Proverbs 11:11

11:11 A city is exalted by the blessing provided from ¹  the upright,

but it is destroyed by the counsel ²  of the wicked. ³ 

Isaiah 28:14-22

The Lord Will Judge Jerusalem

28:14 Therefore, listen to the Lord’s word,

you who mock,

you rulers of these people

who reside in Jerusalem! ⁴ 

28:15 For you say,

“We have made a treaty with death,

with Sheol ⁵  we have made an agreement. ⁶ 

When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by ⁷ 

it will not reach us.

For we have made a lie our refuge,

we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.” ⁸ 

28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:

“Look, I am laying ⁹  a stone in Zion,

an approved ¹⁰  stone,

set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. ¹¹ 

The one who maintains his faith will not panic. ¹² 

28:17 I will make justice the measuring line,

fairness the plumb line;

hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, ¹³ 

the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.

28:18 Your treaty with death will be dissolved; ¹⁴ 

your agreement ¹⁵  with Sheol will not last. ¹⁶ 

When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, ¹⁷ 

you will be overrun by it. ¹⁸ 

28:19 Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you;

indeed, ¹⁹  every morning it will sweep by,

it will come through during the day and the night.” ²⁰ 

When this announcement is understood,

it will cause nothing but terror.

28:20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,

and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself. ²¹ 

28:21 For the Lord will rise up, as he did at Mount Perazim, ²² 

he will rouse himself, as he did in the Valley of Gibeon, ²³ 

to accomplish his work,

his peculiar work,

to perform his task,

his strange task. ²⁴ 

28:22 So now, do not mock,

or your chains will become heavier!

For I have heard a message about decreed destruction,

from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land. ²⁵ 

Matthew 27:39-43

27:39 Those ²⁶  who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads 27:40 and saying, “You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! ²⁷  If you are God’s Son, come down ²⁸  from the cross!” 27:41 In ²⁹  the same way even the chief priests – together with the experts in the law ³⁰  and elders ³¹  – were mocking him: ³²  27:42 “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the king of Israel! If he comes down ³³  now from the cross, we will believe in him! 27:43 He trusts in God – let God, if he wants to, deliver him now ³⁴  because he said, ‘I am God’s Son’!”

John 9:40-41

9:40 Some of the Pharisees ³⁵  who were with him heard this ³⁶  and asked him, ³⁷  “We are not blind too, are we?” ³⁸  9:41 Jesus replied, ³⁹  “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin, ⁴⁰  but now because you claim that you can see, ⁴¹  your guilt ⁴²  remains.” ⁴³ 

John 11:47-50

11:47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees ⁴⁴  called the council ⁴⁵  together and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs. 11:48 If we allow him to go on in this way, ⁴⁶  everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary ⁴⁷  and our nation.”

11:49 Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said, ⁴⁸  “You know nothing at all! 11:50 You do not realize ⁴⁹  that it is more to your advantage to have one man ⁵⁰  die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.” ⁵¹ 

John 11:1

The Death of Lazarus

11:1 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. ⁵² 

John 2:15-16

2:15 So he made a whip of cords ⁵³  and drove them all out of the temple courts, ⁵⁴  with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers ⁵⁵  and overturned their tables. 2:16 To those who sold the doves he said, “Take these things away from here! Do not make ⁵⁶  my Father’s house a marketplace!” ⁵⁷ 

[11:11]  ¹ tn Heb “the blessing of the upright.” This expression features either an objective or subjective genitive. It may refer to the blessing God gives the upright (which will benefit society) or the blessing that the upright are to the city. The latter fits the parallelism best: The blessings are the beneficent words and deeds that the righteous perform.

[11:11]  ² tn Heb “mouth.” The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for counsel, as the parallelism suggests.

[11:11]  ³ sn What the wicked say has a disastrous effect on society, endangering, weakening, demoralizing, and perverting with malicious and slanderous words. Wicked leaders, in particular, can bring destruction on a city by their evil counsel.

[28:14]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[28:15]  ⁵ sn Sheol is the underworld, land of the dead, according to the OT world view.

