Jeremiah 38:4

38:4 So these officials said to the king, “This man must be put to death. For he is demoralizing ¹  the soldiers who are left in the city as well as all the other people there by these things he is saying. ²  This ³  man is not seeking to help these people but is trying to harm them.” ⁴ 

Amos 7:10

Amos Confronts a Priest

7:10 Amaziah the priest of Bethel ⁵  sent this message ⁶  to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! ⁷  The land cannot endure all his prophecies. ⁸ 

Luke 23:2

23:2 They ⁹  began to accuse ¹⁰  him, saying, “We found this man subverting ¹¹  our nation, forbidding ¹²  us to pay the tribute tax ¹³  to Caesar ¹⁴  and claiming that he himself is Christ, ¹⁵  a king.”

Acts 16:20-21

16:20 When ¹⁶  they had brought them ¹⁷  before the magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion. ¹⁸  They are ¹⁹  Jews 16:21 and are advocating ²⁰  customs that are not lawful for us to accept ²¹  or practice, ²²  since we are ²³  Romans.”

Acts 24:5

24:5 For we have found ²⁴  this man to be a troublemaker, ²⁵  one who stirs up riots ²⁶  among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader ²⁷  of the sect of the Nazarenes. ²⁸ 

[38:4]  ¹ tn Heb “weakening the hands of.” For this idiom see BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Pi. and compare the usage in Isa 13:7; Ezek 21:7 (21:12 HT).

[38:4]  ² tn Heb “by saying these things.”

[38:4]  ³ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) has not been rendered here because it is introducing a parallel causal clause to the preceding one. To render “For” might be misunderstood as a grounds for the preceding statement. To render “And” or “Moreover” sounds a little odd here. If it must be represented, “Moreover” is perhaps the best rendering.

[38:4]  ⁴ tn Or “is not looking out for these people’s best interests but is really trying to do them harm”; Heb “is not seeking the welfare [or “well-being”; Hebrew shalom] of this people but [their] harm [more literally, evil].”

[7:10]  ⁵ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:10]  ⁶ tn The direct object of the verb translated “sent” is elided in the Hebrew text. The words “this message” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the middle of the house of Israel.”

[7:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “words.”

[23:2]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[23:2]  ¹⁰ sn They began to accuse him. There were three charges: (1) disturbing Jewish peace; (2) fomenting rebellion through advocating not paying taxes (a lie – 20:20-26); and (3) claiming to be a political threat to Rome, by claiming to be a king, an allusion to Jesus’ messianic claims. The second and third charges were a direct challenge to Roman authority. Pilate would be forced to do something about them.

[23:2]  ¹¹ tn On the use of the term διαστρέφω (diastrefw) here, see L&N 31.71 and 88.264.

[23:2]  ¹² tn Grk “and forbidding.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated to suggest to the English reader that this and the following charge are specifics, while the previous charge was a summary one. See the note on the word “misleading” earlier in this verse.

[23:2]  ¹³ tn This was a “poll tax.” L&N 57.182 states this was “a payment made by the people of one nation to another, with the implication that this is a symbol of submission and dependence – ‘tribute tax.’”

[23:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[23:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[16:20]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And when.” 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.

[16:20]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “having brought them.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενοι (epilabomenoi) has been taken temporally. It is also possible in English to translate this participle as a finite verb: “they brought them before the magistrates and said.”

[16:20]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 309 s.v. ἐκταράσσω has “agitate, cause trouble to, throw into confusion” for the meaning of this verb.

[16:20]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “being Jews, and they are proclaiming.” The participle ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:21]  ²⁰ tn Grk “proclaiming,” but in relation to customs, “advocating” is a closer approximation to the meaning.

[16:21]  ²¹ tn Or “acknowledge.”

[16:21]  ²² sn Customs that are not lawful for us to accept or practice. Ironically, the charges are similar to those made against Jesus in Luke 23:2, where Jews argued he was “twisting” their customs. The charge has three elements: (1) a racial element (Jewish); (2) a social element (unlawful); and (3) a traditional element (not their customs).

[16:21]  ²³ tn Grk “we being Romans.” The participle οὖσιν (ousin) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[24:5]  ²⁴ tn Grk “For having found.” The participle εὑρόντες (Jeurontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[24:5]  ²⁵ tn L&N 22.6 has “(a figurative extension of meaning of λοιμός ‘plague,’ 23.158) one who causes all sorts of trouble – ‘troublemaker, pest.’ … ‘for we have found this man to be a troublemaker” Ac 24:5.”

[24:5]  ²⁶ tn Or “dissensions.” While BDAG 940 s.v. στάσις 3 translates this phrase “κινεῖν στάσεις (v.l. στάσιν) τισί create dissension among certain people Ac 24:5,” it is better on the basis of the actual results of Paul’s ministry to categorize this usage under section 2, “uprising, riot, revolt, rebellion” (cf. the use in Acts 19:40).

[24:5]  ²⁷ tn This term is yet another NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 894 s.v. πρωτοστάτης).

[24:5]  ²⁸ sn The sect of the Nazarenes is a designation for followers of Jesus the Nazarene, that is, Christians.