Acts 23:26

23:26 Claudius Lysias to His Excellency Governor ¹  Felix, ²  greetings.

Romans 16:3-16

16:3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, ³  my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 16:4 who risked their own necks for my life. Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 16:5 Also greet the church in their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, ⁴  who was the first convert ⁵  to Christ in the province of Asia. ⁶  16:6 Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you. 16:7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, ⁷  my compatriots ⁸  and my fellow prisoners. They are well known ⁹  to the apostles, ¹⁰  and they were in Christ before me. 16:8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. 16:9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my good friend Stachys. 16:10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. 16:11 Greet Herodion, my compatriot. ¹¹  Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 16:12 Greet Tryphena ¹²  and Tryphosa, laborers in the Lord. Greet my dear friend ¹³  Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 16:13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother who was also a mother to me. ¹⁴  16:14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters ¹⁵  with them. 16:15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the believers ¹⁶  who are with them. 16:16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

James 1:1-3

Salutation

1:1 From James, ¹⁷  a slave ¹⁸  of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. ¹⁹  Greetings!

Joy in Trials

1:2 My brothers and sisters, ²⁰  consider it nothing but joy ²¹  when you fall into all sorts of trials, 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

James 1:13

1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, ²²  and he himself tempts no one.

James 1:3

1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

James 1:14

1:14 But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires.

[23:26]  ¹ tn Grk “Procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” (BDAG 433 s.v. ἡγεμών 2).

[23:26]  ² sn Governor Felix. See the note on Felix in v. 24.

[16:3]  ³ sn On Prisca and Aquila see also Acts 18:2, 18, 26; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19. In the NT “Priscilla” and “Prisca” are the same person. The author of Acts uses the full name Priscilla, while Paul uses the diminutive form Prisca.

[16:5]  ⁴ sn The spelling Epenetus is also used by NIV, NLT; the name is alternately spelled Epaenetus (NASB, NKJV, NRSV).

[16:5]  ⁵ tn Grk “first fruit.” This is a figurative use referring to Epenetus as the first Christian convert in the region.

[16:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[16:7]  ⁷ tn Or “Junias.”

[16:7]  ⁸ tn Or “kinsmen,” “relatives,” “fellow countrymen.”

[16:7]  ⁹ tn Or “prominent, outstanding, famous.” The term ἐπίσημος (epishmo") is used either in an implied comparative sense (“prominent, outstanding”) or in an elative sense (“famous, well known”). The key to determining the meaning of the term in any given passage is both the general context and the specific collocation of this word with its adjuncts. When a comparative notion is seen, that to which ἐπίσημος is compared is frequently, if not usually, put in the genitive case (cf., e.g., 3 Macc 6:1 [Ελεαζαρος δέ τις ἀνὴρ ἐπίσημος τῶν ἀπὸ τής χώρας ἱερέων “Eleazar, a man prominent among the priests of the country”]; cf. also Pss. Sol. 17:30). When, however, an elative notion is found, ἐν (en) plus a personal plural dative is not uncommon (cf. Pss. Sol. 2:6). Although ἐν plus a personal dative does not indicate agency, in collocation with words of perception, (ἐν plus) dative personal nouns are often used to show the recipients. In this instance, the idea would then be “well known to the apostles.” See M. H. Burer and D. B. Wallace, “Was Junia Really an Apostle? A Re-examination of Rom 16.7,” NTS 47 (2001): 76-91, who argue for the elative notion here.

[16:7]  ¹⁰ tn Or “among the apostles.” See discussion in the note on “well known” for these options.

[16:11]  ¹¹ tn Or “kinsman,” “relative,” “fellow countryman.”

[16:12]  ¹² sn The spelling Tryphena is also used by NIV, NKJV, NLT; the name is alternately spelled Tryphaena (NASB, NRSV).

[16:12]  ¹³ tn Grk “Greet the beloved.”

[16:13]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and his mother and mine.”

[16:14]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[16:15]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “saints.”

[1:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ¹⁸ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.

[1:2]  ²⁰ 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). Where the plural term is used in direct address, as here, “brothers and sisters” is used; where the term is singular and not direct address (as in v. 9), “believer” is preferred.

[1:2]  ²¹ tn Grk “all joy,” “full joy,” or “greatest joy.”

[1:13]  ²² tn Or “God must not be tested by evil people.”