John 7:46-52

7:46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 7:47 Then the Pharisees answered, ¹  “You haven’t been deceived too, have you? ²  7:48 None of the rulers ³  or the Pharisees have believed in him, have they? ⁴  7:49 But this rabble ⁵  who do not know the law are accursed!”

7:50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus ⁶  before and who was one of the rulers, ⁷  said, ⁸  7:51 “Our law doesn’t condemn ⁹  a man unless it first hears from him and learns ¹⁰  what he is doing, does it?” ¹¹  7:52 They replied, ¹²  “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you? ¹³  Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet ¹⁴  comes from Galilee!”

John 8:47

8:47 The one who belongs to ¹⁵  God listens and responds ¹⁶  to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond, ¹⁷  because you don’t belong to God.” ¹⁸ 

John 9:28-29

9:28 They ¹⁹  heaped insults ²⁰  on him, saying, ²¹  “You are his disciple! ²²  We are disciples of Moses! 9:29 We know that God has spoken to Moses! We do not know where this man ²³  comes from!”

Isaiah 53:8

53:8 He was led away after an unjust trial ²⁴  –

but who even cared? ²⁵ 

Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; ²⁶ 

because of the rebellion of his own ²⁷  people he was wounded.

Acts 18:14-15

18:14 But just as Paul was about to speak, ²⁸  Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy, ²⁹  I would have been justified in accepting the complaint ³⁰  of you Jews, ³¹  18:15 but since it concerns points of disagreement ³²  about words and names and your own law, settle ³³  it yourselves. I will not be ³⁴  a judge of these things!”

Acts 25:19-20

25:19 Rather they had several points of disagreement ³⁵  with him about their own religion ³⁶  and about a man named Jesus ³⁷  who was dead, whom Paul claimed ³⁸  to be alive. 25:20 Because I was at a loss ³⁹  how I could investigate these matters, ⁴⁰  I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried ⁴¹  there on these charges. ⁴² 

Acts 26:30-32

26:30 So the king got up, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them, 26:31 and as they were leaving they said to one another, ⁴³  “This man is not doing anything deserving ⁴⁴  death or imprisonment.” 26:32 Agrippa ⁴⁵  said to Festus, ⁴⁶  “This man could have been released ⁴⁷  if he had not appealed to Caesar.” ⁴⁸ 

[7:47]  ¹ tn Grk “answered them.”

[7:47]  ² tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “have you?”).

[7:48]  ³ sn The chief priests and Pharisees (John 7:45) is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. Likewise the term ruler here denotes a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in John 3:1, and Nicodemus also speaks up in this episode (John 7:50).

[7:48]  ⁴ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “have they?”).

[7:49]  ⁵ tn Grk “crowd.” “Rabble” is a good translation here because the remark by the Pharisees is so derogatory.

[7:50]  ⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:50]  ⁷ tn Grk “who was one of them”; the referent (the rulers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:50]  ⁸ tn Grk “said to them.”

[7:51]  ⁹ tn Grk “judge.”

[7:51]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “knows.”

[7:51]  ¹¹ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does it?”).

[7:52]  ¹² tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

[7:52]  ¹³ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).

[7:52]  ¹⁴ tc At least one early and important ms (Ì^66*) places the article before “prophet” (ὁ προφήτης, Jo profhths), making this a reference to the “prophet like Moses” mentioned in Deut 18:15.

[8:47]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “who is of.”

[8:47]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “to God hears” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).

[8:47]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “you do not hear” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).

[8:47]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “you are not of God.”

[9:28]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And they.” 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.

[9:28]  ²⁰ tn The Greek word means “to insult strongly” or “slander.”

[9:28]  ²¹ tn Grk “and said.”

[9:28]  ²² tn Grk “You are that one’s disciple.”

[9:29]  ²³ tn Grk “where this one.”

