41:22 “Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen!
Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles, 5
so we may examine them 6 and see how they were fulfilled. 7
Or decree for us some future events!
41:23 Predict how future events will turn out, 8
so we might know you are gods.
Yes, do something good or bad,
so we might be frightened and in awe. 9
1 tn Or (perhaps) “I am certainly telling you this.” According to BDF §12.3 ἀπ᾿ ἄρτι (ap’ arti) should be read as ἀπαρτί (aparti), meaning “exactly, certainly.”
2 tn Grk “so that you may believe.”
3 tn Grk “that I am.” R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:555) argues for a nonpredicated ἐγώ εἰμι (egw eimi) here, but this is far from certain.
4 sn Jesus tells the disciples that he has told them all these things before they happen, so that when they do happen the disciples may believe. This does not mean they had not believed prior to this time; over and over the author has affirmed that they have (cf. 2:11). But when they see these things happen, their level of trust in Jesus will increase and their concept of who he is will expand. The confession of Thomas in 20:28 is representative of this increased understanding of who Jesus is. Cf. John 13:19.
5 tn Heb “As for the former things, tell us what they are!”
6 tn Heb “so we might set [them to] our heart.”
7 tn Heb “and might know their outcome.”
8 tn Heb “Declare the coming things, with respect to the end.”
9 tc The translation assumes the Qere (וְנִרְאֶה [vÿnir’eh], from יָרֵא [yare’], “be afraid”).
10 tn Or “Pay attention!” Grk “Behold.”
11 sn But before all this. Another note of timing is present, this one especially important in understanding the sequence in the discourse. Before the things noted in vv. 8-11 are the events of vv. 12-19.
12 tn Grk “will lay their hands on you.”
13 sn Some of the persecution is of Jewish origin (the synagogues). Some fulfillment of this can be seen in Acts. See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
14 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
15 tn Grk “This will turn out to you for [a] testimony.”
16 tn Or “because of my name.” BDAG 1031 s.v. ὑπέρ 2 lists Acts 9:16 as an example of ὑπέρ (Juper) used to indicate “the moving cause or reason, because of, for the sake of, for.”
17 tn BDAG 826 s.v. πλήν 1.d has “πλὴν ὅτι except that…Ac 20:23.”
18 tn The verb διαμαρτύρομαι (diamarturomai) can mean “warn” (BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 2 has “solemnly urge, exhort, warn…w. dat. of pers. addressed”), and this meaning better fits the context here, although BDAG categorizes Acts 20:23 under the meaning “testify of, bear witness to” (s.v. 1).
19 tn The Greek text here reads κατὰ πόλιν (kata polin).
20 tn Grk “saying that,” but the participle λέγον (legon) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
21 tn Grk “bonds.”
22 tn Or “troubles,” “suffering.” See Acts 19:21; 21:4, 11.
23 tn Grk “soul.”
24 tn Or “I do not consider my life worth a single word.” According to BDAG 599 s.v. λόγος 1.a.α, “In the textually uncertain pass. Ac 20:24 the text as it stands in N., οὐδενὸς λόγου (v.l. λόγον) ποιοῦμαι τὴν ψυχὴν τιμίαν, may well mean: I do not consider my life worth a single word (cp. λόγου ἄξιον [ἄξιος 1a] and our ‘worth mention’).”
25 tn BDAG 1106 s.v. ὡς 9 describes this use as “a final particle, expressing intention/purpose, with a view to, in order to.”
26 tn Grk “course.” See L&N 42.26, “(a figurative extension of meaning of δρόμος ‘race’) a task or function involving continuity, serious, effort, and possibly obligation – ‘task, mission’…Ac 20:24.” On this Pauline theme see also Phil 1:19-26; Col 1:24; 2 Tim 4:6-7.
27 tn Or “to the gospel.”
28 tn BDAG 633 s.v. μέρος 1.b.γ gives the meanings “the parts (of a geographical area), region, district,” but the use of “district” in this context probably implies too much specificity.
29 tn Grk “and encouraging them with many words.” The participle παρακαλέσας (parakalesa", “encouraging”) has been translated by the phrase “spoken…words of encouragement” because the formal equivalent is awkward in contemporary English.
30 tn Grk “[to] them”; the referent (the believers there) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31 tn In popular usage the term translated “Greece” here could also refer to the Roman province officially known as Achaia (BDAG 318 s.v. ῾Ελλάς).
32 sn Jesus’ brothers are mentioned in Matt 13:55 and John 7:3.