Isaiah 35:4

35:4 Tell those who panic, ¹ 

“Be strong! Do not fear!

Look, your God comes to avenge!

With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” ² 

Isaiah 41:10

41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!

Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! ³ 

I strengthen you –

yes, I help you –

yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! ⁴ 

Isaiah 41:14

41:14 Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, ⁵ 

men of ⁶  Israel.

I am helping you,” says the Lord,

your protector, ⁷  the Holy One of Israel. ⁸ 

Daniel 10:12

10:12 Then he said to me, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel, for from the very first day you applied your mind ⁹  to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. I have come in response to your words.

Daniel 10:19

10:19 He said to me, “Don’t be afraid, you who are valued. ¹⁰  Peace be to you! Be strong! Be really strong!” When he spoke to me, I was strengthened. I said, “Sir, you may speak now, ¹¹  for you have given me strength.”

Mark 16:6

16:6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. ¹²  He has been raised! ¹³  He is not here. Look, there is the place where they laid him.

Luke 1:12-13

1:12 And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, ¹⁴  was seized with fear. ¹⁵  1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, ¹⁶  and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you ¹⁷  will name him John. ¹⁸ 

Luke 1:30

1:30 So ¹⁹  the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, ²⁰  Mary, for you have found favor ²¹  with God!

Hebrews 1:14

1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to serve those ²²  who will inherit salvation?

Revelation 1:17-18

1:17 When ²³  I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but ²⁴  he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, 1:18 and the one who lives! I ²⁵  was dead, but look, now I am alive – forever and ever – and I hold the keys of death and of Hades! ²⁶ 

[35:4]  ¹ tn Heb “Say to the hasty of heart,” i.e., those whose hearts beat quickly from fear.

[35:4]  ² tn The jussive form וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם (vÿyosha’akhem), which is subordinated to the preceding imperfect with vav conjunctive, indicates purpose.

[41:10]  ³ tn According to BDB (1043 s.v. שָׁעָה), the verb תִּשְׁתָּע (tishta’) in the second line of the poetic couplet is a Hitpael form from the root שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “gaze,” with metathesis of the stem prefix and the first root letter). Taking the Hitpael as iterative, one may then translate “do not anxiously look about.” However, the alleged Hitpael form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah) only occurs here and in verse 23. HALOT 1671 s.v. שׁתע proposes that the verb is instead a Qal form from the root שׁתע (“fear”) which is attested in cognate Semitic languages, including Ugaritic (discovered after the publishing of BDB), suggests the existence of this root. The poetic structure of v. 10 also supports the proposal, for the form in question is in synonymous parallelism to יָרֵא (yare’, “fear”).

[41:10]  ⁴ tn The “right hand” is a symbol of the Lord’s power to deliver (Exod 15:6, 12) and protect (Ps 63:9 HT [63:8 ET]). Here צֶדֶק (tsedeq) has its well-attested nuance of “vindicated righteousness,” i.e., “victory, deliverance” (see 45:8; 51:5, and BDB 841-42 s.v.).

[41:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “O worm Jacob” (NAB, NIV). The worm metaphor suggests that Jacob is insignificant and despised.

[41:14]  ⁶ tn On the basis of the parallelism (note “worm”) and an alleged Akkadian cognate, some read “louse” or “weevil.” Cf. NAB “O maggot Israel”; NRSV “you insect Israel.”

[41:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “your kinsman redeemer.” A גָּאַל (ga’al, “kinsman redeemer”) was a protector of the extended family’s interests.

[41:14]  ⁸ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[10:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “gave your heart.”

[10:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “treasured man.”

[10:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my lord may speak.”

[16:6]  ¹² sn See the note on Crucify in 15:13.

[16:6]  ¹³ tn The verb here is passive (ἠγέρθη, hgerqh). This “divine passive” (see ExSyn 437-38) points to the fact that Jesus was raised by God.

[1:12]  ¹⁴ tn The words “the angel” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[1:12]  ¹⁵ tn Or “and he was afraid”; Grk “fear fell upon him.” Fear is common when supernatural agents appear (1:29-30, 65; 2:9; 5:8-10; 9:34; 24:38; Exod 15:16; Judg 6:22-23; 13:6, 22; 2 Sam 6:9).

[1:13]  ¹⁶ tn The passive means that the prayer was heard by God.

[1:13]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “a son, and you”; καί (kai) has not been translated. Instead a semicolon is used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:13]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “you will call his name John.” The future tense here functions like a command (see ExSyn 569-70). This same construction occurs in v. 31.

[1:30]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Gabriel’s statement is a response to Mary’s perplexity over the greeting.

[1:30]  ²⁰ sn Do not be afraid. See 1:13 for a similar statement to Zechariah.

[1:30]  ²¹ tn Or “grace.”

[1:14]  ²² tn Grk “sent for service for the sake of those.”

[1:17]  ²³ tn Grk “And when.” 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.

[1:17]  ²⁴ tn Here the Greek conjunction καί (kai) has been translated as a contrastive (“but”) due to the contrast between the two clauses.

[1:18]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:18]  ²⁶ tn Concerning “Hades” BDAG 19 s.v. ᾅδης 1 and 2 states: “Orig. proper noun, god of the nether world, ‘Hades’, then the nether world, Hades as place of the dead, Ac 2:27, 31 (Ps 15:10; Eccl 9:10; PGM 1, 179; 16, 8; Philo, Mos. 1, 195; Jos., Bell. 1, 596, Ant. 6, 332). Of Jonah’s fish ἐκ τοῦ κατωτάτου ᾅδου. In the depths, contrasted w. heaven ἕως (τοῦ) ᾅδου Mt 11:23; Lk 10:15 (PsSol 15:10; cp.; Is 14:11, 15); ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ 16:23; ἐν ῝Αιδου ApcPt Rainer. Accessible by gates (but the pl. is also used [e.g. Hom., X., Ael. Aristid. 47, 20 K.=23 p. 450 D.] when only one gate is meant), hence πύλαι ᾅδου (Il. 5, 646; Is 38:10; Wsd 16:13; 3 Macc 5:51; Pss. Sol. 16:2. – Lucian, Menipp. 6 the magicians can open τοῦ ῝Αιδου τὰς πύλας and conduct people in and out safely) Mt 16:18…locked ἔχω τὰς κλεῖς τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τοῦ ᾅδου Rv 1:18 (the genitives are either obj. [Ps.-Apollod. 3, 12, 6, 10 Aeacus, the son of Zeus holds the κλεῖς τοῦ ῝Αιδου; SEG VIII, 574, 3 (III ad) τῷ τὰς κλεῖδας ἔχοντι τῶν καθ᾿ ῝Αιδου (restored)] or possess.; in the latter case death and Hades are personif.; s. 2)…Hades personif.…w. θάνατος (cp. Is 28:15; Job 38:17…) Rv 6:8; 20:13f.”