Luke 24:25

24:25 So he said to them, “You foolish people – how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

Genesis 19:14

19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them.

Genesis 19:2

19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” 10  “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” 11 

Genesis 7:2

7:2 You must take with you seven 12  of every kind of clean animal, 13  the male and its mate, 14  two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate,

Job 9:16

9:16 If I summoned him, and he answered me, 15 

I would not believe 16 

that he would be listening to my voice –

Psalms 126:1

Psalm 126 17 

A song of ascents. 18 

126:1 When the Lord restored the well-being of Zion, 19 

we thought we were dreaming. 20 

Acts 12:9

12:9 Peter 21  went out 22  and followed him; 23  he did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real, 24  but thought he was seeing a vision.

tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the disciples’ inability to believe in Jesus’ resurrection.

tn Grk “O,” an interjection used both in address and emotion (BDAG 1101 s.v. 1).

tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to complete the interjection.

sn The rebuke is for failure to believe the promise of scripture, a theme that will appear in vv. 43-47 as well.

tn On the syntax of this infinitival construction, see BDAG 364-65 s.v. ἐπί 6.b.

sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.

tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.

tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.

10 tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”

11 sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.

12 tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).

13 sn For a study of the Levitical terminology of “clean” and “unclean,” see L. E. Toombs, IDB 1:643.

14 tn Heb “a male and his female” (also a second time at the end of this verse). The terms used here for male and female animals (אִישׁ, ’ish) and אִשָּׁה, ’ishah) normally refer to humans.

15 sn The idea of “answer” in this line is that of responding to the summons, i.e., appearing in court. This preterite and the perfect before it have the nuance of hypothetical perfects since they are in conditional clauses (GKC 330 §111.x). D. J. A. Clines (Job [WBC], 219) translates literally, “If I should call and he should answer.”

16 tn The Hiphil imperfect in the apodosis of this conditional sentence expresses what would (not) happen if God answered the summons.

17 sn Psalm 126. Recalling the joy of past deliverance, God’s covenant community asks for a fresh display of God’s power and confidently anticipate their sorrow being transformed into joy.

18 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

19 tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew noun שִׁיבַת (shivat) occurs only here in the OT. For this reason many prefer to emend the form to the more common שְׁבִית (shevit) or שְׁבוּת (shÿvut), both of which are used as a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv; see Ps 14:7). However an Aramaic cognate of שְׁבִית appears in an eighth century b.c. Old Aramaic inscription with the verb שׁוּב. This cognate noun appears to mean “return” (see J. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Treaties of Sefire [BibOr], 119-20) or “restoration” (see DNWSI 2:1125). Therefore it appears that שְׁבִית should be retained and understood as a cognate accusative of שׁוּב. In addition to Fitzmyer (119-20) see L. C. Allen, who offers the literal translation, “turn with a turning toward” (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 170). Allen takes שְׁבִית as construct and understands “Zion” as an objective genitive.

20 tn Heb “we were like dreamers.” This could mean the speakers were so overcome with ecstatic joy (see v. 3b) that they were like those who fantasize about pleasurable experiences in their sleep (see Isa 29:7-8). Since dreams are more commonly associated in the OT with prophetic visions, the community may be comparing their experience of God’s renewed favor to a prophet’s receiving divine visions. Just as a prophetic dream sweeps the individual into a different dimension and sometimes brings one face-to-face with God himself (see Gen 28:11-15; 1 Kgs 3:5-15), so the community was aware of God’s presence in a special way in the day of Zion’s restoration. Though the MT as it stands makes good sense, some choose to understand a homonymic root here meaning “to be healthy; to be strong” (see BDB 321 s.v. I חָלַם) and translate, “we were like those restored to health.” This reading appears to have the support of several ancient translations as well as 11QPsa. See L. C. Allen (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 170-71) for a discussion of the viewpoints.

21 tn Grk “And going out he followed.”

22 tn Grk “Peter going out followed him.” The participle ἐξελθών (exelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

23 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

24 tn Grk “what was done through the angel was a reality” (see BDAG 43 s.v. ἀληθής 3).