Isaiah 49:6

49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,

to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,

and restore the remnant of Israel?

I will make you a light to the nations,

so you can bring my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”

Psalms 22:27

22:27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him!

Let all the nations worship you!

Luke 3:6

3:6 and all humanity will see the salvation of God.’”

Acts 13:47

13:47 For this 10  is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have appointed 11  you to be a light 12  for the Gentiles, to bring salvation 13  to the ends of the earth.’” 14 

Revelation 11:15

The Seventh Trumpet

11:15 Then 15  the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying:

“The kingdom of the world

has become the kingdom of our Lord

and of his Christ, 16 

and he will reign for ever and ever.”

Revelation 14:6

Three Angels and Three Messages

14:6 Then 17  I saw another 18  angel flying directly overhead, 19  and he had 20  an eternal gospel to proclaim 21  to those who live 22  on the earth – to every nation, tribe, 23  language, and people.


tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”

sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.

tn See the note at 42:6.

tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”

tn Heb “may all the ends of the earth remember and turn to the Lord.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 27 are understood as jussives (cf. NEB). Another option (cf. NIV, NRSV) is to take the forms as imperfects and translate, “all the people of the earth will acknowledge and turn…and worship.” See vv. 29-32.

tn Heb “families of the nations.”

tn Heb “before you.”

tn Grk “all flesh.”

sn A quotation from Isa 40:3-5. Though all the synoptic gospels use this citation from Isaiah, only Luke cites the material of vv. 5-6. His goal may well be to get to the declaration of v. 6, where all humanity (i.e., all nations) see God’s salvation (see also Luke 24:47).

10 tn Here οὕτως (Joutws) is taken to refer to what follows, the content of the quotation, as given for this verse by BDAG 742 s.v. οὕτω/οὕτως 2.

11 tn BDAG 1004 s.v. τίθημι 3.a has “τιθέναι τινὰ εἴς τι place/appoint someone to or for (to function as) someth….Ac 13:47.” This is a double accusative construction of object (“you”) and complement (“a light”).

12 sn Paul alludes here to the language of the Servant in Isaiah, pointing to Isa 42:6; 49:6. He and Barnabas do the work of the Servant in Isaiah.

13 tn Grk “that you should be for salvation,” but more simply “to bring salvation.”

14 sn An allusion to Isa 42:6 and 49:6. The expression the ends of the earth recalls Luke 3:6 and Acts 1:8. Paul sees himself and Barnabas as carrying out the commission of Luke 24:27. (See 2 Cor 6:2, where servant imagery also appears concerning Paul’s message.)

15 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

16 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

17 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

18 tc Most mss (Ì47 א* Ï sa) lack ἄλλον (allon, “another”) here, but the support for it is stronger (Ì115vid א2 A C P 051 1006 1611 1841 2053 2329 al latt sy bo). The problem that its inclusion represents is that there is no reference to any other angel in the immediate context (the last mention was in 11:15). In this instance, the longer reading is harder. The word was probably intentionally omitted in order to resolve the tension; less likely, it might have been accidentally omitted since its spelling is similar to “angel” (ἄγγελος, angelos).

19 tn L&N 1.10 states, “a point or region of the sky directly above the earth – ‘high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.’”

20 tn Grk “having.”

21 tn Or “an eternal gospel to announce as good news.”

22 tn Grk “to those seated on the earth.”

23 tn Grk “and tribe,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.