Genesis 31:55

31:55 (32:1) ¹  Early in the morning Laban kissed ²  his grandchildren ³  and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home. ⁴ 

Genesis 45:15

45:15 He kissed all his brothers and wept over them. After this his brothers talked with him.

Ruth 1:14

1:14 Again they wept loudly. ⁵  Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, ⁶  but Ruth ⁷  clung tightly to her. ⁸ 

Ruth 1:1

A Family Tragedy: Famine and Death

1:1 During the time of the judges ⁹  there was a famine in the land of Judah. ¹⁰  So a man from Bethlehem ¹¹  in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner ¹²  in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. ¹³ 

Ruth 1:20

1:20 But she replied ¹⁴  to them, ¹⁵  “Don’t call me ‘Naomi’! ¹⁶  Call me ‘Mara’ ¹⁷  because the Sovereign One ¹⁸  has treated me very harshly. ¹⁹ 

Acts 20:37

20:37 They all began to weep loudly, ²⁰  and hugged ²¹  Paul and kissed him, ²² 

Acts 20:1

Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece

20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging ²³  them and saying farewell, ²⁴  he left to go to Macedonia. ²⁵ 

Acts 5:26

5:26 Then the commander ²⁶  of the temple guard ²⁷  went with the officers ²⁸  and brought the apostles ²⁹  without the use of force ³⁰  (for they were afraid of being stoned by the people). ³¹ 

[31:55]  ¹ sn Beginning with 31:55, the verse numbers in the English Bible through 32:32 differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 31:55 ET = 32:1 HT, 32:1 ET = 32:2 HT, etc., through 32:32 ET = 32:33 HT. From 33:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[31:55]  ² tn Heb “and Laban got up early in the morning and he kissed.”

[31:55]  ³ tn Heb “his sons.”

[31:55]  ⁴ tn Heb “to his place.”

[1:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “they lifted their voice[s] and wept” (so NASB; see v. 9). The expression refers to loud weeping employed in mourning tragedy (Judg 21:2; 2 Sam 13:36; Job 2:12).

[1:14]  ⁶ tc The LXX adds, “and she returned to her people” (cf. TEV “and went back home”). Translating the Greek of the LXX back to Hebrew would read a consonantal text of ותשׁב אל־עמה. Most dismiss this as a clarifying addition added under the influence of v. 15, but this alternative reading should not be rejected too quickly. It is possible that a scribe’s eye jumped from the initial vav on ותשׁב (“and she returned”) to the initial vav on the final clause (וְרוּת [vÿrut], “and Ruth”), inadvertently leaving out the intervening words, “and she returned to her people.” Or a scribe’s eye could have jumped from the final he on לַחֲמוֹתָהּ (lakhamotah, “to her mother-in-law”) to the final he on עַמָּהּ (’ammah, “her people”), leaving out the intervening words, “and she returned to her people.”

[1:14]  ⁷ tn The clause is disjunctive. The word order is conjunction + subject + verb, highlighting the contrast between the actions of Orpah and Ruth.

[1:14]  ⁸ sn Clung tightly. The expression suggests strong commitment (see R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth [NICOT], 115).

[1:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the days of the judging of the judges.” The LXX simply reads “when the judges judged,” and Syriac has “in the days of the judges.” Cf. NASB “in the days when the judges governed (ruled NRSV).”

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in the land.” The phrase “of Judah” is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.

[1:1]  ¹¹ sn The name Bethlehem (בֵּית לֶחֶם, bet lekhem) is from “house, place” (בֵּית) and “bread, food” (לֶחֶם), so the name literally means “House of Bread” or “Place of Food.” Perhaps there is irony here: One would not expect a severe famine in such a location. This would not necessarily indicate that Bethlehem was under divine discipline, but merely that the famine was very severe, explaining the reason for the family’s departure.

