Exodus 23:6-9

23:6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits. 23:7 Keep your distance ¹  from a false charge ²  – do not kill the innocent and the righteous, ³  for I will not justify the wicked. ⁴ 

23:8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see ⁵  and subverts the words of the righteous.

23:9 “You must not oppress ⁶  a foreigner, since you know the life ⁷  of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Numbers 16:15

16:15 Moses was very angry, and he said to the Lord, “Have no respect ⁸  for their offering! I have not taken so much as one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them!”

Deuteronomy 16:19

16:19 You must not pervert justice or show favor. Do not take a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort ⁹  the words of the righteous. ¹⁰ 

Deuteronomy 16:1

The Passover-Unleavened Bread Festival

16:1 Observe the month Abib ¹¹  and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in that month ¹²  he ¹³  brought you out of Egypt by night.

Deuteronomy 12:3

12:3 You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, ¹⁴  burn up their sacred Asherah poles, ¹⁵  and cut down the images of their gods; you must eliminate their very memory from that place.

Jeremiah 5:26-28

5:26 “Indeed, there are wicked scoundrels among my people.

They lie in wait like bird catchers hiding in ambush. ¹⁶ 

They set deadly traps ¹⁷  to catch people.

5:27 Like a cage filled with the birds that have been caught, ¹⁸ 

their houses are filled with the gains of their fraud and deceit. ¹⁹ 

That is how they have gotten so rich and powerful. ²⁰ 

5:28 That is how ²¹  they have grown fat and sleek. ²² 

There is no limit to the evil things they do. ²³ 

They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it.

They do not defend the rights of the poor.

Micah 7:3-4

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ²⁴ 

government officials and judges take bribes, ²⁵ 

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ²⁶ 

7:4 The best of them is like a thorn;

the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes. ²⁷ 

The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –

your appointed time of punishment – is on the way, ²⁸ 

and then you will experience confusion. ²⁹ 

Matthew 26:15

26:15 and said, “What will you give me to betray him into your hands?” ³⁰  So they set out thirty silver coins for him.

Acts 8:18-23

8:18 Now Simon, when he saw that the Spirit ³¹  was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them money, 8:19 saying, “Give me this power ³²  too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” 8:20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, ³³  because you thought you could acquire ³⁴  God’s gift with money! 8:21 You have no share or part ³⁵  in this matter ³⁶  because your heart is not right before God! 8:22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord ³⁷  that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart. ³⁸  8:23 For I see that you are bitterly envious ³⁹  and in bondage to sin.”

Acts 8:2

8:2 Some ⁴⁰  devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation ⁴¹  over him. ⁴² 

Acts 2:14-16

Peter’s Address on the Day of Pentecost

2:14 But Peter stood up ⁴³  with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed them: “You men of Judea ⁴⁴  and all you who live in Jerusalem, ⁴⁵  know this ⁴⁶  and listen carefully to what I say. 2:15 In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk, ⁴⁷  for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ⁴⁸  2:16 But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel: ⁴⁹ 

[23:7]  ¹ tn Or “stay away from,” or “have nothing to do with.”

[23:7]  ² tn Heb “a false matter,” this expression in this context would have to be a case in law that was false or that could only be won by falsehood.

[23:7]  ³ tn The two clauses probably should be related: the getting involved in the false charge could lead to the death of an innocent person (so, e.g., Naboth in 1 Kgs 21:10-13).

[23:7]  ⁴ sn God will not declare right the one who is in the wrong. Society should also be consistent, but it cannot see the intents and motives, as God can.

[23:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “blinds the open-eyed.”

[23:9]  ⁶ tn The verb means “to crush.” S. R. Driver notes that in this context this would probably mean with an unfair judgment in the courts (Exodus, 239).

[23:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “soul, life” – “you know what it feels like.”

[16:15]  ⁸ tn The verb means “to turn toward”; it is a figurative expression that means “to pay attention to” or “to have regard for.” So this is a prayer against Dathan and Abiram.

[16:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “twist, overturn”; NRSV “subverts the cause.”

[16:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “innocent”; NRSV “those who are in the right”; NLT “the godly.”

[16:1]  ¹¹ sn The month Abib, later called Nisan (Neh 2:1; Esth 3:7), corresponds to March-April in the modern calendar.

[16:1]  ¹² tn Heb “in the month Abib.” The demonstrative “that” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[12:3]  ¹⁴ sn Sacred pillars. These are the stelae (stone pillars; the Hebrew term is מַצֵּבֹת, matsevot) associated with Baal worship, perhaps to mark a spot hallowed by an alleged visitation of the gods. See also Deut 7:5.

[12:3]  ¹⁵ sn Sacred Asherah poles. The Hebrew term (plural) is אֲשֵׁרִים (’asherim). See note on the word “(leafy) tree” in v. 2, and also Deut 7:5.

