Matthew 5:12

5:12 Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

Matthew 23:31-37

23:31 By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 23:32 Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! 23:33 You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? ¹ 

23:34 “For this reason I ²  am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, ³  some of whom you will kill and crucify, ⁴  and some you will flog ⁵  in your synagogues ⁶  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, ⁷  whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 23:36 I tell you the truth, ⁸  this generation will be held responsible for all these things! ⁹ 

Judgment on Israel

23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ¹⁰  you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! ¹¹  How often I have longed ¹²  to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but ¹³  you would have none of it! ¹⁴ 

Matthew 23:1

Seven Woes

23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

Matthew 18:4

18:4 Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:13

18:13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, ¹⁵  he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

Matthew 19:2

19:2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

Matthew 19:10

19:10 The ¹⁶  disciples said to him, “If this is the case of a husband with a wife, it is better not to marry!”

Matthew 22:24

22:24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and father children ¹⁷  for his brother.’ ¹⁸ 

Matthew 22:2

22:2 “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.

Matthew 16:10

16:10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you took up?

Matthew 24:21-22

24:21 For then there will be great suffering ¹⁹  unlike anything that has happened ²⁰  from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen. 24:22 And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

Matthew 24:2

24:2 And he said to them, ²¹  “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, ²²  not one stone will be left on another. ²³  All will be torn down!” ²⁴ 

Matthew 1:15-16

1:15 Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 1:16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom ²⁵  Jesus was born, who is called Christ. ²⁶ 

Nehemiah 9:26

9:26 “Nonetheless they grew disobedient and rebelled against you; they disregarded your law. ²⁷  They killed your prophets who had solemnly admonished them in order to cause them to return to you. They committed atrocious blasphemies.

Jeremiah 2:30

2:30 “It did no good for me to punish your people.

They did not respond to such correction.

You slaughtered your prophets

like a voracious lion.” ²⁸ 

Jeremiah 25:3-7

25:3 “For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah ²⁹  until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again ³⁰  what he said. ³¹  But you would not listen. 25:4 Over and over again ³²  the Lord has sent ³³  his servants the prophets to you. But you have not listened or paid attention. ³⁴  25:5 He said through them, ³⁵  ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and stop doing the evil things you are doing. ³⁶  If you do, I will allow you to continue to live here in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors as a lasting possession. ³⁷  25:6 Do not pay allegiance to ³⁸  other gods and worship and serve them. Do not make me angry by the things that you do. ³⁹  Then I will not cause you any harm.’ 25:7 So, now the Lord says, ⁴⁰  ‘You have not listened to me. But ⁴¹  you have made me angry by the things that you have done. ⁴²  Thus you have brought harm on yourselves.’

Jeremiah 26:21-24

26:21 When the king and all his bodyguards ⁴³  and officials heard what he was prophesying, ⁴⁴  the king sought to have him executed. But Uriah found out about it and fled to Egypt out of fear. ⁴⁵  26:22 However, King Jehoiakim sent some men to Egypt, including Elnathan son of Achbor, ⁴⁶  26:23 and they brought Uriah back from there. ⁴⁷  They took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him executed and had his body thrown into the burial place of the common people. ⁴⁸ 

26:24 However, Ahikam son of Shaphan ⁴⁹  used his influence to keep Jeremiah from being handed over and executed by the people. ⁵⁰ 

Luke 13:33-34

13:33 Nevertheless I must ⁵¹  go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it is impossible ⁵²  that a prophet should be killed ⁵³  outside Jerusalem.’ ⁵⁴  13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ⁵⁵  you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! ⁵⁶  How often I have longed ⁵⁷  to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but ⁵⁸  you would have none of it! ⁵⁹ 

Acts 7:52

7:52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors ⁶⁰  not persecute? ⁶¹  They ⁶²  killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, ⁶³  whose betrayers and murderers you have now become! ⁶⁴ 

Acts 7:1

Stephen’s Defense Before the Council

7:1 Then the high priest said, “Are these things true?” ⁶⁵ 

Acts 2:15-16

2:15 In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk, ⁶⁶  for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ⁶⁷  2:16 But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel: ⁶⁸ 

Hebrews 11:36-37

11:36 And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 11:37 They were stoned, sawed apart, ⁶⁹  murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated

Revelation 6:9

6:9 Now ⁷⁰  when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed ⁷¹  because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given.

[23:33]  ¹ tn Grk “the judgment of Gehenna.”

[23:34]  ² 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]  ³ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:34]  ⁴ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[23:34]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[23:35]  ⁷ sn Spelling of this name (Βαραχίου, Baraciou) varies among the English versions: “Barachiah” (RSV, NRSV); “Berechiah” (NASB); “Berachiah” (NIV).

[23:36]  ⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[23:36]  ⁹ tn Grk “all these things will come on this generation.”

