Luke 7:34

7:34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him, ¹  a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ² 

Luke 7:39

7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, ³  he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, ⁴  he would know who and what kind of woman ⁵  this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”

Luke 5:30

5:30 But ⁶  the Pharisees ⁷  and their experts in the law ⁸  complained ⁹  to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹⁰ 

Luke 5:32

5:32 I have not come ¹¹  to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” ¹² 

Luke 18:13

18:13 The tax collector, however, stood ¹³  far off and would not even look up ¹⁴  to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful ¹⁵  to me, sinner that I am!’ ¹⁶ 

Luke 19:7

19:7 And when the people ¹⁷  saw it, they all complained, ¹⁸  “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ¹⁹ 

Matthew 21:31

21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” ²⁰  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, ²¹  tax collectors ²²  and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!

John 9:24

9:24 Then they summoned ²³  the man who used to be blind ²⁴  a second time and said to him, “Promise before God to tell the truth. ²⁵  We know that this man ²⁶  is a sinner.”

John 9:31

9:31 We know that God doesn’t listen to ²⁷  sinners, but if anyone is devout ²⁸  and does his will, God ²⁹  listens to ³⁰  him. ³¹ 

Romans 5:8

5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:1

The Expectation of Justification

5:1 ³² Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have ³³  peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Romans 1:9

1:9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit by preaching the gospel ³⁴  of his Son, is my witness that ³⁵  I continually remember you

Romans 1:15

1:15 Thus I am eager ³⁶  also to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. ³⁷ 

Romans 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³⁸  a slave ³⁹  of Christ Jesus, ⁴⁰  called to be an apostle, ⁴¹  set apart for the gospel of God. ⁴² 

Romans 4:18

4:18 Against hope Abraham ⁴³  believed ⁴⁴  in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations ⁴⁵  according to the pronouncement, ⁴⁶  “so will your descendants be.” ⁴⁷ 

[7:34]  ¹ tn Grk “Behold a man.”

[7:34]  ² sn Neither were they happy with Jesus (the Son of Man), even though he was the opposite of John and associated freely with people like tax collectors and sinners. Either way, God’s messengers were subject to complaint.

[7:39]  ³ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[7:39]  ⁴ tn This is a good example of a second class (contrary to fact) Greek conditional sentence. The Pharisee said, in effect, “If this man were a prophet (but he is not)…”

[7:39]  ⁵ sn The Pharisees believed in a form of separationism that would have prevented them from any kind of association with such a sinful woman.

[5:30]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the implied contrast present in this context.

[5:30]  ⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[5:30]  ⁸ tn Or “and their scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[5:30]  ⁹ tn Or “grumbled”; a term often used in the OT for inappropriate grumbling: Exod 15:24; 16:7-8; Num 14:2, 26-35; 16:11.

[5:30]  ¹⁰ sn The issue here is inappropriate associations (eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners) and the accusation comes not against Jesus, but his disciples.

[5:32]  ¹¹ sn I have not come is another commission statement by Jesus; see 4:43-44.

[5:32]  ¹² sn Though parallels exist to this saying (Matt 9:13; Mark 2:17), only Luke has this last phrase but sinners to repentance. Repentance is a frequent topic in Luke’s Gospel: 3:3, 8; 13:1-5; 15:7, 10; 16:30; 17:3-4; 24:47.

[18:13]  ¹³ tn Grk “standing”; the Greek participle has been translated as a finite verb.

[18:13]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “even lift up his eyes” (an idiom).

[18:13]  ¹⁵ tn The prayer is a humble call for forgiveness. The term for mercy (ἱλάσκομαι, Jilaskomai) is associated with the concept of a request for atonement (BDAG 473-74 s.v. 1; Ps 51:1, 3; 25:11; 34:6, 18).

[18:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the sinner.” The tax collector views himself not just as any sinner but as the worst of all sinners. See ExSyn 222-23.

