Yesaya 44:5

44:5 One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’

and another will use ¹  the name ‘Jacob.’

One will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’

and use the name ‘Israel.’” ² 

Yesaya 45:14

The Lord is the Nations’ Only Hope

45:14 This is what the Lord says:

“The profit ³  of Egypt and the revenue ⁴  of Ethiopia,

along with the Sabeans, those tall men,

will be brought to you ⁵  and become yours.

They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. ⁶ 

They will bow down to you

and pray to you: ⁷ 

‘Truly God is with ⁸  you; he has no peer; ⁹ 

there is no other God!’”

Matius 2:1-11

The Visit of the Wise Men

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem ¹⁰  in Judea, in the time ¹¹  of King Herod, ¹²  wise men ¹³  from the East came to Jerusalem ¹⁴  2:2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose ¹⁵  and have come to worship him.” 2:3 When King Herod ¹⁶  heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. 2:4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, ¹⁷  he asked them where the Christ ¹⁸  was to be born. 2:5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet:

2:6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,

for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” ¹⁹ 

2:7 Then Herod ²⁰  privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared. 2:8 He ²¹  sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.” 2:9 After listening to the king they left, and once again ²²  the star they saw when it rose ²³  led them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 2:10 When they saw the star they shouted joyfully. ²⁴  2:11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down ²⁵  and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, ²⁶  and myrrh. ²⁷ 

Matius 21:24

21:24 Jesus ²⁸  answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.

[44:5]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text has a Qal verb form, “and another will call by the name of Jacob.” With support from Symmachus (an ancient Greek textual witness), some read the Niphal, “and another will be called by the name of Jacob.”

[44:5]  ² tn Heb “and by the name of Israel he will title.” Some, with support from several ancient versions, prefer to change the Piel (active) verb form to a Pual (passive), “and he will be titled by the name of Israel.”

[45:14]  ³ tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”

[45:14]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”

[45:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”

[45:14]  ⁶ sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.

[45:14]  ⁷ sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.

[45:14]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”

[45:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.

[2:1]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in the days.”

[2:1]  ¹² sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

[2:1]  ¹³ sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).

[2:1]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “in its rising,” referring to the astrological significance of a star in a particular portion of the sky. The term used for the “East” in v. 1 is ἀνατολαί (anatolai, a plural form that is used typically of the rising of the sun), while in vv. 2 and 9 the singular ἀνατολή (anatolh) is used. The singular is typically used of the rising of a star and as such should not normally be translated “in the east” (cf. BDAG 74 s.v. 1: “because of the sg. and the article in contrast to ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν, vs. 1, [it is] prob. not a geograph. expr. like the latter, but rather astronomical…likew. vs. 9”).

[2:3]  ¹⁶ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:4]  ¹⁷ tn Or “and scribes of the people.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[2:4]  ¹⁸ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:4]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

[2:6]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Mic 5:2.

[2:7]  ²⁰ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:8]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[2:9]  ²² tn Grk “and behold the star.”

[2:9]  ²³ tn See the note on the word “rose” in 2:2.

[2:10]  ²⁴ tn Grk “they rejoiced with very great joy.”

[2:11]  ²⁵ tn Grk “they fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[2:11]  ²⁶ sn Frankincense refers to the aromatic resin of certain trees, used as a sweet-smelling incense (L&N 6.212).

[2:11]  ²⁷ sn Myrrh consisted of the aromatic resin of certain shrubs (L&N 6.208). It was used in preparing a corpse for burial.

[21:24]  ²⁸ tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.