Jeremiah 5:31

5:31 The prophets prophesy lies.

The priests exercise power by their own authority. ¹ 

And my people love to have it this way.

But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes! ² 

Jeremiah 23:11-15

23:11 Moreover, ³  the Lord says, ⁴ 

“Both the prophets and priests are godless.

I have even found them doing evil in my temple!

23:12 So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery.

They will stumble and fall headlong.

For I will bring disaster on them.

A day of reckoning is coming for them.” ⁵ 

The Lord affirms it! ⁶ 

23:13 The Lord says, ⁷  “I saw the prophets of Samaria ⁸ 

doing something that was disgusting. ⁹ 

They prophesied in the name of the god Baal

and led my people Israel astray. ¹⁰ 

23:14 But I see the prophets of Jerusalem ¹¹ 

doing something just as shocking.

They are unfaithful to me

and continually prophesy lies. ¹² 

So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil,

with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. ¹³ 

I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom,

and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah. ¹⁴ 

23:15 So then I, the Lord who rules over all, ¹⁵ 

have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem: ¹⁶ 

‘I will make these prophets eat the bitter food of suffering

and drink the poison water of judgment. ¹⁷ 

For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason ¹⁸ 

that ungodliness ¹⁹  has spread throughout the land.’”

Ezekiel 22:25-26

22:25 Her princes ²⁰  within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows ²¹  within it. 22:26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, ²²  or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore ²³  my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst.

Micah 3:11

3:11 Her ²⁴  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ²⁵ 

her priests proclaim rulings for profit,

and her prophets read omens for pay.

Yet they claim to trust ²⁶  the Lord and say,

“The Lord is among us. ²⁷ 

Disaster will not overtake ²⁸  us!”

Zephaniah 3:4

3:4 Her prophets are proud; ²⁹ 

they are deceitful men.

Her priests defile what is holy; ³⁰ 

they break God’s laws. ³¹ 

Matthew 21:15

21:15 But when the chief priests and the experts in the law ³²  saw the wonderful things he did and heard the children crying out in the temple courts, ³³  “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant

Acts 4:1-6

The Arrest and Trial of Peter and John

4:1 While Peter and John ³⁴  were speaking to the people, the priests and the commander ³⁵  of the temple guard ³⁶  and the Sadducees ³⁷  came up ³⁸  to them, 4:2 angry ³⁹  because they were teaching the people and announcing ⁴⁰  in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 4:3 So ⁴¹  they seized ⁴²  them and put them in jail ⁴³  until the next day (for it was already evening). 4:4 But many of those who had listened to ⁴⁴  the message ⁴⁵  believed, and the number of the men ⁴⁶  came to about five thousand.

4:5 On the next day, ⁴⁷  their rulers, elders, and experts in the law ⁴⁸  came together ⁴⁹  in Jerusalem. ⁵⁰  4:6 Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others who were members of the high priest’s family. ⁵¹ 

Acts 5:17

Further Trouble for the Apostles

5:17 Now the high priest rose up, and all those with him (that is, the religious party of the Sadducees ⁵² ), ⁵³  and they were filled with jealousy. ⁵⁴ 

[5:31]  ¹ tn Heb “they shall rule at their hands.” Since the word “hand” can be used figuratively for authority or mean “side” and the pronoun “them” can refer to the priests themselves or the prophets, the following translations have also been suggested: “the priests rule under their [the prophets’] directions,” or “the priests rule in league with them [the prophets].” From the rest of the book it would appear that the prophets did not exercise authority over the priests nor did they exercise the same authority over the people that the priests did. Hence it probably mean “by their own hand/power/authority.”

[5:31]  ² tn Heb “But what will you do at its end?” The rhetorical question implies a negative answer: “Nothing!”

[23:11]  ³ tn The particle כִּי (ki) which begins this verse is parallel to the one at the beginning of the preceding verse. However, the connection is too distant to render it “for.” “Moreover” is intended to draw the parallel. The words “the Lord says” (Heb “Oracle of the Lord”) have been drawn up to the front to introduce the shift in speaker from Jeremiah, who describes his agitated state, to God, who describes the sins of the prophets and priests and his consequent judgment on them.

[23:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:12]  ⁵ tn For the last two lines see 11:23 and the notes there.

[23:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:13]  ⁷ tn The words “The Lord says” are not in the text, but it is clear from the content that he is the speaker. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:13]  ⁸ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[23:13]  ⁹ tn According to BDB 1074 s.v. תִּפְלָּה this word means “unseemly, unsavory.” The related adjective is used in Job 6:6 of the tastelessness of something that is unseasoned.

[23:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “by Baal.”

[23:14]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:14]  ¹² tn Or “they commit adultery and deal falsely.” The word “shocking” only occurs here and in 5:30 where it is found in the context of prophesying lies. This almost assures that the reference to “walking in lies” (Heb “in the lie”) is referring to false prophesy. Moreover the references to the prophets in 5:13 and in 14:13-15 are all in the context of false prophesy as are the following references in this chapter in 23:24, 26, 32 and in 28:15. This appears to be the theme of this section. This also makes it likely that the reference to adultery is not literal adultery, though two of the false prophets in Babylon were guilty of this (29:23). The reference to “encouraging those who do evil” that follows also makes more sense if they were preaching messages of comfort rather than messages of doom. The verbs here are infinitive absolutes in place of the finite verb, probably used to place greater emphasis on the action (cf. Hos 4:2 in a comparable judgment speech.)

