Daniel 3:26

3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire. He called out, ¹  “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come out! Come here!”

Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire. ² 

Psalms 66:16

66:16 Come! Listen, all you who are loyal to God! ³ 

I will declare what he has done for me.

Acts 22:3-16

22:3 “I am a Jew, ⁴  born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up ⁵  in this city, educated with strictness ⁶  under ⁷  Gamaliel ⁸  according to the law of our ancestors, ⁹  and was ¹⁰  zealous ¹¹  for God just as all of you are today. 22:4 I ¹²  persecuted this Way ¹³  even to the point of death, ¹⁴  tying up ¹⁵  both men and women and putting ¹⁶  them in prison, 22:5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders ¹⁷  can testify about me. From them ¹⁸  I also received ¹⁹  letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way ²⁰  to make arrests there and bring ²¹  the prisoners ²²  to Jerusalem ²³  to be punished. 22:6 As ²⁴  I was en route and near Damascus, ²⁵  about noon a very bright ²⁶  light from heaven ²⁷  suddenly flashed ²⁸  around me. 22:7 Then I ²⁹  fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 22:8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 22:9 Those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand ³⁰  the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 22:10 So I asked, ³¹  ‘What should I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up ³²  and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything ³³  that you have been designated ³⁴  to do.’ 22:11 Since I could not see because of ³⁵  the brilliance ³⁶  of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of ³⁷  those who were with me. 22:12 A man named Ananias, ³⁸  a devout man according to the law, ³⁹  well spoken of by all the Jews who live there, ⁴⁰  22:13 came ⁴¹  to me and stood beside me ⁴²  and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ ⁴³  And at that very moment ⁴⁴  I looked up and saw him. ⁴⁵  22:14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors ⁴⁶  has already chosen ⁴⁷  you to know his will, to see ⁴⁸  the Righteous One, ⁴⁹  and to hear a command ⁵⁰  from his mouth, 22:15 because you will be his witness ⁵¹  to all people ⁵²  of what you have seen and heard. 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? ⁵³  Get up, ⁵⁴  be baptized, and have your sins washed away, ⁵⁵  calling on his name.’ ⁵⁶ 

Acts 26:9-16

26:9 Of course, ⁵⁷  I myself was convinced ⁵⁸  that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 26:10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received ⁵⁹  from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote ⁶⁰  against them when they were sentenced to death. ⁶¹  26:11 I punished ⁶²  them often in all the synagogues ⁶³  and tried to force ⁶⁴  them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged ⁶⁵  at them, I went to persecute ⁶⁶  them even in foreign cities.

26:12 “While doing this very thing, ⁶⁷  as I was going ⁶⁸  to Damascus with authority and complete power ⁶⁹  from the chief priests, 26:13 about noon along the road, Your Majesty, ⁷⁰  I saw a light from heaven, ⁷¹  brighter than the sun, shining everywhere around ⁷²  me and those traveling with me. 26:14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ⁷³  ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself ⁷⁴  by kicking against the goads.’ ⁷⁵  26:15 So I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord replied, ⁷⁶  ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 26:16 But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason, to designate you in advance ⁷⁷  as a servant and witness ⁷⁸  to the things ⁷⁹  you have seen ⁸⁰  and to the things in which I will appear to you.

[3:26]  ¹ tn Aram “answered and said.”

[3:26]  ² tn Aram “from the midst of the fire.” For stylistic reasons the words “the midst of” have been left untranslated.

[66:16]  ³ tn Heb “all of the fearers of God.”

[22:3]  ⁴ tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

[22:3]  ⁵ tn BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατρέφω b has “of mental and spiritual nurture bring up, rear, train…ἀνατεθραμμένος ἐν τ. πόλει ταύτῃ 22:3.”

[22:3]  ⁶ tn Or “with precision.” Although often translated “strictly” this can be misunderstood for “solely” in English. BDAG 39 s.v. ἀκρίβεια gives the meaning as “exactness, precision.” To avoid the potential misunderstanding the translation “with strictness” is used, although it is slightly more awkward than “strictly.”

