Leviticus 24:16

24:16 and one who misuses ¹  the name of the Lord must surely be put to death. The whole congregation must surely stone him, whether he is a foreigner or a native citizen; when he misuses the Name he must be put to death.

Leviticus 24:1

Regulations for the Lampstand and Table of Bread

24:1 The Lord spoke to Moses:

Leviticus 21:10-14

Rules for the High Priest

21:10 “‘The high ²  priest – who is greater than his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured, who has been ordained ³  to wear the priestly garments – must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments. ⁴  21:11 He must not go where there is any dead person; ⁵  he must not defile himself even for his father and his mother. 21:12 He must not go out from the sanctuary and must not profane ⁶  the sanctuary of his God, because the dedication of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the Lord. 21:13 He must take a wife who is a virgin. ⁷  21:14 He must not marry ⁸  a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people ⁹  as a wife.

Matthew 9:3

9:3 Then ¹⁰  some of the experts in the law ¹¹  said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!” ¹² 

Matthew 26:65

26:65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and declared, ¹³  “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Now ¹⁴  you have heard the blasphemy!

John 10:33

10:33 The Jewish leaders ¹⁵  replied, ¹⁶  “We are not going to stone you for a good deed ¹⁷  but for blasphemy, ¹⁸  because ¹⁹  you, a man, are claiming to be God.” ²⁰ 

Acts 6:11-13

6:11 Then they secretly instigated ²¹  some men to say, “We have heard this man ²²  speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 6:12 They incited the people, the ²³  elders, and the experts in the law; ²⁴  then they approached Stephen, ²⁵  seized him, and brought him before the council. ²⁶  6:13 They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place ²⁷  and the law. ²⁸ 

[24:16]  ¹ sn See the note on v. 11 above.

[21:10]  ² tn The adjective “high” has been supplied in the translation for clarity, as in many English versions.

[21:10]  ³ tn Heb “and he has filled his hand.” For this expression see the note on Lev 8:33.

[21:10]  ⁴ tn Regarding these signs of mourning see the note on Lev 10:6. His head had been anointed (v. 10a) so it must not be unkempt (v. 10b), and his garments were special priestly garments (v. 10a) so he must not tear them (v. 10b). In the translation “garments” has been employed rather than “clothes” to suggest that the special priestly garments are referred to here; cf. NRSV “nor tear his vestments.”

[21:11]  ⁵ tc Although the MT has “persons” (plural), the LXX and Syriac have the singular “person” corresponding to the singular adjectival participle “dead” (cf. also Num 6:6).

[21:12]  ⁶ sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.

[21:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “And he, a wife in her virginity he shall take.”

[21:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “take.” In context this means “take as wife,” i.e., “marry.”

[21:14]  ⁹ tc The MT has literally, “from his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “from his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.

[9:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the narrative.

[9:3]  ¹¹ tn Or “some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[9:3]  ¹² sn Blaspheming meant to say something that dishonored God. To claim divine prerogatives or claim to speak for God when one really does not would be such an act of offense. The remark raised directly the issue of the nature of Jesus’ ministry.

[26:65]  ¹³ tn Grk “the high priest tore his clothes, saying.”

[26:65]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Behold now.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[10:33]  ¹⁵ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here again the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. See the notes on the phrase “Jewish people” in v. 19 and “Jewish leaders” in vv. 24, 31.

[10:33]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “answered him.”

[10:33]  ¹⁷ tn Or “good work.”

[10:33]  ¹⁸ sn This is the first time the official charge of blasphemy is voiced openly in the Fourth Gospel (although it was implicit in John 8:59).

[10:33]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and because.”

[10:33]  ²⁰ tn Grk “you, a man, make yourself to be God.”

[6:11]  ²¹ tn Another translation would be “they suborned” (but this term is not in common usage). “Instigate (secretly), suborn” is given by BDAG 1036 s.v. ὑποβάλλω.

[6:11]  ²² tn Grk “heard him”; but since this is direct discourse, it is more natural (and clearer) to specify the referent (Stephen) as “this man.”

[6:12]  ²³ tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[6:12]  ²⁴ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 4:5.

[6:12]  ²⁵ tn Grk “approaching, they seized him”; the referent (Stephen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:12]  ²⁶ tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). Stephen suffers just as Peter and John did.

[6:13]  ²⁷ sn This holy place is a reference to the temple.

[6:13]  ²⁸ sn The law refers to the law of Moses. It elaborates the nature of the blasphemy in v. 11. To speak against God’s law in Torah was to blaspheme God (Deut 28:15-19). On the Jewish view of false witnesses, see Exod 19:16-18; 20:16; m. Sanhedrin 3.6; 5.1-5. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 may indicate why the temple was mentioned.