Acts 18:25-26

18:25 He had been instructed in ¹  the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm ²  he spoke and taught accurately the facts ³  about Jesus, although he knew ⁴  only the baptism of John. 18:26 He began to speak out fearlessly ⁵  in the synagogue, ⁶  but when Priscilla and Aquila ⁷  heard him, they took him aside ⁸  and explained the way of God to him more accurately.

Genesis 18:19

18:19 I have chosen him ⁹  so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep ¹⁰  the way of the Lord by doing ¹¹  what is right and just. Then the Lord will give ¹²  to Abraham what he promised ¹³  him.”

Genesis 18:2

18:2 Abraham ¹⁴  looked up ¹⁵  and saw ¹⁶  three men standing across ¹⁷  from him. When he saw them ¹⁸  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ¹⁹  to the ground. ²⁰ 

Genesis 17:6

17:6 I will make you ²¹  extremely ²²  fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. ²³ 

Hosea 14:9

Concluding Exhortation

14:9 Who is wise?

Let him discern ²⁴  these things!

Who is discerning?

Let him understand them!

For the ways of the Lord are right;

the godly walk in them,

but in them the rebellious stumble.

John 1:23

1:23 John ²⁵  said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Make straight ²⁶  the way for the Lord,’ ²⁷  as Isaiah the prophet said.”

[18:25]  ¹ tn Or “had been taught.”

[18:25]  ² tn Grk “and boiling in spirit” (an idiom for great eagerness or enthusiasm; BDAG 426 s.v. ζέω).

[18:25]  ³ tn Grk “the things.”

[18:25]  ⁴ tn Grk “knowing”; the participle ἐπιστάμενος (epistameno") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[18:26]  ⁵ tn Or “boldly.” This is a frequent term in Acts (9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 19:8; 26:26).

[18:26]  ⁶ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:26]  ⁷ sn Priscilla and Aquila. This key couple, of which Priscilla was an important enough figure to be mentioned by name, instructed Apollos about the most recent work of God. See also the note on Aquila in 18:2.

[18:26]  ⁸ tn BDAG 883 s.v. προσλαμβάνω 3 has “take aside, mid. τινά someone…So prob. also Ac 18:26: Priscilla and Aquila take Apollos aside to teach him undisturbed.”

[18:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the Lord.

[18:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).

[18:19]  ¹¹ tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the Lord.

[18:19]  ¹² tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.

[18:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “spoke to.”

[18:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[18:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.

[18:2]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.

[18:2]  ¹⁸ tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

[18:2]  ¹⁹ tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).

[18:2]  ²⁰ sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the Lord and two angels (see Gen 19:1). It is not certain how soon Abraham recognized the true identity of the visitors. His actions suggest he suspected this was something out of the ordinary, though it is possible that his lavish treatment of the visitors was done quite unwittingly. Bowing down to the ground would be reserved for obeisance of kings or worship of the Lord. Whether he was aware of it or not, Abraham’s action was most appropriate.

[17:6]  ²¹ tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.

[17:6]  ²² tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:6]  ²³ tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”

[14:9]  ²⁴ tn The shortened form of the prefix-conjugation verb וְיָבֵן (vÿyaven) indicates that it is a jussive rather than an imperfect. When a jussive comes from a superior to an inferior, it may connote exhortation and instruction or advice and counsel. For the functions of the jussive, see IBHS 568-70 §34.3.

[1:23]  ²⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:23]  ²⁶ sn This call to “make straight” is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

[1:23]  ²⁷ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.