Lukas 10:29

10:29 But the expert, ¹  wanting to justify ²  himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Lukas 15:29

15:29 but he answered ³  his father, ‘Look! These many years I have worked like a slave ⁴  for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet ⁵  you never gave me even a goat ⁶  so that I could celebrate with my friends!

Lukas 16:15

16:15 But ⁷  Jesus ⁸  said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, ⁹  but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized ¹⁰  among men is utterly detestable ¹¹  in God’s sight.

Amsal 30:12

30:12 There is a generation who are pure in their own eyes

and yet are not washed ¹²  from their filthiness. ¹³ 

Yesaya 65:5

65:5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!

Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’

These people are like smoke in my nostrils,

like a fire that keeps burning all day long.

Yesaya 66:5

66:5 Hear the word of the Lord,

you who respect what he has to say! ¹⁴ 

Your countrymen, ¹⁵  who hate you

and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name,

say, “May the Lord be glorified,

then we will witness your joy.” ¹⁶ 

But they will be put to shame.

Yohanes 9:28

9:28 They ¹⁷  heaped insults ¹⁸  on him, saying, ¹⁹  “You are his disciple! ²⁰  We are disciples of Moses!

Yohanes 9:34

9:34 They replied, ²¹  “You were born completely in sinfulness, ²²  and yet you presume to teach us?” ²³  So they threw him out.

Roma 7:9

7:9 And I was once alive apart from the law, but with the coming of the commandment sin became alive

Roma 9:31-32

9:31 but Israel even though pursuing ²⁴  a law of righteousness ²⁵  did not attain it. ²⁶  9:32 Why not? Because they pursued ²⁷  it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. ²⁸  They stumbled over the stumbling stone, ²⁹ 

Roma 10:3

10:3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

Filipi 3:4-6

3:4 – though mine too are significant. ³⁰  If someone thinks he has good reasons to put confidence in human credentials, ³¹  I have more: 3:5 I was circumcised on the eighth day, from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. I lived according to the law as a Pharisee. ³²  3:6 In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless.

[10:29]  ¹ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (the expert in religious law, shortened here to “the expert”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:29]  ² tn Or “vindicate.”

[10:29]  sn The expert in religious law picked up on the remark about the neighbor and sought to limit his responsibility for loving. Some believed this obligation would only be required toward the righteous (Sir 12:1-4). The lawyer was trying to see if that was right and thus confidently establish his righteousness (wanting to justify himself).

[15:29]  ³ tn Grk “but answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “but he answered.”

[15:29]  ⁴ tn Or simply, “have served,” but in the emotional context of the older son’s outburst the translation given is closer to the point.

[15:29]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to bring out the contrast indicated by the context.

[15:29]  ⁶ sn You never gave me even a goat. The older son’s complaint was that the generous treatment of the younger son was not fair: “I can’t get even a little celebration with a basic food staple like a goat!”

[16:15]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[16:15]  ⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:15]  ⁹ tn Grk “before men.” The contrast is between outward appearance (“in people’s eyes”) and inward reality (“God knows your hearts”). Here the Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used twice in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, but “men” has been retained in the text to provide a strong verbal contrast with “God” in the second half of the verse.

[16:15]  ¹⁰ tn Or “exalted.” This refers to the pride that often comes with money and position.

[16:15]  ¹¹ tn Or “is an abomination,” “is abhorrent” (L&N 25.187).

[30:12]  ¹² tn The verb רָחַץ (rakhats) means “to wash; to wash off; to wash away; to bathe.” It is used of physical washing, ceremonial washings, and hence figuratively of removing sin and guilt through confession (e.g., Isa 1:16). Here the form is the Pual perfect (unless it is a rare old Qal passive, since there is no Piel and no apparent change of meaning from the Qal).

[30:12]  sn The point of the verse is that there are people who observe outer ritual and think they are pure (טָהוֹר [tahor] is the Levitical standard for entrance into the sanctuary), but who pay no attention to inner cleansing (e.g., Matt 23:27).

[30:12]  ¹³ sn Filthiness often refers to physical uncleanness, but here it refers to moral defilement. Zech 3:3-4 uses it metaphorically as well for the sin of the nation (e.g., Isa 36:12).

[66:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “who tremble at his word.”

[66:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “brothers” (so NASB, NIV); NRSV “Your own people”; NLT “Your close relatives.”

[66:5]  ¹⁶ tn Or “so that we might witness your joy.” The point of this statement is unclear.

[9:28]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And they.” 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.

[9:28]  ¹⁸ tn The Greek word means “to insult strongly” or “slander.”

[9:28]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and said.”

[9:28]  ²⁰ tn Grk “You are that one’s disciple.”

[9:34]  ²¹ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.” This has been simplified in the translation to “They replied.”

[9:34]  ²² tn Or “From birth you have been evil.” The implication of this insult, in the context of John 9, is that the man whom Jesus caused to see had not previously adhered rigorously to all the conventional requirements of the OT law as interpreted by the Pharisees. Thus he had no right to instruct them about who Jesus was.

[9:34]  ²³ tn Grk “and are you teaching us?”

[9:31]  ²⁴ tn Or “who pursued.” The participle could be taken adverbially or adjectivally.

[9:31]  ²⁵ tn Or “a legal righteousness,” that is, a righteousness based on law. This translation would treat the genitive δικαιοσύνης (dikaiosunh") as an attributed genitive (see ExSyn 89-91).

[9:31]  ²⁶ tn Grk “has not attained unto the law.”

[9:32]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Why? Because not by faith but as though by works.” The verb (“they pursued [it]”) is to be supplied from the preceding verse for the sake of English style; yet a certain literary power is seen in Paul’s laconic style.

[9:32]  ²⁸ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א² D Ψ 33 Ï sy), read νόμου (nomou, “of the law”) here, echoing Paul’s usage in Rom 3:20, 28 and elsewhere. The qualifying phrase is lacking in א* A B F G 6 629 630 1739 1881 pc lat co. The longer reading thus is weaker externally and internally, being motivated apparently by a need to clarify.

[9:32]  tn Grk “but as by works.”

[9:32]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the stone of stumbling.”

[3:4]  ³⁰ tn Grk “though I have reason for confidence even in the flesh.”

[3:4]  ³¹ tn Grk “flesh.”

[3:5]  ³² sn A Pharisee was a member of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.