Isaiah 56:10

56:10 All their watchmen ¹  are blind,

they are unaware. ² 

All of them are like mute dogs,

unable to bark.

They pant, ³  lie down,

and love to snooze.

Psalms 40:9-10

40:9 I have told the great assembly ⁴  about your justice. ⁵ 

Look! I spare no words! ⁶ 

O Lord, you know this is true.

40:10 I have not failed to tell about your justice; ⁷ 

I spoke about your reliability and deliverance;

I have not neglected to tell the great assembly about your loyal love and faithfulness. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 1:7-10

1:7 The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ But go ⁹  to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you. 1:8 Do not be afraid of those to whom I send you, ¹⁰  for I will be with you to protect ¹¹  you,” says the Lord. 1:9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I will most assuredly give you the words you are to speak for me. ¹²  1:10 Know for certain that ¹³  I hereby give you the authority to announce to nations and kingdoms that they will be ¹⁴  uprooted and torn down, destroyed and demolished, rebuilt and firmly planted.” ¹⁵ 

Jeremiah 1:17-19

1:17 “But you, Jeremiah, ¹⁶  get yourself ready! ¹⁷  Go and tell these people everything I instruct you to say. Do not be terrified of them, or I will give you good reason to be terrified of them. ¹⁸  1:18 I, the Lord, ¹⁹  hereby promise to make you ²⁰  as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in ²¹  the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land. 1:19 They will attack you but they will not be able to overcome you, for I will be with you to rescue you,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 7:8-11

7:8 “‘But just look at you! ²²  You are putting your confidence in a false belief ²³  that will not deliver you. ²⁴  7:9 You steal. ²⁵  You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to ²⁶  other gods whom you have not previously known. 7:10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own ²⁷  and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! ²⁸  7:11 Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own ²⁹  is to be a hideout for robbers? ³⁰  You had better take note! ³¹  I have seen for myself what you have done! says the Lord.

Jeremiah 15:19-20

15:19 Because of this, the Lord said, ³² 

“You must repent of such words and thoughts!

If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me. ³³ 

If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless,

I will again allow you to be my spokesman. ³⁴ 

They must become as you have been.

You must not become like them. ³⁵ 

15:20 I will make you as strong as a wall to these people,

a fortified wall of bronze.

They will attack you,

but they will not be able to overcome you.

For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you,” ³⁶ 

says the Lord.

Ezekiel 2:3-8

2:3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the house ³⁷  of Israel, to rebellious nations ³⁸  who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted ³⁹  against me to this very day. 2:4 The people ⁴⁰  to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted, ⁴¹  and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ ⁴²  2:5 And as for them, ⁴³  whether they listen ⁴⁴  or not – for they are a rebellious ⁴⁵  house ⁴⁶  – they will know that a prophet has been among them. 2:6 But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words – even though briers ⁴⁷  and thorns ⁴⁸  surround you and you live among scorpions – do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you, ⁴⁹  for they are a rebellious house! 2:7 You must speak my words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious. 2:8 As for you, son of man, listen to what I am saying to you: Do not rebel like that rebellious house! Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”

Ezekiel 3:5-9

3:5 For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech ⁵⁰  and difficult language, ⁵¹  but ⁵²  to the house of Israel – 3:6 not to many peoples of unintelligible speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand ⁵³  – surely if ⁵⁴  I had sent you to them, they would listen to you! 3:7 But the house of Israel is unwilling to listen to you, ⁵⁵  because they are not willing to listen to me, ⁵⁶  for the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. ⁵⁷ 

3:8 “I have made your face adamant ⁵⁸  to match their faces, and your forehead hard to match their foreheads. 3:9 I have made your forehead harder than flint – like diamond! ⁵⁹  Do not fear them or be terrified of the looks they give you, ⁶⁰  for they are a rebellious house.”

