“Pilate realized
That it was out of jealousy
That the chief priests
Had handed him over.”
ἐγίνωσκεν γὰρ ὅτι διὰ φθόνον παραδεδώκεισαν αὐτὸν οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς.
This is something almost word for word in Matthew, chapter 27:18. Mark said that Pilate knew or realized (ἐγίνωσκεν γὰρ) that it was out of jealousy (ὅτι διὰ φθόνον) that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him (παραδεδώκεισαν αὐτόν οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς). Pilate was a cagey guy. Do you act out of jealousy?
“At that time,
They had a notorious prisoner,
Called Barabbas.
After they had gathered,
Pilate said to them.
‘Whom do you want me
To release for you?
Jesus Barabbas
Or Jesus,
Who is called Christ
The Messiah?’
He realized
That it was out of jealousy
That they had handed
Him over.”
εἶχον δὲ τότε δέσμιον ἐπίσημον λεγόμενον Βαραββᾶν.
συνηγμένων οὖν αὐτῶν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Πειλᾶτος Τίνα θέλετε ἀπολύσω ὑμῖν, Βαραββᾶν ἢ Ἰησοῦν τὸν λεγόμενον Χριστόν;
ᾔδει γὰρ ὅτι διὰ φθόνον παρέδωκαν αὐτόν.
This is something like this in Mark, chapter 15:7-10, with a longer description of Barabbas as a rebel who had committed murder in an insurrection. Luke, chapter 23:18-19, also talked about Barabbas as a rebel who had murdered somebody. In John, chapter 18:39-40, Barabbas was simply called a bandit. Matthew simply called Barabbas a notorious prisoner without any indication of what he had done. A few manuscripts called him Jesus Barabbas (Ἰησοῦν Βαραββᾶν.). Matthew said that at that time, there was this notorious prisoner called Barabbas (εἶχον δὲ τότε δέσμιον ἐπίσημον λεγόμενον Βαραββᾶν). Thus, after they had gathered (συνηγμένων οὖν αὐτῶν), Pilate asked the crowd (εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Πειλᾶτος) who did they want him to release for them (Τίνα θέλετε ἀπολύσω ὑμῖν), Barabbas (Βαραββᾶν) or Jesus (ἢ Ἰησοῦν), who was called Christ, the Messiah (τὸν λεγόμενον Χριστόν)? He knew or realized (ᾔδει γὰρ) that it was out of jealousy (ὅτι διὰ φθόνον) that these Jewish leaders had handed Jesus over to him (παρέδωκαν αὐτόν).
“They shall bring up
A mob
Against you.
They shall stone you.
They shall cut you
To pieces
With their swords.
They shall burn
Your houses.
They shall execute
Judgments on you
In the sight
Of many women.
I will stop you
From playing the whore.
You shall also make
No more payments.
So I will satisfy
My fury
On you.
My jealousy
Shall turn away
From you.
I will be calm.
I will be angry
No longer.”
Yahweh said that he was going to bring a mob against Jerusalem. They would follow the common practice of stoning an adulterous woman. They would cut her into pieces with their swords. They would burn down her houses. They were going to execute judgments on her in the sight of many women. Jerusalem would no longer play the whore. She would not give any gifts. Yahweh would satisfy this fury and jealousy. He would then become calm and not angry any longer.
“I will judge you
As a woman
Who commits adultery.
I will judge you
As one who sheds blood.
I will bring
Blood upon you
In wrath,
In jealousy.
I will deliver you
Into their hands.
They shall throw down
Your platform.
They shall break down
Your lofty places.
They shall strip you
Of your clothes.
They will take
Your beautiful objects.
They will leave you naked.
They will leave you bare.”
Yahweh was going to pass judgment on Jerusalem. He was going to treat Jerusalem like a woman who had committed adultery. He was going to judge her as one who had shed blood. Yahweh was going to bring his wrath and jealousy upon her. He was going to hand her over to her former lovers. They would throw down her platforms and break up her lofty places that were at the street corners and in the public squares. They would strip her of her clothes and take her beautiful jewels. Finally, they would leave her naked and bare.
“My anger shall
Spend itself.
I will vent my fury
On them.
I will satisfy myself.
They shall know
That I,
Yahweh,
Have spoken
In my jealousy,
When I spend my fury
On them.
Moreover
I will make you
A desolation.
I will make you
An object of mocking
Among the nations
Around you,
In the sight
Of all that pass by.
You shall be a mockery.
You shall be a taunt.
You shall be a warning.
You shall be a horror,
To the nations around you.
I will execute judgments
On you
In anger,
In fury,
With furious punishments.
I!
Yahweh!
Have spoken!”
Yahweh said that he was going to spend his anger on the people of Jerusalem. He was going to vent his fury on them. He was going to satisfy himself. They would know that he was Yahweh. He was going to speak out of jealousy against them. This is a very strong statement about the anger of God against the people of Jerusalem, because he was a jealous God. Jerusalem would become a desolation, an object of mocking, a taunt, a warning, and a horror among all the nations around her. Angry Yahweh was going to execute his judgments on them with his furious punishments. Yahweh has clearly spoken.
