Forgiven or Passed Over? Part 1

Revisiting an essay—David’s Forgiveness, Part 1—I realized I had put an inordinate emphasis on the word forgiven without looking into the meaning of the original Hebrew word.  My suspicion of Bible translators feels at times like a paranoid schizophrenic’s fear of the CIA.  Lapses like this one renew my appreciation for the maxim, “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.”[1]

This essay could be very short.  I could simply say that Nathan actually responded to David’s confession with the words, Yes, and the Lord has passed over[2] (ʽâbar) your sin.  You are not going to die.[3]  Such a translation would agree with Paul’s assessment of God’s past actions: God in his forbearance had passed over (πάρεσιν, a form of πάρεσις) the sins previously committed.[4]  I could simply accept the text at face value, that ʽâbar is not forgiveness and God is free to exact whatever penalty He chooses.

It seems like an ironclad argument.  But five of the twelve Bibles I checked translate ʽâbar in 2 Samuel 12:13 forgiven or forgives.  Of the remaining seven four have it put away, two are taken away, and one, Jehovah hath caused thy sin to pass away.  How different is that from forgiven really?

ʽâbar 2 Samuel 12:13

Bible Versions

forgiven NET, CEV, NAB
put away ASV, DNT, KJV, NKJV
taken away GWT, NIV
forgives TEV, TMSG
pass away YLT

Do the translators believe that this is all I should expect from the forgiveness God exalted Jesus to give to Israel?  God exalted him to his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness (ἄφεσιν, a form of ἄφεσις) of sins.[5]  Apparently a primary verb to forgive is as absent from holy Hebrew as it is from pagan Greek.  The concept to forgive is either shoehorned into, or extrapolated from, other verbs in both languages.  [Addendum 2/14/2018: This is wrong regarding Hebrew: sâlach (סלח).]  That gives me cause to study ʽâbar in more detail to get a feel for its capacity to carry forgiveness.

I had the opportunity to go home for a month at Christmas.  Home is a relative concept.  I alternated between my mother’s house visiting her, my sister and her husband, and my ex-mother-in-law’s house about a hundred miles north visiting her, my kids, my ex-wife and her husband.  The day after I arrived I attended my son’s wedding.

We all sat in the front row.  I offered the seat next to our ex-wife to my son’s biological father.  He declined the offer and sat next to me.  (Her current husband sat on her other side.)  He is about two years from a painful break-up with his significant other.  He leaned over and whispered to me, “I don’t know how you do it.  I don’t think I could sit next to my ex, smiling, at her son’s wedding.”  He gave me the opportunity to say that I couldn’t take the credit, that it is not my doing so much as my getting out of the way of the Lord’s doing: his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and firm control.  He received it well and acknowledged that he was seeking a similar peace.

Later, in a phone conversation with another friend who questioned me more specifically about the fruit of the Spirit, I acknowledged that sadly the Lord’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness aren’t always my first impulse.  Sometimes letting the fruit of his Spirit shine through me is a matter of waiting in that firm control until the second, third or fourth impulse holds sway.  But as I think of it now there is something else that makes friendship with my ex-wife possible.

I forgave her for divorcing me.  I forgive her every night I go to bed alone and every morning I wake up.  And I will forgive her for as long as we both shall live.  “I hate divorce,” says the Lord God of Israel[6]  I don’t forgive her because I am so righteous.

Jesus taught us to pray, forgive (ἄφες, a form of ἀφίημι) us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven (ἀφήκαμεν, another form of ἀφίημι) our debtors.[7]  I, a sinful man in need of the Father’s forgiveness, pray this daily, and I believe Jesus’ saying: For if you forgive (ἀφῆτε, another form of ἀφίημι) others their sins (παραπτώματα, a form of παράπτωμα), your heavenly Father will also forgive (ἀφήσει, another form of ἀφίημι) you.  But if you do not forgive (ἀφῆτε, another form of ἀφίημι) others, your Father will not forgive (ἀφήσει, another form of ἀφίημι) you your sins (παραπτώματα, a form of παράπτωμα).[8]

And here I probably give myself too much credit for rational consistency.  I forgive because I am schooled in this teaching by the Holy Spirit and filled continuously with his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and firm control.  It occurs to me, however, that one who feels more righteous than I, might feel less need of the Father’s forgiveness and less compulsion to forgive others.  The fault in this logic is that the most righteous man of all prayed, Father, forgive (ἄφες, a form of ἀφίημι) them, for they don’t know what they are doing[9] as He surrendered[10] to his Father’s will.

