Matthew 13:19

13:19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one ¹  comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; ²  this is the seed sown along the path.

Genesis 3:15

3:15 And I will put hostility ³  between you and the woman

and between your offspring and her offspring; ⁴ 

her offspring will attack ⁵  your head,

and ⁶  you ⁷  will attack her offspring’s heel.” ⁸ 

John 8:44

8:44 You people ⁹  are from ¹⁰  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ¹¹  He ¹²  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ¹³  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ¹⁴  he speaks according to his own nature, ¹⁵  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ¹⁶ 

Acts 13:10

13:10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing, ¹⁷  you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness – will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ¹⁸ 

Philippians 3:18-19

3:18 For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. 3:19 Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things. ¹⁹ 

Philippians 3:1

True and False Righteousness

3:1 Finally, my brothers and sisters, ²⁰  rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

Philippians 3:8

3:8 More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! ²¹  – that I may gain Christ,

Philippians 3:10

3:10 My aim is to know him, ²²  to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, ²³  and to be like him in his death,

[13:19]  ¹ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Mark 4:15 has “Satan,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

[13:19]  ² sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.

[3:15]  ³ tn The Hebrew word translated “hostility” is derived from the root אֵיב (’ev, “to be hostile, to be an adversary [or enemy]”). The curse announces that there will be continuing hostility between the serpent and the woman. The serpent will now live in a “battle zone,” as it were.

[3:15]  ⁴ sn The Hebrew word translated “offspring” is a collective singular. The text anticipates the ongoing struggle between human beings (the woman’s offspring) and deadly poisonous snakes (the serpent’s offspring). An ancient Jewish interpretation of the passage states: “He made the serpent, cause of the deceit, press the earth with belly and flank, having bitterly driven him out. He aroused a dire enmity between them. The one guards his head to save it, the other his heel, for death is at hand in the proximity of men and malignant poisonous snakes.” See Sib. Or. 1:59-64. For a similar interpretation see Josephus, Ant. 1.1.4 (1.50-51).

[3:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “he will attack [or “bruise”] you [on] the head.” The singular pronoun and verb agree grammatically with the collective singular noun “offspring.” For other examples of singular verb and pronominal forms being used with the collective singular “offspring,” see Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60. The word “head” is an adverbial accusative, locating the blow. A crushing blow to the head would be potentially fatal.

[3:15]  ⁶ tn Or “but you will…”; or “as they attack your head, you will attack their heel.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is understood as contrastive. Both clauses place the subject before the verb, a construction that is sometimes used to indicate synchronic action (see Judg 15:14).

[3:15]  ⁷ sn You will attack her offspring’s heel. Though the conflict will actually involve the serpent’s offspring (snakes) and the woman’s offspring (human beings), v. 15b for rhetorical effect depicts the conflict as being between the serpent and the woman’s offspring, as if the serpent will outlive the woman. The statement is personalized for the sake of the addressee (the serpent) and reflects the ancient Semitic concept of corporate solidarity, which emphasizes the close relationship between a progenitor and his offspring. Note Gen 28:14, where the Lord says to Jacob, “Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you [second masculine singular] will spread out in all directions.” Jacob will “spread out” in all directions through his offspring, but the text states the matter as if this will happen to him personally.

[3:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “you will attack him [on] the heel.” The verb (translated “attack”) is repeated here, a fact that is obscured by some translations (e.g., NIV “crush…strike”). The singular pronoun agrees grammatically with the collective singular noun “offspring.” For other examples of singular verb and pronominal forms being used with the collective singular “offspring,” see Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60. The word “heel” is an adverbial accusative, locating the blow. A bite on the heel from a poisonous serpent is potentially fatal.

[8:44]  ⁹ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44]  ¹⁰ tn Many translations read “You are of your father the devil” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB) or “You belong to your father, the devil” (NIV), but the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek) emphasizes the idea of source or origin. Jesus said his opponents were the devil’s very offspring (a statement which would certainly infuriate them).

[8:44]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

[8:44]  ¹² tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

[8:44]  ¹³ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

[8:44]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”

[13:10]  ¹⁷ tn Or “unscrupulousness.”

[13:10]  ¹⁸ sn “You who…paths of the Lord?” This rebuke is like ones from the OT prophets: Jer 5:27; Gen 32:11; Prov 10:7; Hos 14:9. Five separate remarks indicate the magician’s failings. The closing rhetorical question of v. 10 (“will you not stop…?”) shows how opposed he is to the way of God.

[3:19]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly and glory is their shame, these who think of earthly things.”

[3:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[3:8]  ²¹ tn The word here translated “dung” was often used in Greek as a vulgar term for fecal matter. As such it would most likely have had a certain shock value for the readers. This may well be Paul’s meaning here, especially since the context is about what the flesh produces.

[3:10]  ²² tn The articular infinitive τοῦ γνῶναι (tou gnwnai, “to know”) here expresses purpose. The words “My aim is” have been supplied in the translation to emphasize this nuance and to begin a new sentence (shorter sentences are more appropriate for English style).

[3:10]  ²³ tn Grk “to know him, the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings.”