Isaiah 53:7

53:7 He was treated harshly and afflicted, ¹ 

but he did not even open his mouth.

Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,

like a sheep silent before her shearers,

he did not even open his mouth. ² 

Matthew 5:39

5:39 But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer. ³  But whoever strikes you on the ⁴  right cheek, turn the other to him as well.

Matthew 26:53-54

26:53 Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and that he would send me more than twelve legions ⁵  of angels right now? 26:54 How then would the scriptures that say it must happen this way be fulfilled?”

Luke 22:51-53

22:51 But Jesus said, ⁶  “Enough of this!” And he touched the man’s ⁷  ear and healed ⁸  him. 22:52 Then ⁹  Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, ¹⁰  and the elders who had come out to get him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs like you would against an outlaw? ¹¹  22:53 Day after day when I was with you in the temple courts, ¹²  you did not arrest me. ¹³  But this is your hour, ¹⁴  and that of the power ¹⁵  of darkness!”

John 19:9-11

19:9 and he went back into the governor’s residence ¹⁶  and said to Jesus, “Where do you come from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 19:10 So Pilate said, ¹⁷  “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you know I have the authority ¹⁸  to release you, and to crucify you?” ¹⁹  19:11 Jesus replied, “You would have no authority ²⁰  over me at all, unless it was given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you ²¹  is guilty of greater sin.” ²² 

Acts 8:32

8:32 Now the passage of scripture the man ²³  was reading was this:

“He was led like a sheep to slaughter,

and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,

so he did ²⁴  not open his mouth.

Acts 8:1

8:1 And Saul agreed completely with killing ²⁵  him.

Saul Begins to Persecute the Church

Now on that day a great ²⁶  persecution began ²⁷  against the church in Jerusalem, ²⁸  and all ²⁹  except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions ³⁰  of Judea and Samaria.

Acts 2:22-23

2:22 “Men of Israel, ³¹  listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, ³²  wonders, and miraculous signs ³³  that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know – 2:23 this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed ³⁴  by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles. ³⁵ 

[53:7]  ¹ tn The translation assumes the Niphal is passive; another option is take the clause (note the subject + verb pattern) as concessive and the Niphal as reflexive, “though he humbled himself.”

[53:7]  ² sn This verse emphasizes the servant’s silent submission. The comparison to a sheep does not necessarily suggest a sacrificial metaphor. Sheep were slaughtered for food as well as for sacrificial rituals, and טֶבַח (tevakh) need not refer to sacrificial slaughter (see Gen 43:16; Prov 7:22; 9:2; Jer 50:27; note also the use of the related verb in Exod 21:37; Deut 28:31; 1 Sam 25:11).

[5:39]  ³ tn The articular πονηρός (ponhro", “the evildoer”) cannot be translated simply as “evil” for then the command would be “do not resist evil.” Every instance of this construction in Matthew is most likely personified, referring either to an evildoer (13:49) or, more often, “the evil one” (as in 5:37; 6:13; 13:19, 38).

[5:39]  ⁴ tc ‡ Many mss (B D K L Δ Θ Ë¹³ 565 579 700 1424 pm) have σου (sou) here (“your right cheek”), but many others lack the pronoun (א W ˹ 33 892 1241 pm). The pronoun was probably added by way of clarification. NA²⁷ has σου in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[26:53]  ⁵ sn A legion was a Roman army unit of about 6,000 soldiers, so twelve legions would be 72,000.

[22:51]  ⁶ tn Grk “But answering, Jesus said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

[22:51]  ⁷ tn Grk “his”; the referent (the slave of the high priest mentioned in the previous verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:51]  ⁸ sn When Jesus healed the man’s ear he showed grace even to those who hated him, following his own teaching (Luke 6:27-36).

[22:52]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:52]  ¹⁰ tn This title, literally “official of the temple” (στρατηγὸς τοῦ ἱεροῦ, strathgo" tou Jierou), referred to the commander of the Jewish soldiers who guarded and maintained order in the Jerusalem temple. Here, since the term is plural, it has been translated “officers of the temple guard” rather than “commanders of the temple guard,” since the idea of a number of commanders might be confusing to the modern English reader.

[22:52]  ¹¹ tn Or “a revolutionary.” This term can refer to one who stirs up rebellion: BDAG 594 s.v. λῃστής 2 has “revolutionary, insurrectionist, guerrilla” citing evidence from Josephus (J. W. 2.13.2-3 [2.253-254]). However, this usage generally postdates Jesus’ time. It does refer to a figure of violence. Luke uses the same term for the highwaymen who attack the traveler in the parable of the good Samaritan (10:30).

[22:53]  ¹² tn Grk “in the temple.”

[22:53]  ¹³ tn Grk “lay hands on me.”

[22:53]  ¹⁴ tn Or “your time.”

[22:53]  ¹⁵ tn Or “authority,” “domain.”

[19:9]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “into the praetorium.”

[19:10]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “said to him.” The words “to him” are not translated because they are unnecessary in contemporary English style.

[19:10]  ¹⁸ tn Or “the power.”

[19:10]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “know that I have the authority to release you and the authority to crucify you.” Repetition of “the authority” is unnecessarily redundant English style.

[19:11]  ²⁰ tn Or “power.”

[19:11]  ²¹ tn Or “who delivered me over to you.”

[19:11]  ²² tn Grk “has the greater sin” (an idiom).

[8:32]  ²³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:32]  ²⁴ tn Grk “does.” The present tense here was translated as a past tense to maintain consistency with the first line of the quotation (“he was led like a sheep to slaughter”), which has an aorist passive verb normally translated as a past tense in English.

[8:1]  ²⁵ tn The term ἀναίρεσις (anairesi") can refer to murder (BDAG 64 s.v.; 2 Macc 5:13; Josephus, Ant. 5.2.12 [5.165]).

[8:1]  ²⁶ tn Or “severe.”

[8:1]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Now there happened on that day a great persecution.” It is less awkward to say in English “Now on that day a great persecution began.”

[8:1]  ²⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:1]  ²⁹ sn All. Given that the Jerusalem church is still active after this and that the Hellenists are the focus of Acts 6-8, it is possible to argue that only the Hellenistic Christians were forced to scatter.

[8:1]  ³⁰ tn Or “countryside.”

[2:22]  ³¹ tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, 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.

[2:22]  ³² tn Or “miraculous deeds.”

[2:22]  ³³ tn Again, the context indicates the miraculous nature of these signs, and this is specified in the translation.

[2:23]  ³⁴ tn Or “you killed.”

[2:23]  ³⁵ tn Grk “at the hands of lawless men.” At this point the term ἄνομος (anomo") refers to non-Jews who live outside the Jewish (Mosaic) law, rather than people who broke any or all laws including secular laws. Specifically it is a reference to the Roman soldiers who carried out Jesus’ crucifixion.