“Jesus said
To them.
‘What is it
You want me
To do for you?’”
ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Τί θέλετε με ποιήσω ὑμῖν;
There is something similar to this in Matthew, chapter 20:2, but here the brothers, rather than their mother spoke with Jesus. Mark said that Jesus then asked the 2 brothers, (ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς) what they wanted or wished Jesus to do for them (Τί θέλετε με ποιήσω ὑμῖν)? Jesus willingly responded to them. He wanted to know what was on their minds.
“They conspired
To arrest Jesus
Secretly.
They plotted
To kill him.
But they said.
‘Not during the festival!
There may be a riot
Among the people.’”
καὶ συνεβουλεύσαντο ἵνα τὸν Ἰησοῦν δόλῳ κρατήσωσιν καὶ ἀποκτείνωσιν·
ἔλεγον δέ Μὴ ἐν τῇ ἑορτῇ, ἵνα μὴ θόρυβος γένηται ἐν τῷ λαῷ.
This is almost word for word to Mark, chapter 14:1-2, and somewhat similar to Luke, chapter 22:2. Matthew said that these elders and priests conspired or plotted (καὶ συνεβουλεύσαντο) to arrest Jesus (ἵνα τὸν Ἰησοῦν κρατήσωσιν) and kill him (καὶ ἀποκτείνωσιν·) by some secret deceitful trick (δόλῳ). However, they did not want to do it during the Passover festival (ἔλεγον δέ Μὴ ἐν τῇ ἑορτῇ). They were afraid that there might be a disturbing riot among the people (ἵνα μὴ θόρυβος γένηται ἐν τῷ λαῷ). What made them change their minds?
“Thus,
All that you brought
Upon us,
All that you have done
To us,
You have done
By a true judgment.
You have handed us over
To our enemies,
Lawless,
Hateful rebels.
You have handed us over
To an unjust king,
The most wicked
In all the world.”
Azariah continued his prayer. Due to their sinfulness, God executed a proper and true judgment. He has handed over the Judeans to their enemies, the lawless and hateful rebels of Babylon. They were turned over to an unjust king, the most wicked king in the whole world. Remember, up until this incident of the golden statue, Azariah and his 2 friends were serving this king in his royal court. I could see how this furnace punishment might change their minds.
“What is in your mind?
It shall never happen.
This is the thought.
‘Let us be
Like the nations,
Like the tribes,
Of the other countries.
Let us worship
Wood!
Let us worship
Stone.’”
Yahweh called them out, via Ezekiel. He knew what was in their minds. They wanted to be like the other countries and nations who had objects of worship made of wood and stone. They just wanted to be like everyone else with their favorite man made idols.
“You yourselves recently repented.
You did what was right
In my sight
By proclaiming liberty,
To one another.
You made a covenant
Before me
In the house
That is called by my name.
But then you turned around.
You profaned my name.
Each of you took back
Your male slaves,
Your female slaves,
Whom you had set free
According to their desire.
You brought them again
Into subjection
To be your slaves.”
Yahweh seems upset that the people of Jerusalem have gone back on their agreement to free their Hebrew slaves. Originally, they had repented. They did what was right in the eyes of God. They had proclaimed by a covenant in the Temple of Yahweh that the Hebrew slaves in Jerusalem would be set free. However, then they changed their minds. They profaned the name of Yahweh and the Temple by breaking their commitment to free their slaves. They took back both their male and female slaves into subjection again. This is odd since the slaves had no place to go. There was never any mention of non-Hebrew slaves.
“When one rests
Upon his bed,
His sleep at night
Confuses his mind.
He gets little or no rest.
He struggles in his sleep,
As he did by day.
He is troubled
By the visions of his mind.
He is like one
Who has escaped
From the battlefield.
At the moment
He reaches safety,
He wakes up.
He is astonished
That his fears
Were groundless.”
Sirach points to the restless sleep that people have because their minds are confused. They actually get very little rest, since they are as if they were awake during the day. They struggle with troubled dreams or visions, while they try to get some restful sleep. They are like shell-shocked. They think that they are on a battlefield that they cannot escape. Yet they wake up astonished that they are safe. We might call these bad dreams or nightmares, where people are always trying to get away from someone or something.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 