John 10:9

10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, ¹  and find pasture. ² 

Jeremiah 14:15

14:15 I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying, ‘No war or famine will happen in this land.’ But I, the Lord, say this about ³  them: ‘War and starvation will kill those prophets.’ ⁴ 

Jeremiah 23:16-17

23:16 The Lord who rules over all ⁵  says to the people of Jerusalem: ⁶ 

“Do not listen to what

those prophets are saying to you.

They are filling you with false hopes.

They are reporting visions of their own imaginations,

not something the Lord has given them to say. ⁷ 

23:17 They continually say ⁸  to those who reject what the Lord has said, ⁹ 

‘Things will go well for you!’ ¹⁰ 

They say to all those who follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts,

‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’

Jeremiah 23:21

23:21 I did not send those prophets.

Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. ¹¹ 

I did not tell them anything.

Yet they prophesied anyway.

Jeremiah 23:32

23:32 I, the Lord, affirm ¹²  that I am opposed to those prophets who dream up lies and report them. They are misleading my people with their reckless lies. ¹³  I did not send them. I did not commission them. They are not helping these people at all. ¹⁴  I, the Lord, affirm it!” ¹⁵ 

Jeremiah 28:15-17

28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie! ¹⁶  28:16 So the Lord says, ‘I will most assuredly remove ¹⁷  you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’” ¹⁸ 

28:17 In the seventh month of that very same year ¹⁹  the prophet Hananiah died.

Jeremiah 29:31-32

29:31 “Send a message to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, ‘The Lord has spoken about Shemaiah the Nehelamite. “Shemaiah has spoken to you as a prophet even though I did not send him. He is making you trust in a lie. ²⁰  29:32 Because he has done this,” ²¹  the Lord says, “I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his whole family. There will not be any of them left to experience the good things that I will do for my people. I, the Lord, affirm it! For he counseled rebellion against the Lord.”’” ²² 

Ezekiel 13:2-6

13:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: ²³  ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 13:3 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit but have seen nothing! 13:4 Your prophets have become like jackals among the ruins, O Israel. 13:5 You have not gone up in the breaks in the wall, nor repaired a wall for the house of Israel that it would stand strong in the battle on the day of the Lord. 13:6 They see delusion and their omens are a lie. ²⁴  They say, “the Lord declares,” though the Lord has not sent them; ²⁵  yet they expect their word to be confirmed. ²⁶ 

Matthew 7:15

A Tree and Its Fruit

7:15 “Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. ²⁷ 

Matthew 23:16-28

23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. ²⁸  But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’ 23:17 Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 23:18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. ²⁹  But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’ 23:19 You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 23:20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 23:21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. 23:22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.

23:23 “Woe to you, experts in the law ³⁰  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth ³¹  of mint, dill, and cumin, ³²  yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You ³³  should have done these things without neglecting the others. 23:24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel! ³⁴ 

23:25 “Woe to you, experts in the law ³⁵  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 23:26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, ³⁶  so that the outside may become clean too!

23:27 “Woe to you, experts in the law ³⁷  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. ³⁸  23:28 In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Romans 10:15

10:15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How timely ³⁹  is the arrival ⁴⁰  of those who proclaim the good news.” ⁴¹ 

Ephesians 4:8-12

4:8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he captured ⁴²  captives; he gave gifts to men.” ⁴³  4:9 Now what is the meaning of “he ascended,” except that he also descended ⁴⁴  to the lower regions, ⁴⁵  namely, the earth? ⁴⁶  4:10 He, the very one ⁴⁷  who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things. 4:11 It was he ⁴⁸  who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ⁴⁹  4:12 to equip ⁵⁰  the saints for the work of ministry, that is, ⁵¹  to build up the body of Christ,

Hebrews 5:4

5:4 And no one assumes this honor ⁵²  on his own initiative, ⁵³  but only when called to it by God, ⁵⁴  as in fact Aaron was.

Hebrews 5:1

5:1 For every high priest is taken from among the people ⁵⁵  and appointed ⁵⁶  to represent them before God, ⁵⁷  to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Hebrews 1:10

1:10 And,

“You founded the earth in the beginning, Lord, ⁵⁸ 

and the heavens are the works of your hands.

Hebrews 1:2

1:2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, ⁵⁹  whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. ⁶⁰ 

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Hebrews 4:1

God’s Promised Rest

4:1 Therefore we must be wary ⁶¹  that, while the promise of entering his rest remains open, none of you may seem to have come short of it.