The Father’s answer to his beloved Son’s request is the hope of all us sinners if it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy[11] (ἐλεῶντος, a form of ἐλεέω).  For God has consigned all people to disobedience (ἀπείθειαν, a form of ἀπείθεια) so that he may show mercy (ἐλεήσῃ, another form of ἐλεέω) to them all.[12]  What shall we say then?  Is there injustice with God?  Absolutely not!  For he says to Moses: I will have mercy (ἐλεήσω, another form of ἐλεέω) on whom I have mercy (ἐλεῶ, another form of ἐλεέω), and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”[13]

The Greek word ὡς persuades me that forgiveness is, and will be perceived as, a relative as opposed to an absolute concept.  So then, be perfect, as (ὡς) your heavenly Father is perfect.[14]  Whenever you pray, do not be like (ὡς) the hypocrites[15]  …may your will be done on earth as (ὡς) it is in heaven.[16]  …and forgive us our debts, as (ὡς) we ourselves have forgiven our debtors.[17]  The absolute on/off positions are clear.[18]  But some form of continuum from none to full pardon seems to be indicated by ὡς, contingent upon that quality of forgiveness we extend to others.

Still, I would suggest that we will be inclined to extend the same forgiveness to others that we believe we receive from God.  If that forgiveness seems to include punishment we are more likely to believe that some form of punishment should be meted out with our forgiveness as well.  Or if the one extending such forgiveness has no authority to punish, conditions may be attached, making forgiveness something that must be earned as opposed to something graciously given and received.  I take the interaction between David and Shimei as a case in point.

As David fled from Jerusalem during the events that fulfilled the Lord’s promise to bring disaster (raʽ ) on you from inside your own household,[19] Shimei threw stones and yelled, “Leave!  Leave!  You man of bloodshed, you wicked man!  The Lord has punished (shûb) you for all the spilled blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you rule.  Now the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom.  Disaster (raʽ ) has overtaken you, for you are a man of bloodshed [Table]!”[20]  Clearly, Shimei’s assessment does not agree with Nathan the prophet’s assessment.

Nathan the Prophet’s Assessment

This is what the Lord God of Israel says:

2 Samuel 12:7b (NET) Table

Why have you shown contempt for the word of the Lord by doing evil in my sight?

2 Samuel 12:9a (NET) Table

You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword…

2 Samuel 12:9b (NET)

…and you have taken his wife as your own!

2 Samuel 2:9c (NET)

You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.  So now the sword will never depart from your house.

2 Samuel 12:9d, 10a (NET)

For you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your own!

2 Samuel 12:10b (NET) Table

I am about to bring disaster on you from inside your own household!  Right before your eyes I will take your wives and hand them over to your companion.  He will have sexual relations with your wives in broad daylight!  Although you have acted in secret, I will do this thing before all Israel, and in broad daylight.

2 Samuel 12:11, 12 (NET) Table1 Table2

Then David exclaimed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord!”  Nathan replied to David, “Yes, and the Lord has ʽâbar your sin.  You are not going to die.

2 Samuel 12:13 (NET) Table

Nonetheless, because you have treated the Lord with such contempt in this matter, the son who has been born to you will certainly die.

2 Samuel 12:14 (NET) Table

The Hebrew word translated punished (shûb) is not found among the words the Lord God of Israel spoke through Nathan,[21] though I have certainly interpreted them as if they described recompense.  As a child I assumed that “forgiveness” only pertained to hell.  I believed that God would still punish me for my sins some other way.  He couldn’t help Himself, I thought, it’s who He is.

Abishai couldn’t tolerate hearing his king and commander spoken to as Shimei had spoken to him: Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?  Let me go over (ʽâbar) and cut off his head![22]  Abishai’s use of ʽâbar doesn’t sound much like forgiveness, but David said, “What do we have in common, you sons of Zeruiah?  If he curses because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David!’, who can say to him, ‘Why have you done this [Table]?’”[23]  David exercised what I have come to call an experimental faith (2 Samuel 16:11, 12 NKJV):

And David said to Abishai and all his servants, “See how my son who came from my own body seeks my life.  How much more now may this Benjamite?  Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the Lord has ordered him [Table].  It may be that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will repay (shûb) me with good for his cursing this day [Table].”

