Matthew 13:41-42

13:41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers. ¹  13:42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, ²  where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 23:13-28

23:13 “But woe to you, experts in the law ³  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! ⁴  You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! ⁵  For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.

23:14 [[EMPTY]] ⁶ 

23:15 “Woe to you, experts in the law ⁷  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, ⁸  and when you get one, ⁹  you make him twice as much a child of hell ¹⁰  as yourselves!

23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. ¹¹  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. ¹²  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 ¹³  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth ¹⁴  of mint, dill, and cumin, ¹⁵  yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You ¹⁶  should have done these things without neglecting the others. 23:24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel! ¹⁷ 

23:25 “Woe to you, experts in the law ¹⁸  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, ¹⁹  so that the outside may become clean too!

23:27 “Woe to you, experts in the law ²⁰  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. ²¹  23:28 In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Matthew 26:24

26:24 The Son of Man will go as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had never been born.”

John 17:12

17:12 When I was with them I kept them safe ²²  and watched over them ²³  in your name ²⁴  that you have given me. Not one ²⁵  of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, ²⁶  so that the scripture could be fulfilled. ²⁷ 

Acts 1:18-20

1:18 (Now this man Judas ²⁸  acquired a field with the reward of his unjust deed, ²⁹  and falling headfirst ³⁰  he burst open in the middle and all his intestines ³¹  gushed out. 1:19 This ³²  became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so that in their own language ³³  they called that field ³⁴  Hakeldama, that is, “Field of Blood.”) 1:20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his house become deserted, ³⁵  and let there be no one to live in it,’ ³⁶  and ‘Let another take his position of responsibility.’ ³⁷ 

Acts 1:2

1:2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, ³⁸  after he had given orders ³⁹  by ⁴⁰  the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.

Acts 2:3

2:3 And tongues spreading out like a fire ⁴¹  appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them.

Acts 2:15-17

2:15 In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk, ⁴²  for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ⁴³  2:16 But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel: ⁴⁴ 

2:17 ‘And in the last days ⁴⁵  it will be,’ God says,

‘that I will pour out my Spirit on all people, ⁴⁶ 

and your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

and your young men will see visions,

and your old men will dream dreams.

Jude 1:11-13

1:11 Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain’s path, ⁴⁷  and because of greed ⁴⁸  have abandoned themselves ⁴⁹  to ⁵⁰  Balaam’s error; hence, ⁵¹  they will certainly perish ⁵²  in Korah’s rebellion. 1:12 These men are ⁵³  dangerous reefs ⁵⁴  at your love feasts, ⁵⁵  feasting without reverence, ⁵⁶  feeding only themselves. ⁵⁷  They are ⁵⁸  waterless ⁵⁹  clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit ⁶⁰  – twice dead, ⁶¹  uprooted; 1:13 wild sea waves, ⁶²  spewing out the foam of ⁶³  their shame; ⁶⁴  wayward stars ⁶⁵  for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness ⁶⁶  have been reserved.

Revelation 2:14-15

2:14 But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, ⁶⁷  who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block ⁶⁸  before the people ⁶⁹  of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. ⁷⁰  2:15 In the same way, there are also some among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ⁷¹ 

Revelation 2:20-23

2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that ⁷²  woman ⁷³  Jezebel, ⁷⁴  who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives ⁷⁵  my servants ⁷⁶  to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ⁷⁷  2:21 I ⁷⁸  have given her time to repent, but ⁷⁹  she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. 2:22 Look! I am throwing her onto a bed of violent illness, ⁸⁰  and those who commit adultery with her into terrible suffering, ⁸¹  unless they repent of her deeds. 2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ⁸²  with a deadly disease, ⁸³  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ⁸⁴  each one of you ⁸⁵  what your deeds deserve. ⁸⁶ 

Revelation 19:20-21

19:20 Now ⁸⁷  the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf ⁸⁸  – signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. ⁸⁹  19:21 The ⁹⁰  others were killed by the sword that extended from the mouth of the one who rode the horse, and all the birds gorged ⁹¹  themselves with their flesh.

[13:41]  ¹ tn Grk “the ones who practice lawlessness.”

[13:42]  ² sn A quotation from Dan 3:6.

[23:13]  ³ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:13]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Grk “because you are closing the kingdom of heaven before people.”