[10:9]  ¹ tn Since the Greek phrase εἰσέρχομαι καὶ ἐξέρχομαι (eisercomai kai exercomai, “come in and go out”) is in some places an idiom for living or conducting oneself in relationship to some community (“to live with, to live among” [cf. Acts 1:21; see also Num 27:17; 2 Chr 1:10]), it may well be that Jesus’ words here look forward to the new covenant community of believers. Another significant NT text is Luke 9:4, where both these verbs occur in the context of the safety and security provided by a given household for the disciples. See also BDAG 294 s.v. εἰσέρχομαι 1.b.β.

[10:9]  ² sn That is, pasture land in contrast to cultivated land.

[14:15]  ³ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord about.” The first person construction has been used in the translation for better English style.

[14:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who are prophesying in my name and I did not send them [= whom I did not send] and they are saying [= who are saying], ‘Sword and famine…’, by sword and famine those prophets will be killed.” This sentence has been restructured to conform to contemporary English style.

[23:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[23:16]  ⁶ tn The words “to the people of Jerusalem” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation to reflect the masculine plural form of the imperative and the second masculine plural form of the pronoun. These words have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “They tell of a vision of their own heart [= mind] not from the mouth of the Lord.”

[23:17]  ⁸ tn The translation reflects an emphatic construction where the infinitive absolute follows a participle (cf. GKC 343 §113.r).

[23:17]  ⁹ tc The translation follows the Greek version. The Hebrew text reads, “who reject me, ‘The Lord has spoken, “Things…”’” The Greek version is to be preferred here because of (1) the parallelism of the lines “reject what the Lord has said” // “follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts;” (2) the preceding context which speaks of “visions of their own imaginations not of what the Lord has given them;” (3) the following context which denies that they have ever had access to the Lord’s secrets; (4) the general contexts earlier regarding false prophecy where rejection of the Lord’s word is in view (6:14 [see there v. 10]; 8:11 [see there v. 9]); (5) the meter of the poetic lines (the Hebrew meter is 3/5/4/3; the meter presupposed by the translation is 5/3/4/3 with the 3’s being their words). The difference is one of vocalization of the same consonants. The vocalization of the MT is יְהוָה מְנַאֲצַי דִּבֶּר [mÿna’atsay dibber yÿhvah]; the Hebrew Vorlage behind the Greek would be vocalized as מְנַאֲצֵי דְּבַר יְהוָה (mÿna’atsey dÿvar yÿhvah).

[23:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “You will have peace.” But see the note on 14:13. See also 6:14 and 8:11.

[23:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Yet they ran.”

[23:32]  ¹² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:32]  ¹³ tn Heb “with their lies and their recklessness.” This is an example of hendiadys where two nouns (in this case a concrete and an abstract one) are joined by “and” but one is intended to be the adjectival modifier of the other.

[23:32]  ¹⁴ sn In the light of what has been said this is a rhetorical understatement; they are not only “not helping,” they are leading them to their doom (cf. vv. 19-22). This figure of speech is known as litotes.

[23:32]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[28:15]  ¹⁶ tn Or “You are giving these people false assurances.”

[28:16]  ¹⁷ sn There is a play on words here in Hebrew between “did not send you” and “will…remove you.” The two verbs are from the same root word in Hebrew. The first is the simple active and the second is the intensive.

[28:16]  ¹⁸ sn In giving people false assurances of restoration when the Lord had already told them to submit to Babylon, Hananiah was really counseling rebellion against the Lord. What Hananiah had done was contrary to the law of Deut 13:6 and was punishable by death.

[28:17]  ¹⁹ sn Comparison with Jer 28:1 shows that this whole incident took place in the space of two months. Hananiah had prophesied that the captivity would be over before two years had past. However, before two months were past, Hananiah himself died in fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy of his death. His death was a validation of Jeremiah as a true prophet. The subsequent events of 588 b.c. would validate Jeremiah’s prophesies and invalidate those of Hananiah.

[29:31]  ²⁰ tn Or “is giving you false assurances.”

[29:32]  ²¹ tn Heb “Therefore.”

[29:32]  ²² sn Compare the same charge against Hananiah in Jer 28:16 and see the note there. In this case, the false prophesy of Shemaiah is not given but it likely had the same tenor since he wants Jeremiah reprimanded for saying that the exile will be long and the people are to settle down in Babylon.

[13:2]  ²³ tn Heb “from their mind.”

[13:6]  ²⁴ sn The same description of a false prophet is found in Micah 2:11.

