Luke 19:9

19:9 Then ¹  Jesus said to him, “Today salvation ²  has come to this household, ³  because he too is a son of Abraham! ⁴ 

Luke 23:43

23:43 And Jesus ⁵  said to him, “I tell you the truth, ⁶  today ⁷  you will be with me in paradise.” ⁸ 

Isaiah 62:12

62:12 They will be called, “The Holy People,

the Ones Protected ⁹  by the Lord.”

You will be called, “Sought After,

City Not Abandoned.”

John 4:34-35

4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me ¹⁰  and to complete ¹¹  his work. ¹²  4:35 Don’t you say, ¹³  ‘There are four more months and then comes the harvest?’ I tell you, look up ¹⁴  and see that the fields are already white ¹⁵  for harvest!

Acts 9:1-16

The Conversion of Saul

9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats ¹⁶  to murder ¹⁷  the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest 9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ¹⁸  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ¹⁹  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ²⁰  to Jerusalem. ²¹  9:3 As he was going along, approaching ²²  Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed ²³  around him. 9:4 He ²⁴  fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, ²⁵  why are you persecuting me?” ²⁶  9:5 So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting! 9:6 But stand up ²⁷  and enter the city and you will be told ²⁸  what you must do.” 9:7 (Now the men ²⁹  who were traveling with him stood there speechless, ³⁰  because they heard the voice but saw no one.) ³¹  9:8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open, ³²  he could see nothing. ³³  Leading him by the hand, his companions ³⁴  brought him into Damascus. 9:9 For ³⁵  three days he could not see, and he neither ate nor drank anything. ³⁶ 

9:10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The ³⁷  Lord ³⁸  said to him in a vision, “Ananias,” and he replied, “Here I am, ³⁹  Lord.” 9:11 Then the Lord told him, “Get up and go to the street called ‘Straight,’ ⁴⁰  and at Judas’ house look for a man from Tarsus named Saul. For he is praying, 9:12 and he has seen in a vision ⁴¹  a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him so that he may see again.” 9:13 But Ananias replied, ⁴²  “Lord, I have heard from many people ⁴³  about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, 9:14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison ⁴⁴  all who call on your name!” ⁴⁵  9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument ⁴⁶  to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. ⁴⁷  9:16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” ⁴⁸ 

Romans 10:20-21

10:20 And Isaiah is even bold enough to say, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I became well known to those who did not ask for me.” ⁴⁹  10:21 But about Israel he says, “All day long I held out my hands to this disobedient and stubborn people!” ⁵⁰ 

Ephesians 2:3-6

2:3 among whom ⁵¹  all of us ⁵²  also ⁵³  formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath ⁵⁴  even as the rest… ⁵⁵ 

2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 2:5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved! ⁵⁶  – 2:6 and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

Titus 3:3-7

3:3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to various passions and desires, spending our lives in evil and envy, hateful and hating one another. 3:4 ⁵⁷  But “when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 3:5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, 3:6 whom he poured out on us in full measure ⁵⁸  through Jesus Christ our Savior. 3:7 And so, ⁵⁹  since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life.” ⁶⁰ 

[19:9]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative

[19:9]  ² sn This is one of the few uses of the specific term salvation in Luke (1:69, 71, 77), though the concept runs throughout the Gospel.

[19:9]  ³ sn The household is not a reference to the building, but to the people who lived within it (L&N 10.8).

[19:9]  ⁴ sn Zacchaeus was personally affirmed by Jesus as a descendant (son) of Abraham and a member of God’s family.

[23:43]  ⁵ tn Grk “he.”

[23:43]  ⁶ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[23:43]  ⁷ sn Jesus gives more than the criminal asked for, because the blessing will come today, not in the future. He will be among the righteous. See the note on today in 2:11.

[23:43]  ⁸ sn In the NT, paradise is mentioned three times. Here it refers to the abode of the righteous dead. In Rev 2:7 it refers to the restoration of Edenic paradise predicted in Isa 51:3 and Ezek 36:35. In 2 Cor 12:4 it probably refers to the “third heaven” (2 Cor 12:2) as the place where God dwells.

[62:12]  ⁹ tn Or “the redeemed of the Lord” (KJV, NAB).

[4:34]  ¹⁰ sn The one who sent me refers to the Father.

[4:34]  ¹¹ tn Or “to accomplish.”

[4:34]  ¹² tn The substantival ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as an English infinitive clause.

[4:35]  ¹³ tn The recitative ὅτι (Joti) after λέγετε (legete) has not been translated.

[4:35]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “lift up your eyes” (an idiom). BDAG 357 s.v. ἐπαίρω 1 has “look up” here.

[4:35]  ¹⁵ tn That is, “ripe.”

[9:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “Saul, making dire threats.”

[9:1]  ¹⁷ tn The expression “breathing out threats and murder” is an idiomatic expression for “making threats to murder” (see L&N 33.293). Although the two terms “threats” and “murder” are syntactically coordinate, the second is semantically subordinate to the first. In other words, the content of the threats is to murder the disciples.

[9:2]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:2]  ¹⁹ sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).

[9:2]  ²⁰ tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.

[9:2]  ²¹ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

[9:3]  ²² tn Grk “As he was going along, it happened that when he was approaching.” The phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[9:3]  ²³ tn Or “shone” (BDAG 799 s.v. περιαστράπτω). The light was more brilliant than the sun according to Acts 26:13.

[9:4]  ²⁴ tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[9:4]  ²⁵ tn The double vocative suggests emotion.

[9:4]  ²⁶ sn Persecuting me. To persecute the church is to persecute Jesus.

[9:6]  ²⁷ tn Or “But arise.”

