Kisah Para Rasul 6:11-13

6:11 Then they secretly instigated ¹  some men to say, “We have heard this man ²  speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 6:12 They incited the people, the ³  elders, and the experts in the law; ⁴  then they approached Stephen, ⁵  seized him, and brought him before the council. ⁶  6:13 They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place ⁷  and the law. ⁸ 

Mazmur 4:2

4:2 You men, ⁹  how long will you try to turn my honor into shame? ¹⁰ 

How long ¹¹  will you love what is worthless ¹² 

and search for what is deceptive? ¹³  (Selah)

Mazmur 62:3-4

62:3 How long will you threaten ¹⁴  a man?

All of you are murderers, ¹⁵ 

as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence. ¹⁶ 

62:4 They ¹⁷  spend all their time planning how to bring him ¹⁸  down. ¹⁹ 

They love to use deceit; ²⁰ 

they pronounce blessings with their mouths,

but inwardly they utter curses. ²¹  (Selah)

Mazmur 64:2-8

64:2 Hide me from the plots of evil men,

from the crowd of evildoers. ²² 

64:3 They ²³  sharpen their tongues like a sword;

they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge, ²⁴ 

64:4 in order to shoot down the innocent ²⁵  in secluded places.

They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation. ²⁶ 

64:5 They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed. ²⁷ 

They plan how to hide ²⁸  snares,

and boast, ²⁹  “Who will see them?” ³⁰ 

64:6 They devise ³¹  unjust schemes;

they disguise ³²  a well-conceived plot. ³³ 

Man’s inner thoughts cannot be discovered. ³⁴ 

64:7 But God will shoot ³⁵  at them;

suddenly they will be ³⁶  wounded by an arrow. ³⁷ 

64:8 Their slander will bring about their demise. ³⁸ 

All who see them will shudder, ³⁹ 

Yesaya 59:4-7

59:4 No one is concerned about justice; ⁴⁰ 

no one sets forth his case truthfully.

They depend on false words ⁴¹  and tell lies;

they conceive of oppression ⁴² 

and give birth to sin.

59:5 They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake

and spin a spider’s web.

Whoever eats their eggs will die,

a poisonous snake is hatched. ⁴³ 

59:6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;

they cannot cover themselves with what they make.

Their deeds are sinful;

they commit violent crimes. ⁴⁴ 

59:7 They are eager to do evil, ⁴⁵ 

quick to shed innocent blood. ⁴⁶ 

Their thoughts are sinful;

they crush and destroy. ⁴⁷ 

Yeremia 9:3-6

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

9:3 The Lord says, ⁴⁸ 

“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.

Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. ⁴⁹ 

They have become powerful in the land,

but they have not done so by honest means. ⁵⁰ 

Indeed, they do one evil thing after another ⁵¹ 

and do not pay attention to me. ⁵² 

9:4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.

He must not even trust any of his relatives. ⁵³ 

For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. ⁵⁴ 

And all of his friends will tell lies about him.

9:5 One friend deceives another

and no one tells the truth.

These people have trained themselves ⁵⁵  to tell lies.

They do wrong and are unable to repent.

9:6 They do one act of violence after another,

and one deceitful thing after another. ⁵⁶ 

They refuse to pay attention to me,” ⁵⁷ 

says the Lord.

Yehezkiel 22:27-29

22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit. 22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. ⁵⁸  They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. ⁵⁹ 

Mikha 6:12-13

6:12 The city’s rich men think nothing of resorting to violence; ⁶⁰ 

her inhabitants lie, ⁶¹ 

their tongues speak deceptive words. ⁶² 

6:13 I will strike you brutally ⁶³ 

and destroy you because of your sin.

Mikha 7:2-3

7:2 Faithful men have disappeared ⁶⁴  from the land;

there are no godly men left. ⁶⁵ 

They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; ⁶⁶ 

they hunt their own brother with a net. ⁶⁷ 

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ⁶⁸ 

government officials and judges take bribes, ⁶⁹ 

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ⁷⁰ 

Matius 26:59-60

26:59 The ⁷¹  chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were trying to find false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 26:60 But they did not find anything, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally ⁷²  two came forward

Yohanes 8:44

8:44 You people ⁷³  are from ⁷⁴  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ⁷⁵  He ⁷⁶  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ⁷⁷  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ⁷⁸  he speaks according to his own nature, ⁷⁹  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁸⁰ 

[6:11]  ¹ tn Another translation would be “they suborned” (but this term is not in common usage). “Instigate (secretly), suborn” is given by BDAG 1036 s.v. ὑποβάλλω.

[6:11]  ² tn Grk “heard him”; but since this is direct discourse, it is more natural (and clearer) to specify the referent (Stephen) as “this man.”

[6:12]  ³ tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[6:12]  ⁴ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 4:5.

[6:12]  ⁵ tn Grk “approaching, they seized him”; the referent (Stephen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:12]  ⁶ tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). Stephen suffers just as Peter and John did.