[13:6]  ²⁵ sn The Lord has not sent them. A similar concept is found in Jer 14:14; 23:21.

[13:6]  ²⁶ tn Or “confirmed”; NIV “to be fulfilled”; TEV “to come true.”

[7:15]  ²⁷ sn Sheep’s clothing…voracious wolves. Jesus uses a metaphor here to point out that these false prophets appear to be one thing, but in reality they are something quite different and dangerous.

[23:16]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing.”

[23:18]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing.”

[23:23]  ³⁰ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:23]  ³¹ tn Or “you tithe mint.”

[23:23]  ³² sn Cumin (alternately spelled cummin) was an aromatic herb native to the Mediterranean region. Its seeds were used for seasoning.

[23:23]  ³³ tc ‡ Many witnesses (B C K L W Δ 0102 33 565 892 pm) have δέ (de, “but”) after ταῦτα (tauta, “these things”), while many others lack it (א D Γ Θ Ë^1,13 579 700 1241 1424 pm). Since asyndeton was relatively rare in Koine Greek, the conjunction may be an intentional alteration, and is thus omitted from the present translation. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[23:24]  ³⁴ tn Grk “Blind guides who strain out a gnat yet who swallow a camel!”

[23:25]  ³⁵ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:26]  ³⁶ tc A very difficult textual problem is found here. The most important Alexandrian and Byzantine, as well as significant Western, witnesses (א B C L W 0102 0281 ˹³ 33 Ï lat co) have “and the dish” (καὶ τῆς παροψίδος, kai th" paroyido") after “cup,” while few important witnesses (D Θ Ë¹ 700 and some versional and patristic authorities) omit the phrase. On the one hand, scribes sometimes tended to eliminate redundancy; since “and the dish” is already present in v. 25, it may have been deleted in v. 26 by well-meaning scribes. On the other hand, as B. M. Metzger notes, the singular pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou, “its”) with τὸ ἐκτός (to ekto", “the outside”) in some of the same witnesses that have the longer reading (viz., B* ˹³ al) hints that their archetype lacked the words (TCGNT 50). Further, scribes would be motivated both to add the phrase from v. 25 and to change αὐτοῦ to the plural pronoun αὐτῶν (aujtwn, “their”). Although the external evidence for the shorter reading is not compelling in itself, combined with these two prongs of internal evidence, it is to be slightly preferred.

[23:27]  ³⁷ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:27]  ³⁸ sn This was an idiom for hypocrisy – just as the wall was painted on the outside but something different on the inside, so this person was not what he appeared or pretended to be (for discussion of a similar metaphor, see L&N 88.234; BDAG 1010 s.v. τοῖχος). See Deut 28:22; Ezek 13:10-16; Acts 23:3.

[10:15]  ³⁹ tn The word in this context seems to mean “coming at the right or opportune time” (see BDAG 1103 s.v. ὡραῖος 1); it may also mean “beautiful, attractive, welcome.”

[10:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “the feet.” The metaphorical nuance of “beautiful feet” is that such represent timely news.

[10:15]  ⁴¹ sn A quotation from Isa 52:7; Nah 1:15.

[4:8]  ⁴² tn Grk “he led captive captivity.”

[4:8]  ⁴³ sn A quotation which is perhaps ultimately derived from Ps 68:18. However, the wording here differs from that of Ps 68 in both the Hebrew text and the LXX in a few places, the most significant of which is reading “gave gifts to” in place of “received gifts from” as in HT and LXX. It has sometimes been suggested that the author of Ephesians modified the text he was citing in order to better support what he wanted to say here. Such modifications are sometimes found in rabbinic exegesis from this and later periods, but it is also possible that the author was simply citing a variant of Ps 68 known to him but which has not survived outside its quotation here (W. H. Harris, The Descent of Christ [AGJU 32], 104). Another possibility is that the words here, which strongly resemble Ps 68:19 HT and LXX (68:18 ET), are actually part of an early Christian hymn quoted by the author.

[4:9]  ⁴⁴ tc The majority of mss (א² B C³ Ψ Ï) read πρῶτον (prwton, “first”) here in conjunction with this verb: “he first descended.” The shorter reading, which lacks πρῶτον, should be considered original on the basis of both external and internal evidence: It has strong external support from the Alexandrian and Western texttypes (Ì⁴⁶ א* A C* D F G I^vid 082 6 33 81 1739 1881 pc); internally, the inclusion of πρῶτον is most likely an addition to clarify the sense of the passage.

