Esther 9:19

9:19 This is why the Jews who are in the rural country – those who live in rural cities – set aside the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a holiday for happiness, banqueting, holiday, and sending gifts to one another.

Nehemiah 8:10-12

8:10 He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord. ¹  Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

8:11 Then the Levites quieted all the people saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy. Do not grieve.” 8:12 So all the people departed to eat and drink and to share their food ²  with others ³  and to enjoy tremendous joy, ⁴  for they had gained insight in the matters that had been made known to them.

Luke 11:41

11:41 But give from your heart to those in need, ⁵  and ⁶  then everything will be clean for you. ⁷ 

Acts 2:44-46

2:44 All who believed were together and held ⁸  everything in common, 2:45 and they began selling ⁹  their property ¹⁰  and possessions and distributing the proceeds ¹¹  to everyone, as anyone had need. 2:46 Every day ¹²  they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, ¹³  breaking bread from ¹⁴  house to house, sharing their food with glad ¹⁵  and humble hearts, ¹⁶ 

Galatians 2:10

2:10 They requested ¹⁷  only that we remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do.

[8:10]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[8:12]  ² tn Heb “to send portions.”

[8:12]  ³ tn The Hebrew text does not include the phrase “with others” but it has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “to make great joy.”

[11:41]  ⁵ tn Grk “Give the things inside as alms.” Three different approaches have been taken to the syntax and meaning of this phrase: (1) τὰ ἐνόντα (ta enonta, “the things inside”) is an accusative of respect (“give alms with respect to the things inside”); (2) τὰ ἐνόντα is an adverbial accusative (“give alms inwardly,” i.e., from the heart); (3) the word translated “alms” represents a mistranslation of the original Aramaic term “cleanse,” so the statement urges the hearers to “cleanse the things inside.” According to D. L. Bock (Luke [BECNT], 2:1115) the latter meaning is unlikely because the present verse is independent of Matt 23:26, not parallel to it, and makes good sense as it stands.

[11:41]  ⁶ tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this clause has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[11:41]  ⁷ sn The expression everything will be clean for you refers to the agreement that should exist between the overt practice of one’s religious duties, such as almsgiving, and the inner condition of one’s heart, including true love for God and the poor; one is not only to wash the outside of the cup and plate, but the inside as well, since as Jesus said, God created the inside too. Religious duties are not to be performed hypocritically, i.e., for the applause and esteem of people, but rather they are to be done out of a deep love for God and a sensitivity to and concern for the needs of others. Then, everything will be clean, both hearts and lives.

[2:44]  ⁸ tn Grk “had.”

[2:45]  ⁹ tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive (“began…”). Since in context this is a description of the beginning of the community of believers, it is more likely that these statements refer to the start of various activities and practices that the early church continued for some time.

[2:45]  ¹⁰ tn It is possible that the first term for property (κτήματα, kthmata) refers to real estate (as later usage seems to indicate) while the second term (ὑπάρξεις, Juparxeis) refers to possessions in general, but it may also be that the two terms are used together for emphasis, simply indicating that all kinds of possessions were being sold. However, if the first term is more specifically a reference to real estate, it foreshadows the incident with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11.

[2:45]  ¹¹ tn Grk “distributing them” (αὐτά, auta). The referent (the proceeds of the sales) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:46]  ¹² tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

[2:46]  ¹³ tn Grk “in the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[2:46]  ¹⁴ tn Here κατά (kata) is used as a distributive (BDAG 512 s.v. B.1.d).

[2:46]  ¹⁵ sn The term glad (Grk “gladness”) often refers to joy brought about by God’s saving acts (Luke 1:14, 44; also the related verb in 1:47; 10:21).

[2:46]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “with gladness and humbleness of hearts.” It is best to understand καρδίας (kardias) as an attributed genitive, with the two nouns it modifies actually listing attributes of the genitive noun which is related to them.

[2:10]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “only that we remember the poor”; the words “They requested” have been supplied from the context to make a complete English sentence.