[22:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “strictly at the feet of” (an idiom).

[22:3]  ⁸ tn Or “brought up in this city under Gamaliel, educated with strictness…” The phrase παρὰ τοὺς πόδας Γαμαλιὴλ (para tou" poda" Gamalihl) could be understood with what precedes or with what follows. The punctuation of NA²⁷ and UBS⁴, which place a comma after ταύτῃ (tauth), has been followed in the translation.

[22:3]  ⁹ tn Or “our forefathers.”

[22:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “ancestors, being.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:3]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.α has “of pers. …ζ. τοῦ θεοῦ one who is loyal to God Ac 22:3.”

[22:4]  ¹² tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the first person pronoun (“I”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[22:4]  ¹³ sn That is, persecuted the Christian movement (Christianity). The Way is also used as a description of the Christian faith in Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22).

[22:4]  ¹⁴ tn BDAG 442-43 s.v. θάνατος 1.a has “διώκειν ἄχρι θανάτου persecute even to death Ac 22:4.”

[22:4]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “binding.” See Acts 8:3.

[22:4]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “W. local εἰς…εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3; cp. 22:4.”

[22:5]  ¹⁷ tn That is, the whole Sanhedrin. BDAG 861 s.v. πρεσβυτέριον has “an administrative group concerned with the interests of a specific community, council of elders – a. of the highest Judean council in Jerusalem, in our lit. usu. called συνέδριον…ὁ ἀρχιερεύς καὶ πᾶν τὸ πρ. Ac 22:5.”

[22:5]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “from whom.” 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.

[22:5]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “receiving.” The participle δεξάμενος (dexameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “letters to the brothers, [and] I was going to Damascus.” Such a translation, however, might be confusing since the term “brother” is frequently used of a fellow Christian. In this context, Paul is speaking about fellow Jews.

[22:5]  ²¹ tn Grk “even there and bring…” or “there and even bring…” The ascensive καί (kai) shows that Paul was fervent in his zeal against Christians, but it is difficult to translate for it really belongs with the entire idea of arresting and bringing back the prisoners.

[22:5]  ²² tn BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b has “δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά bring someone as prisoner…Ac 9:2, 21; 22:5.”

[22:5]  ²³ tn Grk “I was going…to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners that they might be punished.”

[22:6]  ²⁴ tn Grk “It happened that as.” 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.

[22:6]  ²⁵ tn Grk “going and nearing Damascus.”

[22:6]  ²⁶ tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 3.b has “φῶς a very bright light Ac 22:6.”

[22:6]  ²⁷ tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[22:6]  ²⁸ tn Or “shone.”

[22:7]  ²⁹ tn This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek using the connective τέ (te), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence a new sentence was begun in the translation here. To indicate the logical sequence for the modern English reader, τέ was translated as “then.”

[22:9]  ³⁰ tn Grk “did not hear” (but see Acts 9:7). BDAG 38 s.v. ἀκούω 7 has “W. acc. τὸν νόμον understand the law Gal 4:21; perh. Ac 22:9; 26:14…belong here.” If the word has this sense here, then a metonymy is present, since the lack of effect is put for a failure to appreciate what was heard.

[22:10]  ³¹ tn Grk “So I said.”

[22:10]  ³² tn Grk “Getting up.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") is an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance and has been translated as a finite verb.

[22:10]  ³³ tn Grk “about all things.”

[22:10]  ³⁴ tn Or “assigned,” “ordered.” BDAG 991 s.v. τάσσω 2.a has “act. and pass., foll. by acc. w. inf.…περὶ πάντων ὧν τέτακταί σοι ποιῆσαι concerning everything that you have been ordered to do 22:10.” There is an allusion to a divine call and commission here.

[22:11]  ³⁵ tn BDAG 106 s.v. ἀπό 5.a has “οὐκ ἐνέβλεπον ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τοῦ φωτός I could not see because of the brilliance of the light Ac 22:11.”

