9:7 The time of judgment 11 is about to arrive! 12
The time of retribution 13 is imminent! 14
Let Israel know! 15
The prophet is considered a fool 16 –
the inspired man 17 is viewed as a madman 18 –
because of the multitude of your sins
and your intense 19 animosity.
7:20 The crowd 20 answered, “You’re possessed by a demon! 21 Who is trying to kill you?” 22
8:48 The Judeans 23 replied, 24 “Aren’t we correct in saying 25 that you are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon?” 26
26:24 As Paul 28 was saying these things in his defense, Festus 29 exclaimed loudly, “You have lost your mind, 30 Paul! Your great learning is driving you insane!”
1 sn The term apostles is rare in the gospels, found only here, Mark 3:14, and six more times in Luke (6:13; 9:10; 11:49; 17:5; 22:14; 24:10).
2 sn In the various lists of the twelve, Simon (that is, Peter) is always mentioned first (see also Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16; Acts 1:13) and the first four are always the same, though not in the same order after Peter.
3 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
4 sn The issue here is inappropriate associations. Jews were very careful about personal associations and contact as a matter of ritual cleanliness. Their question borders on an accusation that Jesus is ritually unclean.
5 tn Heb “in place of Jehoiada the priest.” The word “the priest” is unnecessary to the English sentence.
6 tc Heb “The
7 sn The Hebrew term translated lunatic applies to anyone who exhibits irrational behavior. It was used for example of David who drooled and scratched on the city gate to convince Achish not to arrest him as a politically dangerous threat (1 Sam 21:14). It was often used contemptuously of the prophets by those who wanted to play down the significance of their words (2 Kgs 9:11; Hos 9:7 and here).
8 tn The verb here is a good example of what IBHS 431 §26.2f calls the estimative-declarative reflexive where a person presents himself in a certain light. For examples of this usage see 2 Sam 13:5; Prov 13:7.
9 tn See the translator’s note on 20:2 for this word which only occurs here and in 20:2-3.
10 tn This word only occurs here in the Hebrew Bible. All the lexicons are agreed as seeing it referring to a collar placed around the neck. The basis for this definition are the cognate languages (see, e.g., HALOT 958-59 s.v. צִינֹק for the most complete discussion).
11 tn Heb “the days of the visitation”; NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “the days of punishment.”
12 tn Heb “has come” (בָּאוּ, ba’u). The two perfect tense (suffix-conjugation) verbs בָּאוּ (Qal perfect 3rd person common plural from בּוֹא, bo’, “to come”) repeated in this verse are both examples of the so-called “prophetic perfect”: the perfect, which connotes completed or factual action, is used in reference to future events to emphasize the certainty of the announced event taking place.
13 tn Heb “the days of the retribution”; NIV “of reckoning”; NRSV “of recompense.”
14 tn Heb “has come”; NIV “are at hand”; NLT “is almost here.”
15 tc The Aleppo Codex and Leningrad Codex (the MT
16 tn Or “is distraught”; cf. CEV, NLT “are crazy.”
17 tn Heb “the man of the Spirit”; NAB, NRSV “spirit.”
18 tn Or “is driven to despair.” The term מְשֻׁגָּע (mÿshugga’, Pual participle masculine singular from שָׁגַע, shaga’, “to be mad”) may be understood in two senses: (1) It could be a predicate adjective which is a figure of speech: “to be maddened,” to be driven to despair (Deut 28:34); or (2) it could be a substantive: “a madman,” referring to prophets who attempted to enter into a prophetic state through whipping themselves into a frenzy (1 Sam 21:16; 2 Kgs 9:11; Jer 29:26; see BDB 993 s.v. שָׁגַע). The prophetic context of 9:7 favors the latter option (which is followed by most English versions). Apparently, the general populace viewed these mantics with suspicion and questioned the legitimacy of their claim to be true prophets (e.g., 2 Kgs 9:11; Jer 29:26).
19 tn Heb “great.”
20 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities mentioned in 7:15).
21 tn Grk “You have a demon!”
22 tn Grk “Who is seeking to kill you?”
23 tn Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31). They had become increasingly hostile as Jesus continued to teach. Now they were ready to say that Jesus was demon-possessed.
24 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
25 tn Grk “Do we not say rightly.”
26 tn Grk “and have a demon.” It is not clear what is meant by the charge Σαμαρίτης εἶ σὺ καὶ δαιμόνιον ἔχεις (Samarith" ei su kai daimonion ecei"). The meaning could be “you are a heretic and are possessed by a demon.” Note that the dual charge gets one reply (John 8:49). Perhaps the phrases were interchangeable: Simon Magus (Acts 8:14-24) and in later traditions Dositheus, the two Samaritans who claimed to be sons of God, were regarded as mad, that is, possessed by demons.
27 tn Or “is insane.” To translate simply “he is mad” (so KJV, ASV, RSV; “raving mad” NIV) could give the impression that Jesus was angry, while the actual charge was madness or insanity.
28 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
30 tn On the term translated “lost your mind” see BDAG 610 s.v. μαίνομαι, which has “you’re out of your mind, you’re raving, said to one whose enthusiasm seems to have outrun better judgment 26:24.”