13:9 “You must watch out for yourselves. You will be handed over 7 to councils 8 and beaten in the synagogues. 9 You will stand before governors and kings 10 because of me, as a witness to them.
1 tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.
2 tn Or “Be on guard.”
3 tn Or “false christs”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
4 tn Or “Pay attention!” Grk “Behold.”
5 tn Or “Be on guard.”
6 tn That is, “I am the Messiah.”
7 tn Grk “They will hand you over.” “They” is an indefinite plural, referring to people in general. The parallel in Matt 10:17 makes this explicit.
8 sn Councils in this context refers to local judicial bodies attached to the Jewish synagogue. This group would be responsible for meting out justice and discipline within the Jewish community.
9 sn See the note on synagogue in 1:21.
10 sn These statements look at persecution both from a Jewish context as the mention of councils and synagogues suggests, and from a Gentile one as the reference to governors and kings suggests. Some fulfillment of Jewish persecution can be seen in Acts.
11 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
12 tn Or “Be on guard.”
13 tn That is, “I am the Messiah.”
14 tn Grk “that there not be any root of bitterness,” but referring figuratively to a person who causes trouble (as in Deut 29:17 [LXX] from which this is quoted).
15 tn On the verb λάβῃ (labh) here BDAG 583 s.v. λαμβάνω 2 states, “to take away, remove…with or without the use of force τὰ ἀργύρια take away the silver coins (fr. the temple) Mt 27:6. τὰς ἀσθενείας diseases 8:17. τὸν στέφανον Rv 3:11.”
16 sn Your crown refers to a wreath consisting either of foliage or of precious metals formed to resemble foliage and worn as a symbol of honor, victory, or as a badge of high office – ‘wreath, crown’ (L&N 6.192).