Luke 12:47-48

12:47 That ¹  servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or do what his master asked ²  will receive a severe beating. 12:48 But the one who did not know his master’s will ³  and did things worthy of punishment ⁴  will receive a light beating. ⁵  From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, ⁶  and from the one who has been entrusted with much, ⁷  even more will be asked. ⁸ 

John 9:41

9:41 Jesus replied, ⁹  “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin, ¹⁰  but now because you claim that you can see, ¹¹  your guilt ¹²  remains.” ¹³ 

John 13:17

13:17 If you understand ¹⁴  these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

John 15:22

15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. ¹⁵  But they no longer have any excuse for their sin.

Romans 1:20-21

1:20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people ¹⁶  are without excuse. 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts ¹⁷  were darkened.

Romans 1:32

1:32 Although they fully know ¹⁸  God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, ¹⁹  they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them. ²⁰ 

Romans 2:17-23

The Condemnation of the Jew

2:17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law ²¹  and boast of your relationship to God ²²  2:18 and know his will ²³  and approve the superior things because you receive instruction from the law, ²⁴  2:19 and if you are convinced ²⁵  that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 2:20 an educator of the senseless, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the essential features of knowledge and of the truth – 2:21 therefore ²⁶  you who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 2:22 You who tell others not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor ²⁷  idols, do you rob temples? 2:23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by transgressing the law!

Romans 7:13

7:13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

[12:47]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:47]  ² tn Grk “or do according to his will”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity. This example deals with the slave who knew what the command was and yet failed to complete it.

[12:48]  ³ tn Grk “did not know”; the phrase “his master’s will” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the contemporary English reader.

[12:48]  ⁴ tn Grk “blows.”

[12:48]  ⁵ tn Grk “will receive few (blows).”

[12:48]  ⁶ tn Grk “required from him”; but the words “from him” are redundant in English and have not been translated.

[12:48]  ⁷ sn Entrusted with much. To be gifted with precious responsibility is something that requires faithfulness.

[12:48]  ⁸ tn Grk “they will ask even more.”

[9:41]  ⁹ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[9:41]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “you would not have sin.”

[9:41]  ¹¹ tn Grk “now because you say, ‘We see…’”

[9:41]  ¹² tn Or “your sin.”

[9:41]  ¹³ sn Because you claim that you can see, your guilt remains. The blind man received sight physically, and this led him to see spiritually as well. But the Pharisees, who claimed to possess spiritual sight, were spiritually blinded. The reader might recall Jesus’ words to Nicodemus in 3:10, “Are you the teacher of Israel and don’t understand these things?” In other words, to receive Jesus was to receive the light of the world, to reject him was to reject the light, close one’s eyes, and become blind. This is the serious sin of which Jesus had warned before (8:21-24). The blindness of such people was incurable since they had rejected the only cure that exists (cf. 12:39-41).

[13:17]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “If you know.”

[15:22]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “they would not have sin” (an idiom).

[1:20]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “they”; the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:21]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “heart.”

[1:32]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “who, knowing…, not only do them but also approve…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:32]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “are worthy of death.”

[1:32]  ²⁰ sn “Vice lists” like vv. 28-32 can be found elsewhere in the NT in Matt 15:19; Gal 5:19-21; 1 Tim 1:9-10; and 1 Pet 4:3. An example from the intertestamental period can be found in Wis 14:25-26.

[2:17]  ²¹ sn The law refers to the Mosaic law, described mainly in the OT books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

[2:17]  ²² tn Grk “boast in God.” This may be an allusion to Jer 9:24.

[2:18]  ²³ tn Grk “the will.”

[2:18]  ²⁴ tn Grk “because of being instructed out of the law.”

[2:19]  ²⁵ tn This verb is parallel to the verbs in vv. 17-18a, so it shares the conditional meaning even though the word “if” is not repeated.

[2:21]  ²⁶ tn The structure of vv. 21-24 is difficult. Some take these verses as the apodosis of the conditional clauses (protases) in vv. 17-20; others see vv. 17-20 as an instance of anacoluthon (a broken off or incomplete construction).

[2:22]  ²⁷ tn Or “detest.”