Matthew 12:41

12:41 The people ¹  of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them ²  – and now, ³  something greater than Jonah is here!

Matthew 21:28-32

The Parable of the Two Sons

21:28 “What ⁴  do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 21:29 The boy answered, ⁵  ‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heart ⁶  and went. 21:30 The father ⁷  went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, ⁸  ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. 21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” ⁹  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, ¹⁰  tax collectors ¹¹  and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God! 21:32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although ¹²  you saw this, you did not later change your minds ¹³  and believe him.

Jeremiah 8:6

8:6 I have listened to them very carefully, ¹⁴ 

but they do not speak honestly.

None of them regrets the evil he has done.

None of them says, “I have done wrong!” ¹⁵ 

All of them persist in their own wayward course ¹⁶ 

like a horse charging recklessly into battle.

Acts 17:20

17:20 For you are bringing some surprising things ¹⁷  to our ears, so we want to know what they ¹⁸  mean.”

Acts 17:2

17:2 Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, ¹⁹  as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed ²⁰  them from the scriptures,

Acts 2:25-26

2:25 For David says about him,

‘I saw the Lord always in front of me, ²¹ 

for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.

2:26 Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced;

my body ²²  also will live in hope,

Revelation 2:21

2:21 I ²³  have given her time to repent, but ²⁴  she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality.

Revelation 9:20-21

9:20 The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made ²⁵  of gold, silver, ²⁶  bronze, stone, and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk about. 9:21 Furthermore, ²⁷  they did not repent of their murders, of their magic spells, ²⁸  of their sexual immorality, or of their stealing.

Revelation 16:9

16:9 Thus ²⁹  people ³⁰  were scorched by the terrible heat, ³¹  yet ³²  they blasphemed the name of God, who has ruling authority ³³  over these plagues, and they would not repent and give him glory.

Revelation 16:11

16:11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings ³⁴  and because of their sores, ³⁵  but nevertheless ³⁶  they still refused to repent ³⁷  of their deeds.

[12:41]  ¹ tn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anhr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1.a, 2).

[12:41]  ² tn Grk “at the preaching of Jonah.”

[12:41]  ³ tn Grk “behold.”

[21:28]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:29]  ⁵ tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here the referent (“the boy”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:29]  ⁶ tn The Greek text reads here μεταμέλομαι (metamelomai): “to change one’s mind about something, with the probable implication of regret” (L&N 31.59); cf. also BDAG 639 s.v. The idea in this context involves more than just a change of mind, for the son regrets his initial response. The same verb is used in v. 32.

[21:30]  ⁷ tn “And he”; here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:30]  ⁸ tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated. Here the referent (“this boy”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:31]  ⁹ tc Verses 29-31 involve a rather complex and difficult textual problem. The variants cluster into three different groups: (1) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. The second son is called the one who does his father’s will. This reading is found in the Western mss (D it). But the reading is so hard as to be nearly impossible. One can only suspect some tampering with the text, extreme carelessness on the part of the scribe, or possibly a recognition of the importance of not shaming one’s parent in public. (Any of these reasons is not improbable with this texttype, and with codex D in particular.) The other two major variants are more difficult to assess. Essentially, the responses make sense (the son who does his father’s will is the one who changes his mind after saying “no”): (2) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. But here, the first son is called the one who does his father’s will (unlike the Western reading). This is the reading found in (א) C L W (Z) 0102 0281 ˹ 33 Ï and several versional witnesses. (3) The first son says “yes” but does not go, and the second son says “no” but later has a change of heart. This is the reading found in B Θ Ë¹³ 700 and several versional witnesses. Both of these latter two readings make good sense and have significantly better textual support than the first reading. The real question, then, is this: Is the first son or the second the obedient one? If one were to argue simply from the parabolic logic, the second son would be seen as the obedient one (hence, the third reading). The first son would represent the Pharisees (or Jews) who claim to obey God, but do not (cf. Matt 23:3). This accords well with the parable of the prodigal son (in which the oldest son represents the unbelieving Jews). Further, the chronological sequence of the second son being obedient fits well with the real scene: Gentiles and tax collectors and prostitutes were not, collectively, God’s chosen people, but they did repent and come to God, while the Jewish leaders claimed to be obedient to God but did nothing. At the same time, the external evidence is weaker for this reading (though stronger than the first reading), not as widespread, and certainly suspect because of how neatly it fits. One suspects scribal manipulation at this point. Thus the second reading looks to be superior to the other two on both external and transcriptional grounds. But what about intrinsic evidence? One can surmise that Jesus didn’t always give predictable responses. In this instance, he may well have painted a picture in which the Pharisees saw themselves as the first son, only to stun them with his application (v. 32).

[21:31]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[21:31]  ¹¹ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

[21:32]  ¹² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:32]  ¹³ sn The word translated change your minds is the same verb used in v. 29 (there translated had a change of heart). Jesus is making an obvious comparison here, in which the religious leaders are viewed as the disobedient son.

[8:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I have paid attention and I have listened.” This is another case of two concepts being joined by “and” where one expresses the main idea and the other acts as an adverbial or adjectival modifier (a figure called hendiadys).

[8:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “What have I done?” The addition of the word “wrong” is implicit in the context and is supplied in the translation for clarity. The rhetorical question does not function as a denial of wrongdoing, but rather as contrite shock at one’s own wrongdoing. It is translated as a declaration for the sake of clarity.

[8:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “each one of them turns aside into their own running course.”

[17:20]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 684 s.v. ξενίζω 2 translates the substantival participle ξενίζοντα (xenizonta) as “astonishing things Ac 17:20.”

[17:20]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “these things”; but since the referent (“surprising things”) is so close, the repetition of “these things” sounds redundant in English, so the pronoun “they” was substituted in the translation.

[17:2]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “he went in to them”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:2]  ²⁰ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 17:2. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[2:25]  ²¹ tn Or “always before me.”

[2:26]  ²² tn Grk “my flesh.”

[2:21]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.

[2:21]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to bring out the contrast present in this woman’s obstinate refusal to repent.

[9:20]  ²⁵ tn The word “made” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[9:20]  ²⁶ tn The Greek conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following materials in this list, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[9:21]  ²⁷ tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation, with “furthermore” used to indicate a continuation of the preceding.

[9:21]  ²⁸ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”

[16:9]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “thus” to indicate the implied result of the bowl poured on the sun.

[16:9]  ³⁰ tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") and refers to both men and women.

[16:9]  ³¹ tn On this phrase BDAG 536 s.v. καῦμα states, “burning, heat Rv 7:16…καυματίζεσθαι κ. μέγα be burned with a scorching heat 16:9.”

[16:9]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[16:9]  ³³ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[16:11]  ³⁴ tn Grk “pains” (the same term in Greek [πόνος, ponos] as the last word in v. 11, here translated “sufferings” because it is plural). BDAG 852 s.v. 2 states, “ἐκ τοῦ π. in pain…Rv 16:10; pl. (Gen 41:51; Jos., C. Ap. 2, 146; Test. Jud. 18:4) ἐκ τῶν π. …because of their sufferings vs. 11.”

[16:11]  ³⁵ tn Or “ulcerated sores” (see 16:2).

[16:11]  ³⁶ tn Grk “and they did not repent.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but nevertheless” to express the contrast here.

[16:11]  ³⁷ tn Grk “they did not repent” The addition of “still refused” reflects the hardness of people’s hearts in the context.