Matthew 9:11

9:11 When the Pharisees ¹  saw this they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ² 

Luke 5:30

5:30 But ³  the Pharisees ⁴  and their experts in the law ⁵  complained ⁶  to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” ⁷ 

Luke 7:39

7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, ⁸  he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, ⁹  he would know who and what kind of woman ¹⁰  this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”

Luke 15:2

15:2 But ¹¹  the Pharisees ¹²  and the experts in the law ¹³  were complaining, ¹⁴  “This man welcomes ¹⁵  sinners and eats with them.”

Luke 15:28-30

15:28 But the older son ¹⁶  became angry ¹⁷  and refused ¹⁸  to go in. His father came out and appealed to him, 15:29 but he answered ¹⁹  his father, ‘Look! These many years I have worked like a slave ²⁰  for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet ²¹  you never gave me even a goat ²²  so that I could celebrate with my friends! 15:30 But when this son of yours ²³  came back, who has devoured ²⁴  your assets with prostitutes, ²⁵  you killed the fattened calf ²⁶  for him!’

Luke 18:9-12

The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector

18:9 Jesus ²⁷  also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down ²⁸  on everyone else. 18:10 “Two men went up ²⁹  to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee ³⁰  and the other a tax collector. ³¹  18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ³²  ‘God, I thank ³³  you that I am not like other people: ³⁴  extortionists, ³⁵  unrighteous people, ³⁶  adulterers – or even like this tax collector. ³⁷  18:12 I fast twice ³⁸  a week; I give a tenth ³⁹  of everything I get.’

Acts 22:21-22

22:21 Then ⁴⁰  he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

The Roman Commander Questions Paul

22:22 The crowd ⁴¹  was listening to him until he said this. ⁴²  Then ⁴³  they raised their voices and shouted, ⁴⁴  “Away with this man ⁴⁵  from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!” ⁴⁶ 

Romans 2:17-29

The Condemnation of the Jew

2:17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law ⁴⁷  and boast of your relationship to God ⁴⁸  2:18 and know his will ⁴⁹  and approve the superior things because you receive instruction from the law, ⁵⁰  2:19 and if you are convinced ⁵¹  that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 2:20 an educator of the senseless, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the essential features of knowledge and of the truth – 2:21 therefore ⁵²  you who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 2:22 You who tell others not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor ⁵³  idols, do you rob temples? 2:23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by transgressing the law! 2:24 For just as it is written, “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” ⁵⁴ 

2:25 For circumcision ⁵⁵  has its value if you practice the law, but ⁵⁶  if you break the law, ⁵⁷  your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcised man obeys ⁵⁸  the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 2:27 And will not the physically uncircumcised man ⁵⁹  who keeps the law judge you who, despite ⁶⁰  the written code ⁶¹  and circumcision, transgress the law? 2:28 For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something that is outward in the flesh, 2:29 but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart ⁶²  by the Spirit ⁶³  and not by the written code. ⁶⁴  This person’s ⁶⁵  praise is not from people but from God.

Jude 1:19

1:19 These people are divisive, ⁶⁶  worldly, ⁶⁷  devoid of the Spirit. ⁶⁸ 

[9:11]  ¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[9:11]  ² sn The issue here is inappropriate associations. Jews were very careful about personal associations and contact as a matter of ritual cleanliness. Their question borders on an accusation that Jesus is ritually unclean.

[5:30]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the implied contrast present in this context.

[5:30]  ⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[5:30]  ⁵ tn Or “and their scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[5:30]  ⁶ tn Or “grumbled”; a term often used in the OT for inappropriate grumbling: Exod 15:24; 16:7-8; Num 14:2, 26-35; 16:11.

[5:30]  ⁷ sn The issue here is inappropriate associations (eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners) and the accusation comes not against Jesus, but his disciples.

[7:39]  ⁸ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[7:39]  ⁹ tn This is a good example of a second class (contrary to fact) Greek conditional sentence. The Pharisee said, in effect, “If this man were a prophet (but he is not)…”

[7:39]  ¹⁰ sn The Pharisees believed in a form of separationism that would have prevented them from any kind of association with such a sinful woman.

[15:2]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[15:2]  ¹² sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[15:2]  ¹³ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[15:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “grumbling”; Grk “were complaining, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “accepts,” “receives.” This is not the first time this issue has been raised: Luke 5:27-32; 7:37-50.

[15:28]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the older son, v. 25) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:28]  ¹⁷ tn The aorist verb ὠργίσθη (wrgisqh) has been translated as an ingressive aorist, reflecting entry into a state or condition.

[15:28]  ¹⁸ sn Ironically the attitude of the older son has left him outside and without joy.

[15:29]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “but answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “but he answered.”

[15:29]  ²⁰ tn Or simply, “have served,” but in the emotional context of the older son’s outburst the translation given is closer to the point.

[15:29]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to bring out the contrast indicated by the context.

[15:29]  ²² sn You never gave me even a goat. The older son’s complaint was that the generous treatment of the younger son was not fair: “I can’t get even a little celebration with a basic food staple like a goat!”

[15:30]  ²³ sn Note the younger son is not “my brother” but this son of yours (an expression with a distinctly pejorative nuance).

[15:30]  ²⁴ sn This is another graphic description. The younger son’s consumption had been like a glutton. He had both figuratively and literally devoured the assets which were given to him.

[15:30]  ²⁵ sn The charge concerning the prostitutes is unproven, but essentially the older brother accuses the father of committing an injustice by rewarding his younger son’s unrighteous behavior.

[15:30]  ²⁶ sn See note on the phrase “fattened calf” in v. 23.

[18:9]  ²⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:9]  ²⁸ tn Grk “and despised.” This is a second parable with an explanatory introduction.

