Numbers 31:50

31:50 So we have brought as an offering for the Lord what each man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves ¹  before the Lord.” ² 

Numbers 31:2

31:2 “Exact vengeance ³  for the Israelites on the Midianites ⁴  – after that you will be gathered to your people.” ⁵ 

Numbers 24:6

24:6 They are like ⁶  valleys ⁷  stretched forth,

like gardens by the river’s side,

like aloes ⁸  that the Lord has planted,

and like cedar trees beside the waters.

Job 33:24

33:24 and if ⁹  God ¹⁰  is gracious to him and says,

‘Spare ¹¹  him from going down

to the place of corruption,

I have found a ransom for him,’ ¹² 

Job 36:18

36:18 Be careful that ¹³  no one entices you with riches;

do not let a large bribe ¹⁴  turn you aside.

Psalms 49:7

49:7 Certainly a man cannot rescue his brother; ¹⁵ 

he cannot pay God an adequate ransom price ¹⁶ 

Matthew 20:28

20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom ¹⁷  for many.”

Mark 10:45

10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom ¹⁸  for many.”

Mark 10:1

Divorce

10:1 Then ¹⁹  Jesus ²⁰  left that place and went to the region of Judea and ²¹  beyond the Jordan River. ²²  Again crowds gathered to him, and again, as was his custom, he taught them.

Mark 2:6

2:6 Now some of the experts in the law ²³  were sitting there, turning these things over in their minds: ²⁴ 

Mark 2:1

Healing and Forgiving a Paralytic

2:1 Now ²⁵  after some days, when he returned to Capernaum, ²⁶  the news spread ²⁷  that he was at home.

Mark 1:18-19

1:18 They left their nets immediately and followed him. ²⁸  1:19 Going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother in their ²⁹  boat mending nets.

[31:50]  ¹ tn Heb “our souls.”

[31:50]  ² sn The expression here may include the idea of finding protection from divine wrath, which is so common to Leviticus, but it may also be a thank offering for the fact that their lives had been spared.

[31:2]  ³ tn The imperative is followed by its cognate accusative to stress this vengeance. The Midianites had attempted to destroy Israel with their corrupt pagan practices, and now will be judged. The accounts indicate that the effort by Midian was calculated and evil.

[31:2]  ⁴ sn The war was commanded by the Lord and was to be divine vengeance on the Midianites. So it was holy war. No Israelites then could take spoils in this – it was not a time for plunder and aggrandizement. It was part of the judgment of God upon those who would destroy or pervert his plan and his people.

[31:2]  ⁵ sn This would be the last major enterprise that Moses would have to undertake. He would soon die and “be gathered to his people” as Aaron was.

[24:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “as valleys they spread forth.”

[24:6]  ⁷ tn Or “rows of palms.”

[24:6]  ⁸ sn The language seems to be more poetic than precise. N. H. Snaith notes that cedars do not grow beside water; he also connects “aloes” to the eaglewood that is more exotic, and capable of giving off an aroma (Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 298).

[33:24]  ⁹ tn This verse seems to continue the protasis begun in the last verse, with the apodosis coming in the next verse.

[33:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:24]  ¹¹ tc The verb is either taken as an anomalous form of פָּדַע (pada’, “to rescue; to redeem,” or “to exempt him”), or it is emended to some similar word, like פָּרַע (para’, “to let loose,” so Wright).

[33:24]  ¹² sn This verse and v. 28 should be compared with Ps 49:7-9, 15 (8-10, 16 HT) where the same basic vocabulary and concepts are employed.

[36:18]  ¹³ tn The first expression is idiomatic: the text says, “because wrath lest it entice you” – thus, beware.

[36:18]  ¹⁴ tn The word is כֹּפֶר (kofer), often translated “ransom,” but frequently in the sense of a bribe.

