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Deuteronomy 6:4-9
New English Translation

The Essence of the Covenant Principles

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one![a] 5 You must love[b] the Lord your God with your whole mind,[c] your whole being,[d] and all your strength.[e]

Exhortation to Teach the Covenant Principles

6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 7 and you must teach[f] them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road,[g] as you lie down, and as you get up. 8 You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm[h] and fasten them as symbols[i] on your forehead. 9 Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates.[j]

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 6:4 tn Heb “the Lord, our God, the Lord, one.” (1) One option is to translate: “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone” (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT). This would be an affirmation that the Lord was the sole object of their devotion. This interpretation finds support from the appeals to loyalty that follow (vv. 5, 14). (2) Another option is to translate: “The Lord is our God, the Lord is unique.” In this case the text would be affirming the people’s allegiance to the Lord, as well as the Lord’s superiority to all other gods. It would also imply that he is the only one worthy of their worship. Support for this view comes from parallel texts such as Deut 7:9 and 10:17, as well as the use of “one” in Song 6:8-9, where the starstruck lover declares that his beloved is unique (literally, “one,” that is, “one of a kind”) when compared to all other women.sn Verses 4-5 constitute the so-called Shema (after the first word שְׁמַע, shemaʿ, “hear”), widely regarded as the very heart of Jewish confession and faith. When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment of all, he quoted this text (Matt 22:37-38).
  2. Deuteronomy 6:5 tn The verb אָהֵב (ʾahev, “to love”) in this setting communicates not so much an emotional idea as one of covenant commitment. To love the Lord is to be absolutely loyal and obedient to him in every respect, a truth Jesus himself taught (cf. John 14:15). See also the note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.
  3. Deuteronomy 6:5 tn Heb “heart.” In OT physiology the heart (לֵב, לֵבָב; levav, lev) was considered the seat of the mind or intellect, so that one could think with one’s heart. See A. Luc, NIDOTTE 2:749-54.
  4. Deuteronomy 6:5 tn Heb “soul”; “being.” Contrary to Hellenistic ideas of a soul that is discrete and separate from the body and spirit, OT anthropology equated the “soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) with the person himself. It is therefore best in most cases to translate נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) as “being” or the like. See H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 10-25; D. Fredericks, NIDOTTE 3:133-34.
  5. Deuteronomy 6:5 sn For NT variations on the Shema see Matt 22:37-39; Mark 12:29-30; Luke 10:27.
  6. Deuteronomy 6:7 tn Heb “repeat” (so NLT). If from the root I שָׁנַן (shanan), the verb means essentially to “engrave,” that is, “to teach incisively” (Piel); note NAB “Drill them into your children.” Cf. BDB 1041-42 s.v.
  7. Deuteronomy 6:7 tn Or “as you are away on a journey” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT); NAB “at home and abroad.”
  8. Deuteronomy 6:8 sn Tie them as a sign on your forearm. Later Jewish tradition referred to the little leather containers tied to the forearms and foreheads as tefillin. They were to contain the following passages from the Torah: Exod 13:1-10, 11-16; Deut 6:5-9; 11:13-21. The purpose was to serve as a “sign” of covenant relationship and obedience.
  9. Deuteronomy 6:8 sn Fasten them as symbols on your forehead. These were also known later as tefillin (see previous note) or phylacteries (from the Greek term). These box-like containers, like those on the forearms, held the same scraps of the Torah. It was the hypocritical practice of wearing these without heartfelt sincerity that caused Jesus to speak scathingly about them (cf. Matt 23:5).
  10. Deuteronomy 6:9 sn The Hebrew term מְזוּזֹת (mezuzot) refers both to the door frames and to small cases attached on them containing scripture texts (always Deut 6:4-9 and 11:13-21; and sometimes the decalogue; Exod 13:1-10, 11-16; and Num 10:35-36). See J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy (JPSTC), 443-44.
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Deuteronomy 5
Deuteronomy 7
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Matthew 7:21-23
New English Translation

