Ezekiel 33:8

33:8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you must certainly die,’ ¹  and you do not warn ²  the wicked about his behavior, ³  the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death. ⁴ 

Hosea 4:2

4:2 There is only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery.

They resort to violence and bloodshed. ⁵ 

Acts 18:6

18:6 When they opposed him ⁶  and reviled him, ⁷  he protested by shaking out his clothes ⁸  and said to them, “Your blood ⁹  be on your own heads! I am guiltless! ¹⁰  From now on I will go to the Gentiles!”

Acts 20:26

20:26 Therefore I declare ¹¹  to you today that I am innocent ¹²  of the blood of you all. ¹³ 

[33:8]  ¹ tn The same expression occurs in Gen 2:17.

[33:8]  ² tn Heb “and you do not speak to warn.”

[33:8]  ³ tn Heb “way.”

[33:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “and his blood from your hand I will seek.”

[4:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “they break out and bloodshed touches bloodshed.” The Hebrew term פָּרַץ (parats, “to break out”) refers to violent and wicked actions (BDB 829 s.v. פָּרַץ 7; HALOT 972 s.v. פרץ 6.c). It is used elsewhere in a concrete sense to describe breaking through physical barriers. Here it is used figuratively to describe breaking moral barriers and restraints (cf. TEV “Crimes increase, and there is one murder after another”).

[18:6]  ⁶ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[18:6]  ⁷ tn The participle βλασφημούντων (blasfhmountwn) has been taken temporally. The direct object (“him”) is implied rather than expressed and could be impersonal (“it,” referring to what Paul was saying rather than Paul himself), but the verb occurs more often in contexts involving defamation or slander against personal beings (not always God). For a very similar context to this one, compare Acts 13:45. The translation “blaspheme” is not used because in contemporary English its meaning is more narrowly defined and normally refers to blasphemy against God (not what Paul’s opponents were doing here). What they were doing was more like slander or defamation of character.

[18:6]  ⁸ tn Grk “shaking out his clothes, he said to them.” L&N 16:8 translates Acts 18:6 “when they opposed him and said evil things about him, he protested by shaking the dust from his clothes.” The addition of the verb “protested by” in the translation is necessary to clarify for the modern reader that this is a symbolic action. It is similar but not identical to the phrase in Acts 13:51, where the dust from the feet is shaken off. The participle ἐκτιναξάμενος (ektinaxameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[18:6]  ⁹ sn Your blood be on your own heads! By invoking this epithet Paul declared himself not responsible for their actions in rejecting Jesus whom Paul preached (cf. Ezek 33:4; 3:6-21; Matt 23:35; 27:25).

[18:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “innocent.” BDAG 489 s.v. καθαρός 3.a has “guiltless Ac 18:6.”

[20:26]  ¹¹ tn Or “testify.”

[20:26]  ¹² tn Grk “clean, pure,” thus “guiltless” (BDAG 489 s.v. καθαρός 3.a).

[20:26]  ¹³ tn That is, “that if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible” (an idiom). According to L&N 33.223, the meaning of the phrase “that I am innocent of the blood of all of you” is “that if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible.” However, due to the length of this phrase and its familiarity to many modern English readers, the translation was kept closer to formal equivalence in this case. The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied; Paul is addressing the Ephesian congregation (in the person of its elders) in both v. 25 and 27.