[28:15]  ⁶ tn Elsewhere the noun חֹזֶה (khozeh) refers to a prophet who sees visions. In v. 18 the related term חָזוּת (khazut, “vision”) is used. The parallelism in both verses (note “treaty”) seems to demand a meaning “agreement” for both nouns. Perhaps חֹזֶה and חזוּת are used in a metonymic sense in vv. 15 and 18. Another option is to propose a homonymic root. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:514, and HALOT 301 s.v. II חֹזֶה.

[28:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “the overwhelming scourge, when it passes by” (NRSV similar).

[28:15]  ⁸ sn “Lie” and “deceitful word” would not be the terms used by the people. They would likely use the words “promise” and “reliable word,” but the prophet substitutes “lie” and “deceitful word” to emphasize that this treaty with death will really prove to be disappointing.

[28:16]  ⁹ tc The Hebrew text has a third person verb form, which does not agree with the first person suffix that precedes. The form should be emended to יֹסֵד (yosed), a Qal active participle used in a present progressive or imminent future sense.

[28:16]  ¹⁰ tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.

[28:16]  ¹¹ sn The reality behind the metaphor is not entirely clear from the context. The stone appears to represent someone or something that gives Zion stability. Perhaps the ideal Davidic ruler is in view (see 32:1). Another option is that the image of beginning a building project by laying a precious cornerstone suggests that God is about to transform Zion through judgment and begin a new covenant community that will experience his protection (see 4:3-6; 31:5; 33:20-24; 35:10).

[28:16]  ¹² tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.

[28:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “[the] refuge, [the] lie.” See v. 15.

[28:18]  ¹⁴ tn On the meaning of כָּפַר (kafar) in this context, see HALOT 494 s.v. I כפר and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:515, n. 9.

[28:18]  ¹⁵ tn Normally the noun חָזוּת (khazut) means “vision.” See the note at v. 15.

[28:18]  ¹⁶ tn Or “will not stand” (NIV, NRSV).

[28:18]  ¹⁷ tn See the note at v. 15.

[28:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “you will become a trampling place for it.”

[28:19]  ¹⁹ tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[28:19]  ²⁰ tn The words “it will come through” are supplied in the translation. The verb “will sweep by” does double duty in the parallel structure.

[28:20]  ²¹ sn The bed and blanket probably symbolize their false sense of security. A bed that is too short and a blanket that is too narrow may promise rest and protection from the cold, but in the end they are useless and disappointing. In the same way, their supposed treaty with death will prove useless and disappointing.

[28:21]  ²² sn This probably alludes to David’s victory over the Philistines at Baal Perazim. See 2 Sam 5:20.

[28:21]  ²³ sn This probably alludes to the Lord’s victory over the Canaanites at Gibeon, during the days of Joshua. See Josh 10:10-11.

[28:21]  ²⁴ sn God’s judgment of his own people is called “his peculiar work” and “his strange task,” because he must deal with them the way he treated their enemies in the past.

[28:22]  ²⁵ tn Or “the whole earth” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NCV).

[27:39]  ²⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:40]  ²⁷ sn There is rich irony in the statements of those who were passing by, “save yourself!” and “come down from the cross!” In summary, they wanted Jesus to come down from the cross and save his physical life, but it was indeed his staying on the cross and giving his physical life that led to the fact that they could experience a resurrection from death to life.

[27:40]  ²⁸ tc ‡ Many important witnesses (א* A D pc it sy^[s],p) read καί (kai, here with the force of “then”) before κατάβηθι (katabhqi, “come down”). The shorter reading may well be due to homoioarcton, but judging by the diverse external evidence (א² B L W Θ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) it is equally possible that the shorter reading is original (and is so considered for this translation). NA²⁷ puts the καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[27:41]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:41]  ³⁰ tn Or “with the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[27:41]  ³¹ tn Only “chief priests” is in the nominative case; this sentence structure attempts to capture this emphasis.

[27:41]  ³² tn Grk “Mocking him, the chief priests…said.”

[27:42]  ³³ tn Here the aorist imperative καταβάτω (katabatw) has been translated as a conditional imperative. This fits the pattern of other conditional imperatives (imperative + καί + future indicative) outlined by ExSyn 489.