[4:9]  ⁴⁵ tc The Western texttype (D* F G it) lacks the plural noun μέρη (merh, “regions”); the shorter reading cannot be dismissed out of hand since it is also supported by Ì⁴⁶ (which often has strong affinities, however, with the Western text). The inclusion of the word has strong external support from important, early mss as well as the majority of Byzantine cursives (א A B C D² I Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï). Certain scribes may have deleted the word, thinking it superfluous; in addition, if the shorter reading were original one would expect to see at least a little variation in clarifying additions to the text. For these reasons the inclusion of μέρη should be regarded as original.

[4:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “to the lower parts of the earth.” This phrase has been variously interpreted: (1) The traditional view understands it as a reference to the underworld (hell), where Jesus is thought to have descended in the three days between his death and resurrection. In this case, “of the earth” would be a partitive genitive. (2) A second option is to translate the phrase “of the earth” as a genitive of apposition: “to the lower parts, namely, the earth” (as in the present translation). Many recent scholars hold this view and argue that it is a reference to the incarnation. (3) A third option, which also sees the phrase “of the earth” as a genitive of apposition, is that the descent in the passage occurs after the ascent rather than before it, and refers to the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost (cf. Acts 4:11-16). Support for this latter view is found in the intertestamental and rabbinic use of Ps 68:18 (quoted in v. 8), which is consistently and solely interpreted as a reference to Moses’ ascent of Mt. Sinai to “capture” the words of the law. The probability, therefore, is that the comments here in v. 9 reflect a polemic against the interpretation of Ps 68:18 in certain circles as a reference to Moses. See W. H. Harris, The Descent of Christ (AGJU 32), 46-54; 171-204.

[4:10]  ⁴⁷ tn The Greek text lays specific emphasis on “He” through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos). This is reflected in the English translation through the use of “the very one.”

[4:11]  ⁴⁸ tn The emphasis on Christ is continued through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos), and is rendered in English as “it was he” as this seems to lay emphasis on the “he.”

[4:11]  ⁴⁹ sn Some interpreters have understood the phrase pastors and teachers to refer to one and the same group. This would mean that all pastors are teachers and that all teachers are pastors. This position is often taken because it is recognized that both nouns (i.e., pastors and teachers) are governed by one article in Greek. But because the nouns are plural, it is extremely unlikely that they refer to the same group, but only that the author is linking them closely together. It is better to regard the pastors as a subset of teachers. In other words, all pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors. See ExSyn 284.

[4:12]  ⁵⁰ tn On the translation of πρὸς τὸν καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων (pro" ton katartismon twn Jagiwn) as “to equip the saints” see BDAG 526 s.v. καταρτισμός. In this case the genitive is taken as objective and the direct object of the verbal idea implied in καταρτισμός (katartismo").

[4:12]  ⁵¹ tn The εἰς (eis) clause is taken as epexegetical to the previous εἰς clause, namely, εἰς ἔργον διακονίας (ei" ergon diakonia").

[5:4]  ⁵² sn Honor refers here to the honor of the high priesthood.

[5:4]  ⁵³ tn Grk “by himself, on his own.”

[5:4]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “being called by God.”

[5:1]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “from among men,” but since the point in context is shared humanity (rather than shared maleness), the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated “people.”

[5:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “who is taken from among people is appointed.”

[5:1]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “appointed on behalf of people in reference to things relating to God.”

[1:10]  ⁵⁸ sn You founded the earth…your years will never run out. In its original setting Ps 102:25-27 refers to the work of God in creation, but here in Hebrews 1:10-12 the writer employs it in reference to Christ, the Lord, making a strong argument for the essential deity of the Son.

[1:2]  ⁵⁹ tn The Greek puts an emphasis on the quality of God’s final revelation. As such, it is more than an indefinite notion (“a son”) though less than a definite one (“the son”), for this final revelation is not just through any son of God, nor is the emphasis specifically on the person himself. Rather, the focus here is on the nature of the vehicle of God’s revelation: He is no mere spokesman (or prophet) for God, nor is he merely a heavenly messenger (or angel); instead, this final revelation comes through one who is intimately acquainted with the heavenly Father in a way that only a family member could be. There is, however, no exact equivalent in English (“in son” is hardly good English style).

[1:2]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “the ages.” The temporal (ages) came to be used of the spatial (what exists in those time periods). See Heb 11:3 for the same usage.

[4:1]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “let us fear.”