Acts 20:28

20:28 Watch out for ¹  yourselves and for all the flock of which ²  the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, ³  to shepherd the church of God ⁴  that he obtained ⁵  with the blood of his own Son. ⁶ 

Acts 20:1

Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece

20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging ⁷  them and saying farewell, ⁸  he left to go to Macedonia. ⁹ 

Colossians 1:28

1:28 We proclaim him by instructing ¹⁰  and teaching ¹¹  all people ¹²  with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature ¹³  in Christ.

Titus 1:5

Titus’ Task on Crete

1:5 The reason I left you in Crete was to set in order the remaining matters and to appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.

Hebrews 13:7

13:7 Remember your leaders, who spoke God’s message to you; reflect on the outcome of their lives and imitate their faith.

Hebrews 13:17

13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. ¹⁴  Let them do this ¹⁵  with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you.

Hebrews 13:1

Final Exhortations

13:1 Brotherly love must continue.

Hebrews 5:2-3

5:2 He is able to deal compassionately with those who are ignorant and erring, since he also is subject to weakness, 5:3 and for this reason he is obligated to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.

Revelation 1:20--2:1

1:20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: ¹⁶  The seven stars are the angels ¹⁷  of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

To the Church in Ephesus

2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus, ¹⁸  write the following: ¹⁹ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ²⁰  the one who has a firm grasp on ²¹  the seven stars in his right hand ²²  – the one who walks among the seven golden ²³  lampstands:

Revelation 2:8

To the Church in Smyrna

2:8 “To ²⁴  the angel of the church in Smyrna write the following: ²⁵ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ²⁶  the one who is the first and the last, the one who was dead, but ²⁷  came to life:

Revelation 2:12

To the Church in Pergamum

2:12 “To ²⁸  the angel of the church in Pergamum write the following: ²⁹ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ³⁰  the one who has the sharp double-edged sword: ³¹ 

Revelation 2:18

To the Church in Thyatira

2:18 “To ³²  the angel of the church in Thyatira write the following: ³³ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ³⁴  the Son of God, the one who has eyes like a fiery flame ³⁵  and whose feet are like polished bronze: ³⁶ 

Revelation 3:1

To the Church in Sardis

3:1 “To ³⁷  the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: ³⁸ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ³⁹  the one who holds ⁴⁰  the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation ⁴¹  that you are alive, but ⁴²  in reality ⁴³  you are dead.

Revelation 3:7

To the Church in Philadelphia

3:7 “To ⁴⁴  the angel of the church in Philadelphia write the following: ⁴⁵ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ⁴⁶  the Holy One, the True One, who holds the key of David, who opens doors ⁴⁷  no one can shut, and shuts doors ⁴⁸  no one can open:

Revelation 3:14

To the Church in Laodicea

3:14 “To ⁴⁹  the angel of the church in Laodicea write the following: ⁵⁰ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ⁵¹  the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator ⁵²  of God’s creation:

[20:28]  ¹ tn Or “Be on your guard for” (cf. v. 29). Paul completed his responsibility to the Ephesians with this warning.

[20:28]  ² tn Grk “in which.”

[20:28]  ³ tn Or “guardians.” BDAG 379-80 s.v. ἐπίσκοπος 2 states, “The term was taken over in Christian communities in ref. to one who served as overseer or supervisor, with special interest in guarding the apostolic tradition…Ac 20:28.” This functional term describes the role of the elders (see v. 17). They were to guard and shepherd the congregation.

[20:28]  ⁴ tc The reading “of God” (τοῦ θεοῦ, tou qeou) is found in א B 614 1175 1505 al vg sy; other witnesses have “of the Lord” (τοῦ κυρίου, tou kuriou) here (so Ì⁷⁴ A C* D E Ψ 33 1739 al co), while the majority of the later minuscule mss conflate these two into “of the Lord and God” (τοῦ κυρίου καὶ [τοῦ] θεοῦ, tou kuriou kai [tou] qeou). Although the evidence is evenly balanced between the first two readings, τοῦ θεοῦ is decidedly superior on internal grounds. The final prepositional phrase of this verse, διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου (dia tou {aimato" tou idiou), could be rendered “through his own blood” or “through the blood of his own.” In the latter translation, the object that “own” modifies must be supplied (see tn below for discussion). But this would not be entirely clear to scribes; those who supposed that ἰδίου modified αἵματος would be prone to alter “God” to “Lord” to avoid the inference that God had blood. In a similar way, later scribes would be prone to conflate the two titles, thereby affirming the deity (with the construction τοῦ κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ following the Granville Sharp rule and referring to a single person [see ExSyn 272, 276-77, 290]) and substitutionary atonement of Christ. For these reasons, τοῦ θεοῦ best explains the rise of the other readings and should be considered authentic.

[20:28]  ⁵ tn Or “acquired.”

[20:28]  ⁶ tn Or “with his own blood”; Grk “with the blood of his own.” The genitive construction could be taken in two ways: (1) as an attributive genitive (second attributive position) meaning “his own blood”; or (2) as a possessive genitive, “with the blood of his own.” In this case the referent is the Son, and the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. See further C. F. DeVine, “The Blood of God,” CBQ 9 (1947): 381-408.

[20:1]  ⁷ tn Or “exhorting.”

[20:1]  ⁸ tn Or “and taking leave of them.”

