Acts 9:29-30

9:29 He was speaking and debating ¹  with the Greek-speaking Jews, ²  but they were trying to kill him. 9:30 When the brothers found out about this, they brought him down to Caesarea ³  and sent him away to Tarsus.

Acts 14:5-6

14:5 When both the Gentiles and the Jews (together with their rulers) made ⁴  an attempt to mistreat ⁵  them and stone them, ⁶  14:6 Paul and Barnabas ⁷  learned about it ⁸  and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra ⁹  and Derbe ¹⁰  and the surrounding region.

Acts 17:10-15

Paul and Silas at Berea

17:10 The brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea ¹¹  at once, during the night. When they arrived, ¹²  they went to the Jewish synagogue. ¹³  17:11 These Jews ¹⁴  were more open-minded ¹⁵  than those in Thessalonica, ¹⁶  for they eagerly ¹⁷  received ¹⁸  the message, examining ¹⁹  the scriptures carefully every day ²⁰  to see if these things were so. 17:12 Therefore many of them believed, along with quite a few ²¹  prominent ²²  Greek women and men. 17:13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica ²³  heard that Paul had also proclaimed the word of God ²⁴  in Berea, ²⁵  they came there too, inciting ²⁶  and disturbing ²⁷  the crowds. 17:14 Then the brothers sent Paul away to the coast ²⁸  at once, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea. ²⁹  17:15 Those who accompanied Paul escorted him as far as Athens, ³⁰  and after receiving an order for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left. ³¹ 

Acts 23:12-21

The Plot to Kill Paul

23:12 When morning came, ³²  the Jews formed ³³  a conspiracy ³⁴  and bound themselves with an oath ³⁵  not to eat or drink anything ³⁶  until they had killed Paul. 23:13 There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy. ³⁷  23:14 They ³⁸  went ³⁹  to the chief priests ⁴⁰  and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath ⁴¹  not to partake ⁴²  of anything until we have killed Paul. 23:15 So now you and the council ⁴³  request the commanding officer ⁴⁴  to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine ⁴⁵  his case ⁴⁶  by conducting a more thorough inquiry. ⁴⁷  We are ready to kill him ⁴⁸  before he comes near this place.” ⁴⁹ 

23:16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, ⁵⁰  he came and entered ⁵¹  the barracks ⁵²  and told Paul. 23:17 Paul called ⁵³  one of the centurions ⁵⁴  and said, “Take this young man to the commanding officer, ⁵⁵  for he has something to report to him.” 23:18 So the centurion ⁵⁶  took him and brought him to the commanding officer ⁵⁷  and said, “The prisoner Paul called ⁵⁸  me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 23:19 The commanding officer ⁵⁹  took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, “What is it that you want ⁶⁰  to report to me?” 23:20 He replied, ⁶¹  “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council ⁶²  tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him. 23:21 So do not let them persuade you to do this, ⁶³  because more than forty of them ⁶⁴  are lying in ambush ⁶⁵  for him. They ⁶⁶  have bound themselves with an oath ⁶⁷  not to eat or drink anything ⁶⁸  until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.” ⁶⁹ 

Acts 25:3

25:3 Requesting him to do them a favor against Paul, ⁷⁰  they urged Festus ⁷¹  to summon him to Jerusalem, planning an ambush ⁷²  to kill him along the way.

Acts 25:11

25:11 If then I am in the wrong ⁷³  and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying, ⁷⁴  but if not one of their charges against me is true, ⁷⁵  no one can hand me over to them. ⁷⁶  I appeal to Caesar!” ⁷⁷ 

Jude 1:2-3

1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! ⁷⁸ 

Condemnation of the False Teachers

1:3 Dear friends, although I have been eager to write to you ⁷⁹  about our common salvation, I now feel compelled ⁸⁰  instead to write to encourage ⁸¹  you to contend earnestly ⁸²  for the faith ⁸³  that was once for all ⁸⁴  entrusted to the saints. ⁸⁵ 

Jude 1:2

1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! ⁸⁶ 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁸⁷  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

[9:29]  ¹ tn Or “arguing.” BDAG 954 s.v. συζητέω 2 gives “dispute, debate, argue…τινί ‘w. someone’” for συνεζήτει (sunezhtei).

