Ezekiel 2:5

2:5 And as for them, ¹  whether they listen ²  or not – for they are a rebellious ³  house ⁴  – they will know that a prophet has been among them.

Ezekiel 33:33

33:33 When all this comes true – and it certainly will ⁵  – then they will know that a prophet was among them.”

Luke 10:11-12

10:11 ‘Even the dust of your town ⁶  that clings to our feet we wipe off ⁷  against you. ⁸  Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.’ ⁹  10:12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom ¹⁰  than for that town! ¹¹ 

John 5:46

5:46 If ¹²  you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me.

Acts 13:26

13:26 Brothers, ¹³  descendants ¹⁴  of Abraham’s family, ¹⁵  and those Gentiles among you who fear God, ¹⁶  the message ¹⁷  of this salvation has been sent to us.

Acts 13:38-41

13:38 Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through this one ¹⁸  forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 13:39 and by this one ¹⁹  everyone who believes is justified ²⁰  from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify ²¹  you. ²²  13:40 Watch out, ²³  then, that what is spoken about by ²⁴  the prophets does not happen to you:

13:41 ‘Look, you scoffers; be amazed and perish! ²⁵ 

For I am doing a work in your days,

a work you would never believe, even if someone tells you.’” ²⁶ 

Acts 28:23-28

28:23 They set ²⁷  a day to meet with him, ²⁸  and they came to him where he was staying ²⁹  in even greater numbers. ³⁰  From morning until evening he explained things ³¹  to them, ³²  testifying ³³  about the kingdom of God ³⁴  and trying to convince ³⁵  them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets. 28:24 Some were convinced ³⁶  by what he said, ³⁷  but others refused ³⁸  to believe. 28:25 So they began to leave, ³⁹  unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors ⁴⁰  through the prophet Isaiah 28:26 when he said,

‘Go to this people and say,

“You will keep on hearing, ⁴¹  but will never understand,

and you will keep on looking, ⁴²  but will never perceive.

28:27 For the heart of this people has become dull, ⁴³ 

and their ears are hard of hearing, ⁴⁴ 

and they have closed their eyes,

so that they would not see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, ⁴⁵  and I would heal them.”’ ⁴⁶ 

28:28 “Therefore be advised ⁴⁷  that this salvation from God ⁴⁸  has been sent to the Gentiles; ⁴⁹  they ⁵⁰  will listen!”

Hebrews 2:1-3

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2:2 For if the message spoken through angels ⁵¹  proved to be so firm that every violation ⁵²  or disobedience received its just penalty, 2:3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him,

[2:5]  ¹ tn Heb “they”; the phrase “And as for them” has been used in the translation for clarity.

[2:5]  ² tn The Hebrew word implies obedience rather than mere hearing or paying attention.

[2:5]  ³ tn This Hebrew adjective is also used to describe the Israelites in Num 17:25 and Isa 30:9.

[2:5]  ⁴ sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).

[33:33]  ⁵ tn Heb “behold it is coming.”

[10:11]  ⁶ tn Or “city.”

[10:11]  ⁷ sn See Luke 9:5, where the verb is different but the meaning is the same. This was a sign of rejection.

[10:11]  ⁸ tn Here ὑμῖν (Jumin) has been translated as a dative of disadvantage.

[10:11]  ⁹ tn Or “has come near.” As in v. 9 (see above), the combination of ἐγγίζω (engizw) with the preposition ἐπί (epi) is decisive in showing that the sense is “has come” (see BDAG 270 s.v. ἐγγίζω 2, and W. R. Hutton, “The Kingdom of God Has Come,” ExpTim 64 [Dec 1952]: 89-91).

[10:12]  ¹⁰ sn The allusion to Sodom, the most wicked of OT cities from Gen 19:1-29, shows that to reject the current message is even more serious than the worst sins of the old era and will result in more severe punishment. The noun Sodom is in emphatic position in the Greek text.

[10:12]  ¹¹ tn Or “city.”

[5:46]  ¹² tn Grk “For if.”

[13:26]  ¹³ tn Grk “Men brothers,” but this is both awkward and unnecessary in English.

[13:26]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “sons”

[13:26]  ¹⁵ tn Or “race.”

[13:26]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and those among you who fear God,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Note how Paul includes God-fearing Gentiles as recipients of this promise.