As David returned, lamenting his Pyrrhic victory[24] over his son Absalom, Shimei was one of the first[25] to greet him.  Don’t think badly of me, my lord, he said, and don’t recall the sin of your servant on the day when you, my lord the king, left Jerusalem!  Please don’t call it to mind!  For I, your servant, know that I sinned, and I have come today as the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.[26]  These are reminiscent of David’s words after Nathan confronted him (Psalm 51:1-3 NET):

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your loyal love!  Because of your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts! [Table]  Wash away my wrongdoing!  Cleanse me of my sin! [Table]  For I am aware of my rebellious acts; I am forever conscious of my sin [Table].

Abishai, who may have been hiding with David in the cave when Saul entered to relieve himself,[27] pursued a pious good (possibly expecting David’s approval): For this should not Shimei be put to death?  After all, he cursed the Lord’s anointed (mâshı̂yach)![28]  But David seemed to pursue something more like a beautiful good: What do we have in common, you sons of Zeruiah?  You are like my enemy today!  Should anyone be put to death in Israel today?  Don’t you realize that today I am king over Israel?[29]

David said to Shimei, “You won’t die.”  The king vowed an oath concerning this.[30]  Here it sounds like he forgave Shimei.  But apparently that wasn’t the case.  He held onto his grudge against Shimei for the rest of his life.  With his dying breath[31] he instructed Solomon, another son by Bathsheba (1 Kings 2:8, 9 NET):

Note well, you still have to contend with Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who tried to call down upon me a horrible judgment when I went to Mahanaim.  He came down and met me at the Jordan, and I solemnly promised him by the Lord, ‘I will not strike you down with the sword.’  But now don’t treat him as if he were innocent.  You are a wise man and you know how to handle him; make sure he has a bloody death.

The Lord however didn’t treat David that way.  He didn’t recall David’s sin when He spoke to Jeroboams’s wife by Ahijah the prophet (1 Kings 14:7, 8 NET Table1 Table2):

“Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: “I raised you up from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel.  I tore the kingdom away from the Davidic dynasty and gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me wholeheartedly by doing only (raq) what I approve.”’”

This is another reason I wish to look deeper into ʽâbar.  Whatever it means, it altered reality for the God, who does not lie[32] when He extended it to David.

[1] http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/98153-just-because-you-re-paranoid-doesn-t-mean-they-aren-t-after-you

[2] The first occurrence in the Bible is Genesis 8:1b (NKJV), And God made a wind to pass (ʽâbar) over the earth, and the waters subsided.

[3] 2 Samuel 12:13b (NET) Table

[4] Romans 3:25b (NET)

[5] Acts 5:31 (NET)

[6] Malachi 2:16a (NET) Table

[7] Matthew 6:12 (NET) Table

[8] Matthew 6:14, 15 (NET) Table

[9] Luke 23:34a (NET) Table

[10] Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and that he would send me more than twelve legions of angels right now?  How then would the scriptures that say it must happen this way be fulfilled (πληρωθῶσιν, a form of πληρόω)? (Matthew 26:53, 54 NET) Table

[11] Romans 9:16 (NET) Table

[12] Romans 11:32 (NET)

[13] Romans 9:14, 15 (NET)

[14] Matthew 5:48 (NET)

[15] Matthew 6:5a (NET) Table

[16] Matthew 6:10b (NET)

[17] Matthew 6:12 (NET)

[18] Matthew 6:14, 15 (NET)

[19] 2 Samuel 12:11 (NET) Table

[20] 2 Samuel 16:7, 8 (NET)

[21] It does occur in the description of events leading up to and following those words (2 Samuel 11:4, 15; 12:23) but seems to be used in its more literal sense, to return.

[22] 2 Samuel 16:9 (NET)

[23] 2 Samuel 16:10 (NET)

[24] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhic_victory See: 2 Samuel 18:33 (NET)

[25] 2 Samuel 19:16 (NET)

[26] 2 Samuel 19:19, 20 (NET)

[27] 1 Samuel 24:3 (NET)

[28] 2 Samuel 19:21 (NET)  See also: 1 Samuel 24:6 (NET)

[29] 2 Samuel 19:22 (NET)

[30] 2 Samuel 19:23 (NET)

[31] 1 Kings 2:10 (NET)

[32] Titus 1:2 (NET)

Jedidiah, Part 4

Look, you desire integrity in the inner man,1 David’s song continued.  This is a truth he learned the hard way with Bathsheba.  But I could hear the voice of Jesus, You have heard that it was said,2 Do not commit adultery (μοιχεύσεις, a form of μοιχεύω).”  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her3 has already committed adultery (ἐμοίχευσεν, another form of μοιχεύω) with her in his heart,4 in that inner man where the Lord desires integrity.

