Yeremia 8:8

8:8 How can you say, “We are wise!

We have the law of the Lord”?

The truth is, ¹  those who teach it ²  have used their writings

to make it say what it does not really mean. ³ 

Habakuk 1:4

1:4 For this reason the law lacks power, ⁴ 

and justice is never carried out. ⁵ 

Indeed, ⁶  the wicked intimidate ⁷  the innocent. ⁸ 

For this reason justice is perverted. ⁹ 

Maleakhi 2:8

2:8 You, however, have turned from the way. You have caused many to violate the law; ¹⁰  you have corrupted the covenant with Levi,” ¹¹  says the Lord who rules over all.

Matius 15:6

15:6 he does not need to honor his father.’ ¹²  You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.

Roma 3:31

3:31 Do we then nullify ¹³  the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead ¹⁴  we uphold the law.

Roma 4:14

4:14 For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. ¹⁵ 

[8:8]  ¹ tn Heb “Surely, behold!”

[8:8]  ² tn Heb “the scribes.”

[8:8]  ³ tn Heb “The lying pen of the scribes have made [it] into a lie.” The translation is an attempt to make the most common interpretation of this passage understandable for the average reader. This is, however, a difficult passage whose interpretation is greatly debated and whose syntax is capable of other interpretations. The interpretation of the NJPS, “Assuredly, for naught has the pen labored, for naught the scribes,” surely deserves consideration within the context; i.e. it hasn’t done any good for the scribes to produce a reliable copy of the law, which the people have refused to follow. That interpretation has the advantage of explaining the absence of an object for the verb “make” or “labored” but creates a very unbalanced poetic couplet.

[1:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “the law is numb,” i.e., like a hand that has “fallen asleep” (see Ps 77:2). Cf. NAB “is benumbed”; NIV “is paralyzed.”

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “never goes out.”

[1:4]  ⁶ tn Or “for.”

[1:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “surround” (so NASB, NRSV).

[1:4]  ⁸ tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[1:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “comes out crooked.”

[2:8]  ¹⁰ tn The definite article embedded within בַּתּוֹרָה (battorah) may suggest that the Torah is in mind and not just “ordinary” priestly instruction, though it might refer to the instruction previously mentioned (v. 7).

[2:8]  ¹¹ tn Or “the Levitical covenant.”

[15:6]  ¹² tc The logic of v. 5 would seem to demand that both father and mother are in view in v. 6. Indeed, the majority of mss (C L W Θ 0106 ˹ Ï) have “or his mother” (ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, h thn mhtera autou) after “honor his father” here. However, there are significant witnesses that have variations on this theme (καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ [kai thn mhtera autou, “and his mother”] in Φ 565 1241 pc and ἢ τὴν μητέρα [“or mother”] in 073 ˹³ 33 579 700 892 pc), which is usually an indication of a predictable addition to the text rather than an authentic reading. Further, the shorter reading (without any mention of “mother”) is found in early and important witnesses (א B D sa). Although it is possible that the shorter reading came about accidentally (due to the repetition of –ερα αὐτοῦ), the evidence more strongly suggests that the longer readings were intentional scribal alterations.

[15:6]  tn Grk “he will never honor his father.” Here Jesus is quoting the Pharisees, whose intent is to release the person who is giving his possessions to God from the family obligation of caring for his parents. The verb in this phrase is future tense, and it is negated with οὐ μή (ou mh), the strongest negation possible in Greek. A literal translation of the phrase does not capture the intended sense of the statement; it would actually make the Pharisees sound as if they agreed with Jesus. Instead, a more interpretive translation has been used to focus upon the release from family obligations that the Pharisees allowed in these circumstances.

[15:6]  sn Here Jesus refers to something that has been set aside as a gift to be given to God at some later date, but which is still in the possession of the owner. According to contemporary Jewish tradition, the person who made this claim was absolved from responsibility to support or assist his parents, a clear violation of the Mosaic law to honor one’s parents (v. 4).

[3:31]  ¹³ tn Grk “render inoperative.”

[3:31]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “but” (Greek ἀλλά, alla).

[4:14]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “rendered inoperative.”