Bible Commentaries

2 Kings 12:17 — (17) Then.—At that time, viz., after the events just related. Hazaeľs invasion of the south followed upon his successes against Jehoahaz, who became king of the northern kingdom in the very year when Jehoash took in hand the restoration of the Temple.

2 Chronicles 24:21 — (21) And they conspired against him.—The conspiracy of 2 Chronicles 24:25 was the Divine recompense for this one. And stoned him.—The legal penalty of idolatry (Leviticus 20:2; Deuteronomy 17:2-5). At the commandment of the king.—Probably Zechariah’s

Matthew 11:21 — (21) Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida!—It is singular enough that no miracles are recorded in the Gospels as wrought at either of these cities. The latter was indeed nigh unto the scene of the feeding of the five thousand, but that

Matthew 4:24 — (24) Throughout all Syria.—The word is probably used popularly, rather than with the definite significance of the Roman province with which St. Luke uses it in Luke 2:2. Our Lord’s ministry, with the one exception of the journey to the coasts of Tyre

Luke 16:11 — Por tanto, si no habéis sido fieles en las injustas riquezas. - Mejor, si no lo fueras, o si no lo fueras . Aquí las “verdaderas riquezas” contrastan con el mamón vano, engañoso e injusto, y responden a la verdadera riqueza espiritual de la paz, el perdón,

Luke 16:9 — (9) And I say unto you.—The pronoun is emphatic, and stands, as in Matthew 5:22; Matthew 5:28; Matthew 5:32, in contrast with what had gone before. Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness.—On “mammon,” comp. Note on Matthew 6:24.

Luke 6:40 — (40) The disciple is not above his master.—See Notes on Matthew 10:24, John 15:20. Here the application of the proverb is obviously very different. The connection of thought is somewhat obscure, and we may not unreasonably believe that some links have

Luke 7:37 — (37) A woman in the city, which was a sinner.—The word is clearly used as pointing to the special sin of unchastity. The woman was known in the city as plying there her sinful and hateful calling. The question who she was must be left unanswered. Two

John 1:19 — (19) The narrative is connected with the prologue by the record of John, which is common to both (John 1:15), and opens therefore with “And.” The Jews.—This term, originally applied to the members of the tribe of Judah, was extended after the Captivity

John 16:8 — (8) And when he is come, he will reprove the world.—Better, as in margin, convince the world. (Comp. John 3:20; John 8:46.) The only other passages where it occurs in the Gospels are in Matthew 18:15, and Luke 3:19. It is not in the better reading of

John 19:25 — (25) John 19:25-27 relate an incident which is found in St. John only. Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.—Better, Mary the (wife) of Clopas, as in margin. This Clopas is usually identified with Alphæus. (Comp. Matthew 10:3; Matthew 27:56,

Acts 1:8 — (8) But ye shall receive power.—The use of the same English noun for two different Greek words is misleading, but if “authority” be used in Acts 1:7 then “power” is an adequate rendering here. The consciousness of a new faculty of thought and speech

Acts 16:19 — (19) That the hope of their gains was gone.—Better, of their occupation. The word for “gains” is the same as that translated “gain” and “craft” in Acts 19:24-25. There is something like a prophetic significance in the use, at this stage, of the word

Acts 16:24 — (24) Thrust them into the inner prison.—Those who have seen anything of the prisons of the Roman empire, as, e.g., the Mamertine dungeon at Rome itself, can picture to themselves the darkness and foulness of the den into which Paul and his friend were

Acts 8:3 — (3) As for Saul, he made havock of the church.—The tense in the Greek implies continuous action, and so indicates the severity of the persecution. Further details are given by St. Paul himself. He “persecuted this way unto the death” (Acts 22:4). It

1 Corinthians 15:24-28 — (24-28) When he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father.—The Apostle carries on the thought of a triumph which the use of the word “troop” in the previous verse had commenced or suggested. There rises before the prophetic vision

2 Timothy 4:11 — (11) Only Luke is with me.—The “writer” of the Third Gospel, the Gospel which, as has been stated above, was very possibly the work of St. Paul—“my Gospel.” Luke, “the beloved physician” of Colossians 4:14, of all St. Paul’s companions, seems to have

Hebrews 10:25 — (25) As the manner of some is.—Some members of this community, it would seem, had persuaded themselves that the relation of Judaism to Christianity, of the “synagogue” (the Greek word here used seems to allude to this technical name, and yet intentionally

1 Peter 1:9 — (9) Receiving the end of your faith.—The “end of our faith” means, the object to which our faith is directed, the thing we believed for. And “faith” catches up the “believing” of last verse, so that, in reading, the accent of the sentence falls on “end,”

2 Samuel 5:14 — (14) These be the names.—The same list, with some variations, is given in 1 Chronicles 3:5-8; 1 Chronicles 14:5-7. According to 1 Chronicles 3:5, the first four were children of Bathsheba (Bath-shua), and were consequently not born until a later period