Mar 13:9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils...
Mar 13:9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
Alternative: But you watch yourselves. For they will hand you over in meetings and you will be flayed in places of assembly. You will be made to take a stand, will be brought before governors and rulers on account of me in the same testimony.
Hidden meaning:This verse describe two venues that Christ sees very differently. Christ always has a distrust for groups of people. Notice, when brought before the groups (councils and synagogues), no one has a chance: they are just punished. However when brought before individuals, kings and commanders, the apostles can defend themselves, giving testimony to what they know.
Christ sees group relationships as inherently corrupt by social pressures. Only in one-on-one relationships, can we make a realy, human connection, even if we are talking to kinds and rulers.
Thematically and Linguistically Related Verse(s): Mat 24:7 is the parallel verse in Matthew.
Vocabulary:
"But" is from de (de), which means "but." It is the particle that joins sentences and an adversarial way.
"Take heed" is from blepô (blepo), which means "to look" and "to see." It is the more tangible sense of seeing, such as seeing what is right in front of you rather than understanding.
"For" comes from gar (gar) which is the introduction of a clause explaining a reason or explanation: "for," "since," and "as." In an abrupt question it means "why" and "what."
"Shall deliver" is from paradidômi (paradidomi), which means "to give over to another," "to transmit," "to hand down," "to grant," "to teach," and "to bestow."
"Councils" is from sunedrion (synedrion), which means "council," "meeting," "councils of war," and "meeting room."
"Synagogue" is from sunagôgê (synagoge), which means a "bringing together," "assembly," "place of assembly," "contracting," "collection," "combination," "conclusion," and "demonstration." It comes from a Greek word Christ uses commonly, sunagô, to mean "gather" or "bring together."
"Shall be beaten" is from derô (dero), which means "to flay" or "to skin" someone, though in later use it came to mean "to cudgel" or "to thrash."
Untrantranslated is histêmi (histemi), which means "to make to stand," "to stand," "to set up," "to bring to a standstill," "to check," "to appoint," "to establish," "to fix by agreement," "to be placed," "to be set," "to stand still," "to stand firm," "to set upright," "to erected," "to arise," and "to place." Like the English words "put" and "set," it has a number of specific meanings from "to put down [in writing]," "to bury," "to establish," "to make," "to cause," and "to assign."
"Shall be brought" is from agô (ago), which means to "lead," "carry," "bring," "fetch," "take with one," "carry of," "bear up," "remove," "lead to a point," "lead," "guide," "manage," "refer," "bring up," "train," "educate," "reduce," "draw out (in length)," "hold," "celebrate," "observe (a date)," "pass (Time)," "hold account," "treat," "draw down (in the scale)," and "weight."'
"Rulers" is from hêgemôn (hegemon), which means "one who leads," "leader," "commander," "chief," and "one who does a thing first." The term was specifically used for the governors of provinces in Roman times.
"Kings" is from basileus (basileus), which means a "king," "chief," "prince," "lord," "master," "a great man," and "the first and most distinguished of any class." It is a form of the world used for "kingdom."
"Sake" is from heneka (heneka), which means "on account of," "as far as regards," "in consequence of," and "because."
"Testimony" is from marturion (martyrion), which means "testimony," and proof." From the word martus, source of our word martyr, which means "witness."
