Matthew 16:1

The Demand for a Sign

16:1 Now when the Pharisees ¹  and Sadducees ²  came to test Jesus, ³  they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ⁴ 

Matthew 16:6

16:6 “Watch out,” Jesus said to them, “beware of the yeast of the Pharisees ⁵  and Sadducees.” ⁶ 

Matthew 16:12

16:12 Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Matthew 22:23-33

Marriage and the Resurrection

22:23 The same day Sadducees ⁷  (who say there is no resurrection) ⁸  came to him and asked him, ⁹  22:24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and father children ¹⁰  for his brother.’ ¹¹  22:25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children he left his wife to his brother. 22:26 The second did the same, and the third, down to the seventh. 22:27 Last ¹²  of all, the woman died. 22:28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” ¹³  22:29 Jesus ¹⁴  answered them, “You are deceived, ¹⁵  because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God. 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels ¹⁶  in heaven. 22:31 Now as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, ¹⁷  22:32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ¹⁸  He is not the God of the dead but of the living!” ¹⁹  22:33 When the crowds heard this, they were amazed at his teaching.

Mark 12:18-27

Marriage and the Resurrection

12:18 Sadducees ²⁰  (who say there is no resurrection) ²¹  also came to him and asked him, ²²  12:19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us: ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man ²³  must marry ²⁴  the widow and father children ²⁵  for his brother.’ ²⁶  12:20 There were seven brothers. The first one married, ²⁷  and when he died he had no children. 12:21 The second married her and died without any children, and likewise the third. 12:22 None of the seven had children. Finally, the woman died too. 12:23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, ²⁸  whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” ²⁹  12:24 Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you deceived ³⁰  for this reason, because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God? 12:25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels ³¹  in heaven. 12:26 Now as for the dead being raised, ³²  have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, ³³  how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the ³⁴  God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ³⁵  12:27 He is not the God of the dead but of the living. ³⁶  You are badly mistaken!”

Acts 4:1-2

The Arrest and Trial of Peter and John

4:1 While Peter and John ³⁷  were speaking to the people, the priests and the commander ³⁸  of the temple guard ³⁹  and the Sadducees ⁴⁰  came up ⁴¹  to them, 4:2 angry ⁴²  because they were teaching the people and announcing ⁴³  in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

Acts 5:17

Further Trouble for the Apostles

5:17 Now the high priest rose up, and all those with him (that is, the religious party of the Sadducees ⁴⁴ ), ⁴⁵  and they were filled with jealousy. ⁴⁶ 

Acts 23:6-8

23:6 Then when Paul noticed ⁴⁷  that part of them were Sadducees ⁴⁸  and the others Pharisees, ⁴⁹  he shouted out in the council, ⁵⁰  “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection ⁵¹  of the dead!” 23:7 When he said this, ⁵²  an argument ⁵³  began ⁵⁴  between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 23:8 (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.) ⁵⁵ 

Acts 23:1

23:1 Paul looked directly ⁵⁶  at the council ⁵⁷  and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience ⁵⁸  before God to this day.”

Colossians 1:12

1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ⁵⁹  in the saints’ ⁶⁰  inheritance in the light.

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁶¹  brothers and sisters ⁶²  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁶³  from God our Father! ⁶⁴ 

Colossians 2:17-18

2:17 these are only ⁶⁵  the shadow of the things to come, but the reality ⁶⁶  is Christ! ⁶⁷  2:18 Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths ⁶⁸  about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind. ⁶⁹ 

[16:1]  ¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[16:1]  ² sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.

[16:1]  ³ tn The object of the participle πειράζοντες (peirazontes) is not given in the Greek text but has been supplied here for clarity.

[16:1]  ⁴ sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.

[16:6]  ⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[16:6]  ⁶ sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.

[22:23]  ⁷ sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.

[22:23]  ⁸ sn This remark is best regarded as a parenthetical note by the author.

