is represented by the indicative form in the translation. The implied answer to these rhetorical questions is “yes.” The fact that something would have remained after the imagined acts of theft or harvest stands in stark contrast to the totality of Edom’s destruction as predicted by Obadiah. Edom will be so decimated as a result of God’s judgment that nothing at all will be leftsn According to the Mosaic law, harvesters were required to leave some grain behind in the fields for the poor (Lev 19:9; 23:22; see also Ruth 2); there was a similar practice with grapes and olives (Lev 19:10; Deut 24:21). Regarding gleanings left behind from grapes, see Judg 8:2; Jer 6:9; 49:9; Mic 7:1.
- Obadiah 1:5 tn Heb “O how you will be cut off.” This emotional interjection functions rhetorically as the prophet’s announcement of judgment on Edom. In Hebrew this statement actually appears between the first and second metaphors, that is, in the middle of this verse. As the point of the comparison, one would expect it to follow both of the two metaphors; however, Obadiah interrupts his own sentence to interject his emphatic exclamation that cannot wait until the end of the sentence. This emphatic sentence structure is eloquent in Hebrew but awkward in English. Since this emphatic assertion is the point of his comparison, it appears at the end of the sentence in this translation, where one normally expects to find the concluding point of a metaphorical comparison.
- Obadiah 1:6 tn Heb “Esau.” The name Esau here is a synecdoche of part for whole referring to the Edomites. Cf. “Jacob” in v. 10, where the meaning is “Israelites.”
- Obadiah 1:6 tn Heb “How Esau will be searched!”; cf. NAB “How they search Esau.” The Hebrew verb חָפַשׂ (khafas, “to search out”) is used metonymically here for plundering the hidden valuables of a conquered people (e.g., 1 Kgs 20:6).
- Obadiah 1:6 tn Heb “his” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); this is singular agreeing with “Esau” in the previous line.
- Obadiah 1:6 tn Heb “searched out” (so NASB, NRSV); cf. NIV “pillaged,” TEV “looted,” NLT “found and taken.” This pictures the violent action of conquering warriors ransacking the city in order to loot and plunder its valuables.
- Obadiah 1:7 tn Heb “All the men of your covenant”; cf. KJV, ASV “the men of thy confederacy.” In Hebrew “they will send you unto the border” and “all the men of your covenant” appear in two separate poetic lines (cf. NAB “To the border they drive you—all your allies”). Since the second is a noun clause functioning as the subject of the first clause, the two are rendered as a single sentence in the translation.
- Obadiah 1:7 tn Heb “send”; cf. NASB “send you forth,” NAB “drive,” NIV “force.”
- Obadiah 1:7 tn Heb “to the border” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
- Obadiah 1:7 tn Heb “the men of your peace.” This expression refers to a political/military alliance or covenant of friendship.
- Obadiah 1:7 tn Heb “your bread,” which makes little sense in the context. The Hebrew word can be revocalized to read, “those who eat bread with you,” i.e., “your friends” (cf. KJV “they that eat thy bread,” NIV “those who eat your bread,” TEV “Those friends who ate with you”).
- Obadiah 1:7 tn Heb “set a trap” (so NIV, NRSV). The meaning of the Hebrew word מָזוֹר (mazor; here translated “ambush”) is uncertain; it occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. The word probably refers to something “spread out” for purposes of entrapment, such as a net. Other possibilities include “trap,” “fetter,” or “stumbling block.”
- Obadiah 1:7 tn Heb “beneath” (so NAB).
- Obadiah 1:7 tn Heb “there is no understanding in him.”
- Obadiah 1:8 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV, NIV); cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV “on that day.”
- Obadiah 1:8 tn Heb “Will I not destroy those who are wise from Edom?” The rhetorical question functions as an emphatic affirmation. For the sake of clarity this has been represented by the emphatic indicative in the translation.
- Obadiah 1:8 tn Heb “understanding”; cf. NIV “men of understanding.” This undoubtedly refers to members of the royal court who offered political and military advice to the Edomite kings. In the ancient Near East, such men of wisdom were often associated with divination and occultic practices (cf. Isa 3:3; 47:10, 13). The Edomites were also renowned in the ancient Near East as a center of traditional sagacity and wisdom; perhaps that is referred to here (cf. Jer 49:7).
