Matthew 27:1-2

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

27:1 When ¹  it was early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to execute him. 27:2 They ²  tied him up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate ³  the governor. ⁴ 

Psalms 2:1-6

Psalm 2 ⁵ 

2:1 Why ⁶  do the nations rebel? ⁷ 

Why ⁸  are the countries ⁹  devising ¹⁰  plots that will fail? ¹¹ 

2:2 The kings of the earth ¹²  form a united front; ¹³ 

the rulers collaborate ¹⁴ 

against the Lord and his anointed king. ¹⁵ 

2:3 They say, ¹⁶  “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us! ¹⁷ 

Let’s free ourselves from ¹⁸  their ropes!”

2:4 The one enthroned ¹⁹  in heaven laughs in disgust; ²⁰ 

the Lord taunts ²¹  them.

2:5 Then he angrily speaks to them

and terrifies them in his rage, ²²  saying, ²³ 

2:6 “I myself ²⁴  have installed ²⁵  my king

on Zion, my holy hill.”

Acts 4:27-28

4:27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against ²⁶  your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, ²⁷  4:28 to do as much as your power ²⁸  and your plan ²⁹  had decided beforehand ³⁰  would happen.

[27:1]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:2]  ² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:2]  ³ tc Most mss (A C W Θ 0250 Ë^1,13 Ï latt) have Ποντίῳ (Pontiw, “Pontius”) before Πιλάτῳ (Pilatw, “Pilate”), but there seems to be no reason for omitting the tribal name, either intentionally or unintentionally. Adding “Pontius,” however, is a natural expansion on the text, and is in keeping with several other NT and patristic references to the Roman governor (cf. Luke 3:1; Acts 4:27; 1 Tim 6:13; Ign. Magn. 11.1; Ign. Trall. 9.1; Ign. Smyrn. 1.2; Justin Martyr, passim). The shorter reading, supported by א B L 0281 33 pc co, is thus strongly preferred.

[27:2]  ⁴ sn The Jews most assuredly wanted to put Jesus to death, but they lacked the authority to do so. For this reason they handed him over to Pilate in hopes of securing a death sentence. The Romans kept close control of the death penalty in conquered territories to prevent it from being used to execute Roman sympathizers.

[2:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 2. In this royal psalm the author asserts the special status of the divinely chosen Davidic king and warns the nations and their rulers to submit to the authority of God and his chosen vice-regent.

[2:1]  ⁶ tn The question is rhetorical. Rather than seeking information, the psalmist expresses his outrage that the nations would have the audacity to rebel against God and his chosen king.

[2:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew verb רָגַשׁ (ragash) occurs only here. In Dan 6:6, 11, 15 the Aramaic cognate verb describes several officials acting as a group. A Hebrew nominal derivative is used in Ps 55:14 of a crowd of people in the temple.

[2:1]  ⁸ tn The interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[2:1]  ⁹ tn Or “peoples” (so many English versions).

[2:1]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew imperfect form describes the rebellion as underway. The verb הָגָה (hagah), which means “to recite quietly, meditate,” here has the metonymic nuance “devise, plan, plot” (see Ps 38:12; Prov 24:2).

[2:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “devising emptiness.” The noun רִיק (riq, “emptiness”) may characterize their behavior as “worthless, morally bankrupt” but more likely refers to the outcome of their plots (i.e., failure). As the rest of the psalm emphasizes, their rebellion will fail.

[2:2]  ¹² sn The expression kings of the earth refers somewhat hyperbolically to the kings who had been conquered by and were subject to the Davidic king.

[2:2]  ¹³ tn Or “take their stand.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes their action as underway.

[2:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “conspire together.” The verbal form is a Niphal from יָסַד (yasad). BDB 413-14 s.v. יָסַד defines the verb as “establish, found,” but HALOT 417 s.v. II יסד proposes a homonym meaning “get together, conspire” (an alternate form of סוּד, sud).

[2:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and against his anointed one.” The Davidic king is the referent (see vv. 6-7).

[2:3]  ¹⁶ tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The quotation represents the words of the rebellious kings.

[2:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “their (i.e., the Lord’s and the king’s) shackles.” The kings compare the rule of the Lord and his vice-regent to being imprisoned.

[2:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “throw off from us.”

[2:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12; 123:1).

[2:4]  ²⁰ tn As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter. The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in vv. 4-5 describe the action from the perspective of an eyewitness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.

[2:4]  ²¹ tn Or “scoffs at”; “derides”; “mocks.”

[2:5]  ²² sn And terrifies them in his rage. This line focuses on the effect that God’s angry response (see previous line) has on the rebellious kings.

[2:5]  ²³ tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification to indicate that the speaker is the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV).

[2:6]  ²⁴ tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”

[2:6]  ²⁵ tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”

[4:27]  ²⁶ sn The application of Ps 2:1-2 is that Jews and Gentiles are opposing Jesus. The surprise of the application is that Jews are now found among the enemies of God’s plan.

[4:27]  ²⁷ sn A wordplay on “Christ,” v. 26, which means “one who has been anointed.”

[4:28]  ²⁸ tn Grk “hand,” here a metaphor for God’s strength or power or authority.

[4:28]  ²⁹ tn Or “purpose,” “will.”

[4:28]  ³⁰ tn Or “had predestined.” Since the term “predestine” is something of a technical theological term, not in wide usage in contemporary English, the translation “decide beforehand” was used instead (see L&N 30.84). God’s direction remains as the major theme.