[20:1]  ⁹ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[1:28]  ¹⁰ tn Or “admonishing,” or “warning.” BDAG 679 s.v. νουθετέω states, “to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct,, admonish, warn, instruct.” After the participle νουθετοῦντες (nouqetounte", “instructing”) the words πάντα ἄνθρωπον (panta anqrwpon, “all men”) occur in the Greek text, but since the same phrase appears again after διδάσκοντες (didaskontes) it was omitted in translation to avoid redundancy in English.

[1:28]  ¹¹ tn The two participles “instructing” (νουθετοῦντες, nouqetounte") and “teaching” (διδάσκοντες, didaskonte") are translated as participles of means (“by”) related to the finite verb “we proclaim” (καταγγέλλομεν, katangellomen).

[1:28]  ¹² tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon) is twice translated as a generic (“people” and “person”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.

[1:28]  ¹³ tn Since Paul’s focus is on the present experience of the Colossians, “mature” is a better translation of τέλειον (teleion) than “perfect,” since the latter implies a future, eschatological focus.

[13:17]  ¹⁴ tn Or “as ones who will give an account”; Grk “as giving an account.”

[13:17]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “that they may do this.”

[1:20]  ¹⁶ tn The words “is this” are supplied to make a complete sentence in English.

[1:20]  ¹⁷ tn Or perhaps “the messengers.”

[2:1]  ¹⁸ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[2:1]  ¹⁹ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” The expression τάδε λέγει (tade legei) occurs eight times in the NT, seven of which are in Rev 2-3. “The pronoun is used to add solemnity to the prophetic utterance that follows. …In classical drama, it was used to introduce a new actor to the scene (Smyth, Greek Grammar, 307 [§1241]). But the τάδε λέγει formula in the NT derives from the OT, where it was used to introduce a prophetic utterance (BAGD, s.v. ὅδε, 1)” (ExSyn 328). Thus, the translation “this is the solemn pronouncement of” for τάδε λέγει is very much in keeping with the OT connotations of this expression.

[2:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “holds,” but the term (i.e., κρατῶν, kratwn) with an accusative object, along with the context, argues for a sense of firmness. (Cf. ExSyn 132.)

[2:1]  ²² sn On seven stars in his right hand see 1:16.

[2:1]  ²³ tn Grk “lampstands of gold” with the genitive τῶν χρυσῶν (twn cruswn) translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:8]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[2:8]  ²⁵ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:8]  ²⁶ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[2:8]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present between these two phrases.

[2:12]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[2:12]  ²⁹ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:12]  ³⁰ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[2:12]  ³¹ sn On the sharp double-edged sword see 1:16.

[2:18]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[2:18]  ³³ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:18]  ³⁴ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[2:18]  ³⁵ tn Grk “a flame of fire.” The Greek term πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:18]  ³⁶ tn The precise meaning of the term translated “polished bronze” (χαλκολιβάνῳ, calkolibanw), which appears no where else in Greek literature outside of the book of Revelation (see 1:15), is uncertain. Without question it is some sort of metal. BDAG 1076 s.v. χαλκολίβανον suggests “fine brass/bronze.” L&N 2.57 takes the word to refer to particularly valuable or fine bronze, but notes that the emphasis here and in Rev 1:15 is more on the lustrous quality of the metal.

[3:1]  ³⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[3:1]  ³⁸ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[3:1]  ³⁹ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[3:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “who has” (cf. 1:16).

[3:1]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “a name.”

[3:1]  ⁴² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[3:1]  ⁴³ tn The prepositional phrase “in reality” is supplied in the translation to make explicit the idea that their being alive was only an illusion.

[3:7]  ⁴⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[3:7]  ⁴⁵ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[3:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[3:7]  ⁴⁷ tn The word “door” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied in the translation. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context. Since the following verse does contain the word “door” (θύραν, quran), that word has been supplied as the direct object here.

[3:7]  ⁴⁸ tn See the note on the word “door” earlier in this verse.

[3:14]  ⁴⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[3:14]  ⁵⁰ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[3:14]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[3:14]  ⁵² tn Or “the beginning of God’s creation”; or “the ruler of God’s creation.” From a linguistic standpoint all three meanings for ἀρχή (arch) are possible. The term is well attested in both LXX (Gen 40:13, 21; 41:13) and intertestamental Jewish literature (2 Macc 4:10, 50) as meaning “ruler, authority” (BDAG 138 s.v. 6). Some have connected this passage to Paul’s statements in Col 1:15, 18 which describe Christ as ἀρχή and πρωτότοκος (prwtotoko"; e.g., see R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 124) but the term ἀρχή has been understood as either “beginning” or “ruler” in that passage as well. The most compelling connection is to be found in the prologue to John’s Gospel (1:2-4) where the λόγος (logos) is said to be “in the beginning (ἀρχή) with God,” a temporal reference connected with creation, and then v. 3 states that “all things were made through him.” The connection with the original creation suggests the meaning “originator” for ἀρχή here. BDAG 138 s.v. 3 gives the meaning “the first cause” for the word in Rev 3:14, a term that is too philosophical for the general reader, so the translation “originator” was used instead. BDAG also notes, “but the mng. beginning = ‘first created’ is linguistically probable (s. above 1b and Job 40:19; also CBurney, Christ as the ᾿Αρχή of Creation: JTS 27, 1926, 160-77).” Such a meaning is unlikely here, however, since the connections described above are much more probable.