[53:8]  ²⁴ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The present translation assumes that מִן (min) here has an instrumental sense (“by, through”) and understands עֹצֶר וּמִמִּשְׁפָּט (’otser umimmishpat, “coercion and legal decision”) as a hendiadys meaning “coercive legal decision,” thus “an unjust trial.” Other interpretive options include: (1) “without [for this sense of מִן, see BDB 578 s.v. 1.b] hindrance and proper judicial process,” i.e., “unfairly and with no one to defend him,” (2) “from [in the sense of “after,” see BDB 581 s.v. 4.b] arrest and judgment.”

[53:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and his generation, who considers?” (NASB similar). Some understand “his generation” as a reference to descendants. In this case the question would suggest that he will have none. However, אֶת (’et) may be taken here as specifying a new subject (see BDB 85 s.v. I אֵת 3). If “his generation” refers to the servant’s contemporary generation, one may then translate, “As for his contemporary generation, who took note?” The point would be that few were concerned about the harsh treatment he received.

[53:8]  ²⁶ sn The “land of the living” is an idiom for the sphere where people live, in contrast to the underworld realm of the dead. See, for example, Ezek 32:23-27.

[53:8]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew text reads “my people,” a reading followed by most English versions, but this is problematic in a context where the first person plural predominates, and where God does not appear to speak again until v. 11b. Therefore, it is preferable to read with the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a עמו (“his people”). In this case, the group speaking in these verses is identified as the servant’s people (compare פְּשָׁעֵנוּ [pÿsha’enu, “our rebellious deeds”] in v. 5 with פֶּשַׁע עַמִּי [pesha’ ’ammi, “the rebellion of his people”] in v. 8).

[18:14]  ²⁸ tn Grk “about to open his mouth” (an idiom).

[18:14]  ²⁹ tn BDAG 902 s.v. ῥᾳδιούργημα states, “From the sense ‘prank, knavery, roguish trick, slick deed’ it is but a short step to that of a serious misdeed, crime, villainy…a serious piece of villainy Ac 18:14 (w. ἀδίκημα).”

[18:14]  ³⁰ tn According to BDAG 78 s.v. ἀνέχω 3 this is a legal technical term: “Legal t.t. κατὰ λόγον ἂν ἀνεσχόμην ὑμῶν I would have been justified in accepting your complaint Ac 18:14.”

[18:14]  ³¹ tn Grk “accepting your complaint, O Jews.”

[18:15]  ³² tn Or “dispute.”

[18:15]  ³³ tn Grk “see to it” (an idiom).

[18:15]  ³⁴ tn Or “I am not willing to be.” Gallio would not adjudicate their religious dispute.

[25:19]  ³⁵ tn Grk “several controversial issues.” BDAG 428 s.v. ζήτημα states, “in our lit. only in Ac, w. the mng. it still has in Mod. Gk. (controversial) question, issue, argument…Ac 15:2; 26:3. ζ. περί τινος questions about someth.…18:15; 25:19.”

[25:19]  ³⁶ tn On this term see BDAG 216 s.v. δεισιδαιμονία 2. It is a broad term for religion.

[25:19]  ³⁷ tn Grk “a certain Jesus.”

[25:19]  ³⁸ tn Or “asserted.”

[25:20]  ³⁹ tn Or “Because I was undecided.” Grk “Being at a loss.” The participle ἀπορούμενος (aporoumeno") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[25:20]  ⁴⁰ tn L&N 27.34 states, “ἀπορούμενος δὲ ἐγὼ τὴν περὶ τούτων ζήτησιν ‘I was undecided about how I could get information on these matters’ Ac 25:20. The clause ‘about how I could get information on these matters’ may also be rendered as ‘about how I should try to find out about these matters’ or ‘about how I could learn about these matters.’”

[25:20]  ⁴¹ tn Or “stand trial.”

[25:20]  ⁴² tn Grk “on these things.”

[26:31]  ⁴³ tn Grk “they spoke to one another saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[26:31]  ⁴⁴ tn BDAG 93 s.v. ἄξιος 1.b has “θανάτου ἢ δεσμῶν ἄ. nothing deserving death or imprisonment 23:29; 26:31.”

[26:32]  ⁴⁵ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:32]  ⁴⁶ sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[26:32]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “set free.”

[26:32]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).