Psalms 41:9

41:9 Even my close friend ¹  whom I trusted,

he who shared meals with me, has turned against me. ² 

Psalms 55:12-14

55:12 Indeed, ³  it is not an enemy who insults me,

or else I could bear it;

it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me, ⁴ 

or else I could hide from him.

55:13 But it is you, ⁵  a man like me, ⁶ 

my close friend in whom I confided. ⁷ 

55:14 We would share personal thoughts with each other; ⁸ 

in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.

Jeremiah 12:6

12:6 As a matter of fact, ⁹  even your own brothers

and the members of your own family have betrayed you too.

Even they have plotted to do away with you. ¹⁰ 

So do not trust them even when they say kind things ¹¹  to you.

Jeremiah 20:10

20:10 I ¹²  hear many whispering words of intrigue against me.

Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! ¹³ 

They are saying, “Come on, let’s publicly denounce him!” ¹⁴ 

All my so-called friends ¹⁵  are just watching for

something that would lead to my downfall. ¹⁶ 

They say, “Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up,

so we can prevail over ¹⁷  him and get our revenge on him.

Obadiah 1:7

1:7 All your allies ¹⁸  will force ¹⁹  you from your homeland! ²⁰ 

Your treaty partners ²¹  will deceive you and overpower you.

Your trusted friends ²²  will set an ambush ²³  for ²⁴  you

that will take you by surprise! ²⁵ 

Matthew 26:23

26:23 He ²⁶  answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me ²⁷  will betray me.

Matthew 26:49-50

26:49 Immediately ²⁸  he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi,” and kissed him. ²⁹  26:50 Jesus ³⁰  said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then they came and took hold ³¹  of Jesus and arrested him.

John 13:18

The Announcement of Jesus’ Betrayal

13:18 “What I am saying does not refer to all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture, ³²  ‘The one who eats my bread ³³  has turned against me.’ ³⁴ 

[41:9]  ¹ tn Heb “man of my peace.” The phrase here refers to one’s trusted friend (see Jer 38:22; Obad 7).

[41:9]  ² tn Heb “has made a heel great against me.” The precise meaning of this phrase, which appears only here, is uncertain.

[55:12]  ³ tn Or “for.”

[55:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “[who] magnifies against me.” See Pss 35:26; 38:16.

[55:13]  ⁵ sn It is you. The psalmist addresses the apparent ringleader of the opposition, an individual who was once his friend.

[55:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “a man according to my value,” i.e., “a person such as I.”

[55:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “my close friend, one known by me.”

[55:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “who together we would make counsel sweet.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the ongoing nature of the actions (the so-called customary use of the imperfect). Their relationship was characterized by such intimacy and friendship. See IBHS 502-3 §31.2b.

[12:6]  ⁹ tn This is an attempt to give some contextual sense to the particle “for, indeed” (כִּי, ki).

[12:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they have called after you fully”; or “have lifted up loud voices against you.” The word “against” does not seem quite adequate for the preposition “after.” The preposition “against” would be Hebrew עַל (’al). The idea appears to be that they are chasing after him, raising their voices along with those of the conspirators to have him killed.

[12:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “good things.” See BDB 373 s.v. II טוֹב 2 for this nuance and compare Prov 12:25 for usage.

[20:10]  ¹² tn It would be difficult to render accurately the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) that introduces this verse without lengthening the English line unduly. It probably means something like “This is true even though I…,” i.e., the particle is concessive (cf. BDB s.v. כִּי 2.c). No other nuance seems appropriate. The particle is left out of the translation, but its presence is acknowledged here.

[20:10]  ¹³ tn The phrase translated “Those who would cause me terror are everywhere” has already occurred in 6:25 in the context of the terror caused by the enemy from the north and in 20:3 in reference to the curse pronounced on Pashhur who would experience it first hand. Some have seen the phrase here not as Jeremiah’s ejaculation of terror but of his assailant’s taunts of his message or even their taunting nickname for him. But comparison of this passage with the first two lines of Ps 31:13 (31:14 HT) which are word for word the same as these two will show that it refers to the terror inspired by the plots of his enemies to do away with him. It is also clear from the context of that passage and the following context here that the “whispering of many” (the literal translation of “many whispering words of intrigue against me) refers to intrigues to take vengeance on him and do away with him.