David’s song continued, you want me to possess wisdom (See Addendum below).5  Assuming that Psalm 139 was written later in David’s life than Psalm 51, that wisdom was acquired: O Lord, you examine me and know.  You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives.  You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; you are aware of everything I do.  Certainly my tongue does not frame a word without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it [Table14 below].  You squeeze me in from behind and in front; you place your hand on me [Table16 below].  Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.6

Sprinkle me with water and I will be pure; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.7  David did not sacrifice his daughter to purify himself, or divorce his wives and send his children away.  And though the Hebrew for Sprinkle me with water (literally, Purge me with hyssop) refers to the plant used in religious rites of purification to sprinkle water or blood, David did not run off to a priest either.  His faith did not rest on his own reform efforts or religious ritual but upon God.  David used the language of religious ritual to reach out for the actual purification and cleansing from sin that only comes from God.  The phrase whiter than snow reminded me of Isaiah, the prophet who lived and wrote many centuries after the time of David.

The Old Testament only began to make sense to me when I started to read it as if it were intended for primarily one reader.  I began to hear it as a mnemonic device written and preserved to remind one twelve-year-old Jewish boy who He was, what He had said and done, what had transpired as a result, and what He had come to do.  Before Jesus was born of a virgin and walked this earth as a man, He spoke through the prophet Isaiah, revealing some of his most profound thoughts.  I’m not saying that Isaiah’s time is when Jesus decided to walk this earth and be publicly displayed…at his death as the mercy seat accessible through faith,8 that was some time before the world began.9  But I will say that the book of Isaiah as a whole goes a long way to explaining why He chose to do it.

Listen, O heavens, pay attention, O earth! Isaiah’s prophetic words began.  For the Lord speaks:  “I raised children, I brought them up, but they have rebelled against me!  An ox recognizes its owner, a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; but Israel does not recognize me, my people do not understand.”10  “Come, let’s consider your options,” says the Lord.  “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool.”11

This translation is exactly what I understood the first time I read this verse in a different translation of the Bible.  The upside was I recognized that forgiveness included not merely pardon from the penalty of sin, but cleansing from sin.  I’ll consider the downside in a moment.  Now I want to consider a forgiveness that merely pardoned the sinner without cleansing any sin.

Movies deal with redemption schemes all the time, and some are more self-conscious about it than others.  In the movie The Final Cut, the EyeTech company has marketed a biological implant that records video and audio through a person’s eyes and ears throughout that person’s life.  The protagonist played by Robin Williams is a cutter, a man who extracts data from an implant after the host’s death and edits a “Rememory” for showing at a memorial service.  The antagonist, Jim Caviezel, is a reformed cutter who has joined with the people protesting against EyeTech and the cutters who profit from this work.

The cutter, apparently out of a sense of guilt, specialized in producing Rememories for notorious and unsavory characters that other cutters wouldn’t touch.  The reformed cutter accused him of taking murderers and making them saints.  The cutter countered that he was able to forgive people long after they could be punished for their sins.  He considered himself a sin eater.12  Both the former cutter and the audience feel the inadequacy of this type of forgiveness.  The redemption for Robin Williams’ character comes when he is just as happy not to make a Rememory for a deceased child molester due to circumstances beyond his control.

But my original understanding of—Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool—is not what the verse actually says.  Even the translators of the NET acknowledge in a footnote that the verse says, Though your sins have stained you like the color red, they can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, they can become white like wool.  It took me some time to take this verse literally.  But for the Lord to prevail when He is judged13 for forgiving me, something must be done about the impact of my sins on others.

David’s song continued: Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven!  May the bones you crushed rejoice!  Hide your face from my sins!  Wipe away all my guilt!14  Was David grasping at something like make my sin white as snow?  Or was he self-focused here?  Frankly, I don’t know.  God didn’t crush David’s bones literally, but set him up through Nathan’s hypothetical to experience Uriah’s pain.  David certainly felt a responsibility for his child with Bathsheba.  Did David truly believe he could experience the ultimate joy of being forgiven apart from some justice for Uriah and the child?  And I don’t mean retributive justice here, but some muting of the impact of David’s sin which resulted in their deaths.

