1 Kings 19:10

19:10 He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.”

1 Kings 19:14

19:14 He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.”

Psalms 69:9

69:9 Certainly zeal for 10  your house 11  consumes me;

I endure the insults of those who insult you. 12 

Psalms 106:31

106:31 This brought him a reward,

an eternal gift. 13 

Psalms 119:139

119:139 My zeal 14  consumes 15  me,

for my enemies forget your instructions. 16 

John 2:17

2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal 17  for your house will devour me.” 18 

Acts 22:3-5

22:3 “I am a Jew, 19  born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up 20  in this city, educated with strictness 21  under 22  Gamaliel 23  according to the law of our ancestors, 24  and was 25  zealous 26  for God just as all of you are today. 22:4 I 27  persecuted this Way 28  even to the point of death, 29  tying up 30  both men and women and putting 31  them in prison, 22:5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders 32  can testify about me. From them 33  I also received 34  letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way 35  to make arrests there and bring 36  the prisoners 37  to Jerusalem 38  to be punished.

Romans 10:2-4

10:2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, 39  but their zeal is not in line with the truth. 40  10:3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes.


tn Or “very zealous.” The infinitive absolute preceding the finite verb emphasizes the degree of his zeal and allegiance.

tn Traditionally, “the God of hosts.”

tn Heb “abandoned your covenant.”

tn Heb “and they are seeking my life to take it.”

tn Or “very zealous.” The infinitive absolute preceding the finite verb emphasizes the degree of his zeal and allegiance.

tn Traditionally, “the God of hosts.”

tn Heb “abandoned your covenant.”

tn Heb “and they are seeking my life to take it.”

tn Or “for.” This verse explains that the psalmist’s suffering is due to his allegiance to God.

10 tn Or “devotion to.”

11 sn God’s house, the temple, here represents by metonymy God himself.

12 tn Heb “the insults of those who insult you fall upon me.”

13 tn Heb “and it was reckoned to him for righteousness, to a generation and a generation forever.” The verb חָשַׁב (khashav, “to reckon”) is collocated with צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) only in Ps 106:31 and Gen 15:6, where God rewards Abram’s faith with a land grant.

14 tn or “zeal.”

15 tn Heb “destroys,” in a hyperbolic sense.

16 tn Heb “your words.”

17 tn Or “Fervent devotion to your house.”

18 sn A quotation from Ps 69:9.

19 tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

20 tn BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατρέφω b has “of mental and spiritual nurture bring up, rear, trainἀνατεθραμμένος ἐν τ. πόλει ταύτῃ 22:3.”

21 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 tn Grk “strictly at the feet of” (an idiom).

23 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.

24 tn Or “our forefathers.”

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

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

27 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.

28 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).

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

30 tn Grk “binding.” See Acts 8:3.

31 tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “W. local εἰςεἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3; cp. 22:4.”

32 tn That is, the whole Sanhedrin. BDAG 861 s.v. πρεσβυτέριον has “an administrative group concerned with the interests of a specific community, council of elders – a. of the highest Judean council in Jerusalem, in our lit. usu. called συνέδριονὁ ἀρχιερεύς καὶ πᾶν τὸ πρ. Ac 22:5.”

33 tn Grk “from whom.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

34 tn Grk “receiving.” The participle δεξάμενος (dexameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

35 tn Grk “letters to the brothers, [and] I was going to Damascus.” Such a translation, however, might be confusing since the term “brother” is frequently used of a fellow Christian. In this context, Paul is speaking about fellow Jews.

36 tn Grk “even there and bring…” or “there and even bring…” The ascensive καί (kai) shows that Paul was fervent in his zeal against Christians, but it is difficult to translate for it really belongs with the entire idea of arresting and bringing back the prisoners.

37 tn BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b has “δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά bring someone as prisoner…Ac 9:2, 21; 22:5.”

38 tn Grk “I was going…to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners that they might be punished.”

39 tn Grk “they have a zeal for God.”

40 tn Grk “in accord with knowledge.”