[9:29]  ² tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.

[9:30]  ³ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine, south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.

[14:5]  ⁴ tn Grk “So there came about an attempt” 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.

[14:5]  ⁵ tn On this verb see BDAG 1022 s.v. ὑβρίζω.

[14:5]  ⁶ tn The direct object “them” is repeated after both verbs in the translation for stylistic reasons, although it occurs only after λιθοβολῆσαι (liqobolhsai) in the Greek text.

[14:6]  ⁷ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Paul and Barnabas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:6]  ⁸ tn Grk “learning about it, fled.” The participle συνιδόντες (sunidonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. It could also be taken temporally (“when they learned about it”) as long as opening clause of v. 5 is not translated as a temporal clause too, which results in a redundancy.

[14:6]  ⁹ sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 18 mi (30 km) south of Iconium, a Roman colony that was not on the main roads of Lycaonia. Because of its relative isolation, its local character was able to be preserved.

[14:6]  ¹⁰ sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra.

[17:10]  ¹¹ sn Berea (alternate spelling in NRSV Beroea; Greek Beroia) was a very old city in Macedonia on the river Astraeus about 45 mi (75 km) west of Thessalonica.

[17:10]  ¹² tn Grk “who arriving there, went to.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (οἵτινες, Joitine") has been left untranslated and a new English sentence begun. The participle παραγενόμενοι (paragenomenoi) has been taken temporally.

[17:10]  ¹³ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[17:11]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “These”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue at Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or “more willing to learn.” L&N 27.48 and BDAG 404 s.v. εὐγενής 2 both use the term “open-minded” here. The point is that they were more receptive to Paul’s message.

[17:11]  ¹⁶ sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).

[17:11]  ¹⁷ tn Or “willingly,” “readily”; Grk “with all eagerness.”

[17:11]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “who received.” Here the relative pronoun (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“they”) preceded by a semicolon, which is less awkward in contemporary English than a relative clause at this point.

[17:11]  ¹⁹ tn This verb (BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω 1) refers to careful examination.

[17:11]  ²⁰ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[17:12]  ²¹ tn Grk “not a few”; this use of negation could be misleading to the modern English reader, however, and so has been translated as “quite a few” (which is the actual meaning of the expression).

[17:12]  ²² tn Or “respected.”

[17:13]  ²³ sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).

[17:13]  ²⁴ tn Grk “that the word of God had also been proclaimed by Paul.” This passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:13]  ²⁵ sn Berea (alternate spelling in NRSV Beroea; Greek Beroia) was a very old city in Macedonia on the river Astraeus about 45 mi (75 km) from Thessalonica.

[17:13]  ²⁶ tn BDAG 911 s.v. σαλεύω 2 has “incite” for σαλεύοντες (saleuonte") in Acts 17:13.

[17:13]  ²⁷ tn Or “stirring up” (BDAG 990-91 s.v. ταράσσω 2). The point is the agitation of the crowds.

[17:14]  ²⁸ tn Grk “to the sea.” Here ἕως ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν ({ew" epi thn qalassan) must mean “to the edge of the sea,” that is, “to the coast.” Since there is no mention of Paul taking a ship to Athens, he presumably traveled overland. The journey would have been about 340 mi (550 km).

[17:14]  ²⁹ tn Grk “remained there”; the referent (Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:15]  ³⁰ map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

[17:15]  ³¹ sn They left. See 1 Thess 3:1-2, which shows they went from here to Thessalonica.

[23:12]  ³² tn Grk “when it was day.”

