Acts 9:3

9:3 As he was going along, approaching ¹  Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed ²  around him.

Acts 9:2

9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ³  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ⁴  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ⁵  to Jerusalem. ⁶ 

Acts 22:29

22:29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away ⁷  from him, and the commanding officer ⁸  was frightened when he realized that Paul ⁹  was ¹⁰  a Roman citizen ¹¹  and that he had had him tied up. ¹² 

Ezekiel 43:2

43:2 I saw ¹³  the glory of the God of Israel ¹⁴  coming from the east; ¹⁵  the sound was like that of rushing water; ¹⁶  and the earth radiated ¹⁷  his glory.

Micah 7:9

7:9 I must endure ¹⁸  the Lord’s anger,

for I have sinned against him.

But then ¹⁹  he will defend my cause, ²⁰ 

and accomplish justice on my behalf.

He will lead me out into the light;

I will experience firsthand ²¹  his deliverance. ²² 

Habakkuk 3:4

3:4 He is as bright as lightning; ²³ 

a two-pronged lightning bolt flashes from his hand. ²⁴ 

This is the outward display of his power. ²⁵ 

Habakkuk 3:11

3:11 The sun and moon stand still in their courses; ²⁶ 

the flash of your arrows drives them away, ²⁷ 

the bright light of your lightning-quick spear. ²⁸ 

Revelation 18:1

Babylon is Destroyed

18:1 After these things I saw another angel, who possessed great authority, coming down out of heaven, and the earth was lit up by his radiance. ²⁹ 

[9:3]  ¹ tn Grk “As he was going along, it happened that when he was approaching.” The 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.

[9:3]  ² tn Or “shone” (BDAG 799 s.v. περιαστράπτω). The light was more brilliant than the sun according to Acts 26:13.

[9:2]  ³ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:2]  ⁴ sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).

[9:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.

[9:2]  ⁶ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

[22:29]  ⁷ tn BDAG 158 s.v. ἀφίστημι 2.b has “keep away…ἀπό τινος… Lk 4:13; Ac 5:38; 2 Cor 12:8…cp. Ac 22:29.” In context, the point would seem to be not that the interrogators departed or withdrew, but that they held back from continuing the flogging.

[22:29]  ⁸ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

[22:29]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:29]  ¹⁰ tn This is a present tense (ἐστιν, estin) retained in indirect discourse. It must be translated as a past tense in contemporary English.

[22:29]  ¹¹ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:29]  ¹² sn Had him tied up. Perhaps a reference to the chains in Acts 21:33, or the preparations for the lashing in Acts 22:25. A trial would now be needed to resolve the matter. The Roman authorities’ hesitation to render a judgment in the case occurs repeatedly: Acts 22:30; 23:28-29; 24:22; 25:20, 26-27. The legal process begun here would take the rest of Acts and will be unresolved at the end. The process itself took four years of Paul’s life.

[43:2]  ¹³ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[43:2]  ¹⁴ sn This same title appears in 8:4; 9:3; 10:19; and 11:22.

[43:2]  ¹⁵ sn Earlier Ezekiel had observed God leaving the temple to the east (11:23).

[43:2]  ¹⁶ sn See Ezek 1:24; Rev 1:15; 14:2; 19:6.

[43:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “shone from.”

[7:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “lift, bear.”

[7:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “until.”

[7:9]  ²⁰ tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.”

[7:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “see.”

[7:9]  ²² tn Or “justice, vindication.”

[3:4]  ²³ tn Heb “[His] radiance is like light.” Some see a reference to sunlight, but the Hebrew word אוֹר (’or) here refers to lightning, as the context indicates (see vv. 4b, 9, 11). The word also refers to lightning in Job 36:32 and 37:3, 11, 15.

[3:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “two horns from his hand to him.” Sharp, pointed lightning bolts have a “horn-like” appearance. The weapon of “double lightning” appears often in Mesopotamian representations of gods. See Elizabeth Van Buren, Symbols of the Gods in Mesopotamian Art (AnOr), 70-73.

[3:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and there [is] the covering of his strength”; or “and there is his strong covering.” The meaning of this line is unclear. The point may be that the lightning bolts are merely a covering, or outward display, of God’s raw power. In Job 36:32 one reads that God “covers his hands with light [or, “lightning”].”

[3:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “in their lofty dwelling places.”

[3:11]  ²⁷ tn Or “at the light of your arrows they vanish.”

[3:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “at the brightness of the lightning of your spear.”

[18:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “glory”; but often in the sense of splendor, brightness, or radiance (see L&N 14.49).