Malachi 2:14

2:14 Yet you ask, “Why?” The Lord is testifying against you on behalf of the wife you married when you were young, ¹  to whom you have become unfaithful even though she is your companion and wife by law. ² 

Psalms 50:7

50:7 He says: ³ 

“Listen my people! I am speaking!

Listen Israel! I am accusing you! ⁴ 

I am God, your God!

Psalms 81:8

81:8 I said, ⁵  ‘Listen, my people!

I will warn ⁶  you!

O Israel, if only you would obey me! ⁷ 

Jeremiah 29:23

29:23 This will happen to them because they have done what is shameful ⁸  in Israel. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken lies while claiming my authority. ⁹  They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. I know what they have done. I have been a witness to it,’ says the Lord.” ¹⁰ 

Micah 1:2

The Judge is Coming

1:2 Listen, all you nations! ¹¹ 

Pay attention, all inhabitants of earth! ¹² 

The sovereign Lord will testify ¹³  against you;

the Lord will accuse you ¹⁴  from his majestic palace. ¹⁵ 

Matthew 23:14-35

23:14 [[EMPTY]] ¹⁶ 

23:15 “Woe to you, experts in the law ¹⁷  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, ¹⁸  and when you get one, ¹⁹  you make him twice as much a child of hell ²⁰  as yourselves!

23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. ²¹  But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’ 23:17 Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 23:18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. ²²  But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’ 23:19 You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 23:20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 23:21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. 23:22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.

23:23 “Woe to you, experts in the law ²³  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth ²⁴  of mint, dill, and cumin, ²⁵  yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You ²⁶  should have done these things without neglecting the others. 23:24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel! ²⁷ 

23:25 “Woe to you, experts in the law ²⁸  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 23:26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, ²⁹  so that the outside may become clean too!

23:27 “Woe to you, experts in the law ³⁰  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. ³¹  23:28 In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

23:29 “Woe to you, experts in the law ³²  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You ³³  build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves ³⁴  of the righteous. 23:30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, ³⁵  we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 23:31 By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 23:32 Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! 23:33 You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? ³⁶ 

23:34 “For this reason I ³⁷  am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, ³⁸  some of whom you will kill and crucify, ³⁹  and some you will flog ⁴⁰  in your synagogues ⁴¹  and pursue from town to town, 23:35 so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, ⁴²  whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

[2:14]  ¹ tn Heb “the Lord is a witness between you and [between] the wife of your youth.”

[2:14]  ² sn Though there is no explicit reference to marriage vows in the OT (but see Job 7:13; Prov 2:17; Ezek 16:8), the term law (Heb “covenant”) here asserts that such vows or agreements must have existed. References to divorce documents (e.g., Deut 24:1-3; Jer 3:8) also presuppose the existence of marriage documents.

[50:7]  ³ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s charges against his people follow.

[50:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “Israel, and I will testify against you.” The imperative “listen” is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[81:8]  ⁵ tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Verses 8-10 appear to recall what the Lord commanded the generation of Israelites that experienced the events described in v. 7. Note the statement in v. 11, “my people did not listen to me.”

[81:8]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps “command.”

[81:8]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew particle אִם (“if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (GKC 321 §109.b). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.

[29:23]  ⁸ tn It is commonly assumed that this word is explained by the two verbal actions that follow. The word (נְבָלָה, nÿvalah) is rather commonly used of sins of unchastity (cf., e.g., Gen 34:7; Judg 19:23; 2 Sam 13:12) which would fit the reference to adultery. However, the word is singular and not likely to cover both actions that follow. The word is also used of the greedy act of Achan (Josh 7:15) which threatened Israel with destruction and the churlish behavior of Nabal (1 Sam 25:25) which threatened him and his household with destruction. The word is also used of foolish talk in Isa 9:17 (9:16 HT) and Isa 32:6. It is possible that this refers to a separate act, one that would have brought the death penalty from Nebuchadnezzar, i.e., the preaching of rebellion in conformity with the message of the false prophets in Jerusalem and other nations (cf. 27:9, 13). Hence it is possible that the translation should read: “This will happen because of their vile conduct. They have propagated rebellion. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives. They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. They have spoken lies while claiming my authority.”

[29:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “prophesying lies in my name.” For an explanation of this idiom see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.

[29:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[1:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “O peoples, all of them.”

[1:2]  ¹² tn Heb “O earth and all its fullness”; KJV “and all that therein is.”

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “May the sovereign Lord testify against you.” The verb וִיהִי (vihiy) is jussive, which normally conveys a volitional sense of an urgent request or prayer (“may he testify!”). However, GKC 325-26 §109.k notes that here the jussive form is used without any volitional sense for the ordinary imperfect, as a rhythmic shortening at the beginning of a sentence, thus removed as far as possible from the principal accent (cf. Gen 49:17; Deut 28:8; 1 Sam 10:5; 2 Sam 5:24; Hos 6:1; 11:4; Amos 5:14; Zeph 2:13; Zech 9:5; Pss 72:16-17; 104:31; Job 18:12; 20:23, 26, 28; 27:8; 33:21; 34:37; Ruth 3:4). Thus, the translation here renders the jussive as an ordinary imperfect. Some translations render it in a traditional jussive sense: (1) urgent request: “And let my Lord God be your accuser” (NJPS); or (2) dependent purpose/result: “that the Sovereign Lord may witness against you” (NIV).