- Obadiah 1:9 sn Teman, like Sela, was a prominent city of Edom. The name Teman is derived from the name of a grandson of Esau (cf. Gen 36:11). Here it is a synecdoche of part for whole, standing for all of Edom.
- Obadiah 1:9 tn The Hebrew word used here (לְמַעַן, lemaʿan) usually expresses purpose. The sense in this context, however, is more likely that of result.
- Obadiah 1:9 tn Heb “a man,” meaning “every single person” here; cf. KJV “every one.”
- Obadiah 1:9 tn Heb “cut off” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); cf. NIV, NLT “cut down,” CEV “wiped out.”
- Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “from.” The preposition is used here with a causal sense.
- Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “because of the slaughter and because of the violence.” These two expressions form a hendiadys meaning “because of the violent slaughter.” Traditional understanding connects the first phrase “because of the slaughter” with the end of v. 9 (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT). It is preferable, however, to regard it as parallel to the reference to violence at the beginning of v. 11. Both the parallel linguistic structure of the two phrases and the metrical structure of the verse favor connecting this phrase with the beginning of v. 10 (cf. NRSV, TEV).
- Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “the violence of your brother.” The genitive construction is to be understood as an objective genitive. The meaning is not that Jacob has perpetrated violence (= subjective genitive) but that violence has been committed against him (= objective genitive).
- Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “your brother Jacob” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); cf. NCV “your relatives, the Israelites.”
- Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “be cut off” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
- Obadiah 1:11 tn Heb “in the day of your standing”; cf. NAB “On the day when you stood by.”
- Obadiah 1:11 tn Or perhaps, “wealth” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The Hebrew word is somewhat ambiguous here. This word also appears in v. 13, where it clearly refers to wealth.
- Obadiah 1:11 tc The present translation follows the Qere, which reads the plural (“gates”) rather than the singular.
- Obadiah 1:11 sn Casting lots seems to be a way of deciding who would gain control over material possessions and enslaved peoples following a military victory.
- Obadiah 1:11 tn Heb “like one from them”; cf. NASB “You too were as one of them.”
- Obadiah 1:12 tn In vv. 12-14 there are eight prohibitions that summarize the nature of the Lord’s complaint against Edom. Each prohibition alludes to something Edom did to Judah that should not have been done by one “brother” to another. It is because of these violations that the Lord has initiated judgment against Edom. In the Hebrew text these prohibitions are expressed by אַל (ʾal, “not”) plus the jussive form of the verb, which is common in negative commands of immediate urgency. Such constructions would normally have the sense of prohibiting something either not yet begun (i.e., “do not start to…”) or something already in process at the time of speaking (i.e., “stop…”). Here, however, it seems more likely that the prohibitions refer to a situation in past rather than future time (i.e., “you should not have…”). If so, the verbs are being used in a rhetorical fashion, as though the prophet were vividly projecting himself back into the events that he is describing and urging the Edomites not to do what in fact they have already done.
- Obadiah 1:12 tn The Hebrew expression “to look upon” often has the sense of “to feast the eyes upon” or “to gloat over” (cf. v. 13).
- Obadiah 1:12 tn Heb “your brother” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); cf. NCV “your brother Israel.”
- Obadiah 1:12 tn Heb “in the day of your brother, in the day of his calamity.” This expression is probably a hendiadys meaning, “in the day of your brother’s calamity.” The Hebrew word נָכְרוֹ (nokhro, “his calamity”)_is probably a word-play on נָכְרִים (nokhrim, “foreigners”) in v. 11.
- Obadiah 1:12 tn Heb “in the day of their destruction” (so KJV, NASB, NIV); cf. NAB, NRSV “on the day of their ruin.”
- Obadiah 1:12 tn Or “boasted with your mouth.” The Hebrew text includes the phrase “with your mouth,” which is redundant in English and has been left untranslated.
- Obadiah 1:12 tn Heb “in the day of adversity”; cf. NASB “in the day of their distress.”
- Obadiah 1:13 tn Heb “the gate.” The term “gate” here functions as a synecdoche for the city as a whole, which the Edomites plundered.
- Obadiah 1:13 tn Heb “in the day of their distress.” The phrase is used three times in this verse; the Hebrew word translated “distress” (אֵידָם, ʾedam) is a wordplay on the name Edom. For stylistic reasons and to avoid monotony, in the present translation this phrase is rendered, “when they experienced distress,” “when they suffered distress,” and “when they endured distress.”
