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 23:25

23:25 “Woe to you, experts in the law ³  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

Mark 10:20-21

10:20 The man ⁴  said to him, “Teacher, I have wholeheartedly obeyed ⁵  all these laws ⁶  since my youth.” ⁷  10:21 As Jesus looked at him, he felt love for him and said, “You lack one thing. Go, sell whatever you have and give the money ⁸  to the poor, and you will have treasure ⁹  in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Luke 1:6

1:6 They ¹⁰  were both righteous in the sight of God, following ¹¹  all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. ¹² 

Acts 26:5

26:5 They know, ¹³  because they have known ¹⁴  me from time past, ¹⁵  if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party ¹⁶  of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. ¹⁷ 

Romans 7:9

7:9 And I was once alive apart from the law, but with the coming of the commandment sin became alive

Romans 9:31-32

9:31 but Israel even though pursuing ¹⁸  a law of righteousness ¹⁹  did not attain it. ²⁰  9:32 Why not? Because they pursued ²¹  it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. ²²  They stumbled over the stumbling stone, ²³ 

Romans 10:2-5

10:2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, ²⁴  but their zeal is not in line with the truth. ²⁵  10:3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes.

10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.” ²⁶ 

[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.

[23:25]  ³ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[10:20]  ⁴ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the man who asked the question in v. 17) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:20]  ⁵ tn Grk “kept.” The implication of this verb is that the man has obeyed the commandments without fail throughout his life, so the adverb “wholeheartedly” has been added to the translation to bring out this nuance.

[10:20]  ⁶ tn Grk “these things.” The referent of the pronoun (the laws mentioned by Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:20]  ⁷ sn Since my youth. Judaism regarded the age of thirteen as the age when a man would have become responsible to live by God’s commands.

[10:21]  ⁸ tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[10:21]  ⁹ 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.

[1:6]  ¹⁰ 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.

[1:6]  ¹¹ tn Grk “walking in” (an idiom for one’s lifestyle).

[1:6]  ¹² tn The predicate adjective has the effect of an adverb here (BDF §243).

[26:5]  ¹³ tn These words are repeated from v. 4 (“all the Jews know”). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, it was necessary to begin a new sentence at the beginning of v. 5 in the translation, but for this to make sense, the main verb ἵσασι ({isasi) has to be repeated to connect with the ὅτι (Joti) clause (indirect discourse) in v. 5.

[26:5]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “having known me from time past.” The participle προγινώσκοντες (proginwskonte") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[26:5]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 866 s.v. προγινώσκω 2 has “Know from time past…προγινώσκοντές με ἄνωθεν Ac 26:5.” L&N 28.6 states, “‘they have already known me beforehand, if they are willing to testify’ Ac 26:5.”

[26:5]  ¹⁶ tn That is, strictest religious party. “Party” alone is used in the translation because “the strictest religious party of our religion” would be redundant.

[26:5]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on Pharisee in 5:34.

[9:31]  ¹⁸ tn Or “who pursued.” The participle could be taken adverbially or adjectivally.

[9:31]  ¹⁹ tn Or “a legal righteousness,” that is, a righteousness based on law. This translation would treat the genitive δικαιοσύνης (dikaiosunh") as an attributed genitive (see ExSyn 89-91).

[9:31]  ²⁰ tn Grk “has not attained unto the law.”

[9:32]  ²¹ tn Grk “Why? Because not by faith but as though by works.” The verb (“they pursued [it]”) is to be supplied from the preceding verse for the sake of English style; yet a certain literary power is seen in Paul’s laconic style.

[9:32]  ²² tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א² D Ψ 33 Ï sy), read νόμου (nomou, “of the law”) here, echoing Paul’s usage in Rom 3:20, 28 and elsewhere. The qualifying phrase is lacking in א* A B F G 6 629 630 1739 1881 pc lat co. The longer reading thus is weaker externally and internally, being motivated apparently by a need to clarify.

[9:32]  ²³ tn Grk “the stone of stumbling.”

[10:2]  ²⁴ tn Grk “they have a zeal for God.”

[10:2]  ²⁵ tn Grk “in accord with knowledge.”

[10:5]  ²⁶ sn A quotation from Lev 18:5.