20:2 Jonathan 1 said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing 2 large or small without making me aware of it. 3 Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”
17:17 A friend 4 loves at all times,
and a relative 5 is born to help in adversity. 6
23:16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, 10 he came and entered 11 the barracks 12 and told Paul.
1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew
3 tn Heb “without uncovering my ear.”
4 sn The verse uses synonymous parallelism, so “friend” and “relative” are equated. Others, however, will take the verse with antithetical parallelism: W. G. Plaut argues that friendship is a spiritual relationship whereas a brother’s ties are based on a blood relationship – often adversity is the only thing that brings brothers together (Proverbs, 189).
5 tn Heb “a brother.”
6 tn Heb “is born for adversity.” This is not referring to sibling rivalry but to the loyalty a brother shows during times of calamity. This is not to say that a brother only shows loyalty when there is trouble, nor that he always does in these times (e.g., 18:19, 24; 19:7; 27:10). The true friend is the same as a brotherly relation – in times of greatest need the loyal love is displayed.
7 tn The words “against him” are implied, as suggested by L&N 30.71.
8 tn Or “guarding.” This is a negative term in Luke-Acts (Luke 6:7; 14:1; 20:20).
9 tn The word πύλη (pulh) may refer to a house door or gate, or to the large gates used in a palace, temple, or city wall. Here the context clearly indicates a reference to the latter, so the translation “city gates” is used.
10 tn Or “plot” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνέδρα).
11 tn Grk “coming and entering…, he told.” The participles παραγενόμενος (paragenomeno") and εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) have been translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.
12 tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”