[22:11]  ³⁶ tn Or “brightness”; Grk “glory.”

[22:11]  ³⁷ tn Grk “by” (ὑπό, Jupo), but this would be too awkward in English following the previous “by.”

[22:12]  ³⁸ tn Grk “a certain Ananias.”

[22:12]  ³⁹ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[22:12]  ⁴⁰ tn BDAG 534 s.v. κατοικέω 1.a translates this present participle “ὑπὸ πάντων τῶν (sc. ἐκεῖ) κατοικούντων ᾿Ιουδαίων by all the Jews who live there Ac 22:12.”

[22:13]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “coming.” The participle ἐλθών (elqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:13]  ⁴² tn Grk “coming to me and standing beside [me] said to me.” The participle ἐπιστάς (epistas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:13]  ⁴³ tn Grk “Brother Saul, look up” (here an idiom for regaining one’s sight). BDAG 59 s.v. ἀναβλέπω places this usage under 1, “look up Ac 22:13a. W. εἰς αὐτόν to show the direction of the glance…22:13b; but perh. this vs. belongs under 2a.” BDAG 59 s.v. 2.a.α states, “of blind persons, who were formerly able to see, regain sight.” The problem for the translator is deciding between the literal and the idiomatic usage and at the same time attempting to retain the wordplay in Acts 22:13: “[Ananias] said to me, ‘Look up!’ and at that very moment I looked up to him.” The assumption of the command is that the effort to look up will be worth it (through the regaining of sight).

[22:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “hour,” but ὥρα (Jwra) is often used for indefinite short periods of time (so BDAG 1102-3 s.v. ὥρα 2.c: “αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ at that very time, at once, instantly…Lk 2:38, 24:33; Ac 16:18; 22:13”). A comparison with the account in Acts 9:18 indicates that this is clearly the meaning here.

[22:13]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “I looked up to him.”

[22:14]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[22:14]  ⁴⁷ tn L&N 30.89 has “‘to choose in advance, to select beforehand, to designate in advance’…‘the God of our ancestors has already chosen you to know his will’ Ac 22:14.”

[22:14]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “and to see.” This 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.

[22:14]  ⁴⁹ sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ (Acts 3:14).

[22:14]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “a solemn declaration”; Grk “a voice.” BDAG 1071-72 s.v. φωνή 2.c states, “that which the voice gives expression to: call, cry, outcry, loud or solemn declaration (… = order, command)…Cp. 22:14; 24:21.”

[22:15]  ⁵¹ tn Or “a witness to him.”

[22:15]  ⁵² tn Grk “all men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo").

[22:16]  ⁵³ tn L&N 67.121 has “to extend time unduly, with the implication of lack of decision – ‘to wait, to delay.’ νῦν τί μέλλεις… ἀναστὰς βάπτισαι ‘what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized’ Ac 22:16.”

[22:16]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “getting up.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") is an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance and has been translated as a finite verb.

[22:16]  ⁵⁵ sn The expression have your sins washed away means “have your sins purified” (the washing is figurative).

[22:16]  ⁵⁶ sn The expression calling on his name describes the confession of the believer: Acts 2:17-38, esp. v. 38; Rom 10:12-13; 1 Cor 1:2.

[26:9]  ⁵⁷ tn BDAG 737 s.v. οὖν 3 states, “It has been proposed that some traces of older Gk. usage in which οὖν is emphatic, = certainly, really, to be sure etc. (s. L-S-J-M s.v. 1) remain in the pap…and in the NT…indeed, of course Ac 26:9.”

[26:9]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “I thought to myself.” BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.a has “ἔδοξα ἐμαυτῷ δεῖν πρᾶξαι = Lat. mihi videbar I was convinced that it was necessary to do Ac 26:9.”

[26:10]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “by receiving authority.” The participle λαβών (labwn) has been taken instrumentally.

