1 Samuel 2:30

2:30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I really did say ¹  that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve ²  me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May it never be! ³  For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed!

1 Samuel 2:2

2:2 No one is holy ⁴  like the Lord!

There is no one other than you!

There is no rock ⁵  like our God!

1 Samuel 12:10

12:10 Then they cried out to the Lord and admitted, ⁶  ‘We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the images of Ashtoreth. ⁷  Now deliver us from the hand of our enemies so that we may serve you.’ ⁸ 

Malachi 1:6

The Sacrilege of Priestly Service

1:6 “A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects ⁹  his master. If I am your ¹⁰  father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The Lord who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, ‘How have we made light of your name?’

Acts 13:41

13:41 ‘Look, you scoffers; be amazed and perish! ¹¹ 

For I am doing a work in your days,

a work you would never believe, even if someone tells you.’” ¹² 

Acts 13:1

The Church at Antioch Commissions Barnabas and Saul

13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: ¹³  Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, ¹⁴  Lucius the Cyrenian, ¹⁵  Manaen (a close friend of Herod ¹⁶  the tetrarch ¹⁷  from childhood ¹⁸ ) and Saul.

Acts 4:8

4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, ¹⁹  replied, ²⁰  “Rulers of the people and elders, ²¹ 

[2:30]  ¹ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[2:30]  ² tn Heb “walk about before.”

[2:30]  ³ tn Heb “may it be far removed from me.”

[2:2]  ⁴ sn In this context God’s holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.

[2:2]  ⁵ tn The LXX has “and there is none righteous like our God.” The Hebrew term translated “rock” refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people. Cf. TEV “no protector like our God”; CEV “We’re safer with you than on a high mountain.”

[12:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “and said.”

[12:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural). The words “images of” are supplied in both vv. 3 and 4 for clarity.

[12:10]  ⁸ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.

[1:6]  ⁹ tn The verb “respects” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. It is understood by ellipsis (see “honors” in the preceding line).

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tn The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification (also a second time before “master” later in this verse).

[13:41]  ¹¹ tn Or “and die!”

[13:41]  ¹² sn A quotation from Hab 1:5. The irony in the phrase even if someone tells you, of course, is that Paul has now told them. So the call in the warning is to believe or else face the peril of being scoffers whom God will judge. The parallel from Habakkuk is that the nation failed to see how Babylon’s rising to power meant perilous judgment for Israel.

[13:1]  ¹³ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).

[13:1]  ¹⁴ sn Simeon may well have been from North Africa, since the Latin loanword Niger refers to someone as “dark-complexioned.”

[13:1]  ¹⁵ sn The Cyrenian refers to a native of the city of Cyrene, on the coast of northern Africa west of Egypt.

[13:1]  ¹⁶ sn Herod is generally taken as a reference to Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee from 4 b.c. to a.d. 39, who had John the Baptist beheaded, and who is mentioned a number of times in the gospels.

[13:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “the governor.”

[13:1]  ¹⁸ tn Or “(a foster brother of Herod the tetrarch).” The meaning “close friend from childhood” is given by L&N 34.15, but the word can also mean “foster brother” (L&N 10.51). BDAG 976 s.v. σύντροφας states, “pert. to being brought up with someone, either as a foster-brother or as a companion/friend,” which covers both alternatives. Context does not given enough information to be certain which is the case here, although many modern translations prefer the meaning “close friend from childhood.”

[4:8]  ¹⁹ sn Filled with the Holy Spirit. The narrator’s remark about the Holy Spirit indicates that Peter speaks as directed by God and for God. This fulfills Luke 12:11-12 (1 Pet 3:15).

[4:8]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Spirit, said to them.”

[4:8]  ²¹ tc The Western and Byzantine texts, as well as one or two Alexandrian witnesses, read τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (tou Israhl, “of Israel”) after πρεσβύτεροι (presbuteroi, “elders”; so D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï it), while most of the better witnesses, chiefly Alexandrian (Ì⁷⁴ א A B 0165 1175 vg sa bo), lack this modifier. The longer reading was most likely added by scribes to give literary balance to the addressees in that “Rulers” already had an adjunct while “elders” was left absolute.