[13:26]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “word.”

[13:38]  ¹⁸ tn That is, Jesus. This pronoun is in emphatic position in the Greek text. Following this phrase in the Greek text is the pronoun ὑμῖν (Jumin, “to you”), so that the emphasis for the audience is that “through Jesus to you” these promises have come.

[13:39]  ¹⁹ sn This one refers here to Jesus.

[13:39]  ²⁰ tn Or “is freed.” The translation of δικαιωθῆναι (dikaiwqhnai) and δικαιοῦται (dikaioutai) in Acts 13:38-39 is difficult. BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 3 categorizes δικαιωθῆναι in 13:38 (Greek text) under the meaning “make free/pure” but categorizes δικαιοῦται in Acts 13:39 as “be found in the right, be free of charges” (BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 2.b.β). In the interest of consistency both verbs are rendered as “justified” in this translation.

[13:39]  ²¹ tn Or “could not free.”

[13:39]  ²² tn Grk “from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation, with “by the law of Moses” becoming the subject of the final clause. The words “from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify you” are part of v. 38 in the Greek text, but due to English style and word order must be placed in v. 39 in the translation.

[13:40]  ²³ sn The speech closes with a warning, “Watch out,” that also stresses culpability.

[13:40]  ²⁴ tn Or “in.”

[13:41]  ²⁵ tn Or “and die!”

[13:41]  ²⁶ sn A quotation from Hab 1:5. The irony in the phrase even if someone tells you, of course, is that Paul has now told them. So the call in the warning is to believe or else face the peril of being scoffers whom God will judge. The parallel from Habakkuk is that the nation failed to see how Babylon’s rising to power meant perilous judgment for Israel.

[28:23]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Having set.” The participle ταξάμενοι (taxamenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[28:23]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Having set a day with him”; the words “to meet” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[28:23]  ²⁹ tn Or “came to him in his rented quarters.”

[28:23]  ³⁰ tn BDAG 848 s.v. πολύς 1.b.β.ב states, “(even) more πλείονες in even greater numbers Ac 28:23.”

[28:23]  ³¹ tn The word “things” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[28:23]  ³² tn Grk “to whom he explained.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun at this point in the translation.

[28:23]  ³³ tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 1 has “to make a solemn declaration about the truth of someth. testify of, bear witness to (orig. under oath)…God’s kingdom 28:23.”

[28:23]  ³⁴ sn Testifying about the kingdom of God. The topic is important. Paul’s preaching was about the rule of God and his promise in Jesus. Paul’s text was the Jewish scriptures.

[28:23]  ³⁵ tn Or “persuade.”

[28:24]  ³⁶ tn Or “persuaded.”

[28:24]  ³⁷ tn Grk “by the things spoken.”

[28:24]  ³⁸ sn Some were convinced…but others refused to believe. Once again the gospel caused division among Jews, as in earlier chapters of Acts (13:46; 18:6).

[28:25]  ³⁹ tn The imperfect verb ἀπελύοντο (apeluonto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[28:25]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[28:26]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “you will hear with hearing” (an idiom).

[28:26]  ⁴² tn Or “seeing”; Grk “you will look by looking” (an idiom).

[28:27]  ⁴³ tn Or “insensitive.”

[28:27]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “they hear heavily with their ears” (an idiom for slow comprehension).

[28:27]  ⁴⁵ sn Note how the failure to respond to the message of the gospel is seen as a failure to turn.

[28:27]  ⁴⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10.

[28:28]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “Therefore let it be known to you.”

[28:28]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “of God.”

[28:28]  ⁴⁹ sn The term Gentiles is in emphatic position in the Greek text of this clause. Once again there is the pattern: Jewish rejection of the gospel leads to an emphasis on Gentile inclusion (Acts 13:44-47).

[28:28]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “they also.”

[2:2]  ⁵¹ sn The message spoken through angels refers to the OT law, which according to Jewish tradition was mediated to Moses through angels (cf. Deut 33:2; Ps 68:17-18; Acts 7:38, 53; Gal 3:19; and Jub. 1:27, 29; Josephus, Ant. 15.5.3 [15.136]).

[2:2]  ⁵² tn Grk “through angels became valid and every violation.”