[26:10]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “cast down a pebble against them.” L&N 30.103 states, “(an idiom, Grk ‘to bring a pebble against someone,’ a reference to a white or black pebble used in voting for or against someone) to make known one’s choice against someone – ‘to vote against.’ …‘when they were sentenced to death, I also voted against them’ Ac 26:10.”

[26:10]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “when they were being executed”; but the context supports the sentencing rather than the execution itself (cf. L&N 30.103).

[26:11]  ⁶² tn Grk “and punishing…I tried.” The participle τιμωρῶν (timwrwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[26:11]  ⁶³ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[26:11]  ⁶⁴ tn The imperfect verb ἠνάγκαζον (hnankazon) has been translated as a conative imperfect (so BDAG 60 s.v. ἀναγκάζω 1, which has “ἠνάγκαζον βλασφημεῖν I tried to force them to blaspheme Ac 26:11”).

[26:11]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “was so insanely angry with them.” BDAG 322 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι states, “to be filled with such anger that one appears to be mad, be enraged…περισσῶς ἐμμαινόμενος αὐτοῖς being furiously enraged at them Ac 26:11”; L&N 88.182 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι, “to be so furiously angry with someone as to be almost out of one’s mind – ‘to be enraged, to be infuriated, to be insanely angry’ …‘I was so infuriated with them that I even went to foreign cities to persecute them’ Ac 26:11.”

[26:11]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “I pursued them even as far as foreign cities.”

[26:12]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “in which [activity].” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 in the translation. The referent of the relative pronoun (“which”) was specified as “this very thing” for clarity.

[26:12]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “going.” The participle πορευόμενος (poreuomenos) has been taken temporally.

[26:12]  ⁶⁹ tn L&N 37.40 s.v. ἐπιτροπή states, “the full authority to carry out an assignment or commission – ‘authority, complete power.’ πορευόμενος εἰς τὴν Δαμασκὸν μετ᾿ ἐξουσίας καὶ ἐπιτροπῆς τῶν ἀρχιερέων ‘going to Damascus with authority and complete power from the high priests’ Ac 26:12. In Ac 26:12 the combination of ἐξουσία and ἐπιτροπή serves to reinforce the sense of complete authority.”

[26:13]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “O King.”

[26:13]  ⁷¹ tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[26:13]  ⁷² tn The word “everywhere” has been supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning of περιλάμψαν (perilamyan). Otherwise the modern reader might think that each of the individuals were encircled by lights or halos. See also Acts 9:7; 22:6, 9.

[26:14]  ⁷³ tn Grk “in the Hebrew language.” See Acts 22:7 and 9:4.

[26:14]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “It is hard for you.”

[26:14]  ⁷⁵ tn “Goads” are pointed sticks used to direct a draft animal (an idiom for stubborn resistance). See BDAG 539-40 s.v. κέντρον 2.

[26:15]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “said.”

[26:16]  ⁷⁷ tn L&N 30.89 has “‘to choose in advance, to select beforehand, to designate in advance.’”

[26:16]  ⁷⁸ sn As a servant and witness. The commission is similar to Acts 1:8 and Luke 1:2. Paul was now an “eyewitness” of the Lord.

[26:16]  ⁷⁹ tn BDAG 719 s.v. ὁράω A.1.b states, “W. attraction of the relative ὧν = τούτων ἅ Lk 9:36; Ac 22:15. The attraction may be due to colloq. breviloquence in μάρτυρα ὧν τε εἶδες με ὧν τε ὀφθήσομαί σοι a witness to the things in which you saw me and to those in which I shall appear to you Ac 26:16b.”

[26:16]  ⁸⁰ tc ‡ Some mss read “of the things in which you have seen me.” The accusative object με (me, “me”) is found after εἶδές (eide") in B C*^vid 614 945 1175 1505 1739 1891 2464 pc sy sa; it is lacking in Ì⁷⁴ א A C² E Ψ 096 Ï latt bo. The external evidence is relatively evenly divided, though there is a slight preference for the omission. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.