2 Kings 1:2

1:2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria ¹  and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, ²  “Go, ask ³  Baal Zebub, ⁴  the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”

2 Kings 8:8

8:8 So the king told Hazael, “Take a gift ⁵  and go visit the prophet. Request from him an oracle from the Lord. Ask him, ⁶  ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

Luke 7:2-3

7:2 A centurion ⁷  there ⁸  had a slave ⁹  who was highly regarded, ¹⁰  but who was sick and at the point of death. 7:3 When the centurion ¹¹  heard ¹²  about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders ¹³  to him, asking him to come ¹⁴  and heal his slave.

John 4:47-48

4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and begged him ¹⁵  to come down and heal his son, who was about to die. 4:48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people ¹⁶  see signs and wonders you will never believe!” ¹⁷ 

John 11:3

11:3 So the sisters sent a message ¹⁸  to Jesus, ¹⁹  “Lord, look, the one you love is sick.”

[1:2]  ¹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “and he sent messengers and said to them.”

[1:2]  ³ tn That is, “seek an oracle from.”

[1:2]  ⁴ sn Apparently Baal Zebub refers to a local manifestation of the god Baal at the Philistine city of Ekron. The name appears to mean “Lord of the Flies,” but it may be a deliberate scribal corruption of Baal Zebul, “Baal, the Prince,” a title known from the Ugaritic texts. For further discussion and bibliography, see HALOT 261 s.v. זְבוּב בַּעַל and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 25.

[8:8]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text also has “in your hand.”

[8:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “Inquire of the Lord through him, saying.”

[7:2]  ⁷ sn A centurion was a noncommissioned officer in the Roman army or one of the auxiliary territorial armies, commanding a centuria of (nominally) 100 men. The responsibilities of centurions were broadly similar to modern junior officers, but there was a wide gap in social status between them and officers, and relatively few were promoted beyond the rank of senior centurion. The Roman troops stationed in Judea were auxiliaries, who would normally be rewarded with Roman citizenship after 25 years of service. Some of the centurions may have served originally in the Roman legions (regular army) and thus gained their citizenship at enlistment. Others may have inherited it, like Paul.

[7:2]  ⁸ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[7:2]  ⁹ tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times… in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v. 1). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force. In addition, the parallel passage in Matt 8:6 uses the Greek term παῖς (pais), to refer to the centurion’s slave. This was a term often used of a slave who was regarded with some degree of affection, possibly a personal servant.

[7:2]  ¹⁰ tn The term ἔντιμος (entimos) could mean “highly valued,” but this sounds too much like the slave was seen as an asset, while the text suggests a genuine care for the person. More archaically, it could be said the centurion was fond of this slave.

[7:3]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the centurion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:3]  ¹² tn The participle ἀκούσας (akousas) has been taken temporally.

[7:3]  ¹³ sn Why some Jewish elders are sent as emissaries is not entirely clear, but the centurion was probably respecting ethnic boundaries, which were important in ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish culture. The parallel account in Matt 8:5-13 does not mention the emissaries.

[7:3]  ¹⁴ tn The participle ἐλθών (elqwn) has been translated as an infinitive in parallel with διασώσῃ (diaswsh) due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:47]  ¹⁵ tn The direct object of ἠρώτα (hrwta) is supplied from context. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[4:48]  ¹⁶ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the verb is second person plural (referring to more than the royal official alone).

[4:48]  ¹⁷ tn Or “you never believe.” The verb πιστεύσητε (pisteushte) is aorist subjunctive and may have either nuance.

[11:3]  ¹⁸ tn The phrase “a message” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from context.

[11:3]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “to him, saying”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.