Acts 6:11

6:11 Then they secretly instigated ¹  some men to say, “We have heard this man ²  speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.”

Leviticus 24:14-16

24:14 “Bring the one who cursed outside the camp, and all who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the whole congregation is to stone him to death. ³  24:15 Moreover, ⁴  you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If any man curses his God ⁵  he will bear responsibility for his sin, 24:16 and one who misuses ⁶  the name of the Lord must surely be put to death. The whole congregation must surely stone him, whether he is a foreigner or a native citizen; when he misuses the Name he must be put to death.

John 10:23-26

10:23 It was winter, ⁷  and Jesus was walking in the temple area ⁸  in Solomon’s Portico. ⁹  10:24 The Jewish leaders ¹⁰  surrounded him and asked, ¹¹  “How long will you keep us in suspense? ¹²  If you are the Christ, ¹³  tell us plainly.” ¹⁴  10:25 Jesus replied, ¹⁵  “I told you and you do not believe. The deeds ¹⁶  I do in my Father’s name testify about me. 10:26 But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep.

¹ tn Another translation would be “they suborned” (but this term is not in common usage). “Instigate (secretly), suborn” is given by BDAG 1036 s.v. ὑποβάλλω.

² tn Grk “heard him”; but since this is direct discourse, it is more natural (and clearer) to specify the referent (Stephen) as “this man.”

³ tn The words “to death” are supplied in the translation as a clarification; they are clearly implied from v. 16.

⁴ tn Heb “And.”

⁵ sn See the note on v. 11 above and esp. Exod 22:28 [27 HT].

⁶ sn See the note on v. 11 above.

⁷ sn It was winter. The feast began on 25 Kislev, in November-December of the modern Gregorian calendar.

⁸ tn Grk “in the temple.”

⁹ tn Or “portico,” “colonnade”; Grk “stoa.”

¹⁰ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. The question they ask Jesus (“Are you the Christ?”) is the same one they sent and asked of John the Baptist in the desert (see John 1:19-34). See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish people” in v. 19.

¹¹ tn Grk “said to him.” This has been translated as “asked” for stylistic reasons.

¹² tn Grk “How long will you take away our life?” (an idiom which meant to keep one from coming to a conclusion about something). The use of the phrase τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις (thn yuchn Jhmwn airei") meaning “to keep in suspense” is not well attested, although it certainly fits the context here. In modern Greek the phrase means “to annoy, bother.”

¹³ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

¹⁴ tn Or “publicly.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “answered them.”

¹⁶ tn Or “the works.”