1 Kings 8:38

8:38 When all your people Israel pray and ask for help, ¹  as they acknowledge their pain ²  and spread out their hands toward this temple,

1 Kings 12:28

12:28 After the king had consulted with his advisers, ³  he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people, ⁴  “It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

1 Kings 12:2

12:2 ⁵  When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since. ⁶ 

1 Kings 6:29

6:29 On all the walls around the temple, inside and out, ⁷  he carved ⁸  cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom.

Psalms 53:4

53:4 All those who behave wickedly ⁹  do not understand ¹⁰  –

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to God.

Isaiah 1:5

1:5 ¹¹ Why do you insist on being battered?

Why do you continue to rebel? ¹² 

Your head has a massive wound, ¹³ 

your whole body is weak. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 5:20

5:20 Those who call evil good and good evil are as good as dead, ¹⁵ 

who turn darkness into light and light into darkness,

who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 9:15

9:15 The leaders and the highly respected people ¹⁷  are the head,

the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

Micah 3:11

3:11 Her ¹⁸  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ¹⁹ 

her priests proclaim rulings for profit,

and her prophets read omens for pay.

Yet they claim to trust ²⁰  the Lord and say,

“The Lord is among us. ²¹ 

Disaster will not overtake ²²  us!”

Matthew 6:23

6:23 But if your eye is diseased, ²³  your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Matthew 13:14-15

13:14 And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

‘You will listen carefully ²⁴  yet will never understand,

you will look closely ²⁵  yet will never comprehend.

13:15 For the heart of this people has become dull;

they are hard of hearing,

and they have shut their eyes,

so that they would not see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’ ²⁶ 

John 16:2-3

16:2 They will put you out of ²⁷  the synagogue, ²⁸  yet a time ²⁹  is coming when the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God. ³⁰  16:3 They ³¹  will do these things because they have not known the Father or me. ³² 

Acts 22:3-4

22:3 “I am a Jew, ³³  born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up ³⁴  in this city, educated with strictness ³⁵  under ³⁶  Gamaliel ³⁷  according to the law of our ancestors, ³⁸  and was ³⁹  zealous ⁴⁰  for God just as all of you are today. 22:4 I ⁴¹  persecuted this Way ⁴²  even to the point of death, ⁴³  tying up ⁴⁴  both men and women and putting ⁴⁵  them in prison,

Acts 26:9-10

26:9 Of course, ⁴⁶  I myself was convinced ⁴⁷  that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 26:10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received ⁴⁸  from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote ⁴⁹  against them when they were sentenced to death. ⁵⁰ 

Acts 26:2

26:2 “Regarding all the things I have been accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa, ⁵¹  I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today,

Colossians 4:3-4

4:3 At the same time pray ⁵²  for us too, that ⁵³  God may open a door for the message ⁵⁴  so that we may proclaim ⁵⁵  the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ⁵⁶  4:4 Pray that I may make it known as I should. ⁵⁷ 

Colossians 4:2

Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission

4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:11-12

2:11 In him you also were circumcised – not, however, ⁵⁸  with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal ⁵⁹  of the fleshly body, ⁶⁰  that is, ⁶¹  through the circumcision done by Christ. 2:12 Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your ⁶²  faith in the power ⁶³  of God who raised him from the dead.

[8:38]  ¹ tn Heb “every prayer, every request for help which will be to all the people, to all your people Israel.”

[8:38]  ² tn Heb “which they know, each the pain of his heart.”

[12:28]  ³ tn The words “with his advisers” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “to them,” although this may be a corruption of “to the people.” Cf. the Old Greek translation.

[12:2]  ⁵ tc Verse 2 is not included in the Old Greek translation. See the note on 11:43.

[12:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “and Jeroboam lived in Egypt.” The parallel text in 2 Chr 10:2 reads, “and Jeroboam returned from Egypt.” In a purely consonantal text the forms “and he lived” and “and he returned” are identical (וישׁב).

[6:29]  ⁷ sn Inside and out probably refers to the inner and outer rooms within the building.

