Bible Commentaries

Proverbs 11:31 — No one sins with impunity. God will judge every sin. Peter quoted this proverb (1 Peter 4:18). [Note: See J. Barr, "b’rs-molis: Proverbs 11:31 and 1 Peter 4:18," Journal of Semitic Studies 20 (1975):149-64.]

Ezekiel 1:1 — Restoration Visions?" Vetus Testamentum 27 (1977):82-98.] Frequently when someone recorded personal reminiscences he gave the person’s age (cf. Genesis 8:13). Thirty was the age at which priests entered into their ministry in Israel (Numbers 4:3; Numbers 4:23; Numbers 4:30; Numbers 4:39; Numbers 4:43; 1 Chronicles 23:3), and Ezekiel was a priest (Ezekiel 1:3). These visions came to Ezekiel while he was among the Jewish exiles who settled by the Chebar River in Babylonia. The Chebar River

Ezekiel 10:18-19 — Ezekiel then saw God move from the front door of the temple (Ezekiel 10:4) to a position above the cherubim. In the former vision, the cherubim supported a platform on which the throne rested (Ezekiel 1:22-26). The Lord was mounting his throne-chariot, which the cherubim would carry, to ride out of the temple and the city.

Ezekiel 2:8 — The Lord warned Ezekiel not to be rebellious like the people of Israel but to listen to Him and to receive the messages that God would feed him (cf. Deuteronomy 8:3; Jeremiah 15:16; Matthew 4:4; John 6:53-58).

Daniel 7:9 — In some English versions, this verse and some that follow (Daniel 7:10; Daniel 7:13-14) are in poetic form. This indicates a difference in the original language (Aramaic), which sets these verses off as distinct and more elevated in literary style, in the opinion of the translators. From what Daniel recorded, it seems clear that now he

Hosea 1:2-1 — to be a lesson to the people of Israel. This lesson corresponds to and illustrated the other messages of judgment and restoration that follow. Other prophets also experienced personal problems that the Lord used to teach His people (e.g., Isaiah 20:1-4; Ezekiel 4:1 to Ezekiel 5:4). The major themes of the book come into view in this opening section: Israel’s unfaithfulness to Yahweh, His judgment of her, and His later restoration of her.

Hosea 6:3 — Such a hope would motivate this revived generation of Israelites to encourage themselves to pursue intensely knowing (acknowledging) Yahweh as the true God and as their God (cf. Hosea 4:1; Hosea 4:6; Hosea 5:4). They would be confident of His restoration because of His character, His faithfulness to His promises (e.g., Hosea 5:15), and His power. His return to bless them would be as certain and as life-giving as the sunrise. He would

Jonah 4:4 — God did not rebuke Jonah nor did He ask what right he had to criticize God. Rather, He suggested that Jonah might not be viewing the situation correctly. God also confronted Job tenderly by asking him questions (cf. Jonah 4:9; Jonah 4:11; Job 38-39). The Jerusalem Bible translation, "Are you right to be angry?" captures the intent of the Hebrew text. Jonah had condemned God for not being angry (Jonah 4:2), but now God challenged Jonah for being angry. Jonah was

Matthew 13:18-23 — The explanation of the parable of the soils 13:18-23 (cf. Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8:11-15) Jesus interpreted His first parable to help His disciples understand it and the others that followed (cf. Mark 4:13).

Matthew 3:1-11 — D. The King’s preparation 3:1-4:11 Matthew passed over Jesus’ childhood quickly to relate His preparation for presentation to Israel as her King. "The material of this section of the Gospel is particularly important since the baptism of Jesus serves as the occasion of his

Matthew 4:12-13 — The word "withdrew" (NASB) or "returned" (NIV; Gr. anachoreo) is significant. Evidently Jesus wanted to get away from Israel’s religious leaders in Jerusalem who opposed John (John 4:1-3; John 5:1-16). It is unlikely that Herod Antipas would have imprisoned John if the religious authorities had supported John. Matthew used the same Greek word, paredothe ("to be taken into custody"), later when he described Jesus’

Luke 13:2-3 — believed that tragedy or accident was the direct result of some personal sin (cf. John 9:1-3). Thus they concluded that the Galileans who had perished must have been great sinners. They based this view on a faulty theory of divine retribution (cf. Job 4:7; Job 8:20; Job 22:4-5). Jesus repudiated this theory and viewed the death of the Galileans as the consequence of sin generally. Jesus stressed the error of their view by placing the word "no" (Gr. ouchi) first in the sentence for emphasis

Luke 4:42-44 — Jesus’ first preaching tour of Galilee 4:42-44 (cf. Mark 1:35-39) Again Luke stressed the wide ministry that Jesus purposely carried on. This pericope records what happened the morning following the previous incident (cf. Luke 4:40). The people of Nazareth had wanted Jesus to leave, but the

Luke 5:1-3 — These verses give the setting for the incident. Again Luke pointed out that the crowd was listening to the word of God (Luke 5:1; cf. Luke 4:32; cf. Luke 4:36). The people were so interested that they pressed upon Jesus. Jesus put some distance between them and Himself by teaching from a boat not far off shore. Luke described the Sea of Galilee as a lake, as most of His readers would have

Acts 19:22 — Paul apparently sent Timothy (cf. Acts 18:5; 1 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 16:10-11) and Erastus to minister to the Macedonian churches. They also prepared for his coming by laying the groundwork for the collection for the poor Jerusalem saints (cf. 1 Corinthians 16:1-9). This Erastus was probably not the

Acts 3:1-10 — The healing of a lame Man 1:3-10 Luke had just referred to the apostles’ teaching, to the awe that many of the Jews felt, to the apostles doing signs and wonders, and to the Christians meeting in the temple (Acts 2:43-44; Acts 2:46). Now he narrated a specific incident that included these elements. The Gospel writers also chose a healing to illustrate the nature of Jesus’ early ministry (Matthew 8:2-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16; Luke 5:24; John 4:46-54).

Galatians 4:21-31 — 3. The biblical illustration 4:21-31 Paul interpreted allegorically (i.e., figuratively, NIV) features of the history of Abraham’s two sons to convince his readers that they were in danger of joining the wrong branch of Abraham’s family. The apostle appears to have used

Ephesians 4:6 — them in the sense of being their sovereign. He lives through them and manifests Himself in them. Evidently Paul began this list of seven elements of unity with the Spirit’s work because he had been speaking of the unity of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:3). He then proceeded to discuss the gifts of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:7-13; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6). "The unity of the church is due to charis, God’s grace having reconciled us to himself; but the diversity of the church is due to charismata,

1 Thessalonians 1:9 — This reference indicates a sizable Gentile population in the church since idolatry was a Gentile vice. There were evidently two types of Gentiles in the Thessalonian church: pagan Gentiles who had been idolaters and God-fearing Gentiles (cf. Acts 17:4). "The language of separation occurs with regularity in the Thessalonian correspondence (1 Thessalonians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:12-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:5 f.; 2 Thessalonians 1:7 f.; 2 Thessalonians 2:11

Revelation 4:2 — throne and someone sitting on it in heaven (cf. Ezekiel 11:1; Ezekiel 11:5). [Note: See J. M. Vogelgesang, "The Interpretation of Ezekiel in the Book of Revelation," (Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University, 1985).] "Throne" occurs 45 times in Revelation and only 15 times in the rest of the New Testament. The tense of the Greek verb translated "sitting" (present participle here and in Revelation 4:3) suggests continuous sitting. The person on the throne was undoubtedly