Ezekiel 3:17-21

3:17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman ⁶¹  for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me. 3:18 When I say to the wicked, “You will certainly die,” ⁶²  and you do not warn him – you do not speak out to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked deed and wicked lifestyle so that he may live – that wicked person will die for his iniquity, ⁶³  but I will hold you accountable for his death. ⁶⁴  3:19 But as for you, if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wicked deed and from his wicked lifestyle, he will die for his iniquity but you will have saved your own life. ⁶⁵ 

3:20 “When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle ⁶⁶  before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 3:21 However, if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he ⁶⁷  does not sin, he will certainly live because he was warned, and you will have saved your own life.”

Ezekiel 20:4

20:4 “Are you willing to pronounce judgment? ⁶⁸  Are you willing to pronounce judgment, son of man? Then confront them with the abominable practices of their fathers,

Ezekiel 22:2

22:2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, ⁶⁹  are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? ⁷⁰  Then confront her with all her abominable deeds!

Micah 3:8-12

3:8 But I ⁷¹  am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,

and have a strong commitment to justice. ⁷² 

This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,

and Israel with its sin. ⁷³ 

3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family ⁷⁴  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ⁷⁵  of Israel!

You ⁷⁶  hate justice

and pervert all that is right.

3:10 You ⁷⁷  build Zion through bloody crimes, ⁷⁸ 

Jerusalem ⁷⁹  through unjust violence.

3:11 Her ⁸⁰  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ⁸¹ 

her priests proclaim rulings for profit,

and her prophets read omens for pay.

Yet they claim to trust ⁸²  the Lord and say,

“The Lord is among us. ⁸³ 

Disaster will not overtake ⁸⁴  us!”

3:12 Therefore, because of you, ⁸⁵  Zion will be plowed up like ⁸⁶  a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,

and the Temple Mount ⁸⁷  will become a hill overgrown with brush! ⁸⁸ 

Matthew 3:7-9

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ⁸⁹  and Sadducees ⁹⁰  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 3:8 Therefore produce fruit ⁹¹  that proves your ⁹²  repentance, 3:9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Acts 7:51-52

7:51 “You stubborn ⁹³  people, with uncircumcised ⁹⁴  hearts and ears! ⁹⁵  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors ⁹⁶  did! 7:52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors ⁹⁷  not persecute? ⁹⁸  They ⁹⁹  killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, ¹⁰⁰  whose betrayers and murderers you have now become! ¹⁰¹ 

Acts 20:26-27

20:26 Therefore I declare ¹⁰²  to you today that I am innocent ¹⁰³  of the blood of you all. ¹⁰⁴  20:27 For I did not hold back from ¹⁰⁵  announcing ¹⁰⁶  to you the whole purpose ¹⁰⁷  of God.

Titus 2:15

2:15 So communicate these things with the sort of exhortation or rebuke ¹⁰⁸  that carries full authority. ¹⁰⁹  Don’t let anyone look down ¹¹⁰  on you.

Revelation 14:9-10

14:9 A ¹¹¹  third angel ¹¹²  followed the first two, ¹¹³  declaring ¹¹⁴  in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and takes the mark on his forehead or his hand, 14:10 that person ¹¹⁵  will also drink of the wine of God’s anger ¹¹⁶  that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur ¹¹⁷  in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb.

[56:10]  ¹ sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.

[56:10]  ² tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”

[56:10]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has הֹזִים (hozim), which appears to be derived from an otherwise unattested verbal root הָזָה (hazah). On the basis of alleged cognates, BDB 223 s.v. הָזָה offers the definition “dream, rave” while HALOT 243 s.v. הזה lists “pant.” In this case the dog metaphor of the preceding lines continues. The reference to dogs at the beginning of v. 11 favors the extension of the metaphor. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy.

[40:9]  ⁴ sn The great assembly is also mentioned in Pss 22:25 and 35:18.

[40:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “I proclaim justice in the great assembly.” Though “justice” appears without a pronoun here, the Lord’s just acts are in view (see v. 10). His “justice” (צֶדֶק, tsedeq) is here the deliverance that originates in his justice; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just.

[40:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “Look! My lips I do not restrain.”

[40:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “your justice I have not hidden in the midst of my heart.”

[40:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “I have not hidden your loyal love and reliability.”

