Genesis 3:15

3:15 And I will put hostility ¹  between you and the woman

and between your offspring and her offspring; ² 

her offspring will attack ³  your head,

and ⁴  you ⁵  will attack her offspring’s heel.” ⁶ 

Hosea 1:2

Symbols of Sin and Judgment: The Prostitute and Her Children

1:2 When the Lord first spoke ⁷  through ⁸  Hosea, he ⁹  said to him, ¹⁰  “Go marry ¹¹  a prostitute ¹²  who will bear illegitimate children conceived through prostitution, ¹³  because the nation ¹⁴  continually commits spiritual prostitution ¹⁵  by turning away from ¹⁶  the Lord.”

Matthew 3:7

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ¹⁷  and Sadducees ¹⁸  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Matthew 12:34

12:34 Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart.

Matthew 16:4

16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then ¹⁹  he left them and went away.

Matthew 23:33

23:33 You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? ²⁰ 

Luke 3:7

3:7 So John ²¹  said to the crowds ²²  that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! ²³  Who warned you to flee ²⁴  from the coming wrath?

John 8:40-44

8:40 But now you are trying ²⁵  to kill me, a man who has told you ²⁶  the truth I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! ²⁷  8:41 You people ²⁸  are doing the deeds of your father.”

Then ²⁹  they said to Jesus, ³⁰  “We were not born as a result of immorality! ³¹  We have only one Father, God himself.” 8:42 Jesus replied, ³²  “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come from God and am now here. ³³  I ³⁴  have not come on my own initiative, ³⁵  but he ³⁶  sent me. 8:43 Why don’t you understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot accept ³⁷  my teaching. ³⁸  8:44 You people ³⁹  are from ⁴⁰  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ⁴¹  He ⁴²  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ⁴³  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ⁴⁴  he speaks according to his own nature, ⁴⁵  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁶ 

James 4:4

4:4 Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? ⁴⁷  So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy.

James 4:1

Passions and Pride

4:1 Where do the conflicts and where ⁴⁸  do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, ⁴⁹  from your passions that battle inside you? ⁵⁰ 

James 3:10

3:10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. These things should not be so, my brothers and sisters. ⁵¹ 

Revelation 17:1-5

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17:1 Then ⁵²  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. ⁵³  “Come,” he said, “I will show you the condemnation and punishment ⁵⁴  of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, 17:2 with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality and the earth’s inhabitants got drunk with the wine of her immorality.” ⁵⁵  17:3 So ⁵⁶  he carried me away in the Spirit ⁵⁷  to a wilderness, ⁵⁸  and there ⁵⁹  I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 17:4 Now ⁶⁰  the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, ⁶¹  and adorned with gold, ⁶²  precious stones, and pearls. She held ⁶³  in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality. ⁶⁴  17:5 On ⁶⁵  her forehead was written a name, a mystery: ⁶⁶  “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.”

[3:15]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word translated “hostility” is derived from the root אֵיב (’ev, “to be hostile, to be an adversary [or enemy]”). The curse announces that there will be continuing hostility between the serpent and the woman. The serpent will now live in a “battle zone,” as it were.

[3:15]  ² sn The Hebrew word translated “offspring” is a collective singular. The text anticipates the ongoing struggle between human beings (the woman’s offspring) and deadly poisonous snakes (the serpent’s offspring). An ancient Jewish interpretation of the passage states: “He made the serpent, cause of the deceit, press the earth with belly and flank, having bitterly driven him out. He aroused a dire enmity between them. The one guards his head to save it, the other his heel, for death is at hand in the proximity of men and malignant poisonous snakes.” See Sib. Or. 1:59-64. For a similar interpretation see Josephus, Ant. 1.1.4 (1.50-51).

[3:15]  ³ tn Heb “he will attack [or “bruise”] you [on] the head.” The singular pronoun and verb agree grammatically with the collective singular noun “offspring.” For other examples of singular verb and pronominal forms being used with the collective singular “offspring,” see Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60. The word “head” is an adverbial accusative, locating the blow. A crushing blow to the head would be potentially fatal.

[3:15]  ⁴ tn Or “but you will…”; or “as they attack your head, you will attack their heel.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is understood as contrastive. Both clauses place the subject before the verb, a construction that is sometimes used to indicate synchronic action (see Judg 15:14).

