23:13 “But woe to you, experts in the law 8 and you Pharisees, hypocrites! 9 You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! 10 For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.
11:53 When he went out from there, the experts in the law 30 and the Pharisees began to oppose him bitterly, 31 and to ask him hostile questions 32 about many things, 11:54 plotting against 33 him, to catch 34 him in something he might say.
16:14 The Pharisees 35 (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed 36 him.
7:32 The Pharisees 37 heard the crowd 38 murmuring these things about Jesus, 39 so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers 40 to arrest him. 41
1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Grk “was giving them orders, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
3 sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.
4 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
5 tn Or “prince.”
6 tc Although codex Cantabrigiensis (D), along with a few other Western versional and patristic witnesses, lacks this verse, virtually all other witnesses have it. The Western text’s reputation for free alterations as well as the heightened climax if v. 33 concludes this pericope explains why these witnesses omitted the verse.
7 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
8 tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
9 tn Grk “Woe to you…because you…” The causal particle ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated here for rhetorical effect (and so throughout this chapter).
10 tn Grk “because you are closing the kingdom of heaven before people.”
11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the implied contrast present in this context.
12 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
13 tn Or “and their scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
14 tn Or “grumbled”; a term often used in the OT for inappropriate grumbling: Exod 15:24; 16:7-8; Num 14:2, 26-35; 16:11.
15 sn The issue here is inappropriate associations (eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners) and the accusation comes not against Jesus, but his disciples.
16 tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
17 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
18 sn The term translated watched…closely is emotive, since it carries negative connotations. It means they were watching him out of the corner of their eye or spying on him.
19 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text; Jesus’ opponents anticipated he would do this.
21 sn The background for this is the view that only if life was endangered should one attempt to heal on the Sabbath (see the Mishnah, m. Shabbat 6.3; 12.1; 18.3; 19.2; m. Yoma 8.6).
22 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
23 tn That is, the experts in the interpretation of the Mosaic law (see also Luke 5:17, although the Greek term is not identical there, and Luke 10:25, where it is the same).
24 tn Or “plan.”
25 tn The participle βαπτισθέντες (baptisqente") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle; it could also be translated as means (“for themselves, by not having been baptized”). This is similar to the translation found in the NRSV.
26 tn Grk “by him”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
27 sn Luke 7:29-30 forms something of an aside by the author. To indicate this, they have been placed in parentheses.
28 sn The allusion to washing (clean the outside of the cup) shows Jesus knew what they were thinking and deliberately set up a contrast that charged them with hypocrisy and majoring on minors.
29 tn Or “and evil.”
30 tn Or “the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
31 tn Or “terribly.”
32 tn For this term see L&N 33.183.
33 tn Grk “lying in ambush against,” but this is a figurative extension of that meaning.
34 tn This term was often used in a hunting context (BDAG 455 s.v. θηρεύω; L&N 27.30). Later examples of this appear in Luke 20.
35 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
36 tn A figurative extension of the literal meaning “to turn one’s nose up at someone”; here “ridicule, sneer at, show contempt for” (L&N 33.409).
37 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
38 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the Pharisees).
39 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
40 tn Or “servants.” The “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. As “servants” or “officers” of the Sanhedrin their representatives should be distinguished from the Levites serving as temple police (perhaps John 7:30 and 44; also John 8:20; 10:39; 19:6; Acts 4:3). Even when performing “police” duties such as here, their “officers” are doing so only as part of their general tasks (see K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:540).
41 tn Grk “to seize him.” In the context of a deliberate attempt by the servants of the chief priests and Pharisees to detain Jesus, the English verb “arrest” conveys the point more effectively.
42 sn The chief priests and Pharisees (John 7:45) is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. Likewise the term ruler here denotes a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in John 3:1, and Nicodemus also speaks up in this episode (John 7:50).
43 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “have they?”).
44 tn The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.
45 tn Or “Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). The συνέδριον (sunedrion) which they gathered was probably an informal meeting rather than the official Sanhedrin. This is the only occurrence of the word συνέδριον in the Gospel of John, and the only anarthrous singular use in the NT. There are other plural anarthrous uses which have the general meaning “councils.” The fact that Caiaphas in 11:49 is referred to as “one of them” supports the unofficial nature of the meeting; in the official Sanhedrin he, being high priest that year, would have presided over the assembly. Thus it appears that an informal council was called to discuss what to do about Jesus and his activities.
46 tn The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.
47 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
48 tn Or “could seize.”
49 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.