34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;
thickets and weeds will grow 1 in her fortified cities.
Jackals will settle there;
ostriches will live there. 2
1:10 (2:1) 3 However, 4 in the future the number of the people 5 of Israel will be like the sand of the sea which can be neither measured nor numbered. Although 6 it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it will be said to them, “You are 7 children 8 of the living God!” 1:11 Then the people 9 of Judah and the people of Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint for themselves one leader, 10 and will flourish in the land. 11 Certainly, 12 the day of Jezreel will be great!
26:1 So Agrippa 16 said to Paul, “You have permission 17 to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand 18 and began his defense: 19
“The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the ruling authority 28 of his Christ, 29 have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, 30
the one who accuses them day and night 31 before our God,
has been thrown down.
12:11 But 32 they overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
and they did not love their lives 33 so much that they were afraid to die.
12:12 Therefore you heavens rejoice, and all who reside in them!
But 34 woe to the earth and the sea
because the devil has come down to you!
He 35 is filled with terrible anger,
for he knows that he only has a little time!”
“Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great!
She 37 has become a lair for demons,
a haunt 38 for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detested beast. 39
1 tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2 tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsaa) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)
3 sn Beginning with 1:10, the verse numbers through 2:23 in the English Bible differ by two from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 1:10 ET = 2:1 HT, 1:11 ET = 2:2 HT, 2:1 ET = 2:3 HT, etc., through 2:23 ET = 2:25 HT. Beginning with 3:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
4 tn The vav prefixed to וְהָיָה (véhaya) functions in an adversative sense: “however” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 71, §432).
5 tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV “the children”; NAB, NIV “the Israelites.”
6 tn Heb “in the place” (בִּמְקוֹם, bimqom). BDB 880 s.v. מָקוֹם 7.b suggests that בִּמְקוֹם (preposition בְּ, bet, + noun מָקוֹם, maqom) is an idiom carrying a concessive sense: “instead of” (e.g., Isa 33:21; Hos 2:1). However, HALOT suggests that it functions in a locative sense: “in the same place” (HALOT 626 s.v. מָקוֹם 2b; e.g., 1 Kgs 21:19; Isa 33:21; Hos 2:1).
7 tn The predicate nominative, “You are…,” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8 tn Heb “sons” (so KJV, NASB, NIV).
9 tn Heb “sons” (twice in this verse, so NASB); KJV, ASV “children”; NIV, NRSV, TEV “people.”
10 tn Heb “head” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV).
11 tn Alternatively, “gain possession of the land” (cf. NRSV) or “rise up from the land” (cf. NIV). This clause may be understood in two ways: (1) Israel will gain ascendancy over the land or conquer the land (e.g., Exod 1:10; cf. NAB “come up from other lands”) or (2) Israel will be “planted” in the land (Hos 2:24-25; cf. NLT “will…plant his people”).
12 tn Or “For” (so NASB); NCV “because”; TEV “Yes.”
13 sn To open their eyes so that they turn… Here is Luke’s most comprehensive report of Paul’s divine calling. His role was to call humanity to change their position before God and experience God’s forgiveness as a part of God’s family. The image of turning is a key one in the NT: Luke 1:79; Rom 2:19; 13:12; 2 Cor 4:6; 6:14; Eph 5:8; Col 1:12; 1 Thess 5:5. See also Luke 1:77-79; 3:3; 24:47.
14 tn BDAG 352-53 s.v. ἐξουσία 2 states, “Also of Satan’s power Ac 26:18.” It is also possible to translate this “the domain of Satan” (cf. BDAG 353 s.v. 6)
15 tn Or “and an inheritance.”
16 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
17 tn Grk “It is permitted for you.”
18 tn Or “extended his hand” (a speaker’s gesture).
19 tn Or “and began to speak in his own defense.”
20 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” Linguistically, “angel of the Lord” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of the Lord” or “the angel of the Lord” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.
21 tn Grk “opening the doors of the prison.” The participle ἀνοίξας (anoixa") has been translated as a finite verb due to the requirements of contemporary English style.
22 tn Greek φυλακῆς (fulakh"), a different word from the one in v. 18 (τήρησις, thrhsi", “jail”).
23 tn Or “brought them out.” Grk “and leading them out, said.” The participle ἐξαγαγών (exagagwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
24 tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.
25 tn Or “speak.”
26 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.
27 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
28 tn Or “the right of his Messiah to rule.” See L&N 37.35.
29 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
30 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The translation “fellow believer” would normally apply (L&N 11.23), but since the speaker(s) are not specified in this context, it is not clear if such a translation would be appropriate here. The more generic “brothers and sisters” was chosen to emphasize the fact of a relationship without specifying its type.
31 tn Or “who accuses them continually.”
32 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.
33 sn They did not love their lives. See Matt 16:25; Luke 17:33; John 12:25.
34 tn The word “But” is not in the Greek text, but the contrast is clearly implied. This is a case of asyndeton (lack of a connective).
35 tn Grk “and is filled,” a continuation of the previous sentence. Because English tends to use shorter sentences (especially when exclamations are involved), a new sentence was started here in the translation.
36 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style
37 tn Or “It” (the subject is embedded in the verb in Greek; the verb only indicates that it is third person). Since the city has been personified as the great prostitute, the feminine pronoun was used in the translation.
38 tn Here BDAG 1067 s.v. φυλακή 3 states, “a place where guarding is done, prison…Of the nether world or its place of punishment (πνεῦμα 2 and 4c) 1 Pt 3:19 (BReicke, The Disobedient Spirits and Christian Baptism ’46, 116f). It is in a φ. in the latter sense that Satan will be rendered harmless during the millennium Rv 20:7. The fallen city of Babylon becomes a φυλακή haunt for all kinds of unclean spirits and birds 18:2ab.”
39 tc There are several problems in this verse. It seems that according to the ms evidence the first two phrases (i.e., “and a haunt for every unclean spirit, and a haunt for every unclean bird” [καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς πνεύματος ἀκαθάρτου καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς ὀρνέου ἀκαθάρτου, kai fulakh panto" pneumato" akaqartou kai fulakh panto" orneou akaqartou]) are to be regarded as authentic, though there are some ms discrepancies. The similar beginnings (καὶ φυλακὴ παντός) and endings (ἀκαθάρτου) of each phrase would easily account for some
40 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
41 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel introduced in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
43 tn Or “and shut.” While the lexical force of the term is closer to “shut,” it is acceptable to render the verb ἔκλεισεν (ekleisen) as “locked” here in view of the mention of the key in the previous verse.