[3:15]  ⁵ sn You will attack her offspring’s heel. Though the conflict will actually involve the serpent’s offspring (snakes) and the woman’s offspring (human beings), v. 15b for rhetorical effect depicts the conflict as being between the serpent and the woman’s offspring, as if the serpent will outlive the woman. The statement is personalized for the sake of the addressee (the serpent) and reflects the ancient Semitic concept of corporate solidarity, which emphasizes the close relationship between a progenitor and his offspring. Note Gen 28:14, where the Lord says to Jacob, “Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you [second masculine singular] will spread out in all directions.” Jacob will “spread out” in all directions through his offspring, but the text states the matter as if this will happen to him personally.

[3:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “you will attack him [on] the heel.” The verb (translated “attack”) is repeated here, a fact that is obscured by some translations (e.g., NIV “crush…strike”). The singular pronoun agrees grammatically with the collective singular noun “offspring.” For other examples of singular verb and pronominal forms being used with the collective singular “offspring,” see Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60. The word “heel” is an adverbial accusative, locating the blow. A bite on the heel from a poisonous serpent is potentially fatal.

[1:2]  ⁷ tn The construct noun תְּחִלַּת (tékhillat, “beginning of”) displays a wider use of the construct state here, preceding a perfect verb דִּבֶּר (dibber, “he spoke”; Piel perfect 3rd person masculine singular) rather than a genitive noun. This is an unusual temporal construction (GKC 422 §130.d). It may be rendered, “When he (= the Lord) began to speak” (cf. ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, and most other modern English versions, all of which are similar). This time-determinative was not correctly understood by the LXX or by the KJV: “The beginning of the word of the Lord.”

[1:2]  ⁸ tn The preposition בְּ (bet) on בְּהוֹשֵׁעַ (bÿhoshea’) is an instrumental use of the preposition (BDB 89 s.v. בְּ III.2.b): “by, with, through Hosea” rather than a directional “to Hosea.” This focuses on the entire prophetic revelation through Hosea to Israel.

[1:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “the Lord.” This is redundant in English, so the pronoun has been used in the translation (cf. TEV, NLT).

[1:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to Hosea.” The proper name is replaced by the pronoun here to avoid redundancy in English (cf. NIV, NCV, NLT).

[1:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Go, take for yourself” (so NRSV; NASB, NIV “to yourself”). In conjunction with the following phrase this means “marry.”

[1:2]  ¹² tn Heb “a wife of harlotries.” The noun זְנוּנִים (zÿnunim) means “prostitute; harlot” (HALOT 275-76 s.v. זְנוּנִים). The term does not refer to mere adultery (cf. NIV; also NCV, TEV, CEV “unfaithful”) which is expressed by the root נַאַף (na’af, “adultery”; HALOT 658 s.v. נאף). The plural noun זְנוּנִים (zénunim, literally, “harlotries”) is an example of the plural of character or plural of repeated behavior. The phrase “wife of harlotries” (אֵשֶׁת זְנוּנִים, ’eshet zénunim) probably refers to a prostitute, possibly a temple prostitute serving at a Baal temple.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “and children of harlotries.” However, TEV takes the phrase to mean the children will behave like their mother (“your children will be just like her”).

[1:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the land.” The term “the land” is frequently used as a synecdoche of container (the land of Israel) for the contained (the people of Israel).

[1:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “prostitution.” The adjective “spiritual” is supplied in the translation to clarify that apostasy is meant here. The construction זָנֹה תִזְנֶה (zanoh tizneh, infinitive absolute + imperfect of the same root) repeats the root זָנַה (zanah, “harlotry”) for rhetorical emphasis. Israel was guilty of gross spiritual prostitution by apostatizing from Yahweh. The verb זָנַה is used in a concrete sense to refer to a spouse being unfaithful in a marriage relationship (HALOT 275 s.v. זנה 1), and figuratively meaning “to be unfaithful” in a relationship with God by prostituting oneself with other gods and worshiping idols (Exod 34:15; Lev 17:7; 20:5, 6; Deut 31:16; Judg 8:27, 33; 21:17; 1 Chr 5:25; Ezek 6:9; 20:30; 23:30; Hos 4:15; Ps 106:39; see HALOT 275 s.v. 2).

[1:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from after.”

[3:7]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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.

[16:4]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:33]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the judgment of Gehenna.”

[3:7]  ²¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:7]  ²² sn The crowds. It is interesting to trace references to “the crowd” in Luke. It is sometimes noted favorably, other times less so. The singular appears 25 times in Luke while the plural occurs 16 times. Matt 3:7 singles out the Sadducees and Pharisees here.

[3:7]  ²³ tn Or “snakes.”

[3:7]  ²⁴ sn The rebuke “Who warned you to flee…?” compares the crowd to snakes who flee their desert holes when the heat of a fire drives them out.

