Malachi 3:17

3:17 “They will belong to me,” says the Lord who rules over all, “in the day when I prepare my own special property. ¹  I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Matthew 7:22

7:22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do ²  many powerful deeds?’

Matthew 24:36

Be Ready!

24:36 “But as for that day and hour no one knows it – not even the angels in heaven ³  – except the Father alone.

Luke 10:12

10:12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom ⁴  than for that town! ⁵ 

Luke 10:2

10:2 He ⁶  said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest ⁷  to send out ⁸  workers into his harvest.

Luke 1:12

1:12 And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, ⁹  was seized with fear. ¹⁰ 

Luke 1:18

1:18 Zechariah ¹¹  said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? ¹²  For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well.” ¹³ 

Luke 4:8

4:8 Jesus ¹⁴  answered him, ¹⁵  “It is written, ‘You are to worship ¹⁶  the Lord ¹⁷  your God and serve only him.’” ¹⁸ 

¹ sn The Hebrew word סְגֻלָּה (sÿgullah, “special property”) is a technical term referring to all the recipients of God’s redemptive grace, especially Israel (Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18). The Lord says here that he will not forget even one individual in the day of judgment and reward.

² tn Grk “and in your name do.” This phrase was not repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³ tc ‡ Some important witnesses, including early Alexandrian and Western mss (א*^,2 B D Θ Ë¹³ pc it vg^mss Ir^lat Hier^mss), have the additional words οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός (oude Jo Juios, “nor the son”) here. Although the shorter reading (which lacks this phrase) is suspect in that it seems to soften the prophetic ignorance of Jesus, the final phrase (“except the Father alone”) already implies this. Further, the parallel in Mark 13:32 has οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός, with almost no witnesses lacking the expression. Hence, it is doubtful that the absence of “neither the Son” is due to the scribes. In keeping with Matthew’s general softening of Mark’s harsh statements throughout his Gospel, it is more likely that the absence of “neither the Son” is part of the original text of Matthew, being an intentional change on the part of the author. Further, this shorter reading is supported by the first corrector of א as well as L W ˹ 33 Ï vg sy co Hier^mss. Admittedly, the external evidence is not as impressive for the shorter reading, but it best explains the rise of the other reading (in particular, how does one account for virtually no mss excising οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός at Mark 13:32 if such an absence here is due to scribal alteration? Although scribes were hardly consistent, for such a theologically significant issue at least some consistency would be expected on the part of a few scribes). Nevertheless, NA²⁷ includes οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός here.

⁴ sn The allusion to Sodom, the most wicked of OT cities from Gen 19:1-29, shows that to reject the current message is even more serious than the worst sins of the old era and will result in more severe punishment. The noun Sodom is in emphatic position in the Greek text.

⁵ tn Or “city.”

⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁷ sn The phrase Lord of the harvest recognizes God’s sovereignty over the harvest process.

⁸ tn Grk “to thrust out.”

⁹ tn The words “the angel” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

¹⁰ tn Or “and he was afraid”; Grk “fear fell upon him.” Fear is common when supernatural agents appear (1:29-30, 65; 2:9; 5:8-10; 9:34; 24:38; Exod 15:16; Judg 6:22-23; 13:6, 22; 2 Sam 6:9).

¹¹ tn Grk “And Zechariah.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹² tn Grk “How will I know this?”

¹³ tn Grk “is advanced in days” (an idiom for old age).

¹⁴ tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁵ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A Θ Ψ 0102 ˹³ Ï it), have “Get behind me, Satan!” at the beginning of the quotation. This roughly parallels Matt 4:10 (though the Lukan mss add ὀπίσω μου to read ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, σατανᾶ [{upage opisw mou, satana]); for this reason the words are suspect as a later addition to make the two accounts agree more precisely. A similar situation occurred in v. 5.

¹⁶ tn Or “You will prostrate yourself in worship before…” The verb προσκυνέω (proskunew) can allude not only to the act of worship but the position of the worshiper. See L&N 53.56.

¹⁷ tc Most later mss (A Θ 0102 Ï) alter the word order by moving the verb forward in the quotation. This alteration removes the emphasis from “the Lord your God” as the one to receive worship (as opposed to Satan) by moving it away from the beginning of the quotation.

¹⁸ sn A quotation from Deut 6:13. The word “only” is an interpretive expansion not found in either the Hebrew or Greek (LXX) text of the OT.