[6:29]  ⁸ tn Heb “carved engravings of carvings.”

[53:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8. Ps 14:4 adds כֹּל (kol, “all of”) before “workers of wickedness.”

[53:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-6).

[1:5]  ¹¹ sn In vv. 5-9 Isaiah addresses the battered nation (5-8) and speaks as their representative (9).

[1:5]  ¹² tn Heb “Why are you still beaten? [Why] do you continue rebellion?” The rhetorical questions express the prophet’s disbelief over Israel’s apparent masochism and obsession with sin. The interrogative construction in the first line does double duty in the parallelism. H. Wildberger (Isaiah, 1:18) offers another alternative by translating the two statements with one question: “Why do you still wish to be struck that you persist in revolt?”

[1:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “all the head is ill”; NRSV “the whole head is sick”; CEV “Your head is badly bruised.”

[1:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and all the heart is faint.” The “heart” here stands for bodily strength and energy, as suggested by the context and usage elsewhere (see Jer 8:18; Lam 1:22).

[5:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who call.” See the note at v. 8.

[5:20]  ¹⁶ sn In this verse the prophet denounces the perversion of moral standards. Darkness and bitterness are metaphors for evil; light and sweetness symbolize uprightness.

[9:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the elder and the one lifted up with respect to the face.” For another example of the Hebrew idiom, see 2 Kgs 5:1.

[3:11]  ¹⁸ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

[3:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

[3:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

[3:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

[3:11]  ²² tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”

[6:23]  ²³ tn Or “if your eye is sick” (L&N 23.149).

[13:14]  ²⁴ tn Grk “with hearing,” a cognate dative that intensifies the action of the main verb “you will listen” (ExSyn 168-69).

[13:14]  ²⁵ tn Grk “look by looking.” The participle is redundant, functioning to intensify the force of the main verb.

[13:15]  ²⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.

[16:2]  ²⁷ tn Or “expel you from.”

[16:2]  ²⁸ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:59.

[16:2]  ²⁹ tn Grk “an hour.”

[16:2]  ³⁰ sn Jesus now refers not to the time of his return to the Father, as he has frequently done up to this point, but to the disciples’ time of persecution. They will be excommunicated from Jewish synagogues. There will even be a time when those who kill Jesus’ disciples will think that they are offering service to God by putting the disciples to death. Because of the reference to service offered to God, it is almost certain that Jewish opposition is intended here in both cases rather than Jewish opposition in the first instance (putting the disciples out of synagogues) and Roman opposition in the second (putting the disciples to death). Such opposition materializes later and is recorded in Acts: The stoning of Stephen in 7:58-60 and the slaying of James the brother of John by Herod Agrippa I in Acts 12:2-3 are notable examples.

[16:3]  ³¹ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[16:3]  ³² sn Ignorance of Jesus and ignorance of the Father are also linked in 8:19; to know Jesus would be to know the Father also, but since the world does not know Jesus, neither does it know his Father. The world’s ignorance of the Father is also mentioned in 8:55, 15:21, and 17:25.

[22:3]  ³³ tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

[22:3]  ³⁴ tn BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατρέφω b has “of mental and spiritual nurture bring up, rear, train…ἀνατεθραμμένος ἐν τ. πόλει ταύτῃ 22:3.”

[22:3]  ³⁵ tn Or “with precision.” Although often translated “strictly” this can be misunderstood for “solely” in English. BDAG 39 s.v. ἀκρίβεια gives the meaning as “exactness, precision.” To avoid the potential misunderstanding the translation “with strictness” is used, although it is slightly more awkward than “strictly.”

[22:3]  ³⁶ tn Grk “strictly at the feet of” (an idiom).

[22:3]  ³⁷ tn Or “brought up in this city under Gamaliel, educated with strictness…” The phrase παρὰ τοὺς πόδας Γαμαλιὴλ (para tou" poda" Gamalihl) could be understood with what precedes or with what follows. The punctuation of NA²⁷ and UBS⁴, which place a comma after ταύτῃ (tauth), has been followed in the translation.

[22:3]  ³⁸ tn Or “our forefathers.”

