Acts 13:13

Paul and Barnabas at Pisidian Antioch

13:13 Then Paul and his companions put out to sea ¹  from Paphos ²  and came to Perga ³  in Pamphylia, ⁴  but John ⁵  left them and returned to Jerusalem. ⁶ 

Psalms 78:9

78:9 The Ephraimites ⁷  were armed with bows, ⁸ 

but they retreated in the day of battle. ⁹ 

Proverbs 25:19

25:19 Like a bad tooth or a foot out of joint, ¹⁰ 

so is confidence ¹¹  in an unfaithful person at the time of trouble. ¹² 

Luke 9:61

9:61 Yet ¹³  another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.” ¹⁴ 

Luke 14:27-34

14:27 Whoever does not carry his own cross ¹⁵  and follow ¹⁶  me cannot be my disciple. 14:28 For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t sit down ¹⁷  first and compute the cost ¹⁸  to see if he has enough money to complete it? 14:29 Otherwise, ¹⁹  when he has laid ²⁰  a foundation and is not able to finish the tower, ²¹  all who see it ²²  will begin to make fun of ²³  him. 14:30 They will say, ²⁴  ‘This man ²⁵  began to build and was not able to finish!’ ²⁶  14:31 Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down ²⁷  first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose ²⁸  the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 14:32 If he cannot succeed, ²⁹  he will send a representative ³⁰  while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace. ³¹  14:33 In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions. ³² 

14:34 “Salt ³³  is good, but if salt loses its flavor, ³⁴  how can its flavor be restored?

James 1:8

1:8 since he is a double-minded individual, ³⁵  unstable in all his ways.

[13:13]  ¹ tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”

[13:13]  ² sn Paphos was a city on the southwestern coast of the island of Cyprus. See Acts 13:6.

[13:13]  ³ sn Perga was a city in Pamphylia near the southern coast of Asia Minor. The journey from Paphos to Perga is about 105 mi (175 km).

[13:13]  ⁴ sn Pamphylia was a province in the southern part of Asia Minor.

[13:13]  ⁵ sn That is, John Mark.

[13:13]  ⁶ sn Returned to Jerusalem. John Mark had originally accompanied them from Jerusalem (see Acts 12:25). John Mark’s decision to leave became an issue later for Barnabas and Paul (Acts 15:36-39).

[78:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “the sons of Ephraim.” Ephraim probably stands here by synecdoche (part for whole) for the northern kingdom of Israel.

[78:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “ones armed, shooters of bow.” It is possible that the term נוֹשְׁקֵי (noshÿqey, “ones armed [with]”) is an interpretive gloss for the rare רוֹמֵי (romey, “shooters of”; on the latter see BDB 941 s.v. I רָמָה). The phrase נוֹשְׁקֵי קֶשֶׁת (noshÿqey qeshet, “ones armed with a bow”) appears in 1 Chr 12:2; 2 Chr 17:17.

[78:9]  ⁹ sn They retreated. This could refer to the northern tribes’ failure to conquer completely their allotted territory (see Judg 1), or it could refer generally to the typical consequence (military defeat) of their sin (see vv. 10-11).

[25:19]  ¹⁰ sn The similes in this emblematic parallelism focus on things that are incapable of performing certain activities – they are either too painful to use or are ineffective.

[25:19]  ¹¹ tn Since there is no preposition to clarify the construction, there are two ways to take the term מִבְטָח (mivtakh, “confidence”) in the context. It can either refer (1) to reliance on an unfaithful person, or it can refer (2) to that on which the unfaithful person relies. C. H. Toy argues for the second, that what the faithless person relies on will fail him in the time of trouble (Proverbs [ICC], 466). This view requires a slight change in the MT to make “confidence” a construct noun (i.e., the confidence of the faithless); the first view, which fits better the MT as it stands, says that “confidence [in] a faithless person” is like relying on a decaying tooth or a lame foot. This is the view preferred in most English versions, including the present one.

[25:19]  ¹² tn Heb “in the day of trouble”; KJV, NASB “in time of trouble.”

[9:61]  ¹³ tn Grk “And another also said.”

[9:61]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “to those in my house.”

[14:27]  ¹⁵ sn It was customary practice in a Roman crucifixion for the prisoner to be made to carry his own cross. Jesus is speaking figuratively here in the context of rejection. If the priority is not one’s allegiance to Jesus, then one will not follow him in the face of possible rejection; see Luke 9:23.

[14:27]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and come after.” In combination with the verb ἔρχομαι (ercomai) the improper preposition ὀπίσω (opisw) means “follow.”

[14:28]  ¹⁷ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[14:28]  ¹⁸ tn The first illustration involves checking to see if enough funds exist to build a watchtower. Both ψηφίζω (yhfizw, “compute”) and δαπάνη (dapanh, “cost”) are economic terms.

[14:29]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “to complete it, lest.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation and ἵνα μήποτε ({ina mhpote, “lest”) has been translated as “Otherwise.”

[14:29]  ²⁰ tn The participle θέντος (qentos) has been taken temporally.

[14:29]  ²¹ tn The words “the tower” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[14:29]  ²² tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[14:29]  ²³ tn Or “mock,” “ridicule.” The person who did not plan ahead becomes an object of joking and ridicule.

[14:30]  ²⁴ tn Grk “make fun of him, saying.”

[14:30]  ²⁵ sn The phrase this man is often used in Luke in a derogatory sense; see “this one” and expressions like it in Luke 5:21; 7:39; 13:32; 23:4, 14, 22, 35.

[14:30]  ²⁶ sn The failure to finish the building project leads to embarrassment (in a culture where avoiding public shame was extremely important). The half completed tower testified to poor preparation and planning.

[14:31]  ²⁷ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[14:31]  ²⁸ tn On the meaning of this verb see also L&N 55.3, “to meet in battle, to face in battle.”

[14:32]  ²⁹ tn Grk “And if not.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated; “succeed” is implied and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[14:32]  ³⁰ tn Grk “a messenger.”

[14:32]  ³¹ sn This image is slightly different from the former one about the tower (vv. 28-30). The first part of the illustration (sit down first and determine) deals with preparation. The second part of the illustration (ask for terms of peace) has to do with recognizing who is stronger. This could well suggest thinking about what refusing the “stronger one” (God) might mean, and thus constitutes a warning. Achieving peace with God, the more powerful king, is the point of the illustration.

[14:33]  ³² tn Grk “Likewise therefore every one of you who does not renounce all his own possessions cannot be my disciple.” The complex double negation is potentially confusing to the modern reader and has been simplified in the translation. See L&N 57.70.

[14:34]  ³³ tn Grk “Now salt…”; here οὖν has not been translated.

[14:34]  ³⁴ sn The difficulty of this saying is understanding how salt could lose its flavor since its chemical properties cannot change. It is thus often assumed that Jesus was referring to chemically impure salt, perhaps a natural salt which, when exposed to the elements, had all the genuine salt leached out, leaving only the sediment or impurities behind. Others have suggested the background of the saying is the use of salt blocks by Arab bakers to line the floor of their ovens: Under the intense heat these blocks would eventually crystallize and undergo a change in chemical composition, finally being thrown out as unserviceable. A saying in the Talmud (b. Bekhorot 8b) attributed to R. Joshua ben Chananja (ca. a.d. 90), when asked the question “When salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again?” is said to have replied, “By salting it with the afterbirth of a mule.” He was then asked, “Then does the mule (being sterile) bear young?” to which he replied: “Can salt lose its flavor?” The point appears to be, both are impossible. The saying, while admittedly late, suggests that culturally the loss of flavor by salt was regarded as an impossibility. Genuine salt can never lose its flavor. In this case the saying by Jesus here may be similar to Matt 19:24, where it is likewise impossible for the camel to go through the eye of a sewing needle.

[1:8]  ³⁵ tn Grk “a man of two minds,” continuing the description of the person in v. 7, giving the reason that he cannot expect to receive anything. The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person,” as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2).