Acts 14:22

14:22 They strengthened ¹  the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue ²  in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom ³  of God through many persecutions.” ⁴ 

Acts 15:32

15:32 Both Judas and Silas, who were prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with a long speech. ⁵ 

Acts 15:41

15:41 He passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening ⁶  the churches.

Acts 16:40

16:40 When they came out of the prison, they entered Lydia’s house, and when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and then ⁷  departed.

Deuteronomy 3:28

3:28 Commission ⁸  Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, because he will lead these people over and will enable them to inherit the land you will see.”

Ezra 1:6

1:6 All their neighbors assisted ⁹  them with silver utensils, ¹⁰  gold, equipment, animals, and expensive gifts, not to mention ¹¹  all the voluntary offerings.

Isaiah 35:3-4

35:3 Strengthen the hands that have gone limp,

steady the knees that shake! ¹² 

35:4 Tell those who panic, ¹³ 

“Be strong! Do not fear!

Look, your God comes to avenge!

With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” ¹⁴ 

Daniel 11:1

11:1 And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I ¹⁵  stood to strengthen him and to provide protection for him.)

Luke 22:32

22:32 but I have prayed for you, Simon, ¹⁶  that your faith may not fail. ¹⁷  When ¹⁸  you have turned back, ¹⁹  strengthen ²⁰  your brothers.”

Luke 22:43

22:43 [Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.

Luke 22:1

Judas’ Decision to Betray Jesus

22:1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, ²¹  which is called the Passover, was approaching.

Luke 3:2

3:2 during the high priesthood ²²  of Annas and Caiaphas, the word ²³  of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ²⁴ 

Luke 4:18

4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed ²⁵  me to proclaim good news ²⁶  to the poor. ²⁷ 

He has sent me ²⁸  to proclaim release ²⁹  to the captives

and the regaining of sight ³⁰  to the blind,

to set free ³¹  those who are oppressed, ³² 

Luke 5:14

5:14 Then ³³  he ordered the man ³⁴  to tell no one, ³⁵  but commanded him, ³⁶  “Go ³⁷  and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering ³⁸  for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, ³⁹  as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁰ 

Hebrews 12:12-13

12:12 Therefore, strengthen ⁴¹  your listless hands and your weak knees, ⁴²  12:13 and make straight paths for your feet, ⁴³  so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.

[14:22]  ¹ tn Grk “to Antioch, strengthening.” Due to the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here. This participle (ἐπιστηρίζοντες, episthrizonte") and the following one (παρακαλοῦντες, parakalounte") have been translated as finite verbs connected by the coordinating conjunction “and.”

[14:22]  ² sn And encouraged them to continue. The exhortations are like those noted in Acts 11:23; 13:43. An example of such a speech is found in Acts 20:18-35. Christianity is now characterized as “the faith.”

[14:22]  ³ sn This reference to the kingdom of God clearly refers to its future arrival.

[14:22]  ⁴ tn Or “sufferings.”

[15:32]  ⁵ tn Here λόγου (logou) is singular. BDAG 599-600 s.v. λόγος 1.a.β has “in a long speech” for this phrase.

[15:41]  ⁶ sn Strengthening. See Acts 14:22; 15:32; 18:23.

[16:40]  ⁷ tn “Then” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to clarify the logical sequence in the translation.

[3:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “command”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “charge Joshua.”

[1:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “strengthened their hands.”

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tc The MT reads בִּכְלֵי־כֶסֶף (bikhley khesef, “with silver vessels”). However, part of the LXX manuscript tradition reads ἐν πᾶσιν ἀργυρίῳ (en pasin arguriw), which reflects an alternate Hebrew reading of בַּכֹּל־בַּכֶּסֶף (bakkol-bakkesef, “everywhere, with silver”). The textual variant involves (1) simple omission of yod (י) between two words, a common scribal mistake; (2) haplography of the preposition bet (בּ); and (3) an alternate vocalization tradition of the first term.

[1:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “besides” or “in addition to.”

[35:3]  ¹² tn Heb “staggering knees”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “feeble knees”; NIV “knees that give way.”

[35:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “Say to the hasty of heart,” i.e., those whose hearts beat quickly from fear.

[35:4]  ¹⁴ tn The jussive form וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם (vÿyosha’akhem), which is subordinated to the preceding imperfect with vav conjunctive, indicates purpose.

[11:1]  ¹⁵ sn The antecedent of the pronoun “I” is the angel, not Daniel. The traditional chapter division at this point, and the presence of a chronological note in the verse similar to ones used elsewhere in the book to position Daniel’s activities in relation to imperial affairs, sometimes lead to confusion on this matter.

[22:32]  ¹⁶ sn Here and in the remainder of the verse the second person pronouns are singular, so only Peter is in view. The name “Simon” has been supplied as a form of direct address to make this clear in English.

