11:20 Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities 1 in which he had done many of his miracles, because they did not repent.
12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His 2 disciples were hungry, and they began to pick heads of wheat 3 and eat them.
1 tn The Greek word here is πόλις (polis) which can be translated “city” or “town.” “Cities” was chosen here to emphasize the size of the places Jesus’ mentions in the following verses.
2 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
3 tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).
4 tn It seems most likely that this refers to a real rooster crowing, although a number of scholars have suggested that “cockcrow” is a technical term referring to the trumpet call which ended the third watch of the night (from midnight to 3 a.m.). This would then be a reference to the Roman gallicinium (ἀλεκτοροφωνία, alektorofwnia; the term is used in Mark 13:35 and is found in some