[23:12]  ³³ tn Grk “forming a conspiracy, bound.” The participle ποιήσαντες (poihsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:12]  ³⁴ tn L&N 30.72 has ‘some Jews formed a conspiracy’ Ac 23:12”; BDAG 979 s.v. συστροφή 1 has “Judeans came together in a mob 23:12. But in the last pass. the word may also mean – 2. the product of a clandestine gathering, plot, conspiracy” (see also Amos 7:10; Ps 63:3).

[23:12]  ³⁵ tn Or “bound themselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” On such oaths see m. Shevi’it 3:1-5. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[23:12]  ³⁶ tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[23:13]  ³⁷ tn L&N 30.73 defines συνωμοσία (sunwmosia) as “a plan for taking secret action someone or some institution, with the implication of an oath binding the conspirators – ‘conspiracy, plot.’ …‘there were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy’ Ac 23:13.”

[23:14]  ³⁸ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[23:14]  ³⁹ tn Grk “going.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:14]  ⁴⁰ sn They went to the chief priests. The fact that the high priest knew of this plot and did nothing shows the Jewish leadership would even become accomplices to murder to stop Paul. They would not allow Roman justice to take its course. Paul’s charge in v. 3 of superficially following the law is thus shown to be true.

[23:14]  ⁴¹ tn Or “bound ourselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” The pleonastic use ἀναθέματι ἀνεθεματίσαμεν (literally “we have cursed ourselves with a curse”) probably serves as an intensifier following Semitic usage, and is represented in the translation by the word “solemn.” On such oaths see m. Nedarim 3:1, 3.

[23:14]  ⁴² tn This included both food and drink (γεύομαι [geuomai] is used of water turned to wine in John 2:9).

[23:15]  ⁴³ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:15]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “decide.” BDAG 227 s.v. διαγινώσκω has “ἀκριβέστερον τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ to make a more thorough examination of his case Ac 23:15.”

[23:15]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “determine the things about him.”

[23:15]  ⁴⁷ tn The expression “more thorough inquiry” reflects the comparative form of ἀκριβέστερον (akribesteron).

[23:15]  ⁴⁸ sn “We are ready to kill him.” Now those Jews involved in the conspiracy, along with the leaders as accomplices, are going to break one of the ten commandments.

[23:15]  ⁴⁹ tn The words “this place” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[23:16]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “plot” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνέδρα).

[23:16]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “coming and entering…, he told.” The participles παραγενόμενος (paragenomeno") and εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) have been translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:16]  ⁵² tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”

[23:17]  ⁵³ tn Grk “calling…Paul said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:17]  ⁵⁴ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:17]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the centurion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:18]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “calling.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:19]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:19]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “you have,” but the expression “have to report” in English could be understood to mean “must report” rather than “possess to report.” For this reason the nearly equivalent expression “want to report,” which is not subject to misunderstanding, was used in the translation.

[23:20]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “He said.”

[23:20]  ⁶² tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:21]  ⁶³ tn Grk “do not be persuaded by them.” The passive construction μὴ πεισθῇς αὐτοῖς (mh peisqh" autoi") has been converted to an active construction in the translation, and the phrase “to do this” supplied to indicate more clearly the object of their persuasion.

[23:21]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “forty men of them.” In the expression ἐξ αὐτῶν ἄνδρες (ex autwn andre") “men” is somewhat redundant and has not been included in the English translation.

[23:21]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “are lying in wait for him” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνεδρεύω); see also v. 16.

[23:21]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “for him, who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“they”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[23:21]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “bound themselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone… ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.”

[23:21]  ⁶⁸ tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[23:21]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “waiting for your approval,” “waiting for your agreement.” Since it would be possible to misunderstand the literal translation “waiting for your approval” to mean that the Jews were waiting for the commander’s approval to carry out their plot or to kill Paul (as if he were to be an accomplice to their plot), the object of the commander’s approval (their request to bring Paul to the council) has been specified in the translation as “their request.”

[25:3]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “Requesting a favor against him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation, the understood direct object of “requesting” has been supplied, and the phrase “to do them” supplied for clarity.

[25:3]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The words “they urged him” are in v. 2 in the Greek text.

