Acts 20:23-24

20:23 except ¹  that the Holy Spirit warns ²  me in town after town ³  that ⁴  imprisonment ⁵  and persecutions ⁶  are waiting for me. 20:24 But I do not consider my life ⁷  worth anything ⁸  to myself, so that ⁹  I may finish my task ¹⁰  and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news ¹¹  of God’s grace.

Acts 21:11-13

21:11 He came ¹²  to us, took ¹³  Paul’s belt, ¹⁴  tied ¹⁵  his own hands and feet with it, ¹⁶  and said, “The Holy Spirit says this: ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will hand him over ¹⁷  to the Gentiles.’” 21:12 When we heard this, both we and the local people ¹⁸  begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 21:13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking ¹⁹  my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, ²⁰  but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Acts 26:29

26:29 Paul replied, “I pray to God that whether in a short or a long time ²¹  not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains.” ²² 

Acts 26:31

26:31 and as they were leaving they said to one another, ²³  “This man is not doing anything deserving ²⁴  death or imprisonment.”

Acts 28:17

Paul Addresses the Jewish Community in Rome

28:17 After three days ²⁵  Paul ²⁶  called the local Jewish leaders ²⁷  together. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, ²⁸  although I had done ²⁹  nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, ³⁰  from Jerusalem ³¹  I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans. ³² 

Acts 28:20

28:20 So for this reason I have asked to see you and speak with you, for I am bound with this chain because of the hope of Israel.” ³³ 

Ephesians 3:1

Paul's Relationship to the Divine Mystery

3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus ³⁴  for the sake of you Gentiles –

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ³⁵  urge you to live ³⁶  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ³⁷ 

Ephesians 6:20

6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.

Colossians 4:3-18

4:3 At the same time pray ³⁸  for us too, that ³⁹  God may open a door for the message ⁴⁰  so that we may proclaim ⁴¹  the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ⁴²  4:4 Pray that I may make it known as I should. ⁴³  4:5 Conduct yourselves ⁴⁴  with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities. 4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.

Personal Greetings and Instructions

4:7 Tychicus, a dear brother, faithful minister, and fellow slave ⁴⁵  in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. ⁴⁶  4:8 I sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are doing ⁴⁷  and that he may encourage your hearts. 4:9 I sent him ⁴⁸  with Onesimus, the faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. ⁴⁹  They will tell ⁵⁰  you about everything here.

4:10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him). 4:11 And Jesus who is called Justus also sends greetings. In terms of Jewish converts, ⁵¹  these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ⁵²  of Christ, ⁵³  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ⁵⁴  in all the will of God. 4:13 For I can testify that he has worked hard ⁵⁵  for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. 4:14 Our dear friend Luke the physician and Demas greet you. 4:15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters ⁵⁶  who are in Laodicea and to Nympha and the church that meets in her ⁵⁷  house. ⁵⁸  4:16 And after ⁵⁹  you have read this letter, have it read ⁶⁰  to the church of Laodicea. In turn, read the letter from Laodicea ⁶¹  as well. 4:17 And tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the ministry you received in the Lord.”

4:18 I, Paul, write this greeting by my own hand. ⁶²  Remember my chains. ⁶³  Grace be with you. ⁶⁴ 

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

[20:23]  ² 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]  ³ tn The Greek text here reads κατὰ πόλιν (kata polin).

[20:23]  ⁴ tn Grk “saying that,” but the participle λέγον (legon) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[20:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “bonds.”

[20:23]  ⁶ tn Or “troubles,” “suffering.” See Acts 19:21; 21:4, 11.

[20:24]  ⁷ tn Grk “soul.”

[20:24]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Or “to the gospel.”

[21:11]  ¹² tn Grk “And coming.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here. The participle ἐλθών (elqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ¹³ tn Grk “and taking.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. The participle ἄρας (aras) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ¹⁴ sn The belt was a band or sash used to keep money as well as to gird up the tunic (BDAG 431 s.v. ζώνη).

