13:1 Now 6 as Jesus 7 was going out of the temple courts, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look at these tremendous stones and buildings!” 8
2:18 Now 9 John’s 10 disciples and the Pharisees 11 were fasting. 12 So 13 they came to Jesus 14 and said, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?” 2:19 Jesus 15 said to them, “The wedding guests 16 cannot fast while the bridegroom 17 is with them, can they? 18 As long as they have the bridegroom with them they do not fast.
1 tn Or “many will fall away.” This could also refer to apostasy.
2 tn Or “and lead many astray.”
3 sn But the person who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus was not claiming here that salvation is by works. He was simply arguing that genuine faith evidences itself in persistence through even the worst of trials.
4 tn Or “false christs”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
5 tn Or “false christs”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 sn The Jerusalem temple was widely admired around the world. See Josephus, Ant. 15.11 [15.380-425]; J. W. 5.5 [5.184-227] and Tacitus, History 5.8, who called it “immensely opulent.” Josephus compared it to a beautiful snowcapped mountain.
9 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
10 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
11 sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.
12 sn John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.
13 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate that in the narrative this question happened as a result of the fasting of John’s disciples and the Pharisees.
14 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Grk “And Jesus.”
16 tn Grk “sons of the wedding hall,” an idiom referring to wedding guests, or more specifically, friends of the bridegroom present at the wedding celebration (L&N 11.7).
17 sn The expression while the bridegroom is with them is an allusion to messianic times (John 3:29; Isa 54:5-6; 62:4-5; 4 Ezra 2:15, 38).
18 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 “can they?”).
19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.
20 tn Grk “it”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn The prepositional phrase “since the foundation of the world” is traditionally translated as a modifier of the immediately preceding phrase in the Greek text, “the Lamb who was killed” (so also G. B. Caird, Revelation [HNTC], 168), but it is more likely that the phrase “since the foundation of the world” modifies the verb “written” (as translated above). Confirmation of this can be found in Rev 17:8 where the phrase “written in the book of life since the foundation of the world” occurs with no ambiguity.
22 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”
23 tn Grk “earth, telling.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek.