Markus 4:18-19

4:18 Others are the ones sown among thorns: They are those who hear the word, 4:19 but ¹  worldly cares, the seductiveness of wealth, ²  and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, ³  and it produces nothing.

Kejadian 3:17-18

3:17 But to Adam ⁴  he said,

“Because you obeyed ⁵  your wife

and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,

‘You must not eat from it,’

cursed is the ground ⁶  thanks to you; ⁷ 

in painful toil you will eat ⁸  of it all the days of your life.

3:18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

but you will eat the grain ⁹  of the field.

Yeremia 4:3

4:3 Yes, ¹⁰  the Lord has this to say

to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground,

you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning;

just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted,

you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. ¹¹ 

Matius 13:7

13:7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, ¹²  and they grew up and choked them. ¹³ 

Matius 13:22

13:22 The ¹⁴  seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth ¹⁵  choke the word, ¹⁶  so it produces nothing.

Lukas 8:7

8:7 Other seed fell among the thorns, ¹⁷  and they grew up with it and choked ¹⁸  it.

Lukas 8:14

8:14 As for the seed that ¹⁹  fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but ²⁰  as they go on their way they are choked ²¹  by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, ²²  and their fruit does not mature. ²³ 

Lukas 12:15

12:15 Then ²⁴  he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from ²⁵  all types of greed, ²⁶  because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Lukas 21:34

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ²⁷  so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. ²⁸ 

Lukas 21:1

The Widow’s Offering

21:1 Jesus ²⁹  looked up ³⁰  and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box. ³¹ 

Titus 1:9-10

1:9 He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, ³²  so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching ³³  and correct those who speak against it.

1:10 For there are many ³⁴  rebellious people, idle talkers, and deceivers, especially those with Jewish connections, ³⁵ 

Titus 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³⁶  a slave ³⁷  of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith ³⁸  of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness,

Yohanes 2:15-16

2:15 So he made a whip of cords ³⁹  and drove them all out of the temple courts, ⁴⁰  with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers ⁴¹  and overturned their tables. 2:16 To those who sold the doves he said, “Take these things away from here! Do not make ⁴²  my Father’s house a marketplace!” ⁴³ 

[4:19]  ¹ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[4:19]  ² tn Grk “the deceitfulness of riches.” Cf. BDAG 99 s.v. ἀπάτη 1, “the seduction which comes from wealth.”

[4:19]  ³ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

[3:17]  ⁴ tn Since there is no article on the word, the personal name is used, rather than the generic “the man” (cf. NRSV).

[3:17]  ⁵ tn The idiom “listen to the voice of” often means “obey.” The man “obeyed” his wife and in the process disobeyed God.

[3:17]  ⁶ 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.

[3:17]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew phrase בַּעֲבוּרֶךָ (ba’avurekha) is more literally translated “on your account” or “because of you.” The idiomatic “thanks to you” in the translation tries to capture the point of this expression.

[3:17]  ⁸ 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.

[3:18]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term עֵשֶׂב (’esev), when referring to human food, excludes grass (eaten by cattle) and woody plants like vines.

[4:3]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew particle is obviously asseverative here since a causal connection appears to make little sense.

[4:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Plow up your unplowed ground and do not sow among the thorns.” The translation is an attempt to bring out the force of a metaphor. The idea seems to be that they are to plow over the thorns and make the ground ready for the seeds which will produce a new crop where none had been produced before.

[13:7]  ¹² sn Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to six feet in height and have a major root system.

[13:7]  ¹³ sn That is, crowded out the good plants.

[13:22]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:22]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the deceitfulness of riches.” Cf. BDAG 99 s.v. ἀπάτη 1, “the seduction which comes from wealth.”

[13:22]  ¹⁶ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

[8:7]  ¹⁷ sn Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to six feet in height and have a major root system.

[8:7]  ¹⁸ sn That is, crowded out the good plants.

[8:14]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “What”; the referent (the seed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:14]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:14]  ²¹ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

[8:14]  ²² sn On warnings about the dangers of excessive material attachments, described here as the worries and riches and pleasures of life, see Luke 12:12-21; 16:19-31.

[8:14]  ²³ tn The verb τελεσφορέω (telesforew) means “to produce mature or ripe fruit” (L&N 23.203). Once again the seed does not reach its goal.

