Isaiah 8:14-15

8:14 He will become a sanctuary, ¹ 

but a stone that makes a person trip,

and a rock that makes one stumble –

to the two houses of Israel. ² 

He will become ³  a trap and a snare

to the residents of Jerusalem. ⁴ 

8:15 Many will stumble over the stone and the rock, ⁵ 

and will fall and be seriously injured,

and will be ensnared and captured.”

Daniel 2:34-35

2:34 You were watching as ⁶  a stone was cut out, ⁷  but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its iron and clay feet, breaking them in pieces. 2:35 Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were broken in pieces without distinction ⁸  and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors that the wind carries away. Not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a large mountain that filled the entire earth.

Daniel 2:44-45

2:44 In the days of those kings the God of heaven will raise up an everlasting kingdom that will not be destroyed and a kingdom that will not be left to another people. It will break in pieces and bring about the demise of all these kingdoms. But it will stand forever. 2:45 You saw that a stone was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands; it smashed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold into pieces. The great God has made known to the king what will occur in the future. ⁹  The dream is certain, and its interpretation is reliable.”

Zechariah 12:3

12:3 Moreover, on that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy burden ¹⁰  for all the nations, and all who try to carry it will be seriously injured; ¹¹  yet all the peoples of the earth will be assembled against it.

Matthew 21:34

21:34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves ¹²  to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop. ¹³ 

Matthew 21:1

The Triumphal Entry

21:1 Now ¹⁴  when they approached Jerusalem ¹⁵  and came to Bethphage, ¹⁶  at the Mount of Olives, ¹⁷  Jesus sent two disciples,

Matthew 2:16

2:16 When Herod ¹⁸  saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men ¹⁹  to kill all the children in Bethlehem ²⁰  and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.

¹ tn Because the metaphor of protection (“sanctuary”) does not fit the negative mood that follows in vv. 14b-15, some contend that מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “sanctuary”) is probably a corruption of an original מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh, “snare”), a word that appears in the next line (cf. NAB and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:355-56). If the MT reading is retained (as in the above translation), the fact that Yahweh is a sanctuary wraps up the point of v. 13 and stands in contrast to God’s treatment of those who rebel against him (the rest of v. 14).

² sn The two “houses” of Israel (= the patriarch Jacob) are the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.

³ tn These words are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. וְהָיָה (vÿhayah, “and he will be”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse.

⁴ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁵ tn Heb “over them” (so NASB); NCV “over this rock.”

⁹ tn Aram “until.”

¹⁰ tc The LXX, Theodotion, and the Vulgate have “from a mountain,” though this is probably a harmonization with v. 45.

¹³ tn Aram “as one.” For the meaning “without distinction” see the following: F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 36, §64, and p. 93; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 60.

¹⁷ tn Aram “after this.”

²¹ tn Heb “heavy stone” (so NRSV, TEV, NLT); KJV “burdensome stone”; NIV “an immovable rock.”

²² sn In Israel’s and Judah’s past they had been uprooted by various conquerors such as the Assyrians and the Babylonians. In the eschaton, however, they will be so “heavy” with God’s glory and so rooted in his promises that no nation will be able to move them.

²⁵ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

²⁶ tn Grk “to collect his fruits.”

²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

³⁰ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³¹ sn The exact location of the village of Bethphage is not known. Most put it on the southeast side of the Mount of Olives and northwest of Bethany, about 1.5 miles (3 km) east of Jerusalem.

³² sn “Mountain” in English generally denotes a higher elevation than it often does in reference to places in Palestine. The Mount of Olives is really a ridge running north to south about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) long, east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Its central elevation is about 30 meters (100 ft) higher than Jerusalem. It was named for the large number of olive trees which grew on it.

³³ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Note the fulfillment of the prophecy given by the angel in 2:13.

³⁴ tn Or “soldiers.”

³⁵ map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.