Daniel 12:3-4

12:3 But the wise will shine

like the brightness of the heavenly expanse.

And those bringing many to righteousness

will be like the stars forever and ever.

12:4 “But you, Daniel, close up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will dash about, ¹  and knowledge will increase.”

Daniel 12:10

12:10 Many will be purified, made clean, and refined, but the wicked will go on being wicked. None of the wicked will understand, though the wise will understand.

Isaiah 32:3-4

32:3 Eyes ²  will no longer be blind ³ 

and ears ⁴  will be attentive.

32:4 The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment ⁵ 

and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity.

Zechariah 8:20-23

8:20 The Lord who rules over all says, ‘It will someday come to pass that people – residents of many cities – will come. 8:21 The inhabitants of one will go to another and say, “Let’s go up at once to ask the favor of the Lord, to seek the Lord who rules over all. Indeed, I’ll go with you.”’ 8:22 Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord who rules over all and to ask his favor. 8:23 The Lord who rules over all says, ‘In those days ten people from all languages and nations will grasp hold of – indeed, grab – the robe of one Jew and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’” ⁶ 

Malachi 2:7

2:7 For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge of sacred things, and people should seek instruction from him ⁷  because he is the messenger of the Lord who rules over all.

Matthew 13:11

13:11 He replied, ⁸  “You have been given ⁹  the opportunity to know ¹⁰  the secrets ¹¹  of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.

Matthew 13:51-52

13:51 “Have you understood all these things?” They replied, “Yes.” 13:52 Then he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law ¹²  who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.”

Matthew 28:20

28:20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, ¹³  I am with you ¹⁴  always, to the end of the age.” ¹⁵ 

Luke 24:44-47

Jesus’ Final Commission

24:44 Then ¹⁶  he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me ¹⁷  in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms ¹⁸  must be fulfilled.” 24:45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures, ¹⁹  24:46 and said to them, “Thus it stands written that the Christ ²⁰  would suffer ²¹  and would rise from the dead on the third day, 24:47 and repentance ²²  for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed ²³  in his name to all nations, ²⁴  beginning from Jerusalem. ²⁵ 

Acts 4:2-4

4:2 angry ²⁶  because they were teaching the people and announcing ²⁷  in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 4:3 So ²⁸  they seized ²⁹  them and put them in jail ³⁰  until the next day (for it was already evening). 4:4 But many of those who had listened to ³¹  the message ³²  believed, and the number of the men ³³  came to about five thousand.

Acts 11:26

11:26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. ³⁴  So ³⁵  for a whole year Barnabas and Saul ³⁶  met with the church and taught a significant number of people. ³⁷  Now it was in Antioch ³⁸  that the disciples were first called Christians. ³⁹ 

Acts 14:21

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria

14:21 After they had proclaimed the good news in that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, ⁴⁰  to Iconium, ⁴¹  and to Antioch. ⁴² 

Acts 14:2

14:2 But the Jews who refused to believe ⁴³  stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds ⁴⁴  against the brothers.

Acts 2:24-25

2:24 But God raised him up, ⁴⁵  having released ⁴⁶  him from the pains ⁴⁷  of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power. ⁴⁸  2:25 For David says about him,

‘I saw the Lord always in front of me, ⁴⁹ 

for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.

[12:4]  ¹ tn Or “will run back and forth”; KJV “shall run to and fro”; NIV “will go here and there”; CEV “will go everywhere.”

[32:3]  ² tn Heb “Eyes that see.”

[32:3]  ³ tn The Hebrew text as vocalized reads literally “will not gaze,” but this is contradictory to the context. The verb form should be revocalized as תְּשֹׁעֶינָה (tÿsho’enah) from שָׁעַע (sha’a’, “be blinded”); see Isa 6:10; 29:9.

[32:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “ears that hear.”

[32:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “the heart of rashness will understand knowledge”; cf. NAB “The flighty will become wise and capable.”

[8:23]  ⁶ sn This scene of universal and overwhelming attraction of the nations to Israel’s God finds initial fulfillment in the establishment of the church (Acts 2:5-11) but ultimate completion in the messianic age (Isa 45:14, 24; 60:14; Zech 14:16-21).

[2:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “from his mouth” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[13:11]  ⁸ tn Grk “And answering, he said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:11]  ⁹ tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

[13:11]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “to you it has been given to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.

[13:11]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the mysteries.”

