Acts 18:9-10

18:9 The Lord said to Paul by a vision ¹  in the night, ²  “Do not be afraid, ³  but speak and do not be silent, 18:10 because I am with you, and no one will assault ⁴  you to harm ⁵  you, because I have many people in this city.”

Genesis 15:1

The Cutting of the Covenant

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield ⁶  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ⁷ 

Genesis 46:3

46:3 He said, “I am God, ⁸  the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

Genesis 46:1

The Family of Jacob goes to Egypt

46:1 So Israel began his journey, taking with him all that he had. ⁹  When he came to Beer Sheba ¹⁰  he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

Genesis 17:13

17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, ¹¹  whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant ¹²  will be visible in your flesh as a permanent ¹³  reminder.

Genesis 17:2

17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant ¹⁴  between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” ¹⁵ 

Genesis 6:16

6:16 Make a roof for the ark and finish it, leaving 18 inches ¹⁶  from the top. ¹⁷  Put a door in the side of the ark, and make lower, middle, and upper decks.

Isaiah 41:10-14

41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!

Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! ¹⁸ 

I strengthen you –

yes, I help you –

yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! ¹⁹ 

41:11 Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated;

your adversaries ²⁰  will be reduced to nothing ²¹  and perish.

41:12 When you will look for your opponents, ²²  you will not find them;

your enemies ²³  will be reduced to absolutely nothing.

41:13 For I am the Lord your God,

the one who takes hold of your right hand,

who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am helping you.’

41:14 Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, ²⁴ 

men of ²⁵  Israel.

I am helping you,” says the Lord,

your protector, ²⁶  the Holy One of Israel. ²⁷ 

Isaiah 43:1-5

The Lord Will Rescue His People

43:1 Now, this is what the Lord says,

the one who created you, O Jacob,

and formed you, O Israel:

“Don’t be afraid, for I will protect ²⁸  you.

I call you by name, you are mine.

43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;

when you pass ²⁹  through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

the flames will not harm ³⁰  you.

43:3 For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, ³¹  your deliverer.

I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price,

Ethiopia and Seba ³²  in place of you.

43:4 Since you are precious and special in my sight, ³³ 

and I love you,

I will hand over people in place of you,

nations in place of your life.

43:5 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.

From the east I will bring your descendants;

from the west I will gather you.

Matthew 10:28

10:28 Do ³⁴  not be afraid of those who kill the body ³⁵  but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ³⁶ 

Revelation 1:17

1:17 When ³⁷  I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but ³⁸  he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last,

[18:9]  ¹ sn Frequently in Acts such a vision will tell the reader where events are headed. See Acts 10:9-16 and 16:9-10 for other accounts of visions.

[18:9]  ² tn BDAG 682 s.v. νύξ 1.c has “W. prep. ἐν ν. at night, in the night…Ac 18:9.”

[18:9]  ³ tn The present imperative here (with negation) is used (as it normally is) of a general condition (BDF §335).

[18:10]  ⁴ tn BDAG 384 s.v. ἐπιτίθημι 2 has “to set upon, attack, lay a hand on” here, but “assault” is a contemporary English equivalent very close to the meaning of the original.

[18:10]  ⁵ tn Or “injure.”

[15:1]  ⁶ sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.

[15:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).

[46:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “the God.”

[46:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “and Israel journeyed, and all that was his.”

[46:1]  ¹⁰ sn Beer Sheba. See Gen 21:31; 28:10.

[17:13]  ¹¹ tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.

[17:13]  ¹² tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.

[17:13]  ¹³ tn Or “an eternal.”

[17:2]  ¹⁴ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the Lord will ratify the covenant. Earlier the Lord ratified part of his promise to Abram (see Gen 15:18-21), guaranteeing him that his descendants would live in the land. But the expanded form of the promise, which includes numerous descendants and eternal possession of the land, remains to be ratified. This expanded form of the promise is in view here (see vv. 2b, 4-8). See the note at Gen 15:18 and R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35-54.

[17:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[6:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a cubit.”

[6:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to a cubit you shall finish it from above.” The idea is that Noah was to leave an 18-inch opening from the top for a window for light.

[41:10]  ¹⁸ tn According to BDB (1043 s.v. שָׁעָה), the verb תִּשְׁתָּע (tishta’) in the second line of the poetic couplet is a Hitpael form from the root שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “gaze,” with metathesis of the stem prefix and the first root letter). Taking the Hitpael as iterative, one may then translate “do not anxiously look about.” However, the alleged Hitpael form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah) only occurs here and in verse 23. HALOT 1671 s.v. שׁתע proposes that the verb is instead a Qal form from the root שׁתע (“fear”) which is attested in cognate Semitic languages, including Ugaritic (discovered after the publishing of BDB), suggests the existence of this root. The poetic structure of v. 10 also supports the proposal, for the form in question is in synonymous parallelism to יָרֵא (yare’, “fear”).

[41:10]  ¹⁹ tn The “right hand” is a symbol of the Lord’s power to deliver (Exod 15:6, 12) and protect (Ps 63:9 HT [63:8 ET]). Here צֶדֶק (tsedeq) has its well-attested nuance of “vindicated righteousness,” i.e., “victory, deliverance” (see 45:8; 51:5, and BDB 841-42 s.v.).

[41:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the men of your strife”; NASB “those who contend with you.”

[41:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “like nothing”; NAB “come to nought.”

[41:12]  ²² tn Heb “the men of your struggle”; NASB “those who quarrel with you.”

[41:12]  ²³ tn Heb “the men of your battle”; NAB “who do battle with you.”

[41:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “O worm Jacob” (NAB, NIV). The worm metaphor suggests that Jacob is insignificant and despised.

[41:14]  ²⁵ tn On the basis of the parallelism (note “worm”) and an alleged Akkadian cognate, some read “louse” or “weevil.” Cf. NAB “O maggot Israel”; NRSV “you insect Israel.”

[41:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “your kinsman redeemer.” A גָּאַל (ga’al, “kinsman redeemer”) was a protector of the extended family’s interests.

[41:14]  ²⁷ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[43:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “redeem.” See the note at 41:14. Cf. NCV “saved you”; CEV “rescued you”; NLT “ransomed you.”

[43:2]  ²⁹ tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[43:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “burn” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV, NLT “consume”; NIV “set you ablaze.”

[43:3]  ³¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[43:3]  ³² sn Seba is not the same as Sheba in southern Arabia; cf. Gen 1:10; 1 Chr 1:9.

[43:4]  ³³ tn Heb “Since you are precious in my eyes and you are honored.”

[10:28]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:28]  ³⁵ sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

[10:28]  ³⁶ sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22.

[1:17]  ³⁷ tn Grk “And when.” 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.

[1:17]  ³⁸ tn Here the Greek conjunction καί (kai) has been translated as a contrastive (“but”) due to the contrast between the two clauses.