[20:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Denounce and let us denounce him.” The verb which is translated “denounce” (נָגַד, nagad) does not take an accusative object of person as it does here very often. When it does it usually means to inform someone. The only relevant passage appears to be Job 17:5 where it means something like “denounce.” What is probably involved here are the attempts to portray Jeremiah as a traitor (Jer 26:10) and a false prophet (see his conflict with Hananiah in Jer 28).

[20:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the men of my peace [who are concerned about my welfare].” For this phrase compare Ps 41:9 (41:10 HT); Jer 38:22. It is generally agreed that irony is being invoked here, hence “so-called” is supplied in the translation to bring out the irony.

[20:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “watching my stumbling [for me to stumble].” Metaphorically they were watching for some slip-up that would lead to his downfall. Compare the use in Pss 35:15 and 38:17 (38:18 HT).

[20:10]  ¹⁷ tn All the text says literally is “Perhaps he can be enticed so that we can prevail over him.” However the word “enticed” needs some qualification. As W. McKane (Jeremiah [ICC], 1:479) notes it should probably be read in the context of the “stumbling” (= “something that would lead to my downfall”). Hence “slipping up” has been supplied as an object. It is vague enough to avoid specifics as the original text does but suggests some reference to “something that would lead to my downfall.”

[1:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “All the men of your covenant”; KJV, ASV “the men of thy confederacy.” In Hebrew “they will send you unto the border” and “all the men of your covenant” appear in two separate poetic lines (cf. NAB “To the border they drive you – all your allies”). Since the second is a noun clause functioning as the subject of the first clause, the two are rendered as a single sentence in the translation.

[1:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “send”; NASB “send you forth”; NAB “drive”; NIV “force.”

[1:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to the border” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[1:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “the men of your peace.” This expression refers to a political/military alliance or covenant of friendship.

[1:7]  ²² tn Heb “your bread,” which makes little sense in the context. The Hebrew word can be revocalized to read “those who eat bread with you,” i.e., “your friends.” Cf. KJV “they that eat thy bread”; NIV “those who eat your bread”; TEV “Those friends who ate with you.”

[1:7]  ²³ tn Heb “set a trap” (so NIV, NRSV). The meaning of the Hebrew word מָזוֹר (mazor; here translated “ambush”) is uncertain; it occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. The word probably refers to something “spread out” for purposes of entrapment, such as a net. Other possibilities include “trap,” “fetter,” or “stumbling block.”

[1:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “beneath” (so NAB).

[1:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “there is no understanding in him.”

[26:23]  ²⁶ tn Grk “answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:23]  ²⁷ sn The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me. The point of Jesus’ comment here is not to identify the specific individual per se, but to indicate that it is one who was close to him – somebody whom no one would suspect. His comment serves to heighten the treachery of Judas’ betrayal.

[26:49]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[26:49]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:50]  ³¹ tn Grk “and put their hands on Jesus.”

[13:18]  ³² tn Grk “But so that the scripture may be fulfilled.”

[13:18]  ³³ tn Or “The one who shares my food.”

[13:18]  ³⁴ tn Or “has become my enemy”; Grk “has lifted up his heel against me.” The phrase “to lift up one’s heel against someone” reads literally in the Hebrew of Ps 41 “has made his heel great against me.” There have been numerous interpretations of this phrase, but most likely it is an idiom meaning “has given me a great fall,” “has taken cruel advantage of me,” or “has walked out on me.” Whatever the exact meaning of the idiom, it clearly speaks of betrayal by a close associate. See E. F. F. Bishop, “‘He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me’ – Jn xiii.18 (Ps xli.9),” ExpTim 70 (1958-59): 331-33.