[13:52]  ¹² tn Or “every scribe.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4. It is possible that the term translated “expert in the law” (traditionally, “scribe”) here is a self-description used by the author, Matthew, to represent his role in conveying the traditions about Jesus to his intended audience. See David E. Orton, The Understanding Scribe [JSNTSup].

[28:20]  ¹³ tn The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has been translated here as “remember” (BDAG 468 s.v. 1.c).

[28:20]  ¹⁴ sn I am with you. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the prophecy that the Savior’s name would be “Emmanuel, that is, ‘God with us,’” (1:23, in which the author has linked Isa 7:14 and 8:8, 10 together) and it ends with Jesus’ promise to be with his disciples forever. The Gospel of Matthew thus forms an inclusio about Jesus in his relationship to his people that suggests his deity.

[28:20]  ¹⁵ tc Most mss (A^c Θ Ë¹³ Ï it sy) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of v. 20. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, no good reason exists for the omission of the particle in significant and early witnesses such as א A* B D W ˹ 33 al lat sa.

[24:44]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[24:44]  ¹⁷ sn Everything written about me. The divine plan, events, and scripture itself are seen here as being one.

[24:44]  ¹⁸ sn For a similar threefold division of the OT scriptures, see the prologue to Sirach, lines 8-10, and from Qumran, the epilogue to 4QMMT, line 10.

[24:45]  ¹⁹ sn Luke does not mention specific texts here, but it is likely that many of the scriptures he mentioned elsewhere in Luke-Acts would have been among those he had in mind.

[24:46]  ²⁰ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:46]  ²¹ tn Three Greek infinitives are the key to this summary: (1) to suffer, (2) to rise, and (3) to be preached. The Christ (Messiah) would be slain, would be raised, and a message about repentance would go out into all the world as a result. All of this was recorded in the scripture. The remark shows the continuity between Jesus’ ministry, the scripture, and what disciples would be doing as they declared the Lord risen.

[24:47]  ²² sn This repentance has its roots in declarations of the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew concept of a turning of direction.

[24:47]  ²³ tn Or “preached,” “announced.”

[24:47]  ²⁴ sn To all nations. The same Greek term (τὰ ἔθνη, ta eqnh) may be translated “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” The hope of God in Christ was for all the nations from the beginning.

[24:47]  ²⁵ sn Beginning from Jerusalem. See Acts 2, which is where it all starts.

[4:2]  ²⁶ tn Or “greatly annoyed,” “provoked.”

[4:2]  ²⁷ tn Or “proclaiming.”

[4:3]  ²⁸ tn Grk “And” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the logical sequence of events.

[4:3]  ²⁹ tn Or “they arrested”; Grk “they laid hands on.”

[4:3]  ³⁰ tn Or “prison,” “custody.”

[4:4]  ³¹ tn Or “had heard.”

[4:4]  ³² tn Or “word.”

[4:4]  ³³ tn In the historical setting it is likely that only men are referred to here. The Greek term ἀνήρ (anhr) usually refers to males or husbands rather than people in general. Thus to translate “of the people” would give a false impression of the number, since any women and children were apparently not included in the count.

[11:26]  ³⁴ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.

[11:26]  ³⁵ tn Grk “So it happened that” 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.

[11:26]  ³⁶ tn Grk “year they”; the referents (Barnabas and Saul) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:26]  ³⁷ tn Grk “a significant crowd.”

[11:26]  ³⁸ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.

[11:26]  ³⁹ sn The term Christians appears only here, in Acts 26:28, and 1 Pet 4:16 in the NT.

[14:21]  ⁴⁰ sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) northwest of Derbe.

[14:21]  ⁴¹ sn Iconium was a city in Lycaonia about 18 mi (30 km) north of Lystra.

[14:21]  ⁴² sn Antioch was a city in Pisidia about 90 mi (145 km) west northwest of Lystra.

[14:2]  ⁴³ tn Or “who would not believe.”

[14:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “embittered their minds” (Grk “their souls”). BDAG 502 s.v. κακόω 2 has “make angry, embitter τὰς ψυχάς τινων κατά τινος poison the minds of some persons against another Ac 14:2.”

[2:24]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “Whom God raised up.”

[2:24]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “having freed.”

[2:24]  ⁴⁷ sn The term translated pains is frequently used to describe pains associated with giving birth (see Rev 12:2). So there is irony here in the mixed metaphor.

[2:24]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “for him to be held by it” (in either case, “it” refers to death’s power).

[2:25]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “always before me.”