Judgment of Pretenders

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

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 7:21 sn The double use of the vocative is normally used in situations of high emotion or emphasis. Even an emphatic confession like this one without corresponding action means little.
  2. Matthew 7:22 tn Grk “did we not in your name prophesy and in your name cast out demons and in your name do many powerful deeds.” The phrase “in your name” occurs before each of the verbs in the Greek text, making it somewhat emphatic, but the phrase was placed after the verbs in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  3. Matthew 7:23 tn Or “you who commit lawless deeds”; or “you who behave lawlessly”; Grk “workers of lawlessness.”
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Matthew 6
Matthew 8
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Luke 10:38-42
New English Translation

Jesus and Martha

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus[a] entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest.[b] 39 She[c] had a sister named Mary, who sat[d] at the Lord’s feet[e] and listened to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted[f] with all the preparations she had to make,[g] so[h] she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care[i] that my sister has left me to do all the work[j] alone? Tell[k] her to help me.” 41 But the Lord[l] answered her,[m] “Martha, Martha,[n] you are worried and troubled[o] about many things, 42 but one thing[p] is needed. Mary has chosen the best[q] part; it will not be taken away from her.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 10:38 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  2. Luke 10:38 tc Most mss have “into the house” (P3vid א C L Ξ 33 579) or “into her house” (א1 A C2 D W Θ Ψ 070 ƒ1,13 M lat) at the end of the sentence. But the English translation masks the multitude of variants: Different forms of “house” (οἰκίαν [oikian], οἶκον [oikon]) and “her” occur (see TCGNT 129). These variations argue against authenticity; they no doubt arose because of the abrupt ending of the sentence (the Greek is more literally translated simply as “Martha received him”), prompting copyists to add the location. The shorter reading is found in P45,75 B sa. tn For the meaning “to welcome, to have as a guest” see L&N 34.53.
  3. Luke 10:39 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  4. Luke 10:39 tn This reflexive makes it clear that Mary took the initiative in sitting by Jesus.
  5. Luke 10:39 sn The description of Mary sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to him makes her sound like a disciple (compare Luke 8:35).
  6. Luke 10:40 sn The term distracted means “to be pulled away” by something (L&N 25.238). It is a narrative comment that makes clear who is right in the account.
  7. Luke 10:40 tn Grk “with much serving.”
  8. Luke 10:40 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the following was a result of Martha’s distraction.
  9. Luke 10:40 tn The negative οὐ (ou) used with the verb expects a positive reply. Martha expected Jesus to respond and rebuke Mary.
  10. Luke 10:40 tn Grk “has left me to serve alone.”
  11. Luke 10:40 tn The conjunction οὖν (oun, “then, therefore”) has not been translated here.
  12. Luke 10:41 tc Most mss (A B* C D W Θ Ψ ƒ1,13 M it) read “Jesus” instead of “the Lord” here, but κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) has the support of some weighty papyri, majuscules, and other witnesses (P3,[45],75 א B2 L 579 892 lat sa).
  13. Luke 10:41 tn Grk “answering, said to her.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “answered her.”
  14. Luke 10:41 sn The double vocative Martha, Martha communicates emotion.
  15. Luke 10:41 tn Or “upset.” Here the meanings of μεριμνάω (merimnaō) and θορυβάζομαι (thorubazomai) reinforce each other (L&N 25.234).
  16. Luke 10:42 tc Or, with some mss (P3 [א] B C2 L 070vid ƒ1 33 [579]), “few things are needed—or only one” (as well as other variants). The textual problem here is a difficult one to decide. The shorter reading is normally preferred, but it is not altogether clear how the variants would arise from it. However, the reading followed in the translation has good support (with some internal variations) from a number of witnesses (P45,75 A C* W Θ Ψ ƒ13 M lat sa).
  17. Luke 10:42 tn Or “better”; Grk “good.” This is an instance of the positive adjective used in place of the superlative adjective. According to ExSyn 298, this could also be treated as a positive for comparative (“better”).
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Luke 9
Luke 11
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1 Corinthians 13
New English Translation

The Way of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to boast,[a] but do not have love, I receive no benefit.

