Psalms 37:18

37:18 The Lord watches over the innocent day by day ¹ 

and they possess a permanent inheritance. ² 

Matthew 24:36

Be Ready!

24:36 “But as for that day and hour no one knows it – not even the angels in heaven ³  – except the Father alone.

Mark 13:32

Be Ready!

13:32 “But as for that day or hour no one knows it – neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son ⁴  – except the Father.

Acts 1:7

1:7 He told them, “You are not permitted to know ⁵  the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.

Acts 15:18

15:18 known ⁶  from long ago. ⁷ 

Acts 17:26

17:26 From one man ⁸  he made every nation of the human race ⁹  to inhabit the entire earth, ¹⁰  determining their set times ¹¹  and the fixed limits of the places where they would live, ¹² 

Acts 17:31

17:31 because he has set ¹³  a day on which he is going to judge the world ¹⁴  in righteousness, by a man whom he designated, ¹⁵  having provided proof to everyone by raising ¹⁶  him from the dead.”

Acts 17:1

Paul and Silas at Thessalonica

17:1 After they traveled through ¹⁷  Amphipolis ¹⁸  and Apollonia, ¹⁹  they came to Thessalonica, ²⁰  where there was a Jewish synagogue. ²¹ 

Acts 5:2

5:2 He ²²  kept back for himself part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge; he brought ²³  only part of it and placed it at the apostles’ feet.

¹ tn Heb “the Lord knows the days of the innocent ones.” He “knows” their days in the sense that he is intimately aware of and involved in their daily struggles. He meets their needs and sustains them.

² tn Heb “and their inheritance is forever.”

³ tc ‡ Some important witnesses, including early Alexandrian and Western mss (א*^,2 B D Θ Ë¹³ pc it vg^mss Ir^lat Hier^mss), have the additional words οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός (oude Jo Juios, “nor the son”) here. Although the shorter reading (which lacks this phrase) is suspect in that it seems to soften the prophetic ignorance of Jesus, the final phrase (“except the Father alone”) already implies this. Further, the parallel in Mark 13:32 has οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός, with almost no witnesses lacking the expression. Hence, it is doubtful that the absence of “neither the Son” is due to the scribes. In keeping with Matthew’s general softening of Mark’s harsh statements throughout his Gospel, it is more likely that the absence of “neither the Son” is part of the original text of Matthew, being an intentional change on the part of the author. Further, this shorter reading is supported by the first corrector of א as well as L W ˹ 33 Ï vg sy co Hier^mss. Admittedly, the external evidence is not as impressive for the shorter reading, but it best explains the rise of the other reading (in particular, how does one account for virtually no mss excising οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός at Mark 13:32 if such an absence here is due to scribal alteration? Although scribes were hardly consistent, for such a theologically significant issue at least some consistency would be expected on the part of a few scribes). Nevertheless, NA²⁷ includes οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός here.

⁴ sn The phrase nor the Son has caused a great deal of theological debate because on the surface it appears to conflict with the concept of Jesus’ deity. The straightforward meaning of the text is that the Son does not know the time of his return. If Jesus were divine, though, wouldn’t he know this information? There are other passages which similarly indicate that Jesus did not know certain things. For example, Luke 2:52 indicates that Jesus grew in wisdom; this has to mean that Jesus did not know everything all the time but learned as he grew. So Mark 13:32 is not alone in implying that Jesus did not know certain things. The best option for understanding Mark 13:32 and similar passages is to hold the two concepts in tension: The Son in his earthly life and ministry had limited knowledge of certain things, yet he was still deity.

⁵ tn Grk “It is not for you to know.”

⁶ sn Who makes these things known. The remark emphasizes how God’s design of these things reaches back to the time he declared them.

⁷ sn An allusion to Isa 45:21.

⁸ sn The one man refers to Adam (the word “man” is understood).

⁹ tn Or “mankind.” BDAG 276 s.v. ἔθνος 1 has “every nation of humankind Ac 17:26.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “to live over all the face of the earth.”

¹¹ tn BDAG 884-85 s.v. προστάσσω has “(οἱ) προστεταγμένοι καιροί (the) fixed times Ac 17:26” here, but since the following phrase is also translated “fixed limits,” this would seem redundant in English, so the word “set” has been used instead.

¹² tn Grk “the boundaries of their habitation.” L&N 80.5 has “fixed limits of the places where they would live” for this phrase.

¹³ tn Or “fixed.”

¹⁴ sn The world refers to the whole inhabited earth.

¹⁵ tn Or “appointed.” BDAG 723 s.v. ὁρίζω 2.b has “of persons appoint, designate, declare: God judges the world ἐν ἀνδρὶ ᾧ ὥρισεν through a man whom he has appointed Ac 17:31.”

¹⁶ tn The participle ἀναστήσας (anasthsa") indicates means here.

¹⁷ tn BDAG 250 s.v. διοδεύω 1 has “go, travel through” for this verse.

¹⁸ sn Amphipolis. The capital city of the southeastern district of Macedonia (BDAG 55 s.v. ᾿Αμφίπολις). It was a military post. From Philippi this was about 33 mi (53 km).

¹⁹ sn Apollonia was a city in Macedonia about 27 mi (43 km) west southwest of Amphipolis.

²⁰ sn Thessalonica (modern Salonica) was a city in Macedonia about 33 mi (53 km) west of Apollonia. It was the capital of Macedonia. The road they traveled over was called the Via Egnatia. It is likely they rode horses, given their condition in Philippi. The implication of v. 1 is that the two previously mentioned cities lacked a synagogue.

²¹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

²² tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

²³ tn The participle ἐνέγκας (enenka") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.