Exodus 22:28

22:28 “You must not blaspheme ¹  God ²  or curse the ruler of your people.

Isaiah 36:13-21

36:13 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, ³  “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 36:14 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you! 36:15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 36:16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. ⁴  Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 36:17 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 36:18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? ⁵  36:19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? ⁶  Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria ⁷  from my power? ⁸  36:20 Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” ⁹  36:21 They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”

Mark 15:29

15:29 Those who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

Luke 23:39-40

23:39 One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at him, saying, “Aren’t ¹⁰  you the Christ? ¹¹  Save yourself and us!” 23:40 But the other rebuked him, saying, ¹²  “Don’t ¹³  you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ¹⁴ 

Luke 23:1

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

23:1 Then ¹⁵  the whole group of them rose up and brought Jesus ¹⁶  before Pilate. ¹⁷ 

Luke 3:9

3:9 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, ¹⁸  and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be ¹⁹  cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Luke 3:2

3:2 during the high priesthood ²⁰  of Annas and Caiaphas, the word ²¹  of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ²² 

Luke 2:11

2:11 Today ²³  your Savior is born in the city ²⁴  of David. ²⁵  He is Christ ²⁶  the Lord.

[22:28]  ¹ tn The two verbs in this verse are synonyms: קָלַל (qalal) means “to treat lightly, curse,” and אָרַר (’arar) means “to curse.”

[22:28]  ² tn The word אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is “gods” or “God.” If taken as the simple plural, it could refer to the human judges, as it has in the section of laws; this would match the parallelism in the verse. If it was taken to refer to God, then the idea of cursing God would be more along the line of blasphemy. B. Jacob says that the word refers to functioning judges, and that would indirectly mean God, for they represented the religious authority, and the prince the civil authority (Exodus, 708).

[36:13]  ³ tn The Hebrew text includes “and he said.”

[36:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”

[36:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”

[36:19]  ⁶ tn The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”

[36:19]  ⁷ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[36:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 18, 20).

[36:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?

[23:39]  ¹⁰ tc Most mss (A C³ W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) read εἰ σὺ εἶ (ei su ei, “If you are”) here, while οὐχὶ σὺ εἶ (ouci su ei, “Are you not”) is found in overall better and earlier witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ א B C* L 070 1241 pc it). The “if” clause reading creates a parallel with the earlier taunts (vv. 35, 37), and thus is most likely a motivated reading.

[23:39]  ¹¹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[23:40]  ¹² tn Grk “But answering, the other rebuking him, said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[23:40]  ¹³ tn The particle used here (οὐδέ, oude), which expects a positive reply, makes this a rebuke – “You should fear God and not speak!”

[23:40]  ¹⁴ tn The words “of condemnation” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[23:1]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:1]  ¹⁷ sn Pilate was the Roman prefect (procurator) in charge of collecting taxes and keeping the peace. His immediate superior was the Roman governor (proconsul) of Syria, although the exact nature of this administrative relationship is unknown. Pilate’s relations with the Jews had been rocky (v. 12). Here he is especially sensitive to them.

[3:9]  ¹⁸ sn Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees. The imagery of an “ax already laid at the root of the trees” is vivid, connoting sudden and catastrophic judgment for the unrepentant and unfruitful. The image of “fire” serves to further heighten the intensity of the judgment referred to. It is John’s way of summoning all people to return to God with all their heart and avoid his unquenchable wrath soon to be poured out. John’s language and imagery is probably ultimately drawn from the OT where Israel is referred to as a fruitless vine (Hos 10:1-2; Jer 2:21-22) and the image of an “ax” is used to indicate God’s judgment (Ps 74:5-6; Jer 46:22).

[3:9]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “is”; the present tense (ἐκκόπτεται, ekkoptetai) has futuristic force here.

[3:2]  ²⁰ sn Use of the singular high priesthood to mention two figures is unusual but accurate, since Annas was the key priest from a.d. 6-15 and then his relatives were chosen for many of the next several years. After two brief tenures by others, his son-in-law Caiaphas came to power and stayed there until a.d. 36.

[3:2]  ²¹ tn The term translated “word” here is not λόγος (logos) but ῥῆμα (rJhma), and thus could refer to the call of the Lord to John to begin ministry.

[3:2]  ²² tn Or “desert.”

[2:11]  ²³ sn The Greek word for today (σήμερον, shmeron) occurs eleven times in the Gospel of Luke (2:11; 4:21; 5:26; 12:28; 13:32-33; 19:5, 9; 22:34, 61; 23:43) and nine times in Acts. Its use, especially in passages such as 2:11, 4:21, 5:26; 19:5, 9, signifies the dawning of the era of messianic salvation and the fulfillment of the plan of God. Not only does it underscore the idea of present fulfillment in Jesus’ ministry, but it also indicates salvific fulfillment present in the church (cf. Acts 1:6; 3:18; D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:412; I. H. Marshall, Luke, [NIGTC], 873).

[2:11]  ²⁴ tn Or “town.” See the note on “city” in v. 4.

[2:11]  ²⁵ tn This is another indication of a royal, messianic connection.

[2:11]  ²⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”