[6:13]  ⁷ sn This holy place is a reference to the temple.

[6:13]  ⁸ sn The law refers to the law of Moses. It elaborates the nature of the blasphemy in v. 11. To speak against God’s law in Torah was to blaspheme God (Deut 28:15-19). On the Jewish view of false witnesses, see Exod 19:16-18; 20:16; m. Sanhedrin 3.6; 5.1-5. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 may indicate why the temple was mentioned.

[4:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “sons of man.”

[4:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “how long my honor to shame?”

[4:2]  ¹¹ tn The interrogative construction עַד־מֶה (’ad-meh, “how long?”), is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[4:2]  ¹² tn Heb “emptiness.”

[4:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “a lie.” Some see the metonymic language of v. 2b (“emptiness, lie”) as referring to idols or false gods. However, there is no solid immediate contextual evidence for such an interpretation. It is more likely that the psalmist addresses those who threaten him (see v. 1) and refers in a general way to their sinful lifestyle. (See R. Mosis, TDOT 7:121.) The two terms allude to the fact that sinful behavior is ultimately fruitless and self-destructive.

[62:3]  ¹⁴ tn The verb form is plural; the psalmist addresses his enemies. The verb הוּת occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “shout at.”

[62:3]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text has a Pual (passive) form, but the verb form should be vocalized as a Piel (active) form. See BDB 953-54 s.v. רָצַח.

[62:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “like a bent wall and a broken fence.” The point of the comparison is not entirely clear. Perhaps the enemies are depicted as dangerous, like a leaning wall or broken fence that is in danger of falling on someone (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:69).

[62:4]  ¹⁷ tn That is, the psalmist’s enemies addressed in the previous verse.

[62:4]  ¹⁸ tn That is, the generic “man” referred to in the previous verse.

[62:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “only from his lofty place [or perhaps, “dignity”] they plan to drive [him] away.”

[62:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “they delight [in] a lie.”

[62:4]  ²¹ sn The enemies use deceit to bring down their victim. They make him think they are his friends by pronouncing blessings upon him, but inwardly they desire his demise.

[64:2]  ²² tn Heb “workers of wickedness.”

[64:3]  ²³ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[64:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “a bitter word.”

[64:4]  ²⁵ tn The psalmist uses the singular because he is referring to himself here as representative of a larger group.

[64:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and are unafraid.” The words “of retaliation” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[64:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “they give strength to themselves, an evil matter [or “word”].”

[64:5]  ²⁸ tn Heb “they report about hiding.”

[64:5]  ²⁹ tn Heb “they say.”

[64:5]  ³⁰ tn If this is a direct quotation (cf. NASB, NIV), the pronoun “them” refers to the snares mentioned in the previous line. If it is an indirect quotation, then the pronoun may refer to the enemies themselves (cf. NEB, which is ambiguous). Some translations retain the direct quotation but alter the pronoun to “us,” referring clearly to the enemies (cf. NRSV).

[64:6]  ³¹ tn Heb “search out, examine,” which here means (by metonymy) “devise.”

[64:6]  ³² tc The MT has תַּמְנוּ (tamnu, “we are finished”), a Qal perfect first common plural form from the verbal root תָּמַם (tamam). Some understand this as the beginning of a quotation of the enemies’ words and translate, “we have completed,” but the Hiphil would seem to be required in this case. The present translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading טָמְנוּ (tomnu, “they hide”), a Qal perfect third common plural form from the verbal root טָמַן (taman).

[64:6]  ³³ tn Heb “a searched-out search,” which is understood as referring here to a thoroughly planned plot to destroy the psalmist.

[64:6]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and the inner part of man, and a heart [is] deep.” The point seems to be that a man’s inner thoughts are incapable of being discovered. No one is a mind reader! Consequently the psalmist is vulnerable to his enemies’ well-disguised plots.

[64:7]  ³⁵ tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive is normally used in narrative contexts to describe completed past actions. It is possible that the conclusion to the psalm (vv. 7-10) was added to the lament after God’s judgment of the wicked in response to the psalmist’s lament (vv. 1-6). The translation assumes that these verses are anticipatory and express the psalmist’s confidence that God would eventually judge the wicked. The psalmist uses a narrative style as a rhetorical device to emphasize his certitude. See GKC 329-30 §111.w.

[64:7]  ³⁶ tn The perfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s certitude about the coming demise of the wicked.

