41:9 Even my close friend 7 whom I trusted,
he who shared meals with me, has turned against me. 8
55:13 But it is you, 9 a man like me, 10
my close friend in whom I confided. 11
55:14 We would share personal thoughts with each other; 12
in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.
1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the landowner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Grk “And answering, he said to one of them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.
3 tn Grk “for a denarius a day.”
4 tn Grk “agreeing with the workers for a denarius a day.”
5 tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of this phrase has been modified for clarity.
6 tn The expression “flesh and blood” could refer to “any human being” (so TEV, NLT; cf. NIV “man”), but it could also refer to Peter himself (i.e., his own intuition; cf. CEV “You didn’t discover this on your own”). Because of the ambiguity of the referent, the phrase “flesh and blood” has been retained in the translation.
7 tn Heb “man of my peace.” The phrase here refers to one’s trusted friend (see Jer 38:22; Obad 7).
8 tn Heb “has made a heel great against me.” The precise meaning of this phrase, which appears only here, is uncertain.
9 sn It is you. The psalmist addresses the apparent ringleader of the opposition, an individual who was once his friend.
10 tn Heb “a man according to my value,” i.e., “a person such as I.”
11 tn Heb “my close friend, one known by me.”
12 tn Heb “who together we would make counsel sweet.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the ongoing nature of the actions (the so-called customary use of the imperfect). Their relationship was characterized by such intimacy and friendship. See IBHS 502-3 §31.2b.
13 sn Jesus’ comment about betraying the Son of Man with a kiss shows the hypocrisy and blindness of an attempt to cover up sin. On “misused kisses” in the Bible, see Gen 27:26-27; 2 Sam 15:5; Prov 7:13; 27:6; and 2 Sam 20:9.