Matthew 9:14-15

The Superiority of the New

9:14 Then John’s ¹  disciples came to Jesus ²  and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees ³  fast often, ⁴  but your disciples don’t fast?” 9:15 Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests ⁵  cannot mourn while the bridegroom ⁶  is with them, can they? But the days ⁷  are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, ⁸  and then they will fast.

Matthew 9:2

9:2 Just then ⁹  some people ¹⁰  brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. ¹¹  When Jesus saw their ¹²  faith, he said to the paralytic, “Have courage, son! Your sins are forgiven.” ¹³ 

Matthew 12:16

12:16 But he sternly warned them not to make him known.

Matthew 12:21

12:21 And in his name the Gentiles ¹⁴  will hope.” ¹⁵ 

Nehemiah 1:4

1:4 When I heard these things I sat down abruptly, ¹⁶  crying and mourning for several days. I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

Esther 4:16

4:16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I ¹⁷  will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. ¹⁸  If I perish, I perish!”

Psalms 35:13

35:13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth, ¹⁹ 

and refrained from eating food. ²⁰ 

(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered!) ²¹ 

Psalms 69:10

69:10 I weep and refrain from eating food, ²² 

which causes others to insult me. ²³ 

Psalms 109:24

109:24 I am so starved my knees shake; ²⁴ 

I have turned into skin and bones. ²⁵ 

Daniel 9:3

9:3 So I turned my attention ²⁶  to the Lord God ²⁷  to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ²⁸ 

Luke 2:37

2:37 She had lived as a widow since then for eighty-four years. ²⁹  She never left the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. ³⁰ 

Acts 10:30

10:30 Cornelius ³¹  replied, ³²  “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock in the afternoon, ³³  I was praying in my house, and suddenly ³⁴  a man in shining clothing stood before me

Acts 13:2-3

13:2 While they were serving ³⁵  the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart ³⁶  for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 13:3 Then, after they had fasted ³⁷  and ³⁸  prayed and placed their hands ³⁹  on them, they sent them off.

Acts 14:23

14:23 When they had appointed elders ⁴⁰  for them in the various churches, ⁴¹  with prayer and fasting ⁴²  they entrusted them to the protection ⁴³  of the Lord in whom they had believed.

Acts 14:1

Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

14:1 The same thing happened in Iconium ⁴⁴  when Paul and Barnabas ⁴⁵  went into the Jewish synagogue ⁴⁶  and spoke in such a way that a large group ⁴⁷  of both Jews and Greeks believed.

Colossians 1:5

1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ⁴⁸  from the hope laid up ⁴⁹  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ⁵⁰ 

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁵¹  brothers and sisters ⁵²  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁵³  from God our Father! ⁵⁴ 

Colossians 1:5

1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ⁵⁵  from the hope laid up ⁵⁶  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ⁵⁷ 

Colossians 1:27

1:27 God wanted to make known to them the glorious ⁵⁸  riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

[9:14]  ¹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[9:14]  ² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:14]  ³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[9:14]  ⁴ sn John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.

[9:15]  ⁵ tn Grk “sons of the wedding hall,” an idiom referring to wedding guests, or more specifically friends of the bridegroom present at the wedding celebration (L&N 11.7).

[9:15]  ⁶ sn The expression while the bridegroom is with them is an allusion to messianic times (John 3:29; Isa 54:5-6; 62:4-5; 4 Ezra 2:15, 38).

[9:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “days.”

[9:15]  ⁸ sn The statement the bridegroom will be taken from them is a veiled allusion by Jesus to his death, which he did not make explicit until the incident at Caesarea Philippi in 16:13ff.

[9:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “And behold, they were bringing.” Here καὶ ἰδού (kai idou) has been translated as “just then” to indicate the somewhat sudden appearance of the people carrying the paralytic. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1), especially in conjunction with the suddenness of the stretcher bearers’ appearance.

[9:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “they”; the referent (some unnamed people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:2]  ¹¹ tn Traditionally, “on a bed,” but this could be confusing to the modern reader who might envision a large piece of furniture. In various contexts, κλίνη (klinh) may be translated “bed, couch, cot, stretcher, or bier” (in the case of a corpse). See L&N 6.106.

[9:2]  ¹² sn The plural pronoun their makes it clear that Jesus was responding to the faith of the entire group, not just the paralyzed man.

[9:2]  ¹³ sn The passive voice here is a divine passive (ExSyn 437). It is clear that God does the forgiving.

[12:21]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the nations” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[12:21]  ¹⁵ sn Verses 18-21 are a quotation from Isa 42:1-4.

[1:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “sat down.” Context suggests that this was a rather sudden action, resulting from the emotional shock of the unpleasant news, so “abruptly” has been supplied in the present translation.

[4:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I and my female attendants.” The translation reverses the order for stylistic reasons.

[4:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “which is not according to the law” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “contrary to the law.”