I don’t know how God might accomplish this.  Apart from the obvious strategy of paying back money I stole with interest, I’m also at a loss to know how I or God could mute the impact of my sins on others.  Such knowledge is beyond my comprehension.15  I’ve thought about exploring it in a drama something like Sartre’s No Exit:  Samuel, Saul, Uriah, and David’s and Bathsheba’s first child discuss the topic in Sheol.  All I’ve ever gotten a handle on is the ending, based on 1 Peter 3:17-22:  David’s and Bathsheba’s first child rushes in like a messenger and informs the other three, “The Messiah is here.”  All rise and hurry to see.  Samuel mutters, “Messiah, what’s he doing here?”  The messenger, leading the way, shakes his head, “I don’t know.  I think they killed him.”

Though I may not understand how God makes sins white like snow or wool, I’m confident He doesn’t use a moral rationalization.  At the end of the The Final Cut the reformed cutter returned to cutting.  He wanted to expose the child molester’s sin, hoping to bring down the EyeTech company.  He stared at an image of the cutter, and spoke as if to him, but it seemed more like he was trying to convince himself that his own actions were justified because they were in service of this greater good.  This is the moral rationalization of tyrants and terrorists.  Perhaps it is unnecessary to say, but The Final Cut did not fare well at the box office.

Filmmakers don’t concern themselves with redemption strategies because they are avid moral philosophers—necessarily.  They are interested in believable character arcs to make their stories ring true.  They know that audiences expect a certain moral order to the universe their stories inhabit, whether they believe in such a moral order for their own lives or not.  And they know from experience that movies that do not satisfy that sense of moral order will be punished at the box office.  Evil characters suffer the consequences of their actions.  Good characters redeem themselves by acts of bravery, good deeds or self-sacrifice.  Movies are fundamentally religious exercises in almost precisely the way I am using the term.  Successful movies reflect the religious attitudes of the audience that made them successful.

 

Addendum: January 4, 2020
In the translations from the Masoretic text בַטֻּח֑וֹת (inward parts, inner man) was part of the first clause and וּ֜בְסָתֻ֗ם (hidden part) part of the second in the Tanakh, while וּ֜בְסָתֻ֗ם was ignored apparently by the NET translators.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Psalm 51:6 (Tanakh) Psalm 51:6 (NET) Psalm 50:8 (NETS)

Psalm 50:8 (English Elpenor)

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Look, you desire integrity in the inner man; you want me to possess wisdom. For, look, you loved truth; the unclear and secret aspects of your wisdom you made clear to me. For, behold, thou lovest truth: thou hast manifested to me the secret and hidden things of thy wisdom.

Morfix was no help at all.

Psalm 51:6 (51:8)

Hebrew Tanakh Homographs English Definitions
בַטֻּח֑וֹת בטחות in the inward parts N/A N/A
וּ֜בְסָתֻ֗ם ובסתם and in the hidden part סְתָם (colloquial) purposelessly; (colloquial) simply, just
סֶתֶם blockage

The rabbis chose ἄδηλα a form of ἄδηλος, “unknown, hidden, indistinct, secret, unseen, not clear, uncertain, obscure,” for בַטֻּח֑וֹת; κρύφια a form of κρύφιος, “secret, hidden” for וּ֜בְסָתֻ֗ם.  They assigned both, however, to the second clause.

Tables comparing Psalm 51:6; Exodus 20:14 (20:13); Deuteronomy 5:18 (5:17); Psalm 139:1; 139:2; 139:3; 139:4; 139:5; 139:6; 51:7; Isaiah 1:2; 1:3; 1:18; Psalm 51:8 and 51:9 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing Psalm 51:6 (50:8); Exodus 20:14 (20:13); Deuteronomy 5:18 (5:17); Psalm 139:1 (138:1); 139:2 (138:2); 139:3 (138:3); 139:4 (138:4); 139:5 (138:5); 139:6 (138:6); 51:7 (50:9); Isaiah 1:2; 1:3; 1:18; Psalm 51:8 (50:10) and 51:9 (50:11) in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.  Following those are tables comparing Matthew 5:27, 28 in the NET and KJV.

Psalm 51:6 (Tanakh)

Psalm 51:6 (KJV)

Psalm 51:6 (NET)

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Look, you desire integrity in the inner man; you want me to possess wisdom.

