Matthew 23:34-36

23:34 “For this reason I ¹  am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, ²  some of whom you will kill and crucify, ³  and some you will flog ⁴  in your synagogues ⁵  and pursue from town to town, 23:35 so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, ⁶  whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 23:36 I tell you the truth, ⁷  this generation will be held responsible for all these things! ⁸ 

Genesis 9:6

9:6 “Whoever sheds human blood, ⁹ 

by other humans ¹⁰ 

must his blood be shed;

for in God’s image ¹¹ 

God ¹²  has made humankind.”

Psalms 55:23

55:23 But you, O God, will bring them ¹³  down to the deep Pit. ¹⁴ 

Violent and deceitful people ¹⁵  will not live even half a normal lifespan. ¹⁶ 

But as for me, I trust in you.

Ezekiel 35:5-6

35:5 “‘You have shown unrelenting hostility and poured the people of Israel onto the blades of a sword ¹⁷  at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment. 35:6 Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will subject you to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you.

Revelation 13:10

13:10 If anyone is meant for captivity,

into captivity he will go.

If anyone is to be killed by the sword, ¹⁸ 

then by the sword he must be killed.

This ¹⁹  requires steadfast endurance ²⁰  and faith from the saints.

Revelation 16:6

16:6 because they poured out the blood of your saints and prophets,

so ²¹  you have given them blood to drink. They got what they deserved!” ²² 

[23:34]  ¹ tn Grk “behold I am sending.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[23:34]  ² tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:34]  ³ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[23:34]  ⁴ tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”

[23:34]  ⁵ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[23:35]  ⁶ sn Spelling of this name (Βαραχίου, Baraciou) varies among the English versions: “Barachiah” (RSV, NRSV); “Berechiah” (NASB); “Berachiah” (NIV).

[23:36]  ⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[23:36]  ⁸ tn Grk “all these things will come on this generation.”

[9:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “the blood of man.”

[9:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “by man,” a generic term here for other human beings.

[9:6]  ¹¹ sn See the notes on the words “humankind” and “likeness” in Gen 1:26, as well as J. Barr, “The Image of God in the Book of Genesis – A Study of Terminology,” BJRL 51 (1968/69): 11-26.

[9:6]  ¹² tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[55:23]  ¹³ tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).

[55:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).

[55:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”

[55:23]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”

[35:5]  ¹⁷ tn Or “gave over…to the power of the sword.” This phrase also occurs in Jer 18:21 and Ps 63:10.

[13:10]  ¹⁸ tc Many mss (C 051* 2351 Ï^A pc) read “if anyone will kill with the sword, it is necessary for him to be killed with the sword” (εἴ τις ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτενεῖ, δεῖ αὐτὸν ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι). Other mss (א 1006 1611* 1854 al) are similar except that they read a present tense “kills” (ἀποκτείνει, apokteinei) in this sentence. Both of these variants may be regarded as essentially saying the same thing. On the other hand, codex A reads “if anyone is to be killed by the sword, he is to be killed by the sword” (εἴ τις ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι). Thus the first two variants convey the idea of retribution, while the last variant, supported by codex A, does not. (There are actually a dozen variants here, evidence that scribes found the original text quite difficult. Only the most important variants are discussed in this note.) The first two variants seem to be in line with Jesus’ comments in Matt 26:52: “everyone who takes up the sword will die by the sword.” The last variant, however, seems to be taking up an idea found in Jer 15:2: “Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity.” Though G. B. Caird, Revelation (HNTC), 169-70, gives four arguments in favor of the first reading (i.e., “whoever kills with the sword must with the sword be killed”), the arguments he puts forward can be read equally as well to support the latter alternative. In the end, the reading in codex A seems to be original. The fact that this sentence seems to be in parallel with 10a (which simply focuses on God’s will and suffering passively and is therefore akin to the reading in codex A), and that it most likely gave rise to the others as the most difficult reading, argues for its authenticity.

[13:10]  ¹⁹ tn On ὧδε (Jwde) here, BDAG 1101 s.v. 2 states: “a ref. to a present event, object, or circumstance, in this case, at this point, on this occasion, under these circumstances…in this case moreover 1 Cor 4:2. ὧδε ἡ σοφία ἐστίν…Rv 13:18; cf. 17:9. ὧδέ ἐστιν ἡ ὑπομονή…13:10; 14:12.”

[13:10]  ²⁰ tn Or “perseverance.”

[16:6]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that this judgment is the result of what these wicked people did to the saints and prophets.

[16:6]  ²² tn Grk “They are worthy”; i.e., of this kind of punishment. By extension, “they got what they deserve.”