[1:1]  ¹² tn Or “to live temporarily.” The verb גּוּר (gur, “sojourn”) may refer to (1) temporary dwelling in a location (Deut 18:6; Judg 17:7) or (2) permanent dwelling in a location (Judg 5:17; Ps 33:8). When used of a foreign land, it can refer to (1) temporary dwelling as a visiting foreigner (Gen 12:10; 20:1; 21:34; 2 Kgs 8:1-2; Jer 44:14) or (2) permanent dwelling as a resident foreigner (Gen 47:4; Exod 6:4; Num 15:14; Deut 26:5; 2 Sam 4:3; Jer 49:18,33; 50:40; Ezek 47:22-23). Although Naomi eventually returned to Judah, there is some ambiguity whether or not Elimelech intended the move to make them permanent resident foreigners. Cf. NASB “to sojourn” and NIV “to live for a while,” both of which imply the move was temporary, while “to live” (NCV, NRSV, NLT) is more neutral about the permanence of the relocation.

[1:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “he and his wife and his two sons.” The LXX omits “two.”

[1:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “said.” For stylistic reasons the present translation employs “replied” here.

[1:20]  ¹⁵ tn The third person feminine plural form of the pronominal suffix indicates the women of the village (see v. 19) are the addressees.

[1:20]  ¹⁶ sn The name Naomi means “pleasant.”

[1:20]  ¹⁷ sn The name Mara means “bitter.”

[1:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Shaddai”; traditionally “the Almighty.” The etymology and meaning of this divine name is uncertain. It may be derived from: (1) שָׁדַד (shadad, “to be strong”), cognate to Arabic sdd, meaning “The Strong One” or “Almighty”; (2) שָׁדָה (shadah, “mountain”), cognate to Akkadian shadu, meaning “The Mountain Dweller” or “God of the Mountains”; (3) שָׁדַד (shadad, “to devastate”) and שַׁד (shad, “destroyer”), Akkadian Shedum, meaning “The Destroyer” or “The Malevolent One”; or (4) שֶׁ (she, “who”) plus דִּי (diy, “sufficient”), meaning “The One Who is Sufficient” or “All-Sufficient One” (HALOT 1420-22 s.v. שַׁדַּי, שַׁדָּי). In terms of use, Shaddai (or El Shaddai) is presented as the sovereign king/judge of the world who grants life/blesses and kills/judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he blesses/protects and also takes away life/happiness. In light of Naomi’s emphasis on God’s sovereign, malevolent deprivation of her family, one can understand her use of this name for God. For discussion of this divine name, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72.

[1:20]  ¹⁹ tn Or “caused me to be very bitter”; NAB “has made it very bitter for me.”

[20:37]  ²⁰ tn Grk “weeping a great deal,” thus “loudly” (BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός and BDAG 546 s.v. κλαυθμός).

[20:37]  ²¹ tn Grk “fell on Paul’s neck” (an idiom, see BDAG 1014 s.v. τράχηλος).

[20:37]  ²² sn The Ephesians elders kissed Paul as a sign of both affection and farewell. The entire scene shows how much interrelationship Paul had in his ministry and how much he and the Ephesians meant to each other.

[20:1]  ²³ tn Or “exhorting.”

[20:1]  ²⁴ tn Or “and taking leave of them.”

[20:1]  ²⁵ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[5:26]  ²⁶ tn Or “captain.”

[5:26]  ²⁷ tn Grk “the official [of the temple],” a title for the commander of the Jewish soldiers guarding the temple (thus the translation, “the commander of the temple guard”). See L&N 37.91.

[5:26]  ²⁸ tn The Greek term ὑπηρέτης (Juphreth") generally means “servant,” but in the NT is used for many different types of servants. See the note on the word “officers” in v. 22.

[5:26]  ²⁹ tn Grk “brought them”; the referent (the apostles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:26]  ³⁰ tn Or “without violence.” It is clear, as well, that the apostles did not resist arrest.

[5:26]  ³¹ tn Grk “for they feared lest they be stoned by the people.” The translation uses a less awkward English equivalent. This is an explanatory note by the author.