Psalm 51:6 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 50:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἀλήθειαν ἠγάπησας τὰ ἄδηλα καὶ τὰ κρύφια τῆς σοφίας σου ἐδήλωσάς μοι ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἀλήθειαν ἠγάπησας, τὰ ἄδηλα καὶ τὰ κρύφια τῆς σοφίας σου ἐδήλωσάς μοι

Psalm 50:8 (NETS)

Psalm 50:8 (English Elpenor)

For, look, you loved truth; the unclear and secret aspects of your wisdom you made clear to me. For, behold, thou lovest truth: thou hast manifested to me the secret and hidden things of thy wisdom.

Exodus 20:13 (Tanakh)

Exodus 20:14 (KJV)

Exodus 20:14 (NET)

Thou shalt not murder; Thou shalt not commit adultery; Thou shalt not steal; Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not commit adultery. “You shall not commit adultery.
Exodus 20:14 (Septuagint BLB) Exodus 20:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ μοιχεύσεις οὐ μοιχεύσεις
Exodus 20:13 (NETS) Exodus 20:13 (English Elpenor)
You shall not commit adultery. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Deuteronomy 5:17 (Tanakh) Deuteronomy 5:18 (KJV) Deuteronomy 5:18 (NET)
Thou shalt not murder.  Neither shalt thou commit adultery.  Neither shalt thou steal.  Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. Neither shalt thou commit adultery. “You must not commit adultery.
Deuteronomy 5:18 (Septuagint BLB) Deuteronomy 5:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ μοιχεύσεις οὐ μοιχεύσεις
Deuteronomy 5:17 (NETS) Deuteronomy 5:18 (English Elpenor)
You shall not commit adultery. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Psalm 139:1 (Tanakh) Psalm 139:1 (KJV) Psalm 139:1 (NET)
O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.  O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. For the music director, a psalm of David. O Lord, you examine me and know me.
Psalm 139:1 (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 138:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εἰς τὸ τέλος ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυιδ κύριε ἐδοκίμασάς με καὶ ἔγνως με Εἰς τὸ τέλος· ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυΐδ. – ΚΥΡΙΕ, ἐδοκίμασάς με, καὶ ἔγνως με
Psalm 138:1 (NETS) Psalm 138:1 (English Elpenor)
Regarding completion.  Pertaining to Dauid.  A Psalm.  O Lord, you examined me and knew me. [For the end, a Psalm of David.]  O Lord, thou hast proved me, and known me.
Psalm 139:2 (Tanakh) Psalm 139:2 (KJV) Psalm 139:2 (NET)
Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives.
Psalm 139:2 (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 138:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
σὺ ἔγνως τὴν καθέδραν μου καὶ τὴν ἔγερσίν μου σὺ συνῆκας τοὺς διαλογισμούς μου ἀπὸ μακρόθεν σὺ ἔγνως τὴν καθέδραν μου καὶ τὴν ἔγερσίν μου, σὺ συνῆκας τοὺς διαλογισμούς μου ἀπὸ μακρόθεν
Psalm 138:2 (NETS) Psalm 138:2 (English Elpenor)
It was you who knew my sitting down and my rising up; it was you who discerned my thoughts from far away. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising: thou understandest my thoughts long before.
Psalm 139:3 (Tanakh) Psalm 139:3 (KJV) Psalm 139:3 (NET)
Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; you are aware of everything I do.
Psalm 139:3 (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 138:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τὴν τρίβον μου καὶ τὴν σχοῗνόν μου σὺ ἐξιχνίασας καὶ πάσας τὰς ὁδούς μου προεῗδες τὴν τρίβον μου καὶ τὴν σχοῖνόν μου ἐξιχνίασας καὶ πάσας τὰς ὁδούς μου προεῖδες
Psalm 138:3 (NETS) Psalm 138:3 (English Elpenor)
My path and my miles you tracked and all my ways foresaw, Thou hast traced my path and my bed, and hast foreseen all my ways.
Psalm 139:4 (Tanakh) Psalm 139:4 (KJV) Psalm 139:4 (NET)
For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Certainly my tongue does not frame a word without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it.
Psalm 139:4 (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 138:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν λόγος ἐν γλώσσῃ μου ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι δόλος ἐν γλώσσῃ μου
