Psalms 37:24

37:24 Even if ¹  he trips, he will not fall headlong, ² 

for the Lord holds ³  his hand.

Psalms 94:18

94:18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”

your loyal love, O Lord, supports me.

Psalms 119:117

119:117 Support me, so that I will be delivered.

Then I will focus ⁴  on your statutes continually.

Luke 22:31-32

22:31 “Simon, ⁵  Simon, pay attention! ⁶  Satan has demanded to have you all, ⁷  to sift you like wheat, ⁸  22:32 but I have prayed for you, Simon, ⁹  that your faith may not fail. ¹⁰  When ¹¹  you have turned back, ¹²  strengthen ¹³  your brothers.”

¹ tn Other translation options for כִּי in this context are “when” (so NASB) or “though” (so NEB, NIV, NRSV).

² tn Heb “be hurled down.”

³ tn The active participle indicates this is characteristically true. See v. 17.

⁴ tn Or “and that I might focus.” The two cohortatives with vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose/result after the imperative at the beginning of the verse.

⁵ tc The majority of mss (א A D W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï as well as several versional witnesses) begin this verse with an introductory comment, “and the Lord said,” indicating a change in the subject of discussion. But this is apparently a reading motivated by the need for clarity. Some of the best witnesses, along with a few others (Ì⁷⁵ B L T 1241 2542^c sy^s co), do not contain these words. The abrupt shift is the more difficult reading and thus more likely to be original.

⁶ tn Grk “behold” (for “pay attention” see L&N 91.13).

⁷ sn This pronoun is plural in the Greek text, so it refers to all the disciples of which Peter is the representative.

⁸ sn Satan has demanded permission to put them to the test. The idiom “sift (someone) like wheat” is similar to the English idiom “to pick (someone) apart.” The pronoun you is implied.

⁹ sn Here and in the remainder of the verse the second person pronouns are singular, so only Peter is in view. The name “Simon” has been supplied as a form of direct address to make this clear in English.

¹⁰ sn That your faith may not fail. Note that Peter’s denials are pictured here as lapses, not as a total absence of faith.

¹¹ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹² tn Or “turned around.”

¹³ sn Strengthen your brothers refers to Peter helping to strengthen their faith. Jesus quite graciously restores Peter “in advance,” even with the knowledge of his approaching denials.