Job 5:13

5:13 He catches ¹  the wise in their own craftiness, ² 

and the counsel of the cunning ³  is brought to a quick end. ⁴ 

Proverbs 26:4-5

26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, ⁵ 

lest you yourself also be like him. ⁶ 

26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, ⁷ 

lest he be wise in his own estimation. ⁸ 

Matthew 16:4

16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then ⁹  he left them and went away.

Matthew 21:27

21:27 So ¹⁰  they answered Jesus, ¹¹  “We don’t know.” ¹²  Then he said to them, “Neither will I tell you ¹³  by what authority ¹⁴  I am doing these things.

Luke 10:21-22

10:21 On that same occasion ¹⁵  Jesus ¹⁶  rejoiced ¹⁷  in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise ¹⁸  you, Father, Lord ¹⁹  of heaven and earth, because ²⁰  you have hidden these things from the wise ²¹  and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will. ²²  10:22 All things have been given to me by my Father. ²³  No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides ²⁴  to reveal him.”

Luke 20:7-8

20:7 So ²⁵  they replied that they did not know ²⁶  where it came from. 20:8 Then ²⁷  Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you ²⁸  by whose authority ²⁹  I do these things.”

Luke 22:66-69

22:66 When day came, the council of the elders of the people gathered together, both the chief priests and the experts in the law. ³⁰  Then ³¹  they led Jesus ³²  away to their council ³³  22:67 and said, “If ³⁴  you are the Christ, ³⁵  tell us.” But he said to them, “If ³⁶  I tell you, you will not ³⁷  believe, 22:68 and if ³⁸  I ask you, you will not ³⁹  answer. 22:69 But from now on ⁴⁰  the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand ⁴¹  of the power ⁴²  of God.”

John 9:27

9:27 He answered, ⁴³  “I told you already and you didn’t listen. ⁴⁴  Why do you want to hear it ⁴⁵  again? You people ⁴⁶  don’t want to become his disciples too, do you?”

[5:13]  ¹ tn The participles continue the description of God. Here he captures or ensnares the wise in their wickedly clever plans. See also Ps 7:16, where the wicked are caught in the pit they have dug – they are only wise in their own eyes.

[5:13]  ² sn This is the only quotation from the Book of Job in the NT (although Rom 11:35 seems to reflect 41:11, and Phil 1:19 is similar to 13:6). Paul cites it in 1 Cor 3:19.

[5:13]  ³ tn The etymology of נִפְתָּלִים (niftalim) suggests a meaning of “twisted” (see Prov 8:8) in the sense of tortuous. See Gen 30:8; Ps 18:26 [27].

[5:13]  ⁴ tn The Niphal of מָהַר (mahar) means “to be hasty; to be irresponsible.” The meaning in the line may be understood in this sense: The counsel of the wily is hastened, that is, precipitated before it is ripe, i.e., frustrated (A. B. Davidson, Job, 39).

[26:4]  ⁵ sn One should not answer a fool’s foolish questions in line with the fool’s mode of reasoning (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 274).

[26:4]  ⁶ sn The person who descends to the level of a fool to argue with him only looks like a fool as well.

[26:5]  ⁷ sn The apparent contradiction with the last verse has troubled commentators for some time. The Rabbis solved it by saying that v. 4 referred to secular things, but v. 5 referred to sacred or religious controversies. While this does not resolve the issue, it does give a sound application for the two verses together – in negligible issues one should just ignore the stupid person, but in issues that matter the fool must be dealt with, lest credence be given to what he says (W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 266). The text presents two proverbs each of which presents an aspect of the whole truth. One should not lower himself to the level of the fool, but there are times when the lesser of two evils is to do so, other than let the fool gain confidence that he is a wise person or be considered wise by others. Paul, for example, talked like a “fool” to correct the foolish ideas of the Corinthians (2 Cor 11:16-17; 12:11).

[26:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “in his own eyes” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[16:4]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[21:27]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to indicate that the clause is a result of the deliberations of the leaders.

[21:27]  ¹¹ tn Grk “answering Jesus, they said.” This construction is somewhat awkward in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[21:27]  ¹² sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them (“We do not know”). The point of Matt 21:23-27 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question, they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.

[21:27]  ¹³ sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.

[21:27]  ¹⁴ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 23.

[10:21]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “In that same hour” (L&N 67.1).

[10:21]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:21]  ¹⁷ sn Jesus rejoiced. The account of the mission in 10:1-24 ends with several remarks about joy.

[10:21]  ¹⁸ tn Or “thank.”

[10:21]  ¹⁹ sn The title Lord is an important name for God, showing his sovereignty, but it is interesting that it comes next to a reference to the Father, a term indicative of God’s care. The two concepts are often related in the NT; see Eph 1:3-6.

[10:21]  ²⁰ tn Or “that.”

[10:21]  ²¹ sn See 1 Cor 1:26-31.

[10:21]  ²² tn Grk “for (to do) thus was well pleasing before you,” BDAG 325 s.v. ἔμπροσθεν 1.δ; speaking of something taking place “before” God is a reverential way of avoiding direct connection of the action to him.

[10:22]  ²³ sn This verse has been noted for its conceptual similarity to teaching in John’s Gospel (10:15; 17:2). The authority of the Son and the Father are totally intertwined.

[10:22]  ²⁴ tn Or “wishes”; or “intends”; or “plans” (cf. BDAG 182 s.v. βούλομαι 2.b). Here it is the Son who has sovereignty.

[20:7]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the dilemma Jesus’ opponents faced.

[20:7]  ²⁶ sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them. The point of Luke 20:1-8 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.

[20:8]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[20:8]  ²⁸ sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.

[20:8]  ²⁹ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 2.

[22:66]  ³⁰ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[22:66]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:66]  ³² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:66]  ³³ sn Their council is probably a reference to the Jewish Sanhedrin, the council of seventy leaders.

[22:67]  ³⁴ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[22:67]  ³⁵ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[22:67]  ³⁶ tn This is a third class condition in the Greek text. Jesus had this experience already in 20:1-8.

[22:67]  ³⁷ tn The negation in the Greek text is the strongest possible (οὐ μή, ou mh).

[22:68]  ³⁸ tn This is also a third class condition in the Greek text.

[22:68]  ³⁹ tn The negation in the Greek text is the strongest possible (οὐ μή, ou mh).

[22:69]  ⁴⁰ sn From now on. Jesus’ authority was taken up from this moment on. Ironically he is now the ultimate judge, who is himself being judged.

[22:69]  ⁴¹ sn Seated at the right hand is an allusion to Ps 110:1 (“Sit at my right hand…”) and is a claim that Jesus shares authority with God in heaven. Those present may have thought they were his judges, but, in fact, the reverse was true.

[22:69]  ⁴² sn The expression the right hand of the power of God is a circumlocution for referring to God. Such indirect references to God were common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.

[9:27]  ⁴³ tn Grk “He answered them.” The indirect object αὐτοῖς (autois) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[9:27]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “you did not hear.”

[9:27]  ⁴⁵ tn “It” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when they were clearly implied in the context.

[9:27]  ⁴⁶ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.