[49:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a brother, he surely does not ransom, a man.” The sequence אִישׁ...אָח (’akh...’ish, “a brother…a man”) is problematic, for the usual combination is אָח...אָח (“a brother…a brother”) or אִישׁ...אִישׁ (“a man…a man”). When אִישׁ and אָח are combined, the usual order is אָח...אִישׁ (“a man…a brother”), with “brother” having a third masculine singular suffix, “his brother.” This suggests that “brother” is the object of the verb and “man” the subject. (1) Perhaps the altered word order and absence of the suffix can be explained by the text’s poetic character, for ellipsis is a feature of Hebrew poetic style. (2) Another option, supported by a few medieval Hebrew mss, is to emend “brother” to the similar sounding אַךְ (’akh, “surely; but”) which occurs in v. 15 before the verb פָּדָה (padah, “ransom”). If this reading is accepted the Qal imperfect יִפְדֶּה (yifddeh, “he can [not] ransom”) would need to be emended to a Niphal (passive) form, יִפָּדֶה (yifadeh, “he can[not] be ransomed”) unless one understands the subject of the Qal verb to be indefinite (“one cannot redeem a man”). (A Niphal imperfect can be collocated with a Qal infinitive absolute. See GKC 344-45 §113.w.) No matter how one decides the textual issues, the imperfect in this case is modal, indicating potential, and the infinitive absolute emphasizes the statement.

[49:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he cannot pay to God his ransom price.” Num 35:31 may supply the legal background for the metaphorical language used here. The psalmist pictures God as having a claim on the soul of the individual. When God comes to claim the life that ultimately belongs to him, he demands a ransom price that is beyond the capability of anyone to pay. The psalmist’s point is that God has ultimate authority over life and death; all the money in the world cannot buy anyone a single day of life beyond what God has decreed.

[20:28]  ¹⁷ sn The Greek word for ransom (λύτρον, lutron) is found here and in Mark 10:45 and refers to the payment of a price in order to purchase the freedom of a slave. The idea of Jesus as the “ransom” is that he paid the price with his own life by standing in our place as a substitute, enduring the judgment that we deserved for sin.

[10:45]  ¹⁸ sn The Greek word for ransom (λύτρον, lutron) is found here and in Matt 20:28 and refers to the payment of a price in order to purchase the freedom of a slave. The idea of Jesus as the “ransom” is that he paid the price with his own life by standing in humanity’s place as a substitute, enduring the judgment that was deserved for sin.

[10:1]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[10:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:1]  ²¹ tc Alexandrian and other witnesses (א B C* L Ψ 0274 892 2427 pc co) read καὶ πέραν (kai peran, “and beyond”), while Western and Caesarean witnesses (C² D W Δ Θ Ë^1,13 28 565 579 1241 al) read πέραν (simply “beyond”). It is difficult to decide between the Alexandrian and Western readings here, but since the parallel in Matt 19:1 omits καί the weight is slightly in favor of including it here; scribes may have omitted the word here to harmonize this passage to the Matthean passage. Because of the perceived geographical difficulties found in the earlier readings (omission of the word “and” would make it seem as though Judea is beyond the Jordan), the majority of the witnesses (A Ï) read διὰ τοῦ πέραν (dia tou peran, “through the other side”), perhaps trying to indicate the direction of Jesus’ travel.

[10:1]  ²² tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity. The region referred to here is sometimes known as Transjordan (i.e., “across the Jordan”).

[2:6]  ²³ tn Or “some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[2:6]  ²⁴ tn Grk “Reasoning within their hearts.”

[2:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[2:1]  ²⁶ sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

[2:1]  ²⁷ tn Grk “it was heard.”

[1:18]  ²⁸ sn The expression followed him pictures discipleship, which means that to learn from Jesus is to follow him as the guiding priority of one’s life.

[1:19]  ²⁹ tn Or “a boat.” The phrase ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ (en tw ploiw) can either refer to a generic boat, some boat (as it seems to do in Matt 4:21); or it can refer to “their” boat, implying possession. Mark assumes a certain preunderstanding on the part of his readers about the first four disciples and hence the translation “their boat” is justified (cf. also v. 20 in which the “hired men” indicates that Zebedee’s family owned the boats).