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Genesis 3
New English Translation

The Temptation and the Fall

3 Now[a] the serpent[b] was shrewder[c] than any of the wild animals[d] that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that[e] God[f] said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?”[g] 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat[h] of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; 3 but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it,[i] or else you will die.’”[j] 4 The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die,[k] 5 for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open[l] and you will be like God, knowing[m] good and evil.”[n]

6 When[o] the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food,[p] was attractive[q] to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise,[r] she took some of its fruit and ate it.[s] She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.[t] 7 Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

The Judgment Oracles of God at the Fall

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about[u] in the orchard at the breezy time[v] of the day, and they hid[w] from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard. 9 But the Lord God called to[x] the man and said to him, “Where are you?”[y] 10 The man replied,[z] “I heard you moving about[aa] in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” 11 And the Lord God[ab] said, “Who told you that you were naked?[ac] Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”[ad] 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave[ae] me some fruit[af] from the tree and I ate it.” 13 So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this[ag] you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent[ah] tricked[ai] me, and I ate.”

14 The Lord God said to the serpent,[aj]

“Because you have done this,
cursed[ak] are you above all the cattle
and all the living creatures of the field!
On your belly you will crawl[al]
and dust you will eat[am] all the days of your life.
15 And I will put hostility[an] between you and the woman
and between your offspring and her offspring;[ao]
he[ap] will strike your head,
and[aq] you[ar] will strike[as] his heel.”[at]

16 To the woman he said,

“I will greatly increase[au] your labor pains;[av]
with pain you will give birth to children.
You will want to control your husband,[aw]
but he will dominate[ax] you.”

17 But to Adam[ay] he said,

“Because you obeyed[az] your wife
and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,
‘You must not eat from it,’
the ground is cursed[ba] because of you;
in painful toil you will eat[bb] of it all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
but you will eat the grain[bc] of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow[bd] you will eat food
until you return to the ground,[be]
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”[bf]

20 The man[bg] named his wife Eve,[bh] because[bi] she was the mother of all the living.[bj] 21 The Lord God made garments from skin[bk] for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, “Now[bl] that the man has become like one of us,[bm] knowing[bn] good and evil, he must not be allowed[bo] to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God expelled him[bp] from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken. 24 When he drove[bq] the man out, he placed on the eastern side[br] of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries[bs] who used the flame of a whirling sword[bt] to guard the way to the tree of life.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:1 tn The chapter begins with a disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + predicate) that introduces a new character and a new scene in the story.
  2. Genesis 3:1 sn Many theologians identify or associate the serpent with Satan. In this view Satan comes in the disguise of a serpent or speaks through a serpent. This explains the serpent’s capacity to speak. While later passages in the Bible indicate there was a satanic presence behind the serpent (see Rev 12:9 and 20:2), the immediate context first pictures the serpent as one of the animals of the field created by God (see vv. 1, 14). An ancient Jewish interpretation explains the reference to the serpent in a literal manner, attributing the capacity to speak to all the animals in the orchard. This text (Jub. 3:28) states, “On that day [the day the man and woman were expelled from the orchard] the mouth of all the beasts and cattle and birds and whatever walked or moved was stopped from speaking because all of them used to speak to one another with one speech and one language [presumed to be Hebrew, see 12:26].” Josephus, Ant. 1.1.4 (1.41) attributes the serpent’s actions to jealousy. He writes that “the serpent, living in the company of Adam and his wife, grew jealous of the blessings which he supposed were destined for them if they obeyed God’s behests, and, believing that disobedience would bring trouble on them, he maliciously persuaded the woman to taste of the tree of wisdom.” However, Scripture does not mention all the animals speaking, and there is no evidence of animals with capacity for intelligent speech. So more probably Satan, like God with Balaam's ass (Num 22:28), enabled the serpent. He spoke through it. Arnold Fruchtenbaum (The Book of Genesis [Ariel’s Bible Commentary], 91), citing Baba Batra and Midrash Rabbah, Bereishit 18:6, gives quotes to show this was the view of rabbinic writings.
  3. Genesis 3:1 tn The Hebrew word עָרוּם (ʿarum) basically means “clever.” This idea then polarizes into the nuances “cunning” (in a negative sense, see Job 5:12; 15:5 [cf. 2 Cor 11:3]), and “prudent” in a positive sense (Prov 12:16, 23; 13:16; 14:8, 15, 18; 22:3; 27:12). This same polarization of meaning can be detected in related words derived from the same root (see Exod 21:14; Josh 9:4; 1 Sam 23:22; Job 5:13; Ps 83:3). The negative nuance obviously applies in Gen 3, where the snake attempts to talk the woman into disobeying God by using half-truths and lies. But since God's original creation was good (Gen 1:31), the serpent’s natural sagacity has been perverted and exploited. His second comment shows that he used feigned ignorance for the first. He was aware of the emphasis on “surely” dying (see Gen 2:17) and aware of knowing good and evil by the tree, ideas Eve had not mentioned. He showed knowledge beyond the capacity of animals. He lied and so was disloyal to God. These facts indicate control of the serpent by a supernatural being.sn There is a wordplay in Hebrew between the words “naked” (עֲרוּמִּים, ʿarummim) in 2:25 and “shrewd” (עָרוּם, ʿarum) in 3:1. The point seems to be that the integrity of the man and the woman is the focus of the serpent’s craftiness. At the beginning they are naked and he is shrewd; afterward, they will be covered and he will be cursed.
  4. Genesis 3:1 tn Heb “animals of the field.”
  5. Genesis 3:1 tn Heb “Indeed that God said.” The beginning of the quotation is elliptical and therefore difficult to translate. One must supply a phrase like “is it true”: “Indeed, [is it true] that God said.”
  6. Genesis 3:1 sn God. The serpent does not use the expression “Yahweh God” [Lord God] because there is no covenant relationship involved between God and the serpent. He only speaks of “God.” In the process the serpent draws the woman into his manner of speech so that she too only speaks of “God.”
  7. Genesis 3:1 tn Heb “you must not eat from all the tree[s] of the orchard.” After the negated prohibitive verb, מִכֹּל (mikkol, “from all”) has the meaning “from any.” Note the construction in Lev 18:26, where the statement “you must not do from all these abominable things” means “you must not do any of these abominable things.” See Lev 22:25 and Deut 28:14 as well.
  8. Genesis 3:2 tn There is a notable change between what the Lord God had said and what the woman says. God said “you may freely eat” (the imperfect with the infinitive absolute, see 2:16), but the woman omits the emphatic infinitive, saying simply “we may eat.” Her words do not reflect the sense of eating to her heart’s content.
  9. Genesis 3:3 sn And you must not touch it. The woman adds to God’s prohibition, making it say more than God expressed. G. von Rad observes that it is as though she wanted to set a law for herself by means of this exaggeration (Genesis [OTL], 86).
  10. Genesis 3:3 tn The Hebrew construction is פֶּן (pen) with the imperfect tense, which conveys a negative purpose: “lest you die” = “in order that you not die.” By stating the warning in this way, the woman omits the emphatic infinitive used by God (“you shall surely die,” see 2:17).
  11. Genesis 3:4 tn The response of the serpent includes the infinitive absolute with a blatant negation equal to saying: “Not—you will surely die” (לֹא מוֹת תְּמֻתוּן, lo’ mot temutun). The construction makes this emphatic because normally the negative particle precedes the finite verb. The serpent is a liar, denying that there is a penalty for sin (see John 8:44).sn Surely you will not die. Here the serpent is more aware of what the Lord God said than the woman was; he simply adds a blatant negation to what God said. In the account of Jesus’ temptation Jesus is victorious because he knows the scripture better than Satan (Matt 4:1-11).
  12. Genesis 3:5 tn Or “you will have understanding.” This obviously refers to the acquisition of the “knowledge of good and evil,” as the next statement makes clear.
  13. Genesis 3:5 tn Or “like divine beings who know.” It is unclear how the plural participle translated “knowing” is functioning. On the one hand, יֹדְעֵי (yodeʿe) could be taken as a substantival participle functioning as a predicative adjective in the sentence. In this case one might translate: “You will be, like God himself, knowers of good and evil.” On the other hand, it could be taken as an attributive adjective modifying אֱלֹהִים (ʾelohim). In this case אֱלֹהִים has to be taken as a numerical plural referring to “gods,” meaning “divine or heavenly beings,” because if the one true God were the intended referent, a singular form of the participle would appear as a modifier. Following this line of interpretation, one could translate, “You will be like divine beings who know good and evil.” The following context may support this translation, for in 3:22 God says to an unidentified group, “Look, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil.” It is possible that God is addressing his heavenly court (see the note on the word “make” in 1:26), the members of which can be called “gods” or “divine/heavenly beings” from the ancient Israelite perspective (cf. KJV, NAB, JPS). (We know some of these beings as messengers or “angels.”) An examination of parallel constructions shows that a predicative understanding (“you will be, like God himself, knowers of good and evil,”) is possible (see Gen 27:23, where “hairy” is predicative, complementing the verb “to be”). Other evidence suggests that the participle is attributive, modifying “divine/heavenly beings” (see Ps 31:12; Isa 1:30; 13:14; 16:2; 29:5; 58:11; Jer 14:9; 20:9; 23:9; 31:12; 48:41; 49:22; Hos 7:11; Amos 4:11). In all of these texts, where a comparative clause and accompanying adjective/participle follow a copulative (“to be”) verb, the adjective/participle is attributive after the noun in the comparative clause. The translation of “God,” though, is supported by how אֱלֹהִים (ʾelohim) is used in the surrounding context where it always refers to the true God and many translations take it this way (cf. NIV, TNIV, RSV, NRSV, ESV, HCSB, NLT, NASB, REB, and NKJV). In this interpretation the plural participle refers to Adam and Eve.
  14. Genesis 3:5 sn You will be like God, knowing good and evil. The serpent raises doubts about the integrity of God. He implies that the only reason for the prohibition was that God was protecting the divine domain. If the man and woman were to eat, they would enter into that domain. The temptation is to overstep divinely established boundaries. (See D. E. Gowan, When Man Becomes God [PTMS], 25.)
  15. Genesis 3:6 tn Heb “And the woman saw.” The clause can be rendered as a temporal clause subordinate to the following verb in the sequence.
  16. Genesis 3:6 tn Heb “that the tree was good for food.” The words “produced fruit that was” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
  17. Genesis 3:6 tn The Hebrew word תַּאֲוָה (taʾavah, translated “attractive” here) actually means “desirable.” This term and the later term נֶחְמָד (nekhmad, “desirable”) are synonyms.sn Attractive (Heb “desirable”)…desirable. These are different words in Hebrew. The verbal roots for both of these forms appear in Deut 5:21 in the prohibition against coveting. Strong desires usually lead to taking.
  18. Genesis 3:6 tn Heb “that good was the tree for food, and that desirable it was to the eyes, and desirable was the tree to make one wise.” On the connection between moral wisdom and the “knowledge of good and evil,” see the note on the word “evil” in 2:9.sn Desirable for making one wise. The quest for wisdom can follow the wrong course, as indeed it does here. No one can become like God by disobeying God. It is that simple. The Book of Proverbs stresses that obtaining wisdom begins with the fear of God that is evidenced through obedience to his word. Here, in seeking wisdom, Eve disobeys God and ends up afraid of God.
  19. Genesis 3:6 tn The pronoun “it” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied (here and also after “ate” at the end of this verse) for stylistic reasons.sn She took…and ate it. The critical word now discloses the disobedience: “[she] ate.” Since the Lord God had said, “You shall not eat,” the main point of the divine inquisition will be, “Did you eat,” meaning, “did you disobey the command?” The woman ate, being deceived by the serpent (1 Tim 2:14), but then the man ate, apparently willingly when the woman gave him the fruit (see Rom 5:12, 17-19).
  20. Genesis 3:6 sn This pericope (3:1-7) is a fine example of Hebrew narrative structure. After an introductory disjunctive clause that introduces a new character and sets the stage (3:1), the narrative tension develops through dialogue, culminating in the action of the story. Once the dialogue is over, the action is told in a rapid sequence of verbs—she took, she ate, she gave, and he ate.
  21. Genesis 3:8 tn The Hitpael participle of הָלָךְ (halakh, “to walk, to go”) here has an iterative sense, “moving” or “going about.” While a translation of “walking about” is possible, it assumes a theophany, the presence of the Lord God in a human form. This is more than the text asserts.
  22. Genesis 3:8 tn The expression is traditionally rendered “cool of the day,” because the Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruakh) can mean “wind.” U. Cassuto (Genesis: From Adam to Noah, 152-54) concludes after lengthy discussion that the expression refers to afternoon when it became hot and the sun was beginning to decline. J. J. Niehaus (God at Sinai [SOTBT], 155-57) offers a different interpretation of the phrase, relating יוֹם (yom, usually understood as “day”) to an Akkadian cognate umu (“storm”) and translates the phrase “in the wind of the storm.” If Niehaus is correct, then God is not pictured as taking an afternoon stroll through the orchard, but as coming in a powerful windstorm to confront the man and woman with their rebellion. In this case קוֹל יְהוָה (qol yehvah, “sound of the Lord”) may refer to God’s thunderous roar, which typically accompanies his appearance in the storm to do battle or render judgment (e.g., see Ps 29).
  23. Genesis 3:8 tn The verb used here is the Hitpael, giving the reflexive idea (“they hid themselves”). In v. 10, when Adam answers the Lord, the Niphal form is used with the same sense: “I hid.”
  24. Genesis 3:9 tn The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qaraʾ, “to call”) followed by the preposition אֶל (ʾel) or ל (lamed) “to, unto”) often carries the connotation of “summon.”
  25. Genesis 3:9 sn Where are you? The question is probably rhetorical (a figure of speech called erotesis) rather than literal, because it was spoken to the man, who answers it with an explanation of why he was hiding rather than a location. The question has more the force of “Why are you hiding?”
  26. Genesis 3:10 tn Heb “and he said.”
  27. Genesis 3:10 tn Heb “your sound.” If one sees a storm theophany here (see the note on the word “time” in v. 8), then one could translate, “your powerful voice.”
  28. Genesis 3:11 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (the Lord God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  29. Genesis 3:11 sn Who told you that you were naked? This is another rhetorical question, asking more than what it appears to ask. The second question in the verse reveals the Lord God’s real concern.
  30. Genesis 3:11 sn The Hebrew word order (“Did you from the tree—which I commanded you not to eat from it—eat?”) is arranged to emphasize that the man’s and the woman’s eating of the fruit was an act of disobedience. The relative clause inserted immediately after the reference to the tree brings out this point very well.
  31. Genesis 3:12 tn The Hebrew construction in this sentence uses an independent nominative absolute (formerly known as a casus pendens). “The woman” is the independent nominative absolute; it is picked up by the formal subject, the pronoun “she” written with the verb (“she gave”). The point of the construction is to throw the emphasis on “the woman.” But what makes this so striking is that a relative clause has been inserted to explain what is meant by the reference to the woman: “whom you gave me.” Ultimately, the man is blaming God for giving him the woman who (from the man’s viewpoint) caused him to sin.
  32. Genesis 3:12 tn The words “some fruit” here and the pronoun “it” at the end of the sentence are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.
  33. Genesis 3:13 tn The use of the demonstrative pronoun is enclitic, serving as an undeclined particle for emphasis. It gives the sense of “What in the world have you done?” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
  34. Genesis 3:13 sn The Hebrew word order puts the subject (“the serpent”) before the verb here, giving prominence to it.
  35. Genesis 3:13 tn This verb (the Hiphil of נָשָׁא, nashaʾ) is used elsewhere of a king or god misleading his people into false confidence (2 Kgs 18:29 = 2 Chr 32:15 = Isa 36:14; 2 Kgs 19:10 = Isa 37:10), of an ally deceiving a partner (Obad 7), of God deceiving his sinful people as a form of judgment (Jer 4:10), of false prophets instilling their audience with false hope (Jer 29:8), and of pride and false confidence producing self-deception (Jer 37:9; 49:16; Obad 3).
  36. Genesis 3:14 sn Note that God asks no question of the serpent, does not call for confession, as he did to the man and the woman; there is only the announcement of the curse. The order in this section is chiastic: The man is questioned, the woman is questioned, the serpent is cursed, sentence is passed on the woman, sentence is passed on the man.
  37. Genesis 3:14 tn The Hebrew word translated “cursed,” a passive participle from אָרָר (ʾarar), either means “punished” or “banished,” depending on how one interprets the following preposition. If the preposition is taken as comparative, then the idea is “cursed [i.e., punished] are you above [i.e., more than] all the wild beasts.” In this case the comparative preposition reflects the earlier comparison: The serpent was more shrewd than all others, and so more cursed than all others. If the preposition is taken as separative (see the note on the word “banished” in 4:11), then the idea is “cursed and banished from all the wild beasts.” In this case the serpent is condemned to isolation from all the other animals.
  38. Genesis 3:14 tn Heb “go”; “walk,” but in English “crawl” or “slither” better describes a serpent’s movement.
  39. Genesis 3:14 sn Dust you will eat. Being restricted to crawling on the ground would necessarily involve “eating dust,” although that is not the diet of the serpent. The idea of being brought low, of “eating dust” as it were, is a symbol of humiliation.