“Yahweh will raise a signal for the nations.
He will assemble the outcasts of Israel.
He will gather the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.
The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart.
The hostility of Judah shall be cut off.
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah.
Judah shall not be hostile towards Ephraim.
But they shall swoop down
On the backs of the Philistines
In the west.
Together they shall plunder
The people of the east.
They shall put forth their hand
Against Edom and Moab.
The Ammonites shall obey them.
Yahweh will utterly destroy
The tongue of the sea of Egypt.
He will wave his hand over the River,
With his scorching wind.
He will split it into seven channels.
Thus there will be a way to cross on foot.
There shall be a highway from Assyria
For the remnant that is left of his people,
As there was for Israel
When they came up
From the land of Egypt.”
Isaiah implies that there will be a glorious reunion of Judah and Ephraim, the south and north of Israel, since Yahweh, the Lord, will give a signal to all the nations. The dispersed Israelites were to return from the four corners of the earth. There would no longer be any jealousy or hostility between Judah and Ephraim, north and south. Instead, they would unite to fight against the Philistines in the west and the Edomites and Moabites on the eastern side of Israel. They would have control of the Ammonites, the traditional enemies of Israel, as outlined in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. The reference to the tongue of the sea is to the Red Sea. Of course, the River is the Euphrates River. Yahweh was going to break up these seas so that people could walk through them. He wanted a highway from Assyria to the Promise Land so that all the exiles in Assyria could return, just like the Exodus march from Egypt took place. Obviously, we are talking about the time of the Exile in the 6th and 7th centuries BCE, and how it would end.
“Do not give yourself over
To sorrow!
Do not distress yourself deliberately!
A joyful heart is life itself.
Rejoicing lengthens
One’s life span.
Indulger yourself!
Take comfort!
Remove sorrow far from you!
Sorrow has destroyed many.
No advantage ever comes from it.
Jealousy shortens life.
Anger shortens life.
Anxiety brings on premature old age.
Whoever is cheerful at table,
Whoever is merry at table,
Will benefit from their food.”
Sirach reminds us not to give into sorrow. Do not deliberately distress yourself. If you are happy, you will lengthen your lifespan. Indulge yourself and take comfort in what you do. Stay away from sorrow, because it has destroyed many people, since there is no advantage to being sorrowful. Jealousy and anger will shorten your life. Anxiety brings on old age prematurely. Look at all the happy old people. If you are cheerful and merry when you eat, the food will seem that much better.
“A stone is heavy.
Sand is weighty.
But a fool’s provocation
Is heavier than both.
Wrath is cruel.
Anger is overwhelming.
But who is able to stand before jealousy?”
Stones and sands are heavy and weighty. However, a fool’s provocation is heavier than both. Wrath and anger are cruel and overwhelming, but jealousy is worse than both. Thus we have a comparison between various bad actions like provocation, wrath, anger, and jealousy.
“Call now!
Is there anyone who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
Surely vexation kills the fool.
Jealousy slays the simple.
I have seen fools taking root.
But suddenly I cursed their dwelling.
Their children are far from safety.
They are crushed in the gate.
There is no one to deliver them.
The hungry eat their harvest.
They take it even out of thorns.
The thirsty pant after their wealth.
Misery does not come from the earth.
Trouble does not sprout from the ground.
But human beings are born to trouble
Just as the birds fly upward.”
Being human is being in trouble just as birds fly. Eliphaz told Job to call, but no one will respond. Which angels or holy ones will respond to him? Irritation and jealousy kill the fools and simple ones. Eliphaz has cursed fools and their children so that they were crushed at the main gate to the town. No one helped them. The hungry ones took and ate their harvest, even from the thorny section. The thirsty ones went after their wealth. Misery and trouble do not come from the ground or the earth, but come from within humans. This is to suggest that human trouble comes from within and is not imposed. Humans are born to be troubled just like birds are born to fly. Accept this fact!
“The Romans kept their friendship with their friends and those who relied on them. They subdued kings far and near. As many as have heard of their fame, they have feared them. Those whom they wish to help and to make kings, they make kings. Those whom they wish, they depose. They have been greatly exalted. However, even with all this power, not one of them has put on a crown or worn purple as a mark of pride. They built for themselves a senate chamber. Every day, three hundred twenty senators constantly deliberate concerning the people, to govern them well. They trust one man each year to rule over them and to control all their land. They all heed the one man. There is no envy or jealousy among them.”
This biblical author explains that the Romans were a republic and not an empire. They were good friends to those who are friends and relied on them. They had the power to make or break kings. However, not one of them put on a crown or wore purple. This biblical author stated that they had a senate chamber, where 320 senators deliberated to govern their land and people every day. In fact, they met 3 times a month. They let one man rule for a year so that there was no jealously among them. Obviously, there was some jealously as Roman history seems to indicate. This biblical author had a very favorable view of the Romans.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 