[23:14]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:15]  ⁸ tn Or “one proselyte.”

[23:15]  ⁹ tn Grk “when he becomes [one].”

[23:15]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing.”

[23:18]  ¹² tn Grk “Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing.”

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

[23:23]  ¹⁴ tn Or “you tithe mint.”

[23:23]  ¹⁵ sn Cumin (alternately spelled cummin) was an aromatic herb native to the Mediterranean region. Its seeds were used for seasoning.

[23:23]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Blind guides who strain out a gnat yet who swallow a camel!”

[23:25]  ¹⁸ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:26]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:27]  ²¹ 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.

[17:12]  ²² tn Or “I protected them”; Grk “I kept them.”

[17:12]  ²³ tn Grk “and guarded them.”

[17:12]  ²⁴ tn Or “by your name.”

[17:12]  ²⁵ tn Grk And not one.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[17:12]  ²⁶ tn Grk “the son of destruction” (a Semitic idiom for one appointed for destruction; here it is a reference to Judas).

[17:12]  ²⁷ sn A possible allusion to Ps 41:9 or Prov 24:22 LXX. The exact passage is not specified here, but in John 13:18, Ps 41:9 is explicitly quoted by Jesus with reference to the traitor, suggesting that this is the passage to which Jesus refers here. The previous mention of Ps 41:9 in John 13:18 probably explains why the author felt no need for an explanatory parenthetical note here. It is also possible that the passage referred to here is Prov 24:22 LXX, where in the Greek text the phrase “son of destruction” appears.

[1:18]  ²⁸ tn The referent of “this man” (Judas) was specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:18]  ²⁹ tn Traditionally, “with the reward of his wickedness.”

[1:18]  ³⁰ tn Traditionally, “falling headlong.”

[1:18]  ³¹ tn Or “all his bowels.”

[1:19]  ³² tn Grk “And this.” 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.

[1:19]  ³³ sn Their own language refers to Aramaic, the primary language spoken in Palestine in Jesus’ day.

[1:19]  ³⁴ tn Grk “that field was called.” The passive voice has been converted to active in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.

[1:20]  ³⁵ tn Or “uninhabited” or “empty.”

[1:20]  ³⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 69:25.

[1:20]  ³⁷ tn Or “Let another take his office.”

[1:2]  ³⁸ tn The words “to heaven” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied from v. 11. Several modern translations (NIV, NRSV) supply the words “to heaven” after “taken up” to specify the destination explicitly mentioned later in 1:11.

[1:2]  ³⁹ tn Or “commands.” Although some modern translations render ἐντειλάμενος (enteilameno") as “instructions” (NIV, NRSV), the word implies authority or official sanction (G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:545), so that a word like “orders” conveys the idea more effectively. The action of the temporal participle is antecedent (prior) to the action of the verb it modifies (“taken up”).

[1:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “through.”

[2:3]  ⁴¹ tn Or “And divided tongues as of fire.” The precise meaning of διαμερίζομαι (diamerizomai) in Acts 2:3 is difficult to determine. The meaning could be “tongues as of fire dividing up one to each person,” but it is also possible that the individual tongues of fire were divided (“And divided tongues as of fire appeared”). The translation adopted in the text (“tongues spreading out like a fire”) attempts to be somewhat ambiguous.

[2:15]  ⁴² tn Grk “These men are not drunk, as you suppose.”

[2:15]  ⁴³ tn Grk “only the third hour.”

[2:16]  ⁴⁴ sn Note how in the quotation that follows all genders, ages, and classes are included. The event is like a hope Moses expressed in Num 11:29.

[2:17]  ⁴⁵ sn The phrase in the last days is not quoted from Joel, but represents Peter’s interpretive explanation of the current events as falling “in the last days.”

[2:17]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “on all flesh.”

[1:11]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “they have gone the way of Cain.”

[1:11]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “for wages.”

[1:11]  ⁴⁹ tn The verb ἐκχέω (ekcew) normally means “pour out.” Here, in the passive, it occasionally has a reflexive idea, as BDAG 312 s.v. 3. suggests (with extra-biblical examples).

[1:11]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “in.”

[1:11]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “and.” See note on “perish” later in this verse.

