1 Peter 1:11

1:11 They probed ¹  into what person or time ²  the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified beforehand about the sufferings appointed for Christ ³  and his subsequent glory. ⁴ 

Proverbs 2:4

2:4 if ⁵  you seek ⁶  it like silver, ⁷ 

and search for it ⁸  like hidden treasure,

Daniel 9:3

9:3 So I turned my attention ⁹  to the Lord God ¹⁰  to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ¹¹ 

John 5:39

5:39 You study the scriptures thoroughly ¹²  because you think in them you possess eternal life, ¹³  and it is these same scriptures ¹⁴  that testify about me,

John 7:52

7:52 They replied, ¹⁵  “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you? ¹⁶  Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet ¹⁷  comes from Galilee!”

Acts 17:11

17:11 These Jews ¹⁸  were more open-minded ¹⁹  than those in Thessalonica, ²⁰  for they eagerly ²¹  received ²²  the message, examining ²³  the scriptures carefully every day ²⁴  to see if these things were so.

[1:11]  ¹ tn Grk “probing.” The participle continues the sentence from v. 10 but has been translated as an indicative for English style.

[1:11]  ² tn Or “time or circumstances,” focusing not on the person but on the timing and circumstances of the fulfillment.

[1:11]  ³ tn Grk “the sufferings unto Christ,” i.e., sufferings directed toward him, what he was destined to suffer.

[1:11]  ⁴ tn Grk “the glories after these things.”

[2:4]  ⁵ tn The conditional particle now reiterates the initial conditional clause of this introductory section (1-4); the apodosis will follow in v. 5.

[2:4]  ⁶ tn The verb בָּקַשׁ (baqash) means “to search for; to seek; to investigate” (BDB 134 s.v.). This calls for the same diligence one would have in looking for silver.

[2:4]  ⁷ sn The two similes affirm that the value placed on the object will influence the eagerness and diligence in the pursuit and development of wisdom (e.g., Job 28:9-11). The point is not only that the object sought is valuable, but that the effort will be demanding but rewarding.

[2:4]  ⁸ sn The verb חָפַשׂ (khafas) means “to dig; to search” (BDB 344 s.v.; cf. NCV “hunt for it”). The Arabic cognate means “to dig for water.” It is used literally of Joseph searching his brothers’ sacks (Gen 44:12) and figuratively for searching the soul (Ps 64:7). This is a more emphatic word than the one used in the first colon and again emphasizes that acquiring wisdom will be demanding.

[9:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “face.”

[9:3]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew phrase translated “Lord God” here is אֲדֹנָי הָאֱלֹהִים (’adonay ha’elohim).

[9:3]  ¹¹ sn When lamenting, ancient Israelites would fast, wear sackcloth, and put ashes on their heads to show their sorrow and contrition.

[5:39]  ¹² tn Or “Study the scriptures thoroughly” (an imperative). For the meaning of the verb see G. Delling, TDNT 2:655-57.

[5:39]  ¹³ sn In them you possess eternal life. Note the following examples from the rabbinic tractate Pirqe Avot (“The Sayings of the Fathers”): Pirqe Avot 2:8, “He who has acquired the words of the law has acquired for himself the life of the world to come”; Pirqe Avot 6:7, “Great is the law for it gives to those who practice it life in this world and in the world to come.”

[5:39]  ¹⁴ tn The words “same scriptures” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the referent (“these”).

[7:52]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

[7:52]  ¹⁶ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).

[7:52]  ¹⁷ tc At least one early and important ms (Ì^66*) places the article before “prophet” (ὁ προφήτης, Jo profhths), making this a reference to the “prophet like Moses” mentioned in Deut 18:15.

[17:11]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “These”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue at Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:11]  ¹⁹ tn Or “more willing to learn.” L&N 27.48 and BDAG 404 s.v. εὐγενής 2 both use the term “open-minded” here. The point is that they were more receptive to Paul’s message.

[17:11]  ²⁰ sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).

[17:11]  ²¹ tn Or “willingly,” “readily”; Grk “with all eagerness.”

[17:11]  ²² tn Grk “who received.” Here the relative pronoun (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“they”) preceded by a semicolon, which is less awkward in contemporary English than a relative clause at this point.

[17:11]  ²³ tn This verb (BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω 1) refers to careful examination.

[17:11]  ²⁴ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.