Psalm 138:4 (NETS) Psalm 138:4 (English Elpenor)
because there was no word on my tongue— For there is no unrighteous word in my tongue: behold, O Lord, thou hast known all things,
Psalm 139:5 (Tanakh) Psalm 139:5 (KJV) Psalm 139:5 (NET)
Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. You squeeze me in from behind and in front; you place your hand on me.
Psalm 139:5 (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 138:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἰδού κύριε σὺ ἔγνως πάντα τὰ ἔσχατα καὶ τὰ ἀρχαῗα σὺ ἔπλασάς με καὶ ἔθηκας ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ τὴν χεῗρά σου ἰδού, Κύριε, σὺ ἔγνως πάντα, τὰ ἔσχατα καὶ τὰ ἀρχαῖα· σὺ ἔπλασάς με καὶ ἔθηκας ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ τὴν χεῖρά σου
Psalm 138:5 (NETS) Psalm 138:4b, 5 (English Elpenor)
look, O Lord; it was you who knew all things, the last and the first.  It was you who shaped me and placed your hand upon me. behold, O Lord, thou hast known all things, (5) the last and the first: thou hast fashioned me, and laid thine hand upon me.
Psalm 139:6 (Tanakh) Psalm 139:6 (KJV) Psalm 139:6 (NET)
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.
Psalm 139:6 (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 138:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐθαυμαστώθη ἡ γνῶσίς σου ἐξ ἐμοῦ ἐκραταιώθη οὐ μὴ δύνωμαι πρὸς αὐτήν ἐθαυμαστώθη ἡ γνῶσίς σου ἐξ ἐμοῦ· ἐκραταιώθη, οὐ μὴ δύνωμαι πρὸς αὐτήν
Psalm 138:6 (NETS) Psalm 138:6 (English Elpenor)
Your knowledge was made wonderful from me; it became strong; I can never attain to it. The knowledge of thee is too wonderful for me; it is very difficult, I cannot [attain] to it.
Psalm 51:7 (Tanakh) Psalm 51:7 (KJV) Psalm 51:7 (NET)
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be pure; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
Psalm 51:7 (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 50:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ῥαντιεῗς με ὑσσώπῳ καὶ καθαρισθήσομαι πλυνεῗς με καὶ ὑπὲρ χιόνα λευκανθήσομαι ῥαντιεῖς με ὑσσώπῳ, καὶ καθαρισθήσομαι, πλυνεῖς με, καὶ ὑπὲρ χιόνα λευκανθήσομαι
Psalm 50:9 (NETS) Psalm 50:9 (English Elpenor)
You will sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; you will wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be purified: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
Isaiah 1:2 (Tanakh) Isaiah 1:2 (KJV) Isaiah 1:2 (NET)
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. Listen, O heavens, pay attention, O earth!  For the Lord speaks: “I raised children, I brought them up, but they have rebelled against me!
Isaiah 1:2 (Septuagint BLB) Isaiah 1:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἄκουε οὐρανέ καὶ ἐνωτίζου γῆ ὅτι κύριος ἐλάλησεν υἱοὺς ἐγέννησα καὶ ὕψωσα αὐτοὶ δέ με ἠθέτησαν Ακουε οὐρανὲ καὶ ἐνωτίζου γῆ, ὅτι Κύριος ἐλάλησεν· υἱοὺς ἐγέννησα καὶ ὕψωσα, αὐτοὶ δέ με ἠθέτησαν
Isaiah 1:2 (NETS) Isaiah 1:2 (English Elpenor)
Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken: I begat sons and exalted them, but they rejected me. Hear, O heaven, and hearken, O earth: for the Lord has spoken, [saying], I have begotten and reared up children, but they have rebelled against me.
Isaiah 1:3 (Tanakh) Isaiah 1:3 (KJV) Isaiah 1:3 (NET)
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. An ox recognizes its owner, a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; but Israel does not recognize me, my people do not understand.
Isaiah 1:3 (Septuagint BLB) Isaiah 1:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἔγνω βοῦς τὸν κτησάμενον καὶ ὄνος τὴν φάτνην τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ Ισραηλ δέ με οὐκ ἔγνω καὶ ὁ λαός με οὐ συνῆκεν ἔγνω βοῦς τὸν κτησάμενον καὶ ὄνος τὴν φάτνην τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ· ᾿Ισραὴλ δέ με οὐκ ἔγνω καὶ ὁ λαός με οὐ συνῆκεν
Isaiah 1:3 (NETS) Isaiah 1:3 (English Elpenor)
The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel has not known me, and the people have not understood me. The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel does not know me, and the people has not regarded me.