[5:26]  ¹⁶ tn The meaning of the last three words is uncertain. The pointing and meaning of the Hebrew word rendered “hiding in ambush” is debated. BDB relates the form (כְּשַׁךְ, kÿshakh) to a root שָׁכַךְ (shakhakh), which elsewhere means “decrease, abate” (cf. BDB 1013 s.v. שָׁכַךְ), and notes that this is usually understood as “like the crouching of fowlers,” but they say this meaning is dubious. HALOT 1345 s.v. I שׁוֹר questions the validity of the text and offers three proposals; the second appears to create the least textual modification, i.e., reading כְּשַׂךְ (kesakh, “as in the hiding place of (bird catchers)”; for the word שַׂךְ (sakh) see HALOT 1236 s.v. שׂךְ 4 and compare Lam 2:6 for usage. The versions do not help. The Greek does not translate the first two words of the line. The proposal given in HALOT is accepted with some hesitancy.

[5:26]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a destroying thing.”

[5:27]  ¹⁸ tn The words, “that have been caught” are not in the text but are implicit in the comparison.

[5:27]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “are filled with deceit.” The translation assumes a figure of speech of cause for effect (metonymy). Compare the same word in the same figure in Zeph 1:9.

[5:27]  ²⁰ tn Heb “therefore they have gotten great and rich.”

[5:28]  ²¹ tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show that this line is parallel with the preceding.

[5:28]  ²² tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. This verb occurs only here. The lexicons generally relate it to the word translated “plate” in Song 5:14 and understand it to mean “smooth, shiny” (so BDB 799 s.v. I עֶשֶׁת) or “fat” (so HALOT 850 s.v. II עֶשֶׁת). The word in Song 5:14 more likely means “smooth” than “plate” (so TEV). So “sleek” is most likely here.

[5:28]  ²³ tn Heb “they cross over/transgress with respect to matters of evil.”

[7:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”

[7:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”

[7:3]  ²⁶ tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.

[7:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “[the] godly from a row of thorn bushes.” The preposition מִן (min) is comparative and the comparative element (perhaps “sharper” is the idea) is omitted. See BDB 582 s.v. 6 and GKC 431 §133.e.

[7:4]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the day of your watchmen, your appointed [time], is coming.” The present translation takes “watchmen” to refer to actual sentries. However, the “watchmen” could refer figuratively to the prophets who had warned Judah of approaching judgment. In this case one could translate, “The day your prophets warned about – your appointed time of punishment – is on the way.”

[7:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and now will be their confusion.”

[26:15]  ³⁰ tn Grk “What will you give to me, and I will betray him to you?”

[8:18]  ³¹ tc Most witnesses (Ì^45,74 A* C D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï latt sy bo) here read “the Holy Spirit” (τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, to pneuma to {agion), while a few key mss have simply τὸ πνεῦμα (א A^c B sa mae). Although it is possible that some scribes omitted τὸ ἅγιον because of its perceived superfluity (note vv. 15, 17, 19), it is far more likely that others added the adjective out of pious motives.

[8:19]  ³² tn Or “ability”; Grk “authority.”

[8:20]  ³³ tn Grk “May your silver together with you be sent into destruction.” This is a strong curse. The gifts of God are sovereignly bestowed and cannot be purchased.

[8:20]  ³⁴ tn Or “obtain.”

[8:21]  ³⁵ tn The translation “share or part” is given by L&N 63.13.

[8:21]  ³⁶ tn Since the semantic range for λόγος (logos) is so broad, a number of different translations could be given for the prepositional phrase here. Something along the lines of “in this thing” would work well, but is too colloquial for the present translation.

[8:22]  ³⁷ tn Or “and implore the Lord.”

[8:22]  ³⁸ tn Grk “that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” The passive construction is somewhat awkward in contemporary English and has thus been converted to an active construction in the translation.

[8:23]  ³⁹ tn Grk “in the gall of bitterness,” an idiom meaning to be particularly envious or resentful of someone. In this case Simon was jealous of the apostles’ power to bestow the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, and wanted that power for himself. The literal phrase does not convey this to the modern reader, and in fact some modern translations have simply rendered the phrase as involving bitterness, which misses the point of the envy on Simon’s part. See L&N 88.166. The OT images come from Deut 29:17-18 and Isa 58:6.

[8:2]  ⁴⁰ tn “Some” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[8:2]  ⁴¹ sn Made loud lamentation. For someone who was stoned to death, lamentation was normally not allowed (m. Sanhedrin 6:6). The remark points to an unjust death.

[8:2]  ⁴² tn Or “mourned greatly for him.”

[2:14]  ⁴³ tn Grk “standing up.” The participle σταθείς (staqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[2:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “You Jewish men.” “Judea” is preferred here because it is paired with “Jerusalem,” a location. This suggests locality rather than ethnic background is the primary emphasis in the context. As for “men,” the Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, where “all” who live in Jerusalem are addressed, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage, although it can also be argued that Peter’s remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.

[2:14]  ⁴⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:14]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “let this be known to you.” The passive construction has been translated as an active for stylistic reasons.

[2:15]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “These men are not drunk, as you suppose.”

[2:15]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “only the third hour.”

[2:16]  ⁴⁹ sn Note how in the quotation that follows all genders, ages, and classes are included. The event is like a hope Moses expressed in Num 11:29.