Genesis 22:1-24

The Sacrifice of Isaac

22:1 Some time after these things God tested ¹  Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham ²  replied. 22:2 God ³  said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac ⁴  – and go to the land of Moriah! ⁵  Offer him up there as a burnt offering ⁶  on one of the mountains which I will indicate to ⁷  you.”

22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. ⁸  He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out ⁹  for the place God had spoken to him about.

22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of ¹⁰  the place in the distance. 22:5 So he ¹¹  said to his servants, “You two stay ¹²  here with the donkey while ¹³  the boy and I go up there. We will worship ¹⁴  and then return to you.” ¹⁵ 

22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, ¹⁶  and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, ¹⁷  “My father?” “What is it, ¹⁸  my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, ¹⁹  “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide ²⁰  for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.

22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there ²¹  and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up ²²  his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter ²³  his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel ²⁴  called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” ²⁵  the angel said. ²⁶  “Do not do anything to him, for now I know ²⁷  that you fear ²⁸  God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

22:13 Abraham looked up ²⁹  and saw ³⁰  behind him ³¹  a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he ³²  went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” ³³  It is said to this day, ³⁴  “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” ³⁵ 

22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ ³⁶  decrees the Lord, ³⁷  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, ³⁸  and I will greatly multiply ³⁹  your descendants ⁴⁰  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ⁴¹  of the strongholds ⁴²  of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ⁴³  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁴⁴  using the name of your descendants.’”

22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together ⁴⁵  for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. ⁴⁶ 

22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah ⁴⁷  also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ⁴⁸  22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now ⁴⁹  Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children – Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Genesis 18:31

18:31 Abraham ⁵⁰  said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

Genesis 24:6-7

24:6 “Be careful ⁵¹  never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. ⁵²  24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, ⁵³  promised me with a solemn oath, ⁵⁴  ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel ⁵⁵  before you so that you may find ⁵⁶  a wife for my son from there.

Genesis 24:44

24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

Matthew 16:21

First Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

16:21 From that time on ⁵⁷  Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem ⁵⁸  and suffer ⁵⁹  many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, ⁶⁰  and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Matthew 17:22-23

Second Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

17:22 When ⁶¹  they gathered together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. ⁶²  17:23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they became greatly distressed.

Matthew 20:18-19

20:18 “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the experts in the law. ⁶³  They will condemn him to death, 20:19 and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged severely ⁶⁴  and crucified. ⁶⁵  Yet ⁶⁶  on the third day, he will be raised.”

Matthew 21:38-39

21:38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ 21:39 So ⁶⁷  they seized him, ⁶⁸  threw him out of the vineyard, ⁶⁹  and killed him.

Matthew 26:2

26:2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over ⁷⁰  to be crucified.” ⁷¹ 

Mark 8:31

First Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

8:31 Then ⁷²  Jesus ⁷³  began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer ⁷⁴  many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, ⁷⁵  and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Mark 9:31

9:31 for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men. ⁷⁶  They ⁷⁷  will kill him, ⁷⁸  and after three days he will rise.” ⁷⁹ 

John 2:19-22

2:19 Jesus replied, ⁸⁰  “Destroy ⁸¹  this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” 2:20 Then the Jewish leaders ⁸²  said to him, “This temple has been under construction ⁸³  for forty-six years, ⁸⁴  and are you going to raise it up in three days?” 2:21 But Jesus ⁸⁵  was speaking about the temple of his body. ⁸⁶  2:22 So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture ⁸⁷  and the saying ⁸⁸  that Jesus had spoken.

