Ulangan 20:8

20:8 In addition, the officers are to say to the troops, “Who among you is afraid and fainthearted? He may go home so that he will not make his fellow soldier’s ¹  heart as fearful ²  as his own.”

Matius 13:21

13:21 But he has no root in himself and does not endure; ³  when ⁴  trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

Lukas 14:25-33

Counting the Cost

14:25 Now large crowds ⁵  were accompanying Jesus, ⁶  and turning to them he said, 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate ⁷  his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, ⁸  he cannot be my disciple. 14:27 Whoever does not carry his own cross ⁹  and follow ¹⁰  me cannot be my disciple. 14:28 For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t sit down ¹¹  first and compute the cost ¹²  to see if he has enough money to complete it? 14:29 Otherwise, ¹³  when he has laid ¹⁴  a foundation and is not able to finish the tower, ¹⁵  all who see it ¹⁶  will begin to make fun of ¹⁷  him. 14:30 They will say, ¹⁸  ‘This man ¹⁹  began to build and was not able to finish!’ ²⁰  14:31 Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down ²¹  first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose ²²  the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 14:32 If he cannot succeed, ²³  he will send a representative ²⁴  while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace. ²⁵  14:33 In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions. ²⁶ 

Wahyu 17:14

17:14 They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying ²⁷  the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful.”

Wahyu 21:8

21:8 But to the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, ²⁸  idol worshipers, ²⁹  and all those who lie, their place ³⁰  will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. ³¹  That ³²  is the second death.”

¹ tn Heb “his brother’s.”

² tn Heb “melted.”

³ tn Grk “is temporary.”

⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁵ sn It is important to note that the following remarks are not just to disciples, but to the large crowds who were following Jesus.

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

⁷ tn This figurative use operates on a relative scale. God is to be loved more than family or self.

⁸ tn Grk “his own soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

⁹ sn It was customary practice in a Roman crucifixion for the prisoner to be made to carry his own cross. Jesus is speaking figuratively here in the context of rejection. If the priority is not one’s allegiance to Jesus, then one will not follow him in the face of possible rejection; see Luke 9:23.

¹⁰ tn Grk “and come after.” In combination with the verb ἔρχομαι (ercomai) the improper preposition ὀπίσω (opisw) means “follow.”

¹¹ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹² tn The first illustration involves checking to see if enough funds exist to build a watchtower. Both ψηφίζω (yhfizw, “compute”) and δαπάνη (dapanh, “cost”) are economic terms.

¹³ tn Grk “to complete it, lest.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation and ἵνα μήποτε ({ina mhpote, “lest”) has been translated as “Otherwise.”

¹⁴ tn The participle θέντος (qentos) has been taken temporally.

¹⁵ tn The words “the tower” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

¹⁶ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

¹⁷ tn Or “mock,” “ridicule.” The person who did not plan ahead becomes an object of joking and ridicule.

¹⁸ tn Grk “make fun of him, saying.”

¹⁹ sn The phrase this man is often used in Luke in a derogatory sense; see “this one” and expressions like it in Luke 5:21; 7:39; 13:32; 23:4, 14, 22, 35.

²⁰ sn The failure to finish the building project leads to embarrassment (in a culture where avoiding public shame was extremely important). The half completed tower testified to poor preparation and planning.

²¹ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

²² tn On the meaning of this verb see also L&N 55.3, “to meet in battle, to face in battle.”

²³ tn Grk “And if not.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated; “succeed” is implied and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

²⁴ tn Grk “a messenger.”

²⁵ sn This image is slightly different from the former one about the tower (vv. 28-30). The first part of the illustration (sit down first and determine) deals with preparation. The second part of the illustration (ask for terms of peace) has to do with recognizing who is stronger. This could well suggest thinking about what refusing the “stronger one” (God) might mean, and thus constitutes a warning. Achieving peace with God, the more powerful king, is the point of the illustration.

²⁶ tn Grk “Likewise therefore every one of you who does not renounce all his own possessions cannot be my disciple.” The complex double negation is potentially confusing to the modern reader and has been simplified in the translation. See L&N 57.70.

sn The application of the saying is this: Discipleship requires that God be in first place. The reference to renunciation of all his own possessions refers to all earthly attachments that have first place.

²⁷ tn See BDAG 636 s.v. μετά A.2.a.α.

²⁸ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”

²⁹ tn Grk “idolaters.”

³⁰ tn Grk “their share.”

³¹ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

³² tn Grk “sulfur, which is.” The relative pronoun has been translated as “that” to indicate its connection to the previous clause. The nearest logical antecedent is “the lake [that burns with fire and sulfur],” although “lake” (λίμνη, limnh) is feminine gender, while the pronoun “which” (ὅ, Jo) is neuter gender. This means that (1) the proper antecedent could be “their place” (Grk “their share,”) agreeing with the relative pronoun in number and gender, or (2) the neuter pronoun still has as its antecedent the feminine noun “lake,” since agreement in gender between pronoun and antecedent was not always maintained, with an explanatory phrase occurring with a neuter pronoun regardless of the case of the antecedent. In favor of the latter explanation is Rev 20:14, where the phrase “the lake of fire” is in apposition to the phrase “the second death.”