1 Samuel 20:2

20:2 Jonathan ¹  said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing ²  large or small without making me aware of it. ³  Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”

Proverbs 17:17

17:17 A friend ⁴  loves at all times,

and a relative ⁵  is born to help in adversity. ⁶ 

Acts 9:24

9:24 but Saul learned of their plot against him. ⁷  They were also watching ⁸  the city gates ⁹  day and night so that they could kill him.

Acts 23:16

23:16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, ¹⁰  he came and entered ¹¹  the barracks ¹²  and told Paul.

[20:2]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:2]  ² tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, and the ancient versions in reading “he will not do,” rather than the Kethib of the MT (“do to him”).

[20:2]  ³ tn Heb “without uncovering my ear.”

[17:17]  ⁴ sn The verse uses synonymous parallelism, so “friend” and “relative” are equated. Others, however, will take the verse with antithetical parallelism: W. G. Plaut argues that friendship is a spiritual relationship whereas a brother’s ties are based on a blood relationship – often adversity is the only thing that brings brothers together (Proverbs, 189).

[17:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “a brother.”

[17:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “is born for adversity.” This is not referring to sibling rivalry but to the loyalty a brother shows during times of calamity. This is not to say that a brother only shows loyalty when there is trouble, nor that he always does in these times (e.g., 18:19, 24; 19:7; 27:10). The true friend is the same as a brotherly relation – in times of greatest need the loyal love is displayed.

[9:24]  ⁷ tn The words “against him” are implied, as suggested by L&N 30.71.

[9:24]  ⁸ tn Or “guarding.” This is a negative term in Luke-Acts (Luke 6:7; 14:1; 20:20).

[9:24]  ⁹ tn The word πύλη (pulh) may refer to a house door or gate, or to the large gates used in a palace, temple, or city wall. Here the context clearly indicates a reference to the latter, so the translation “city gates” is used.

[23:16]  ¹⁰ tn Or “plot” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνέδρα).

[23:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “coming and entering…, he told.” The participles παραγενόμενος (paragenomeno") and εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) have been translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:16]  ¹² tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”