Psalms 68:6

68:6 God settles those who have been deserted in their own homes; ¹ 

he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity. ² 

But sinful rebels live in the desert. ³ 

Psalms 107:16

107:16 For he shattered the bronze gates,

and hacked through the iron bars. ⁴ 

Acts 12:6-7

12:6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial, ⁵  Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while ⁶  guards in front of the door were keeping watch ⁷  over the prison. 12:7 Suddenly ⁸  an angel of the Lord ⁹  appeared, and a light shone in the prison cell. He struck ¹⁰  Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off Peter’s ¹¹  wrists. ¹² 

Acts 21:13

21:13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking ¹³  my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, ¹⁴  but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Acts 28:20

28:20 So for this reason I have asked to see you and speak with you, for I am bound with this chain because of the hope of Israel.” ¹⁵ 

Ephesians 6:20

6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.

¹ tn Heb “God causes the solitary ones to dwell in a house.” The participle suggests this is what God typically does.

² tn Heb “he brings out prisoners into prosperity.” Another option is to translate, “he brings out prisoners with singing” (cf. NIV). The participle suggests this is what God typically does.

³ tn Or “in a parched [land].”

⁴ sn The language of v. 16 recalls Isa 45:2.

⁵ tn Grk “was going to bring him out,” but the upcoming trial is implied. See Acts 12:4.

⁶ tn Grk “two chains, and.” Logically it makes better sense to translate this as a temporal clause, although technically it is a coordinate clause in Greek.

⁷ tn Or “were guarding.”

⁸ tn Grk “And behold.” 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. The interjection ἰδού (idou), often difficult to translate into English, expresses the suddenness of the angel’s appearance.

⁹ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.

¹⁰ tn Grk “striking the side of Peter, he awoke him saying.” The term refers to a push or a light tap (BDAG 786 s.v. πατάσσω 1.a). The participle πατάξας (pataxa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹¹ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² tn Grk “the hands,” but the wrist was considered a part of the hand.

¹³ tn The term translated “breaking” as used by Josephus (Ant. 10.10.4 [10.207]) means to break something into pieces, but in its only NT use (it is a hapax legomenon) it is used figuratively (BDAG 972 s.v. συνθρύπτω).

¹⁴ tn L&N 18.13 has “to tie objects together – ‘to tie, to tie together, to tie up.’” The verb δέω (dew) is sometimes figurative for imprisonment (L&N 37.114), but it is preferable to translate it literally here in light of v. 11 where Agabus tied himself up with Paul’s belt.

¹⁵ sn The hope of Israel. A reference to Israel’s messianic hope. Paul’s preaching was in continuity with this Jewish hope (Acts 1:3; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25).