[22:23]  ⁹ tn Grk “and asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[22:24]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and raise up seed,” an idiom for fathering children (L&N 23.59).

[22:24]  ¹¹ 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.

[22:27]  ¹² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[22:28]  ¹³ tn Grk “For all had her.”

[22:29]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[22:29]  ¹⁵ tn Or “mistaken” (cf. BDAG 822 s.v. πλανάω 2.c.γ).

[22:30]  ¹⁶ tc Most witnesses have “of God” after “angels,” although some mss read ἄγγελοι θεοῦ (angeloi qeou; א L ˹³ {28} 33 892 1241 1424 al) while others have ἄγγελοι τοῦ θεοῦ (angeloi tou qeou; W 0102 0161 Ï). Whether with or without the article, the reading “of God” appears to be motivated as a natural expansion. A few important witnesses lack the adjunct (B D Θ {0233} ˹ 700 {sa}); this coupled with strong internal evidence argues for the shorter reading.

[22:31]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “spoken to you by God, saying.” The participle λέγοντος (legontos) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[22:32]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Exod 3:6.

[22:32]  ¹⁹ sn He is not God of the dead but of the living. Jesus’ point was that if God could identify himself as God of the three old patriarchs, then they must still be alive when God spoke to Moses; and so they must be raised.

[12:18]  ²⁰ sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). They also did not believe in resurrection or in angels, an important detail in v. 25. See also Matt 3:7, 16:1-12, 22:23-34; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 4:1, 5:17, 23:6-8.

[12:18]  ²¹ sn This remark is best regarded as a parenthetical note by the author.

[12:18]  ²² tn Grk “and asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[12:19]  ²³ tn Grk “his brother”; but this would be redundant in English with the same phrase “his brother” at the end of the verse, so most modern translations render this phrase “the man” (so NIV, NRSV).

[12:19]  ²⁴ tn The use of ἵνα (Jina) with imperatival force is unusual (BDF §470.1).

[12:19]  ²⁵ tn Grk “raise up seed” (an idiom for fathering children).

[12:19]  ²⁶ 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.

[12:20]  ²⁷ tn Grk “took a wife” (an idiom for marrying a woman).

[12:23]  ²⁸ tc The words “when they rise again” are missing from several important witnesses (א B C D L W Δ Ψ 33 579 892 2427 pc c r¹ k sy^p co). They are included in A Θ Ë^1,(13) Ï lat sy^s,h. The strong external pedigree of the shorter reading gives one pause. Nevertheless, the Alexandrian and other mss most likely dropped the words from the text either to conform the wording to the parallel in Matt 22:28 or because “when they rise again” was redundant. But the inclusion of these words is thoroughly compatible with Mark’s usually pleonastic style (see TCGNT 93), and therefore most probably authentic to Mark’s Gospel.

[12:23]  ²⁹ tn Grk “For the seven had her as wife.”

[12:24]  ³⁰ tn Or “mistaken” (cf. BDAG 822 s.v. πλανάω 2.c.γ).

[12:25]  ³¹ sn Angels do not die, nor do they eat according to Jewish tradition (1 En. 15:6; 51:4; Wis 5:5; 2 Bar. 51:10; 1QH 3.21-23).

[12:26]  ³² tn Grk “Now as for the dead that they are raised.”

[12:26]  ³³ sn See Exod 3:6. Jesus used a common form of rabbinic citation here to refer to the passage in question.

[12:26]  ³⁴ tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[12:26]  ³⁵ sn A quotation from Exod 3:6.

[12:27]  ³⁶ sn He is not God of the dead but of the living. Jesus’ point was that if God could identify himself as God of the three old patriarchs, then they must still be alive when God spoke to Moses; and so they must be raised.

[4:1]  ³⁷ tn Grk “While they”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:1]  ³⁸ tn Or “captain.”

[4:1]  ³⁹ tn Grk “the official of the temple,” a title for the commander of the Jewish soldiers guarding the temple (thus the translation, “the commander of the temple guard”). See L&N 37.91.