Isaiah 1:18 (Tanakh) Isaiah 1:18 (KJV) Isaiah 1:18 (NET)
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Come, let’s consider your options,” says the Lord.  “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool.
Isaiah 1:18 (Septuagint BLB) Isaiah 1:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ δεῦτε καὶ διελεγχθῶμεν λέγει κύριος καὶ ἐὰν ὦσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν ὡς φοινικοῦν ὡς χιόνα λευκανῶ ἐὰν δὲ ὦσιν ὡς κόκκινον ὡς ἔριον λευκανῶ καὶ δεῦτε διαλεχθῶμεν, λέγει Κύριος· καὶ ἐὰν ὦσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν ὡς φοινικοῦν, ὡς χιόνα λευκανῶ, ἐὰν δὲ ὦσιν ὡς κόκκινον, ὡς ἔριον λευκανῶ
Isaiah 1:18 (NETS) Isaiah 1:18 (English Elpenor)
So come, and let us argue it out, says the Lord: even though your sins are like crimson, I will make them white like snow, and though they are like scarlet, I will make them white like wool. And come, let us reason together, saith the Lord: and though your sins be as purple, I will make them white as snow; and though they be as scarlet, I will make [them] white as wool.
Psalm 51:8 (Tanakh) Psalm 51:8 (KJV) Psalm 51:8 (NET)
Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven.  May the bones you crushed rejoice.
Psalm 51:8 (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 50:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀκουτιεῗς με ἀγαλλίασιν καὶ εὐφροσύνην ἀγαλλιάσονται ὀστᾶ τεταπεινωμένα ἀκουτιεῖς μοι ἀγαλλίασιν καὶ εὐφροσύνην, ἀγαλλιάσονται ὀστέα τεταπεινωμένα
Psalm 50:10 (NETS) Psalm 50:10 (English Elpenor)
You will make me hear joy and gladness; humbled bones will rejoice. Thou shalt cause me to hear gladness and joy: the afflicted bones shall rejoice.
Psalm 51:9 (Tanakh) Psalm 51:9 (KJV) Psalm 51:9 (NET)
Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Hide your face from my sins.  Wipe away all my guilt.
Psalm 51:9 (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 50:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀπόστρεψον τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν μου καὶ πάσας τὰς ἀνομίας μου ἐξάλειψον ἀπόστρεψον τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν μου καὶ πάσας τὰς ἀνομίας μου ἐξάλειψον
Psalm 50:11 (NETS) Psalm 50:11 (English Elpenor)
Turn away your face from my sins, and all my lawless acts blot out. Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
Matthew 5:27, 28 (NET) Matthew 5:27, 28 (KJV)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
Ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη· οὐ μοιχεύσεις. ηκουσατε οτι ερρεθη τοις αρχαιοις ου μοιχευσεις ηκουσατε οτι ερρεθη ου μοιχευσεις
But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πᾶς ὁ βλέπων γυναῖκα πρὸς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι |αὐτὴν| ἤδη ἐμοίχευσεν αὐτὴν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ εγω δε λεγω υμιν οτι πας ο βλεπων γυναικα προς το επιθυμησαι αυτης ηδη εμοιχευσεν αυτην εν τη καρδια αυτου εγω δε λεγω υμιν οτι πας ο βλεπων γυναικα προς το επιθυμησαι αυτην ηδη εμοιχευσεν αυτην εν τη καρδια αυτου

1 Psalm 51:6a (NET)

2 The Stephanus Textus Receptus had τοις αρχαιοις (KJV: by them of old time) here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

3 The Stephanus Textus Receptus had αυτης (KJV: after her) here, where the NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had αὐτὴν.

4 Matthew 5:27, 28 (NET)

5 Psalm 51:6b (NET)

6 Psalm 139:1-6 (NET)

7 Psalm 51:7 (NET)

8 Romans 3:25a (NET)

10 Isaiah 1:2, 3 (NET)

11 Isaiah 1:18 (NET)

12 Alan Hakman (Robin Williams): “Do you know what a sin eater is? It’s part of an ancient tradition. When someone would die, they would call for a sin eater. Sin eaters were social outcasts, marginals. They would lay out the body, put bread and salt on the chest, coins upon the eyes. The sin eater would eat the bread and salt, take the coins as payment. By doing this, the eater absorbed the sins of the deceased, cleansing their soul and allowing them safe passage into the afterlife. That was their job.”

14 Psalm 51:8, 9 (NET)

15 Psalm 139:6a (NET)