Isaiah 41:13

41:13 For I am the Lord your God,

the one who takes hold of your right hand,

who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am helping you.’

Isaiah 45:1

45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen ¹  one,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold ² 

in order to subdue nations before him,

and disarm kings, ³ 

to open doors before him,

so gates remain unclosed:

Job 8:20

8:20 “Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, ⁴ 

nor does he grasp the hand ⁵ 

of the evildoers.

Jeremiah 31:32

31:32 It will not be like the old ⁶  covenant that I made with their ancestors ⁷  when I delivered them ⁸  from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” ⁹  says the Lord. ¹⁰ 

Mark 8:23

8:23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him outside of the village. Then ¹¹  he spit on his eyes, placed his hands on his eyes ¹²  and asked, “Do you see anything?”

Acts 9:8

9:8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open, ¹³  he could see nothing. ¹⁴  Leading him by the hand, his companions ¹⁵  brought him into Damascus.

Acts 13:11

13:11 Now ¹⁶  look, the hand of the Lord is against ¹⁷  you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time!” Immediately mistiness ¹⁸  and darkness came over ¹⁹  him, and he went around seeking people ²⁰  to lead him by the hand.

Hebrews 8:9

8:9 “It will not be like the covenant ²¹  that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord.

¹ tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”

² sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.

³ tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”

⁴ sn This is the description that the book gave to Job at the outset, a description that he deserved according to God’s revelation. The theme “God will not reject the blameless man” becomes Job’s main point (see 9:20,21; 10:3).

⁵ sn The idiom “to grasp the hand” of someone means to support or help the person.

⁶ tn The word “old” is not in the text but is implicit in the use of the word “new.” It is supplied in the translation for greater clarity.

⁷ tn Heb “fathers.”

⁸ tn Heb “when I took them by the hand and led them out.”

⁹ tn Or “I was their master.” See the study note on 3:14.

¹⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

¹¹ tn Grk “village, and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹² tn Grk “on him,” but the word πάλιν in v. 25 implies that Jesus touched the man’s eyes at this point.

¹³ tn Grk “his eyes being open,” a genitive absolute construction that has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

¹⁴ sn He could see nothing. This sign of blindness, which was temporary until v. 18, is like the sign of deafness experienced by Zechariah in Luke 1. It allowed some time for Saul (Paul) to reflect on what had happened without distractions.

¹⁵ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Saul’s companions) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Grk “And now.” 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.

¹⁷ tn Grk “upon,” but in a negative sense.

¹⁸ sn The term translated mistiness here appears in the writings of the physician Galen as a medical technical description of a person who is blind. The picture of judgment to darkness is symbolic as well. Whatever power Elymas had, it represented darkness. Magic will again be an issue in Acts 19:18-19. This judgment is like that of Ananias and his wife in Acts 5:1-11.

¹⁹ tn Grk “fell on.”

²⁰ tn The noun χειραγωγός (ceiragwgo") is plural, so “people” is used rather than singular “someone.”

²¹ tn Grk “not like the covenant,” continuing the description of v. 8b.