Psalms 12:2

12:2 People lie to one another; ¹ 

they flatter and deceive. ² 

Psalms 55:21

55:21 His words are as smooth as butter, ³ 

but he harbors animosity in his heart. ⁴ 

His words seem softer than oil,

but they are really like sharp swords. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 42:2-3

42:2 They said to him, “Please grant our request ⁶  and pray to the Lord your God for all those of us who are still left alive here. ⁷  For, as you yourself can see, there are only a few of us left out of the many there were before. ⁸  42:3 Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.”

Matthew 22:16

22:16 They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, ⁹  saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ¹⁰  You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality. ¹¹ 

Matthew 26:49-50

26:49 Immediately ¹²  he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi,” and kissed him. ¹³  26:50 Jesus ¹⁴  said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then they came and took hold ¹⁵  of Jesus and arrested him.

Mark 12:14

12:14 When they came they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and do not court anyone’s favor, because you show no partiality ¹⁶  but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ¹⁷  Is it right ¹⁸  to pay taxes ¹⁹  to Caesar ²⁰  or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

John 3:2

3:2 came to Jesus ²¹  at night ²²  and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs ²³  that you do unless God is with him.”

[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.”

[55:21]  ³ tn Heb “the butter-like [words] of his mouth are smooth.” The noun מַחְמָאֹת (makhma’ot, “butter-like [words]”) occurs only here. Many prefer to emend the form to מֵחֶמְאָה (mekhem’ah, from [i.e., “than”] butter”), cf. NEB, NRSV “smoother than butter.” However, in this case “his mouth” does not agree in number with the plural verb חָלְקוּ (kholqu, “they are smooth”). Therefore some further propose an emendation of פִּיו (piv, “his mouth”) to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”). In any case, the point seems to that the psalmist’s former friend spoke kindly to him and gave the outward indications of friendship.

[55:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “and war [is in] his heart.”

[55:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “his words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords.”

[42:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “please let our petition fall before you.” For the idiom here see 37:20 and the translator’s note there.

[42:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “on behalf of us, [that is] on behalf of all this remnant.”

[42:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “For we are left a few from the many as your eyes are seeing us.” The words “used to be” are not in the text but are implicit. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness of English style.

[22:16]  ⁹ sn The Herodians are mentioned in the NT only once in Matt (22:16 = Mark 12:13) and twice in Mark (3:6; 12:13; some mss also read “Herodians” instead of “Herod” in Mark 8:15). It is generally assumed that as a group the Herodians were Jewish supporters of the Herodian dynasty (or of Herod Antipas in particular). In every instance they are linked with the Pharisees. This probably reflects agreement regarding political objectives (nationalism as opposed to submission to the yoke of Roman oppression) rather than philosophy or religious beliefs.

[22:16]  ¹⁰ 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 of the Pharisees and Herodians was specifically designed to trap Jesus.

[22:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And it is not a concern to you about anyone because you do not see the face of men.”

[26:49]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[26:49]  ¹³ sn Judas’ act of betrayal when he kissed Jesus is especially sinister when it is realized that it was common in the culture of the times for a disciple to kiss his master when greeting him.

[26:50]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:50]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and put their hands on Jesus.”

[12:14]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and it is not a concern to you about anyone because you do not see the face of men.”

[12:14]  ¹⁷ 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 of the Pharisees and Herodians was specifically designed to trap Jesus.

[12:14]  ¹⁸ tn Or “lawful,” that is, in accordance with God’s divine law. On the syntax of ἔξεστιν (exestin) with an infinitive and accusative, see BDF §409.3.

[12:14]  ¹⁹ tn According to L&N 57.180 the term κῆνσος (khnso") was borrowed from Latin and referred to a poll tax, a tax paid by each adult male to the Roman government.

[12:14]  ²⁰ tn Or “the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[3:2]  ²¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ²² tn Or “during the night.”

[3:2]  ²³ sn The reference to signs (σημεῖα, shmeia) forms a link with John 2:23-25. Those people in Jerusalem believed in Jesus because of the signs he had performed. Nicodemus had apparently seen them too. But for Nicodemus all the signs meant is that Jesus was a great teacher sent from God. His approach to Jesus was well-intentioned but theologically inadequate; he had failed to grasp the messianic implications of the miraculous signs.