[23:37]  ¹⁰ sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.

[23:37]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[23:37]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “you were not willing.”

[18:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[19:10]  ¹⁶ tc ‡ Some significant witnesses, along with the majority of later mss (̲⁵ C D L W Z 078 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy sa^mss bo), read αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) after μαθηταί (maqhtai, “disciples”), but this looks to be a clarifying reading. Other early and important witnesses lack the pronoun (Ì^71vid א B Θ e ff¹ g¹ sa^ms mae), the reading adopted here. NA²⁷ includes the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[22:24]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “and raise up seed,” an idiom for fathering children (L&N 23.59).

[22:24]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Deut 25:5. This practice is called levirate marriage (see also Ruth 4:1-12; Mishnah, m. Yevamot; Josephus, Ant. 4.8.23 [4.254-256]). The levirate law is described in Deut 25:5-10. The brother of a man who died without a son had an obligation to marry his brother’s widow. This served several purposes: It provided for the widow in a society where a widow with no children to care for her would be reduced to begging, and it preserved the name of the deceased, who would be regarded as the legal father of the first son produced from that marriage.

[24:21]  ¹⁹ tn Traditionally, “great tribulation.”

[24:21]  ²⁰ sn Suffering unlike anything that has happened. Some refer this event to the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. While the events of a.d. 70 may reflect somewhat the comments Jesus makes here, the reference to the scope and severity of this judgment strongly suggest that much more is in view. Most likely Jesus is referring to the great end-time judgment on Jerusalem in the great tribulation.

[24:2]  ²¹ tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (ajpokriqei") is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[24:2]  ²² tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[24:2]  ²³ sn With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in a.d. 70.

[24:2]  ²⁴ tn Grk “not one stone will be left here on another which will not be thrown down.”

[1:16]  ²⁵ tc There are three significant variant readings at this point in the text. Some mss and versional witnesses (Θ Ë¹³ it) read, “Joseph, to whom the virgin Mary, being betrothed, bore Jesus, who is called Christ.” This reading makes even more explicit than the feminine pronoun (see sn below) the virginal conception of Jesus and as such seems to be a motivated reading. The Sinaitic Syriac ms alone indicates that Joseph was the father of Jesus (“Joseph, to whom was betrothed Mary the virgin, fathered Jesus who is called the Christ”). Although much discussed, this reading has not been found in any Greek witnesses. B. M. Metzger suggests that it was produced by a careless scribe who simply reproduced the set formula of the preceding lines in the genealogy (TCGNT 6). In all likelihood, the two competing variants were thus produced by intentional and unintentional scribal alterations respectively. The reading adopted in the translation has overwhelming support from a variety of witnesses (̹ א B C L W [˹] 33 Ï co), and therefore should be regarded as authentic. For a detailed discussion of this textual problem, see TCGNT 2-6.

[1:16]  ²⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[9:26]  ²⁷ tn Heb “they cast your law behind their backs.”

[2:30]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Your sword devoured your prophets like a destroying lion.” However, the reference to the sword in this and many similar idioms is merely idiomatic for death by violent means.

[25:3]  ²⁹ sn The year referred to would be 627 b.c. The same year is referred to in 1:2 in reference to his call to be a prophet.

[25:3]  ³⁰ tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:3]  ³¹ tn The words “what he said” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[25:4]  ³² tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:4]  ³³ tn The vav consecutive with the perfect in a past narrative is a little unusual. Here it is probably indicating repeated action in past time in keeping with the idiom that precedes and follows it. See GKC 332 §112.f for other possible examples.

[25:4]  ³⁴ tn Heb “inclined your ear to hear.” This is idiomatic for “paying attention.” It is often parallel with “listen” as here or with “pay attention” (see, e.g., Prov 4:20; 51:1).

[25:5]  ³⁵ tn Heb “saying.” The infinitive goes back to “he sent”; i.e., “he sent, saying.”

[25:5]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Turn [masc. pl.] each person from his wicked way and from the evil of your [masc. pl.] doings.” See the same demand in 23:22.

[25:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “gave to you and your fathers with reference to from ancient times even unto forever.” See the same idiom in 7:7.

[25:6]  ³⁸ tn Heb “follow after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for this idiom.

[25:6]  ³⁹ tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.

[25:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[25:7]  ⁴¹ tn This is a rather clear case where the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a consequence and not a purpose, contrary to the dictum of BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. They have not listened to him in order to make him angry but with the result that they have made him angry by going their own way. Jeremiah appears to use this particle for result rather than purpose on several other occasions (see, e.g., 7:18, 19; 27:10, 15; 32:29).

[25:7]  ⁴² tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.

[26:21]  ⁴³ tn Heb “all his mighty men/soldiers.” It is unlikely that this included all the army. It more likely was the palace guards or royal bodyguards (see 2 Sam 23 where the same word is used of David’s elite corps).

