Daniel 6:4-5

6:4 Consequently the supervisors and satraps were trying to find ¹  some pretext against Daniel in connection with administrative matters. ²  But they were unable to find any such damaging evidence, ³  because he was trustworthy and guilty of no negligence or corruption. ⁴  6:5 So these men concluded, ⁵  “We won’t find any pretext against this man Daniel unless it is ⁶  in connection with the law of his God.”

Matthew 7:3-5

7:3 Why ⁷  do you see the speck ⁸  in your brother’s eye, but fail to see ⁹  the beam of wood ¹⁰  in your own? 7:4 Or how can you say ¹¹  to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? 7:5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Matthew 23:23-25

23:23 “Woe to you, experts in the law ¹²  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth ¹³  of mint, dill, and cumin, ¹⁴  yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You ¹⁵  should have done these things without neglecting the others. 23:24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel! ¹⁶ 

23:25 “Woe to you, experts in the law ¹⁷  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

¹ tn Aram “looking to find.”

² tn Aram “from the side of the kingdom.”

³ tn Aram “pretext and corruption.”

⁴ tn Aram “no negligence or corruption was found in him.” The Greek version of Theodotion lacks the phrase “and no negligence or corruption was found in him.”

⁵ tn Aram “were saying.”

⁶ tn Aram “unless we find [it] against him.”

⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸ sn The term translated speck refers to a small piece of wood, chaff, or straw; see L&N 3.66.

⁹ tn Or “do not notice.”

¹⁰ sn The term beam of wood refers to a very big piece of wood, the main beam of a building, in contrast to the speck in the other’s eye (L&N 7.78).

¹¹ tn Grk “how will you say?”

¹² tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

¹³ tn Or “you tithe mint.”

¹⁴ sn Cumin (alternately spelled cummin) was an aromatic herb native to the Mediterranean region. Its seeds were used for seasoning.

¹⁵ tc ‡ Many witnesses (B C K L W Δ 0102 33 565 892 pm) have δέ (de, “but”) after ταῦτα (tauta, “these things”), while many others lack it (א D Γ Θ Ë^1,13 579 700 1241 1424 pm). Since asyndeton was relatively rare in Koine Greek, the conjunction may be an intentional alteration, and is thus omitted from the present translation. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

¹⁶ tn Grk “Blind guides who strain out a gnat yet who swallow a camel!”

¹⁷ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.