Acts 21:33

21:33 Then the commanding officer ¹  came up and arrested ²  him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains; ³  he ⁴  then asked who he was and what ⁵  he had done.

Acts 28:20

28:20 So for this reason I have asked to see you and speak with you, for I am bound with this chain because of the hope of Israel.” ⁶ 

Ephesians 3:1

Paul's Relationship to the Divine Mystery

3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus ⁷  for the sake of you Gentiles –

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ⁸  urge you to live ⁹  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ¹⁰ 

Ephesians 6:20

6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.

Philippians 1:7

1:7 For ¹¹  it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, ¹²  since both in my imprisonment ¹³  and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s grace ¹⁴  together with me.

Philippians 1:2

1:2 Grace and peace to you ¹⁵  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Philippians 1:16

1:16 The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel.

Philippians 2:9

2:9 As a result God exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

¹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

² tn Grk “seized.”

³ tn The two chains would be something like handcuffs (BDAG 48 s.v. ἅλυσις and compare Acts 28:20).

⁴ tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been replaced with a semicolon. “Then” has been supplied after “he” to clarify the logical sequence.

⁵ tn Grk “and what it is”; this has been simplified to “what.”

⁶ sn The hope of Israel. A reference to Israel’s messianic hope. Paul’s preaching was in continuity with this Jewish hope (Acts 1:3; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25).

⁷ tc Several early and important witnesses, chiefly of the Western text (א* D* F G [365]), lack ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) here, while most Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (Ì⁴⁶ א¹ A B [C] D¹ Ψ 33 1739 [1881] Ï lat sy bo) have the word. However, because of the Western text’s proclivities to add or delete to the text, seemingly at whim, serious doubts should be attached to the shorter reading. It is strengthened, however, by א’s support. Nevertheless, since both א and D were corrected with the addition of ᾿Ιησοῦ, their testimony might be questioned. Further, in uncial script the nomina sacra here could have led to missing a word by way of homoioteleuton (cMuiMu). At the same time, in light of the rarity of scribal omission of nomina sacra (see TCGNT 582, n. 1), a decision for inclusion of the word here must be tentative. NA²⁷ rightly places ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets.

⁸ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

⁹ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

¹⁰ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

¹¹ tn Grk “Just as.” The sense here is probably, “So I give thanks (v. 3) just as it is right for me…”

¹² tn Or possibly “because you have me in your heart.”

¹³ tn Grk “in my bonds.” The meaning “imprisonment” derives from a figurative extension of the literal meaning (“bonds,” “fetters,” “chains”), L&N 37.115.

¹⁴ tn The word “God’s” is supplied from the context (v. 2) to clarify the meaning.

¹⁵ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”