Acts 1:17

1:17 for he was counted as one of us and received a share in this ministry.” ¹ 

Acts 9:15

9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument ²  to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. ³ 

Acts 22:21

22:21 Then ⁴  he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

Acts 26:17-18

26:17 I will rescue ⁵  you from your own people ⁶  and from the Gentiles, to whom ⁷  I am sending you 26:18 to open their eyes so that they turn ⁸  from darkness to light and from the power ⁹  of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share ¹⁰  among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Acts 26:1

Paul Offers His Defense

26:1 So Agrippa ¹¹  said to Paul, “You have permission ¹²  to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand ¹³  and began his defense: ¹⁴ 

Colossians 1:17-18

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together ¹⁵  in him.

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ¹⁶  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ¹⁷ 

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ¹⁸  brothers and sisters ¹⁹  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ²⁰  from God our Father! ²¹ 

Colossians 4:1

4:1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

Galatians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²²  an apostle (not from men, nor by human agency, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead)

Titus 1:3

1:3 But now in his own time ²³  he has made his message evident through the preaching I was entrusted with according to the command of God our Savior.

[1:17]  ¹ tn Or “and was chosen to have a share in this ministry.” The term λαγχάνω (lancanw) here and in 2 Pet 1:1 can be understood as referring to the process of divine choice and thus be translated, “was chosen to have.”

[9:15]  ² tn Or “tool.”

[9:15]  ³ tn Grk “the sons of Israel.” In Acts, Paul is a minister to all nations, including Israel (Rom 1:16-17).

[22:21]  ⁴ tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to Paul’s reply in v. 19, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[26:17]  ⁵ tn Grk “rescuing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle ἐξαιρούμενος (exairoumeno") has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 17.

[26:17]  ⁶ tn That is, from the Jewish people. Grk “the people”; the words “your own” have been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[26:17]  ⁷ tn The antecedent of the relative pronoun is probably both the Jews (“your own people”) and the Gentiles, indicating the comprehensive commission Paul received.

[26:18]  ⁸ sn To open their eyes so that they turn… Here is Luke’s most comprehensive report of Paul’s divine calling. His role was to call humanity to change their position before God and experience God’s forgiveness as a part of God’s family. The image of turning is a key one in the NT: Luke 1:79; Rom 2:19; 13:12; 2 Cor 4:6; 6:14; Eph 5:8; Col 1:12; 1 Thess 5:5. See also Luke 1:77-79; 3:3; 24:47.

[26:18]  ⁹ tn BDAG 352-53 s.v. ἐξουσία 2 states, “Also of Satan’s power Ac 26:18.” It is also possible to translate this “the domain of Satan” (cf. BDAG 353 s.v. 6)

[26:18]  ¹⁰ tn Or “and an inheritance.”

[26:1]  ¹¹ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:1]  ¹² tn Grk “It is permitted for you.”

[26:1]  ¹³ tn Or “extended his hand” (a speaker’s gesture).

[26:1]  ¹⁴ tn Or “and began to speak in his own defense.”

[1:17]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.

[1:18]  ¹⁶ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

[1:18]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”

[1:2]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ²¹ 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.

[1:1]  ²² tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:3]  ²³ tn The Greek text emphasizes the contrast between vv. 2b and 3a: God promised this long ago but now has revealed it in his own time.