[18:10]  ²⁹ sn The temple is on a hill in Jerusalem, so one would go up to enter its precincts.

[18:10]  ³⁰ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[18:10]  ³¹ sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.

[18:11]  ³² tn Or “stood by himself and prayed like this.” The prepositional phrase πρὸς ἑαυτόν (pros eauton, “to/about himself”) could go with either the aorist participle σταθείς (staqeis, “stood”) or with the imperfect verb προσηύχετο (proshuceto, “he prayed”). If taken with the participle, then the meaning would seem at first glance to be: “stood ‘by himself’,” or “stood ‘alone’.” Now it is true that πρός can mean “by” or “with” when used with intransitive verbs such as ἵστημι ({isthmi, “I stand”; cf. BDAG 874 s.v. πρός 2.a), but πρὸς ἑαυτόν together never means “by himself” or “alone” in biblical Greek. On the other hand, if πρὸς ἑαυτόν is taken with the verb, then two different nuances emerge, both of which highlight in different ways the principal point Jesus seems to be making about the arrogance of this religious leader: (1) “prayed to himself,” but not necessarily silently, or (2) “prayed about himself,” with the connotation that he prayed out loud, for all to hear. Since his prayer is really a review of his moral résumé, directed both at advertising his own righteousness and exposing the perversion of the tax collector, whom he actually mentions in his prayer, the latter option seems preferable. If this is the case, then the Pharisee’s mention of God is really nothing more than a formality.

[18:11]  ³³ sn The Pharisee’s prayer started out as a thanksgiving psalm to God, but the praise ended up not being about God.

[18:11]  ³⁴ tn Here the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used as a generic and can refer to both men and women (NASB, NRSV, “people”; NLT, “everyone else”; NAB, “the rest of humanity”).

[18:11]  ³⁵ tn Or “swindlers” (BDAG 134 s.v. ἅρπαξ 2); see also Isa 10:2; Josephus, J. W. 6.3.4 [6.203].

[18:11]  ³⁶ sn A general category for “sinners” (1 Cor 6:9; Lev 19:3).

[18:11]  ³⁷ sn Note what the Pharisee assumes about the righteousness of this tax collector by grouping him with extortionists, unrighteous people, and adulterers.

[18:12]  ³⁸ sn The law only required fasting on the Day of Atonement. Such voluntary fasting as this practiced twice a week by the Pharisee normally took place on Monday and Thursday.

[18:12]  ³⁹ tn Or “I tithe.”

[22:21]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to Paul’s reply in v. 19, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[22:22]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “They were listening”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:22]  ⁴² tn Grk “until this word.”

[22:22]  ⁴³ tn Grk “And.” To indicate the logical sequence, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” here.

[22:22]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “and said.”

[22:22]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “this one.”

[22:22]  ⁴⁶ tn BDAG 491 s.v. καθήκω has “to be appropriate, come/reach to, be proper/fitting…Usu. impers. καθήκει it comes (to someone)…foll. by acc. and inf….οὐ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν he should not be allowed to live Ac 22:22.”

[2:17]  ⁴⁷ sn The law refers to the Mosaic law, described mainly in the OT books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

[2:17]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “boast in God.” This may be an allusion to Jer 9:24.

[2:18]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “the will.”

[2:18]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “because of being instructed out of the law.”

[2:19]  ⁵¹ tn This verb is parallel to the verbs in vv. 17-18a, so it shares the conditional meaning even though the word “if” is not repeated.

[2:21]  ⁵² tn The structure of vv. 21-24 is difficult. Some take these verses as the apodosis of the conditional clauses (protases) in vv. 17-20; others see vv. 17-20 as an instance of anacoluthon (a broken off or incomplete construction).

[2:22]  ⁵³ tn Or “detest.”

[2:24]  ⁵⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 52:5.

[2:25]  ⁵⁵ sn Circumcision refers to male circumcision as prescribed in the OT, which was given as a covenant to Abraham in Gen 17:10-14. Its importance for Judaism can hardly be overstated: According to J. D. G. Dunn (Romans [WBC], 1:120) it was the “single clearest distinguishing feature of the covenant people.” J. Marcus has suggested that the terms used for circumcision (περιτομή, peritomh) and uncircumcision (ἀκροβυστία, akrobustia) were probably derogatory slogans used by Jews and Gentiles to describe their opponents (“The Circumcision and the Uncircumcision in Rome,” NTS 35 [1989]: 77-80).

[2:25]  ⁵⁶ tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:25]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “if you should be a transgressor of the law.”

[2:26]  ⁵⁸ tn The Greek word φυλάσσω (fulassw, traditionally translated “keep”) in this context connotes preservation of and devotion to an object as well as obedience.

[2:27]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “the uncircumcision by nature.” The word “man” is supplied here to make clear that male circumcision (or uncircumcision) is in view.

[2:27]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “through,” but here the preposition seems to mean “(along) with,” “though provided with,” as BDAG 224 s.v. διά A.3.c indicates.

[2:27]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “letter.”

[2:29]  ⁶² sn On circumcision is of the heart see Lev 26:41; Deut 10:16; Jer 4:4; Ezek 44:9.

[2:29]  ⁶³ tn Some have taken the phrase ἐν πνεύματι (en pneumati, “by/in [the] S/spirit”) not as a reference to the Holy Spirit, but referring to circumcision as “spiritual and not literal” (RSV).

[2:29]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “letter.”

[2:29]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “whose.” The relative pronoun has been replaced by the phrase “this person’s” and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation.

[1:19]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “these are the ones who cause divisions.”

[1:19]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “natural,” that is, living on the level of instincts, not on a spiritual level (the same word occurs in 1 Cor 2:14 as a description of nonbelievers).

[1:19]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “not having [the] Spirit.”