Matthew 5:29-30

5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell. ¹  5:30 If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell.

Matthew 14:3-4

14:3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, ²  and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 14:4 because John had repeatedly told ³  him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 13:6-8

False Prophets in the Family

13:6 Suppose your own full brother, ⁵  your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods ⁶  that neither you nor your ancestors ⁷  have previously known, ⁸  13:7 the gods of the surrounding people (whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth ⁹  to the other). 13:8 You must not give in to him or even listen to him; do not feel sympathy for him or spare him or cover up for him.

Mark 9:43-48

9:43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than to have ¹⁰  two hands and go into hell, ¹¹  to the unquenchable fire. 9:44 [[EMPTY]] ¹²  9:45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better to enter life lame than to have ¹³  two feet and be thrown into hell. 9:46 [[EMPTY]] ¹⁴  9:47 If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! ¹⁵  It is better to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have ¹⁶  two eyes and be thrown into hell, 9:48 where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.

Luke 14:26-27

14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate ¹⁷  his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, ¹⁸  he cannot be my disciple. 14:27 Whoever does not carry his own cross ¹⁹  and follow ²⁰  me cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:33

14:33 In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions. ²¹ 

Luke 18:22-23

18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have ²²  and give the money ²³  to the poor, ²⁴  and you will have treasure ²⁵  in heaven. Then ²⁶  come, follow me.” 18:23 But when the man ²⁷  heard this he became very sad, ²⁸  for he was extremely wealthy.

[5:29]  ¹ sn On this word here and in the following verse, see the note on the word hell in 5:22.

[14:3]  ² tc ‡ Most witnesses (א² C D L W Z Θ 0106 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) read αὐτόν (auton, “him”) here as a way of clarifying the direct object; various important witnesses lack the word, however (א* B 700 pc ff¹ h q). The original wording most likely lacked it, but it has been included here due to English style. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity.

[14:4]  ³ tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.

[14:4]  ⁴ sn This marriage of Herod to his brother Philip’s wife was a violation of OT law (Lev 18:16; 20:21). In addition, both Herod Antipas and Herodias had each left marriages to enter into this union.

[13:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “your brother, the son of your mother.” In a polygamous society it was not rare to have half brothers and sisters by way of a common father and different mothers.

[13:6]  ⁶ tn In the Hebrew text these words are in the form of a brief quotation: “entice you secretly saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods.’”

[13:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 17).

[13:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “which you have not known, you or your fathers.” (cf. KJV, ASV; on “fathers” cf. v. 18).

[13:7]  ⁹ tn Or “land” (so NIV, NCV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “land” or “earth.”

[9:43]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “than having.”

[9:43]  ¹¹ sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36). This Greek term also occurs in vv. 45, 47.

[9:44]  ¹² tc Most later mss have 9:44 here and 9:46 after v. 45: “where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched” (identical with v. 48). Verses 44 and 46 are present in A D Θ Ë¹³ Ï lat sy^p,h, but lacking in important Alexandrian mss and several others (א B C L W Δ Ψ 0274 ˹ 28 565 892 2427 pc co). This appears to be a scribal addition from v. 48 and is almost certainly not an original part of the Greek text of Mark. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

[9:45]  ¹³ tn Grk “than having.”

[9:46]  ¹⁴ tc See tc note at the end of v. 43.

[9:47]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “throw it out.”

[9:47]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “than having.”

[14:26]  ¹⁷ tn This figurative use operates on a relative scale. God is to be loved more than family or self.

[14:26]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “his own soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

[14:27]  ¹⁹ sn It was customary practice in a Roman crucifixion for the prisoner to be made to carry his own cross. Jesus is speaking figuratively here in the context of rejection. If the priority is not one’s allegiance to Jesus, then one will not follow him in the face of possible rejection; see Luke 9:23.

[14:27]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and come after.” In combination with the verb ἔρχομαι (ercomai) the improper preposition ὀπίσω (opisw) means “follow.”

[14:33]  ²¹ tn Grk “Likewise therefore every one of you who does not renounce all his own possessions cannot be my disciple.” The complex double negation is potentially confusing to the modern reader and has been simplified in the translation. See L&N 57.70.

[18:22]  ²² sn See Luke 14:33.

[18:22]  ²³ tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[18:22]  ²⁴ sn See Luke 1:50-53; 6:20-23; 14:12-14.

[18:22]  ²⁵ sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: …you will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.

[18:22]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the conversation.

[18:23]  ²⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:23]  ²⁸ tn Or “very distressed” (L&N 25.277).