Psalms 53:4

53:4 All those who behave wickedly ¹  do not understand ²  –

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to God.

Matthew 9:13

9:13 Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ ³  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 12:3-5

12:3 He ⁴  said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry – 12:4 how he entered the house of God and they ate ⁵  the sacred bread, ⁶  which was against the law ⁷  for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests? ⁸  12:5 Or have you not read in the law that the priests in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are not guilty?

Matthew 15:4-6

15:4 For God said, ⁹  ‘Honor your father and mother’ ¹⁰  and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ ¹¹  15:5 But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,” ¹²  15:6 he does not need to honor his father.’ ¹³  You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.

Matthew 21:13

21:13 And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ ¹⁴  but you are turning it into a den ¹⁵  of robbers!” ¹⁶ 

Matthew 21:16

21:16 and said to him, “Do you hear what they are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of children and nursing infants you have prepared praise for yourself’?” ¹⁷ 

Matthew 21:42

21:42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. ¹⁸ 

This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? ¹⁹ 

Matthew 22:29

22:29 Jesus ²⁰  answered them, “You are deceived, ²¹  because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God.

Acts 13:27

13:27 For the people who live in Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize ²²  him, ²³  and they fulfilled the sayings ²⁴  of the prophets that are read every Sabbath by condemning ²⁵  him. ²⁶ 

Acts 28:23-27

28:23 They set ²⁷  a day to meet with him, ²⁸  and they came to him where he was staying ²⁹  in even greater numbers. ³⁰  From morning until evening he explained things ³¹  to them, ³²  testifying ³³  about the kingdom of God ³⁴  and trying to convince ³⁵  them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets. 28:24 Some were convinced ³⁶  by what he said, ³⁷  but others refused ³⁸  to believe. 28:25 So they began to leave, ³⁹  unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors ⁴⁰  through the prophet Isaiah 28:26 when he said,

‘Go to this people and say,

“You will keep on hearing, ⁴¹  but will never understand,

and you will keep on looking, ⁴²  but will never perceive.

28:27 For the heart of this people has become dull, ⁴³ 

and their ears are hard of hearing, ⁴⁴ 

and they have closed their eyes,

so that they would not see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, ⁴⁵  and I would heal them.”’ ⁴⁶ 

[53:4]  ¹ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8. Ps 14:4 adds כֹּל (kol, “all of”) before “workers of wickedness.”

[53:4]  ² tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-6).

[9:13]  ³ sn A quotation from Hos 6:6 (see also Matt 12:7).

[12:3]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:4]  ⁵ tc The Greek verb ἔφαγεν (efagen, “he ate”) is found in a majority of witnesses (Ì⁷⁰ C D L W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt sy co) in place of ἔφαγον (efagon, “they ate”), the wording found in א B pc. ἔφαγεν is most likely motivated by the parallels in Mark and Luke (both of which have the singular).

[12:4]  ⁶ tn Grk “the bread of presentation.”

[12:4]  ⁷ sn Jesus’ response to the charge that what his disciples were doing was against the law is one of analogy: “If David did it for his troops in a time of need, then so can I with my disciples.” Jesus is clear that on the surface there was a violation here. What is not as clear is whether he is arguing a “greater need” makes this permissible or that this was within the intention of the law all along.

[12:4]  ⁸ sn See 1 Sam 21:1-6.

[15:4]  ⁹ tc Most mss (א*^,2 C L W 0106 33 Ï) have an expanded introduction here; instead of “For God said,” they read “For God commanded, saying” (ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, Jo gar qeo" eneteilato legwn). But such expansions are generally motivated readings; in this case, most likely it was due to the wording of the previous verse (“the commandment of God”) that caused early scribes to add to the text. Although it is possible that other witnesses reduced the text to the simple εἶπεν (eipen, “[God] said”) because of perceived redundancy with the statement in v. 3, such is unlikely in light of the great variety and age of these authorities (א¹ B D Θ 073 Ë^1,13 579 700 892 pc lat co, as well as other versions and fathers).

[15:4]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

[15:4]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

[15:5]  ¹² tn Grk “is a gift,” that is, something dedicated to God.

