1 Samuel 24:17

24:17 He said to David, “You are more innocent ¹  than I, for you have treated me well, even though I have tried to harm you!

Esther 3:8

3:8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a particular people ²  that is dispersed and spread among the inhabitants ³  throughout all the provinces of your kingdom whose laws differ from those of all other peoples. Furthermore, they do not observe the king’s laws. It is not appropriate for the king to provide a haven for them. ⁴ 

John 19:6-7

19:6 When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify ⁵  him! Crucify him!” ⁶  Pilate said, ⁷  “You take him and crucify him! ⁸  Certainly ⁹  I find no reason for an accusation ¹⁰  against him!” 19:7 The Jewish leaders ¹¹  replied, ¹²  “We have a law, ¹³  and according to our law he ought to die, because he claimed to be the Son of God!” ¹⁴ 

Acts 24:13-16

24:13 nor can they prove ¹⁵  to you the things ¹⁶  they are accusing me of doing. ¹⁷  24:14 But I confess this to you, that I worship ¹⁸  the God of our ancestors ¹⁹  according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law ²⁰  and that is written in the prophets. 24:15 I have ²¹  a hope in God (a hope ²²  that ²³  these men ²⁴  themselves accept too) that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. ²⁵  24:16 This is the reason ²⁶  I do my best to always ²⁷  have a clear ²⁸  conscience toward God and toward people. ²⁹ 

Acts 24:20-21

24:20 Or these men here ³⁰  should tell what crime ³¹  they found me guilty of ³²  when I stood before the council, ³³  24:21 other than ³⁴  this one thing ³⁵  I shouted out while I stood before ³⁶  them: ‘I am on trial before you today concerning the resurrection of the dead.’” ³⁷ 

[24:17]  ¹ tn Or “righteous” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “you are in the right”; NLT “are a better man than I am.”

[3:8]  ² tn Heb “one people.” Note the subtle absence at this point of a specific mention of the Jewish people by name.

[3:8]  ³ tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NIV); NAB “nations”

[3:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “to cause them to rest”; NASB “to let them remain”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “to tolerate them.”

[19:6]  ⁵ sn Crucifixion was the cruelest form of punishment practiced by the Romans. Roman citizens could not normally undergo it. It was reserved for the worst crimes, like treason and evasion of due process in a capital case. The Roman statesman and orator Cicero (106-43 b.c.) called it “a cruel and disgusting penalty” (Against Verres 2.5.63-66 §§163-70); Josephus (J. W. 7.6.4 [7.203]) called it the worst of deaths.

[19:6]  ⁶ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from context.

[19:6]  ⁷ tn Grk “said to them.” The words “to them” are not translated because they are unnecessary in contemporary English style.

[19:6]  ⁸ sn How are Pilate’s words “You take him and crucify him” to be understood? Was he offering a serious alternative to the priests who wanted Jesus crucified? Was he offering them an exception to the statement in 18:31 that the Jewish authorities did not have the power to carry out a death penalty? Although a few scholars have suggested that the situation was at this point so far out of Pilate’s control that he really was telling the high priests they could go ahead and crucify a man he had found to be innocent, this seems unlikely. It is far more likely that Pilate’s statement should be understood as one of frustration and perhaps sarcasm. This seems to be supported by the context, for the Jewish authorities make no attempt at this point to seize Jesus and crucify him. Rather they continue to pester Pilate to order the crucifixion.

[19:6]  ⁹ tn On this use of γάρ (gar) used in exclamations and strong affirmations, see BDAG 190 s.v. γάρ 3.

[19:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “find no basis for an accusation”; Grk “find no cause.”

[19:7]  ¹¹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin, and their servants (mentioned specifically as “the chief priests and their servants” in John 19:6).

[19:7]  ¹² tn Grk “answered him.”

[19:7]  ¹³ sn This law is not the entire Pentateuch, but Lev 24:16.

[19:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “because he made himself out to be the Son of God.”

[24:13]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 1.f has “οὐδὲ παραστῆσαι δύνανταί σοι περὶ ὧν νυνὶ κατηγοροῦσίν μου nor can they prove to you the accusations they are now making against me Ac 24:13.”

[24:13]  ¹⁶ tn The words “the things” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[24:13]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “nor can they prove to you [the things] about which they are now accusing me.” This has been simplified to eliminate the relative pronoun (“which”) in the translation.

[24:14]  ¹⁸ tn Or “serve.”

[24:14]  ¹⁹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[24:14]  ²⁰ sn That is, the law of Moses. Paul was claiming that he legitimately worshiped the God of Israel. He was arguing that this amounted to a religious dispute rather than a political one, so that the Roman authorities need not concern themselves with it.

[24:15]  ²¹ tn Grk “having.” The participle ἔχων (ecwn) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun at this point in the translation because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence.

[24:15]  ²² sn This mention of Paul’s hope sets up his appeal to the resurrection of the dead. At this point Paul was ignoring the internal Jewish dispute between the Pharisees (to which he had belonged) and the Sadducees (who denied there would be a resurrection of the dead).

[24:15]  ²³ tn Grk “a hope in God (which these [men] themselves accept too).” Because the antecedent of the relative pronoun “which” is somewhat unclear in English, the words “a hope” have been repeated at the beginning of the parenthesis for clarity.

[24:15]  ²⁴ tn Grk “that they”; the referent (these men, Paul’s accusers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:15]  ²⁵ tn Or “the unjust.”

[24:16]  ²⁶ tn BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 9.a, “ἐν τούτῳ πιστεύομεν this is the reason why we believe Jn 16:30; cp. Ac 24:16.”

[24:16]  ²⁷ tn BDAG 224 s.v. διά 2.a, “διὰ παντός…always, continually, constantly…Ac 2:25 (Ps 15:8); 10:2; 24:16.” However, the positioning of the adverb “always” in the English translation is difficult; the position used is one of the least awkward.

[24:16]  ²⁸ tn BDAG 125 s.v. ἀπρόσκοπος 1 has “ἀ. συνείδησις a clear conscience Ac 24:16.”

[24:16]  ²⁹ tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use (Paul does not have only males in view).

[24:20]  ³⁰ tn Grk “these [men] themselves.”

[24:20]  ³¹ tn Or “unrighteous act.”

[24:20]  ³² tn The words “me guilty of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. L&N 88.23 has “αὐτοὶ οὗτοι εἰπάτωσαν τί εὗρον ἀδίκημα στάντος μου ‘let these men themselves tell what unrighteous act they found me guilty of’ Ac 24:20.”

[24:20]  ³³ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[24:21]  ³⁴ tn BDAG 433 s.v. ἤ 2.c has “οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἤ nothing else than…Ac 17:21. τί…ἤ what other…than…24:21.”

[24:21]  ³⁵ tn Grk “one utterance.”

[24:21]  ³⁶ tn Cf. BDAG 327 s.v. ἐν 1.e, which has “before, in the presence of, etc.”

[24:21]  ³⁷ sn The resurrection of the dead. Paul’s point was, what crime was there in holding this religious belief?