2 Timothy 2:24-25

2:24 And the Lord’s slave ¹  must not engage in heated disputes ²  but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, 2:25 correcting ³  opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth ⁴ 

Ezra 7:10

7:10 Now Ezra had dedicated himself ⁵  to the study of the law of the Lord, to its observance, and to teaching ⁶  its statutes and judgments in Israel.

Ezra 7:25

7:25 “Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess, ⁷  appoint judges ⁸  and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in Trans-Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught.

Malachi 2:7

2:7 For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge of sacred things, and people should seek instruction from him ⁹  because he is the messenger of the Lord who rules over all.

Matthew 13:52

13:52 Then he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law ¹⁰  who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.”

Matthew 13:1

The Parable of the Sower

13:1 On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake.

Matthew 3:2-9

3:2 “Repent, ¹¹  for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3:3 For he is the one about whom Isaiah the prophet had spoken: ¹² 

“The voice ¹³  of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make ¹⁴  his paths straight.’” ¹⁵ 

3:4 Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. ¹⁶  3:5 Then people from Jerusalem, ¹⁷  as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him, 3:6 and he was baptizing them ¹⁸  in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ¹⁹  and Sadducees ²⁰  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 3:8 Therefore produce fruit ²¹  that proves your ²²  repentance, 3:9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Matthew 4:6

4:6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ ²³  and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” ²⁴ 

Titus 1:5-9

Titus’ Task on Crete

1:5 The reason I left you in Crete was to set in order the remaining matters and to appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 1:6 An elder must be blameless, ²⁵  the husband of one wife, ²⁶  with faithful children ²⁷  who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion. 1:7 For the overseer ²⁸  must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, ²⁹  not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain. 1:8 Instead he must be hospitable, devoted to what is good, sensible, upright, devout, and self-controlled. 1:9 He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, ³⁰  so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching ³¹  and correct those who speak against it.

[2:24]  ¹ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” 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.). 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.

[2:24]  ² tn Grk “must not fight” or “must not quarrel.” The Greek verb is related to the noun translated “infighting” in v. 23.

[2:25]  ³ sn Correcting is the word for “child-training” or “discipline.” It is often positive (training, educating) but here denotes the negative side (correcting, disciplining).

[2:25]  ⁴ tn Grk “repentance unto knowledge of the truth.”

[7:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “established his heart.”

[7:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “to do and to teach.” The expression may be a hendiadys, in which case it would have the sense of “effectively teaching.”

[7:25]  ⁷ tn Aram “in your hand.”

[7:25]  ⁸ tc For the MT reading שָׁפְטִין (shoftim, “judges”) the LXX uses the noun γραμματεῖς (grammatei", “scribes”).

[2:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “from his mouth” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[13:52]  ¹⁰ tn Or “every scribe.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4. It is possible that the term translated “expert in the law” (traditionally, “scribe”) here is a self-description used by the author, Matthew, to represent his role in conveying the traditions about Jesus to his intended audience. See David E. Orton, The Understanding Scribe [JSNTSup].

[3:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and saying, ‘Repent.’” The participle λέγων (legwn) at the beginning of v. 2 is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[3:3]  ¹² tn Grk “was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying.” The participle λέγοντος (legonto") is redundant and has not been translated. The passive construction has also been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[3:3]  ¹³ tn Or “A voice.”

[3:3]  ¹⁴ sn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

[3:3]  ¹⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

[3:4]  ¹⁶ sn John’s lifestyle was in stark contrast to many of the religious leaders of Jerusalem who lived in relative ease and luxury. While his clothing and diet were indicative of someone who lived in the desert, they also depicted him in his role as God’s prophet (cf. Zech 13:4); his appearance is similar to the Prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8). Locusts and wild honey were a common diet in desert regions, and locusts (dried insects) are listed in Lev 11:22 among the “clean” foods.

[3:5]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Then Jerusalem.”

[3:6]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “they were being baptized by him.” The passive construction has been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[3:7]  ¹⁹ sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[3:7]  ²⁰ sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[3:8]  ²¹ sn Fruit worthy of repentance refers to the deeds that indicate a change of attitude (heart) on the part of John’s hearers.

[3:8]  ²² tn Grk “fruit worthy of.”

[4:6]  ²³ sn A quotation from Ps 91:11. This was not so much an incorrect citation as a use in a wrong context (a misapplication of the passage).

[4:6]  ²⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 91:12.

[1:6]  ²⁵ tn Grk “if anyone is blameless…” as a continuation of v. 5b, beginning to describe the elder’s character.

[1:6]  ²⁶ tn Or “married only once,” “devoted solely to his wife.” See the note on “wife” in 1 Tim 3:2; also 1 Tim 3:12; 5:9.

[1:6]  ²⁷ tn Or “believing children.” The phrase could be translated “believing children,” but the parallel with 1 Tim 3:4 (“keeping his children in control”) argues for the sense given in the translation.

[1:7]  ²⁸ sn The overseer is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in this passage and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between these verses and 1 Tim 3:1-7.

[1:7]  ²⁹ tn Grk “as God’s steward.”

[1:9]  ³⁰ tn Grk “the faithful message in accordance with the teaching” (referring to apostolic teaching).

[1:9]  ³¹ tn Grk “the healthy teaching” (referring to what was just mentioned).