Matius 23:24

23:24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel! ¹ 

Lukas 6:7-9

6:7 The experts in the law ²  and the Pharisees ³  watched ⁴  Jesus ⁵  closely to see if ⁶  he would heal on the Sabbath, ⁷  so that they could find a reason to accuse him. 6:8 But ⁸  he knew ⁹  their thoughts, ¹⁰  and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Get up and stand here.” ¹¹  So ¹²  he rose and stood there. 6:9 Then ¹³  Jesus said to them, “I ask you, ¹⁴  is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?”

Yohanes 18:28

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

18:28 Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor’s residence. ¹⁵  (Now it was very early morning.) ¹⁶  They ¹⁷  did not go into the governor’s residence ¹⁸  so they would not be ceremonially defiled, but could eat the Passover meal.

[23:24]  ¹ tn Grk “Blind guides who strain out a gnat yet who swallow a camel!”

[6:7]  ² tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[6:7]  ³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[6:7]  ⁴ sn The term translated watched…closely is emotive, since it carries negative connotations. It means they were watching him out of the corner of their eye or spying on him.

[6:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:7]  ⁶ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text; Jesus’ opponents anticipated he would do this.

[6:7]  ⁷ sn The background for this is the view that only if life was endangered should one attempt to heal on the Sabbath (see the Mishnah, m. Shabbat 6.3; 12.1; 18.3; 19.2; m. Yoma 8.6).

[6:8]  ⁸ tn Here the conjunction δέ (de) has been translated as contrastive.

[6:8]  ⁹ sn The statement that Jesus knew their thoughts adds a prophetic note to his response; see Luke 5:22.

[6:8]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “their reasonings.” The implication is that Jesus knew his opponents’ plans and motives, so the translation “thoughts” was used here.

[6:8]  ¹¹ sn Most likely synagogues were arranged with benches along the walls and open space in the center for seating on the floor.

[6:8]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the man’s action was a result of Jesus’ order.

[6:9]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[6:9]  ¹⁴ sn With the use of the plural pronoun (“you”), Jesus addressed not just the leaders but the crowd with his question to challenge what the leadership was doing. There is irony as well. As Jesus sought to restore on the Sabbath (but improperly according to the leaders’ complaints) the leaders were seeking to destroy, which surely is wrong. The implied critique recalls the OT: Isa 1:1-17; 58:6-14.

[18:28]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to the praetorium.”

[18:28]  sn The permanent residence of the Roman governor of Palestine was in Caesarea (Acts 23:35). The governor had a residence in Jerusalem which he normally occupied only during principal feasts or in times of political unrest. The location of this building in Jerusalem is uncertain, but is probably one of two locations: either (1) the fortress or tower of Antonia, on the east hill north of the temple area, which is the traditional location of the Roman praetorium since the 12th century, or (2) the palace of Herod on the west hill near the present Jaffa Gate. According to Philo (Embassy 38 [299]) Pilate had some golden shields hung there, and according to Josephus (J. W. 2.14.8 [2.301], 2.15.5 [2.328]) the later Roman governor Florus stayed there.

[18:28]  ¹⁶ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[18:28]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And they.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[18:28]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “into the praetorium.”