[1:7]  ⁹ tn Or “For you must go and say.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is likely adversative here after a negative statement (cf. BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.e). The Lord is probably not giving a rationale for the denial of Jeremiah’s objection but redirecting his focus, i.e., “do not say…but go…and say.”

[1:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “be afraid of them.” The antecedent is the “whomever” in v. 7.

[1:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “rescue.”

[1:9]  ¹² tn Heb “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.” This is an example of the Hebrew “scheduling” perfect or the “prophetic” perfect where a future event is viewed as so certain it is spoken of as past. The Hebrew particle rendered here “assuredly” (Heb הִנֵּה, hinneh) underlines the certitude of the promise for the future. See the translator’s note on v. 6.

[1:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “See!” The Hebrew imperative of the verb used here (רָאָה, ra’ah) functions the same as the particle in v. 9. See the translator’s note there.

[1:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I appoint you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot….” The phrase refers to the Lord giving Jeremiah authority as a prophet to declare what he, the Lord, will do; it does not mean that Jeremiah himself will do these things. The expression involves a figure of speech where the subject of a declaration is stated instead of the declaration about it. Compare a similar use of the same figure in Gen 41:13.

[1:10]  ¹⁵ sn These three pairs represent the twofold nature of Jeremiah’s prophecies, prophecies of judgment and restoration. For the further programmatic use of these pairs for Jeremiah’s ministry see 18:7-10 and 31:27-28.

[1:17]  ¹⁶ tn The name “Jeremiah” is not in the text. The use of the personal pronoun followed by the proper name is an attempt to reflect the correlative emphasis between Jeremiah’s responsibility noted here and the Lord’s promise noted in the next verse. The emphasis in the Hebrew text is marked by the presence of the subject pronouns at the beginning of each of the two verses.

[1:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “gird up your loins.” For the literal use of this idiom to refer to preparation for action see 2 Kgs 4:29; 9:1. For the idiomatic use to refer to spiritual and emotional preparation as here, see Job 38:3, 40:7, and 1 Pet 1:13 in the NT.

[1:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I will make you terrified in front of them.” There is a play on words here involving two different forms of the same Hebrew verb and two different but related prepositional phrases, “from before/of,” a preposition introducing the object of a verb of fearing, and “before, in front of,” a preposition introducing a spatial location.

[1:18]  ¹⁹ tn See the note on “Jeremiah” at the beginning of v. 17.

[1:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “today I have made you.” The Hebrew verb form here emphasizes the certainty of a yet future act; the Lord is promising to protect Jeremiah from any future attacks which may result from his faithfully carrying out his commission. See a similar use of the same Hebrew verb tense in v. 9, and see the translator’s note there.

[1:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “I make you a fortified city…against all the land….” The words “as strong as” and “so you will be able to stand against all the people of…” are given to clarify the meaning of the metaphor.

[7:8]  ²² tn Heb “Behold!”

[7:8]  ²³ tn Heb “You are trusting in lying words.” See the similar phrase in v. 4 and the note there.

[7:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “not profit [you].”

[7:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Will you steal…then say, ‘We are safe’?” Verses 9-10 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text.

[7:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “You go/follow after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.

[7:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:10]  ²⁸ tn Or “‘We are safe!’ – safe, you think, to go on doing all those hateful things.” Verses 9-10 are all one long sentence in the Hebrew text. It has been broken up for English stylistic reasons. Somewhat literally it reads “Will you steal…then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe’ so as to/in order to do…” The Hebrew of v. 9 has a series of infinitives which emphasize the bare action of the verb without the idea of time or agent. The effect is to place a kind of staccato like emphasis on the multitude of their sins all of which are violations of one of the Ten Commandments. The final clause in v. 8 expresses purpose or result (probably result) through another infinitive. This long sentence is introduced by a marker (ה interrogative in Hebrew) introducing a rhetorical question in which God expresses his incredulity that they could do these sins, come into the temple and claim the safety of his protection, and then go right back out and commit the same sins. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 52) catches the force nicely: “What? You think you can steal, murder…and then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe…’ just so that you can go right on…”

[7:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:11]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Is this house…a den/cave of robbers in your eyes?”

[7:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “Behold!”

