Acts 16:25

16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying ¹  and singing hymns to God, ²  and the rest of ³  the prisoners were listening to them.

Acts 27:1

Paul and Company Sail for Rome

27:1 When it was decided we ⁴  would sail to Italy, ⁵  they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion ⁶  of the Augustan Cohort ⁷  named Julius.

Acts 28:17

Paul Addresses the Jewish Community in Rome

28:17 After three days ⁸  Paul ⁹  called the local Jewish leaders ¹⁰  together. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, ¹¹  although I had done ¹²  nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, ¹³  from Jerusalem ¹⁴  I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans. ¹⁵ 

Genesis 40:14-15

40:14 But remember me ¹⁶  when it goes well for you, and show ¹⁷  me kindness. ¹⁸  Make mention ¹⁹  of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison, ²⁰  40:15 for I really was kidnapped ²¹  from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.”

Ephesians 3:1

Paul's Relationship to the Divine Mystery

3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus ²²  for the sake of you Gentiles –

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ²³  urge you to live ²⁴  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ²⁵ 

Philemon 1:9

1:9 I would rather appeal ²⁶  to you on the basis of love – I, Paul, an old man ²⁷  and even now a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus ²⁸  –

[16:25]  ¹ tn Grk “praying, were singing.” The participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:25]  ² sn Praying and singing hymns to God. Tertullian said, “The legs feel nothing in the stocks when the heart is in heaven” (To the Martyrs 2; cf. Rom 5:3; Jas 1:2; 1 Pet 5:6). The presence of God means the potential to be free (cf. v. 26).

[16:25]  ³ tn The words “the rest of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[27:1]  ⁴ sn The last “we” section in Acts begins here and extends to 28:16 (the previous one ended at 21:18).

[27:1]  ⁵ sn Sail to Italy. This voyage with its difficulty serves to show how God protected Paul on his long journey to Rome. From the perspective of someone in Palestine, this may well picture “the end of the earth” quite literally (cf. Acts 1:8).

[27:1]  ⁶ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[27:1]  ⁷ tn According to BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός, “In σπεῖρα Σεβαστή 27:1 (cp. OGI 421) Σεβαστή is likew. an exact transl. of Lat. Augusta, an honorary title freq. given to auxiliary troops (Ptolem. renders it Σεβαστή in connection w. three legions that bore it: 2, 3, 30; 2, 9, 18; 4, 3, 30) imperial cohort.” According to W. Foerster (TDNT 7:175), “In Ac. 27:1 the σπεῖρα Σεβαστή is an expression also found elsewhere for ‘auxiliary troops.’” In no case would this refer to a special imperial bodyguard, and to translate “imperial regiment” or “imperial cohort” might give this impression. There is some archaeological evidence for a Cohors Augusta I stationed in Syria during the time of Augustus, but whether this is the same unit is very debatable.

[28:17]  ⁸ tn Grk “It happened that after three 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.

[28:17]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:17]  ¹⁰ tn L&N 33.309 has “‘after three days, he called the local Jewish leaders together’ Ac 28:17.”

[28:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Men brothers,” but this is both awkward and unnecessary in English.

[28:17]  ¹² tn The participle ποιήσας (poihsas) has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[28:17]  ¹³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[28:17]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[28:17]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “into the hands of the Romans,” but this is redundant when παρεδόθην (paredoqhn) has been translated “handed over.”

[40:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “but you have remembered me with you.” The perfect verbal form may be used rhetorically here to emphasize Joseph’s desire to be remembered. He speaks of the action as already being accomplished in order to make it clear that he expects it to be done. The form can be translated as volitional, expressing a plea or a request.

[40:14]  ¹⁷ tn This perfect verbal form with the prefixed conjunction (and the two that immediately follow) carry the same force as the preceding perfect.

[40:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “deal with me [in] kindness.”

[40:14]  ¹⁹ tn The verb זָכַר (zakhar) in the Hiphil stem means “to cause to remember, to make mention, to boast.” The implication is that Joseph would be pleased for them to tell his story and give him the credit due him so that Pharaoh would release him. Since Pharaoh had never met Joseph, the simple translation of “cause him to remember me” would mean little.

[40:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “house.” The word “prison” has been substituted in the translation for clarity.

[40:15]  ²¹ tn The verb גָּנַב (ganav) means “to steal,” but in the Piel/Pual stem “to steal away.” The idea of “kidnap” would be closer to the sense, meaning he was stolen and carried off. The preceding infinitive absolute underscores the point Joseph is making.

[3:1]  ²² tc Several early and important witnesses, chiefly of the Western text (א* D* F G [365]), lack ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) here, while most Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (Ì⁴⁶ א¹ A B [C] D¹ Ψ 33 1739 [1881] Ï lat sy bo) have the word. However, because of the Western text’s proclivities to add or delete to the text, seemingly at whim, serious doubts should be attached to the shorter reading. It is strengthened, however, by א’s support. Nevertheless, since both א and D were corrected with the addition of ᾿Ιησοῦ, their testimony might be questioned. Further, in uncial script the nomina sacra here could have led to missing a word by way of homoioteleuton (cMuiMu). At the same time, in light of the rarity of scribal omission of nomina sacra (see TCGNT 582, n. 1), a decision for inclusion of the word here must be tentative. NA²⁷ rightly places ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets.

[4:1]  ²³ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ²⁵ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[1:9]  ²⁶ tn Or “encourage.”

[1:9]  ²⁷ tn Or perhaps “an ambassador” (so RSV, TEV), reading πρεσβευτής for πρεσβύτης (a conjecture proposed by Bentley, cf. BDAG 863 s.v. πρεσβύτης). NRSV reads “old man” and places “ambassador” in a note.

[1:9]  ²⁸ tn Grk “a prisoner of Christ Jesus.”