[15:6]  ¹³ tc The logic of v. 5 would seem to demand that both father and mother are in view in v. 6. Indeed, the majority of mss (C L W Θ 0106 ˹ Ï) have “or his mother” (ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, h thn mhtera autou) after “honor his father” here. However, there are significant witnesses that have variations on this theme (καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ [kai thn mhtera autou, “and his mother”] in Φ 565 1241 pc and ἢ τὴν μητέρα [“or mother”] in 073 ˹³ 33 579 700 892 pc), which is usually an indication of a predictable addition to the text rather than an authentic reading. Further, the shorter reading (without any mention of “mother”) is found in early and important witnesses (א B D sa). Although it is possible that the shorter reading came about accidentally (due to the repetition of –ερα αὐτοῦ), the evidence more strongly suggests that the longer readings were intentional scribal alterations.

[21:13]  ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.

[21:13]  ¹⁵ tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).

[21:13]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Jer 7:11. The meaning of Jesus’ statement about making the temple courts a den of robbers probably operates here at two levels. Not only were the religious leaders robbing the people financially, but because of this they had also robbed them spiritually by stealing from them the opportunity to come to know God genuinely. It is possible that these merchants had recently been moved to this location for convenience.

[21:16]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 8:2.

[21:42]  ¹⁸ tn Or “capstone,” “keystone.” Although these meanings are lexically possible, the imagery in Eph 2:20-22 and 1 Cor 3:11 indicates that the term κεφαλὴ γωνίας (kefalh gwnia") refers to a cornerstone, not a capstone.

[21:42]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 118:22-23.

[22:29]  ²⁰ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[22:29]  ²¹ tn Or “mistaken” (cf. BDAG 822 s.v. πλανάω 2.c.γ).

[13:27]  ²² tn BDAG 12-13 s.v. ἀγνοέω 1.b gives “not to know w. acc. of pers.” as the meaning here, but “recognize” is a better translation in this context because recognition of the true identity of the one they condemned is the issue. See Acts 2:22-24; 4:26-28.

[13:27]  ²³ tn Grk “this one.”

[13:27]  ²⁴ tn Usually φωνή (fwnh) means “voice,” but BDAG 1071-72 s.v. φωνή 2.c has “Also of sayings in scripture…Ac 13:27.”

[13:27]  ²⁵ tn The participle κρίναντες (krinante") is instrumental here.

[13:27]  ²⁶ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[28:23]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Having set.” The participle ταξάμενοι (taxamenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[28:23]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Having set a day with him”; the words “to meet” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[28:23]  ²⁹ tn Or “came to him in his rented quarters.”

[28:23]  ³⁰ tn BDAG 848 s.v. πολύς 1.b.β.ב states, “(even) more πλείονες in even greater numbers Ac 28:23.”

[28:23]  ³¹ tn The word “things” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[28:23]  ³² tn Grk “to whom he explained.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun at this point in the translation.

[28:23]  ³³ tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 1 has “to make a solemn declaration about the truth of someth. testify of, bear witness to (orig. under oath)…God’s kingdom 28:23.”

[28:23]  ³⁴ sn Testifying about the kingdom of God. The topic is important. Paul’s preaching was about the rule of God and his promise in Jesus. Paul’s text was the Jewish scriptures.

[28:23]  ³⁵ tn Or “persuade.”

[28:24]  ³⁶ tn Or “persuaded.”

[28:24]  ³⁷ tn Grk “by the things spoken.”

[28:24]  ³⁸ sn Some were convinced…but others refused to believe. Once again the gospel caused division among Jews, as in earlier chapters of Acts (13:46; 18:6).

[28:25]  ³⁹ tn The imperfect verb ἀπελύοντο (apeluonto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[28:25]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[28:26]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “you will hear with hearing” (an idiom).

[28:26]  ⁴² tn Or “seeing”; Grk “you will look by looking” (an idiom).

[28:27]  ⁴³ tn Or “insensitive.”

[28:27]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “they hear heavily with their ears” (an idiom for slow comprehension).

[28:27]  ⁴⁵ sn Note how the failure to respond to the message of the gospel is seen as a failure to turn.

[28:27]  ⁴⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10.