[21:11]  ¹⁵ tn The participle δήσας (dhsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ¹⁶ tn The words “with it” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[21:11]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “and will deliver him over into the hands of” (a Semitic idiom).

[21:12]  ¹⁸ tn Or “the people there.”

[21:13]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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.

[26:29]  ²¹ tn BDAG 703 s.v. ὀλίγος 2.b.β has “καὶ ἐν ὀλ. καὶ ἐν μεγάλῳ whether in a short or a long time vs. 29 (cf. B-D-F §195; GWhitaker, The Words of Agrippa to St. Paul: JTS 15, 1914, 82f; AFridrichsen, SymbOsl 14, ’35, 50; Field, Notes 141-43; s. Rob. 653).”

[26:29]  ²² sn Except for these chains. The chains represented Paul’s unjust suffering for the sake of the message. His point was, in effect, “I do not care how long it takes. I only hope you and everyone else hearing this would become believers in Christ, but without my unjust suffering.”

[26:31]  ²³ tn Grk “they spoke to one another saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[26:31]  ²⁴ tn BDAG 93 s.v. ἄξιος 1.b has “θανάτου ἢ δεσμῶν ἄ. nothing deserving death or imprisonment 23:29; 26:31.”

[28:17]  ²⁵ tn Grk “It happened that after three days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[28:17]  ²⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:17]  ²⁷ tn L&N 33.309 has “‘after three days, he called the local Jewish leaders together’ Ac 28:17.”

[28:17]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Men brothers,” but this is both awkward and unnecessary in English.

[28:17]  ²⁹ tn The participle ποιήσας (poihsas) has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[28:17]  ³⁰ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[28:17]  ³¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[28:17]  ³² tn Grk “into the hands of the Romans,” but this is redundant when παρεδόθην (paredoqhn) has been translated “handed over.”

[28:20]  ³³ sn The hope of Israel. A reference to Israel’s messianic hope. Paul’s preaching was in continuity with this Jewish hope (Acts 1:3; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25).

[3:1]  ³⁴ tc Several early and important witnesses, chiefly of the Western text (א* D* F G [365]), lack ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) here, while most Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (Ì⁴⁶ א¹ A B [C] D¹ Ψ 33 1739 [1881] Ï lat sy bo) have the word. However, because of the Western text’s proclivities to add or delete to the text, seemingly at whim, serious doubts should be attached to the shorter reading. It is strengthened, however, by א’s support. Nevertheless, since both א and D were corrected with the addition of ᾿Ιησοῦ, their testimony might be questioned. Further, in uncial script the nomina sacra here could have led to missing a word by way of homoioteleuton (cMuiMu). At the same time, in light of the rarity of scribal omission of nomina sacra (see TCGNT 582, n. 1), a decision for inclusion of the word here must be tentative. NA²⁷ rightly places ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets.

[4:1]  ³⁵ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ³⁶ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ³⁷ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[4:3]  ³⁸ tn Though προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi) is an adverbial participle related to the previous imperative, προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite), it is here translated as an independent clause due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:3]  ³⁹ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been rendered as substantival here, indicating the content of the prayer rather than the purpose for it. These two ideas are very similar and difficult to differentiate in this passage, but the conjunction ἵνα following a verb of praying is generally regarded as giving the content of the prayer.

[4:3]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “that God may open for us a door of the word to speak the mystery of Christ.” The construction in Greek is somewhat awkward in this clause. The translation attempts to simplify this structure somewhat and yet communicate exactly what Paul is asking for.

[4:3]  ⁴¹ tn Or “so that we may speak.”

[4:3]  ⁴² tn Or “in prison.”

[4:4]  ⁴³ tn The phrase begins with the ἵνα (Jina) clause and is subordinate to the imperative προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite) in v. 2. The reference to the idea that Paul must make it known indicates that this clause is probably best viewed as purpose and not content, like the ἵνα of v. 3. It is the second purpose stated in the context; the first is expressed through the infinitive λαλῆσαι (lalhsai) in v. 3. The term “pray” at the beginning of the sentence is intended to pick up the imperative of v. 3.