[1:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the Lord from his majestic palace.” Since the verb is omitted it is unclear whether the implied term be supplied from the preceding line (“he will testify against you”) or the following line (“he is leaving”). So the line may be rendered “the Lord will accuse you from his majestic temple” or “the Lord will come forth from his majestic temple.” Most translations render it literally, but some remove the ambiguity: “the Lord God accuses you from his holy temple” (CEV); “He speaks from his holy temple” (TEV).

[1:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “his holy temple” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This refers to the Lord’s dwelling in heaven, however, rather than the temple in Jerusalem (note the following verse, which describes a theophany).

[23:14]  ¹⁶ tc The most important mss (א B D L Z Θ Ë¹ 33 892* pc and several versional witnesses) do not have 23:14 “Woe to you experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ property, and as a show you pray long prayers! Therefore you will receive a more severe punishment.” Part or all of the verse is contained (either after v. 12 or after v. 13) in W 0102 0107 ˹³ Ï and several versions, but it is almost certainly not original. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number as well, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations. Note also that Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47 are very similar in wording and are not disputed textually.

[23:15]  ¹⁷ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:15]  ¹⁸ tn Or “one proselyte.”

[23:15]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “when he becomes [one].”

[23:15]  ²⁰ tn Grk “a son of Gehenna.” Expressions constructed with υἱός (Juios) followed by a genitive of class or kind denote a person belonging to the class or kind specified by the following genitive (L&N 9.4). Thus the phrase here means “a person who belongs to hell.”

[23:16]  ²¹ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing.”

[23:18]  ²² tn Grk “Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing.”

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

[23:23]  ²⁴ tn Or “you tithe mint.”

[23:23]  ²⁵ sn Cumin (alternately spelled cummin) was an aromatic herb native to the Mediterranean region. Its seeds were used for seasoning.

[23:23]  ²⁶ tc ‡ Many witnesses (B C K L W Δ 0102 33 565 892 pm) have δέ (de, “but”) after ταῦτα (tauta, “these things”), while many others lack it (א D Γ Θ Ë^1,13 579 700 1241 1424 pm). Since asyndeton was relatively rare in Koine Greek, the conjunction may be an intentional alteration, and is thus omitted from the present translation. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[23:24]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Blind guides who strain out a gnat yet who swallow a camel!”

[23:25]  ²⁸ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:26]  ²⁹ tc A very difficult textual problem is found here. The most important Alexandrian and Byzantine, as well as significant Western, witnesses (א B C L W 0102 0281 ˹³ 33 Ï lat co) have “and the dish” (καὶ τῆς παροψίδος, kai th" paroyido") after “cup,” while few important witnesses (D Θ Ë¹ 700 and some versional and patristic authorities) omit the phrase. On the one hand, scribes sometimes tended to eliminate redundancy; since “and the dish” is already present in v. 25, it may have been deleted in v. 26 by well-meaning scribes. On the other hand, as B. M. Metzger notes, the singular pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou, “its”) with τὸ ἐκτός (to ekto", “the outside”) in some of the same witnesses that have the longer reading (viz., B* ˹³ al) hints that their archetype lacked the words (TCGNT 50). Further, scribes would be motivated both to add the phrase from v. 25 and to change αὐτοῦ to the plural pronoun αὐτῶν (aujtwn, “their”). Although the external evidence for the shorter reading is not compelling in itself, combined with these two prongs of internal evidence, it is to be slightly preferred.

[23:27]  ³⁰ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:27]  ³¹ sn This was an idiom for hypocrisy – just as the wall was painted on the outside but something different on the inside, so this person was not what he appeared or pretended to be (for discussion of a similar metaphor, see L&N 88.234; BDAG 1010 s.v. τοῖχος). See Deut 28:22; Ezek 13:10-16; Acts 23:3.

[23:29]  ³² tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:29]  ³³ tn Grk “Because you.” Here ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated.

[23:29]  ³⁴ tn Or perhaps “the monuments” (see L&N 7.75-76).

[23:30]  ³⁵ tn Grk “fathers” (so also in v. 32).

[23:33]  ³⁶ tn Grk “the judgment of Gehenna.”

[23:34]  ³⁷ tn Grk “behold I am sending.” 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).

[23:34]  ³⁸ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:34]  ³⁹ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[23:34]  ⁴⁰ tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”

[23:34]  ⁴¹ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[23:35]  ⁴² sn Spelling of this name (Βαραχίου, Baraciou) varies among the English versions: “Barachiah” (RSV, NRSV); “Berechiah” (NASB); “Berachiah” (NIV).