4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful. 6 It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. But if there are prophecies, they will be set aside; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be set aside. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, 10 but when what is perfect[b] comes, the partial will be set aside. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became an adult,[c] I set aside childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror indirectly,[d] but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 13:3 tc The reading καυχήσωμαι (kauchēsōmai, “I might boast”) is well supported by P46 א A B 048 33 1739* co Hiermss. The competing reading, καυθήσομαι (kauthēsomai, “I will burn”), is found in C D F G L 81 1175 1881* al latt and a host of patristic writers. From this reading other variants were obviously derived: καυθήσωμαι (kauthēsōmai), a future subjunctive (“I might burn”) read by the Byzantine text and a few others (Ψ 1739c 1881c M); and καυθῇ (kauthē, “it might be burned”) read by 1505. On an external level, the Alexandrian reading is obviously superior, though the Western and Byzantine readings need to be accounted for. (The following discussion is derived largely from TCGNT 497-98). Internally, καυχήσωμαι is superior for the following reasons: (1) Once the Church started suffering persecution and martyrdom by fire, the v.l. naturally arose. Once there, it is difficult to see why any scribe would intentionally change it to καυχήσωμαι. (2) Involving as it does the change of just two letters (χ to θ [ch to th], ω to ο [ō to o]), this reading could be accomplished without much fanfare. Yet, it appears cumbersome in the context, both because of the passive voice and especially the retention of the first person (“If I give up my body that I may be burned”). A more logical word would have been the third person passive, καυθῇ, as read in 1505 (“If I give up my body that it may be burned”). (3) Although the connection between giving up one’s body and boasting is ambiguous, this very ambiguity has all the earmarks of being from Paul. It may have the force of giving up one’s body into slavery. In any event, it looks to be the harder reading. Incidentally, the Byzantine reading is impossible because the future subjunctive did not occur in Koine Greek. As the reading of the majority of Byzantine minuscules, its roots are clearly post-Koine and as such is a “grammatical monstrosity that cannot be attributed to Paul” (TCGNT 498). Cf. also the notes in BDF §28; MHT 2:219.
  2. 1 Corinthians 13:10 tn Or “when completion.”
  3. 1 Corinthians 13:11 tn The Greek term translated “adult” here is ἀνήρ (anēr), a term which ordinarily refers to males, husbands, etc. In this context Paul contrasts the states of childhood and adulthood, so the term has been translated “adult”; cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1.b.
  4. 1 Corinthians 13:12 tn Grk “we are seeing through [= using] a mirror by means of a dark image.” Corinth was well known in the ancient world for producing some of the finest bronze mirrors available. Paul’s point in this analogy, then, is not that our current understanding and relationship with God is distorted (as if the mirror reflected poorly), but rather that it is “indirect,” (i.e., the nature of looking in a mirror) compared to the relationship we will enjoy with him in the future when we see him “face-to-face” (cf. G. D. Fee, First Corinthians [NICNT], 648). The word “indirectly” translates the Greek phrase ἐν αἰνίγματι (en ainigmati, “in an obscure image”) which itself may reflect an allusion to Num 12:8 (LXX οὐ δι᾿ αἰνιγμάτων), where God says that he speaks to Moses “mouth to mouth [= face-to-face]…and not in dark figures [of speech].” Though this allusion to the OT is not explicitly developed here, it probably did not go unnoticed by the Corinthians who were apparently familiar with OT traditions about Moses (cf. 1 Cor 10:2). Indeed, in 2 Cor 3:13-18 Paul had recourse with the Corinthians to contrast Moses’ ministry under the old covenant with the hope afforded through apostolic ministry and the new covenant. Further, it is in this context, specifically in 2 Cor 3:18, that the apostle invokes the use of the mirror analogy again in order to unfold the nature of the Christian’s progressive transformation by the Spirit.
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