Matthew 15:3-6

15:3 He answered them, ¹  “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? 15:4 For God said, ²  ‘Honor your father and mother’ ³  and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ ⁴  15:5 But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,” ⁵  15:6 he does not need to honor his father.’ ⁶  You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.

Matthew 23:16-22

23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. ⁷  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. ⁸  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.

Malachi 2:8-9

2:8 You, however, have turned from the way. You have caused many to violate the law; ⁹  you have corrupted the covenant with Levi,” ¹⁰  says the Lord who rules over all. 2:9 “Therefore, I have caused you to be ignored and belittled before all people to the extent to which you are not following after me and are showing partiality in your ¹¹  instruction.”

Romans 3:8

3:8 And why not say, “Let us do evil so that good may come of it”? – as some who slander us allege that we say. ¹²  (Their ¹³  condemnation is deserved!)

Romans 6:1

The Believer’s Freedom from Sin’s Domination

6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase?

Romans 6:15

The Believer’s Enslavement to God’s Righteousness

6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not!

Romans 6:1

The Believer’s Freedom from Sin’s Domination

6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase?

Romans 6:3-4

6:3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life. ¹⁴ 

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, ¹⁵  who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block ¹⁶  before the people ¹⁷  of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. ¹⁸  2:15 In the same way, there are also some among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁹ 

Revelation 2:20

2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that ²⁰  woman ²¹  Jezebel, ²²  who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives ²³  my servants ²⁴  to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ²⁵ 

[15:3]  ¹ tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.”

[15:4]  ² tc Most mss (א*^,2 C L W 0106 33 Ï) have an expanded introduction here; instead of “For God said,” they read “For God commanded, saying” (ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, Jo gar qeo" eneteilato legwn). But such expansions are generally motivated readings; in this case, most likely it was due to the wording of the previous verse (“the commandment of God”) that caused early scribes to add to the text. Although it is possible that other witnesses reduced the text to the simple εἶπεν (eipen, “[God] said”) because of perceived redundancy with the statement in v. 3, such is unlikely in light of the great variety and age of these authorities (א¹ B D Θ 073 Ë^1,13 579 700 892 pc lat co, as well as other versions and fathers).

[15:4]  ³ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

[15:4]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

[15:5]  ⁵ tn Grk “is a gift,” that is, something dedicated to God.

[15:6]  ⁶ tc The logic of v. 5 would seem to demand that both father and mother are in view in v. 6. Indeed, the majority of mss (C L W Θ 0106 ˹ Ï) have “or his mother” (ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, h thn mhtera autou) after “honor his father” here. However, there are significant witnesses that have variations on this theme (καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ [kai thn mhtera autou, “and his mother”] in Φ 565 1241 pc and ἢ τὴν μητέρα [“or mother”] in 073 ˹³ 33 579 700 892 pc), which is usually an indication of a predictable addition to the text rather than an authentic reading. Further, the shorter reading (without any mention of “mother”) is found in early and important witnesses (א B D sa). Although it is possible that the shorter reading came about accidentally (due to the repetition of –ερα αὐτοῦ), the evidence more strongly suggests that the longer readings were intentional scribal alterations.

[23:16]  ⁷ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing.”

[23:18]  ⁸ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing.”

[2:8]  ⁹ tn The definite article embedded within בַּתּוֹרָה (battorah) may suggest that the Torah is in mind and not just “ordinary” priestly instruction, though it might refer to the instruction previously mentioned (v. 7).

[2:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the Levitical covenant.”

[2:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in the instruction” (so NASB). The Hebrew article is used here as a possessive pronoun (cf. NRSV, NLT).

[3:8]  ¹² tn Grk “(as we are slandered and some affirm that we say…).”

[3:8]  ¹³ tn Grk “whose.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, this relative clause was rendered as a new sentence in the translation.

[6:4]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “may walk in newness of life,” in which ζωῆς (zwhs) functions as an attributed genitive (see ExSyn 89-90, where this verse is given as a prime example).

[2:14]  ¹⁵ sn See Num 22-24; 31:16.

[2:14]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn The term ὁμοίως (Jomoiws, “likewise”) is left untranslated because it is quite redundant.

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

[2:20]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[2:20]  ²⁵ 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.