Luke 19:39-40

19:39 But ¹  some of the Pharisees ²  in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” ³  19:40 He answered, ⁴  “I tell you, if they ⁵  keep silent, the very stones ⁶  will cry out!”

Malachi 2:7

2:7 For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge of sacred things, and people should seek instruction from him ⁷  because he is the messenger of the Lord who rules over all.

Matthew 23:13

23:13 “But woe to you, experts in the law ⁸  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! ⁹  You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! ¹⁰  For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.

John 7:47-52

7:47 Then the Pharisees answered, ¹¹  “You haven’t been deceived too, have you? ¹²  7:48 None of the rulers ¹³  or the Pharisees have believed in him, have they? ¹⁴  7:49 But this rabble ¹⁵  who do not know the law are accursed!”

7:50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus ¹⁶  before and who was one of the rulers, ¹⁷  said, ¹⁸  7:51 “Our law doesn’t condemn ¹⁹  a man unless it first hears from him and learns ²⁰  what he is doing, does it?” ²¹  7:52 They replied, ²²  “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you? ²³  Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet ²⁴  comes from Galilee!”

John 9:24-34

9:24 Then they summoned ²⁵  the man who used to be blind ²⁶  a second time and said to him, “Promise before God to tell the truth. ²⁷  We know that this man ²⁸  is a sinner.” 9:25 He replied, ²⁹  “I do not know whether he is a sinner. I do know one thing – that although I was blind, now I can see.” 9:26 Then they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he cause you to see?” ³⁰  9:27 He answered, ³¹  “I told you already and you didn’t listen. ³²  Why do you want to hear it ³³  again? You people ³⁴  don’t want to become his disciples too, do you?”

9:28 They ³⁵  heaped insults ³⁶  on him, saying, ³⁷  “You are his disciple! ³⁸  We are disciples of Moses! 9:29 We know that God has spoken to Moses! We do not know where this man ³⁹  comes from!” 9:30 The man replied, ⁴⁰  “This is a remarkable thing, ⁴¹  that you don’t know where he comes from, and yet he caused me to see! ⁴²  9:31 We know that God doesn’t listen to ⁴³  sinners, but if anyone is devout ⁴⁴  and does his will, God ⁴⁵  listens to ⁴⁶  him. ⁴⁷  9:32 Never before ⁴⁸  has anyone heard of someone causing a man born blind to see. ⁴⁹  9:33 If this man ⁵⁰  were not from God, he could do nothing.” 9:34 They replied, ⁵¹  “You were born completely in sinfulness, ⁵²  and yet you presume to teach us?” ⁵³  So they threw him out.

Acts 4:17-18

4:17 But to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more ⁵⁴  to anyone in this name.” 4:18 And they called them in and ordered ⁵⁵  them not to speak or teach at all in the name ⁵⁶  of Jesus.

Acts 5:40

5:40 and they summoned the apostles and had them beaten. ⁵⁷  Then ⁵⁸  they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.

[19:39]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context. Not all present are willing to join in the acclamation.

[19:39]  ² sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[19:39]  ³ sn Teacher, rebuke your disciples. The Pharisees were complaining that the claims were too great.

[19:40]  ⁴ tn Grk “and answering, he said.” This has been simplified in the translation to “He answered.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:40]  ⁵ tn Grk “these.”

[19:40]  ⁶ sn This statement amounts to a rebuke. The idiom of creation speaking means that even creation knows what is taking place, yet the Pharisees miss it. On this idiom, see Gen 4:10 and Hab 2:11.

[2:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “from his mouth” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[23:13]  ⁸ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “Woe to you…because you…” The causal particle ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated here for rhetorical effect (and so throughout this chapter).

[23:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “because you are closing the kingdom of heaven before people.”

[7:47]  ¹¹ tn Grk “answered them.”

[7:47]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “crowd.” “Rabble” is a good translation here because the remark by the Pharisees is so derogatory.

[7:50]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:50]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “who was one of them”; the referent (the rulers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:50]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “said to them.”

[7:51]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “judge.”

[7:51]  ²⁰ tn Grk “knows.”

[7:51]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

[7:52]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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.

[9:24]  ²⁵ tn Grk “they called.”

[9:24]  ²⁶ tn Grk “who was blind.”

[9:24]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Give glory to God” (an idiomatic formula used in placing someone under oath to tell the truth).

[9:24]  ²⁸ tn The phrase “this man” is a reference to Jesus.

[9:25]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Then that one answered.”

[9:26]  ³⁰ tn Grk “open your eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[9:27]  ³¹ tn Grk “He answered them.” The indirect object αὐτοῖς (autois) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[9:27]  ³² tn Grk “you did not hear.”

[9:27]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[9:28]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn The Greek word means “to insult strongly” or “slander.”

[9:28]  ³⁷ tn Grk “and said.”

[9:28]  ³⁸ tn Grk “You are that one’s disciple.”

[9:29]  ³⁹ tn Grk “where this one.”

[9:30]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “The man answered and said to them.” This has been simplified in the translation to “The man replied.”

[9:30]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “For in this is a remarkable thing.”

[9:30]  ⁴² tn Grk “and he opened my eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[9:31]  ⁴³ tn Grk “God does not hear.”

[9:31]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “godly.”

[9:31]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:31]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “hears.”

[9:31]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “this one.”

[9:32]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “Never from the beginning of time,” Grk “From eternity.”

[9:32]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “someone opening the eyes of a man born blind” (“opening the eyes” is an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[9:33]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “this one.”

[9:34]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.” This has been simplified in the translation to “They replied.”

[9:34]  ⁵² tn Or “From birth you have been evil.” The implication of this insult, in the context of John 9, is that the man whom Jesus caused to see had not previously adhered rigorously to all the conventional requirements of the OT law as interpreted by the Pharisees. Thus he had no right to instruct them about who Jesus was.

[9:34]  ⁵³ tn Grk “and are you teaching us?”

[4:17]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “speak no longer.”

[4:18]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “commanded.”

[4:18]  ⁵⁶ sn In the name of Jesus. Once again, the “name” reflects the person. The person of Jesus and his authority is the “troubling” topic that, as far as the Jewish leadership is concerned, needs controlling.

[5:40]  ⁵⁷ sn Had them beaten. The punishment was the “forty lashes minus one,” see also Acts 22:19; 2 Cor 11:24; Mark 13:9. The apostles had disobeyed the religious authorities and took their punishment for their “disobedience” (Deut 25:2-3; m. Makkot 3:10-14). In Acts 4:18 they were warned. Now they are beaten. The hostility is rising as the narrative unfolds.

[5:40]  ⁵⁸ tn The word “Then” is supplied as the beginning of a new sentence in the translation. The construction in Greek has so many clauses (most of them made up of participles) that a continuous English sentence would be very awkward.