2 Kings 8:12-13

8:12 Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, my master?” He replied, “Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women.” 8:13 Hazael said, “How could your servant, who is as insignificant as a dog, accomplish this great military victory?” ¹  Elisha answered, “The Lord has revealed to me that you will be the king of Syria.” ² 

Proverbs 28:26

28:26 The one who trusts in his own heart ³  is a fool,

but the one who walks in wisdom ⁴  will escape. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 10:23

10:23 Lord, we know that people do not control their own destiny. ⁶ 

It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them. ⁷ 

Jeremiah 17:9

17:9 The human mind is more deceitful than anything else.

It is incurably bad. ⁸  Who can understand it?

Matthew 20:22

20:22 Jesus ⁹  answered, “You don’t know what you are asking! ¹⁰  Are you able to drink the cup I am about to drink?” ¹¹  They said to him, “We are able.” ¹² 

Matthew 26:33-35

26:33 Peter ¹³  said to him, “If they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away!” 26:34 Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, ¹⁴  on this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 26:35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will never deny you.” And all the disciples said the same thing.

Matthew 26:40-41

26:40 Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He ¹⁵  said to Peter, “So, couldn’t you stay awake with me for one hour? 26:41 Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Mark 14:29

14:29 Peter said to him, “Even if they all fall away, I will not!”

Mark 14:31

14:31 But Peter ¹⁶  insisted emphatically, ¹⁷  “Even if I must die with you, I will never deny you.” And all of them said the same thing.

Mark 14:37-38

14:37 Then ¹⁸  he came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you stay awake for one hour? 14:38 Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

John 13:36-37

13:36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, ¹⁹  “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow later.” 13:37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you!” ²⁰ 

Acts 20:23-24

20:23 except ²¹  that the Holy Spirit warns ²²  me in town after town ²³  that ²⁴  imprisonment ²⁵  and persecutions ²⁶  are waiting for me. 20:24 But I do not consider my life ²⁷  worth anything ²⁸  to myself, so that ²⁹  I may finish my task ³⁰  and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news ³¹  of God’s grace.

Acts 21:13

21:13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking ³²  my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, ³³  but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

[8:13]  ¹ tn Heb “Indeed, what is your servant, a dog, that he could do this great thing?” With his reference to a dog, Hazael is not denying that he is a “dog” and protesting that he would never commit such a dastardly “dog-like” deed. Rather, as Elisha’s response indicates, Hazael is suggesting that he, like a dog, is too insignificant to ever be in a position to lead such conquests.

[8:13]  ² tn Heb “The Lord has shown me you [as] king over Syria.”

[28:26]  ³ sn The idea of “trusting in one’s own heart” is a way of describing one who is self-reliant. C. H. Toy says it means to follow the untrained suggestions of the mind or to rely on one’s own mental resources (Proverbs [ICC], 505). It is arrogant to take no counsel but to rely only on one’s own intelligence.

[28:26]  ⁴ sn The idiom of “walking in wisdom” means to live life according to the acquired skill and knowledge passed on from the sages. It is the wisdom from above that the book of Proverbs presents, not the undisciplined and uninformed wit and wisdom from below.

[28:26]  ⁵ tn The verb form יִמָּלֵט (yimmalet) is the Niphal imperfect; the form means “to escape.” In this context one would conclude that it means “to escape from trouble,” because the one who lives in this life by wisdom will escape trouble, and the one who trusts in himself will not.

[10:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “Not to the man his way.” For the nuance of “fate, destiny, or the way things turn out” for the Hebrew word “way” see Hag 1:5, Isa 40:27 and probably Ps 49:13 (cf. KBL 218 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 5). For the idea of “control” or “hold in one’s power” for the preposition “to” see Ps 3:8 (cf. BDB 513 s.v. לְ 5.b[a]).

[10:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “Not to a man the walking and the establishing his step.”

