Acts 15:13

15:13 After they stopped speaking, ¹  James replied, ²  “Brothers, listen to me.

Galatians 1:19

1:19 But I saw none of the other apostles ³  except James the Lord’s brother.

Galatians 2:9

2:9 and when James, Cephas, ⁴  and John, who had a reputation as ⁵  pillars, ⁶  recognized ⁷  the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me ⁸  the right hand of fellowship, agreeing ⁹  that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ¹⁰ 

James 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From James, ¹¹  a slave ¹²  of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. ¹³  Greetings!

[15:13]  ¹ tn BDAG 922 s.v. σιγάω 1.b lists this passage under the meaning “stop speaking, become silent.”

[15:13]  ² tn Grk “answered, saying”; the redundant participle λέγων (legwn) has not been translated.

[1:19]  ³ tn Grk “But another of the apostles I did not see, except…” with “another” in emphatic position in the Greek text. Paul is determined to make the point that his contacts with the original twelve apostles and other leaders of the Jerusalem church were limited, thus asserting his independence from them.

[2:9]  ⁴ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[2:9]  ⁵ tn Or “who were influential as,” or “who were reputed to be.” See also the note on the word “influential” in 2:6.

[2:9]  ⁶ sn Pillars is figurative here for those like James, Peter, and John who were leaders in the Jerusalem church.

[2:9]  ⁷ tn The participle γνόντες (gnontes) has been taken temporally. It is structurally parallel to the participle translated “when they saw” in v. 7.

[2:9]  ⁸ tn Grk “me and Barnabas.”

[2:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “so,” with the ἵνα (Jina) indicating the result of the “pillars” extending the “right hand of fellowship,” but the translation “they gave…the right hand of fellowship so that we would go” could be misunderstood as purpose here. The implication of the scene is that an agreement, outlined at the end of v. 10, was reached between Paul and Barnabas on the one hand and the “pillars” of the Jerusalem church on the other.

[2:9]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.

[1:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ¹² tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.