[19:7]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “they”; the referent is unspecified but is probably the crowd in general, who would have no great love for a man like Zacchaeus who had enriched himself many times over at their expense.

[19:7]  ¹⁸ tn This term is used only twice in the NT, both times in Luke (here and 15:2) and has negative connotations both times (BDAG 227 s.v. διαγογγύζω). The participle λέγοντες (legonte") is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[19:7]  ¹⁹ sn Being the guest of a man who is a sinner was a common complaint about Jesus: Luke 5:31-32; 7:37-50; 15:1-2.

[21:31]  ²⁰ tc Verses 29-31 involve a rather complex and difficult textual problem. The variants cluster into three different groups: (1) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. The second son is called the one who does his father’s will. This reading is found in the Western mss (D it). But the reading is so hard as to be nearly impossible. One can only suspect some tampering with the text, extreme carelessness on the part of the scribe, or possibly a recognition of the importance of not shaming one’s parent in public. (Any of these reasons is not improbable with this texttype, and with codex D in particular.) The other two major variants are more difficult to assess. Essentially, the responses make sense (the son who does his father’s will is the one who changes his mind after saying “no”): (2) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. But here, the first son is called the one who does his father’s will (unlike the Western reading). This is the reading found in (א) C L W (Z) 0102 0281 ˹ 33 Ï and several versional witnesses. (3) The first son says “yes” but does not go, and the second son says “no” but later has a change of heart. This is the reading found in B Θ Ë¹³ 700 and several versional witnesses. Both of these latter two readings make good sense and have significantly better textual support than the first reading. The real question, then, is this: Is the first son or the second the obedient one? If one were to argue simply from the parabolic logic, the second son would be seen as the obedient one (hence, the third reading). The first son would represent the Pharisees (or Jews) who claim to obey God, but do not (cf. Matt 23:3). This accords well with the parable of the prodigal son (in which the oldest son represents the unbelieving Jews). Further, the chronological sequence of the second son being obedient fits well with the real scene: Gentiles and tax collectors and prostitutes were not, collectively, God’s chosen people, but they did repent and come to God, while the Jewish leaders claimed to be obedient to God but did nothing. At the same time, the external evidence is weaker for this reading (though stronger than the first reading), not as widespread, and certainly suspect because of how neatly it fits. One suspects scribal manipulation at this point. Thus the second reading looks to be superior to the other two on both external and transcriptional grounds. But what about intrinsic evidence? One can surmise that Jesus didn’t always give predictable responses. In this instance, he may well have painted a picture in which the Pharisees saw themselves as the first son, only to stun them with his application (v. 32).

[21:31]  ²¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[21:31]  ²² sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

[9:24]  ²³ tn Grk “they called.”

[9:24]  ²⁴ tn Grk “who was blind.”

[9:24]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Give glory to God” (an idiomatic formula used in placing someone under oath to tell the truth).

[9:24]  ²⁶ tn The phrase “this man” is a reference to Jesus.

[9:31]  ²⁷ tn Grk “God does not hear.”

[9:31]  ²⁸ tn Or “godly.”

[9:31]  ²⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:31]  ³⁰ tn Or “hears.”

[9:31]  ³¹ tn Grk “this one.”

[5:1]  ³² sn Many interpreters see Rom 5:1 as beginning the second major division of the letter.

