Mazmur 39:6

39:6 Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. ¹ 

Surely they accumulate worthless wealth

without knowing who will eventually haul it away.” ² 

Lukas 18:32-34

18:32 For he will be handed over ³  to the Gentiles; he will be mocked, ⁴  mistreated, ⁵  and spat on. ⁶  18:33 They will flog him severely ⁷  and kill him. Yet ⁸  on the third day he will rise again.” 18:34 But ⁹  the twelve ¹⁰  understood none of these things. This ¹¹  saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp ¹²  what Jesus meant. ¹³ 

Yohanes 16:18-19

16:18 So they kept on repeating, ¹⁴  “What is the meaning of what he says, ¹⁵  ‘In a little while’? ¹⁶  We do not understand ¹⁷  what he is talking about.” ¹⁸ 

16:19 Jesus could see ¹⁹  that they wanted to ask him about these things, ²⁰  so ²¹  he said to them, “Are you asking ²²  each other about this – that I said, ‘In a little while you ²³  will not see me; again after a little while, you ²⁴  will see me’?

[39:6]  ¹ tn Heb “surely, as an image man walks about.” The preposition prefixed to “image” indicates identity here.

[39:6]  sn People go through life (Heb “man walks about”). “Walking” is here used as a metaphor for living. The point is that human beings are here today, gone tomorrow. They have no lasting substance and are comparable to mere images or ghosts.

[39:6]  ² tc Heb “Surely [in] vain they strive, he accumulates and does not know who gathers them.” The MT as it stands is syntactically awkward. The verb forms switch from singular (“walks about”) to plural (“they strive”) and then back to singular (“accumulates and does not know”), even though the subject (generic “man”) remains the same. Furthermore there is no object for the verb “accumulates” and no plural antecedent for the plural pronoun (“them”) attached to “gathers.” These problems can be removed if one emends the text from הֶבֶל יֶהֱמָיוּן (hevel yehemaun, “[in] vain they strive”) to הֶבְלֵי הָמוֹן (hevley hamon, “vain things of wealth”). This assumes a misdivision in the MT and a virtual dittography of vav (ו) between the mem and nun of המון. The present translation follows this emendation.

[18:32]  ³ sn The passive voice verb be handed over does not indicate by whom, but other passages note the Jewish leadership and betrayal (9:22, 44).

[18:32]  ⁴ sn See Luke 22:63; 23:11, 36.

[18:32]  ⁵ tn Or “and insulted.” L&N 33.390 and 88.130 note ὑβρίζω (Jubrizw) can mean either “insult” or “mistreat with insolence.”

[18:32]  ⁶ sn And spat on. Later Luke does not note this detail in the passion narrative in chaps. 22-23, but see Mark 14:65; 15:19; Matt 26:67; 27:30 where Jesus’ prediction is fulfilled.

[18:33]  ⁷ tn Traditionally, “scourge” (the term means to beat severely with a whip, L&N 19.9). BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1. states, “Of the beating (Lat. verberatio) given those condemned to death…J 19:1; cf. Mt 20:19; Mk 10:34; Lk 18:33.” Here the term has been translated “flog…severely” to distinguish it from the term φραγελλόω (fragellow) used in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15.

[18:33]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[18:34]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.

[18:34]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the twelve, v. 31) has been specified in the context for clarity.

[18:34]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And this.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[18:34]  ¹² sn This failure of the Twelve to grasp what Jesus meant probably does not mean that they did not understand linguistically what Jesus said, but that they could not comprehend how this could happen to him, if he was really God’s agent. The saying being hidden probably refers to God’s sovereign timing.

[18:34]  ¹³ tn Grk “the things having been said.” The active agent, Jesus, has been specified for clarity, and “said” has been translated as “meant” to indicate that comprehension of the significance is really in view here.

[16:18]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “they kept on saying.”

[16:18]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “What is this that he says.”

[16:18]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “A little while.” Although the phrase τὸ μικρόν (to mikron) in John 16:18 could be translated simply “a little while,” it was translated “in a little while” to maintain the connection to John 16:16, where it has the latter meaning in context.

[16:18]  ¹⁷ tn Or “we do not know.”

[16:18]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “what he is speaking.”

[16:19]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “knew.”

[16:19]  sn Jesus could see. Supernatural knowledge of what the disciples were thinking is not necessarily in view here. Given the disciples’ confused statements in the preceding verses, it was probably obvious to Jesus that they wanted to ask what he meant.

[16:19]  ²⁰ tn The words “about these things” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[16:19]  ²¹ tn Καί (kai) has been translated as “so” here to indicate the following statement is a result of Jesus’ observation in v. 19a.

[16:19]  ²² tn Grk “inquiring” or “seeking.”

[16:19]  ²³ tn Grk “A little while, and you.”

[16:19]  ²⁴ tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”