John 10:31

10:31 The Jewish leaders ¹  picked up rocks again to stone him to death.

John 10:39

10:39 Then ²  they attempted ³  again to seize him, but he escaped their clutches. ⁴ 

Psalms 11:1-3

Psalm 11 ⁵ 

For the music director; by David.

11:1 In the Lord I have taken shelter. ⁶ 

How can you say to me, ⁷ 

“Flee to a mountain like a bird! ⁸ 

11:2 For look, the wicked ⁹  prepare ¹⁰  their bows, ¹¹ 

they put their arrows on the strings,

to shoot in the darkness ¹²  at the morally upright. ¹³ 

11:3 When the foundations ¹⁴  are destroyed,

what can the godly ¹⁵  accomplish?” ¹⁶ 

Matthew 16:21-23

First Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

16:21 From that time on ¹⁷  Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem ¹⁸  and suffer ¹⁹  many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, ²⁰  and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 16:22 So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: ²¹  “God forbid, ²²  Lord! This must not happen to you!” 16:23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.” ²³ 

Acts 21:12-13

21:12 When we heard this, both we and the local people ²⁴  begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 21:13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking ²⁵  my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, ²⁶  but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

[10:31]  ¹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. See the notes on the phrases “Jewish people” in v. 19 and “Jewish leaders” in v. 24.

[10:39]  ² tc It is difficult to decide between ἐζήτουν οὖν (ezhtoun oun, “then they were seeking”; Ì⁶⁶ א A L W Ψ Ë^1,13 33 pm lat), ἐζήτουν δέ (ezhtoun de, “now they were seeking”; Ì⁴⁵ and a few versional witnesses), καὶ ἐζήτουν (kai ezhtoun, “and they were seeking”; D), and ἐζήτουν (Ì^75vid B Γ Θ 700 pm). Externally, the most viable readings are ἐζήτουν οὖν and ἐζήτουν. Transcriptionally, the οὖν could have dropped out via haplography since the verb ends in the same three letters. On the other hand, it is difficult to explain the readings with δέ or καί if ἐζήτουν οὖν is original; such readings would more likely have arisen from the simple ἐζήτουν. Intrinsically, John is fond of οὖν, using it some 200 times. Further, this Gospel begins relatively few sentences without some conjunction. The minimal support for the δέ and καί readings suggests that they arose either from the lone verb reading (which would thus be prior to their respective Vorlagen but not necessarily the earliest reading) or through carelessness on the part of the scribes. Indeed, the ancestors of Ì⁴⁵ and D may have committed haplography, leaving later scribes in the chain to guess at the conjunction needed. In sum, the best reading appears to be ἐζήτουν οὖν.

[10:39]  ³ tn Grk “they were seeking.”

[10:39]  ⁴ tn Grk “he departed out of their hand.”

[11:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 11. The psalmist rejects the advice to flee from his dangerous enemies. Instead he affirms his confidence in God’s just character and calls down judgment on evildoers.

[11:1]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.

[11:1]  ⁷ tn The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.

[11:1]  ⁸ tc The MT is corrupt here. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads: “flee [masculine plural!] to your [masculine plural!] mountain, bird.” The Qere (marginal reading) has “flee” in a feminine singular form, agreeing grammatically with the addressee, the feminine noun “bird.” Rather than being a second masculine plural pronominal suffix, the ending כֶם- (-khem) attached to “mountain” is better interpreted as a second feminine singular pronominal suffix followed by an enclitic mem (ם). “Bird” may be taken as vocative (“O bird”) or as an adverbial accusative of manner (“like a bird”). Either way, the psalmist’s advisers compare him to a helpless bird whose only option in the face of danger is to fly away to an inaccessible place.

[11:2]  ⁹ tn In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and threaten his people (Ps 3:8).

[11:2]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form depicts the enemies’ hostile action as underway.

[11:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a bow.”

[11:2]  ¹² sn In the darkness. The enemies’ attack, the precise form of which is not indicated, is compared here to a night ambush by archers; the psalmist is defenseless against this deadly attack.

[11:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

[11:3]  ¹⁴ tn The precise meaning of this rare word is uncertain. An Ugaritic cognate is used of the “bottom” or “base” of a cliff or mountain (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47, 159). The noun appears in postbiblical Hebrew with the meaning “foundation” (see Jastrow 1636 s.v. שָׁת).

[11:3]  ¹⁵ tn The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense. Note the plural form “pure [of heart]” in the previous verse.

[11:3]  ¹⁶ sn The quotation of the advisers’ words (which begins in 11:1c) ends at this point. They advise the psalmist to flee because the enemy is poised to launch a deadly attack. In such a lawless and chaotic situation godly people like the psalmist can accomplish nothing, so they might as well retreat to a safe place.

[16:21]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “From then.”

[16:21]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[16:21]  ¹⁹ sn The necessity that the Son of Man suffer is the particular point that needed emphasis since for many 1st century Jews the Messiah was a glorious and powerful figure, not a suffering one.

[16:21]  ²⁰ tn Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[16:22]  ²¹ tn Grk “began to rebuke him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[16:22]  ²² tn Grk “Merciful to you.” A highly elliptical expression: “May God be merciful to you in sparing you from having to undergo [some experience]” (L&N 88.78). A contemporary English equivalent is “God forbid!”

[16:23]  ²³ tn Grk “people.”

[21:12]  ²⁴ tn Or “the people there.”

[21:13]  ²⁵ tn The term translated “breaking” as used by Josephus (Ant. 10.10.4 [10.207]) means to break something into pieces, but in its only NT use (it is a hapax legomenon) it is used figuratively (BDAG 972 s.v. συνθρύπτω).

[21:13]  ²⁶ tn L&N 18.13 has “to tie objects together – ‘to tie, to tie together, to tie up.’” The verb δέω (dew) is sometimes figurative for imprisonment (L&N 37.114), but it is preferable to translate it literally here in light of v. 11 where Agabus tied himself up with Paul’s belt.