[17:9]  ⁸ tn Or “incurably deceitful”; Heb “It is incurable.” For the word “deceitful” compare the usage of the verb in Gen 27:36 and a related noun in 2 Kgs 10:19. For the adjective “incurable” compare the usage in Jer 15:18. It is most commonly used with reference to wounds or of pain. In Jer 17:16 it is used metaphorically for a “woeful day” (i.e., day of irreparable devastation).

[20:22]  ⁹ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[20:22]  ¹⁰ tn The verbs in Greek are plural here, indicating that Jesus is not answering the mother but has turned his attention directly to the two disciples.

[20:22]  ¹¹ tc Most mss (C W 33 Ï, as well as some versional and patristic authorities) in addition have “or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” But this is surely due to a recollection of the fuller version of this dominical saying found in Mark 10:38. The same mss also have the Lord’s response, “and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized” in v. 23, again due to the parallel in Mark 10:39. The shorter reading, in both v. 22 and v. 23, is to be preferred both because it better explains the rise of the other reading and is found in superior witnesses (א B D L Z Θ 085 Ë^1,13 pc lat, as well as other versional and patristic authorities).

[20:22]  ¹² sn No more naïve words have ever been spoken as those found here coming from James and John, “We are able.” They said it with such confidence and ease, yet they had little clue as to what they were affirming. In the next sentence Jesus confirms that they will indeed suffer for his name.

[26:33]  ¹³ tn Grk “answering, Peter said to him.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:34]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[26:40]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[14:31]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:31]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “said emphatically.”

[14:37]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[13:36]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”

[13:37]  ²⁰ tn Or “I will die willingly for you.”

[20:23]  ²¹ tn BDAG 826 s.v. πλήν 1.d has “πλὴν ὅτι except that…Ac 20:23.”

[20:23]  ²² tn The verb διαμαρτύρομαι (diamarturomai) can mean “warn” (BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 2 has “solemnly urge, exhort, warn…w. dat. of pers. addressed”), and this meaning better fits the context here, although BDAG categorizes Acts 20:23 under the meaning “testify of, bear witness to” (s.v. 1).

[20:23]  ²³ tn The Greek text here reads κατὰ πόλιν (kata polin).

[20:23]  ²⁴ tn Grk “saying that,” but the participle λέγον (legon) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[20:23]  ²⁵ tn Grk “bonds.”

[20:23]  ²⁶ tn Or “troubles,” “suffering.” See Acts 19:21; 21:4, 11.

[20:24]  ²⁷ tn Grk “soul.”

[20:24]  ²⁸ tn Or “I do not consider my life worth a single word.” According to BDAG 599 s.v. λόγος 1.a.α, “In the textually uncertain pass. Ac 20:24 the text as it stands in N., οὐδενὸς λόγου (v.l. λόγον) ποιοῦμαι τὴν ψυχὴν τιμίαν, may well mean: I do not consider my life worth a single word (cp. λόγου ἄξιον [ἄξιος 1a] and our ‘worth mention’).”

[20:24]  ²⁹ tn BDAG 1106 s.v. ὡς 9 describes this use as “a final particle, expressing intention/purpose, with a view to, in order to.”

[20:24]  ³⁰ tn Grk “course.” See L&N 42.26, “(a figurative extension of meaning of δρόμος ‘race’) a task or function involving continuity, serious, effort, and possibly obligation – ‘task, mission’…Ac 20:24.” On this Pauline theme see also Phil 1:19-26; Col 1:24; 2 Tim 4:6-7.

[20:24]  ³¹ tn Or “to the gospel.”

[21:13]  ³² tn The term translated “breaking” as used by Josephus (Ant. 10.10.4 [10.207]) means to break something into pieces, but in its only NT use (it is a hapax legomenon) it is used figuratively (BDAG 972 s.v. συνθρύπτω).

[21:13]  ³³ tn L&N 18.13 has “to tie objects together – ‘to tie, to tie together, to tie up.’” The verb δέω (dew) is sometimes figurative for imprisonment (L&N 37.114), but it is preferable to translate it literally here in light of v. 11 where Agabus tied himself up with Paul’s belt.