¹ sn Hired flute players were a standard feature at Jewish funerals in the first century. According to the Mishnah (m. Ketubot 4:4) the husband was responsible to provide flute players for his wife’s funeral: “Even the poorest man in Israel should not hire fewer than two flutes and one professional wailing woman.”

² tn The meaning of the Hebrew word נְחִילוֹת (n^ekhilot), which occurs only here, is uncertain. Many relate the form to חָלִיל (khalil, “flute”).

³ sn ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance…’ The children of this generation were making the complaint (see vv. 33-34) that others were not playing the game according to the way they played the music. John and Jesus did not follow “their tune.” Jesus’ complaint was that this generation wanted things their way, not God’s.

¹ sn ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance…’ The children of this generation were making the complaint (see vv. 18-19) that others were not playing the game according to the way they played the music. John and Jesus did not follow “their tune.” Jesus’ complaint was that this generation wanted things their way, not God’s.

¹ tn Heb “[you will have] joy of heart, like the one going with a flute to enter the mountain of the Lord to the Rock of Israel.” The image here is not a foundational rock, but a rocky cliff where people could hide for protection (for example, the fortress of Masada).

¹ tn Heb “and all the people went up after him, and the people were playing flutes and rejoicing with great joy and the ground split open at the sound of them.” The verb בָּקַע (baqaʿ, “to split open”), which elsewhere describes the effects of an earthquake, is obviously here an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis.