Acts 1:10-11

1:10 As ¹  they were still staring into the sky while he was going, suddenly ²  two men in white clothing stood near them 1:11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here ³  looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven ⁴  will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.”

Acts 1:2

1:2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, ⁵  after he had given orders ⁶  by ⁷  the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.

Colossians 1:2-4

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁸  brothers and sisters ⁹  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ¹⁰  from God our Father! ¹¹ 

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ¹²  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 1:4 since ¹³  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

Revelation 4:1-3

The Amazing Scene in Heaven

4:1 After these things I looked, and there was ¹⁴  a door standing open in heaven! ¹⁵  And the first voice I had heard speaking to me ¹⁶  like a trumpet ¹⁷  said: “Come up here so that ¹⁸  I can show you what must happen after these things.” 4:2 Immediately I was in the Spirit, ¹⁹  and ²⁰  a throne was standing ²¹  in heaven with someone seated on it! 4:3 And the one seated on it was like jasper ²²  and carnelian ²³  in appearance, and a rainbow looking like it was made of emerald ²⁴  encircled the throne.

[1:10]  ¹ tn Grk “And as.” 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.

[1:10]  ² tn Grk “behold.”

[1:11]  ³ tn The word “here” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[1:11]  ⁴ tc Codex Bezae (D) and several other witnesses lack the words εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν (ei" ton ouranon, “into heaven”) here, most likely by way of accidental deletion. In any event, it is hardly correct to suppose that the Western text has intentionally suppressed references to the ascension of Christ here, for the phrase is solidly attested in the final clause of the verse.

[1:2]  ⁵ tn The words “to heaven” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied from v. 11. Several modern translations (NIV, NRSV) supply the words “to heaven” after “taken up” to specify the destination explicitly mentioned later in 1:11.

[1:2]  ⁶ tn Or “commands.” Although some modern translations render ἐντειλάμενος (enteilameno") as “instructions” (NIV, NRSV), the word implies authority or official sanction (G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:545), so that a word like “orders” conveys the idea more effectively. The action of the temporal participle is antecedent (prior) to the action of the verb it modifies (“taken up”).

[1:2]  ⁷ tn Or “through.”

[1:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ¹¹ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[1:3]  ¹² tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

[1:4]  ¹³ 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).

[4:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[4:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[4:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

[4:1]  ¹⁷ sn The phrase speaking to me like a trumpet refers back to Rev 1:10.

[4:1]  ¹⁸ tn The conjunction καί (kai), much like the vav-consecutive in Hebrew, appears to be introducing a final/purpose clause here rather than a coordinate clause.

[4:2]  ¹⁹ tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).

[4:2]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[4:2]  ²¹ tn BDAG 537 s.v. κεῖμαι 2 gives the translation “stand” for the term in this verse.

[4:3]  ²² tn Grk “jasper stone.”

[4:3]  ²³ sn Carnelian was a semiprecious gemstone, usually red in color (L&N 2.36).

[4:3]  ²⁴ tn Or “a rainbow emerald-like in appearance.”