[9:6]  ²⁸ tn Literally a passive construction, “it will be told to you.” This has been converted to another form of passive construction in the translation.

[9:7]  ²⁹ tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which is used only rarely in a generic sense of both men and women. In the historical setting here, Paul’s traveling companions were almost certainly all males.

[9:7]  ³⁰ tn That is, unable to speak because of fear or amazement. See BDAG 335 s.v. ἐνεός.

[9:7]  ³¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Acts 22:9 appears to indicate that they saw the light but did not hear a voice. They were “witnesses” that something happened.

[9:8]  ³² tn Grk “his eyes being open,” a genitive absolute construction that has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[9:8]  ³³ sn He could see nothing. This sign of blindness, which was temporary until v. 18, is like the sign of deafness experienced by Zechariah in Luke 1. It allowed some time for Saul (Paul) to reflect on what had happened without distractions.

[9:8]  ³⁴ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Saul’s companions) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:9]  ³⁵ tn Grk “And for.” 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.

[9:9]  ³⁶ tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader. The fasting might indicate an initial realization of Luke 5:33-39. Fasting was usually accompanied by reflective thought.

[9:10]  ³⁷ tn Grk “And the.” 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.

[9:10]  ³⁸ sn The Lord is directing all the events leading to the expansion of the gospel as he works on both sides of the meeting between Paul and Ananias. “The Lord” here refers to Jesus (see v. 17).

[9:10]  ³⁹ tn Grk “behold, I,” but this construction often means “here is/there is” (cf. BDAG 468 s.v. ἰδού 2).

[9:11]  ⁴⁰ sn The noting of the detail of the locale, ironically called ‘Straight’ Street, shows how directive and specific the Lord was.

[9:12]  ⁴¹ tc ‡ The words ἐν ὀράματι (en oramati, “in a vision”) are not found in some of the earliest and best mss (Ì⁷⁴ א A 81 pc lat sa bo), but are implied from the context. The phrase is included, although sometimes in a different order with ἄνδρα (andra, “man”) or omitting ἄνδρα altogether, by B C E Ψ 33 1175 1739 Ï. The order of words in NA²⁷, ἄνδρα ἐν ὁράματι, is supported only by B C 1175. Generally speaking, when there are three or more variants, with one an omission and the others involving rearrangements, the longer readings are later scribal additions. Further, the reading looks like a clarifying note, for an earlier vision is explicitly mentioned in v. 10. On the other hand, it is possible that some scribes deleted the words because of perceived repetition, though this is unlikely since it is a different vision two verses back. It is also possible that some scribes could have confused ὁράματι with ὀνόματι (onomati, “name”); TCGNT 319 notes that several mss place ονόματι before ᾿Ανανίαν (Ananian, “Ananias”) while a few others drop ὀνόματι altogether. The Sahidic mss are among those that drop the word, however, and they also lack ἐν ὁράματι; all that is left is one version and father that drops ὀνόματι. Perhaps the best argument for the authenticity of the phrase is that B C 1175 preserve a rare, distinctively Lukan word order, but this is not nearly as harsh or unusual as what Luke does elsewhere. A decision is difficult in this case, but on balance the omission of the phrase seems to be authentic. The words are nevertheless added in the translation because of contextual considerations. NA²⁷ places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[9:13]  ⁴² sn Ananias replied. Past events might have suggested to Ananias that this was not good counsel, but like Peter in Acts 10, Ananias’ intuitions were wrong.

[9:13]  ⁴³ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[9:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “to bind.”

[9:14]  ⁴⁵ sn The expression “those who call on your name” is a frequent description of believers (Acts 2:21; 1 Cor 1:2; Rom 10:13).

[9:15]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “tool.”

[9:15]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “the sons of Israel.” In Acts, Paul is a minister to all nations, including Israel (Rom 1:16-17).

[9:16]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “because of my name.” BDAG 1031 s.v. ὑπέρ 2 lists Acts 9:16 as an example of ὑπέρ (Juper) used to indicate “the moving cause or reason, because of, for the sake of, for.”

[10:20]  ⁴⁹ sn A quotation from Isa 65:1.

[10:21]  ⁵⁰ sn A quotation from Isa 65:2.

[2:3]  ⁵¹ sn Among whom. The relative pronoun phrase that begins v. 3 is identical, except for gender, to the one that begins v. 2 (ἐν αἵς [en Jais], ἐν οἵς [en Jois]). By the structure, the author is building an argument for our hopeless condition: We lived in sin and we lived among sinful people. Our doom looked to be sealed as well in v. 2: Both the external environment (kingdom of the air) and our internal motivation and attitude (the spirit that is now energizing) were under the devil’s thumb (cf. 2 Cor 4:4).

[2:3]  ⁵² tn Grk “we all.”

[2:3]  ⁵³ tn Or “even.”

[2:3]  ⁵⁴ sn Children of wrath is a Semitic idiom which may mean either “people characterized by wrath” or “people destined for wrath.”

[2:3]  ⁵⁵ sn Eph 2:1-3. The translation of vv. 1-3 is very literal, even to the point of retaining the awkward syntax of the original. See note on the word dead in 2:1.

[2:5]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “by grace you have been saved.” The perfect tense in Greek connotes both completed action (“you have been saved”) and continuing results (“you are saved”).

[3:4]  ⁵⁷ tn Verses 4-7 are set as poetry in NA²⁶/NA²⁷. These verses probably constitute the referent of the expression “this saying” in v. 8.

[3:6]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “on us richly.”

[3:7]  ⁵⁹ tn This is the conclusion of a single, skillfully composed sentence in Greek encompassing Titus 3:4-7. Showing the goal of God’s merciful salvation, v. 7 begins literally, “in order that, being justified…we might become heirs…”

[3:7]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”