[4:5]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “walk.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is a common NT idiom for one’s lifestyle, behavior, or manner of conduct (L&N 41.11).

[4:7]  ⁴⁵ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “all things according to me.”

[4:8]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “the things concerning us.”

[4:9]  ⁴⁸ tn The Greek sentence continues v. 9 with the phrase “with Onesimus,” but this is awkward in English, so the verb “I sent” was inserted and a new sentence started at the beginning of v. 9 in the translation.

[4:9]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “is of you.”

[4:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “will make known to you.” This has been simplified in the translation to “will tell.”

[4:11]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” The verse as a whole is difficult to translate because it is unclear whether Paul is saying (1) that the only people working with him are Jewish converts at the time the letter is being written or previously, or (2) that Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus Justus were the only Jewish Christians who ever worked with him. Verses 12-14 appear to indicate that Luke and Demas, who were Gentiles, were also working currently with Paul. This is the view adopted in the translation. See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 207-8.

[4:12]  ⁵² tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:12]  ⁵³ tc ‡ Strong Alexandrian testimony, along with some other witnesses, suggests that ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) follows Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “Christ”; so א A B C I L 0278 33 81 365 629 1175 2464 al lat), but the evidence for the shorter reading is diverse (Ì⁴⁶ D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï it sy Hier), cutting across all major texttypes. There can be little motivation for omitting the name of Jesus; hence, the shorter reading is judged to be original. NA²⁷ has ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[4:12]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “filled.”

[4:13]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “pain.” This word appears only three times in the NT outside of this verse (Rev 16:10, 11; 21:4) where the translation “pain” makes sense. For the present verse it has been translated “worked hard.” See BDAG 852 s.v. πόνος 1.

[4:15]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[4:15]  ⁵⁷ tc If the name Nympha is accented with a circumflex on the ultima (Νυμφᾶν, Numfan), then it refers to a man; if it receives an acute accent on the penult (Νύμφαν), the reference is to a woman. Scribes that considered Nympha to be a man’s name had the corresponding masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ here (autou, “his”; so D [F G] Ψ Ï), while those who saw Nympha as a woman read the feminine αὐτῆς here (auth", “her”; B 0278 6 1739^[*^] 1881 sa). Several mss (א A C P 075 33 81 104 326 1175 2464 bo) have αὐτῶν (autwn, “their”), perhaps because of indecisiveness on the gender of Nympha, perhaps because they included ἀδελφούς (adelfou", here translated “brothers and sisters”) as part of the referent. (Perhaps because accents were not part of the original text, scribes were particularly confused here.) The harder reading is certainly αὐτῆς, and thus Nympha should be considered a woman.

[4:15]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “the church in her house.” The meaning is that Paul sends greetings to the church that meets at Nympha’s house.

[4:16]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “when.”

[4:16]  ⁶⁰ tn The construction beginning with the imperative ποιήσατε ἵνα…ἀναγνωσθῇ (poihsate Jina…anagnwsqh) should be translated as “have it read” where the conjunction ἵνα functions to mark off its clause as the direct object of the imperative ποιήσατε. The content of the clause (“reading the letter”) is what Paul commands with the imperative ποιήσατε. Thus the translation “have it read” has been used here.

[4:16]  ⁶¹ sn This letter is otherwise unknown, but some have suggested that it is the letter known today as Ephesians.

[4:18]  ⁶² tn Grk “the greeting by my hand, of Paul.”

[4:18]  ⁶³ tn Or “my imprisonment.”

[4:18]  ⁶⁴ tc Most witnesses, including a few important ones (א² D Ψ 075 0278 Ï lat sy), conclude this letter with ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”). Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, the external evidence for the omission is quite compelling (א* A B C F G 048 6 33 81 1739* 1881 sa). The strongly preferred reading is therefore the omission of ἀμήν.