- Obadiah 1:13 tn Heb “you, also you.”
- Obadiah 1:13 tn Heb “in the day of his distress.” In this and the following phrase at the end of v. 13 the suffix is third person masculine singular. As collective singulars both occurrences have been translated as plurals (“they suffered distress…endured distress,” rather than, “he suffered distress…endured distress”).
- Obadiah 1:13 tc In the MT the verb is feminine plural, but the antecedent is unclear. The Hebrew phrase תִּשְׁלַחְנָה (tishlakhnah) here should probably be emended to read תִּשְׁלַח יָד (tishlakh yad), although yad (“hand”) is not absolutely essential to this idiom.
- Obadiah 1:13 tn See the note on the phrase “suffered distress” in the previous line.
- Obadiah 1:14 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word פֶּרֶק (pereq; here translated “fork in the road”) is uncertain. The word is found in the Hebrew Bible only here and in Nah 3:1, where it means “plunder.” In the present context it seems to refer to a strategic intersection or fork in a road where bands of Edomites apprehended Israelites who were fleeing from the attack on Jerusalem (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT “crossroads,” NRSV “crossings”).
- Obadiah 1:14 tn Heb “to cut off” (so KJV, NRSV); cf. NASB, NIV “to cut down.”
- Obadiah 1:14 tn Heb “his fugitives”; cf. NAB, CEV “refugees.”
- Obadiah 1:14 tn Heb “in the day of distress” (so KJV, ASV).
- Obadiah 1:15 sn The term יוֹם (yom, “day”) is repeated ten times in vv. 11-14, referring to the time period when Judah/Jerusalem suffered calamity that Edom exploited for its own sinful gain. In each of those cases יוֹם was qualified by a following genitive to describe Judah’s plight, e.g., “in the day of your brother’s calamity” (v. 12). Here it appears again but now followed by the divine name to describe the time of God’s judgment against Edom for its crimes against humanity: “the day of the Lord.” In the present translation, the expression בְּיוֹם (beyom; literally, “In the day of”) appears as “When…” in vv. 11-14. However, here it is translated more literally because the expression “the day of the Lord” is a well-known technical expression for a time of divine intervention in judgment. While this expression sometimes refers to the final eschatological day of God’s judgment, it may also refer occasionally to historical acts of judgment.
- Obadiah 1:15 tn Heb “near” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. NCV “is coming soon.”
- Obadiah 1:15 sn God’s judgment would not be confined to Edom. Edom would certainly be punished in just measure for its wrongdoing, but “the day of the Lord” would also encompass judgment of the nations (v. 15).
- Obadiah 1:15 tn Heb “your deed will return on your own head.” Verses 15 and 16 provide an example of ironic reversal, whereby the tables are turned and poetic justice is served. This is a motif that is common in prophetic oracles against foreign nations.
- Obadiah 1:16 tn The identification of the referent of “you” in v. 16a is uncertain. There are three major options. First, on the surface, it would appear to be Edom, which is addressed in v. 15b and throughout the prophecy. However, when Edom is addressed, second person singular forms are normally used in the Hebrew. In v. 16a the Hebrew verb “you drank” is a plural form שְׁתִיתֶם (shetitem), perhaps suggesting that Edom is no longer addressed, at least solely. Perhaps Edom and the nations, mentioned in v. 15a, are both addressed in v. 16a. However, since the nations are referred to in the third person in v. 16b, it seems unlikely that they are addressed here. A second option is to take the final mem (ם) on the Hebrew verb form (שְׁתִיתֶם) as an enclitic particle and revocalize the form as a singular verb (שָׁתִיתָ, shatita) addressed to Edom. In this case v. 16a would allude to the time when Edom celebrated Jerusalem’s defeat on Mount Zion, God’s “holy hill.” Verse 16b would then make the ironic point that just as Edom once drank in victory, so the nations (Edom included) would someday drink the cup of judgment. However, this interpretation is problematic for it necessitates taking the drinking metaphor in different ways (as signifying celebration and then judgment) within the same verse. A third option is that the exiled people of Judah are addressed. Just as God’s people were forced to drink the intoxicating wine of divine judgment, so the nations, including those who humiliated Judah, would be forced to drink this same wine. However, the problem here is that God’s people are never addressed elsewhere in the prophecy, making this approach problematic as well.