[12:15]  ²⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:15]  ²⁵ tn See L&N 13.154 for this use of the middle voice of φυλάσσω (fulassw) in this verse.

[12:15]  ²⁶ tn Or “avarice,” “covetousness.” Note the warning covers more than money and gets at the root attitude – the strong desire to acquire more and more possessions and experiences.

[21:34]  ²⁷ tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  sn Disciples are to watch out. If they are too absorbed into everyday life, they will stop watching and living faithfully.

[21:34]  ²⁸ sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.

[21:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:1]  ³⁰ tn Grk “looking up, he saw.” The participle ἀναβλέψας (anableya") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:1]  ³¹ tn On the term γαζοφυλάκιον (gazofulakion), often translated “treasury,” see BDAG 186 s.v., which states, “For Mk 12:41, 43; Lk 21:1 the mng. contribution box or receptacle is attractive. Acc. to Mishnah, Shekalim 6, 5 there were in the temple 13 such receptacles in the form of trumpets. But even in these passages the general sense of ‘treasury’ is prob., for the contributions would go [into] the treasury via the receptacles.” Based upon the extra-biblical evidence (see sn following), however, the translation opts to refer to the actual receptacles and not the treasury itself.

[21:1]  sn The offering box probably refers to the receptacles in the temple forecourt by the Court of Women used to collect freewill offerings. These are mentioned by Josephus, J. W. 5.5.2 (5.200), 6.5.2 (6.282); Ant. 19.6.1 (19.294); and in 1 Macc 14:49 and 2 Macc 3:6, 24, 28, 40 (see also Mark 12:41; John 8:20).

[1:9]  ³² tn Grk “the faithful message in accordance with the teaching” (referring to apostolic teaching).

[1:9]  ³³ tn Grk “the healthy teaching” (referring to what was just mentioned).

[1:10]  ³⁴ tc ‡ The earliest and best mss lack καί (kai) after πολλοί (polloi; so א A C P 088 81 104 365 614 629 630 al sy co), though the conjunction is found in several significant witnesses, chiefly of the Western and Byzantine texts (D F G I Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï lat). Although it is possible that some scribes omitted the word, thinking it was superfluous, it is also possible that others added the conjunction for clarification. Judging by the pedigree of the witnesses and the inconclusiveness of the internal evidence, the shorter reading is considered to be most likely original. NA²⁷ puts the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[1:10]  ³⁵ tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” Some translations take this to refer to Jewish converts to Christianity (cf. NAB “Jewish Christians”; TEV “converts from Judaism”; CEV “Jewish followers”) while others are less clear (cf. NLT “those who insist on circumcision for salvation”).

[1:1]  ³⁶ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ³⁷ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  sn Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.”

[1:1]  ³⁸ tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”

[2:15]  ³⁹ tc Several witnesses, two of which are quite ancient (Ì^66,75 L N ˹ 33 565 892 1241 al lat), have ὡς (Jws, “like”) before φραγέλλιον (fragellion, “whip”). A decision based on external evidence would be difficult to make because the shorter reading also has excellent witnesses, as well as the majority, on its side (א A B Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï co). Internal evidence, though, leans toward the shorter reading. Scribes tended to add to the text, and the addition of ὡς here clearly softens the assertion of the evangelist: Instead of making a whip of cords, Jesus made “[something] like a whip of cords.”

[2:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “the temple.”

[2:15]  ⁴¹ sn Because of the imperial Roman portraits they carried, Roman denarii and Attic drachmas were not permitted to be used in paying the half-shekel temple-tax (the Jews considered the portraits idolatrous). The money changers exchanged these coins for legal Tyrian coinage at a small profit.

[2:16]  ⁴² tn Or (perhaps) “Stop making.”

[2:16]  ⁴³ tn Or “a house of merchants” (an allusion to Zech 14:21).

[2:16]  sn A marketplace. Zech 14:20-21, in context, is clearly a picture of the messianic kingdom. The Hebrew word translated “Canaanite” may also be translated “merchant” or “trader.” Read in this light, Zech 14:21 states that there will be no merchant in the house of the Lord in that day (the day of the Lord, at the establishment of the messianic kingdom). And what would Jesus’ words (and actions) in cleansing the temple have suggested to the observers? That Jesus was fulfilling messianic expectations would have been obvious – especially to the disciples, who had just seen the miracle at Cana with all its messianic implications.