1 Kings 18:19-20

18:19 Now send out messengers ¹  and assemble all Israel before me at Mount Carmel, as well as the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah whom Jezebel supports. ² 

18:20 Ahab sent messengers to all the Israelites and had the prophets assemble at Mount Carmel.

Matthew 7:13-15

The Narrow Gate

7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 7:14 But the gate is narrow and the way is difficult that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

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. ³ 

Matthew 7:2

7:2 For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive. ⁴ 

Matthew 4:3-4

4:3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” ⁵  4:4 But he answered, ⁶  “It is written, ‘Man ⁷  does not live ⁸  by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ⁹ 

Matthew 4:2

4:2 After he fasted forty days and forty nights he was famished. ¹⁰ 

Matthew 2:1-3

The Visit of the Wise Men

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem ¹¹  in Judea, in the time ¹²  of King Herod, ¹³  wise men ¹⁴  from the East came to Jerusalem ¹⁵  2:2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose ¹⁶  and have come to worship him.” 2:3 When King Herod ¹⁷  heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him.

¹ tn The word “messengers” is supplied in the translation both here and in v. 20 for clarification.

² tn Heb “who eat at the table of Jezebel.”

³ 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.

⁵ tn Grk “by [the measure] with which you measure it will be measured to you.”

⁷ tn Grk “say that these stones should become bread.”

⁹ tn Grk “answering, he said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been changed for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Or “a person.” Greek ὁ ἄνθρωπος (Jo anqrwpo") is used generically for humanity. The translation “man” is used because the emphasis in Jesus’ response seems to be on his dependence on God as a man.

¹¹ tn Grk “will not live.” The verb in Greek is a future tense, but it is unclear whether it is meant to be taken as a command (also known as an imperatival future) or as a statement of reality (predictive future).

¹² sn A quotation from Deut 8:3.

¹¹ tn Grk “and having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward he was hungry.”

¹³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.

¹⁴ tn Grk “in the days.”

¹⁵ sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

¹⁶ sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).

¹⁷ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁵ tn Or “in its rising,” referring to the astrological significance of a star in a particular portion of the sky. The term used for the “East” in v. 1 is ἀνατολαί (anatolai, a plural form that is used typically of the rising of the sun), while in vv. 2 and 9 the singular ἀνατολή (anatolh) is used. The singular is typically used of the rising of a star and as such should not normally be translated “in the east” (cf. BDAG 74 s.v. 1: “because of the sg. and the article in contrast to ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν, vs. 1, [it is] prob. not a geograph. expr. like the latter, but rather astronomical…likew. vs. 9”).

¹⁷ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.