2 Peter 2:15

2:15 By forsaking the right path they have gone astray, because they followed the way of Balaam son of Bosor, ¹  who loved the wages of unrighteousness, ² 

2 Peter 2:21

2:21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment that had been delivered to them.

Psalms 18:21

18:21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands; ³ 

I have not rebelled against my God. ⁴ 

Isaiah 35:8

35:8 A thoroughfare will be there –

it will be called the Way of Holiness. ⁵ 

The unclean will not travel on it;

it is reserved for those authorized to use it ⁶  –

fools ⁷  will not stray into it.

Jeremiah 6:16

6:16 The Lord said to his people: ⁸ 

“You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. ⁹ 

Ask where the old, reliable paths ¹⁰  are.

Ask where the path is that leads to blessing ¹¹  and follow it.

If you do, you will find rest for your souls.”

But they said, “We will not follow it!”

Matthew 7:14

7:14 But the gate is narrow and the way is difficult that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Matthew 22:16

22:16 They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, ¹²  saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ¹³  You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality. ¹⁴ 

Mark 12:14

12:14 When they came they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and do not court anyone’s favor, because you show no partiality ¹⁵  but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ¹⁶  Is it right ¹⁷  to pay taxes ¹⁸  to Caesar ¹⁹  or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

John 14:6

14:6 Jesus replied, ²⁰  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. ²¹  No one comes to the Father except through me.

Acts 13:10

13:10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing, ²²  you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness – will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ²³ 

Acts 16:17

16:17 She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out, ²⁴  “These men are servants ²⁵  of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way ²⁶  of salvation.” ²⁷ 

Acts 18:26

18:26 He began to speak out fearlessly ²⁸  in the synagogue, ²⁹  but when Priscilla and Aquila ³⁰  heard him, they took him aside ³¹  and explained the way of God to him more accurately.

Acts 19:9

19:9 But when ³²  some were stubborn ³³  and refused to believe, reviling ³⁴  the Way ³⁵  before the congregation, he left ³⁶  them and took the disciples with him, ³⁷  addressing ³⁸  them every day ³⁹  in the lecture hall ⁴⁰  of Tyrannus.

Acts 24:14

24:14 But I confess this to you, that I worship ⁴¹  the God of our ancestors ⁴²  according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law ⁴³  and that is written in the prophets.

[2:15]  ¹ tn Although many modern translations (e.g., NASB, TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT) read “Beor” here, this is due to harmonization with the OT rather than following a variant textual reading. The Greek text of NA²⁷ reads “Bosor,” an otherwise unattested form of the name of Balaam’s father.

[2:15]  ² tn “Wages of unrighteousness” in Greek is the same expression found in v. 13, “wages for harmful ways.” The repetition makes the link between the false teachers and Balaam more concrete.

[18:21]  ³ tn Heb “for I have kept the ways of the Lord.” The phrase “ways of the Lord” refers here to the “conduct required” by the Lord. In Ps 25 the Lord’s “ways” are associated with his covenantal demands (see vv. 4, 9-10). See also Ps 119:3 (cf. vv. 1, 4), as well as Deut 8:6; 10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16.

[18:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “I have not acted wickedly from my God.” The statement is elliptical; the idea is, “I have not acted wickedly and, in so doing, departed from my God.”

[35:8]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and there will be there a road and a way, and the Way of Holiness it will be called.” וְדֶרֶךְ (vÿderekh, “and a/the way”) is accidentally duplicated; the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does not reflect the repetition of the phrase.

[35:8]  ⁶ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The text reads literally “and it is for them, the one who walks [on the] way.” In this context those authorized to use the Way of Holiness would be morally upright people who are the recipients of God’s deliverance, in contrast to the morally impure and foolish who are excluded from the new covenant community.

[35:8]  ⁷ tn In this context “fools” are those who are morally corrupt, not those with limited intellectual capacity.

[6:16]  ⁸ tn The words, “to his people” are not in the text but are implicit in the interchange of pronouns in the Hebrew of vv. 16-17. They are supplied in the translation here for clarity.

[6:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “Stand at the crossroads and look.”

[6:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the ancient path,” i.e., the path the Lord set out in ancient times (cf. Deut 32:7).

[6:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the way of/to the good.”

[22:16]  ¹² sn The Herodians are mentioned in the NT only once in Matt (22:16 = Mark 12:13) and twice in Mark (3:6; 12:13; some mss also read “Herodians” instead of “Herod” in Mark 8:15). It is generally assumed that as a group the Herodians were Jewish supporters of the Herodian dynasty (or of Herod Antipas in particular). In every instance they are linked with the Pharisees. This probably reflects agreement regarding political objectives (nationalism as opposed to submission to the yoke of Roman oppression) rather than philosophy or religious beliefs.

[22:16]  ¹³ sn Teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Very few comments are as deceitful as this one; they did not really believe this at all. The question of the Pharisees and Herodians was specifically designed to trap Jesus.