- Obadiah 1:16 sn This reference to drinking portrays the profane activities of those who had violated Jerusalem’s sanctity. The following reference to drinking on the part of the nations portrays God’s judgment upon them. They will drink, as it were, from the cup of divine retribution.
- Obadiah 1:16 sn The judgment is compared here to intoxicating wine, which the nations are forced to keep drinking (v. 16). Just as an intoxicating beverage eventually causes the one drinking it to become disoriented and to stagger, so God’s judgment would cause the panic-stricken nations to stumble around in confusion. This extended metaphor is paralleled in Jer 49:12, which describes God’s imminent judgment on Edom, “If even those who did not deserve to drink from the cup of my wrath have to drink from it, do you think you will go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but you also will certainly drink from the cup of my wrath.” There are numerous parallels between Obadiah and the oracle against Edom in Jer 49:1-22, so perhaps the latter should be used to help understand the enigmatic metaphor here in v. 16.
- Obadiah 1:17 tn Heb “will be a fugitive.” This is a collective singular (cf. NCV “some will escape the judgment”).
- Obadiah 1:17 tn Heb “house” (so most English versions); cf. NCV, TEV “the people of Jacob.” The word “house” also occurs four times in v. 18.
- Obadiah 1:17 tn Heb “dispossess.” This root is repeated in the following line to emphasize poetic justice: The punishment will fit the crime.
- Obadiah 1:17 tc The present translation follows the reading מוֹרִשֵׁיהֶם (morishehem; literally, “those dispossessing them”; cf. NAB, NRSV, CEV) rather than מוֹרָשֵׁיהֶם (morashehem, “their possessions”) of the MT (cf. LXX, Syriac, and Vg, followed by KJV, ASV, NASB).
- Obadiah 1:18 tn Heb “will be no survivor”; cf. NAB “none shall survive.”
- Obadiah 1:19 tn Heb “the Negev”; cf. ASV “the South,” NCV, TEV “southern Judah.” The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but these words have been supplied in the translation for clarity. The place name “the Negev” functions as a synecdoche (container for contents) for the people living in the Negev. sn The Negev is a dry, hot, arid region in the southern portion of Judah.
- Obadiah 1:19 sn The verb יָרַשׁ (yarash, “to take possession of [something]”), which is repeated three times in vv. 19-20 for emphasis, often implies a violent means of acquisition, such as military conquest. Obadiah here pictures a dramatic reversal: Judah’s enemies, who conquered her then looted all her valuable possessions, will soon be conquered by the Judeans, who will in turn take possession of their valuables. The punishment will fit the crime.
- Obadiah 1:19 tn The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but they are supplied in the translation since “the foothills” functions as a synecdoche referring to residents of this region.sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain. In much of Old Testament times they served as a divide between the people of Judah and the Philistines, who lived in the coastal plain.
- Obadiah 1:19 tn The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.
- Obadiah 1:19 tn The words “the land of” are not present in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Obadiah 1:19 tn The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Obadiah 1:19 sn Gilead is a mountainous region on the eastern side of the Jordan River in what is today the country of Jordan.
- Obadiah 1:20 tn Or “army” (TEV); cf. KJV, NAB, NASB “host,” NIV “company.” Some text critics suggest revocalizing MT הַחֵל (hakhel, “the fortress”) to the place- name הָלָה (halah, “Halah”; so NRSV), the location to which many of the Israelite exiles were sent in the 8th century (2 Kgs 7:6; 18:11; 1 Chr 5:26). The MT form is from הַיִל (hayil, “strength”), which is used elsewhere to refer to an army (Exod 14:17; 1 Sam 17:20; 2 Sam 8:9), a military fortress (2 Sam 20:15; 22:33), leaders (Exod 18:21) and even wealth or possessions (Obad 1:11, 13).
- Obadiah 1:20 tn The Hebrew text has no verb here. The words “will possess” have been supplied from the context.
- Obadiah 1:20 sn Zarephath was a Phoenician coastal city located some ten miles south of Sidon.
- Obadiah 1:20 sn The exact location of Sepharad is uncertain. Suggestions include a location in Spain, or perhaps Sparta in Greece, or perhaps Sardis in Asia Minor. For inscriptional evidence that bears on this question see E. LipinÃski, “Obadiah 20, ” VT 23 (1973): 368-70. The reason for mentioning this location in v. 20 seems to be that even though it was far removed from Jerusalem, the Lord will nonetheless enable the Jewish exiles there to return and participate in the restoration of Israel that Obadiah describes.