[22:3]  ³⁹ tn Grk “ancestors, being.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:3]  ⁴⁰ tn BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.α has “of pers. …ζ. τοῦ θεοῦ one who is loyal to God Ac 22:3.”

[22:4]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the first person pronoun (“I”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[22:4]  ⁴² sn That is, persecuted the Christian movement (Christianity). The Way is also used as a description of the Christian faith in Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22).

[22:4]  ⁴³ tn BDAG 442-43 s.v. θάνατος 1.a has “διώκειν ἄχρι θανάτου persecute even to death Ac 22:4.”

[22:4]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “binding.” See Acts 8:3.

[22:4]  ⁴⁵ tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “W. local εἰς…εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3; cp. 22:4.”

[26:9]  ⁴⁶ tn BDAG 737 s.v. οὖν 3 states, “It has been proposed that some traces of older Gk. usage in which οὖν is emphatic, = certainly, really, to be sure etc. (s. L-S-J-M s.v. 1) remain in the pap…and in the NT…indeed, of course Ac 26:9.”

[26:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “I thought to myself.” BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.a has “ἔδοξα ἐμαυτῷ δεῖν πρᾶξαι = Lat. mihi videbar I was convinced that it was necessary to do Ac 26:9.”

[26:10]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “by receiving authority.” The participle λαβών (labwn) has been taken instrumentally.

[26:10]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “cast down a pebble against them.” L&N 30.103 states, “(an idiom, Grk ‘to bring a pebble against someone,’ a reference to a white or black pebble used in voting for or against someone) to make known one’s choice against someone – ‘to vote against.’ …‘when they were sentenced to death, I also voted against them’ Ac 26:10.”

[26:10]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “when they were being executed”; but the context supports the sentencing rather than the execution itself (cf. L&N 30.103).

[26:2]  ⁵¹ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[4:3]  ⁵² tn Though προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi) is an adverbial participle related to the previous imperative, προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite), it is here translated as an independent clause due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:3]  ⁵³ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been rendered as substantival here, indicating the content of the prayer rather than the purpose for it. These two ideas are very similar and difficult to differentiate in this passage, but the conjunction ἵνα following a verb of praying is generally regarded as giving the content of the prayer.

[4:3]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “that God may open for us a door of the word to speak the mystery of Christ.” The construction in Greek is somewhat awkward in this clause. The translation attempts to simplify this structure somewhat and yet communicate exactly what Paul is asking for.

[4:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “so that we may speak.”

[4:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “in prison.”

[4:4]  ⁵⁷ tn The phrase begins with the ἵνα (Jina) clause and is subordinate to the imperative προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite) in v. 2. The reference to the idea that Paul must make it known indicates that this clause is probably best viewed as purpose and not content, like the ἵνα of v. 3. It is the second purpose stated in the context; the first is expressed through the infinitive λαλῆσαι (lalhsai) in v. 3. The term “pray” at the beginning of the sentence is intended to pick up the imperative of v. 3.

[2:11]  ⁵⁸ tn The terms “however” and “but” in this sentence were supplied in order to emphasize the contrast.

[2:11]  ⁵⁹ tn The articular noun τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (th apekdusei) is a noun which ends in -σις (-sis) and therefore denotes action, i.e., “removal.” Since the head noun is a verbal noun, the following genitive τοῦ σώματος (tou swmatos) is understood as an objective genitive, receiving the action of the head noun.

[2:11]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “in the removal of the body of flesh.” The genitive τῆς σαρκός (th" sarko") has been translated as an attributive genitive, “fleshly body.”

[2:11]  ⁶¹ tn The second prepositional phrase beginning with ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ (en th peritomh) is parallel to the prepositional phrase ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (en th apekdusei) and gives a further explanation of it. The words “that is” were supplied to bring out this force in the translation.

[2:12]  ⁶² tn The article with the genitive modifier τῆς πίστεως (th" pistew") is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:12]  ⁶³ tn The genitive τῆς ἐνεργείας (th" energeia") has been translated as an objective genitive, “faith in the power.”