  40. Genesis 3:15 tn The Hebrew word translated “hostility” is derived from the root אֵיב (ʾev, “to be hostile, to be an adversary [or enemy]”). The curse announces that there will be continuing hostility between the serpent and the woman. The serpent will now live in a “battle zone,” as it were.
  41. Genesis 3:15 sn The Hebrew word זֶרַע (zera‘, “seed, offspring”) can designate an individual (Gen 4:25) or a collective (Gen 13:16) and may imply both in this line. The text anticipates the ongoing struggle between humans (the woman’s offspring) and snakes (the serpent’s offspring). An ancient Jewish interpretation of the passage states: “He made the serpent, cause of the deceit, press the earth with belly and flank, having bitterly driven him out. He aroused a dire enmity between them. The one guards his head to save it, the other his heel, for death is at hand in the proximity of men and malignant poisonous snakes.” See Sib. Or. 1:59-64. For a similar interpretation see Josephus, Ant. 1.1.4 (1.50-51). The text may also allude to a larger conflict, as Tremper Longman (Genesis [The Story of God Commentary], 67) suggests that the author and the ancient audience of Genesis would have seen the serpent as representing spiritual forces of evil. This verse can be seen as a piece of the same fabric discussing the conflict between good and evil, where the serpent also represents Satan (cf. Rev 12:9) and the woman’s seed also represents God’s people and the Messiah. The promise of seed in the Books of Moses and the rest of the Old Testament is a developing motif of anticipatory hope. After referring to humanity here, in subsequent contexts it refers to Israel (Abraham’s seed), the Davidic line, and to the Messiah. Interpreters who understand this verse as an allusion to the spiritual conflict vary in how incipient or developed they view the theme to be here.
  42. Genesis 3:15 tn The singular pronoun refers to the offspring. As a collective noun, זֶרַע (zeraʿ, “seed, offspring”) may be replaced by a plural pronoun (Isa 65:23; Ezra 2:59; Neh 7:61). When the referent is singular it must have corresponding singular forms. But it may also take a singular verb (Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60) or be replaced by a singular pronoun even when referring to a collective group (Deut 31:21). So by form alone, the referent may be to a group or an individual. The LXX translates “seed” with a neuter noun (σπέρμα, sperma) but then uses the masculine singular pronoun, indicating the translator may have taken the pronoun to refer to a person. Gordon Wenham (Genesis 1-15 [WBC] 80-81) notes that the Palestinian targums (Pseudo-Jonathan, Neofiti, Fragment-Targums), and possibly the Targum Onqelos in the East, had a messianic interpretation.
  43. Genesis 3:15 tn Or “but you will…”; or “as he attacks your head, you will attack his heel.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is understood as contrastive. Both clauses place the subject before the verb, a construction that is sometimes used to indicate synchronic action (see Judg 15:14).
  44. Genesis 3:15 sn The address in the second person singular can extend to the descendants of the one being addressed. For example in Gen 28:14, the Lord says to Jacob, “Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you [second masculine singular] will spread out to the west, east, north, and south.” Jacob will not personally “spread out” in all directions, but rather his offspring will. Applied here the reference is to the ongoing conflict between humans and snakes. Not viewing this device at work here would distinguish the continuing battle of this snake against humanity, suggesting to some interpreters that the serpent stands for Satan.
  45. Genesis 3:15 tn The nuance of this rare verb is difficult to know with certainty. The woman’s offspring and the serpent’s offspring are both said to שׁוּף (shuf) at each other. Some have supposed two homonymous roots meaning “to bite” and “to crush,” but this appears to force the context (the results of striking) into the verb. Cognates in West and South Semitic include meanings of spreading, rubbing out, smearing, stroking, and polishing (HALOT, 1446). Perhaps a back and forth motion is central to the meaning and this can easily be pictured in a confrontation between a person and a snake, whether striking at each other or swaying before the attack. LXX uses τηρέω (tēreō) “to watch, keep, guard,” apparently envisioning the two watching each other in anticipation of attack. Others emphasize the act of striking, “bring blows against” (Josephus Ant. 1.1.11) or the result of the striking motion, “bruise, bite.” In the other two uses of the verb the subjects are darkness (Ps 139:11) and a storm (Job 9:17). Gordon Wenham (Genesis 1-15 [WBC], 80-81) suggests “batter,” as a storm would strike in Job. For Ps 139:11 a conjectural reading from סָכַך (sakhakh; “to cover”) has become widely accepted in place of שׁוּף. Others propose that שׁוּף (shuf) and שָׁאַף (shaʾaf) are related, the latter including meanings “to pester, to attack” (HALOT, 1375). sn Rom 16:20 may echo Gen 3:15 but it does not use any of the specific language of Gen 3:15 in the LXX. Paul’s Greek word for “crush” in Rom 16:20 may reflect use of the Hebrew of Gen 3:15 rather than the LXX. Paul chose imagery of God soon crushing Satan’s head under the feet of the church. If Paul was interpreting Gen 3:15, he was not seeing it as culminating in and limited to Jesus defeating Satan via the crucifixion and resurrection, but as extending beyond that.
  46. Genesis 3:15 sn Ancient Israelites, who often encountered snakes in their daily activities (see, for example, Eccl 10:8 and Amos 5:19), would find the statement quite meaningful as an explanation for the hostility between snakes and humans. (In the broader ancient Near Eastern context, compare the Mesopotamian serpent omens. See H. W. F. Saggs, The Greatness That Was Babylon, 309.) This ongoing struggle, when interpreted in light of v. 15, is a tangible reminder of the conflict introduced into the world by the first humans’ rebellion against God. Many Christian theologians, going back to Justin Martyr (a.d. 160) and Irenaeus (a.d. 180), additionally understand v. 15 as the so-called protevangelium, prophesying Christ’s victory over Satan (see W. Witfall, “Genesis 3:15 – a Protevangelium?” CBQ 36 [1974]: 361-65; and R. A. Martin, “The Earliest Messianic Interpretation of Genesis 3:15, ” JBL 84 [1965]: 425-27). According to this view, the passage would give the first hint of the gospel. Satan delivers a crippling blow to the Seed of the woman (Jesus), who in turn delivers a fatal blow to the Serpent (first defeating him through the death and resurrection [1 Cor 15:55-57] and then destroying him in the judgment [Rev 12:7-9; 20:7-10]). In this view, v. 15b must be translated in one of the following ways: “he will crush your head, even though you attack his heel” (in which case the second clause is concessive) or “he will crush your head as you attack his heel” (the clauses, both of which place the subject before the verb, may indicate synchronic action).
  47. Genesis 3:16 tn The imperfect verb form is emphasized and intensified by the infinitive absolute from the same verb.
  48. Genesis 3:16 tn Heb “your pain and your conception,” suggesting to some interpreters that having a lot of children was a result of the judgment (probably to make up for the loss through death). But the next clause shows that the pain is associated with conception and childbirth. The two words form a hendiadys (where two words are joined to express one idea, like “good and angry” in English), the second explaining the first. “Conception,” if the correct meaning of the noun, must be figurative here since there is no pain in conception; it is a synecdoche, representing the entire process of childbirth and child rearing from the very start. However, recent etymological research suggests the noun is derived from a root הרר (hrr), not הרה (hrh), and means “trembling, pain” (see D. Tsumura, “A Note on הרוֹן (Gen 3, 16),” Bib 75 [1994]: 398-400). In this case “pain and trembling” refers to the physical effects of childbirth. The word עִצְּבוֹן (ʿitsevon, “pain”), an abstract noun related to the verb (עָצַב, ʿatsav), includes more than physical pain. It is emotional distress as well as physical pain. The same word is used in v. 17 for the man’s painful toil in the field.
  49. Genesis 3:16 tn Heb “and toward your husband [will be] your desire.” The nominal sentence does not have a verb; a future verb must be supplied, because the focus of the oracle is on the future struggle. The precise meaning of the noun תְּשׁוּקָה (teshuqah, “desire”) is debated. Many interpreters conclude that it refers to sexual desire here, because the subject of the passage is the relationship between a wife and her husband, and because the word is used in a romantic sense in Song 7:11 HT (7:10 ET). However, this interpretation makes little sense in Gen 3:16. First, it does not fit well with the assertion “he will dominate you.” Second, it implies that sexual desire was not part of the original creation, even though the man and the woman were told to multiply. And third, it ignores the usage of the word in Gen 4:7 where it refers to sin’s desire to control and dominate Cain. (Even in Song of Songs it carries the basic idea of “control,” for it describes the young man’s desire to “have his way sexually” with the young woman.) In Gen 3:16 the Lord announces a struggle, a conflict between the man and the woman. She will desire to control him, but he will dominate her instead. This interpretation also fits the tone of the passage, which is a judgment oracle. See further Susan T. Foh, “What is the Woman’s Desire?” WTJ 37 (1975): 376-83.
  50. Genesis 3:16 tn The Hebrew verb מָשַׁל (mashal) means “to rule over,” but in a way that emphasizes powerful control, domination, or mastery. This also is part of the baser human nature. The translation assumes the imperfect verb form has an objective/indicative sense here. Another option is to understand it as having a modal, desiderative nuance, “but he will want to dominate you.” In this case, the Lord simply announces the struggle without indicating who will emerge victorious.sn This passage is a judgment oracle. It announces that conflict between man and woman will become the norm in human society. It does not depict the NT ideal, where the husband sacrificially loves his wife, as Christ loved the church, and where the wife recognizes the husband’s loving leadership in the family and voluntarily submits to it. Sin produces a conflict or power struggle between the man and the woman, but in Christ man and woman call a truce and live harmoniously (Eph 5:18-32).
  51. Genesis 3:17 tn Since there is no article on the word, the personal name is used, rather than the generic “the man” (cf. NRSV).
  52. Genesis 3:17 tn The idiom “listen to the voice of” often means “obey.” The man “obeyed” his wife and in the process disobeyed God.
  53. Genesis 3:17 sn For the ground to be cursed means that it will no longer yield its bounty as the blessing from God had promised. The whole creation, Paul writes in Rom 8:22, is still groaning under this curse, waiting for the day of redemption.
  54. Genesis 3:17 sn In painful toil you will eat. The theme of eating is prominent throughout Gen 3. The prohibition was against eating from the tree of knowledge. The sin was in eating. The interrogation concerned the eating from the tree of knowledge. The serpent is condemned to eat the dust of the ground. The curse focuses on eating in a “measure for measure” justice. Because the man and the woman sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, God will forbid the ground to cooperate, and so it will be through painful toil that they will eat.
  55. Genesis 3:18 tn The Hebrew term עֵשֶׂב (ʿesev), when referring to human food, excludes grass (eaten by cattle) and woody plants like vines.
  56. Genesis 3:19 tn The expression “the sweat of your brow” is a metonymy, the sweat being the result of painful toil in the fields.
  57. Genesis 3:19 sn Until you return to the ground. The theme of humankind’s mortality is critical here in view of the temptation to be like God. Man will labor painfully to provide food, obviously not enjoying the bounty that creation promised. In place of the abundance of the orchard’s fruit trees, thorns and thistles will grow. Man will have to work the soil so that it will produce the grain to make bread. This will continue until he returns to the soil from which he was taken (recalling the creation in 2:7 with the wordplay on Adam and ground). In spite of the dreams of immortality and divinity, man is but dust (2:7), and will return to dust. So much for his pride.
  58. Genesis 3:19 sn In general, the themes of the curse oracles are important in the NT teaching that Jesus became the cursed one hanging on the tree. In his suffering and death, all the motifs are drawn together: the tree, the sweat, the thorns, and the dust of death (see Ps 22:15). Jesus experienced it all, to have victory over it through the resurrection.
  59. Genesis 3:20 tn Or “Adam”; however, the Hebrew term has the definite article here.
  60. Genesis 3:20 sn The name Eve means “Living one” or “Life-giver” in Hebrew.
  61. Genesis 3:20 tn The explanatory clause gives the reason for the name. Where the one doing the naming gives the explanation, the text normally uses “saying”; where the narrator explains it, the explanatory clause is typically used.
  62. Genesis 3:20 tn The explanation of the name forms a sound play (paronomasia) with the name. “Eve” is חַוָּה (khavvah) and “living” is חַי (khay). The name preserves the archaic form of the verb חָיָה (khayah, “to live”) with the middle vav (ו) instead of yod (י). The form חַי (khay) is derived from the normal form חַיָּה (khayyah). Compare the name Yahweh (יְהוָה) explained from הָיָה (hayah, “to be”) rather than from הָוָה (havah). The biblical account stands in contrast to the pagan material that presents a serpent goddess hawwat who is the mother of life. See J. Heller, “Der Name Eva,” ArOr 26 (1958): 636-56; and A. F. Key, “The Giving of Proper Names in the OT,” JBL 83 (1964): 55-59.
  63. Genesis 3:21 sn The Lord God made garments from skin. The text gives no indication of how this was done, or how they came by the skins. Earlier in the narrative (v. 7) the attempt of the man and the woman to cover their nakedness with leaves expressed their sense of alienation from each other and from God. By giving them more substantial coverings, God indicates this alienation is greater than they realize. This divine action is also ominous; God is preparing them for the more hostile environment in which they will soon be living (v. 23). At the same time, there is a positive side to the story in that God makes provision for the man’s and woman’s condition.
  64. Genesis 3:22 tn The particle הֵן (hen) introduces a foundational clause, usually beginning with “since, because, now.”
  65. Genesis 3:22 sn The man has become like one of us. See the notes on Gen 1:26 and 3:5.
  66. Genesis 3:22 tn The infinitive explains in what way the man had become like God: “knowing good and evil.”
  67. Genesis 3:22 tn Heb “and now, lest he stretch forth.” Following the foundational clause, this clause forms the main point. It is introduced with the particle פֶּן (pen) which normally introduces a negative purpose, “lest….” The construction is elliptical; something must be done lest the man stretch forth his hand. The translation interprets the point intended.
  68. Genesis 3:23 tn The verb is the Piel preterite of שָׁלַח (shalakh), forming a wordplay with the use of the same verb (in the Qal stem) in v. 22: To prevent the man’s “sending out” his hand, the Lord “sends him out.”
  69. Genesis 3:24 tn The verb with the vav (ו) consecutive is made subordinate to the next verb forming a temporal clause. This avoids any tautology with the previous verse that already stated that the Lord expelled the man.
  70. Genesis 3:24 tn Or “placed in front.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
  71. Genesis 3:24 tn The Hebrew word is traditionally transliterated “the cherubim.”sn Angelic sentries (Heb “cherubim”). The cherubim in the Bible seem to be a class of angels that are composite in appearance. Their main task seems to be guarding. Here they guard the way to the tree of life. The curtain in the tabernacle was to be embroidered with cherubim as well, symbolically guarding the way to God. (See in addition A. S. Kapelrud, “The Gates of Hell and the Guardian Angels of Paradise,” JAOS 70 [1950]: 151-56; and D. N. Freedman and M. P. O’Connor, TDOT 7:307-19.)
  72. Genesis 3:24 tn Heb “the flame of the sword that turns round and round.” The noun “flame” is qualified by the genitive of specification, “the sword,” which in turn is modified by the attributive participle “whirling.” The Hitpael of the verb “turn” has an iterative function here, indicating repeated action. The form is used in Job 37:12 of swirling clouds and in Judg 7:13 of a tumbling roll of bread. Verse 24 depicts the sword as moving from side to side to prevent anyone from passing or as whirling around, ready to cut to shreds anyone who tries to pass.
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Matthew 13
New English Translation

