Lukas 2:34

2:34 Then ¹  Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “Listen carefully: ²  This child ³  is destined to be the cause of the falling and rising ⁴  of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be rejected. ⁵ 

Roma 9:33

9:33 just as it is written,

“Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble

and a rock that will make them fall, ⁶ 

yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ⁷ 

Roma 9:1

Israel’s Rejection Considered

9:1 ⁸ I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me ⁹  in the Holy Spirit –

1 Petrus 2:8

2:8 and a stumbling-stone ¹⁰  and a rock to trip over. ¹¹  They stumble ¹²  because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. ¹³ 

[2:34]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[2:34]  ² tn Grk “behold.”

[2:34]  ³ tn Grk “this one”; the referent (the child) is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:34]  ⁴ sn The phrase the falling and rising of many emphasizes that Jesus will bring division in the nation, as some will be judged (falling) and others blessed (rising) because of how they respond to him. The language is like Isa 8:14-15 and conceptually like Isa 28:13-16. Here is the first hint that Jesus’ coming will be accompanied with some difficulties.

[2:34]  ⁵ tn Grk “and for a sign of contradiction.”

[9:33]  ⁶ tn Grk “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”

[9:33]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Isa 28:16; 8:14.

[9:1]  ⁸ sn Rom 9:1–11:36. These three chapters are among the most difficult and disputed in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. One area of difficulty is the relationship between Israel and the church, especially concerning the nature and extent of Israel’s election. Many different models have been constructed to express this relationship. For a representative survey, see M. Barth, The People of God (JSNTSup), 22-27. The literary genre of these three chapters has been frequently identified as a diatribe, a philosophical discussion or conversation evolved by the Cynic and Stoic schools of philosophy as a means of popularizing their ideas (E. Käsemann, Romans, 261 and 267). But other recent scholars have challenged the idea that Rom 9–11 is characterized by diatribe. Scholars like R. Scroggs and E. E. Ellis have instead identified the material in question as midrash. For a summary and discussion of the rabbinic connections, see W. R. Stegner, “Romans 9.6-29 – A Midrash,” JSNT 22 (1984): 37-52.

[9:1]  ⁹ tn Or “my conscience bears witness to me.”

[2:8]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” The latter phrase uses the term σκάνδαλον (skandalon), denoting an obstacle to faith, something that arouses anger and rejection.

[2:8]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Isa 8:14.

[2:8]  ¹² tn Grk “who stumble,” referring to “those who do not believe” in vs. 7. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:8]  ¹³ tn Grk “to which they were also destined.”