- Obadiah 1:21 tc The present translation follows the reading מוּשָׁעִים (mushaʿim, “those who have been delivered”; cf. NRSV, CEV) rather than מוֹשִׁעִים (moshiʿim, “deliverers”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) of the MT (cf. LXX, Aquila, Theodotion, and Syriac).
- Obadiah 1:21 tn Heb “to judge.” In this context the term does not mean “to render judgment on,” but “to rule over” (cf. NAB “to rule,” NIV “to govern”).
- Obadiah 1:21 tn Heb “then the kingdom will belong to the Lord.”
Hebrews 3
New International Version - UK
Jesus greater than Moses
3 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honour than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honour than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 ‘Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,’[a] bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.
Warning against unbelief
7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:
‘Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested and tried me,
though for forty years they saw what I did.
10 That is why I was angry with that generation;
I said, “Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.”
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
“They shall never enter my rest.”’[b]
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today’, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15 As has just been said:
‘Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.’[c]
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 3:5 Num. 12:7
- Hebrews 3:11 Psalm 95:7-11
- Hebrews 3:15 Psalm 95:7,8
Hebrews 3
New English Translation
Jesus and Moses
3 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters,[a] partners in a heavenly calling, take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess,[b] 2 who is faithful to the one who appointed him, as Moses was also in God’s[c] house.[d] 3 For he has come to deserve greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves greater honor than the house itself! 4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s[e] house[f] as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken. 6 But Christ[g] is faithful as a son over God’s[h] house. We are of his house,[i] if in fact we hold firmly[j] to our confidence and the hope we take pride in.[k]
Exposition of Psalm 95: Hearing God’s Word in Faith
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,[l]
“Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks![m]
8 “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness.
9 “There your fathers tested me and tried me,[n] and they saw my works for forty years.
10 “Therefore, I became provoked at that generation and said, ‘Their hearts are always wandering[o] and they have not known my ways.’
11 “As I swore in my anger, ‘They will never enter my rest!’”[p]
12 See to it,[q] brothers and sisters,[r] that none of you has[s] an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes[t] the living God.[u] 13 But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” that none of you may become hardened by sin’s deception. 14 For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence[v] firm until the end. 15 As it says,[w] “Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks![x] Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”[y] 16 For which ones heard and rebelled? Was it not all who came out of Egypt under Moses’ leadership?[z] 17 And against whom was God[aa] provoked for forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness?[ab] 18 And to whom did he swear they would never enter into his rest, except those who were disobedient? 19 So[ac] we see that they could not enter because of unbelief.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 3:1 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.
- Hebrews 3:1 tn Grk “of our confession.”
- Hebrews 3:2 tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.
- Hebrews 3:2 tc ‡ The reading adopted by the translation follows a few early mss and some versions (P13,46vid B vgms co Ambr). The majority of mss (א A C D Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 M lat sy) insert “all” (“in all his house”), apparently in anticipation of Heb 3:5 which quotes directly from Num 12:7. On balance, the omission better explains the rise of ὅλῳ (holō, “all”) than vice versa. NA28 puts ὅλῳ in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
- Hebrews 3:5 tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.
- Hebrews 3:5 sn A quotation from Num 12:7.
- Hebrews 3:6 sn The Greek makes the contrast between v. 5 and v. 6a more emphatic and explicit than is easily done in English.
- Hebrews 3:6 tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.
- Hebrews 3:6 tn Grk “whose house we are,” continuing the previous sentence.
- Hebrews 3:6 tc The reading adopted by the translation is found in P13,46 B sa, while the vast majority of mss (א A C D Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 M latt) add μέχρι τέλους βεβαίαν (mechri telous bebaian, “secure until the end”). The external evidence for the omission, though minimal, has excellent credentials. Considering the internal factors, B. M. Metzger (TCGNT 595) finds it surprising that the feminine adjective βεβαίαν should modify the neuter noun καύχημα (kauchēma, here translated “we take pride”), a fact that suggests that even the form of the word was borrowed from another place. Since the same phrase occurs at Heb 3:14, it is likely that later scribes added it here at Heb 3:6 in anticipation of Heb 3:14. While these words belong at 3:14, they seem foreign to 3:6.