[23:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “So they strengthen the hands of those doing evil so that they do not turn back from their evil.” For the use of the figure “strengthen the hands” meaning “encourage” see Judg 9:24; Ezek 13:22 (and cf. BDB 304 s.v. חָזַק Piel.2). The vav consecutive on the front of the form gives the logical consequence equivalent to “so” in the translation.

[23:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “All of them are to me like Sodom and its [Jerusalem’s] inhabitants like Gomorrah.”

[23:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[23:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord…concerning the prophets.” The person is shifted to better conform with English style and the word “of Jerusalem” is supplied in the translation to avoid the possible misunderstanding that the judgment applies to the prophets of Samaria who had already been judged long before.

[23:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will feed this people wormwood and make them drink poison water.” For these same words of judgment on another group see 9:15 (9:14 HT). “Wormwood” and “poison water” are not to be understood literally here but are symbolic of judgment and suffering. See, e.g., BDB 542 s.v. לַעֲנָה.

[23:15]  ¹⁸ tn The compound preposition מֵאֵת (me’et) expresses source or origin (see BDB 86 s.v. אֵת 4.c). Context shows that the origin is in their false prophesying which encourages people in their evil behavior.

[23:15]  ¹⁹ sn A word that derives from this same Hebrew word is used in v. 11 at the beginning of the Lord’s criticism of the prophet and priest. This is a common rhetorical device for bracketing material that belongs together. The criticism has, however, focused on the false prophets and the judgment due them.

[22:25]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a conspiracy of her prophets is in her midst.” The LXX reads “whose princes” rather than “a conspiracy of prophets.” The prophets are mentioned later in the paragraph (v. 28). If one follows the LXX in verse 25, then five distinct groups are mentioned in vv. 25-29: princes, priests, officials, prophets, and the people of the land. For a defense of the Septuagintal reading, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:720, n. 4.

[22:25]  ²¹ tn Heb “her widows they have multiplied.” The statement alludes to their murderous acts.

[22:26]  ²² tn Or “between the consecrated and the common.”

[22:26]  ²³ tn Heb “hide their eyes from.” The idiom means to disregard or ignore something or someone (see Lev 20:4; 1 Sam 12:3; Prov 28:27; Isa 1:15).

[3:11]  ²⁴ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

[3:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

[3:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

[3:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

[3:11]  ²⁸ tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”

[3:4]  ²⁹ sn Applied to prophets, the word פֹּחֲזִים (pokhazim, “proud”) probably refers to their audacity in passing off their own words as genuine prophecies from the Lord (see Jer 23:32).

[3:4]  ³⁰ tn Or “defile the temple.”

[3:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “they treat violently [the] law.”

[21:15]  ³² tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[21:15]  ³³ tn Grk “crying out in the temple [courts] and saying.” The participle λέγοντας (legontas) is somewhat redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[4:1]  ³⁴ tn Grk “While they”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:1]  ³⁵ tn Or “captain.”

[4:1]  ³⁶ tn Grk “the official of the temple,” a title for the commander of the Jewish soldiers guarding the temple (thus the translation, “the commander of the temple guard”). See L&N 37.91.

[4:1]  ³⁷ 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 3:7; 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[4:1]  ³⁸ tn Or “approached.” This verb often denotes a sudden appearing (BDAG 418 s.v. ἐφίστημι 1).

[4:2]  ³⁹ tn Or “greatly annoyed,” “provoked.”

[4:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “proclaiming.”

[4:3]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “And” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the logical sequence of events.

[4:3]  ⁴² tn Or “they arrested”; Grk “they laid hands on.”

[4:3]  ⁴³ tn Or “prison,” “custody.”

[4:4]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “had heard.”

[4:4]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “word.”

[4:4]  ⁴⁶ tn In the historical setting it is likely that only men are referred to here. The Greek term ἀνήρ (anhr) usually refers to males or husbands rather than people in general. Thus to translate “of the people” would give a false impression of the number, since any women and children were apparently not included in the count.

[4:5]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “It happened that on the next day.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[4:5]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “and scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[4:5]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “law assembled,” “law met together.”

[4:5]  ⁵⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:6]  ⁵¹ sn The high priest’s family. This family controlled the high priesthood as far back as a.d. 6. Annas, Caiaphas, and Alexander were all high priests at one time (though Alexander held that office after this event).

[5:17]  ⁵² sn See the note on Sadducees in 4:1.

[5:17]  ⁵³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[5:17]  ⁵⁴ sn Filled with jealousy. In Acts, the term “jealousy” (ζήλος, zhlos) occurs only here and in Acts 13:45. It is a key term in Judaism for religiously motivated rage (1 Macc 2:24; 1QH 14:13-15; m. Sanhedrin 9:5). It was a zeal motivated by a desire to maintain the purity of the faith.