[25:3]  ⁷² sn Planning an ambush. The Jewish leadership had not forgotten the original plan of several years ago (see 23:16). They did not trust the Roman legal process, but preferred to take matters into their own hands.

[25:11]  ⁷³ tn BDAG 20 s.v. ἀδικέω 1.b has “intr. be in the wrong (Ex 2:13) εἰ ἀδικῶ Ac 25:11.”

[25:11]  ⁷⁴ tn BDAG 764 s.v. παραιτέομαι 2.b.β, “οὐ παραιτοῦμαι τὸ ἀποθανεῖν I am not trying to escape death Ac 25:11 (cp. Jos., Vi. 141).” To avoid redundancy in the translation, the English gerund “dying” is used to translate the Greek infinitive ἀποθανεῖν (apoqanein).

[25:11]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “but if there is nothing to their charges against me.” Both “if” clauses in this verse are first class conditions. Paul stated the options without prejudice, assuming in turn the reality of each for the sake of the argument.

[25:11]  ⁷⁶ sn That is, no one can hand me over to them lawfully. Paul was aware of the dangers of a return to Jerusalem.

[25:11]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[1:2]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”

[1:3]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “while being quite diligent to write to you,” or “while making all haste to write to you.” Two issues are at stake: (1) whether σπουδή (spoudh) here means diligence, eagerness, or haste; (2) whether ποιούμενος γράφειν (poioumeno" grafein) is to be taken conatively (“I was about to write”) or progressively (“I was writing”). Without knowing more of the background, it is difficult to tell which option is to be preferred.

[1:3]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “I had the necessity.” The term ἀνάγκη (anankh, “necessity”) often connotes urgency or distress. In this context, Jude is indicating that the more comprehensive treatment about the faith shared between himself and his readers was not nearly as urgent as the letter he found it now necessary to write.

[1:3]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “encouraging.” Παρακαλῶν (parakalwn) is most likely a telic participle. In keeping with other participles of purpose, it is present tense and occurs after the main verb.

[1:3]  ⁸² tn the verb ἐπαγωνίζομαι (epagwnizomai) is an intensive form of ἀγωνίζομαι (agwnizomai). As such, the notion of struggling, fighting, contending, etc. is heightened.

[1:3]  ⁸³ tn Τῇ πίστει (th pistei) here is taken as a dative of advantage (“on behalf of the faith”). Though rare (see BDAG 820 s.v. 3), it is not unexampled and must have this meaning here.

[1:3]  ⁸⁴ sn The adverb once for all (ἅπαξ, Japax) seems to indicate that the doctrinal convictions of the early church had been substantially codified. That is to say, Jude could appeal to written documents of the Christian faith in his arguments with the false teachers. Most likely, these documents were the letters of Paul and perhaps one or more gospels. First and Second Peter may also have been among the documents Jude has in mind (see also the note on the phrase entrusted to the saints in this verse).

[1:3]  ⁸⁵ sn I now feel compelled instead…saints. Apparently news of some crisis has reached Jude, prompting him to write a different letter than what he had originally planned. A plausible scenario (assuming authenticity of 2 Peter or at least that there are authentic Petrine snippets in it) is that after Peter’s death, Jude intended to write to the same Gentile readers that Peter had written to (essentially, Paul’s churches). Jude starts by affirming that the gospel the Gentiles had received from Paul was the same as the one the Jewish Christians had received from the other apostles (our common salvation). But in the midst of writing this letter, Jude felt that the present crisis deserved another, shorter piece. The crisis, as the letter reveals, is that the false teachers whom Peter prophesied have now infiltrated the church. The letter of Jude is thus an ad hoc letter, intended to confirm the truth of Peter’s letter and encourage the saints to ground their faith in the written documents of the nascent church, rather than listen to the twisted gospel of the false teachers. In large measure, the letter of Jude illustrates the necessity of clinging to the authority of scripture as opposed to those who claim to be prophets.

[1:2]  ⁸⁶ tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”

[1:1]  ⁸⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.