[27:43]  ³⁴ sn An allusion to Ps 22:8.

[9:40]  ³⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[9:40]  ³⁶ tn Grk “heard these things.”

[9:40]  ³⁷ tn Grk “and said to him.”

[9:40]  ³⁸ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are we?”).

[9:41]  ³⁹ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[9:41]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “you would not have sin.”

[9:41]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “now because you say, ‘We see…’”

[9:41]  ⁴² tn Or “your sin.”

[9:41]  ⁴³ sn Because you claim that you can see, your guilt remains. The blind man received sight physically, and this led him to see spiritually as well. But the Pharisees, who claimed to possess spiritual sight, were spiritually blinded. The reader might recall Jesus’ words to Nicodemus in 3:10, “Are you the teacher of Israel and don’t understand these things?” In other words, to receive Jesus was to receive the light of the world, to reject him was to reject the light, close one’s eyes, and become blind. This is the serious sin of which Jesus had warned before (8:21-24). The blindness of such people was incurable since they had rejected the only cure that exists (cf. 12:39-41).

[11:47]  ⁴⁴ tn The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.

[11:47]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). The συνέδριον (sunedrion) which they gathered was probably an informal meeting rather than the official Sanhedrin. This is the only occurrence of the word συνέδριον in the Gospel of John, and the only anarthrous singular use in the NT. There are other plural anarthrous uses which have the general meaning “councils.” The fact that Caiaphas in 11:49 is referred to as “one of them” supports the unofficial nature of the meeting; in the official Sanhedrin he, being high priest that year, would have presided over the assembly. Thus it appears that an informal council was called to discuss what to do about Jesus and his activities.

[11:48]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “If we let him do thus.”

[11:48]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “holy place”; Grk “our place” (a reference to the temple in Jerusalem).

[11:49]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “said to them.” The indirect object αὐτοῖς (autois) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[11:50]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “you are not considering.”

[11:50]  ⁵⁰ tn Although it is possible to argue that ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") should be translated “person” here since it is not necessarily masculinity that is in view in Caiaphas’ statement, “man” was retained in the translation because in 11:47 “this man” (οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος, outo" Jo anqrwpo") has as its referent a specific individual, Jesus, and it was felt this connection should be maintained.

[11:50]  ⁵¹ sn In his own mind Caiaphas was no doubt giving voice to a common-sense statement of political expediency. Yet he was unconsciously echoing a saying of Jesus himself (cf. Mark 10:45). Caiaphas was right; the death of Jesus would save the nation from destruction. Yet Caiaphas could not suspect that Jesus would die, not in place of the political nation Israel, but on behalf of the true people of God; and he would save them, not from physical destruction, but from eternal destruction (cf. 3:16-17). The understanding of Caiaphas’ words in a sense that Caiaphas could not possibly have imagined at the time he uttered them serves as a clear example of the way in which the author understood that words and actions could be invested retrospectively with a meaning not consciously intended or understood by those present at the time.

[11:1]  ⁵² tn Grk “from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.”

[2:15]  ⁵³ tc Several witnesses, two of which are quite ancient (Ì^66,75 L N ˹ 33 565 892 1241 al lat), have ὡς (Jws, “like”) before φραγέλλιον (fragellion, “whip”). A decision based on external evidence would be difficult to make because the shorter reading also has excellent witnesses, as well as the majority, on its side (א A B Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï co). Internal evidence, though, leans toward the shorter reading. Scribes tended to add to the text, and the addition of ὡς here clearly softens the assertion of the evangelist: Instead of making a whip of cords, Jesus made “[something] like a whip of cords.”

[2:15]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “the temple.”

[2:15]  ⁵⁵ sn Because of the imperial Roman portraits they carried, Roman denarii and Attic drachmas were not permitted to be used in paying the half-shekel temple-tax (the Jews considered the portraits idolatrous). The money changers exchanged these coins for legal Tyrian coinage at a small profit.

[2:16]  ⁵⁶ tn Or (perhaps) “Stop making.”

[2:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “a house of merchants” (an allusion to Zech 14:21).