The Parable of the Sower

13 On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake.[a] 2 And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat[b] to sit while[c] the whole crowd stood on the shore. 3 He[d] told them many things in parables,[e] saying: “Listen![f] A sower went out to sow.[g] 4 And as he sowed, some seeds[h] fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other[i] seeds fell on rocky ground[j] where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep.[k] 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered. 7 Other seeds fell among the thorns,[l] and they grew up and choked them.[m] 8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 The one who has ears had better listen!”[n]

10 Then[o] the disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He replied,[p] “You have been given[q] the opportunity to know[r] the secrets[s] of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not. 12 For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.[t] 13 For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand. 14 And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

‘You will listen carefully[u] yet will never understand,
you will look closely[v] yet will never comprehend.
15 For the heart of this people has become dull;
they are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’[w]

16 “But your eyes are blessed[x] because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For I tell you the truth,[y] many prophets and righteous people longed to see[z] what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18 “So listen to the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one[aa] comes and snatches what was sown in his heart;[ab] this is the seed sown along the path. 20 The[ac] seed sown on rocky ground[ad] is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 But he has no root in himself and does not endure;[ae] when[af] trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 The[ag] seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth[ah] choke the word,[ai] so it produces nothing. 23 But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”[aj]

The Parable of the Weeds

24 He presented them with another parable:[ak] “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed darnel[al] among the wheat and went away. 26 When[am] the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the darnel also appeared. 27 So the slaves[an] of the landowner[ao] came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the darnel come from?’ 28 He said, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So[ap] the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather it?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the darnel you may uproot the wheat along with it. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At[aq] harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burned, but then gather[ar] the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

31 He gave[as] them another parable:[at] “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed[au] that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree,[av] so that the wild birds[aw] come and nest in its branches.”[ax]

The Parable of the Yeast

33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with[ay] three measures[az] of flour until all the dough had risen.”[ba]

The Purpose of Parables

34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable. 35 This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet:[bb]

“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”[bc]

Explanation for the Disciples

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel[bd] in the field.” 37 He[be] answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world and the good seed are the people[bf] of the kingdom. The poisonous weeds[bg] are the people[bh] of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 As[bi] the poisonous weeds[bj] are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers.[bk] 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace,[bl] where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.[bm] The one who has ears had better listen![bn]

Parables on the Kingdom of Heaven

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46 When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away. 49 It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace,[bo] where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They replied, “Yes.” 52 Then he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law[bp] who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.”

Rejection at Nazareth

53 Now when[bq] Jesus finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54 Then[br] he came to his hometown[bs] and began to teach the people[bt] in their synagogue.[bu] They[bv] were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers? 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother named Mary?[bw] And aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 And aren’t all his sisters here with us? So where did he get all this?” 57 And so they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house.” 58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 13:1 sn Here lake refers to the Sea of Galilee.
  2. Matthew 13:2 sn See the note at Matt 4:21 for a description of the first-century fishing boat discovered in 1986 near Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
  3. Matthew 13:2 tn Grk “and all the crowd.” The clause in this phrase, although coordinate in terms of grammar, is logically subordinate to the previous clause.
  4. Matthew 13:3 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
  5. Matthew 13:3 sn Though parables can contain a variety of figures of speech (cf. the remainder of chapter 13), many times they are simply stories that attempt to teach spiritual truth (which is unknown to the hearers) by using a comparison with something known to the hearers. In general, parables usually advance a single idea, though there may be many parts and characters in a single parable and subordinate ideas may expand the main idea further. The beauty of using the parable as a teaching device is that it draws the listener into the story, elicits an evaluation, and demands a response.
  6. Matthew 13:3 tn Grk “Behold.”
  7. Matthew 13:3 sn A sower went out to sow. The background for this well-known parable, drawn from a typical scene in the Palestinian countryside, is a field through which a well-worn path runs. Sowing would occur in late fall or early winter (October to December) in the rainy season, looking for sprouting in April or May and a June harvest. The use of seed as a figure for God’s giving life has OT roots (Isa 55:10-11). The point of the parable of the sower is to illustrate the various responses to the message of the kingdom of God.
  8. Matthew 13:4 tn In Matthew’s version of this parable, plural pronouns are used to refer to the seed in v. 4 (ἅ…αὐτά [ha…auta]), although the collective singular is used in v. 5 and following (indicated by the singular verbs like ἔπεσεν [epesen]). For the sake of consistency in English, plural pronouns referring to the seed are used in the translation throughout the Matthean account. In both Mark and Luke the collective singular is used consistently throughout (cf. Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-8).
  9. Matthew 13:5 tn Here and in vv. 7 and 8 δέ (de) has not been translated.
  10. Matthew 13:5 sn The rocky ground in Palestine would be a limestone base lying right under the soil.
  11. Matthew 13:5 tn Grk “because it did not have depth of earth.”
  12. Matthew 13:7 sn Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to 6 feet in height and have a major root system.
  13. Matthew 13:7 sn That is, crowded out the good plants.
  14. Matthew 13:9 tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8; 14:35).
  15. Matthew 13:10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  16. Matthew 13:11 tn Grk “And answering, he said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  17. Matthew 13:11 tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).
  18. Matthew 13:11 tn Grk “to you it has been given to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.
  19. Matthew 13:11 tn Grk “the mysteries.”sn The key term secrets (μυστήριον, mustērion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17-23, 27-30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1-4; Heb 1:1-2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because it suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).
  20. Matthew 13:12 sn What he has will be taken from him. The meaning is that the one who accepts Jesus’ teaching concerning his person and the kingdom will receive a share in the kingdom now and even more in the future, but for the one who rejects Jesus’ words, the opportunity that that person presently possesses with respect to the kingdom will someday be taken away forever.
  21. Matthew 13:14 tn Grk “with hearing,” a cognate dative that intensifies the action of the main verb “you will listen” (ExSyn 168-69).
  22. Matthew 13:14 tn Grk “look by looking.” The participle is redundant, functioning to intensify the force of the main verb.
  23. Matthew 13:15 sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.
  24. Matthew 13:16 sn This beatitude highlights the great honor bestowed on the disciples to share in this salvation.
  25. Matthew 13:17 tn Grk “truly (ἀμήν, amēn) I say to you.”
  26. Matthew 13:17 sn This is what past prophets and righteous people had wanted very much to see, yet the fulfillment had come to the disciples. This remark is like 1 Pet 1:10-12 or Heb 1:1-2.
  27. Matthew 13:19 sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Mark 4:15 has “Satan,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.
  28. Matthew 13:19 sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.
  29. Matthew 13:20 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  30. Matthew 13:20 tn Grk “The one sown on rocky ground, this is the one.” The next two statements like this one have this same syntactical structure.
  31. Matthew 13:21 tn Grk “is temporary.”
  32. Matthew 13:21 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  33. Matthew 13:22 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  34. Matthew 13:22 tn Grk “the deceitfulness of riches.” Cf. BDAG 99 s.v. ἀπάτη 1, “the seduction which comes from wealth.”
  35. Matthew 13:22 sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.
  36. Matthew 13:23 tn The Greek is difficult to translate because it switches from a generic “he” to three people within this generic class (thus, something like: “Who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one instance a hundred times, in another, sixty times, in another, thirty times”).
  37. Matthew 13:24 tn Grk “He set before them another parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has not been translated.
  38. Matthew 13:25 tn Or “sowed poisonous weeds”; KJV “tares.” The Greek term ζιζάνιον (zizanion) is generally understood to refer to darnel (Lolium temulentum), an especially undesirable weed that bears an uncanny resemblance to wheat until the ears of grain appear (L&N 3.30; BDAG 429 s.v.). So close is the resemblance to genuine wheat that darnel is sometimes called “false wheat.” Darnel is considered poisonous; ingesting the weed causes feelings of drunkenness and can prove fatal. Under Roman law the sowing of such poisonous plants in someone else’s field was specifically prohibited (C. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary [Eerdmans, 2009], 387). A number of recent English translations use “weeds,” but this does not convey the poisonous nature of darnel or the similarity in appearance to wheat.
  39. Matthew 13:26 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  40. Matthew 13:27 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.
  41. Matthew 13:27 sn The term landowner here refers to the owner and manager of a household.
  42. Matthew 13:28 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the owner’s statement.
  43. Matthew 13:30 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
  44. Matthew 13:30 tn Grk “burned, but gather”; “then” has been added to the English translation to complete the sequence begun by “First collect.”
  45. Matthew 13:31 tn Grk “put before.”
  46. Matthew 13:31 tn Grk “He set before them another parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has not been translated.
  47. Matthew 13:31 sn The mustard seed was noted for its tiny size.
  48. Matthew 13:32 sn This is rhetorical hyperbole, since technically a mustard plant is not a tree. This could refer to one of two types of mustard plant popular in Palestine and would be either ten or twenty-five ft (3 or 7.5 m) tall.
  49. Matthew 13:32 tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).
  50. Matthew 13:32 sn The point of the parable seems to be that while the kingdom of God may appear to have insignificant and unnoticeable beginnings (i.e., in the ministry of Jesus), it will someday (i.e., at the second advent) be great and quite expansive. The kingdom, however, is not to be equated with the church, but rather the church is an expression of the kingdom. Also, there is important OT background in the image of a small plant that grew and became a tree: Ezek 17:22-24 pictures the reemergence of the Davidic house where people can find calm and shelter. Like the mustard seed, it would start out small but grow to significant size.
  51. Matthew 13:33 tn Grk “hid in.”
  52. Matthew 13:33 sn This measure was a saton, the Greek name for the Hebrew term “seah.” Three of these was a very large quantity of flour, since a saton is a little over 16 pounds (7 kg) of dry measure (or 13.13 liters). So this was over 47 lbs (21 kg) of flour total, enough to feed over a hundred people.
  53. Matthew 13:33 tn Grk “it was all leavened.”sn The parable of the yeast and the dough teaches that the kingdom of God will start small but eventually grow to permeate everything. Jesus’ point was not to be deceived by its seemingly small start, the same point made in the parable of the mustard seed, which preceded this one.
  54. Matthew 13:35 tc A few significant mss (א* Θ ƒ1, 13 33) identify the prophet as Isaiah, a reading that is significantly harder than the generic “prophet” because the source of this prophecy is not Isaiah but Asaph in Ps 78. Jerome mentioned some mss that had “Asaph” here, though none are known to exist today. This problem is difficult because of the temptation for scribes to delete the reference to Isaiah in order to clear up a discrepancy. Indeed, the vast majority of witnesses have only “the prophet” here (א1 B C D L W Γ Δ 0233 0242 565 579 700 1241 1424 M lat sy co). However, as B. M. Metzger points out, “if no prophet were originally named, more than one scribe might have been prompted to insert the name of the best known prophet—something which has, in fact, happened elsewhere more than once” (TCGNT 27). In light of the paucity of evidence for the reading ᾿Ησαΐου, as well as the proclivity of scribes to add his name, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic.tn Grk “was spoken by the prophet, saying.” The participle λέγοντος (legontos) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  55. Matthew 13:35 sn A quotation from Ps 78:2.
  56. Matthew 13:36 tn Or “poisonous weeds.” See the note on the word “darnel” in 13:25.
  57. Matthew 13:37 tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  58. Matthew 13:38 tn Grk “the sons of the kingdom.” This idiom refers to people who should properly be, or were traditionally regarded as, a part of God’s kingdom. L&N 11.13 translates the phrase: “people of God’s kingdom, God’s people.”
  59. Matthew 13:38 tn Or “The darnels.” Here “poisonous weeds” contrasts with “the good seed” mentioned previously in the verse.
  60. Matthew 13:38 tn Grk “the sons of the evil one.” See the preceding note on the phrase “people of the kingdom” earlier in this verse, which is the opposite of this phrase. See also L&N 9.4; 11.13; 11.14.
  61. Matthew 13:40 tn Grk “Therefore as.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.
  62. Matthew 13:40 tn Or “the darnels.”
  63. Matthew 13:41 tn Grk “the ones who practice lawlessness.”
  64. Matthew 13:42 sn A quotation from Dan 3:6.
  65. Matthew 13:43 sn An allusion to Dan 12:3.
  66. Matthew 13:43 tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:9; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8; 14:35).
  67. Matthew 13:50 sn An allusion to Dan 3:6.
  68. Matthew 13:52 tn Or “every scribe.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4. It is possible that the term translated “expert in the law” (traditionally, “scribe”) here is a self-description used by the author, Matthew, to represent his role in conveying the traditions about Jesus to his intended audience. See David E. Orton, The Understanding Scribe [JSNTSup].
  69. Matthew 13:53 tn Grk “Now it happened that when.” The introductory phrase καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto, “it happened that”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  70. Matthew 13:54 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”
  71. Matthew 13:54 sn Jesus’ hometown (where he spent his childhood years) was Nazareth, about 20 miles (30 km) southwest of Capernaum.
  72. Matthew 13:54 tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  73. Matthew 13:54 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23. Jesus undoubtedly took the opportunity on this occasion to speak about his person and mission, and the relation of both to OT fulfillment.
  74. Matthew 13:54 tn Grk “synagogue, so that they.” Here ὥστε (hōste) has not been translated. Instead a new sentence was started in the translation.
  75. Matthew 13:55 sn The reference to Jesus as the carpenter’s son is probably derogatory, indicating that they knew Jesus only as a common laborer like themselves. The reference to his mother…Mary (even though Jesus’ father was probably dead by this point) appears to be somewhat derogatory, for a man was not regarded as his mother’s son in Jewish usage unless an insult was intended (cf. Judg 11:1-2; John 6:42; 8:41; 9:29).
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John 10
New English Translation

