10:1 Jesus 5 called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits 6 so they could cast them out and heal every kind of disease and sickness. 7
6:7 Jesus 8 called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 9
1 tn Or perhaps, “trample on” (which emphasizes the impact of the feet on the snakes). See L&N 15.226.
2 sn Snakes and scorpions are examples of the hostility in the creation that is defeated by Jesus. The use of battle imagery shows who the kingdom fights against. See Acts 28:3-6.
3 tn Or “I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and [authority] over the full force of the enemy.” The second prepositional phrase can be taken either as modifying the infinitive πατεῖν (patein, “to tread”) or the noun ἐξουσίαν (exousian, “power”). The former is to be preferred and has been represented in the translation.
4 tn This is an emphatic double negative in the Greek text.
5 tn Grk “And he.”
6 sn Unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.
7 tn Grk “and every [kind of] sickness.” Here “every” was not repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 sn The phrase unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.
10 tn Grk “tongues,” though the word is used figuratively (perhaps as a metonymy of cause for effect). To “speak in tongues” meant to “speak in a foreign language,” though one that was new to the one speaking it and therefore due to supernatural causes. For a discussion concerning whether such was a human language, heavenly language, or merely ecstatic utterance, see BDAG 201-2 s.v. γλῶσσα 2, 3; BDAG 399 s.v. ἕτερος 2; L&N 33.2-4; ExSyn 698; C. M. Robeck Jr., “Tongues,” DPL, 939-43.
11 tn For further comment on the nature of this statement, whether it is a promise or prediction, see ExSyn 403-6.
12 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
13 tn Or “will do.”
14 tn Grk “the works.”
15 tn Or “that I do.”
16 tn Or “will do.”
17 tn Grk “greater works.”
18 tn Or “to the ends.”
19 tn Grk “in his name”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 sn Here is another example of appeal to the person by mentioning the name. See the note on the word name in 3:6.
21 tn Grk “see and know, and the faith.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation and καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated.
22 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 tn Or “in full view.”
24 tn The miraculous nature of these signs is implied in the context.
25 tn Grk “And Peter.” 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.
26 tc ‡ Several variants occur at this juncture. Some of the earliest and best witnesses (Ì74 א B* C Ψ 33vid Didpt) read “Jesus Christ” (᾿Ιησοῦς Χριστός, Ihsou" Cristo"); others ([A] 36 1175 it) have “the Lord Jesus Christ” (ὁ κύριος ᾿Ιησοῦς Χριστός, Jo kurio" Ihsou" Cristo"); a few read simply ὁ Χριστός (614 1241 1505); the majority of
27 tn The translation “make your own bed” for στρῶσον σεαυτῷ (strwson seautw) is given by BDAG 949 s.v. στρωννύω 1. Naturally this involves some adaptation, since a pallet or mat would not be ‘made up’ in the sense that a modern bed would be. The idea may be closer to “straighten” or “rearrange,” and the NIV’s “take care of your mat” attempts to reflect this, although this too probably conveys a slightly different idea to the modern English reader.