Hosea 5:1

Announcement of Sin and Judgment

5:1 Hear this, you priests!

Pay attention, you Israelites! ¹ 

Listen closely, ²  O king! ³ 

For judgment is about to overtake you! ⁴ 

For you were like a trap ⁵  to Mizpah, ⁶ 

like a net ⁷  spread out to catch Tabor. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 11:9

11:9 The Lord said to me, “The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem have plotted rebellion against me! ⁹ 

Ezekiel 22:27

22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit.

Micah 3:9

3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family ¹⁰  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ¹¹  of Israel!

You ¹²  hate justice

and pervert all that is right.

Zephaniah 3:3

3:3 Her princes ¹³  are as fierce as roaring lions; ¹⁴ 

her rulers ¹⁵  are as hungry as wolves in the desert, ¹⁶ 

who completely devour their prey by morning. ¹⁷ 

Mark 14:1

The Plot Against Jesus

14:1 Two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the chief priests and the experts in the law ¹⁸  were trying to find a way ¹⁹  to arrest Jesus ²⁰  by stealth and kill him.

Luke 22:2-6

22:2 The ²¹  chief priests and the experts in the law ²²  were trying to find some way ²³  to execute ²⁴  Jesus, ²⁵  for they were afraid of the people. ²⁶ 

22:3 Then ²⁷  Satan ²⁸  entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve. ²⁹  22:4 He went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers of the temple guard ³⁰  how he might ³¹  betray Jesus, ³²  handing him over to them. ³³  22:5 They ³⁴  were delighted ³⁵  and arranged to give him money. ³⁶  22:6 So ³⁷  Judas ³⁸  agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus ³⁹  when no crowd was present. ⁴⁰ 

John 11:47

11:47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees ⁴¹  called the council ⁴²  together and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs.

Acts 4:24

4:24 When they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind ⁴³  and said, “Master of all, ⁴⁴  you who made the heaven, the earth, ⁴⁵  the sea, and everything that is in them,

[5:1]  ¹ tn Heb “O house of Israel” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NLT “all of Israel’s leaders.”

[5:1]  ² tn Heb “Use the ear”; ASV “give ear.”

[5:1]  ³ tn Heb “O house of the king” (so KJV); NIV “O royal house.”

[5:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “for the judgment is to you”; or “For this accusation is against you.” Cf. NIV “This judgment is against you.”

[5:1]  ⁵ sn The noun פַּח (pakh, “trap”) is used (1) literally of a bird-trap, used in similes and metaphors (Amos 3:5; Prov 7:23; Eccl 9:12), and (2) figuratively to refer to (a) calamities and plots (Job 18:9; 22:10; Pss 91:3; 119:110; 124:7; 140:6; 141:9; 142:4; Prov 22:5; Isa 24:17-18; Jer 18:22; 48:43-44; Hos 9:8) and (b) a source of calamity (Josh 23:13; Pss 11:6; 69:23; Isa 8:14; Hos 5:1; BDB 809 s.v. פַּח).

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “you were a trap to Mizpah.”

[5:1]  ⁷ sn The noun רֶשֶׁת (reshet, “net”) is used (1) literally of a net used to catch birds (Prov 1:17) and (2) in figurative descriptions of the wicked plotting to ensnare their victims (Prov 29:5; Pss 9:16; 10:9; 25:15; 31:5; 35:7; 57:7; 140:6; Job 18:8; BDB 440 s.v. רֶשֶׁת).

[5:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “and a net spread out over Tabor.”

[11:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “Conspiracy [a plot to rebel] is found [or exists] among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

[3:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ¹² tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).

[3:3]  ¹³ tn Or “officials.”

[3:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “her princes in her midst are roaring lions.” The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as fierce as”) for clarity.

[3:3]  ¹⁵ tn Traditionally “judges.”

[3:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “her judges [are] wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 128. The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as hungry as”) for clarity.

[3:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they do not gnaw [a bone] at morning.” The precise meaning of the line is unclear. The statement may mean these wolves devour their prey so completely that not even a bone is left to gnaw by the time morning arrives. For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 129.

[14:1]  ¹⁸ tn Or “the chief priests and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[14:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “were seeking how.”

[14:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ²¹ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:2]  ²² tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[22:2]  ²³ tn Grk “were seeking how.”

[22:2]  ²⁴ tn The Greek verb here means “to get rid of by execution” (BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω 2; cf. also L&N 20.71, which states, “to get rid of someone by execution, often with legal or quasi-legal procedures”).

[22:2]  ²⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ²⁶ sn The suggestion here is that Jesus was too popular to openly arrest him. The verb were trying is imperfect. It suggests, in this context, that they were always considering the opportunities.

[22:3]  ²⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:3]  ²⁸ sn The cross is portrayed as part of the cosmic battle between Satan and God; see Luke 4:1-13; 11:14-23.

[22:3]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.”

[22:4]  ³⁰ tn The full title στρατηγὸς τοῦ ἱεροῦ (strathgo" tou Jierou; “officer of the temple” or “captain of the temple guard”) is sometimes shortened to στρατηγός as here (L&N 37.91).

[22:4]  ³¹ tn Luke uses this frequent indirect question to make his point (BDF §267.2).

[22:4]  ³² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:4]  ³³ tn Grk “how he might hand him over to them,” in the sense of “betray him.”

[22:5]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:5]  ³⁵ sn The leaders were delighted when Judas contacted them about betraying Jesus, because it gave them the opportunity they had been looking for, and they could later claim that Jesus had been betrayed by one of his own disciples.

[22:5]  ³⁶ sn Matt 26:15 states the amount of money they gave Judas was thirty pieces of silver (see also Matt 27:3-4; Zech 11:12-13).

[22:6]  ³⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the arrangement worked out in the preceding verse.

[22:6]  ³⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:6]  ³⁹ tn Grk “betray him to them”; the referent of the first pronoun (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “apart from the crowd.”

[11:47]  ⁴¹ tn The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.

[11:47]  ⁴² tn Or “Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). The συνέδριον (sunedrion) which they gathered was probably an informal meeting rather than the official Sanhedrin. This is the only occurrence of the word συνέδριον in the Gospel of John, and the only anarthrous singular use in the NT. There are other plural anarthrous uses which have the general meaning “councils.” The fact that Caiaphas in 11:49 is referred to as “one of them” supports the unofficial nature of the meeting; in the official Sanhedrin he, being high priest that year, would have presided over the assembly. Thus it appears that an informal council was called to discuss what to do about Jesus and his activities.

[4:24]  ⁴³ sn With one mind. Compare Acts 1:14.

[4:24]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “Lord of all.”

[4:24]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “and the earth, and the sea,” but καί (kai) has not been translated before “the earth” and “the sea” since contemporary English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.