[5:1]  ³³ tc A number of important witnesses have the subjunctive ἔχωμεν (ecwmen, “let us have”) instead of ἔχομεν (ecomen, “we have”) in v. 1. Included in the subjunctive’s support are א* A B* C D K L 33 81 630 1175 1739* pm lat bo. But the indicative is not without its supporters: א¹ B² F G P Ψ 0220^vid 104 365 1241 1505 1506 1739^c 1881 2464 pm. If the problem were to be solved on an external basis only, the subjunctive would be preferred. Because of this, the “A” rating on behalf of the indicative in the UBS⁴ appears overly confident. Nevertheless, the indicative is probably correct. First, the earliest witness to Rom 5:1 has the indicative (0220^vid, third century). Second, the first set of correctors is sometimes, if not often, of equal importance with the original hand. Hence, א¹ might be given equal value with א*. Third, there is a good cross-section of witnesses for the indicative: Alexandrian (in 0220^vid, probably א¹ 1241 1506 1881 al), Western (in F G), and Byzantine (noted in NA²⁷ as pm). Thus, although the external evidence is strongly in favor of the subjunctive, the indicative is represented well enough that its ancestry could easily go back to the original. Turning to the internal evidence, the indicative gains much ground. (1) The variant may have been produced via an error of hearing (since omicron and omega were pronounced alike in ancient Greek). This, of course, does not indicate which reading was original – just that an error of hearing may have produced one of them. In light of the indecisiveness of the transcriptional evidence, intrinsic evidence could play a much larger role. This is indeed the case here. (2) The indicative fits well with the overall argument of the book to this point. Up until now, Paul has been establishing the “indicatives of the faith.” There is only one imperative (used rhetorically) and only one hortatory subjunctive (and this in a quotation within a diatribe) up till this point, while from ch. 6 on there are sixty-one imperatives and seven hortatory subjunctives. Clearly, an exhortation would be out of place in ch. 5. (3) Paul presupposes that the audience has peace with God (via reconciliation) in 5:10. This seems to assume the indicative in v. 1. (4) As C. E. B. Cranfield notes, “it would surely be strange for Paul, in such a carefully argued writing as this, to exhort his readers to enjoy or to guard a peace which he has not yet explicitly shown to be possessed by them” (Romans [ICC], 1:257). (5) The notion that εἰρήνην ἔχωμεν (eirhnhn ecwmen) can even naturally mean “enjoy peace” is problematic (ExSyn 464), yet those who embrace the subjunctive have to give the verb some such force. Thus, although the external evidence is stronger in support of the subjunctive, the internal evidence points to the indicative. Although a decision is difficult, ἔχομεν appears to be the authentic reading.

[1:9]  ³⁴ tn Grk “whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel.”

[1:9]  ³⁵ tn Grk “as.”

[1:15]  ³⁶ tn Or “willing, ready”; Grk “so my eagerness [is] to preach…” The word πρόθυμος (proqumo", “eager, willing”) is used only elsewhere in the NT in Matt 26:41 = Mark 14:38: “the spirit indeed is willing (πρόθυμος), but the flesh is weak.”

[1:15]  ³⁷ map For location see JP4 A1.

[1:1]  ³⁸ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ³⁹ tn Traditionally, “servant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁴⁰ tc Many important mss, as well as several others (̲⁶ א A G Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï), have a reversed order of these words and read “Jesus Christ” rather than “Christ Jesus” (̹⁰ B 81 pc). The meaning is not affected in either case, but the reading “Christ Jesus” is preferred as slightly more difficult and thus more likely the original (a scribe who found it would be prone to change it to the more common expression). At the same time, Paul is fond of the order “Christ Jesus,” especially in certain letters such as Romans, Galatians, and Philippians. As well, the later Pauline letters almost uniformly use this order in the salutations. A decision is difficult, but “Christ Jesus” is slightly preferred.

[1:1]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “a called apostle.”

[1:1]  ⁴² tn The genitive in the phrase εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ (euangelion qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as (1) a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or (2) an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself. However, in view of God’s action in v. 2 concerning this gospel, a subjective genitive notion (“the gospel which God brings”) is slightly preferred.

[4:18]  ⁴³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:18]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “who against hope believed,” referring to Abraham. The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:18]  ⁴⁵ sn A quotation from Gen 17:5.

[4:18]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “according to that which had been spoken.”

[4:18]  ⁴⁷ sn A quotation from Gen 15:5.