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

10 “I tell you the solemn truth,[a] the one who does not enter the sheepfold[b] by the door,[c] but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The doorkeeper[d] opens the door[e] for him,[f] and the sheep hear his voice. He[g] calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.[h] 4 When he has brought all his own sheep[i] out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize[j] his voice. 5 They will never follow a stranger,[k] but will run away from him, because they do not recognize[l] the stranger’s voice.”[m] 6 Jesus told them this parable,[n] but they[o] did not understand[p] what he was saying to them.

7 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the solemn truth,[q] I am the door for the sheep.[r] 8 All who came before me were[s] thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.[t] 9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out,[u] and find pasture.[v] 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill[w] and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.[x]

11 “I am the good[y] shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life[z] for the sheep. 12 The hired hand,[aa] who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons[ab] the sheep and runs away.[ac] So the wolf attacks[ad] the sheep and scatters them. 13 Because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep,[ae] he runs away.[af]

14 “I am the good shepherd. I[ag] know my own[ah] and my own know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life[ai] for[aj] the sheep. 16 I have[ak] other sheep that do not come from[al] this sheepfold.[am] I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice,[an] so that[ao] there will be one flock and[ap] one shepherd. 17 This is why the Father loves me[aq]—because I lay down my life,[ar] so that I may take it back again. 18 No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down[as] of my own free will.[at] I have the authority[au] to lay it down, and I have the authority[av] to take it back again. This commandment[aw] I received from my Father.”

19 Another sharp division took place among the Jewish people[ax] because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, “He is possessed by a demon and has lost his mind![ay] Why do you listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words[az] of someone possessed by a demon. A demon cannot cause the blind to see,[ba] can it?”[bb]

Jesus at the Feast of Dedication

22 Then came the feast of the Dedication[bc] in Jerusalem. 23 It was winter,[bd] and Jesus was walking in the temple area[be] in Solomon’s Portico.[bf] 24 The Jewish leaders[bg] surrounded him and asked,[bh] “How long will you keep us in suspense?[bi] If you are the Christ,[bj] tell us plainly.”[bk] 25 Jesus replied,[bl] “I told you and you do not believe. The deeds[bm] I do in my Father’s name testify about me. 26 But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give[bn] them eternal life, and they will never perish;[bo] no one will snatch[bp] them from my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,[bq] and no one can snatch[br] them from my Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I[bs] are one.”[bt]

31 The Jewish leaders[bu] picked up rocks again to stone him to death. 32 Jesus said to them,[bv] “I have shown you many good deeds[bw] from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jewish leaders[bx] replied,[by] “We are not going to stone you for a good deed[bz] but for blasphemy,[ca] because[cb] you, a man, are claiming to be God.”[cc]

34 Jesus answered,[cd] “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’?[ce] 35 If those people to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’ (and the scripture cannot be broken),[cf] 36 do you say about the one whom the Father set apart[cg] and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I do not perform[ch] the deeds[ci] of my Father, do not believe me. 38 But if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds,[cj] so that you may come to know[ck] and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” 39 Then[cl] they attempted[cm] again to seize him, but he escaped their clutches.[cn]

40 Jesus[co] went back across the Jordan River[cp] again to the place where John[cq] had been baptizing at an earlier time,[cr] and he stayed there. 41 Many[cs] came to him and began to say, “John[ct] performed[cu] no miraculous sign, but everything John said about this man[cv] was true!” 42 And many believed in Jesus[cw] there.

