John 13:2

13:2 The evening meal ¹  was in progress, and the devil had already put into the heart ²  of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray ³  Jesus. ⁴ 

Psalms 109:6

109:6 ⁵ Appoint an evil man to testify against him! ⁶ 

May an accuser stand ⁷  at his right side!

Matthew 12:45

12:45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so ⁸  the last state of that person is worse than the first. It will be that way for this evil generation as well!”

Luke 8:32-33

8:32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, ⁹  and the demonic spirits ¹⁰  begged Jesus ¹¹  to let them go into them. He gave them permission. ¹²  8:33 So ¹³  the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd of pigs ¹⁴  rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned.

Luke 22:3

22:3 Then ¹⁵  Satan ¹⁶  entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve. ¹⁷ 

Acts 5:3

5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled ¹⁸  your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of ¹⁹  the land?

¹ tn Or “Supper.” To avoid possible confusion because of different regional English usage regarding the distinction between “dinner” and “supper” as an evening meal, the translation simply refers to “the evening meal.”

² sn At this point the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray Jesus. C. K. Barrett (St. John, 365) thought this was a reference to the idea entering the devil’s own heart, but this does not seem likely. It is more probable that Judas’ heart is meant, since the use of the Greek article (rather than a possessive pronoun) is a typical idiom when a part of one’s own body is indicated. Judas’ name is withheld until the end of the sentence for dramatic effect (emphasis). This action must be read in light of 13:27, and appears to refer to a preliminary idea or plan.

³ tn Or “that he should hand over.”

⁴ tn Grk “betray him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ sn In vv. 6-19 the psalmist calls on God to judge his enemies severely. Some attribute this curse-list to the psalmist’s enemies rather than the psalmist. In this case one should paraphrase v. 6: “They say about me, ‘Appoint an evil man, etc.’” Those supporting this line of interpretation point out that vv. 2-5 and 20 refer to the enemies’ attack on the psalmist being a verbal one. Furthermore in vv. 1-5, 20 the psalmist speaks of his enemies in the plural, while vv. 6-19 refer to an individual. This use of the singular in vv. 6-19 could be readily explained if this is the psalmist’s enemies’ curse on him. However, it is much more natural to understand vv. 6-19 as the psalmist’s prayer against his enemies. There is no introductory quotation formula in v. 6 to indicate that the psalmist is quoting anyone, and the statement “may the Lord repay my accusers in this way” in v. 20 most naturally appears to be a fitting conclusion to the prayer in vv. 6-19. But what about the use of the singular in vv. 6-19? Often in the psalms the psalmist will describe his enemies as a group, but then speak of them as an individual as well, as if viewing his adversaries collectively as one powerful foe. See, for example, Ps 7, where the psalmist uses both the plural (vv. 1, 6) and the singular (vv. 2, 4-5) in referring to enemies. Perhaps by using the singular in such cases, the psalmist wants to single out each enemy for individual attention, or perhaps he has one especially hostile enemy in mind who epitomizes the opposition of the whole group. This may well be the case in Ps 109. Perhaps we should understand the singular throughout vv. 6-19 in the sense of “each and every one.” For a lengthy and well-reasoned defense of the opposite view – that vv. 6-19 are a quotation of what the enemies said about the psalmist – see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 72-73.

⁶ tn Heb “appoint against him an evil [man].”

⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive here (note the imperative in the preceding line).

⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.

⁹ tn Grk “mountain,” but this might give the English reader the impression of a far higher summit.

¹⁰ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the demonic spirits) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² sn Many have discussed why Jesus gave them permission, since the animals were destroyed. However, this is another example of a miracle that is a visual lesson. The demons are destructive: They were destroying the man. They destroyed the pigs. They destroy whatever they touch. The point was to take demonic influence seriously, as well as Jesus’ power over it as a picture of the larger battle for human souls. There would be no doubt how the man’s transformation had taken place.

¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion and transition in the narrative.

¹⁴ tn The words “of pigs” are supplied because of the following verb in English, “were drowned,” which is plural.

¹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁶ sn The cross is portrayed as part of the cosmic battle between Satan and God; see Luke 4:1-13; 11:14-23.

¹⁷ tn Grk “Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.”

¹⁸ sn This is a good example of the Greek verb fill (πληρόω, plhrow) meaning “to exercise control over someone’s thought and action” (cf. Eph 5:18).

¹⁹ tn The words “from the sale of” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the meaning, since the phrase “proceeds from the land” could possibly be understood as crops rather than money from the sale.