9:31 Then 13 the church throughout Judea, Galilee, 14 and Samaria experienced 15 peace and thus was strengthened. 16 Living 17 in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church 18 increased in numbers.
44:3 For I will pour water on the parched ground 26
and cause streams to flow 27 on the dry land.
I will pour my spirit on your offspring
and my blessing on your children.
44:4 They will sprout up like a tree in the grass, 28
like poplars beside channels of water.
44:5 One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’
and another will use 29 the name ‘Jacob.’
One will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and use the name ‘Israel.’” 30
45:24 they will say about me,
“Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer.”’” 31
All who are angry at him will cower before him. 32
55:11 In the same way, the promise that I make
does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. 33
No, it is realized as I desire
and is fulfilled as I intend.” 34
55:12 Indeed you will go out with joy;
you will be led along in peace;
the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you,
and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.
55:13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,
firs will grow in place of nettles;
they will be a monument to the Lord, 35
a permanent reminder that will remain. 36
1 tn Or “who acknowledged the truth of.”
2 tn Grk “word.”
3 tn Grk “souls” (here an idiom for the whole person).
4 tn Or “were won over.”
5 tn Or “the favor.”
6 tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.
7 tn Or “had heard.”
8 tn Or “word.”
9 tn In the historical setting it is likely that only men are referred to here. The Greek term ἀνήρ (anhr) usually refers to males or husbands rather than people in general. Thus to translate “of the people” would give a false impression of the number, since any women and children were apparently not included in the count.
10 tn Grk “kept on spreading”; the verb has been translated as a progressive imperfect.
11 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
12 tn Grk “a great multitude.”
13 tn Or “Therefore.” This verse is another summary text in Acts (cf. 2:41-47; 4:32-37; 5:12-16; 6:7).
14 tn Grk “and Galilee,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
15 tn Grk “had.”
16 tn Or “Built up.” The participle οἰκοδομουμένη (oikodomoumenh) has been translated as a participle of result related to εἶχεν (eicen). It could also be understood as adverbial to ἐπληθύνετο (eplhquneto): “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced peace. Strengthened and living in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.” Although some scholars do not regard the participle of result as a legitimate category, it is actually fairly common (see ExSyn 637-39).
17 tn Grk “And living.” 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.
18 tn Grk “it”; the referent (the church) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 tn Grk “And all.” 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.
20 sn Lydda was a city northwest of Jerusalem on the way to Joppa.
21 sn Sharon refers to the plain of Sharon, a region along the coast of Palestine.
22 tn Repetition of the pronoun “they” as subject of ἐπέστρεψαν (epestreyan) is not strictly necessary in English, but emphasizes slightly the resultative nature of the final clause: They turned to the Lord as a result of seeing Aeneas after he was healed.
23 sn They turned. To “turn” is a good summary term for the response to the gospel.
24 tn Or “known all over.” BDAG 511 s.v. κατά A.1.c. has “became known throughout all Joppa” for γνωστὸν γενέσθαι καθ᾿ ὅλης ᾿Ιόππης (gnwston genesqai kaq’ {olh" Iopph").
25 sn This became known…many believed in the Lord. This is a “sign” miracle that pictures how the Lord can give life.
26 tn Heb “the thirsty.” Parallelism suggests that dry ground is in view (see “dry land” in the next line.)
27 tn Heb “and streams”; KJV “floods.” The verb “cause…to flow” is supplied in the second line for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
28 tn The Hebrew term בֵין (ven) is usually taken as a preposition, in which case one might translate, “among the grass.” But בֵין is probably the name of a tree (cf. C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 133). If one alters the preposition bet (בְּ) to kaf (כְּ), one can then read, “like a binu-tree.” (The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa supports this reading.) This forms a nice parallel to “like poplars” in the next line. חָצִיר (khatsir) is functioning as an adverbial accusative of location.
29 tn The Hebrew text has a Qal verb form, “and another will call by the name of Jacob.” With support from Symmachus (an ancient Greek textual witness), some read the Niphal, “and another will be called by the name of Jacob.”
30 tn Heb “and by the name of Israel he will title.” Some, with support from several ancient versions, prefer to change the Piel (active) verb form to a Pual (passive), “and he will be titled by the name of Israel.”
31 tn Heb “‘Yes, in the Lord,’ one says about me, ‘is deliverance and strength.’”
32 tn Heb “will come to him and be ashamed.”
33 tn Heb “so is the word which goes out from my mouth, it does not return to empty.” “Word” refers here to divine promises, like the ones made just prior to and after this (see vv. 7b, 12-13).
34 tn Heb “but it accomplishes what I desire, and succeeds [on the mission] which I send it.”
35 tn Heb “to the Lord for a name.” For שֵׁם (shem) used in the sense of “monument,” see also 56:5, where it stands parallel to יָד (yad).
36 tn Or, more literally, “a permanent sign that will not be cut off.”