Footnotes

  1. John 10:1 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
  2. John 10:1 sn There was more than one type of sheepfold in use in Palestine in Jesus’ day. The one here seems to be a courtyard in front of a house (the Greek word used for the sheepfold here, αὐλή [aulē] frequently refers to a courtyard), surrounded by a stone wall (often topped with briars for protection).
  3. John 10:1 tn Or “entrance.”
  4. John 10:3 tn Or “porter” (British English).sn There have been many attempts to identify who the doorkeeper represents, none of which are convincing. More likely there are some details in this parable that are included for the sake of the story, necessary as parts of the overall picture but without symbolic significance.
  5. John 10:3 tn The words “the door” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.
  6. John 10:3 tn Grk “For this one.”
  7. John 10:3 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
  8. John 10:3 sn He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Some interpreters have suggested that there was more than one flock in the fold, and there would be a process of separation where each shepherd called out his own flock. This may also be suggested by the mention of a doorkeeper in v. 3 since only the larger sheepfolds would have such a guard. But the Gospel of John never mentions a distinction among the sheep in this fold; in fact (10:16) there are other sheep which are to be brought in, but they are to be one flock and one shepherd.
  9. John 10:4 tn The word “sheep” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
  10. John 10:4 tn Grk “because they know.”
  11. John 10:5 tn Or “someone whom they do not know.”
  12. John 10:5 tn Grk “know.”
  13. John 10:5 tn Or “the voice of someone they do not know.”
  14. John 10:6 sn A parable is a fairly short narrative that has symbolic meaning. The Greek word παροιμίαν (paroimian) is used again in 16:25, 29. This term does not occur in the synoptic gospels, where παραβολή (parabolē) is used. Nevertheless it is similar, denoting a short narrative with figurative or symbolic meaning.
  15. John 10:6 tn Grk “these.”
  16. John 10:6 tn Or “comprehend.”
  17. John 10:7 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
  18. John 10:7 tn Or “I am the sheep’s door.”
  19. John 10:8 tn Grk “are” (present tense).
  20. John 10:8 tn Or “the sheep did not hear them.”
  21. John 10:9 tn Since the Greek phrase εἰσέρχομαι καὶ ἐξέρχομαι (eiserchomai kai exerchomai, “come in and go out”) is in some places an idiom for living or conducting oneself in relationship to some community (“to live with, to live among” [cf. Acts 1:21; see also Num 27:17; 2 Chr 1:10]), it may well be that Jesus’ words here look forward to the new covenant community of believers. Another significant NT text is Luke 9:4, where both these verbs occur in the context of the safety and security provided by a given household for the disciples. See also BDAG 294 s.v. εἰσέρχομαι 1.b.β.
  22. John 10:9 sn That is, pasture land in contrast to cultivated land.
  23. John 10:10 tn That is, “to slaughter” (in reference to animals).
  24. John 10:10 tn That is, more than one would normally expect or anticipate.
  25. John 10:11 tn Or “model” (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:386, who argues that “model” is a more exact translation of καλός [kalos] here).
  26. John 10:11 tn Or “The good shepherd dies willingly.”sn Jesus speaks openly of his vicarious death twice in this section (John 10:11, 15). Note the contrast: The thief takes the life of the sheep (10:10), the good shepherd lays down his own life for the sheep. Jesus is not speaking generally here, but specifically: He has his own substitutionary death on the cross in view. For a literal shepherd with a literal flock, the shepherd’s death would have spelled disaster for the sheep; in this instance it spells life for them (Compare the worthless shepherd of Zech 11:17, by contrast).
  27. John 10:12 sn Jesus contrasts the behavior of the shepherd with that of the hired hand. This is a worker who is simply paid to do a job; he has no other interest in the sheep and is certainly not about to risk his life for them. When they are threatened, he simply runs away.
  28. John 10:12 tn Grk “leaves.”
  29. John 10:12 tn Or “flees.”
  30. John 10:12 tn Or “seizes.” The more traditional rendering, “snatches,” has the idea of seizing something by force and carrying it off, which is certainly possible here. However, in the sequence in John 10:12, this action precedes the scattering of the flock of sheep, so “attacks” is preferable.
  31. John 10:13 tn Grk “does not have a care for the sheep.”
  32. John 10:13 tc The phrase “he runs away” is lacking in several significant mss (P44vid,45, 66, 75 א A*vid B D L [W] Θ 1 33 1241 al co). Most likely it was added by a later scribe to improve the readability of vv. 12-13, which is one long sentence in Greek. It has been included in the translation for the same stylistic reasons.
  33. John 10:14 tn Grk “And I.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
  34. John 10:14 tn The direct object is frequently omitted in Greek and must be supplied from the context. Here it could be “sheep,” but Jesus was ultimately talking about “people.”
  35. John 10:15 tn Or “I die willingly.”
  36. John 10:15 tn Or “on behalf of” or “for the sake of.”
  37. John 10:16 tn Grk “And I have.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
  38. John 10:16 tn Or “that do not belong to”; Grk “that are not of.”
  39. John 10:16 sn The statement I have other sheep that do not come from this sheepfold almost certainly refers to Gentiles. Jesus has sheep in the fold who are Jewish; there are other sheep which, while not of the same fold, belong to him also. This recalls the mission of the Son in 3:16-17, which was to save the world—not just the nation of Israel. Such an emphasis would be particularly appropriate to the author if he were writing to a non-Palestinian and primarily non-Jewish audience.
  40. John 10:16 tn Grk “they will hear my voice.”
  41. John 10:16 tn Grk “voice, and.”
  42. John 10:16 tn The word “and” is not in the Greek text, but must be supplied to conform to English style. In Greek it is an instance of asyndeton (omission of a connective), usually somewhat emphatic.
  43. John 10:17 tn Grk “Because of this the Father loves me.”
  44. John 10:17 tn Or “die willingly.”
  45. John 10:18 tn Or “give it up.”
  46. John 10:18 tn Or “of my own accord.” “Of my own free will” is given by BDAG 321 s.v. ἐμαυτοῦ c.
  47. John 10:18 tn Or “I have the right.”
  48. John 10:18 tn Or “I have the right.”
  49. John 10:18 tn Or “order.”
  50. John 10:19 tn Or perhaps “the Jewish religious leaders”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase could be taken to refer to the Jewish religious leaders, since the Pharisees were the last to be mentioned specifically by name, in John 9:40. However, in light of the charge about demon possession, which echoes 8:48, it is more likely that Jewish people in general (perhaps in Jerusalem, if that is understood to be the setting of the incident) are in view here.
  51. John 10:20 tn Or “is insane.” To translate simply “he is mad” (so KJV, ASV, RSV; “raving mad” NIV) could give the impression that Jesus was angry, while the actual charge was madness or insanity.
  52. John 10:21 tn Or “the sayings.”
  53. John 10:21 tn Grk “open the eyes of the blind” (“opening the eyes” is an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
  54. John 10:21 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mē) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “can it?”).
  55. John 10:22 tn That is, Hanukkah or the ‘Festival of Lights.’ The Greek name for the feast, τὰ ἐγκαίνια (ta enkainia), literally means “renewal” and was used to translate Hanukkah which means “dedication.” The Greek noun, with its related verbs, was the standard term used in the LXX for the consecration of the altar of the Tabernacle (Num 7:10-11), the altar of the temple of Solomon (1 Kgs 8:63; 2 Chr 7:5), and the altar of the second temple (Ezra 6:16). The word is thus connected with the consecration of all the houses of God in the history of the nation of Israel.sn The feast of the Dedication (also known as Hanukkah) was a feast celebrating annually the Maccabean victories of 165-164 b.c.—when Judas Maccabeus drove out the Syrians, rebuilt the altar, and rededicated the temple on 25 Kislev (1 Macc 4:41-61). From a historical standpoint, it was the last great deliverance the Jewish people had experienced, and it came at a time when least expected. Josephus ends his account of the institution of the festival with the following statement: “And from that time to the present we observe this festival, which we call the festival of Lights, giving this name to it, I think, from the fact that the right to worship appeared to us at a time when we hardly dared hope for it” (Ant. 12.7.6 [12.325]).
  56. John 10:23 sn It was winter. The feast began on 25 Kislev, in November-December of the modern Gregorian calendar.
  57. John 10:23 tn Grk “in the temple.”
  58. John 10:23 tn Or “portico,” “colonnade”; Grk “stoa.”sn Solomon’s Portico was a covered walkway formed by rows of columns supporting a roof and open on the inner side facing the center of the temple complex.
  59. John 10:24 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. The question they ask Jesus (“Are you the Christ?”) is the same one they sent and asked of John the Baptist in the desert (see John 1:19-34). See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish people” in v. 19.
  60. John 10:24 tn Grk “said to him.” This has been translated as “asked” for stylistic reasons.
  61. John 10:24 tn Grk “How long will you take away our life?” (an idiom which meant to keep one from coming to a conclusion about something). The use of the phrase τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις (tēn psuchēn hēmōn aireis) meaning “to keep in suspense” is not well attested, although it certainly fits the context here. In modern Greek the phrase means “to annoy, bother.”
  62. John 10:24 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.
  63. John 10:24 tn Or “publicly.”
  64. John 10:25 tn Grk “answered them.”
  65. John 10:25 tn Or “the works.”
  66. John 10:28 tn Grk “And I give.”
  67. John 10:28 tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”
  68. John 10:28 tn Or “no one will seize.”
  69. John 10:29 tn Or “is superior to all.”
  70. John 10:29 tn Or “no one can seize.”
  71. John 10:30 tn Grk “I and the Father.” The order has been reversed to reflect English style.
  72. John 10:30 tn The phrase ἕν ἐσμεν (hen esmen) is a significant assertion with trinitarian implications. ἕν is neuter, not masculine, so the assertion is not that Jesus and the Father are one person, but one “thing.” Identity of the two persons is not what is asserted, but essential unity (unity of essence).
  73. John 10:31 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. See the notes on the phrases “Jewish people” in v. 19 and “Jewish leaders” in v. 24.
  74. John 10:32 tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”
  75. John 10:32 tn Or “good works.”
  76. John 10:33 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here again the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. See the notes on the phrase “Jewish people” in v. 19 and “Jewish leaders” in vv. 24, 31.
  77. John 10:33 tn Grk “answered him.”
  78. John 10:33 tn Or “good work.”
  79. John 10:33 sn This is the first time the official charge of blasphemy is voiced openly in the Fourth Gospel (although it was implicit in John 8:59). Blasphemy in the NT has a somewhat broader meaning than mere utterances. It could mean to say something that dishonored God, but it could also involve claims to divine prerogatives (in this case, Jesus’ claim to oneness with the Father, v. 30). Such claims were viewed as usurping God’s majesty or honor. The remark here raised directly the issue of the identity of Jesus himself as God’s representative.
  80. John 10:33 tn Grk “and because.”
  81. John 10:33 tn Grk “you, a man, make yourself to be God.”
  82. John 10:34 tn Grk “answered them.”
  83. John 10:34 sn A quotation from Ps 82:6. Technically the Psalms are not part of the OT “law” (which usually referred to the five books of Moses), but occasionally the term “law” was applied to the entire OT, as here. The problem in this verse concerns the meaning of Jesus’ quotation from Ps 82:6. It is important to look at the OT context: The whole line reads “I say, you are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you.” Jesus will pick up on the term “sons of the Most High” in 10:36, where he refers to himself as the Son of God. The psalm was understood in rabbinic circles as an attack on unjust judges who, though they have been given the title “gods” because of their quasi-divine function of exercising judgment, are just as mortal as other men. What is the argument here? It is often thought to be as follows: If it was an OT practice to refer to men like the judges as gods, and not blasphemy, why did the Jewish authorities object when this term was applied to Jesus? This really doesn’t seem to fit the context, however, since if that were the case Jesus would not be making any claim for “divinity” for himself over and above any other human being—and therefore he would not be subject to the charge of blasphemy. Rather, this is evidently a case of arguing from the lesser to the greater, a common form of rabbinic argument. The reason the OT judges could be called gods is because they were vehicles of the word of God (cf. 10:35). But granting that premise, Jesus deserves much more than they to be called God. He is the Word incarnate, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world to save the world (10:36). In light of the prologue to the Gospel of John, it seems this interpretation would have been most natural for the author. If it is permissible to call men “gods” because they were the vehicles of the word of God, how much more permissible is it to use the word “God” of him who is the Word of God?
  84. John 10:35 sn The parenthetical note And the scripture cannot be broken belongs to Jesus’ words rather than the author’s. Not only does Jesus appeal to the OT to defend himself against the charge of blasphemy, but he also adds that the scripture cannot be “broken.” In this context he does not explain precisely what is meant by “broken,” but it is not too hard to determine. Jesus’ argument depended on the exact word used in the context of Ps 82:6. If any other word for “judge” had been used in the psalm, his argument would have been meaningless. Since the scriptures do use this word in Ps 82:6, the argument is binding, because they cannot be “broken” in the sense of being shown to be in error.
  85. John 10:36 tn Or “dedicated.”
  86. John 10:37 tn Or “do.”
  87. John 10:37 tn Or “works.”
  88. John 10:38 tn Or “works.”sn Jesus says that in the final analysis, the deeds he did should indicate whether he was truly from the Father. If the authorities could not believe in him, it would be better to believe in the deeds he did than not to believe at all.
  89. John 10:38 tn Or “so that you may learn.”
  90. John 10:39 tc It is difficult to decide between ἐζήτουν οὖν (ezētoun oun, “then they were seeking”; P66 א A L W Ψ ƒ1,13 33 pm lat), ἐζήτουν δέ (ezētoun de, “now they were seeking”; P45 and a few versional witnesses), καὶ ἐζήτουν (kai ezētoun, “and they were seeking”; D), and ἐζήτουν (P75vid B Γ Θ 700 pm). Externally, the most viable readings are ἐζήτουν οὖν and ἐζήτουν. Transcriptionally, the οὖν could have dropped out via haplography since the verb ends in the same three letters. On the other hand, it is difficult to explain the readings with δέ or καί if ἐζήτουν οὖν is autographic; such readings would more likely have arisen from the simple ἐζήτουν. Intrinsically, John is fond of οὖν, using it some 200 times. Further, this Gospel begins relatively few sentences without some conjunction. The minimal support for the δέ and καί readings suggests that they arose either from the lone verb reading (which would thus be prior to their respective Vorlagen but not necessarily the earliest reading) or through carelessness on the part of the scribes. Indeed, the ancestors of P45 and D may have committed haplography, leaving later scribes in the chain to guess at the conjunction needed. In sum, the best reading appears to be ἐζήτουν οὖν.
  91. John 10:39 tn Grk “they were seeking.”
  92. John 10:39 tn Grk “he departed out of their hand.”sn It is not clear whether the authorities simply sought to “arrest” him, or were renewing their attempt to stone him (cf. John 10:31) by seizing him and taking him out to be stoned. In either event, Jesus escaped their clutches. Nor is it clear whether Jesus’ escape is to be understood as a miracle. If so, the text gives little indication and even less description. What is clear is that until his “hour” comes, Jesus is completely safe from the hands of men: His enemies are powerless to touch him until they are permitted to do so.
  93. John 10:40 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  94. John 10:40 tn The word “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
  95. John 10:40 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
  96. John 10:40 tn Grk “formerly.”sn This refers to the city of Bethany across the Jordan River (see John 1:28).
  97. John 10:41 tn Grk “And many.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
  98. John 10:41 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
  99. John 10:41 tn Grk “did.”
  100. John 10:41 tn Grk “this one.”
  101. John 10:42 tn Grk “in him.”
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1 Peter 5
New English Translation