[64:7]  ³⁷ tn The translation follows the traditional accentuation of the MT. Another option is to translate, “But God will shoot them down with an arrow, suddenly they will be wounded” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[64:8]  ³⁸ tc The MT reads literally, “and they caused him to stumble, upon them, their tongue.” Perhaps the third plural subject of the verb is indefinite with the third singular pronominal suffix on the verb being distributive (see Ps 63:10). In this case one may translate, “each one will be made to stumble.” The preposition עַל (’al) might then be taken as adversative, “against them [is] their tongue.” Many prefer to emend the text to וַיַּכְשִׁילֵמוֹ עֲלֵי לְשׁוֹנָם (vayyakhshilemo ’aley lÿshonam, “and he caused them to stumble over their tongue”). However, if this reading is original, it is difficult to see how the present reading of the MT arose. Furthermore, the preposition is not collocated with the verb כָּשַׁל (kashal) elsewhere. It is likely that the MT is corrupt, but a satisfying emendation has not yet been proposed.

[64:8]  ³⁹ tn The Hitpolel verbal form is probably from the root נוּד (nud; see HALOT 678 s.v. נוד), which is attested elsewhere in the Hitpolel stem, not the root נָדַד (nadad, as proposed by BDB 622 s.v. I נָדַד), which does not occur elsewhere in this stem.

[59:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “no one pleads with justice.”

[59:4]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “nothing”; NAB “emptiness.”

[59:4]  ⁴² tn Or “trouble” (NIV), or “harm.”

[59:5]  ⁴³ tn Heb “that which is pressed in hatches [as] a snake.”

[59:6]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “their deeds are deeds of sin, and the work of violence [is] in their hands.”

[59:7]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”

[59:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”

[59:7]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”

[9:3]  ⁴⁸ tn The words “The Lord says” have been moved up from the end of the verse to make clear that a change in speaker has occurred.

[9:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”

[9:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “but not through honesty.”

[9:3]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”

[9:3]  ⁵² tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).

[9:4]  ⁵³ tn Heb “Be on your guard…Do not trust.” The verbs are second masculine plural of direct address and there seems no way to translate literally and not give the mistaken impression that Jeremiah is being addressed. This is another example of the tendency in Hebrew style to turn from description to direct address (a figure of speech called apostrophe).

[9:4]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “cheating, each of them will cheat.”

[9:4]  sn There is perhaps an intentional pun and allusion here to Gen 27:36 and the wordplay on the name Jacob there. The text here reads עָקוֹב יַעְקֹב (’aqob ya’qob).

[9:5]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “their tongues.” However, this is probably not a natural idiom in contemporary English and the tongue may stand as a part for the whole anyway.

[9:6]  ⁵⁶ tc An alternate reading for vv. 5d-6b is: “They wear themselves out doing wrong. Jeremiah, you live in the midst of deceitful people. They deceitfully refuse to take any thought of/acknowledge me.” The translation which has been adopted is based on a redivision of the lines, a redivision of some of the words, and a revocalization of some of the consonants. The MT reads literally “doing wrong they weary themselves. Your sitting in the midst of deceit; in deceit they refuse to know me” (הַעֲוֵה נִלְאוּ׃ שִׁבְתְּךָ בְּתוֹךְ מִרְמָה בְּמִרְמָה מֵאֲנוּ דַעַת־אוֹתִי). The Greek version reads literally “they do wrong and they do not cease to turn themselves around. Usury upon usury and deceit upon deceit. They do not want to know me.” This suggests that one should read the Hebrew text as שֻׁב׃ תֹּךְ בְּתוֹךְ מִרְ־מָה בְּמִרְ־מָה מֵאֲנוּ דַעַת אוֹתִי הַעֲוֵה נִלְאוּ, which translated literally yields “doing evil [= “they do evil” using the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a finite verb (cf. GKC 346 §113.ff)] they are not able [cf. KBL 468 s.v. לָאָה Niph.3 and see Exod 7:18 for parallel use] to repent. Oppression on oppression [cf. BDB 1067 s.v. תֹּךְ, II תּוֹךְ]; deceit on deceit. They refuse to know me.” This reading has ancient support and avoids the introduction of an unexpected second masculine suffix into the context. It has been adopted here along with a number of modern commentaries (cf., e.g., W. McKane, Jeremiah [ICC], 1:201) and English versions as the more likely reading.

[9:6]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” See the note on the phrase “do not take any thought of me” in 9:3.

[22:28]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.

[22:29]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and the foreigner they have oppressed without justice.”

[6:12]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “because her rich are full of violence.”

[6:12]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “speak lies.”

[6:12]  ⁶² tn Heb “and their tongue is deceptive in their mouth.”

[6:13]  ⁶³ tn Heb “and also I, I will make you sick, striking you.”

[7:2]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”

[7:2]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”

[7:2]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”

[7:2]  ⁶⁷ sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.

[7:3]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”

[7:3]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”

[7:3]  ⁷⁰ tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.

[26:59]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “Now the.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:60]  ⁷² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:44]  ⁷³ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44]  ⁷⁴ tn Many translations read “You are of your father the devil” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB) or “You belong to your father, the devil” (NIV), but the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek) emphasizes the idea of source or origin. Jesus said his opponents were the devil’s very offspring (a statement which would certainly infuriate them).

[8:44]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

[8:44]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

[8:44]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

[8:44]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”