27:12 Do not turn me over to my enemies, 1
for false witnesses who want to destroy me testify against me. 2
By David.
27:1 The Lord delivers and vindicates me! 4
I fear no one! 5
The Lord protects my life!
I am afraid of no one! 6
24:9 Look up, you gates!
Rise up, you eternal doors!
Then the majestic king will enter!
25:10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable 7
to those who follow the demands of his covenant. 8
1 tn Heb “do not give me over to the desire of my enemies.”
2 tn Heb “for they have risen up against me, lying witnesses and a testifier of violence.” The form יָפֵחַ (yafeakh) is traditionally understood as a verb meaning “snort, breathe out”: “for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty” (KJV; cf. BDB 422 s.v.). A better option is to take the form as a noun meaning “a witness” (or “testifier”). See Prov 6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9, and Hab 2:3.
3 sn Psalm 27. The author is confident of the Lord’s protection and asks the Lord to vindicate him.
4 tn Heb “the
5 tn Heb “Whom shall I fear?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”
6 tn Heb “Of whom shall I be afraid?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”
7 tn Heb “all the paths of the
8 tn Heb “to the ones who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”
9 tn Grk “Now the.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
10 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
11 sn This holy place is a reference to the temple.
12 sn The law refers to the law of Moses. It elaborates the nature of the blasphemy in v. 11. To speak against God’s law in Torah was to blaspheme God (Deut 28:15-19). On the Jewish view of false witnesses, see Exod 19:16-18; 20:16; m. Sanhedrin 3.6; 5.1-5. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 may indicate why the temple was mentioned.
13 tn Grk “For having found.” The participle εὑρόντες (Jeurontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
14 tn L&N 22.6 has “(a figurative extension of meaning of λοιμός ‘plague,’ 23.158) one who causes all sorts of trouble – ‘troublemaker, pest.’ … ‘for we have found this man to be a troublemaker” Ac 24:5.”
15 tn Or “dissensions.” While BDAG 940 s.v. στάσις 3 translates this phrase “κινεῖν στάσεις (v.l. στάσιν) τισί create dissension among certain people Ac 24:5,” it is better on the basis of the actual results of Paul’s ministry to categorize this usage under section 2, “uprising, riot, revolt, rebellion” (cf. the use in Acts 19:40).
16 tn This term is yet another NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 894 s.v. πρωτοστάτης).
17 sn The sect of the Nazarenes is a designation for followers of Jesus the Nazarene, that is, Christians.
18 tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was replaced by the third person singular pronoun (“he”) and a new sentence begun here in the translation.
19 tn Or “profane” (BDAG 173 s.v. βεβηλόω). The term was also used of profaning the Sabbath.
20 tn Or “seized.” Grk “whom also we arrested.” Because of the awkwardness of a relative clause in English at this point, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the pronoun “him” as object of the verb.
21 tn Or “disputing,” “conducting a heated discussion.”
22 tn BDAG 381 s.v. ἐπίστασις 2 has “ἐ. ποιεῖν ὄχλου to cause a crowd to gather Ac 24:12.” Roman authorities would not allow a mob to gather and threaten the peace, and anyone suspected of instigating a mob would certainly be arrested.
23 tn Grk “in the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.
24 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
25 sn A second part of Paul’s defense is that he did nothing while he was in Jerusalem to cause unrest, neither arguing nor stirring up a crowd in the temple courts or in the synagogues or throughout the city.
26 tn BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 1.f has “οὐδὲ παραστῆσαι δύνανταί σοι περὶ ὧν νυνὶ κατηγοροῦσίν μου nor can they prove to you the accusations they are now making against me Ac 24:13.”
27 tn The words “the things” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
28 tn Grk “nor can they prove to you [the things] about which they are now accusing me.” This has been simplified to eliminate the relative pronoun (“which”) in the translation.