Daniel 8:23

8:23 Toward the end of their rule, when rebellious acts ¹  are complete, a rash ²  and deceitful ³  king will arise. ⁴ 

Zechariah 5:5-11

Vision Seven: The Ephah

5:5 After this the angelic messenger ⁵  who had been speaking to me went out and said, “Look, see what is leaving.” 5:6 I asked, “What is it?” And he replied, “It is a basket for measuring grain ⁶  that is moving away from here.” Moreover, he said, “This is their ‘eye’ ⁷  throughout all the earth.” 5:7 Then a round lead cover was raised up, revealing a woman sitting inside the basket. 5:8 He then said, “This woman represents wickedness,” and he pushed her down into the basket and placed the lead cover on top. 5:9 Then I looked again and saw two women ⁸  going forth with the wind in their wings (they had wings like those of a stork) and they lifted up the basket between the earth and the sky. 5:10 I asked the messenger who was speaking to me, “Where are they taking the basket?” 5:11 He replied, “To build a temple ⁹  for her in the land of Babylonia. ¹⁰  When it is finished, she will be placed there in her own residence.”

Matthew 23:32-35

23:32 Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! 23:33 You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? ¹¹ 

23:34 “For this reason I ¹²  am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, ¹³  some of whom you will kill and crucify, ¹⁴  and some you will flog ¹⁵  in your synagogues ¹⁶  and pursue from town to town, 23:35 so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, ¹⁷  whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Matthew 23:1

Seven Woes

23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

Matthew 2:16

2:16 When Herod ¹⁸  saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men ¹⁹  to kill all the children in Bethlehem ²⁰  and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.

[8:23]  ¹ tc The present translation reads הַפְּשָׁעִים (happÿsha’im, “rebellious acts”) for the MT הַפֹּשְׁעִים (happoshÿ’im, “rebels”). While the MT is understandable (cf. NIV, “when rebels have become completely wicked”), the filling up of transgressions is a familiar OT expression (cf. Gen 15:16) and fits this context well. Cf. the LXX, Theodotion, the Vulgate, and the Syriac.

[8:23]  ² tn Heb “strong of face.”

[8:23]  ³ tn Heb “understanding riddles.” Possible meanings include “double-dealing” (BDB 295 s.v. חִידָה; cf. TEV, CEV) and “with a good knowledge of intrigue” (HALOT 309 s.v. חִידָה; cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[8:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “stand” or “stand up.”

[5:5]  ⁵ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.

[5:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “[This is] the ephah.” An ephah was a liquid or solid measure of about a bushel (five gallons or just under twenty liters). By metonymy it refers here to a measuring container (probably a basket) of that quantity.

[5:6]  ⁷ tc The LXX and Syriac read עֲוֹנָם (’avonam, “their iniquity,” so NRSV; NIV similar) for the MT עֵינָם (’enam, “their eye”), a reading that is consistent with the identification of the woman in v. 8 as wickedness, but one that is unnecessary. In 4:10 the “eye” represented divine omniscience and power; here it represents the demonic counterfeit.

[5:9]  ⁸ sn Here two women appear as the agents of the Lord because the whole scene is feminine in nature. The Hebrew word for “wickedness” in v. 8 (רִשְׁעָה) is grammatically feminine, so feminine imagery is appropriate throughout.

[5:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “house” (so NIV, NRSV, CEV).

[5:11]  ¹⁰ sn The land of Babylonia (Heb “the land of Shinar”) is another name for Sumer and Akkad, where Babylon was located (Gen 10:10). Babylon throughout the Bible symbolizes the focus of anti-God sentiment and activity (Gen 11:4; 14:1; Isa 13–14; 47:1-3; Jer 50–51; Rev 14:8; 17:1, 5, 18; 18:21).

[23:33]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the judgment of Gehenna.”

[23:34]  ¹² tn Grk “behold I am sending.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[23:34]  ¹³ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:34]  ¹⁴ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[23:34]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”

[23:34]  ¹⁶ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[23:35]  ¹⁷ sn Spelling of this name (Βαραχίου, Baraciou) varies among the English versions: “Barachiah” (RSV, NRSV); “Berechiah” (NASB); “Berachiah” (NIV).

[2:16]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Note the fulfillment of the prophecy given by the angel in 2:13.

[2:16]  ¹⁹ tn Or “soldiers.”

[2:16]  ²⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.