Leading and Living in God’s Flock

5 So as your fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings and as one who shares in the glory that will be revealed, I urge the elders among you: 2 Give a shepherd’s care to[a] God’s flock among you, exercising oversight[b] not merely as a duty[c] but willingly under God’s direction,[d] not for shameful profit but eagerly. 3 And do not lord it over[e] those entrusted to you,[f] but be examples to the flock. 4 Then[g] when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away.

5 In the same way, you who are younger,[h] be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.[i] 6 And God will exalt you in due time,[j] if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand[k] 7 by casting[l] all your cares[m] on him because he cares for you. 8 Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion,[n] is on the prowl looking for someone[o] to devour. 9 Resist him,[p] strong in your faith, because you know[q] that your brothers and sisters[r] throughout the world[s] are enduring[t] the same kinds of suffering.[u] 10 And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ[v] will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.[w] 11 To him belongs[x] the power forever. Amen.

Final Greetings

12 Through Silvanus,[y] whom I know to be a faithful brother,[z] I have written to you briefly, in order to encourage you and testify[aa] that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.[ab] 13 The church[ac] in Babylon,[ad] chosen together with you,[ae] greets you, and so does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with a loving kiss.[af] Peace to all of you who are in Christ.[ag]

Footnotes

  1. 1 Peter 5:2 tn Grk “shepherd,” “tend,” “pastor.”
  2. 1 Peter 5:2 tc A few significant and early witnesses mss (א* B sa) lack ἐπισκοποῦντες (episkopountes, “exercising oversight”), but the participle enjoys otherwise good ms support (P72 א2 A P Ψ 33 1739 M lat bo). A decision is difficult because normally the shorter reading is preferred, especially when found in excellent witnesses. However, in this instance the omission may be due to a hesitation among some scribes to associate oversight with elders, since the later church viewed overseer/bishop as a separate office from elder.
  3. 1 Peter 5:2 tn Or “not under compulsion/coercion.”
  4. 1 Peter 5:2 tn Grk “according to God.”
  5. 1 Peter 5:3 tn Grk “not as lording it over…but being examples.” The participles continue the command of v. 2 by describing how the shepherding should be carried out.
  6. 1 Peter 5:3 tn Grk “the ones allotted,” referring to those God has given over to their care.
  7. 1 Peter 5:4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to reflect the logical sequence of events.
  8. 1 Peter 5:5 sn In this context younger and elder are terms that combine two meanings: relative age and an official structure of leadership in the church. As in v. 1, elder here denotes those who exercise spiritual leadership, who for the most part are older in years. Likewise younger means the rest of the community, who for the most part are younger in age, who are urged to accept the authority of their leaders.
  9. 1 Peter 5:5 sn A quotation from Prov 3:34 (cf. Jas 4:6).
  10. 1 Peter 5:6 tn Grk “in time,” but connoting “the proper time, when the time is right” as in Matt 24:45; Luke 12:42.
  11. 1 Peter 5:6 tn Grk “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that in due time he may exalt you.” The sentence was rearranged so that the English reader could more clearly see the connection between “casting” (v. 7) and “humble” (v. 6).
  12. 1 Peter 5:7 tn Or “throwing on”; “loading.” Some scholars take the participle to function imperativally, or as attendant circumstance—thus, “cast.” See below for discussion.sn Casting. According to ExSyn 630, “Although treated as an independent command in several modern translations (e.g., RSV, NRSV, NIV), the participle [casting] should be connected with the verb of v 6, ταπεινώθητε [tapeinōthēte, Humble yourselves]. As such, it is not offering a new command, but is defining how believers are to humble themselves. Taking the participle as means enriches the understanding of both verbs: Humbling oneself is not a negative act of self-denial per se, but a positive one of active dependence on God for help.”
  13. 1 Peter 5:7 tn Or “anxiety, burden,” but using a word from the same root as the verb “cares” in the last part of the verse.
  14. 1 Peter 5:8 sn This phrase may be an allusion to Ps 22:13.
  15. 1 Peter 5:8 tc A few mss (B Ψ 1175) lack the pronoun τινα (tina), while others have it. Those that have it either put the acute accent over the penult, making this an interrogative pronoun (“whom”; 436 642 2492 vg; most Fathers), or leave off any accent, making this an indefinite pronoun (“someone”; L P 33vid 81 1611 1735 1739 2344 al), or are too early to employ accents but nevertheless have the pronoun τινα (P72 א A). Generally speaking, the shorter and harder reading is to be preferred. In this instance, the omission of the pronoun would obviously be accommodated for by scribes, since both ζητέω (zēteō, “look, seek”) and καταπίνω (katapinō, “devour”) are transitive verbs. However, if the omission were original, one might expect the position of the pronoun to float in the mss—both before and after the infinitive καταπιεῖν (katapiein, “to devour”). Further, other terms might be expected as well, such as ἕνα ἐξ ὑμῶν (hena ex humōn, “one of you”) or τινα ἐξ ὑμῶν (tina ex humōn, “a certain one/someone of you”). The uniformity of both the word and its location suggests that the shorter reading (found in but a few Greek mss) in this instance was a scribal mistake. As to whether the pronoun is interrogative or indefinite, since accents were not a part of the earliest mss, such Greek witnesses are of no help to us in this kind of problem. There would be little difference in meaning between the two in this context.
  16. 1 Peter 5:9 tn Grk “whom,” referring to the devil in v. 8. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  17. 1 Peter 5:9 tn Grk “knowing,” a participle that usually denotes a reason for the related action.
  18. 1 Peter 5:9 tn Grk “your brotherhood.” The Greek term “brotherhood” is used in a broad sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God (cf. BDAG 19 s.v. ἀδελφότης 1). Another alternative translation would be “your fellow believers,” though this would weaken the familial connotations. This same word occurs in 2:17; there it has been translated “family of believers.”
  19. 1 Peter 5:9 tn Grk “your brotherhood in the world,” referring to the Christian community worldwide.
  20. 1 Peter 5:9 tn This verb carries the nuance “to accomplish, complete,” emphasizing their faithful endurance in suffering. The verb is passive in Greek (“suffering is being endured by your brotherhood”), but has been translated as an active to give a smoother English style.
  21. 1 Peter 5:9 tn Grk “the same things of sufferings.”
  22. 1 Peter 5:10 tc A few significant mss (א B 614 630 1505 1611) lack “Jesus” after “Christ,” while the majority include the name (P72 A P Ψ 5 33 81 436 442 1175 1735 1739 1852 2344 2492 M latt). The inclusion is a natural and predictable expansion on the text, but in light of its broad representation a decision is difficult. NA28 lists the longer reading in the apparatus with a diamond, indicating a toss-up as to what the initial text should read.
  23. 1 Peter 5:10 tn The pronoun “you” is not used explicitly but is clearly implied by the Greek.
  24. 1 Peter 5:11 tn No verb is expressed here but the verb “is” or “belongs” is clearly implied. This doxology expresses a fact for which God should be glorified (as in 4:11), rather than a wish or prayer (“may power be to him”).
  25. 1 Peter 5:12 sn The phrase Through Silvanus means either that Silvanus was the secretary (amanuensis) who assisted Peter in writing or composing the letter (cf. Rom 16:22) or that he carried the letter to the churches. The latter sense is more likely since this is the meaning of the Greek wording when it is used elsewhere (cf. Acts 15:23; Ignatius, Letter to the Romans 10:1; Letter to the Philadelphians 11:2; Letter to the Smyrnaeans 12:1; Polycarp, Letter to the Philippians 14), though it is perhaps possible that both ideas could be incorporated by this expression. For a detailed argument regarding this issue, see E. R. Richards, “Silvanus Was Not Peter’s Secretary: Theological Bias in Interpreting διὰ Σιλουανοῦ…ἔγραψα,” JETS 43 (September 2000): 417-32.
  26. 1 Peter 5:12 tn Grk “the faithful brother, as I think.”
  27. 1 Peter 5:12 tn These are participles (“encouraging and testifying”) showing purpose. The pronoun object “you” is omitted in Greek but implied by the context.
  28. 1 Peter 5:12 tn Grk “in which stand fast.” For emphasis, and due to constraints of contemporary English, this was made a separate sentence in the translation.
  29. 1 Peter 5:13 tn Grk “the one in Babylon,” which could refer to some individual woman (“she who is in Babylon”) since the Greek article (here “the one”) is feminine. But it is much more likely to be a veiled reference to a church (the Greek word “church” is also feminine in gender).
  30. 1 Peter 5:13 sn Most scholars understand Babylon here to be a figurative reference to Rome. Although in the OT the city of Babylon in Mesopotamia was the seat of tremendous power (2 Kgs 24-25; Isa 39; Jer 25), by the time of the NT what was left was an insignificant town, and there is no tradition in Christian history that Peter ever visited there. On the other hand, Christian tradition connects Peter with the church in Rome, and many interpreters think other references to Babylon in the NT refer to Rome as well (Rev 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2, 10, 21). Thus it is likely Peter was referring to Rome here.
  31. 1 Peter 5:13 tn Grk “chosen together,” implying the connection “with you” in context.
  32. 1 Peter 5:14 tn Grk “a kiss of love.”
  33. 1 Peter 5:14 tc Most mss (א P 5 436 442 1611 1735 1739c 1852 2492 M sy) have ἀμήν (amen, “amen”) at the end of 1 Peter. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, the absence of such a conclusion to the epistle in such witnesses as P72 A B Ψ 81 323 945 1175 1241 1243 1739* 2344 co seems inexplicable unless the word is not authentic.
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Revelation 12
New English Translation

