Acts 4:29

4:29 And now, Lord, pay attention to ¹  their threats, and grant ²  to your servants ³  to speak your message ⁴  with great courage, ⁵ 

Acts 4:31

4:31 When ⁶  they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, ⁷  and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak ⁸  the word of God ⁹  courageously. ¹⁰ 

Ephesians 6:19-20

6:19 Pray ¹¹  for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak ¹²  – that I may confidently make known ¹³  the mystery of the gospel, 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 1:14

1:14 and most of the brothers and sisters, ¹⁴  having confidence in the Lord ¹⁵  because of my imprisonment, now more than ever ¹⁶  dare to speak the word ¹⁷  fearlessly.

Colossians 4:3-4

4:3 At the same time pray ¹⁸  for us too, that ¹⁹  God may open a door for the message ²⁰  so that we may proclaim ²¹  the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ²²  4:4 Pray that I may make it known as I should. ²³ 

Colossians 4:2

Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission

4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 4:17

4:17 And tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the ministry you received in the Lord.”

¹ tn Or “Lord, take notice of.”

² sn Grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage. The request is not for a stop to persecution or revenge on the opponents, but for boldness (great courage) to carry out the mission of proclaiming the message of what God is doing through Jesus.

³ tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18.

⁴ tn Grk “word.”

⁵ tn Or “with all boldness.”

⁶ tn Grk “And when.” 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.

⁷ sn The place where they were assembled…was shaken. This signifies that God is in their midst. See Acts 16:26; Exod 19:18; Ps 114:7; Isa 6:4.

⁸ tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to speak”). Logical sequencing suggests that their speaking began after they were filled with the Spirit. The prayer was answered immediately.

⁹ tn Or “speak God’s message.”

¹⁰ tn Or “with boldness.”

¹¹ tn To avoid a lengthy, convoluted sentence in English, the Greek sentence was broken up at this point and the verb “pray” was inserted in the English translation to pick up the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseuxomenoi, “praying”) in v. 18.

¹² tn Grk “that a word may be given to me in the opening of my mouth.” Here “word” (λόγος, logo") is used in the sense of “message.”

¹³ tn The infinitive γνωρίσαι (gnwrisai, “to make known”) is functioning epexegetically to further explain what the author means by the preceding phrase “that I may be given the message when I begin to speak.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

¹⁷ tn Or “most of the brothers and sisters in the Lord, having confidence.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “even more so.”

¹⁹ tc A number of significant mss have “of God” after “word.” Although τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) is amply supported in the Alexandrian and Western texts (א A B [D*] P Ψ 048^vid 075 0278 33 81 1175 al lat co), the omission is difficult to explain as either an intentional deletion or unintentional oversight. To be sure, the pedigree of the witnesses is not nearly as great for the shorter reading (Ì⁴⁶ D² 1739 1881 Ï), but it explains well the rise of the other reading. Further, it explains the rise of κυρίου (kuriou, “of the Lord”), the reading of F and G (for if these mss had followed a Vorlage with τοῦ θεοῦ, κυρίου would not have been expected). Further, τοῦ θεοῦ is in different locations among the mss; such dislocations are usually signs of scribal additions to the text. Thus, the Byzantine text and a few other witnesses here have the superior reading, and it should be accepted as the original.

²¹ tn Though προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi) is an adverbial participle related to the previous imperative, προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite), it is here translated as an independent clause due to requirements of contemporary English style.

²² tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been rendered as substantival here, indicating the content of the prayer rather than the purpose for it. These two ideas are very similar and difficult to differentiate in this passage, but the conjunction ἵνα following a verb of praying is generally regarded as giving the content of the prayer.

²³ tn Grk “that God may open for us a door of the word to speak the mystery of Christ.” The construction in Greek is somewhat awkward in this clause. The translation attempts to simplify this structure somewhat and yet communicate exactly what Paul is asking for.

²⁴ tn Or “so that we may speak.”

²⁵ tn Or “in prison.”

²⁶ tn The phrase begins with the ἵνα (Jina) clause and is subordinate to the imperative προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite) in v. 2. The reference to the idea that Paul must make it known indicates that this clause is probably best viewed as purpose and not content, like the ἵνα of v. 3. It is the second purpose stated in the context; the first is expressed through the infinitive λαλῆσαι (lalhsai) in v. 3. The term “pray” at the beginning of the sentence is intended to pick up the imperative of v. 3.