Acts 5:39

5:39 but if ¹  it is from God, you will not be able to stop them, or you may even be found ²  fighting against God.” He convinced them, ³ 

Acts 7:51

7:51 “You stubborn ⁴  people, with uncircumcised ⁵  hearts and ears! ⁶  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors ⁷  did!

Exodus 4:12

4:12 So now go, and I will be with your mouth ⁸  and will teach you ⁹  what you must say.” ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 54:17

54:17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;

you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you. ¹¹ 

This is what the Lord will do for his servants –

I will vindicate them,” ¹² 

says the Lord.

Jeremiah 1:18-19

1:18 I, the Lord, ¹³  hereby promise to make you ¹⁴  as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in ¹⁵  the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land. 1:19 They will attack you but they will not be able to overcome you, for I will be with you to rescue you,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 15:20

15:20 I will make you as strong as a wall to these people,

a fortified wall of bronze.

They will attack you,

but they will not be able to overcome you.

For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you,” ¹⁶ 

says the Lord.

Ezekiel 3:27

3:27 But when I speak with you, I will loosen your tongue ¹⁷  and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ Those who listen will listen, but the indifferent will refuse, ¹⁸  for they are a rebellious house.

Matthew 10:19-20

10:19 Whenever ¹⁹  they hand you over for trial, do not worry about how to speak or what to say, ²⁰  for what you should say will be given to you at that time. ²¹  10:20 For it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Luke 12:11-12

12:11 But when they bring you before the synagogues, ²²  the ²³  rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you should make your defense ²⁴  or what you should say, 12:12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment ²⁵  what you must say.” ²⁶ 

Luke 21:15

21:15 For I will give you the words ²⁷  along with the wisdom ²⁸  that none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

John 7:46

7:46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!”

[5:39]  ¹ tn This is expressed in a first class condition, in contrast to the condition in v. 38b, which is third class. As such, v. 39 is rhetorically presented as the more likely option.

[5:39]  ² tn According to L&N 39.32, the verb εὑρεθῆτε (Jeureqhte, an aorist passive subjunctive) may also be translated “find yourselves” – “lest you find yourselves fighting against God.” The Jewish leader Gamaliel is shown contemplating the other possible alternative about what is occurring.

[5:39]  ³ tn Grk “They were convinced by him.” This passive construction was converted to an active one (“He convinced them”) in keeping with contemporary English style. The phrase “He convinced them” is traditionally placed in Acts 5:40 by most English translations; the standard Greek critical text (represented by NA²⁷ and UBS⁴) places it at the end of v. 39.

[7:51]  ⁴ sn Traditionally, “stiff-necked people.” Now the critique begins in earnest.

[7:51]  ⁵ tn The term ἀπερίτμητοι (aperitmhtoi, “uncircumcised”) is a NT hapax legomenon (occurs only once). See BDAG 101-2 s.v. ἀπερίτμητος and Isa 52:1.

[7:51]  ⁶ tn Or “You stubborn and obstinate people!” (The phrase “uncircumcised hearts and ears” is another figure for stubbornness.)

[7:51]  ⁷ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[4:12]  ⁸ sn The promise of divine presence always indicates intervention (for blessing or cursing). Here it means that God would be working through the organs of speech to help Moses speak. See Deut 18:18; Jer 1:9.

[4:12]  ⁹ sn The verb is וְהוֹרֵיתִיךָ (vÿhoretikha), the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive. The form carries the instructional meaning because it follows the imperative “go.” In fact, there is a sequence at work here: “go…and/that I may teach you.” It is from יָרָה (yara), the same root behind תּוֹרָה (torah, “law”). This always referred to teaching either wisdom or revelation. Here Yahweh promises to teach Moses what to say.

[4:12]  ¹⁰ tn The form is the imperfect tense. While it could be taken as a future (“what you will say”), an obligatory imperfect captures the significance better (“what you must say” or “what you are to say”). Not even the content of the message will be left up to Moses.

[54:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and every tongue that rises up for judgment with you will prove to be guilty.”

[54:17]  ¹² tn Heb “this is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication from me.”

[1:18]  ¹³ tn See the note on “Jeremiah” at the beginning of v. 17.

[1:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “today I have made you.” The Hebrew verb form here emphasizes the certainty of a yet future act; the Lord is promising to protect Jeremiah from any future attacks which may result from his faithfully carrying out his commission. See a similar use of the same Hebrew verb tense in v. 9, and see the translator’s note there.

[1:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I make you a fortified city…against all the land….” The words “as strong as” and “so you will be able to stand against all the people of…” are given to clarify the meaning of the metaphor.

[15:20]  ¹⁶ sn See 1:18. The Lord renews his promise of protection and reiterates his call to Jeremiah.

[3:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “open your mouth.”

[3:27]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the listener will listen, the refuser will refuse.” Because the word for listening can also mean obeying, the nuance may be that the obedient will listen, or that the one who listens will obey. Also, although the verbs are not jussive as pointed in the MT, some translate them with a volitive sense: “the one who listens – let that one listen, the one who refuses – let that one refuse.”

[10:19]  ¹⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:19]  ²⁰ tn Grk “how or what you might speak.”

[10:19]  ²¹ tn Grk “in that hour.”

[12:11]  ²² sn The saying looks at persecution both from a Jewish context as the mention of synagogues suggests, and from a Gentile one as the reference to the rulers and the authorities suggests.

[12:11]  ²³ tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[12:11]  ²⁴ tn Grk “about how or what you should say in your defense,” but this is redundant with the following clause, “or what you should say.”

[12:12]  ²⁵ tn Grk “in that very hour” (an idiom).

[12:12]  ²⁶ tn Grk “what it is necessary to say.”

[21:15]  ²⁷ tn Grk “a mouth.” It is a metonymy and refers to the reply the Lord will give to them.

[21:15]  ²⁸ tn Grk “and wisdom.”