[22:16]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “And it is not a concern to you about anyone because you do not see the face of men.”

[12:14]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and it is not a concern to you about anyone because you do not see the face of men.”

[12:14]  ¹⁶ sn Teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Very few comments are as deceitful as this one; they did not really believe this at all. The question of the Pharisees and Herodians was specifically designed to trap Jesus.

[12:14]  ¹⁷ tn Or “lawful,” that is, in accordance with God’s divine law. On the syntax of ἔξεστιν (exestin) with an infinitive and accusative, see BDF §409.3.

[12:14]  ¹⁸ tn According to L&N 57.180 the term κῆνσος (khnso") was borrowed from Latin and referred to a poll tax, a tax paid by each adult male to the Roman government.

[12:14]  ¹⁹ tn Or “the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[14:6]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

[14:6]  ²¹ tn Or “I am the way, even the truth and the life.”

[13:10]  ²² tn Or “unscrupulousness.”

[13:10]  ²³ sn “You who…paths of the Lord?” This rebuke is like ones from the OT prophets: Jer 5:27; Gen 32:11; Prov 10:7; Hos 14:9. Five separate remarks indicate the magician’s failings. The closing rhetorical question of v. 10 (“will you not stop…?”) shows how opposed he is to the way of God.

[16:17]  ²⁴ tn Grk “crying out, saying”; the participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant in English and has not been translated. The imperfect verb ἔκραζεν (ekrazen) has been translated as a progressive imperfect.

[16:17]  ²⁵ tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18. The translation “servants” was used here because in this context there appears to be more emphasis on the activity of Paul and his companions (“proclaiming to you the way of salvation”) than on their status as “slaves of the Most High God.”

[16:17]  ²⁶ tn Or “a way.” The grammar of this phrase is a bit ambiguous. The phrase in Greek is ὁδὸν σωτηρίας (Jodon swthria"). Neither the head noun nor the genitive noun has the article; this is in keeping with Apollonius’ Canon (see ExSyn 239-40). Since both nouns are anarthrous, this construction also fits Apollonius’ Corollary (see ExSyn 250-54); since the genitive noun is abstract it is most naturally qualitative, so the head noun could either be definite or indefinite without being unusual as far as the grammar is concerned. Luke’s usage of ὁδός elsewhere is indecisive as far as this passage is concerned. However, when one looks at the historical background it is clear that (1) the woman is shut up (via exorcism) not because her testimony is false but because of its source (analogous to Jesus’ treatment of demons perhaps), and (b) “the way” is a par excellence description of the new faith throughout Acts. It thus seems that at least in Luke’s presentation “the way of salvation” is the preferred translation.

[16:17]  ²⁷ sn Proclaiming to you the way of salvation. The remarks were an ironic recognition of Paul’s authority, but he did not desire such a witness, possibly for fear of confusion. Her expression the Most High God might have been understood as Zeus by the audience.

[18:26]  ²⁸ tn Or “boldly.” This is a frequent term in Acts (9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 19:8; 26:26).

[18:26]  ²⁹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:26]  ³⁰ sn Priscilla and Aquila. This key couple, of which Priscilla was an important enough figure to be mentioned by name, instructed Apollos about the most recent work of God. See also the note on Aquila in 18:2.

[18:26]  ³¹ tn BDAG 883 s.v. προσλαμβάνω 3 has “take aside, mid. τινά someone…So prob. also Ac 18:26: Priscilla and Aquila take Apollos aside to teach him undisturbed.”

[19:9]  ³² tn BDAG 1105-6 s.v. ὡς 8.b lists this use as a temporal conjunction.

[19:9]  ³³ tn Or “some became hardened.” See BDAG 930 s.v. σκληρύνω b and Acts 7:51-53.

[19:9]  ³⁴ tn Or “speaking evil of.” BDAG 500 s.v. κακολογέω has “speak evil of, revile, insult…τὶ someth. τὴν ὁδόν the Way (i.e. Christian way of life) Ac 19:9.”

[19:9]  ³⁵ sn The Way refers to the Christian movement (Christianity). Luke frequently refers to it as “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).

[19:9]  ³⁶ tn Grk “leaving them, he took.” The participle ἀποστάς (apostas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:9]  ³⁷ tn The words “with him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[19:9]  ³⁸ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 19:9. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[19:9]  ³⁹ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[19:9]  ⁴⁰ tn The “lecture hall” was a place where teachers and pupils met. The term is a NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 982 s.v. σχολή). L&N 7.14 notes, “it is better to use a translation such as ‘lecture hall’ rather than ‘school,’ since one does not wish to give the impression of the typical classroom situation characteristic of present-day schools.”

[24:14]  ⁴¹ tn Or “serve.”

[24:14]  ⁴² tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[24:14]  ⁴³ sn That is, the law of Moses. Paul was claiming that he legitimately worshiped the God of Israel. He was arguing that this amounted to a religious dispute rather than a political one, so that the Roman authorities need not concern themselves with it.