Mark 9:13

9:13 But I tell you that Elijah has certainly come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him.”

Nehemiah 9:30

9:30 You prolonged your kindness with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.

Jeremiah 7:25-28

7:25 From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now, I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again, day after day. 7:26 But your ancestors did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”

7:27 Then the Lord said to me, “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you. When you call out to them, they will not respond to you. 7:28 So tell them: ‘This is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord their God and has not accepted correction. Faithfulness is nowhere to be found in it. These people do not even profess it anymore. 10 

Matthew 5:12

5:12 Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

Matthew 21:35-36

21:35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, 11  killed another, and stoned another. 21:36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way.

Matthew 22:6

22:6 The 12  rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them.

Matthew 23:37

Judgment on Israel

23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 13  you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! 14  How often I have longed 15  to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but 16  you would have none of it! 17 

Luke 6:22-23

6:22 “Blessed are you when people 18  hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil 19  on account of the Son of Man! 6:23 Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because 20  your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors 21  did the same things to the prophets. 22 

Luke 6:36

6:36 Be merciful, 23  just as your Father is merciful.


tn The Hebrew expression here is elliptical. The words “your kindness” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

tn Heb “did not give ear to.”

tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

tn Heb “from the day your ancestors…until this very day.” However, “day” here is idiomatic for “the present time.”

tn On the Hebrew idiom see the note at 7:13.

tc There is some textual debate about the legitimacy of this expression here. The text reads merely “day” (יוֹם, yom). BHS suggests the word is to be deleted as a dittography of the plural ending of the preceding word. The word is in the Greek and Latin, and the Syriac represents the typical idiom “day after day” as though the noun were repeated. Either יוֹם has dropped out by haplography or a ם (mem) has been left out, i.e., reading יוֹמָם (yomam, “daily”).

tn Or “But your predecessors…”; Heb “But they….” There is a confusing interchange in the pronouns in vv. 25-26 which has led to some leveling in the ancient versions and the modern English versions. What is involved here are four levels of referents, the “you” of the present generation (vv. 21-22a), the ancestors who were delivered from Egypt (i.e., the “they” of vv. 22b-24), the “you” of v. 25 which involves all the Israelites from the Exodus to the time of speaking, and the “they” of v. 26 which cannot be the ancestors of vv. 22-24 (since they cannot be more wicked than themselves) but must be an indefinite entity which is a part of the “you” of v. 25, i.e., the more immediate ancestors of the present generation. If this is kept in mind, there is no need to level the pronouns to “they” and “them” or to “you” and “your” as some of the ancient versions and modern English versions have done.

tn Heb “hardened [or made stiff] their neck.”

tn The words, “Then the Lord said to me” are not in the text but are implicit in the shift from the second and third person plural pronouns in vv. 21-26 and the second singular in this verse. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

10 tn Heb “Faithfulness has vanished. It is cut off from their lips.”

11 sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

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

13 sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.

14 tn Although the opening address (“Jerusalem, Jerusalem”) is direct (second person), the remainder of this sentence in the Greek text is third person (“who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her”). The following sentences then revert to second person (“your… you”), so to keep all this consistent in English, the third person pronouns in the present verse were translated as second person (“you who kill… sent to you”).

15 sn How often I have longed to gather your children. Jesus, like a lamenting prophet, speaks for God here, who longed to care tenderly for Israel and protect her.

16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

17 tn Grk “you were not willing.”

18 tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

19 tn Or “disdain you”; Grk “cast out your name as evil.” The word “name” is used here as a figure of speech to refer to the person as a whole.

20 tn Grk “because behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this clause has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

21 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

22 sn Mistreatment of the prophets is something Luke often notes (Luke 11:47-51; Acts 7:51-52).

23 sn Merciful is a characteristic of God often noted in the OT: Exod 34:6; Deut 4:31; Joel 2:31; Jonah 4:2; 2 Sam 24:14. This remark also echoes the more common OT statements like Lev 19:2 or Deut 18:13: “you must be holy as I am holy.”