65:4 They sit among the tombs 2
and keep watch all night long. 3
They eat pork, 4
and broth 5 from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans.
66:3 The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man; 6
the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck; 7
the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it; 8
the one who offers incense also praises an idol. 9
They have decided to behave this way; 10
they enjoy these disgusting practices. 11
66:17 “As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, 12 those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice 13 – they will all be destroyed together,” 14 says the Lord.
2:21 At 31 the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given by the angel 32 before he was conceived in the womb.
2:22 Now 33 when the time came for their 34 purification according to the law of Moses, Joseph and Mary 35 brought Jesus 36 up to Jerusalem 37 to present him to the Lord
1 tc The MT lacks (probably by haplography) the phrase וְשֹׁסַע שֶׁסַע פַּרְסָה (vÿshosa’ shesa’ parsah, “and is clovenfooted,” i.e., “has parted hooves”), a phrase found in the otherwise exact parallel in Lev 11:7. The LXX and Smr attest the longer reading here. The meaning is, however, clear without it.
2 sn Perhaps the worship of underworld deities or dead spirits is in view.
3 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and in the watches they spend the night.” Some understand נְּצוּרִים (nÿtsurim) as referring to “secret places” or “caves,” while others emend the text to וּבֵין צוּרִים (uven tsurim, “between the rocky cliffs”).
4 tn Heb “the flesh of the pig”; KJV, NAB, NASB “swine’s flesh.”
5 tc The marginal reading (Qere), supported by the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa, reads מְרַק (mÿraq, “broth”), while the consonantal text (Kethib) has פְרַק (feraq, “fragment”).
6 tn Heb “one who slaughters a bull, one who strikes down a man.” Some understand a comparison here and in the following lines. In God’s sight the one who sacrifices is like (i.e., regarded as) a murderer or one whose worship is ritually defiled or idolatrous. The translation above assumes that the language is not metaphorical, but descriptive of the sinners’ hypocritical behavior. (Note the last two lines of the verse, which suggests they are guilty of abominable practices.) On the one hand, they act pious and offer sacrifices; but at the same time they commit violent crimes against men, defile their sacrifices, and worship other gods.
7 tn Heb “one who sacrifices a lamb, one who breaks a dog’s neck.” Some understand a comparison, but see the previous note.
8 tn Heb “one who offers an offering, pig’s blood.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line.
9 tn Heb “one who offers incense as a memorial offering, one who blesses something false.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line. אָוֶן (’aven), which has a wide variety of attested nuances, here refers metonymically to an idol. See HALOT 22 s.v. and BDB 20 s.v. 2.
10 tn Heb “also they have chosen their ways.”
11 tn Heb “their being [or “soul”] takes delight in their disgusting [things].”
12 tn Heb “the ones who consecrate themselves and the ones who purify themselves toward the orchards [or “gardens”] after the one in the midst.” The precise meaning of the statement is unclear, though it is obvious that some form of idolatry is in view.
13 tn Heb “ones who eat the flesh of the pig and the disgusting thing and the mouse.”
14 tn Heb “together they will come to an end.”
15 tn Or “otherwise the latter will trample them under their feet and the former will turn around and tear you to pieces.” This verse is sometimes understood as a chiasm of the pattern a-b-b-a, in which the first and last clauses belong together (“dogs…turn around and tear you to pieces”) and the second and third clauses belong together (“pigs…trample them under their feet”).
16 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion and transition in the narrative.
17 tn The words “of pigs” are supplied because of the following verb in English, “were drowned,” which is plural.
18 tn Grk “joined himself to” (in this case an idiom for beginning to work for someone).
19 tn Grk “and he.” Here the conjunction καί (kai) and the personal pronoun have been translated by a relative pronoun to improve the English style.
20 sn To a Jew, being sent to the field to feed pigs would be an insult, since pigs were considered unclean animals (Lev 11:7).
21 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
22 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
23 tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
24 tn Or “grumbling”; Grk “were complaining, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
25 tn Or “accepts,” “receives.” This is not the first time this issue has been raised: Luke 5:27-32; 7:37-50.
26 tn Grk “marveled.” It is a hard word to translate with one term in this context. There is a mixture of amazement and pondering at work in considering the surprising events here. See Luke 1:21, 63; 2:33.
27 tn The term συμβάλλουσα (sumballousa) suggests more than remembering. She is trying to put things together here (Josephus, Ant. 2.5.3 [2.72]). The words “what they might mean” have been supplied in the translation to make this clear. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
28 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion of the topic.
29 sn The mention of glorifying and praising God is the second note of praise in this section; see Luke 2:13-14.
30 tn Grk “just as [it] had been spoken to them.” This has been simplified in the English translation by making the prepositional phrase (“to them”) the subject of the passive verb.
31 tn Grk “And when eight days were completed.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
32 sn Jesus’ parents obeyed the angel as Zechariah and Elizabeth had (1:57-66). These events are taking place very much under God’s direction.
33 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
34 tc The translation follows most
35 tn Grk “they”; the referents (Joseph and Mary) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
36 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
37 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.