Psalms 12:2

12:2 People lie to one another; ¹ 

they flatter and deceive. ² 

Psalms 37:12

37:12 Evil men plot against the godly ³ 

and viciously attack them. ⁴ 

Psalms 37:32

37:32 Evil men set an ambush for the godly

and try to kill them. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 41:2

41:2 Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him stood up, pulled out their swords, and killed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan. Thus Ishmael killed the man that the king of Babylon had appointed to govern the country.

Ezekiel 33:31

33:31 They come to you in crowds, ⁶  and they sit in front of you as ⁷  my people. They hear your words, but do not obey ⁸  them. For they talk lustfully, ⁹  and their heart is set on ¹⁰  their own advantage. ¹¹ 

Micah 7:4-5

7:4 The best of them is like a thorn;

the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes. ¹² 

The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –

your appointed time of punishment – is on the way, ¹³ 

and then you will experience confusion. ¹⁴ 

7:5 Do not rely on a friend;

do not trust a companion!

Don’t even share secrets with the one who lies in your arms! ¹⁵ 

Luke 20:19-21

20:19 Then ¹⁶  the experts in the law ¹⁷  and the chief priests wanted to arrest ¹⁸  him that very hour, because they realized he had told this parable against them. But ¹⁹  they were afraid of the people.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

20:20 Then ²⁰  they watched him carefully and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. ²¹  They wanted to take advantage of what he might say ²²  so that they could deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction ²³  of the governor. 20:21 Thus ²⁴  they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly, ²⁵  and show no partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ²⁶ 

[12:2]  ¹ tn Heb “falsehood they speak, a man with his neighbor.” The imperfect verb forms in v. 2 describe what is typical in the psalmist’s experience.

[12:2]  ² tn Heb “[with] a lip of smoothness, with a heart and a heart they speak.” Speaking a “smooth” word refers to deceptive flattery (cf. Ps 5:9; 55:21; Prov 2:16; 5:3; 7:5, 21; 26:28; 28:23; Isa 30:10). “Heart” here refers to their mind, from which their motives and intentions originate. The repetition of the noun indicates diversity (see GKC 396 §123.f, IBHS 116 §7.2.3c, and Deut 25:13, where the phrase “weight and a weight” refers to two different measuring weights). These people have two different types of “hearts.” Their flattering words seem to express kind motives and intentions, but this outward display does not really reflect their true motives. Their real “heart” is filled with evil thoughts and destructive intentions. The “heart” that is seemingly displayed through their words is far different from the real “heart” they keep disguised. (For the idea see Ps 28:3.) In 1 Chr 12:33 the phrase “without a heart and a heart” means “undivided loyalty.”

[37:12]  ³ tn Or “innocent.” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and the typical godly individual are in view.

[37:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “and gnashes at him with his teeth” (see Ps 35:16). The language may picture the evil men as wild animals. The active participles in v. 12 are used for purposes of dramatic description.

[37:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “an evil [one] watches the godly [one] and seeks to kill him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and godly individual are in view. The active participles describe characteristic behavior.

[33:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.

[33:31]  ⁷ tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.

[33:31]  ⁸ tn Heb “do.”

[33:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”

[33:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “goes after.”

[33:31]  ¹¹ tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term which can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.

[7:4]  ¹² tn Heb “[the] godly from a row of thorn bushes.” The preposition מִן (min) is comparative and the comparative element (perhaps “sharper” is the idea) is omitted. See BDB 582 s.v. 6 and GKC 431 §133.e.

[7:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “the day of your watchmen, your appointed [time], is coming.” The present translation takes “watchmen” to refer to actual sentries. However, the “watchmen” could refer figuratively to the prophets who had warned Judah of approaching judgment. In this case one could translate, “The day your prophets warned about – your appointed time of punishment – is on the way.”

[7:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and now will be their confusion.”

[7:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from the one who lies in your arms, guard the doors of your mouth.”

[20:19]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[20:19]  ¹⁷ tn Or “The scribes” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[20:19]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “tried to lay hands on him.”

[20:19]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[20:20]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[20:20]  ²¹ tn Grk “righteous,” but in this context the point is their false sincerity.

[20:20]  ²² tn Grk “so that they might catch him in some word.”

[20:20]  ²³ tn This word is often translated “authority” in other contexts, but here, in combination with ἀρχή (arch), it refers to the domain or sphere of the governor’s rule (L&N 37.36).

[20:21]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “thus” to indicate the implied result of the plans by the spies.

[20:21]  ²⁵ tn Or “precisely”; Grk “rightly.” Jesus teaches exactly, the straight and narrow.

[20:21]  ²⁶ sn Teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Very few comments are as deceitful as this one; they did not really believe this at all. The question was specifically designed to trap Jesus.