John 19:11

19:11 Jesus replied, “You would have no authority ⁸⁹  over me at all, unless it was given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you ⁹⁰  is guilty of greater sin.” ⁹¹ 

Acts 2:23

2:23 this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed ⁹²  by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles. ⁹³ 

Acts 3:13-15

3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ⁹⁴  the God of our forefathers, ⁹⁵  has glorified ⁹⁶  his servant ⁹⁷  Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected ⁹⁸  in the presence of Pilate after he had decided ⁹⁹  to release him. 3:14 But you rejected ¹⁰⁰  the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released to you. 3:15 You killed ¹⁰¹  the Originator ¹⁰²  of life, whom God raised ¹⁰³  from the dead. To this fact we are witnesses! ¹⁰⁴ 

Acts 4:27-28

4:27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against ¹⁰⁵  your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, ¹⁰⁶  4:28 to do as much as your power ¹⁰⁷  and your plan ¹⁰⁸  had decided beforehand ¹⁰⁹  would happen.

[22:1]  ¹ sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.

[22:1]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ⁴ sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.

[22:2]  ⁵ sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.

[22:2]  ⁶ sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.

[22:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “which I will say to.”

[22:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”

[22:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “he arose and he went.”

[22:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.”

[22:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.

[22:5]  ¹² tn The Hebrew verb is masculine plural, referring to the two young servants who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on the journey.

[22:5]  ¹³ tn The disjunctive clause (with the compound subject preceding the verb) may be circumstantial and temporal.

[22:5]  ¹⁴ tn This Hebrew word literally means “to bow oneself close to the ground.” It often means “to worship.”

[22:5]  ¹⁵ sn It is impossible to know what Abraham was thinking when he said, “we will…return to you.” When he went he knew (1) that he was to sacrifice Isaac, and (2) that God intended to fulfill his earlier promises through Isaac. How he reconciled those facts is not clear in the text. Heb 11:17-19 suggests that Abraham believed God could restore Isaac to him through resurrection.

[22:6]  ¹⁶ sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.

[22:7]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[22:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).

[22:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here is the fire and the wood.’” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here and in the following verse the order of the introductory clauses and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”

[22:9]  ²¹ sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?

[22:9]  ²² sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.

[22:10]  ²³ tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”

[22:11]  ²⁴ sn Heb “the messenger of the Lord” (also in v. 15). Some identify the angel of the Lord as the preincarnate Christ because in some texts the angel is identified with the Lord himself. However, see the note on the phrase “the Lord’s angel” in Gen 16:7.

[22:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”

[22:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:12]  ²⁷ sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).

[22:12]  ²⁸ sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.

[22:13]  ²⁹ tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”

[22:13]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.

[22:13]  ³¹ tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew mss, the LXX, Syriac, and Samaritan Pentateuch read “one” (אֶחָד, ’ekhad) instead of “behind him” (אַחַר, ’akhar).

[22:13]  ³² tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:14]  ³³ tn Heb “the Lord sees” (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, yÿhvah yir’eh, traditionally transliterated “Jehovah Jireh”; see the note on the word “provide” in v. 8). By so naming the place Abraham preserved in the memory of God’s people the amazing event that took place there.

[22:14]  ³⁴ sn On the expression to this day see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until this Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.

[22:14]  ³⁵ sn The saying connected with these events has some ambiguity, which was probably intended. The Niphal verb could be translated (1) “in the mountain of the Lord it will be seen/provided” or (2) “in the mountain the Lord will appear.” If the temple later stood here (see the note on “Moriah” in Gen 22:2), the latter interpretation might find support, for the people went to the temple to appear before the Lord, who “appeared” to them by providing for them his power and blessings. See S. R. Driver, Genesis, 219.

[22:16]  ³⁶ tn Heb “By myself I swear.”

[22:16]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the oracle of the Lord.” The phrase refers to a formal oracle or decree from the Lord.

[22:17]  ³⁸ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.

[22:17]  ³⁹ tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  ⁴⁰ tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[22:17]  ⁴¹ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ⁴² tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).

[22:18]  ⁴³ tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.

[22:18]  ⁴⁴ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[22:19]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”

[22:19]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.

[22:20]  ⁴⁷ tn In the Hebrew text the sentence begins with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to the statement.

[22:21]  ⁴⁸ sn This parenthetical note about Kemuel’s descendant is probably a later insertion by the author/compiler of Genesis and not part of the original announcement.