[15:19]  ³² tn Heb “So the Lord said thus.”

[15:19]  ³³ tn Heb “If you return [ = repent], I will restore [more literally, ‘cause you to return’] that you may stand before me.” For the idiom of “standing before” in the sense of serving see BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד Qal.1.e and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 10:8; 12:8; 17:1; Deut 10:8.

[15:19]  ³⁴ tn Heb “you shall be as my mouth.”

[15:19]  ³⁵ tn Heb “They must turn/return to you and you must not turn/return to them.”

[15:20]  ³⁶ sn See 1:18. The Lord renews his promise of protection and reiterates his call to Jeremiah.

[2:3]  ³⁷ tc The Hebrew reads “sons of,” while the LXX reads “house,” implying the more common phrase in Ezekiel. Either could be abbreviated with the first letter ב (bet). In preparation for the characterization “house of rebellion,” in vv. 5, 6, and 8, “house” is preferred (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:10 and W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel [Hermeneia], 2:564-65).

[2:3]  ³⁸ tc Heb “to the rebellious nations.” The phrase “to the rebellious nations” is omitted in the LXX. Elsewhere in Ezekiel the singular word “nation” is used for Israel (36:13-15; 37:22). Here “nations” may have the meaning of “tribes” or refer to the two nations of Israel and Judah.

[2:3]  ³⁹ tc This word is omitted from the LXX.

[2:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “sons.” The word choice may reflect treaty idiom, where the relationship between an overlord and his subjects can be described as that of father and son.

[2:4]  ⁴¹ tc Heb “stern of face and hard of heart.” The phrases “stern of face” and “hard of heart” are lacking in the LXX.

[2:4]  ⁴² tn The phrase “thus says [the Lord]” occurs 129 times in Ezekiel; the announcement is identical to the way messengers often introduced their messages (Gen 32:5; 45:9; Exod 5:10; Num 20:14; Judg 11:15).

[2:5]  ⁴³ tn Heb “they”; the phrase “And as for them” has been used in the translation for clarity.

[2:5]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew word implies obedience rather than mere hearing or paying attention.

[2:5]  ⁴⁵ tn This Hebrew adjective is also used to describe the Israelites in Num 17:25 and Isa 30:9.

[2:5]  ⁴⁶ sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).

[2:6]  ⁴⁷ tn The Hebrew term occurs only here in the OT.

[2:6]  ⁴⁸ tn The Hebrew term is found elsewhere in the OT only in Ezek 28:24.

[2:6]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “of their faces.”

[3:5]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “deep of lip” (in the sense of incomprehensible).

[3:5]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “heavy of tongue.” Similar language occurs in Exod 4:10; Isa 33:19.

[3:5]  ⁵² tn The conjunction “but” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied from the context.

[3:6]  ⁵³ tn Heb “hear.”

[3:6]  ⁵⁴ tc The MT reads “if not” but most ancient versions translate only “if.” The expression occurs with this sense in Isa 5:9; 14:24. See also Ezek 34:8; 36:5; 38:19.

[3:7]  ⁵⁵ sn Moses (Exod 3:19) and Isaiah (Isa 6:9-10) were also told that their messages would not be received.

[3:7]  ⁵⁶ sn A similar description of Israel’s disobedience is given in 1 Sam 8:7.

[3:7]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “hard of forehead and stiff of heart.”

[3:8]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “strong, resolute.”

[3:9]  ⁵⁹ tn The Hebrew term translated “diamond” is parallel to “iron” in Jer 17:1. The Hebrew uses two terms which are both translated at times as “flint,” but here one is clearly harder than the other. The translation “diamond” attempts to reflect this distinction in English.

[3:9]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “of their faces.”

[3:17]  ⁶¹ tn The literal role of a watchman is described in 2 Sam 18:24; 2 Kgs 9:17.

[3:18]  ⁶² sn Even though the infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the warning, the warning is still implicitly conditional, as the following context makes clear.

[3:18]  ⁶³ tn Or “in his punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and v. 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”

[3:18]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “his blood I will seek from your hand.” The expression “seek blood from the hand” is equivalent to requiring the death penalty (2 Sam 4:11-12).