- Hebrews 3:6 tn Grk “the pride of our hope.”
- Hebrews 3:7 sn The following quotation is from Ps 95:7b-11.
- Hebrews 3:7 tn Grk “today if you hear his voice.”
- Hebrews 3:9 tn Grk “tested me by trial.”
- Hebrews 3:10 tn Grk “they are wandering in the heart.”
- Hebrews 3:11 tn Grk “if they shall enter my rest,” a Hebrew idiom expressing an oath that something will certainly not happen.
- Hebrews 3:12 tn Or “take care.”
- Hebrews 3:12 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.
- Hebrews 3:12 tn Grk “that there not be in any of you.”
- Hebrews 3:12 tn Or “deserts,” “rebels against.”
- Hebrews 3:12 tn Grk “in forsaking the living God.”
- Hebrews 3:14 tn Grk “the beginning of the confidence.”
- Hebrews 3:15 tn Grk “while it is said.”
- Hebrews 3:15 tn Grk “today if you hear his voice.”
- Hebrews 3:15 sn A quotation from Ps 95:7b-8.
- Hebrews 3:16 tn Grk “through Moses.”
- Hebrews 3:17 tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.
- Hebrews 3:17 sn An allusion to God’s judgment pronounced in Num 14:29, 32.
- Hebrews 3:19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate a summary or conclusion to the argument of the preceding paragraph.
Hebrews 4
New International Version - UK
A Sabbath-rest for the people of God
4 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.[a] 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
‘So I declared on oath in my anger,
“They shall never enter my rest.”’[b]
And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: ‘On the seventh day God rested from all his works.’[c] 5 And again in the passage above he says, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’
6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, 7 God again set a certain day, calling it ‘Today’. This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:
‘Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.’[d]
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works,[e] just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Jesus the great high priest
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 4:2 Some manuscripts because those who heard did not combine it with faith
- Hebrews 4:3 Psalm 95:11; also in verse 5
- Hebrews 4:4 Gen. 2:2
- Hebrews 4:7 Psalm 95:7,8
- Hebrews 4:10 Or labour
- Hebrews 4:14 Greek has gone through the heavens
Hebrews 4
New English Translation
God’s Promised Rest
4 Therefore we must be wary[a] that, while the promise of entering his rest remains open, none of you may seem to have come short of it. 2 For we had good news proclaimed to us just as they did. But the message they heard did them no good, since they did not join in[b] with those who heard it in faith.[c] 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my anger, ‘They will never enter my rest!’”[d] And yet God’s works[e] were accomplished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works,”[f] 5 but to repeat the text cited earlier:[g] “They will never enter my rest!” 6 Therefore it remains for some to enter it, yet those to whom it was previously proclaimed did not enter because of disobedience. 7 So God[h] again ordains a certain day, “Today,” speaking through David[i] after so long a time, as in the words quoted before,[j] “Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks![k] Do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God[l] would not have spoken afterward about another day. 9 Consequently a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. 10 For the one who enters God’s[m] rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works. 11 Thus we must make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by following the same pattern of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from God,[n] but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.
Jesus Our Compassionate High Priest
14 Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.[o]
Footnotes
- Hebrews 4:1 tn Grk “let us fear.”
- Hebrews 4:2 tn Or “they were not united.”
- Hebrews 4:2 tc A few mss (א and a few versional witnesses) have the nominative singular participle συγκεκερασμένος (sunkekerasmenos, “since it [the message] was not combined with faith by those who heard it”), a reading that refers back to the ὁ λόγος (ho logos, “the message”). There are a few other variants here (e.g., συγκεκεραμμένοι [sunkekerammenoi] in 104, συγκεκεραμένους [sunkekeramenous] in 1881 M), but the accusative plural participle συγκεκερασμένους (sunkekerasmenous), found in P13vid,46 A B C D* Ψ 0243 0278 33 81 1739 2464, has by far the best external credentials. This participle agrees with the previous ἐκείνους (ekeinous, “those”), a more difficult construction grammatically than the nominative singular. Thus, both on external and internal grounds, συγκεκερασμένους is preferred.
- Hebrews 4:3 sn A quotation from Ps 95:11.
- Hebrews 4:3 tn Grk “although the works,” continuing the previous reference to God. The referent (God) is specified in the translation for clarity.
