Zechariah 11:12-13

11:12 Then I ¹  said to them, “If it seems good to you, pay me my wages, but if not, forget it.” So they weighed out my payment – thirty pieces of silver. ²  11:13 The Lord then said to me, “Throw to the potter that exorbitant sum ³  at which they valued me!” So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter ⁴  at the temple ⁵  of the Lord.

Matthew 26:15-16

26:15 and said, “What will you give me to betray him into your hands?” ⁶  So they set out thirty silver coins for him. 26:16 From that time ⁷  on, Judas ⁸  began looking for an opportunity to betray him.

Matthew 27:3-5

Judas’ Suicide

27:3 Now when ⁹  Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus ¹⁰  had been condemned, he regretted what he had done and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders, 27:4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!” But they said, “What is that to us? You take care of it yourself!” 27:5 So ¹¹  Judas threw the silver coins into the temple and left. Then he went out and hanged himself.

Acts 1:18

1:18 (Now this man Judas ¹²  acquired a field with the reward of his unjust deed, ¹³  and falling headfirst ¹⁴  he burst open in the middle and all his intestines ¹⁵  gushed out.

Acts 8:20

8:20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, ¹⁶  because you thought you could acquire ¹⁷  God’s gift with money!

Acts 8:1

8:1 And Saul agreed completely with killing ¹⁸  him.

Saul Begins to Persecute the Church

Now on that day a great ¹⁹  persecution began ²⁰  against the church in Jerusalem, ²¹  and all ²²  except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions ²³  of Judea and Samaria.

Acts 6:9-10

6:9 But some men from the Synagogue ²⁴  of the Freedmen (as it was called), ²⁵  both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, as well as some from Cilicia and the province of Asia, ²⁶  stood up and argued with Stephen. 6:10 Yet ²⁷  they were not able to resist ²⁸  the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

Acts 6:2

6:2 So the twelve ²⁹  called ³⁰  the whole group ³¹  of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables. ³² 

Acts 2:3

2:3 And tongues spreading out like a fire ³³  appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them.

Acts 2:15

2:15 In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk, ³⁴  for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ³⁵ 

Jude 1:11

1:11 Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain’s path, ³⁶  and because of greed ³⁷  have abandoned themselves ³⁸  to ³⁹  Balaam’s error; hence, ⁴⁰  they will certainly perish ⁴¹  in Korah’s rebellion.

[11:12]  ¹ sn The speaker (Zechariah) represents the Lord, who here is asking what his service as faithful shepherd has been worth in the opinion of his people Israel.

[11:12]  ² sn If taken at face value, thirty pieces (shekels) of silver was worth about two and a half years’ wages for a common laborer. The Code of Hammurabi prescribes a monthly wage for a laborer of one shekel. If this were the case in Israel, 30 shekels would be the wages for 2 1/2 years (R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 76, 204-5). For other examples of “thirty shekels” as a conventional payment, see K. Luke, “The Thirty Pieces of Silver (Zech. 11:12f.), Ind TS 19 (1982): 26-30. Luke, on the basis of Sumerian analogues, suggests that “thirty” came to be a term meaning anything of little or no value (p. 30). In this he follows Erica Reiner, “Thirty Pieces of Silver,” in Essays in Memory of E. A. Speiser, AOS 53, ed. William W. Hallo (New Haven, Conn.: American Oriental Society, 1968), 186-90. Though the 30 shekels elsewhere in the OT may well be taken literally, the context of Zech. 11:12 may indeed support Reiner and Luke in seeing it as a pittance here, not worth considering (cf. Exod 21:32; Lev 27:4; Matt 26:15).

[11:13]  ³ tn Heb “splendor of splendor” (אֶדֶר הַיְקָר, ’eder hayqar). This expression sarcastically draws attention to the incredibly low value placed upon the Lord’s redemptive grace by his very own people.

[11:13]  ⁴ tn The Syriac presupposes הָאוֹצָר (ha’otsar, “treasury”) for the MT הַיּוֹצֵר (hayyotser, “potter”) perhaps because of the lack of evidence for a potter’s shop in the area of the temple. The Syriac reading is followed by NAB, NRSV, TEV. Matthew seems to favor this when he speaks of Judas having thrown the thirty shekels for which he betrayed Jesus into the temple treasury (27:5-6). However, careful reading of the whole gospel pericope makes it clear that the money actually was used to purchase a “potter’s field,” hence Zechariah’s reference to a potter. The MT reading is followed by most other English versions.