[26:21]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “his words.”

[26:21]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “But Uriah heard and feared and fled and entered Egypt.”

[26:22]  ⁴⁶ sn Elnathan son of Achbor was one of the officials who urged Jeremiah and Baruch to hide after they heard Jeremiah’s prophecies read before them (Jer 36:11-19). He was also one of the officials who urged Jehoiakim not to burn the scroll containing Jeremiah’s prophecies (Jer 36:25). He may have been Jehoiakim’s father-in-law (2 Kgs 24:6, 8).

[26:23]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “from Egypt.”

[26:23]  ⁴⁸ sn The burial place of the common people was the public burial grounds, distinct from the family tombs, where poor people without any distinction were buried. It was in the Kidron Valley east of Jerusalem (2 Kgs 23:6). The intent of reporting this is to show the ruthlessness of Jehoiakim.

[26:24]  ⁴⁹ sn Ahikam son of Shaphan was an official during the reign of Jehoiakim’s father, Josiah (2 Kgs 22:12, 14). He was also the father of Gedaliah who became governor of Judah after the fall of Jerusalem (Jer 40:5). The particle at the beginning of the verse is meant to contrast the actions of this man with the actions of Jehoiakim. The impression created by this verse is that it took more than just the royal officials’ opinion and the elders’ warnings to keep the priests and prophets from swaying popular opinion to put Jeremiah to death.

[26:24]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “Nevertheless, the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he would not be given (even more literally, ‘so as not to give him’) into the hand of the people to kill him.” “Hand” is often used for “aid,” “support,” “influence,” “power,” “control.”

[13:33]  ⁵¹ tn This is the frequent expression δεῖ (dei, “it is necessary”) that notes something that is a part of God’s plan.

[13:33]  ⁵² tn Or “unthinkable.” See L&N 71.4 for both possible meanings.

[13:33]  ⁵³ tn Or “should perish away from.”

[13:33]  ⁵⁴ sn Death in Jerusalem is another key theme in Luke’s material: 7:16, 34; 24:19; Acts 3:22-23. Notice that Jesus sees himself in the role of a prophet here. Jesus’ statement, it is impossible that a prophet should be killed outside Jerusalem, is filled with irony; Jesus, traveling about in Galilee (most likely), has nothing to fear from Herod; it is his own people living in the very center of Jewish religion and worship who present the greatest danger to his life. The underlying idea is that Jerusalem, though she stands at the very heart of the worship of God, often kills the prophets God sends to her (v. 34). In the end, Herod will be much less a threat than Jerusalem.

[13:34]  ⁵⁵ sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.

[13:34]  ⁵⁶ 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”).

[13:34]  ⁵⁷ 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.

[13:34]  ⁵⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[13:34]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “you were not willing.”

[7:52]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ⁶¹ sn Which…persecute. The rhetorical question suggests they persecuted them all.

[7:52]  ⁶² tn Grk “And they.” 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.

[7:52]  ⁶³ sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ.

[7:52]  ⁶⁴ sn Whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. The harsh critique has OT precedent (1 Kgs 19:10-14; Neh 9:26; 2 Chr 36:16).

[7:1]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “If it is so concerning these things” (see BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 10.a for this use).

[2:15]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “These men are not drunk, as you suppose.”

[2:15]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “only the third hour.”

[2:16]  ⁶⁸ 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.

[11:37]  ⁶⁹ tc The reading ἐπρίσθησαν (ejprisqhsan, “they were sawed apart”) is found in some important witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ [D* twice reads ἐπίρσθησαν, “they were burned”?] pc sy^p sa Or^pt Eus). Other mss have ἐπειράσθησαν (ejpeirasqhsan, “they were tempted”), either before “sawed apart” ([א] L P [048] 33 81 326 1505 pc sy^h), after “sawed apart” (Ì^13vid A D¹ Ψ 1739 1881 Ï lat bo Or^pt), or altogether in place of “sawed apart” (0150 vg^mss Cl). Since the two words ἐπρίσθησαν and ἐπειράσθησαν are so much alike in sight and sound, and since the position of “they were tempted” varies in the mss, it seems best to say that ἐπειράσθησαν is an accidental corruption of ἐπρίσθησαν or an intentional change to a more common word (the root of ἐπρίσθησαν [πρίζω, prizw] occurs only here in the NT, while the root of ἐπειράσθησαν [πειράζω, peirazw] occurs 38 times). The best reading here seems to be “sawed apart” without any addition before or after. (See TCGNT 603-4, for a discussion of emendations that scholars have proposed for this difficult problem.)

[6:9]  ⁷⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a new and somewhat different topic after the introduction of the four riders.

[6:9]  ⁷¹ tn Or “murdered.” See the note on the word “butcher” in 6:4.