[3:19]  ⁶⁵ tn Verses 17-19 are repeated in Ezek 33:7-9.

[3:20]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “stumbling block.” The Hebrew term refers to an obstacle in the road in Lev 19:14.

[3:21]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “the righteous man.”

[20:4]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment.

[22:2]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment upon the city. See 20:4.

[22:2]  ⁷⁰ tn The phrase “bloody city” is used of Nineveh in Nah 3:1.

[3:8]  ⁷¹ sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the Lord in the preceding verses.

[3:8]  ⁷² tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the Lord, and justice and strength.” The appositional phrase “the Spirit of the Lord” explains the source of the prophet’s power. The phrase “justice and strength” is understood here as a hendiadys, referring to the prophet’s strong sense of justice.

[3:8]  ⁷³ tn Heb “to declare to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.” The words “this enables me” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:9]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).

[3:10]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “who.”

[3:10]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “bloodshed” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); NLT “murder.”

[3:10]  ⁷⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:11]  ⁸⁰ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

[3:11]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

[3:11]  ⁸² tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

[3:11]  ⁸³ tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

[3:11]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”

[3:12]  ⁸⁵ tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.

[3:12]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).

[3:12]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[3:12]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”

[3:7]  ⁸⁹ 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]  ⁹⁰ 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.

[3:8]  ⁹¹ sn Fruit worthy of repentance refers to the deeds that indicate a change of attitude (heart) on the part of John’s hearers.

[3:8]  ⁹² tn Grk “fruit worthy of.”

[7:51]  ⁹³ sn Traditionally, “stiff-necked people.” Now the critique begins in earnest.

[7:51]  ⁹⁴ tn The term ἀπερίτμητοι (aperitmhtoi, “uncircumcised”) is a NT hapax legomenon (occurs only once). See BDAG 101-2 s.v. ἀπερίτμητος and Isa 52:1.

[7:51]  ⁹⁵ tn Or “You stubborn and obstinate people!” (The phrase “uncircumcised hearts and ears” is another figure for stubbornness.)

[7:51]  ⁹⁶ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ⁹⁷ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ⁹⁸ sn Which…persecute. The rhetorical question suggests they persecuted them all.

[7:52]  ⁹⁹ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[7:52]  ¹⁰⁰ sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ.

[7:52]  ¹⁰¹ sn Whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. The harsh critique has OT precedent (1 Kgs 19:10-14; Neh 9:26; 2 Chr 36:16).

[20:26]  ¹⁰² tn Or “testify.”

[20:26]  ¹⁰³ tn Grk “clean, pure,” thus “guiltless” (BDAG 489 s.v. καθαρός 3.a).

[20:26]  ¹⁰⁴ 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.

[20:27]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Or “did not avoid.” BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 2.b has “shrink from, avoid implying fear…οὐ γὰρ ὑπεστειλάμην τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι I did not shrink from proclaiming Ac 20:27”; L&N 13.160 has “to hold oneself back from doing something, with the implication of some fearful concern – ‘to hold back from, to shrink from, to avoid’…‘for I have not held back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God’ Ac 20:27.”

[20:27]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Or “proclaiming,” “declaring.”

[20:27]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Or “plan.”

[2:15]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Or “reproof,” “censure.” The Greek word ἐλέγχω (elencw) implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.

[2:15]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Grk “speak these things and exhort and rebuke with all authority.”

[2:15]  ¹¹⁰ tn Or “let anyone despise you”; or “let anyone disregard you.”

[14:9]  ¹¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[14:9]  ¹¹² tn Grk “And another angel, a third.”

[14:9]  ¹¹³ tn Grk “followed them.”

[14:9]  ¹¹⁴ tn For the translation of λέγω (legw) as “declare,” see BDAG 590 s.v. 2.e.

[14:10]  ¹¹⁵ tn Grk “he himself.”

[14:10]  ¹¹⁶ tn The Greek word for “anger” here is θυμός (qumos), a wordplay on the “passion” (θυμός) of the personified city of Babylon in 14:8.

[14:10]  ¹¹⁷ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”