Jeremiah 1:7

1:7 The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ But go ¹  to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you.

Ezekiel 2:3-4

2:3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the house ²  of Israel, to rebellious nations ³  who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted ⁴  against me to this very day. 2:4 The people ⁵  to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted, ⁶  and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ ⁷ 

Luke 24:46-48

24:46 and said to them, “Thus it stands written that the Christ ⁸  would suffer ⁹  and would rise from the dead on the third day, 24:47 and repentance ¹⁰  for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed ¹¹  in his name to all nations, ¹²  beginning from Jerusalem. ¹³  24:48 You are witnesses ¹⁴  of these things.

Acts 1:8

1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts ¹⁵  of the earth.”

Acts 4:20

4:20 for it is impossible ¹⁶  for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”

Acts 5:20

5:20 “Go and stand in the temple courts ¹⁷  and proclaim ¹⁸  to the people all the words of this life.”

Acts 5:29-32

5:29 But Peter and the apostles replied, ¹⁹  “We must obey ²⁰  God rather than people. ²¹  5:30 The God of our forefathers ²²  raised up Jesus, whom you seized and killed by hanging him on a tree. ²³  5:31 God exalted him ²⁴  to his right hand as Leader ²⁵  and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ²⁶  5:32 And we are witnesses of these events, ²⁷  and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey ²⁸  him.”

¹ tn Or “For you must go and say.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is likely adversative here after a negative statement (cf. BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.e). The Lord is probably not giving a rationale for the denial of Jeremiah’s objection but redirecting his focus, i.e., “do not say…but go…and say.”

² tc The Hebrew reads “sons of,” while the LXX reads “house,” implying the more common phrase in Ezekiel. Either could be abbreviated with the first letter ב (bet). In preparation for the characterization “house of rebellion,” in vv. 5, 6, and 8, “house” is preferred (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:10 and W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel [Hermeneia], 2:564-65).

³ tc Heb “to the rebellious nations.” The phrase “to the rebellious nations” is omitted in the LXX. Elsewhere in Ezekiel the singular word “nation” is used for Israel (36:13-15; 37:22). Here “nations” may have the meaning of “tribes” or refer to the two nations of Israel and Judah.

⁴ tc This word is omitted from the LXX.

⁵ tn Heb “sons.” The word choice may reflect treaty idiom, where the relationship between an overlord and his subjects can be described as that of father and son.

⁶ tc Heb “stern of face and hard of heart.” The phrases “stern of face” and “hard of heart” are lacking in the LXX.

⁷ tn The phrase “thus says [the Lord]” occurs 129 times in Ezekiel; the announcement is identical to the way messengers often introduced their messages (Gen 32:5; 45:9; Exod 5:10; Num 20:14; Judg 11:15).

⁸ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

⁹ tn Three Greek infinitives are the key to this summary: (1) to suffer, (2) to rise, and (3) to be preached. The Christ (Messiah) would be slain, would be raised, and a message about repentance would go out into all the world as a result. All of this was recorded in the scripture. The remark shows the continuity between Jesus’ ministry, the scripture, and what disciples would be doing as they declared the Lord risen.

¹⁰ sn This repentance has its roots in declarations of the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew concept of a turning of direction.

¹¹ tn Or “preached,” “announced.”

¹² sn To all nations. The same Greek term (τὰ ἔθνη, ta eqnh) may be translated “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” The hope of God in Christ was for all the nations from the beginning.

¹³ sn Beginning from Jerusalem. See Acts 2, which is where it all starts.

¹⁴ sn You are witnesses. This becomes a key concept of testimony in Acts. See Acts 1:8.

¹⁵ tn Or “to the ends.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “for we are not able not to speak about what we have seen and heard,” but the double negative, which cancels out in English, is emphatic in Greek. The force is captured somewhat by the English translation “it is impossible for us not to speak…” although this is slightly awkward.

¹⁷ tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

¹⁸ tn Or “speak.”

¹⁹ tn Grk “apostles answered and said.”

²⁰ sn Obey. See 4:19. This response has Jewish roots (Dan 3:16-18; 2 Macc 7:2; Josephus, Ant. 17.6.3 [17.159].

²¹ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

²² tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

²³ tn Or “by crucifying him” (“hang on a tree” is by the time of the first century an idiom for crucifixion). The allusion is to the judgment against Jesus as a rebellious figure, appealing to the language of Deut 21:23. The Jewish leadership has badly “misjudged” Jesus.

²⁴ tn Grk “This one God exalted” (emphatic).

²⁵ tn Or “Founder” (of a movement).

²⁶ tn Or “to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”

²⁷ tn Or “things.” They are preaching these things even to the hostile leadership.

²⁸ sn Those who obey. The implication, of course, is that the leadership is disobeying God.