Lukas 20:47

20:47 They ¹  devour ²  widows’ property, ³  and as a show make long prayers. They will receive a more severe punishment.”

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.

Matius 3:7-10

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ⁴  and Sadducees ⁵  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 3:8 Therefore produce fruit ⁶  that proves your ⁷  repentance, 3:9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 3:10 Even now the ax is laid at ⁸  the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matius 19:18-20

19:18 “Which ones?” he asked. Jesus replied, “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19:19 honor your father and mother, ⁹  and love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰  19:20 The young man said to him, “I have wholeheartedly obeyed ¹¹  all these laws. ¹²  What do I still lack?”

Galatia 3:10

3:10 For all who ¹³  rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.” ¹⁴ 

Filipi 3:6

3:6 In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless.

Yakobus 2:9-12

2:9 But if you show prejudice, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators. ¹⁵  2:10 For the one who obeys the whole law but fails ¹⁶  in one point has become guilty of all of it. ¹⁷  2:11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” ¹⁸  also said, “Do not murder.” ¹⁹  Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law. 2:12 Speak and act as those who will be judged by a law that gives freedom. ²⁰ 

[20:47]  ¹ tn Grk “who,” continuing the sentence begun in v. 46.

[20:47]  ² sn How they were able to devour widows’ houses is debated. Did they seek too much for contributions, or take too high a commission for their work, or take homes after debts failed to be paid? There is too little said here to be sure.

[20:47]  ³ tn Grk “houses,” “households”; however, the term can have the force of “property” or “possessions” as well (O. Michel, TDNT 5:131; BDAG 695 s.v. οἶκια 1.a).

[3:7]  ⁴ sn Pharisees were members 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.

[3:7]  ⁵ sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[3:8]  ⁶ sn Fruit worthy of repentance refers to the deeds that indicate a change of attitude (heart) on the part of John’s hearers.

[3:8]  ⁷ tn Grk “fruit worthy of.”

[3:10]  ⁸ sn Laid at the root. That is, placed and aimed, ready to begin cutting.

[19:19]  ⁹ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20.

[19:19]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

[19:20]  ¹¹ tn Grk “kept.” The implication of this verb is that the man has obeyed the commandments without fail, so the adverb “wholeheartedly” has been added to the translation to bring out this nuance.

[19:20]  ¹² tn Grk “these things.” The referent of the pronoun (the laws mentioned by Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:20]  sn While the rich man was probably being sincere when he insisted I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws, he had confined his righteousness to external obedience. The rich man’s response to Jesus’ command – to give away all he had – revealed that internally he loved money more than God.

[3:10]  ¹³ tn Grk “For as many as.”

[3:10]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things written in the book of the law, to do them.”

[3:10]  sn A quotation from Deut 27:26.

[2:9]  ¹⁵ tn Or “transgressors.”

[2:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “stumbles.”

[2:10]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “guilty of all.”

[2:11]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Exod 20:14 and Deut 5:18.

[2:11]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Exod 20:13 and Deut 5:17.

[2:12]  ²⁰ tn Grk “a law of freedom.”