[35:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth.” Sackcloth was worn by mourners. When the psalmist’s enemies were sick, he was sorry for their misfortune and mourned for them.

[35:13]  ²⁰ sn Fasting was also a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities, such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.

[35:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “and my prayer upon my chest will return.” One could translate, “but my prayer was returning upon my chest,” but the use of the imperfect verbal form sets this line apart from the preceding and following lines (vv. 13a, 14), which use the perfect to describe the psalmist’s past actions.

[69:10]  ²² sn Fasting was a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.

[69:10]  ²³ tn Heb “and it becomes insults to me.”

[109:24]  ²⁴ tn Heb “my knees stagger from fasting.”

[109:24]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and my flesh is lean away from fatness [i.e., “lean so as not to be fat”].”

[9:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “face.”

[9:3]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew phrase translated “Lord God” here is אֲדֹנָי הָאֱלֹהִים (’adonay ha’elohim).

[9:3]  ²⁸ sn When lamenting, ancient Israelites would fast, wear sackcloth, and put ashes on their heads to show their sorrow and contrition.

[2:37]  ²⁹ tn Grk “living with her husband for seven years from her virginity and she was a widow for eighty four years.” The chronology of the eighty-four years is unclear, since the final phrase could mean “she was widowed until the age of eighty-four” (so BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.α). However, the more natural way to take the syntax is as a reference to the length of her widowhood, the subject of the clause, in which case Anna was about 105 years old (so D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:251-52; I. H. Marshall, Luke, [NIGTC], 123-24).

[2:37]  ³⁰ sn The statements about Anna worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day make her extreme piety clear.

[10:30]  ³¹ tn Grk “And Cornelius.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[10:30]  ³² tn Grk “said.”

[10:30]  ³³ tn Grk “at the ninth hour.” Again, this is the hour of afternoon prayer.

[10:30]  ³⁴ tn Grk “and behold.” The interjection ἰδού (idou) is difficult at times to translate into English. Here it has been translated as “suddenly” to convey the force of Cornelius’ account of the angel’s appearance.

[13:2]  ³⁵ tn This term is frequently used in the LXX of the service performed by priests and Levites in the tabernacle (Exod 28:35, 43; 29:30; 30:20; 35:19; 39:26; Num 1:50; 3:6, 31) and the temple (2 Chr 31:2; 35:3; Joel 1:9, 13; 2:17, and many more examples). According to BDAG 591 s.v. λειτουργέω 1.b it is used “of other expression of religious devotion.” Since the previous verse described the prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch, it is probable that the term here describes two of them (Barnabas and Saul) as they were serving in that capacity. Since they were not in Jerusalem where the temple was located, general religious service is referred to here.

[13:2]  ³⁶ tn Or “Appoint.”

[13:3]  ³⁷ tn The three aorist participles νηστεύσαντες (nhsteusante"), προσευξάμενοι (proseuxamenoi), and ἐπιθέντες (epiqente") are translated as temporal participles. Although they could indicate contemporaneous time when used with an aorist main verb, logically here they are antecedent. On fasting and prayer, see Matt 6:5, 16; Luke 2:37; 5:33; Acts 14:23.

[13:3]  ³⁸ tn Normally English style, which uses a coordinating conjunction between only the last two elements of a series of three or more, would call for omission of “and” here. However, since the terms “fasting and prayer” are something of a unit, often linked together, the conjunction has been retained here.

[13:3]  ³⁹ sn The placing of hands on Barnabas and Saul (traditionally known as “the laying on of hands”) refers to an act picturing the commission of God and the church for the task at hand.

[14:23]  ⁴⁰ sn Appointed elders. See Acts 20:17.

[14:23]  ⁴¹ tn The preposition κατά (kata) is used here in a distributive sense; see BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.1.d.

[14:23]  ⁴² tn Literally with a finite verb (προσευξάμενοι, proseuxamenoi) rather than a noun, “praying with fasting,” but the combination “prayer and fasting” is so familiar in English that it is preferable to use it here.

[14:23]  ⁴³ tn BDAG 772 s.v. παρατίθημι 3.b has “entrust someone to the care or protection of someone” for this phrase. The reference to persecution or suffering in the context (v. 22) suggests “protection” is a better translation here. This looks at God’s ultimate care for the church.

[14:1]  ⁴⁴ sn Iconium. See the note in 13:51.

[14:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Paul and Barnabas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:1]  ⁴⁶ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[14:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “that a large crowd.”

[1:5]  ⁴⁸ tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.

[1:5]  ⁴⁹ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁵⁰ tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.

[1:2]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁵² tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ⁵³ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁵⁴ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[1:5]  ⁵⁵ tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.

[1:5]  ⁵⁶ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁵⁷ tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.

[1:27]  ⁵⁸ tn The genitive noun τῆς δόξης (ths doxhs) is an attributive genitive and has therefore been translated as “glorious riches.”