Job 16:10

16:10 People ¹  have opened their mouths against me,

they have struck my cheek in scorn; ² 

they unite ³  together against me.

Isaiah 50:6

50:6 I offered my back to those who attacked, ⁴ 

my jaws to those who tore out my beard;

I did not hide my face

from insults and spitting.

Micah 5:1

5:1 (4:14) ⁵  But now slash yourself, ⁶  daughter surrounded by soldiers! ⁷ 

We are besieged!

With a scepter ⁸  they strike Israel’s ruler ⁹ 

on the side of his face.

Matthew 5:39

5:39 But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer. ¹⁰  But whoever strikes you on the ¹¹  right cheek, turn the other to him as well.

Matthew 26:67

26:67 Then they spat in his face and struck him with their fists. And some slapped him,

Luke 6:29

6:29 To the person who strikes you on the cheek, ¹²  offer the other as well, ¹³  and from the person who takes away your coat, ¹⁴  do not withhold your tunic ¹⁵  either. ¹⁶ 

Luke 6:2

6:2 But some of the Pharisees ¹⁷  said, “Why are you ¹⁸  doing what is against the law ¹⁹  on the Sabbath?”

Colossians 1:20

1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, ²⁰  whether things on earth or things in heaven.

[16:10]  ¹ tn “People” is supplied; the Hebrew verb is third plural. The colon reads, “they have opened against me with [the preposition is instrumental] their mouth.” The gestures here follow the animal imagery; they reflect destructive opposition and attack (see Ps 22:13 among others).

[16:10]  ² tn This is an “insult” or a “reproach.”

[16:10]  ³ tn The verb יִתְמַלָּאוּן (yitmalla’un) is taken from מָלֵא (male’), “to be full,” and in this stem, “to pile up; to press together.” The term has a military connotation, such as “to mobilize” (see D. W. Thomas, “ml'w in Jeremiah 4:5 : a military term,” JJS 3 [1952]: 47-52). Job sees himself surrounded by enemies who persecute him and mock him.

[50:6]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “who beat [me].”

[5:1]  ⁵ sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:15 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:14 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, 5:3 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:15 ET = 5:14 HT. From 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[5:1]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb גָדַד (gadad) can be translated “slash yourself” or “gather in troops.” A number of English translations are based on the latter meaning (e.g., NASB, NIV, NLT).

[5:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”

[5:1]  ⁸ tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”

[5:1]  ⁹ tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).

[5:39]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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.

[6:29]  ¹² sn The phrase strikes you on the cheek probably pictures public rejection, like the act that indicated expulsion from the synagogue.

[6:29]  ¹³ sn This command to offer the other cheek as well is often misunderstood. It means that there is risk involved in reaching out to people with God’s hope. But if one is struck down in rejection, the disciple is to continue reaching out.

[6:29]  ¹⁴ tn Or “cloak.”

[6:29]  ¹⁵ tn See the note on the word “tunics” in 3:11.

[6:29]  ¹⁶ sn The command do not withhold your tunic either is again an image of continually being totally at risk as one tries to keep contact with those who are hostile to what Jesus and his disciples offer.

[6:2]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[6:2]  ¹⁸ tn Note that the verb is second person plural (with an understood plural pronominal subject in Greek). The charge is again indirectly made against Jesus by charging the disciples.

[6:2]  ¹⁹ sn The alleged violation expressed by the phrase what is against the law is performing work on the Sabbath. That the disciples ate from such a field is no problem given Deut 23:25, but Sabbath activity is another matter in the leaders’ view (Exod 20:8-11 and Mishnah, m. Shabbat 7.2). The supposed violation involved reaping, threshing, winnowing, and preparing food. This probably explains why the clause describing the disciples “rubbing” the heads of grain in their hands is mentioned last, in emphatic position. This was preparation of food.

[1:20]  ²⁰ tc The presence or absence of the second occurrence of the phrase δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (di’ autou, “through him”) is a difficult textual problem to solve. External evidence is fairly evenly divided. Many ancient and excellent witnesses lack the phrase (B D* F G I 0278 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 al latt sa), but equally important witnesses have it (Ì⁴⁶ א A C D¹ Ψ 048^vid 33 Ï). Both readings have strong Alexandrian support, which makes the problem difficult to decide on external evidence alone. Internal evidence points to the inclusion of the phrase as original. The word immediately preceding the phrase is the masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou); thus the possibility of omission through homoioteleuton in various witnesses is likely. Scribes might have deleted the phrase because of perceived redundancy or awkwardness in the sense: The shorter reading is smoother and more elegant, so scribes would be prone to correct the text in that direction. As far as style is concerned, repetition of key words and phrases for emphasis is not foreign to the corpus Paulinum (see, e.g., Rom 8:23, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 12:7). In short, it is easier to account for the shorter reading arising from the longer reading than vice versa, so the longer reading is more likely original.