- Hebrews 4:4 sn A quotation from Gen 2:2.
- Hebrews 4:5 tn Grk “and in this again.”
- Hebrews 4:7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Hebrews 4:7 sn Ps 95 in the Hebrew does not mention David either in the text or the superscription. The writer of Hebrews might attribute Psalms as a whole to David, though some psalms are specifically attributed to other individuals or groups. Yet the Greek inscription for Ps 95 in the LXX credits the psalm to David, and the author of Hebrews frequently uses the LXX.
- Hebrews 4:7 tn Grk “as it has been said before” (see Heb 3:7).
- Hebrews 4:7 tn Grk “today if you hear his voice.”
- Hebrews 4:8 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Hebrews 4:10 tn Grk “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Hebrews 4:13 tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Hebrews 4:16 tn Grk “for timely help.”
Hebrews 5
New International Version - UK
5 Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 4 And no one takes this honour on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,
‘You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.’[a]
6 And he says in another place,
‘You are a priest for ever,
in the order of Melchizedek.’[b]
7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Warning against falling away
11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 5:5 Psalm 2:7
- Hebrews 5:6 Psalm 110:4
Hebrews 5
New English Translation
5 For every high priest is taken from among the people[a] and appointed[b] to represent them before God,[c] to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal compassionately with those who are ignorant and erring, since he also is subject to weakness, 3 and for this reason he is obligated to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. 4 And no one assumes this honor[d] on his own initiative,[e] but only when called to it by God,[f] as in fact Aaron was. 5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming high priest, but the one who glorified him was God,[g] who said to him, “You are my Son! Today I have fathered you,”[h] 6 as also in another place God[i] says, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”[j] 7 During his earthly life[k] Christ[l] offered[m] both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered.[n] 9 And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 and he was designated[o] by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek.[p]
The Need to Move on to Maturity
11 On this topic we have much to say[q] and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish[r] in hearing. 12 For though you should in fact be teachers by this time,[s] you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances.[t] You have gone back to needing[u] milk, not[v] solid food. 13 For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 5:1 tn Grk “from among men,” but since the point in context is shared humanity (rather than shared maleness), the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anthrōpōn) has been translated “people.”
- Hebrews 5:1 tn Grk “who is taken from among people is appointed.”
- Hebrews 5:1 tn Grk “appointed on behalf of people in reference to things relating to God.”
- Hebrews 5:4 sn Honor refers here to the honor of the high priesthood.
- Hebrews 5:4 tn Grk “by himself, on his own.”
- Hebrews 5:4 tn Grk “being called by God.”
- Hebrews 5:5 tn Grk “the one”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Hebrews 5:5 tn Grk “I have begotten you”; see Heb 1:5.sn A quotation from Ps 2:7.
- Hebrews 5:6 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Hebrews 5:6 sn A quotation from Ps 110:4.
- Hebrews 5:7 tn Grk “in the days of his flesh.”
- Hebrews 5:7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Hebrews 5:7 tn Grk “who…having offered,” continuing the description of Christ from Heb 5:5-6.
- Hebrews 5:8 sn There is a wordplay in the Greek text between the verbs “learned” (ἔμαθεν, emathen) and “suffered” (ἔπαθεν, epathen).
- Hebrews 5:10 tn Grk “having been designated,” continuing the thought of Heb 5:9.
- Hebrews 5:10 sn The phrase in the order of Melchizedek picks up the quotation from Ps 110:4 in Heb 5:6.
- Hebrews 5:11 tn Grk “concerning which the message for us is great.”
- Hebrews 5:11 tn Or “dull.”
- Hebrews 5:12 tn Grk “because of the time.”
- Hebrews 5:12 tn Grk “the elements of the beginning of the oracles of God.”
- Hebrews 5:12 tn Grk “you have come to have a need for.”
- Hebrews 5:12 tc ‡ Most texts, including some early and significant ones (א2 A B* D Ψ 0122 0278 1881 M sy Cl), have καί (kai, “and”) immediately preceding οὐ (ou, “not”), but other equally significant witnesses (P46 א* B2 C 33 81 1739 lat Or Did) lack the conjunction. As it was a natural tendency for scribes to add a coordinating conjunction, the καί appears to be a motivated reading. On balance, it is probably best to regard the shorter reading as authentic. NA28 has καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
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