[22:23]  ⁴⁹ tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is important but parenthetical to the narrative. Rebekah would become the wife of Isaac (Gen 24:15).

[18:31]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:6]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “guard yourself.”

[24:6]  ⁵² tn The introductory clause “And Abraham said to him” has been moved to the end of the opening sentence of direct discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:7]  ⁵³ tn Or “the land of my birth.”

[24:7]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”

[24:7]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “his messenger.”

[24:7]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “before you and you will take.”

[16:21]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “From then.”

[16:21]  ⁵⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[16:21]  ⁵⁹ sn The necessity that the Son of Man suffer is the particular point that needed emphasis since for many 1st century Jews the Messiah was a glorious and powerful figure, not a suffering one.

[16:21]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[17:22]  ⁶¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[17:22]  ⁶² tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is considered by some to be used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NRSV “into human hands”; TEV, CEV “to people”). However, because this can be taken as a specific reference to the group responsible for Jesus’ arrest, where it is unlikely women were present (cf. Matt 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12), the word “men” has been retained in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” earlier in the verse.

[20:18]  ⁶³ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[20:19]  ⁶⁴ tn Traditionally, “scourged” (the term means to beat severely with a whip, L&N 19.9). BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “The ‘verberatio’ is denoted in the passion predictions and explicitly as action by non-Israelites Mt 20:19; Mk 10:34; Lk 18:33”; the verberatio was the beating given to those condemned to death in the Roman judicial system. Here the term μαστιγόω (mastigow) has been translated “flog…severely” to distinguish it from the term φραγελλόω (fragellow) used in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15.

[20:19]  ⁶⁵ sn Crucifixion was the cruelest form of punishment practiced by the Romans. Roman citizens could not normally undergo it. It was reserved for the worst crimes, like treason and evasion of due process in a capital case. The Roman historian Cicero called it “a cruel and disgusting penalty” (Against Verres 2.5.63-66 §§163-70); Josephus (J. W. 7.6.4 [7.203]) called it the worst of deaths.

[20:19]  ⁶⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[21:39]  ⁶⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son in v. 38.

[21:39]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.

[21:39]  ⁶⁹ sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

[26:2]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “will be delivered up.”

[26:2]  ⁷¹ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[8:31]  ⁷² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:31]  ⁷³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:31]  ⁷⁴ sn The necessity that the Son of Man suffer is the particular point that needed emphasis, since for many 1st century Jews the Messiah was a glorious and powerful figure, not a suffering one.

[8:31]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[9:31]  ⁷⁶ tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is considered by some to be used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NRSV, “into human hands”; CEV, “to people”). However, because this can be taken as a specific reference to the group responsible for Jesus’ arrest, where it is unlikely women were present (cf. Matt 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12), the word “men” has been retained in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” earlier in the verse.

[9:31]  ⁷⁷ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[9:31]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “They will kill him, and being killed, after…” The redundancy in the statement has been removed in the translation.

[9:31]  ⁷⁹ sn They will kill him and after three days he will rise. See the note at the end of Mark 8:30 regarding the passion predictions.

[2:19]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[2:19]  ⁸¹ tn The imperative here is really more than a simple conditional imperative (= “if you destroy”); its semantic force here is more like the ironical imperative found in the prophets (Amos 4:4, Isa 8:9) = “Go ahead and do this and see what happens.”

[2:20]  ⁸² tn See the note on this phrase in v. 18.

[2:20]  ⁸³ tn A close parallel to the aorist οἰκοδομήθη (oikodomhqh) can be found in Ezra 5:16 (LXX), where it is clear from the following verb that the construction had not yet been completed. Thus the phrase has been translated “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years.” Some, however, see the term ναός (naos) here as referring only to the sanctuary and the aorist verb as consummative, so that the meaning would be “this temple was built forty-six years ago” (so ExSyn 560-61). Ultimately in context the logic of the authorities’ reply appears to fit more naturally if it compares length of time for original construction with length of time to reconstruct it.