[1:11]  ⁵² tn The three verbs in this verse are all aorist indicative (“have gone down,” “have abandoned,” “have perished”). Although the first and second could be considered constative or ingressive, the last is almost surely proleptic (referring to the certainty of their future judgment). Although it may seem odd that a proleptic aorist is so casually connected to other aorists with a different syntactical force, it is not unparalleled (cf. Rom 8:30).

[1:12]  ⁵³ tn Grk “these are the men who are.”

[1:12]  ⁵⁴ tn Though σπιλάδες (spilades) is frequently translated “blemishes” or “stains,” such is actually a translation of the Greek word σπίλοι (spiloi). The two words are quite similar, especially in their root or lexical forms (σπιλάς [spila"] and σπίλος [spilos] respectively). Some scholars have suggested that σπιλάδες in this context means the same thing as σπίλοι. But such could be the case only by a stretch of the imagination (see BDAG 938 s.v. σπιλάς for discussion). Others suggest that Jude’s spelling was in error (which also is doubtful). One reason for the tension is that in the parallel passage, 2 Pet 2:13, the term used is indeed σπίλος. And if either Jude used 2 Peter or 2 Peter used Jude, one would expect to see the same word. Jude, however, may have changed the wording for the sake of a subtle wordplay. The word σπιλάς was often used of a mere rock, though it normally was associated with a rock along the shore or one jutting out in the water. Thus, the false teachers would appear as “rocks” – as pillars in the community (cf. Matt 16:18; Gal 2:9), when in reality if a believer got too close to them his faith would get shipwrecked. Some suggest that σπιλάδες here means “hidden rocks.” Though this meaning is attested for the word, it is inappropriate in this context, since these false teachers are anything but hidden. They are dangerous because undiscerning folks get close to them, thinking they are rocks and pillars, when they are really dangerous reefs.

[1:12]  ⁵⁵ tc Several witnesses (A C^vid 1243 1846 al), influenced by the parallel in 2 Pet 2:13, read ἀπάταις (apatai", “deceptions”) for ἀγάπαις (agapai", “love-feasts”) in v. 12. However, ἀγάπαις has much stronger and earlier support and should therefore be considered original.

[1:12]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “fearlessly.” The term in this context, however, is decidedly negative. The implication is that these false teachers ate the Lord’s Supper without regarding the sanctity of the meal. Cf. 1 Cor 11:17-22.

[1:12]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “shepherding themselves.” The verb ποιμαίνω (poimainw) means “shepherd, nurture [the flock].” But these men, rather than tending to the flock of God, nurture only themselves. They thus fall under the condemnation Paul uttered when writing to the Corinthians: “For when it comes time to eat [the Lord’s Supper,] each one goes ahead with his own meal” (1 Cor 11:21). Above all, the love-feast was intended to be a shared meal in which all ate and all felt welcome.

[1:12]  ⁵⁸ tn “They are” is not in Greek, but resumes the thought begun at the front of v. 12. There is no period before “They are.” English usage requires breaking this into more than one sentence.

[1:12]  ⁵⁹ tn Cf. 2 Pet 2:17. Jude’s emphasis is slightly different (instead of waterless springs, they are waterless clouds).

[1:12]  ⁶⁰ sn The imagery portraying the false teachers as autumn trees without fruit has to do with their lack of productivity. Recall the statement to the same effect by Jesus in Matt 7:16-20, in which false prophets will be known by their fruits. Like waterless clouds full of false hope, these trees do not yield any harvest even though it is expected.

[1:12]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “having died twice.”

[1:13]  ⁶² tn Grk “wild waves of the sea.”

[1:13]  ⁶³ tn Grk “foaming, causing to foam.” The verb form is intensive and causative. BDAG 360 s.v. ἐπαφρίζω suggests the meaning “to cause to splash up like froth, cause to foam,” or, in this context, “waves casting up their own shameless deeds like (dirty) foam.”

[1:13]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “shames, shameful things.” It is uncertain whether shameful deeds or shameful words are in view. Either way, the picture has taken a decided turn: Though waterless clouds and fruitless trees may promise good things, but deliver nothing, wild sea-waves are portents of filth spewed forth from the belly of the sea.

