66:5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who respect what he has to say! 1
Your countrymen, 2 who hate you
and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name,
say, “May the Lord be glorified,
then we will witness your joy.” 3
But they will be put to shame.
1 tn Heb “who tremble at his word.”
2 tn Heb “brothers” (so NASB, NIV); NRSV “Your own people”; NLT “Your close relatives.”
3 tn Or “so that we might witness your joy.” The point of this statement is unclear.
4 tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
5 tn Or “were put to shame.”
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
7 sn Concerning all the wonderful things see Luke 7:16; 19:37.
8 tn Grk “that were being done by him.” The passive has been converted to an active construction in the translation.
9 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
10 sn Jesus did not want his hearers to think that tragedy was necessarily a judgment on these people because they were worse sinners.
11 tn Grk “And soldiers.”
12 tn Grk “And what should we ourselves do?”
13 tn Or “Rob no one.” The term διασείσητε (diaseishte) here refers to “shaking someone.” In this context it refers to taking financial advantage of someone through violence, so it refers essentially to robbery. Soldiers are to perform their tasks faithfully. A changed person is to carry out his tasks in life faithfully and without grumbling.
14 tn The term translated “accusation” (συκοφαντήσητε, sukofanthshte) refers to a procedure by which someone could bring charges against an individual and be paid a part of the fine imposed by the court. Soldiers could do this to supplement their pay, and would thus be tempted to make false accusations.