Matthew 18:21

18:21 Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother ¹  who sins against me? As many as seven times?”

Matthew 23:37

Judgment on Israel

23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ²  you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! ³  How often I have longed ⁴  to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but ⁵  you would have none of it! ⁶ 

[18:21]  ¹ tn Here the term “brother” means “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a), whether male or female. Concerning the familial connotations, see also the note on the first occurrence of this term in v. 15.

[23:37]  ² sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.

[23:37]  ³ tn Although the opening address (“Jerusalem, Jerusalem”) is direct (second person), the remainder of this sentence in the Greek text is third person (“who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her”). The following sentences then revert to second person (“your… you”), so to keep all this consistent in English, the third person pronouns in the present verse were translated as second person (“you who kill… sent to you”).

[23:37]  ⁴ sn How often I have longed to gather your children. Jesus, like a lamenting prophet, speaks for God here, who longed to care tenderly for Israel and protect her.

[23:37]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[23:37]  ⁶ tn Grk “you were not willing.”