1 Kings 21:9-13

21:9 This is what she wrote: “Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people. 21:10 Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

21:11 The men of the city, the leaders and the nobles who lived there, followed the written orders Jezebel had sent them. 21:12 They observed a time of fasting and put Naboth in front of the people. 21:13 The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death.

Proverbs 21:27

21:27 The wicked person’s sacrifice is an abomination;

how much more when he brings it with evil intent! 10 

Matthew 6:16

Proper Fasting

6:16 “When 11  you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive 12  so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth, 13  they have their reward.

Matthew 23:14

23:14 [[EMPTY]] 14 

Luke 20:47

20:47 They 15  devour 16  widows’ property, 17  and as a show make long prayers. They will receive a more severe punishment.”

John 18:28

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

18:28 Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor’s residence. 18  (Now it was very early morning.) 19  They 20  did not go into the governor’s residence 21  so they would not be ceremonially defiled, but could eat the Passover meal.


tn Heb “she wrote on the scrolls, saying.”

tn Heb “his.”

tn Heb “elders.”

tn Heb “and the nobles who were living in his city.”

tn Heb “did as Jezebel sent to them, just as was written in the scrolls which she sent to them.”

tn Heb “led him.”

tn Heb “and they stoned him with stones and he died.”

tn Heb “the sacrifice of the wicked” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This is a subjective genitive. The foundational clause states that ritual acts of worship brought by the wicked (thus a subjective genitive) are detestable to God. The “wicked” refers here to people who are not members of the covenant (no faith) and are not following after righteousness (no acceptable works). But often they participate in sanctuary ritual, which amounts to hypocrisy.

sn This rhetorical device shows that if the act is abomination, the wicked heart is an even greater sin. It argues from the lesser to the greater.

10 tn The noun זִמָּה (zimmah) means “plan; device; wickedness”; here it indicates that the person is coming to the ritual with “sinful purpose.” Some commentators suggest that this would mean he comes with the sacrifice as a bribe to pacify his conscience for a crime committed, over which he has little remorse or intent to cease (cf. NLT “with ulterior motives”). In this view, people in ancient Israel came to think that sacrifices could be given for any reason without genuine submission to God.

11 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

12 tn Here the term “disfigure” used in a number of translations was not used because it could convey to the modern reader the notion of mutilation. L&N 79.17 states, “‘to make unsightly, to disfigure, to make ugly.’ ἀφανίζουσιν γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ‘for they make their faces unsightly’ Mt 6:16.”

13 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

14 tc The most important mss (א B D L Z Θ Ë1 33 892* pc and several versional witnesses) do not have 23:14 “Woe to you experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ property, and as a show you pray long prayers! Therefore you will receive a more severe punishment.” Part or all of the verse is contained (either after v. 12 or after v. 13) in W 0102 0107 Ë13 Ï and several versions, but it is almost certainly not original. The present translation follows NA27 in omitting the verse number as well, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations. Note also that Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47 are very similar in wording and are not disputed textually.

15 tn Grk “who,” continuing the sentence begun in v. 46.

16 sn How they were able to devour widows’ houses is debated. Did they seek too much for contributions, or take too high a commission for their work, or take homes after debts failed to be paid? There is too little said here to be sure.

17 tn Grk “houses,” “households”; however, the term can have the force of “property” or “possessions” as well (O. Michel, TDNT 5:131; BDAG 695 s.v. οἶκια 1.a).

18 tn Grk “to the praetorium.”

19 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

20 tn Grk “And they.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

21 tn Grk “into the praetorium.”