[8:40]  ²⁵ tn Grk “seeking.”

[8:40]  ²⁶ tn Grk “has spoken to you.”

[8:40]  ²⁷ tn The Greek word order is emphatic: “This Abraham did not do.” The emphasis is indicated in the translation by an exclamation point.

[8:41]  ²⁸ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[8:41]  ²⁹ tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (א B L W 070 it sy^s,p co) lack the conjunction here, while the earliest witnesses along with many others read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; Ì^66,75 C D Θ Ψ 0250 ˹³ 33 Ï). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the combined testimony of two early papyri for the conjunction is impressive, the reading seems to be a predictable scribal emendation. In particular, οὖν is frequently used with the plural of εἶπον (eipon, “they said”) in John (in this chapter alone, note vv. 13, 39, 48, 57, and possibly 52). On balance, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic, even though “Then” is virtually required in translation for English stylistic reasons. NA²⁷ has the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[8:41]  ³⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:41]  ³¹ sn We were not born as a result of immorality! is ironic, because Jesus’ opponents implied that it was not themselves but Jesus who had been born as a result of immoral behavior. This shows they did not know Jesus’ true origin and were not aware of the supernatural events surrounding his birth. The author does not even bother to refute the opponents’ suggestion but lets it stand, assuming his readers will know the true story.

[8:42]  ³² tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:42]  ³³ tn Or “I came from God and have arrived.”

[8:42]  ³⁴ tn Grk “For I.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[8:42]  ³⁵ tn Grk “from myself.”

[8:42]  ³⁶ tn Grk “that one” (referring to God).

[8:43]  ³⁷ tn Grk “you cannot hear,” but this is not a reference to deafness, but rather hearing in the sense of listening to something and responding to it.

[8:43]  ³⁸ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:44]  ³⁹ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44]  ⁴⁰ tn Many translations read “You are of your father the devil” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB) or “You belong to your father, the devil” (NIV), but the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek) emphasizes the idea of source or origin. Jesus said his opponents were the devil’s very offspring (a statement which would certainly infuriate them).

[8:44]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

[8:44]  ⁴² tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

[8:44]  ⁴³ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

[8:44]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”

[4:4]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “is hostility toward God.”

[4:1]  ⁴⁸ tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.

[4:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “from here.”

[4:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”

[3:10]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[17:1]  ⁵² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[17:1]  ⁵³ tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

[17:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Here one Greek term, κρίμα (krima), has been translated by the two English terms “condemnation” and “punishment.” See BDAG 567 s.v. 4.b, “mostly in an unfavorable sense, of the condemnatory verdict and sometimes the subsequent punishment itself 2 Pt 2:3; Jd 4…τὸ κ. τῆς πόρνης the condemnation and punishment of the prostitute Rv 17:1.”

[17:2]  ⁵⁵ tn This is the same word translated “sexual immorality” earlier in the verse, but here the qualifier “sexual” has not been repeated for stylistic reasons.

[17:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s invitation to witness the fate of the prostitute.

[17:3]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).

[17:3]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “desert.”

[17:3]  ⁵⁹ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

[17:4]  ⁶⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the detailed description of the woman, which is somewhat parenthetical in nature.

[17:4]  ⁶¹ tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

[17:4]  ⁶² tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

[17:4]  ⁶³ tn Grk “pearls, having in her hand.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[17:4]  ⁶⁴ tc Several mss (including 1611 1854 2053 Ï^K pc) read “sexual immorality on/of the earth” (πορνείας τῆς γῆς, porneia" th" gh") instead of “her sexual immorality.” Other mss (א sy^h** [co]) read “her sexual immorality and the earth’s” (πορνείας αὐτῆς καὶ τῆς γῆς, porneia" aujth" kai th" gh"). The translation is a rendering of πορνείας αὐτῆς, found in {A 1006 2344 al}. It seems that the first reading “sexuality immorality on/of the earth” was a scribal mistake in which letters may have been confused (auths would have been read as thsghs), or was perhaps influenced by the presence of “of the world” (τῆς γῆς) at the end of v. 5. The original wording seems to be “her sexual immorality”; codex א has conflated the two readings.

[17:5]  ⁶⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:5]  ⁶⁶ tn Some translations consider the word μυστήριον (musthrion, “mystery”) a part of the name written (“Mystery Babylon the Great,” so KJV, NIV), but the gender of both ὄνομα (onoma, “name”) and μυστήριον are neuter, while the gender of “Babylon” is feminine. This strongly suggests that μυστήριον should be understood as an appositive to ὄνομα (“a name, i.e., a mystery”).