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

12 Then[a] a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars.[b] 2 She[c] was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, struggling[d] to give birth. 3 Then[e] another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns.[f] 4 Now[g] the dragon’s[h] tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then[i] the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 So[j] the woman gave birth to a son, a male child,[k] who is going to rule[l] over all the nations[m] with an iron rod.[n] Her[o] child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and she[p] fled into the wilderness[q] where a place had been prepared for her[r] by God, so she could be taken care of[s] for 1,260 days.

War in Heaven

7 Then[t] war broke out in heaven: Michael[u] and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But[v] the dragon was not strong enough to prevail,[w] so there was no longer any place left[x] in heaven for him and his angels.[y] 9 So[z] that huge dragon—the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world—was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him. 10 Then[aa] I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,

“The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the ruling authority[ab] of his Christ,[ac] have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters,[ad]
the one who accuses them day and night[ae] before our God,
has been thrown down.
11 But[af] they overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
and they did not love their lives[ag] so much that they were afraid to die.
12 Therefore you heavens rejoice, and all who reside in them!
But[ah] woe to the earth and the sea
because the devil has come down to you!
He[ai] is filled with terrible anger,
for he knows that he only has a little time!”

13 Now[aj] when the dragon realized[ak] that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But[al] the woman was given the two wings of a giant eagle so that she could fly out into the wilderness,[am] to the place God[an] prepared for her, where she is taken care of—away from the presence of the serpent—for a time, times, and half a time.[ao] 15 Then[ap] the serpent spouted water like a river out of his mouth after the woman in an attempt to[aq] sweep her away by a flood, 16 but[ar] the earth came to her rescue;[as] the ground opened up[at] and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 17 So[au] the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children,[av] those who keep[aw] God’s commandments and hold to[ax] the testimony about Jesus.[ay] 18 And the dragon[az] stood[ba] on the sand[bb] of the seashore.[bc]

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 12:1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
  2. Revelation 12:1 sn Sun…moon…stars. This imagery is frequently identified with the nation Israel because of Joseph’s dream in Gen 37.
  3. Revelation 12:2 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  4. Revelation 12:2 tn Grk “and being tortured,” though βασανίζω (basanizō) 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.
  5. Revelation 12:3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
  6. Revelation 12:3 tn For the translation of διάδημα (diadēma) as “diadem crown” see L&N 6.196.sn Diadem crowns were a type of crown used as a symbol of the highest ruling authority in a given area, and thus often associated with kingship.
  7. Revelation 12:4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate that this remark is virtually parenthetical.
  8. Revelation 12:4 tn Grk “its”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  9. Revelation 12:4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
  10. Revelation 12:5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion of the anticipated birth.
  11. Revelation 12:5 tn On this term BDAG 135 s.v. ἄρσην states: “male…The neut. ἄρσεν Rv 12:5, difft. vs. 13, comes fr. Is 66:7 and is in apposition to υἱόν. On the juxtaposition s. FBoll, ZNW 15, 1914, 253; BOlsson, Glotta 23, ’34, 112.”
  12. Revelation 12:5 tn Grk “shepherd.”
  13. Revelation 12:5 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
  14. Revelation 12:5 tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rhabdos) can mean either “rod” or “scepter.” sn An allusion to Ps 2:9 (see also Rev 2:27; 19:15).
  15. Revelation 12:5 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  16. Revelation 12:6 tn Grk “and the woman,” which would be somewhat redundant in English.
  17. Revelation 12:6 tn Or “desert.”
  18. Revelation 12:6 tn Grk “where she has there a place prepared by God.”
  19. Revelation 12:6 tn Grk “so they can take care of her.”
  20. Revelation 12:7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
  21. Revelation 12:7 sn The archangel Michael had a special role in protecting the nation of Israel in the OT (Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1; see also Jude 9).
  22. Revelation 12:8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the implied contrast.
  23. Revelation 12:8 tn The words “to prevail” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
  24. Revelation 12:8 tn Grk “found.”
  25. Revelation 12:8 tn Grk “for them”; the referent (the dragon and his angels, v. 7) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  26. Revelation 12:9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.
  27. Revelation 12:10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
  28. Revelation 12:10 tn Or “the right of his Messiah to rule.” See L&N 37.35.
  29. Revelation 12:10 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
  30. Revelation 12:10 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelphoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The translation “fellow believer” would normally apply (L&N 11.23), but since the speaker(s) are not specified in this context, it is not clear if such a translation would be appropriate here. The more generic “brothers and sisters” was chosen to emphasize the fact of a relationship without specifying its type.
  31. Revelation 12:10 tn Or “who accuses them continually.”
  32. Revelation 12:11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.
  33. Revelation 12:11 sn They did not love their lives. See Matt 16:25; Luke 17:33; John 12:25.
  34. Revelation 12:12 tn The word “But” is not in the Greek text, but the contrast is clearly implied. This is a case of asyndeton (lack of a connective).
  35. Revelation 12:12 tn Grk “and is filled,” a continuation of the previous sentence. Because English tends to use shorter sentences (especially when exclamations are involved), a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  36. Revelation 12:13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” because the clause it introduces is clearly resumptive.
  37. Revelation 12:13 tn Grk “saw.”
  38. Revelation 12:14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.
  39. Revelation 12:14 tn Or “desert.”
  40. Revelation 12:14 tn The word “God” is supplied based on the previous statements made concerning “the place prepared for the woman” in 12:6.
  41. Revelation 12:14 tc The reading “and half a time” (καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ, kai hēmisu kairou) is lacking in the significant majuscule C. Its inclusion, however, is supported by P47 א A and the rest of the ms tradition. There is apparently no reason for the scribe of C to intentionally omit the phrase, and the fact that the word “time” (καιρὸν καὶ καιρούς, kairon kai kairous) appears twice before may indicate a scribal oversight.sn The parallel statement in Rev 12:6 suggests that the phrase a time, times, and half a time equals 1,260 days (three and a half years of 360 days each).
  42. Revelation 12:15 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
  43. Revelation 12:15 tn Grk “so that he might make her swept away.”
  44. Revelation 12:16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.
  45. Revelation 12:16 tn Grk “the earth helped the woman.”
  46. Revelation 12:16 tn Grk “the earth opened its mouth” (a metaphor for the ground splitting open).
  47. Revelation 12:17 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the woman’s escape.
  48. Revelation 12:17 tn Grk “her seed” (an idiom for offspring, children, or descendants).
  49. Revelation 12:17 tn Or “who obey.”
  50. Revelation 12:17 tn Grk “and having.”
  51. Revelation 12:17 tn Grk “the testimony of Jesus,” which may involve a subjective genitive (“Jesus’ testimony”) or, more likely, an objective genitive (“testimony about Jesus”).
  52. Revelation 12:18 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  53. Revelation 12:18 tc Grk ἐστάθη (estathē, “he stood”). The reading followed by the translation is attested by the better mss (P47 א A C 1854 2344 2351 lat syh) while the majority of mss (051 M vgmss syph co) have the reading ἐστάθην (estathēn, “I stood”). Thus, the majority of mss make the narrator, rather than the dragon of 12:17, the subject of the verb. The first person reading is most likely an assimilation to the following verb in 13:1, “I saw.” The reading “I stood” was introduced either by accident or to produce a smoother flow, giving the narrator a vantage point on the sea’s edge from which to observe the beast rising out of the sea in 13:1. But almost everywhere else in the book, the phrase καὶ εἶδον (kai eidon, “and I saw”) marks a transition to a new vision, without reference to the narrator’s activity. On both external and internal grounds, it is best to adopt the third person reading, “he stood.”
  54. Revelation 12:18 tn Or “sandy beach” (L&N 1.64).
  55. Revelation 12:18 sn The standard critical texts of the Greek NT, NA28 and UBS5, both include this sentence as 12:18, as do the RSV and NRSV. Other modern translations like the NASB and NIV include the sentence at the beginning of 13:1; in these versions chap. 12 has only 17 verses.
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