[2:20]  ⁸⁴ sn According to Josephus (Ant. 15.11.1 [15.380]), work on this temple was begun in the 18th year of Herod the Great’s reign, which would have been ca. 19 b.c. (The reference in the Ant. is probably more accurate than the date given in J. W. 1.21.1 [1.401]). Forty-six years later would be around the Passover of a.d. 27/28.

[2:21]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “that one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. This Greek term is frequently used as a way of referring to Jesus in the Johannine letters (cf. 1 John 2:6; 3:3, 5, 7, 16; 4:17).

[2:21]  ⁸⁶ tn The genitive “of his body” (τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, tou swmato" autou) is a genitive of apposition, clarifying which temple Jesus was referring to. Thus, Jesus not only was referring to his physical resurrection, but also to his participation in the resurrection process. The New Testament thus records the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as all performing the miracle of Christ's resurrection.

[2:22]  ⁸⁷ sn They believed the scripture is probably an anaphoric reference to Ps 69:9 (69:10 LXX), quoted in John 2:17 above. Presumably the disciples did not remember Ps 69:9 on the spot, but it was a later insight.

[2:22]  ⁸⁸ tn Or “statement”; Grk “word.”

[19:11]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “power.”

[19:11]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “who delivered me over to you.”

[19:11]  ⁹¹ tn Grk “has the greater sin” (an idiom).

[2:23]  ⁹² tn Or “you killed.”

[2:23]  ⁹³ tn Grk “at the hands of lawless men.” At this point the term ἄνομος (anomo") refers to non-Jews who live outside the Jewish (Mosaic) law, rather than people who broke any or all laws including secular laws. Specifically it is a reference to the Roman soldiers who carried out Jesus’ crucifixion.

[3:13]  ⁹⁴ tc ‡ The repetition of ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) before the names of Isaac and Jacob is found in Ì⁷⁴ א C (A D without article) 36 104 1175 pc lat. The omission of the second and third ὁ θεός is supported by B E Ψ 33 1739 Ï pc. The other time that Exod 3:6 is quoted in Acts (7:32) the best witnesses also lack the repeated ὁ θεός, but the three other times this OT passage is quoted in the NT the full form, with the thrice-mentioned θεός, is used (Matt 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Scribes would be prone to conform the wording here to the LXX; the longer reading is thus most likely not authentic. NA²⁷ has the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[3:13]  ⁹⁵ tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

[3:13]  ⁹⁶ sn Has glorified. Jesus is alive, raised and active, as the healing illustrates so dramatically how God honors him.

[3:13]  ⁹⁷ sn His servant. The term servant has messianic connotations given the context of the promise, the note of suffering, and the titles and functions noted in vv. 14-15.

[3:13]  ⁹⁸ tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”

[3:13]  ⁹⁹ tn This genitive absolute construction could be understood as temporal (“when he had decided”) or concessive (“although he had decided”).

[3:14]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”

[3:15]  ¹⁰¹ tn Or “You put to death.”

[3:15]  ¹⁰² tn Or “Founder,” “founding Leader.”

[3:15]  ¹⁰³ sn Whom God raised. God is the main actor here, as he testifies to Jesus and vindicates him.

[3:15]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Grk “whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the words “to this fact” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.

[4:27]  ¹⁰⁵ sn The application of Ps 2:1-2 is that Jews and Gentiles are opposing Jesus. The surprise of the application is that Jews are now found among the enemies of God’s plan.

[4:27]  ¹⁰⁶ sn A wordplay on “Christ,” v. 26, which means “one who has been anointed.”

[4:28]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Grk “hand,” here a metaphor for God’s strength or power or authority.

[4:28]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Or “purpose,” “will.”

[4:28]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Or “had predestined.” Since the term “predestine” is something of a technical theological term, not in wide usage in contemporary English, the translation “decide beforehand” was used instead (see L&N 30.84). God’s direction remains as the major theme.