[4:1]  ⁴⁰ sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 3:7; 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[4:1]  ⁴¹ tn Or “approached.” This verb often denotes a sudden appearing (BDAG 418 s.v. ἐφίστημι 1).

[4:2]  ⁴² tn Or “greatly annoyed,” “provoked.”

[4:2]  ⁴³ tn Or “proclaiming.”

[5:17]  ⁴⁴ sn See the note on Sadducees in 4:1.

[5:17]  ⁴⁵ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[5:17]  ⁴⁶ sn Filled with jealousy. In Acts, the term “jealousy” (ζήλος, zhlos) occurs only here and in Acts 13:45. It is a key term in Judaism for religiously motivated rage (1 Macc 2:24; 1QH 14:13-15; m. Sanhedrin 9:5). It was a zeal motivated by a desire to maintain the purity of the faith.

[23:6]  ⁴⁷ tn BDAG 200 s.v. γινώσκω 4 has “to be aware of someth., perceive, notice, realize”; this is further clarified by section 4.c: “w. ὅτι foll….Ac 23:6.”

[23:6]  ⁴⁸ sn See the note on Sadducees in 4:1.

[23:6]  ⁴⁹ sn See the note on Pharisee in 5:34.

[23:6]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:6]  ⁵¹ tn That is, concerning the hope that the dead will be resurrected. Grk “concerning the hope and resurrection.” BDAG 320 s.v. ἐλπίς 1.b.α states, “Of Israel’s messianic hope Ac 23:6 (ἐ. καὶ ἀνάστασις for ἐ. τῆς ἀν. [obj. gen] as 2 Macc 3:29 ἐ. καὶ σωτηρία).” With an objective genitive construction, the resurrection of the dead would be the “object” of the hope.

[23:7]  ⁵² tn The participle εἰπόντος (eiponto") has been translated temporally.

[23:7]  ⁵³ tn Or “a dispute” (BDAG 940 s.v. στάσις 3).

[23:7]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “there came about an argument.” This has been simplified to “an argument began”

[23:8]  ⁵⁵ tn BDAG 55 s.v. ἀμφότεροι 2 has “all, even when more than two are involved…Φαρισαῖοι ὁμολογοῦσιν τὰ ἀ. believe in them all 23:8.” On this belief see Josephus, J. W. 2.8.14 (2.163); Ant. 18.1.3 (18.14).

[23:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “Paul, looking directly at the council, said.” The participle ἀτενίσας (atenisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:1]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:1]  ⁵⁸ tn BDAG 846 s.v. πολιτεύομαι 3 has “W. a double dat. συνειδήσει ἀγαθῇ πεπολίτευμαι τῷ θεῷ I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God Ac 23:1.”

[1:12]  ⁵⁹ tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.

[1:12]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”

[1:2]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁶² tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ⁶³ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁶⁴ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[2:17]  ⁶⁵ tn The word “only,” though not in the Greek text, is supplied in the English translation to bring out the force of the Greek phrase.

[2:17]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “but the body of Christ.” The term body here, when used in contrast to shadow (σκιά, skia) indicates the opposite meaning, i.e., the reality or substance itself.

[2:17]  ⁶⁷ tn The genitive τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou) is appositional and translated as such: “the reality is Christ.”

[2:18]  ⁶⁸ tn For the various views on the translation of ἐμβατεύων (embateuwn), see BDAG 321 s.v. ἐμβατεύω 4. The idea in this context seems to be that the individual in question loves to talk on and on about his spiritual experiences, but in reality they are only coming out of his own sinful flesh.

[2:18]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “by the mind of his flesh.” In the translation above, σαρκός (sarkos) is taken as an attributive genitive. The phrase could also be translated “by his sinful thoughts,” since it appears that Paul is using σάρξ (sarx, “flesh”) here in a morally negative way.