[11:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “house” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[26:15]  ⁶ tn Grk “What will you give to me, and I will betray him to you?”

[26:16]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[26:16]  ⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:3]  ⁹ tn Grk “Then when.” Here τότε (tote) has been translated as “now” to indicate a somewhat parenthetical interlude in the sequence of events.

[27:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:5]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the leaders’ response to Judas.

[1:18]  ¹² tn The referent of “this man” (Judas) was specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:18]  ¹³ tn Traditionally, “with the reward of his wickedness.”

[1:18]  ¹⁴ tn Traditionally, “falling headlong.”

[1:18]  ¹⁵ tn Or “all his bowels.”

[8:20]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “May your silver together with you be sent into destruction.” This is a strong curse. The gifts of God are sovereignly bestowed and cannot be purchased.

[8:20]  ¹⁷ tn Or “obtain.”

[8:1]  ¹⁸ tn The term ἀναίρεσις (anairesi") can refer to murder (BDAG 64 s.v.; 2 Macc 5:13; Josephus, Ant. 5.2.12 [5.165]).

[8:1]  ¹⁹ tn Or “severe.”

[8:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Now there happened on that day a great persecution.” It is less awkward to say in English “Now on that day a great persecution began.”

[8:1]  ²¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:1]  ²² sn All. Given that the Jerusalem church is still active after this and that the Hellenists are the focus of Acts 6-8, it is possible to argue that only the Hellenistic Christians were forced to scatter.

[8:1]  ²³ tn Or “countryside.”

[6:9]  ²⁴ sn A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).

[6:9]  ²⁵ tn Grk “the so-called Synagogue of the Freedmen.” The translation of the participle λεγομένης (legomenh") by the phrase “as it was called” is given by L&N 87.86. “Freedmen” would be slaves who had gained their freedom, or the descendants of such people (BDAG 594-95 s.v. Λιβερτῖνος).

[6:9]  ²⁶ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[6:10]  ²⁷ tn Grk “and.” The context, however, indicates that the conjunction carries an adversative force.

[6:10]  ²⁸ sn They were not able to resist. This represents another fulfillment of Luke 12:11-12; 21:15.

[6:2]  ²⁹ sn The twelve refers to the twelve apostles.

[6:2]  ³⁰ tn Grk “calling the whole group…together, said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενοι (proskalesamenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[6:2]  ³¹ tn Or “the multitude.”

[6:2]  ³² tn Grk “to serve tables.”

[2:3]  ³³ tn Or “And divided tongues as of fire.” The precise meaning of διαμερίζομαι (diamerizomai) in Acts 2:3 is difficult to determine. The meaning could be “tongues as of fire dividing up one to each person,” but it is also possible that the individual tongues of fire were divided (“And divided tongues as of fire appeared”). The translation adopted in the text (“tongues spreading out like a fire”) attempts to be somewhat ambiguous.

[2:15]  ³⁴ tn Grk “These men are not drunk, as you suppose.”

[2:15]  ³⁵ tn Grk “only the third hour.”

[1:11]  ³⁶ tn Or “they have gone the way of Cain.”

[1:11]  ³⁷ tn Grk “for wages.”

[1:11]  ³⁸ tn The verb ἐκχέω (ekcew) normally means “pour out.” Here, in the passive, it occasionally has a reflexive idea, as BDAG 312 s.v. 3. suggests (with extra-biblical examples).

[1:11]  ³⁹ tn Or “in.”

[1:11]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “and.” See note on “perish” later in this verse.

[1:11]  ⁴¹ tn The three verbs in this verse are all aorist indicative (“have gone down,” “have abandoned,” “have perished”). Although the first and second could be considered constative or ingressive, the last is almost surely proleptic (referring to the certainty of their future judgment). Although it may seem odd that a proleptic aorist is so casually connected to other aorists with a different syntactical force, it is not unparalleled (cf. Rom 8:30).