[1:13]  ⁶⁵ sn The imagery of a star seems to fit the nautical theme that Jude is developing. Stars were of course the guides to sailors at night, just as teachers are responsible to lead the flock through a benighted world. But false teachers, as wayward stars, are not fixed and hence offer unreliable, even disastrous guidance. They are thus both the dangerous reefs on which the ships could be destroyed and the false guides, leading them into these rocks. There is a special irony that these lights will be snuffed out, reserved for the darkest depths of eternal darkness.

[1:13]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “utter darkness of darkness for eternity.” See note on the word “utter” in v. 6.

[2:14]  ⁶⁷ sn See Num 22-24; 31:16.

[2:14]  ⁶⁸ tn That is, a cause for sinning. An alternate translation is “who instructed Balak to cause the people of Israel to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols…”

[2:14]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “sons,” but the expression υἱοὶ ᾿Ισραήλ (Juioi Israhl) is an idiom for the people of Israel as an ethnic entity (see L&N 11.58).

[2:14]  ⁷⁰ tn Due to the actual events in the OT (Num 22-24; 31:16), πορνεῦσαι (porneusai) is taken to mean “sexual immorality.” BDAG 854 s.v. πορνεύω 1 states, “engage in illicit sex, to fornicate, to whore…W. φαγεῖν εἰδωλόθυτα ‘eat meat offered to idols’ Rv 2:14, 20.”

[2:15]  ⁷¹ tn The term ὁμοίως (Jomoiws, “likewise”) is left untranslated because it is quite redundant.

[2:20]  ⁷² tn The Greek article has been translated here with demonstrative force.

[2:20]  ⁷³ tc The ms evidence for γυναῖκα (gunaika, “woman”) alone includes {א C P 1611 2053 pc lat}. The ms evidence for the addition of “your” (σου, sou) includes A 1006 2351 Ï^K pc sy. With the pronoun, the text reads “your wife, Jezebel” instead of “that woman, Jezebel.” In Revelation, A C are the most important mss, along with א Ì⁴⁷ (which only reads in portions of chapters 9-17) 1006 1611 2053; in this instance, the external evidence slightly favors the shorter reading. But internally, it gains strength. The longer reading implies the idea that the angel in 2:18 is the bishop or leader of the church in Thyatira. The pronoun “your” (σου) is used four times in vv. 19-20 and may have been the cause for the scribe copying it again. Further, once the monarchical episcopate was in vogue (beginning in the 2nd century) scribes might have been prone to add “your” here.

[2:20]  ⁷⁴ sn Jezebel was the name of King Ahab’s idolatrous and wicked queen in 1 Kgs 16:31; 18:1-5; 19:1-3; 21:5-24. It is probable that the individual named here was analogous to her prototype in idolatry and immoral behavior, since those are the items singled out for mention.

[2:20]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “teaches and deceives” (διδάσκει καὶ πλανᾷ, didaskei kai plana), a construction in which the first verb appears to specify the means by which the second is accomplished: “by her teaching, deceives…”

[2:20]  ⁷⁶ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[2:20]  ⁷⁷ sn To commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. Note the conclusions of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:29, which specifically prohibits Gentile Christians from engaging in these activities.

[2:21]  ⁷⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.

[2:21]  ⁷⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to bring out the contrast present in this woman’s obstinate refusal to repent.

[2:22]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “onto a bed,” in this context an idiom for severe illness (L&N 23.152).

[2:22]  ⁸¹ tn Or “into great distress.” The suffering here is not specified as physical or emotional, and could involve persecution.

[2:23]  ⁸² tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

[2:23]  ⁸³ tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

[2:23]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

[2:23]  ⁸⁵ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

[2:23]  ⁸⁶ tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”

[19:20]  ⁸⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of an unexpected development in the account: The opposing armies do not come together in battle; rather the leader of one side is captured.

[19:20]  ⁸⁸ tn For this meaning see BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 4.b, “by the authority of, on behalf of Rv 13:12, 14; 19:20.”

[19:20]  ⁸⁹ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[19:21]  ⁹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:21]  ⁹¹ tn On the translation of ἐχορτάσθησαν (ecortasqhsan) BDAG 1087 s.v. χορτάζω 1.a states, “of animals, pass. in act. sense πάντα τὰ ὄρνεα ἐχορτάσθησαν ἐκ τῶν σαρκῶν αὐτῶν all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh Rv 19:21 (cp. TestJud. 21:8).”