Matthew 5:20

5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law ¹  and the Pharisees, ²  you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:28

5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:32

5:32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Matthew 5:44

5:44 But I say to you, love your enemy and ³  pray for those who persecute you,

Matthew 21:23-27

The Authority of Jesus

21:23 Now after Jesus ⁴  entered the temple courts, ⁵  the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority ⁶  are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 21:24 Jesus ⁷  answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 21:25 Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from people?” ⁸  They discussed this among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 21:26 But if we say, ‘From people,’ we fear the crowd, for they all consider John to be a prophet.” 21:27 So ⁹  they answered Jesus, ¹⁰  “We don’t know.” ¹¹  Then he said to them, “Neither will I tell you ¹²  by what authority ¹³  I am doing these things.

Matthew 28:18

28:18 Then Jesus came up and said to them, ¹⁴  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Deuteronomy 18:18-19

18:18 I will raise up a prophet like you for them from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them whatever I command. 18:19 I will personally hold responsible ¹⁵  anyone who then pays no attention to the words that prophet ¹⁶  speaks in my name.

Ecclesiastes 8:4

8:4 Surely the king’s authority ¹⁷  is absolute; ¹⁸ 

no one can say ¹⁹  to him, “What are you doing?”

Isaiah 50:4

The Servant Perseveres

50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, ²⁰ 

so that I know how to help the weary. ²¹ 

He wakes me up every morning;

he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do. ²² 

Jeremiah 23:28-29

23:28 Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! ²³  I, the Lord, affirm it! ²⁴  23:29 My message is like a fire that purges dross! ²⁵  It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces! ²⁶  I, the Lord, so affirm it! ²⁷ 

Micah 3:8

3:8 But I ²⁸  am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,

and have a strong commitment to justice. ²⁹ 

This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,

and Israel with its sin. ³⁰ 

Luke 21:15

21:15 For I will give you the words ³¹  along with the wisdom ³²  that none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

Acts 3:22-23

3:22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must obey ³³  him in everything he tells you. ³⁴  3:23 Every person ³⁵  who does not obey that prophet will be destroyed and thus removed ³⁶  from the people.’ ³⁷ 

Acts 6:10

6:10 Yet ³⁸  they were not able to resist ³⁹  the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

Hebrews 4:12-13

4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. 4:13 And no creature is hidden from God, ⁴⁰  but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

[5:20]  ¹ tn Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[5:20]  ² sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[5:44]  ³ tc Most mss ([D] L [W] Θ Ë¹³ 33 Ï lat) read “bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you,” before “those who persecute you.” But this is surely a motivated reading, importing the longer form of this aphorism from Luke 6:27-28. The shorter text is found in א B ˹ pc sa, as well as several fathers and versional witnesses.

[21:23]  ⁴ tn Grk “he.”

[21:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “the temple.”

[21:23]  ⁶ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.1

[21:24]  ⁷ tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:25]  ⁸ tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used here (and in v. 26) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NAB, NRSV, “of human origin”; TEV, “from human beings”; NLT, “merely human”).

[21:27]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to indicate that the clause is a result of the deliberations of the leaders.

[21:27]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “answering Jesus, they said.” This construction is somewhat awkward in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[21:27]  ¹¹ sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them (“We do not know”). The point of Matt 21:23-27 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question, they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.

[21:27]  ¹² sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.

[21:27]  ¹³ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 23.

[28:18]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “coming, Jesus spoke to them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn, “saying”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[18:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “will seek from him”; NAB “I myself will make him answer for it”; NRSV “will hold accountable.”

[18:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet mentioned in v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “word.”

[8:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “supreme.”

[8:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Who can say…?”

[50:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “has given to me a tongue of disciples.”

[50:4]  ²¹ tc Heb “to know [?] the weary with a word.” Comparing it with Arabic and Aramaic cognates yields the meaning of “help, sustain.” Nevertheless, the meaning of עוּת (’ut) is uncertain. The word occurs only here in the OT (see BDB 736 s.v.). Various scholars have suggested an emendation to עָנוֹת (’anot) from עָנָה (’anah, “answer”): “so that I know how to respond kindly to the weary.” Since the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and the Vulgate support the MT reading, that reading is retained.

[50:4]  ²² tn Heb “he arouses for me an ear, to hear like disciples.”

[23:28]  ²³ tn Heb “What to the straw with [in comparison with] the grain?” This idiom represents an emphatic repudiation or denial of relationship. See, for example, the usage in 2 Sam 16:10 and note BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d(c).

[23:28]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:29]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Is not my message like a fire?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer that is made explicit in the translation. The words “that purges dross” are not in the text but are implicit to the metaphor. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:29]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Is it not like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” See preceding note.

[23:29]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[3:8]  ²⁸ sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the Lord in the preceding verses.

[3:8]  ²⁹ tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the Lord, and justice and strength.” The appositional phrase “the Spirit of the Lord” explains the source of the prophet’s power. The phrase “justice and strength” is understood here as a hendiadys, referring to the prophet’s strong sense of justice.

[3:8]  ³⁰ tn Heb “to declare to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.” The words “this enables me” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[21:15]  ³¹ tn Grk “a mouth.” It is a metonymy and refers to the reply the Lord will give to them.

[21:15]  ³² tn Grk “and wisdom.”

[3:22]  ³³ tn Grk “hear,” but the idea of “hear and obey” or simply “obey” is frequently contained in the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw; see L&N 36.14) and the following context (v. 23) makes it clear that failure to “obey” the words of this “prophet like Moses” will result in complete destruction.

[3:22]  ³⁴ sn A quotation from Deut 18:15. By quoting Deut 18:15 Peter declared that Jesus was the eschatological “prophet like [Moses]” mentioned in that passage, who reveals the plan of God and the way of God.

[3:23]  ³⁵ tn Grk “every soul” (here “soul” is an idiom for the whole person).

[3:23]  ³⁶ tn Or “will be completely destroyed.” In Acts 3:23 the verb ἐξολεθρεύω (exoleqreuw) is translated “destroy and remove” by L&N 20.35.

[3:23]  ³⁷ sn A quotation from Deut 18:19, also Lev 23:29. The OT context of Lev 23:29 discusses what happened when one failed to honor atonement. One ignored the required sacrifice of God at one’s peril.

[6:10]  ³⁸ tn Grk “and.” The context, however, indicates that the conjunction carries an adversative force.

[6:10]  ³⁹ sn They were not able to resist. This represents another fulfillment of Luke 12:11-12; 21:15.

[4:13]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.