Acts 9:36-41

Peter Raises Dorcas

9:36 Now in Joppa ¹  there was a disciple named Tabitha (which in translation means ²  Dorcas). ³  She was continually doing good deeds and acts of charity. ⁴  9:37 At that time ⁵  she became sick ⁶  and died. When they had washed ⁷  her body, ⁸  they placed it in an upstairs room. 9:38 Because Lydda ⁹  was near Joppa, when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Come to us without delay.” ¹⁰  9:39 So Peter got up and went with them, and ¹¹  when he arrived ¹²  they brought him to the upper room. All ¹³  the widows stood beside him, crying and showing him ¹⁴  the tunics ¹⁵  and other clothing ¹⁶  Dorcas used to make ¹⁷  while she was with them. 9:40 But Peter sent them all outside, ¹⁸  knelt down, ¹⁹  and prayed. Turning ²⁰  to the body, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ²¹  9:41 He gave ²²  her his hand and helped her get up. Then he called ²³  the saints and widows and presented her alive.

Romans 12:13

12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality.

Romans 15:25

15:25 But now I go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints.

Romans 16:2

16:2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and provide her with whatever help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many, including me.

Romans 16:2

16:2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and provide her with whatever help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many, including me.

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ²⁴  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²⁵  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:12-15

1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ²⁶  in the saints’ ²⁷  inheritance in the light. 1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ²⁸  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ²⁹  the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ³⁰ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ³¹  over all creation, ³² 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³³  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ³⁴  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ³⁵  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Philemon 1:7

1:7 I ³⁶  have had great joy and encouragement because ³⁷  of your love, for the hearts ³⁸  of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

Hebrews 6:10

6:10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name, in having served and continuing to serve the saints.

Hebrews 6:1

6:1 Therefore we must progress beyond ³⁹  the elementary ⁴⁰  instructions about Christ ⁴¹  and move on ⁴²  to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,

Hebrews 4:10

4:10 For the one who enters God’s ⁴³  rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.

[9:36]  ¹ sn Joppa was a seaport on the Philistine coast, in the same location as modern Jaffa. “Though Joppa never became a major seaport, it was of some importance as a logistical base and an outlet to the Mediterranean” (A. F. Rainey, ISBE 2:1118-19).

[9:36]  ² tn Grk “which being translated is called.” In English this would normally be expressed “which is translated as” or “which in translation means.” The second option is given by L&N 33.145.

[9:36]  ³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Dorcas is the Greek translation of the Aramaic name Tabitha. Dorcas in Greek means “gazelle” or “deer.”

[9:36]  ⁴ tn Or “and helping the poor.” Grk “She was full of good deeds and acts of charity which she was continually doing.” Since it is somewhat redundant in English to say “she was full of good deeds…which she was continually doing,” the translation has been simplified to “she was continually doing good deeds and acts of charity.” The imperfect verb ἐποίει (epoiei) has been translated as a progressive imperfect (“was continually doing”).

[9:37]  ⁵ tn Grk “It happened that in those 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.

[9:37]  ⁶ tn Grk “becoming sick, she died.” The participle ἀσθενήσασαν (asqenhsasan) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[9:37]  ⁷ tn The participle λούσαντες (lousante") is taken temporally.

[9:37]  ⁸ tn Grk “washed her,” but the reference is to her corpse.

[9:38]  ⁹ sn Lydda was a city northwest of Jerusalem on the way to Joppa.

[9:38]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Do not delay to come to us.” It is somewhat smoother to say in English, “Come to us without delay.”

[9:39]  ¹¹ tn Grk “who.” The relative clause makes for awkward English style here, so the following clause was made coordinate with the conjunction “and” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun.

[9:39]  ¹² tn The participle παραγενόμενον (paragenomenon) is taken temporally.

[9:39]  ¹³ tn Grk “and all.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[9:39]  ¹⁴ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[9:39]  ¹⁵ tn Or “shirts” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). The name for this garment (χιτών, citwn) presents some difficulty in translation. Most modern readers would not understand what a ‘tunic’ was any more than they would be familiar with a ‘chiton.’ On the other hand attempts to find a modern equivalent are also a problem: “shirt” conveys the idea of a much shorter garment that covers only the upper body, and “undergarment” (given the styles of modern underwear) is more misleading still. “Tunic” was therefore employed, but with a note to explain its nature.

[9:39]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and garments,” referring here to other types of clothing besides the tunics just mentioned.

[9:39]  ¹⁷ tn The verb ἐποίει (epoiei) has been translated as a customary imperfect.

[9:40]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Peter, sending them all outside, knelt down.” The participle ἐκβαλών (ekbalwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[9:40]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and kneeling down,” but 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. Instead the “and” is placed before the verb προσηύξατο (proshuxato, “and prayed”). The participle θείς (qeis) is taken as a participle of attendant circumstance.

[9:40]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and turning.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[9:40]  ²¹ sn She sat up. This event is told much like Luke 8:49-56 and Mark 5:35-43. Peter’s ministry mirrored that of Jesus.

[9:41]  ²² tn Grk “Giving her his hand, he helped her.” The participle δούς (dous) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[9:41]  ²³ tn Grk “Then calling the saints…he presented her.” The participle φωνήσας (fwnhsa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style; it could also be taken temporally (“After he called”).

[1:4]  ²⁴ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).

[1:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:12]  ²⁶ tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.

[1:12]  ²⁷ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”

[1:13]  ²⁸ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:14]  ²⁹ tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.

[1:15]  ³⁰ sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[1:15]  ³¹ tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).

[1:15]  ³² tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pash" ktisew") is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.

[1:1]  ³³ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:10]  ³⁴ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ³⁵ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:7]  ³⁶ tn Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.

[1:7]  ³⁷ tn The Greek preposition ἐπί (epi) is understood here in a causal sense, i.e., “because.”

[1:7]  ³⁸ tn The word translated “hearts” here is σπλάγχνα (splancna). Literally the term refers to one’s “inward parts,” but it is commonly used figuratively for “heart” as the seat of the emotions. See BDAG 938 s.v. σπλάγχνον 2 (cf. Col 3:12, Phil 2:1).

[6:1]  ³⁹ tn Grk “Therefore leaving behind.” The implication is not of abandoning this elementary information, but of building on it.

[6:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “basic.”

[6:1]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “the message of the beginning of Christ.”

[6:1]  ⁴² tn Grk “leaving behind…let us move on.”

[4:10]  ⁴³ tn Grk “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.