Revelation 12:2

12:2 She ¹  was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, struggling ²  to give birth.

Exodus 1:16

1:16 ³  “When you assist ⁴  the Hebrew women in childbirth, observe at the delivery: ⁵  If it is a son, kill him, ⁶  but if it is a daughter, she may live.” ⁷ 

Matthew 2:3-16

2:3 When King Herod ⁸  heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. 2:4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, ⁹  he asked them where the Christ ¹⁰  was to be born. 2:5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet:

2:6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,

for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” ¹¹ 

2:7 Then Herod ¹²  privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared. 2:8 He ¹³  sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.” 2:9 After listening to the king they left, and once again ¹⁴  the star they saw when it rose ¹⁵  led them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 2:10 When they saw the star they shouted joyfully. ¹⁶  2:11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down ¹⁷  and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, ¹⁸  and myrrh. ¹⁹  2:12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, ²⁰  they went back by another route to their own country.

The Escape to Egypt

2:13 After they had gone, an ²¹  angel of the Lord ²²  appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod ²³  is going to look for the child to kill him.” 2:14 Then he got up, took the child and his mother during ²⁴  the night, and went to Egypt. 2:15 He stayed there until Herod ²⁵  died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” ²⁶ 

2:16 When Herod ²⁷  saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men ²⁸  to kill all the children in Bethlehem ²⁹  and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.

John 8:44

8:44 You people ³⁰  are from ³¹  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ³²  He ³³  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ³⁴  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ³⁵  he speaks according to his own nature, ³⁶  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ³⁷ 

John 8:1

8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ³⁸ 

John 5:8

5:8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat ³⁹  and walk.”

[12:2]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[12:2]  ² tn Grk “and being tortured,” though βασανίζω (basanizw) in this context refers to birth pangs. BDAG 168 s.v. 2.b states, “Of birth-pangs (Anth. Pal. 9, 311 βάσανος has this mng.) Rv 12:2.” The καί (kai) has not been translated.

[1:16]  ³ tn The verse starts with the verb that began the last verse; to read it again seems redundant. Some versions render it “spoke” in v. 15 and “said” in v. 16. In effect, Pharaoh has been delayed from speaking while the midwives are named.

[1:16]  ⁴ tn The form is the Piel infinitive construct serving in an adverbial clause of time. This clause lays the foundation for the next verb, the Qal perfect with a vav consecutive: “when you assist…then you will observe.” The latter carries an instructional nuance (= the imperfect of instruction), “you are to observe.”

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “at the birthstool” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV), but since this particular item is not especially well known today, the present translation simply states “at the delivery.” Cf. NIV “delivery stool.”

[1:16]  ⁶ sn The instructions must have been temporary or selective, otherwise the decree from the king would have ended the slave population of Hebrews. It is also possible that the king did not think through this, but simply took steps to limit the population growth. The narrative is not interested in supplying details, only in portraying the king as a wicked fool bent on destroying Israel.

[1:16]  ⁷ tn The last form וָחָיָה (vakhaya) in the verse is unusual; rather than behaving as a III-Hey form, it is written as a geminate but without the daghesh forte in pause (GKC 218 §76.i). In the conditional clause, following the parallel instruction (“kill him”), this form should be rendered “she may live” or “let her live.”

[2:3]  ⁸ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:4]  ⁹ tn Or “and scribes of the people.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[2:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:6]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Mic 5:2.

[2:7]  ¹² sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:8]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[2:9]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and behold the star.”

[2:9]  ¹⁵ tn See the note on the word “rose” in 2:2.

[2:10]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “they rejoiced with very great joy.”

[2:11]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “they fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[2:11]  ¹⁸ sn Frankincense refers to the aromatic resin of certain trees, used as a sweet-smelling incense (L&N 6.212).

[2:11]  ¹⁹ sn Myrrh consisted of the aromatic resin of certain shrubs (L&N 6.208). It was used in preparing a corpse for burial.

[2:12]  ²⁰ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:13]  ²¹ tn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[2:13]  ²² tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.

[2:13]  ²³ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Herod the Great was particularly ruthless regarding the succession to his throne.

[2:14]  ²⁴ tn The feminine singular genitive noun νυκτός (nuktos, “night”) indicates the time during which the action of the main verb takes place (ExSyn 124).

[2:15]  ²⁵ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:15]  ²⁶ sn A quotation from Hos 11:1.

[2:16]  ²⁷ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Note the fulfillment of the prophecy given by the angel in 2:13.

[2:16]  ²⁸ tn Or “soldiers.”

[2:16]  ²⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[8:44]  ³⁰ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44]  ³¹ tn Many translations read “You are of your father the devil” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB) or “You belong to your father, the devil” (NIV), but the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek) emphasizes the idea of source or origin. Jesus said his opponents were the devil’s very offspring (a statement which would certainly infuriate them).

[8:44]  ³² tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

[8:44]  ³³ tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

[8:44]  ³⁴ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

[8:44]  ³⁵ tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44]  ³⁶ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44]  ³⁷ tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”

[8:1]  ³⁸ sn The Mount of Olives is a hill running north to south about 1.8 mi (3 km) long, lying east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. It was named for the large number of olive trees that grew on it.

[5:8]  ³⁹ tn Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” Some of these items, however, are rather substantial (e.g., “mattress”) and would probably give the modern English reader a false impression.