[22:32]  ¹⁷ sn That your faith may not fail. Note that Peter’s denials are pictured here as lapses, not as a total absence of faith.

[22:32]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:32]  ¹⁹ tn Or “turned around.”

[22:32]  ²⁰ sn Strengthen your brothers refers to Peter helping to strengthen their faith. Jesus quite graciously restores Peter “in advance,” even with the knowledge of his approaching denials.

[22:1]  ²¹ sn The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a week long celebration that followed the day of Passover, so one name was used for both feasts (Exod 12:1-20; 23:15; 34:18; Deut 16:1-8).

[3:2]  ²² sn Use of the singular high priesthood to mention two figures is unusual but accurate, since Annas was the key priest from a.d. 6-15 and then his relatives were chosen for many of the next several years. After two brief tenures by others, his son-in-law Caiaphas came to power and stayed there until a.d. 36.

[3:2]  ²³ tn The term translated “word” here is not λόγος (logos) but ῥῆμα (rJhma), and thus could refer to the call of the Lord to John to begin ministry.

[3:2]  ²⁴ tn Or “desert.”

[4:18]  ²⁵ sn The phrase he has anointed me is an allusion back to Jesus’ baptism in Luke 3:21-22.

[4:18]  ²⁶ tn Grk “to evangelize,” “to preach the gospel.”

[4:18]  ²⁷ sn The poor is a key term in Luke. It refers to the pious poor and indicates Jesus’ desire to reach out to those the world tends to forget or mistreat. It is like 1:52 in force and also will be echoed in 6:20 (also 1 Pet 2:11-25). Jesus is commissioned to do this.

[4:18]  ²⁸ tc The majority of mss, especially the later Byzantines, include the phrase “to heal the brokenhearted” at this point (A Θ Ψ 0102 ˹ Ï). The phrase is lacking in several weighty mss (א B D L W Ξ Ë¹³ 33 579 700 892* pc lat sy^s co), including representatives from both the Alexandrian and Western texttypes. From the standpoint of external evidence, the omission of the phrase is more likely original. When internal evidence is considered, the shorter reading becomes almost certain. Scribes would be much more prone to add the phrase here to align the text with Isa 61:1, the source of the quotation, than to remove it from the original.

[4:18]  ²⁹ sn The release in view here is comprehensive, both at a physical level and a spiritual one, as the entire ministry of Jesus makes clear (Luke 1:77-79; 7:47; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43).

[4:18]  ³⁰ sn Again, as with the previous phrase, regaining of sight may well mean more than simply miraculously restoring physical sight, which itself pictures a deeper reality (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).

[4:18]  ³¹ sn The essence of Jesus’ messianic work is expressed in the phrase to set free. This line from Isa 58 says that Jesus will do what the nation had failed to do. It makes the proclamation messianic, not merely prophetic, because Jesus doesn’t just proclaim the message – he brings the deliverance. The word translated set free is the same Greek word (ἄφεσις, afesi") translated release earlier in the verse.

[4:18]  ³² sn Again, as with the previous phrases, oppressed may well mean more than simply political or economic oppression, but a deeper reality of oppression by sin (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).

[5:14]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[5:14]  ³⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:14]  ³⁵ sn The silence ordered by Jesus was probably meant to last only until the cleansing took place with the priests and sought to prevent Jesus’ healings from becoming the central focus of the people’s reaction to him. See also 4:35, 41; 8:56 for other cases where Jesus asks for silence with reference to miracles.

[5:14]  ³⁶ tn The words “commanded him” are not in the Greek text but have been supplied for clarity. This verse moves from indirect to direct discourse. This abrupt change is very awkward, so the words have been supplied to smooth out the transition.

[5:14]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Going, show.” The participle ἀπελθών (apelqwn) has been translated as an attendant circumstance participle. Here the syntax also changes somewhat abruptly from indirect discourse to direct discourse.

[5:14]  ³⁸ tn The words “the offering” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[5:14]  ³⁹ sn On the phrase as Moses commanded see Lev 14:1-32.

[5:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “as an indictment against them”; or “as proof to the people.” This phrase could be taken as referring to a positive witness to the priests, a negative testimony against them, or as a testimony to the community that the man had indeed been cured. In any case, the testimony shows that Jesus is healing and ministering to those in need.

[12:12]  ⁴¹ tn Or “straighten.”

[12:12]  ⁴² sn A quotation from Isa 35:3. Strengthen your listless hands and your weak knees refers to the readers’ need for renewed resolve and fresh strength in their struggles (cf. Heb 10:36-39; 12:1-3).

[12:13]  ⁴³ sn A quotation from Prov 4:26. The phrase make straight paths for your feet is figurative for “stay on God’s paths.”