Isaiah 41:22-23

41:22 “Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen!

Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles, ¹ 

so we may examine them ²  and see how they were fulfilled. ³ 

Or decree for us some future events!

41:23 Predict how future events will turn out, ⁴ 

so we might know you are gods.

Yes, do something good or bad,

so we might be frightened and in awe. ⁵ 

Isaiah 43:19

43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.

Now it begins to happen! ⁶  Do you not recognize ⁷  it?

Yes, I will make a road in the desert

and paths ⁸  in the wilderness.

Isaiah 44:7-8

44:7 Who is like me? Let him make his claim! ⁹ 

Let him announce it and explain it to me –

since I established an ancient people – ¹⁰ 

let them announce future events! ¹¹ 

44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! ¹² 

Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?

You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?

There is no other sheltering rock; ¹³  I know of none.

Isaiah 46:9-10

46:9 Remember what I accomplished in antiquity! ¹⁴ 

Truly I am God, I have no peer; ¹⁵ 

I am God, and there is none like me,

46:10 who announces the end from the beginning

and reveals beforehand ¹⁶  what has not yet occurred,

who says, ‘My plan will be realized,

I will accomplish what I desire,’

John 13:19

13:19 I am telling you this now, ¹⁷  before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe ¹⁸  that I am he. ¹⁹ 

Acts 15:18

15:18 known ²⁰  from long ago. ²¹ 

Acts 15:1

The Jerusalem Council

15:1 Now some men came down from Judea ²²  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ²³  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Acts 1:10-12

1:10 As ²⁴  they were still staring into the sky while he was going, suddenly ²⁵  two men in white clothing stood near them 1:11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here ²⁶  looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven ²⁷  will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.”

A Replacement for Judas is Chosen

1:12 Then they returned to Jerusalem ²⁸  from the mountain ²⁹  called the Mount of Olives ³⁰  (which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey ³¹  away).

Acts 1:2

1:2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, ³²  after he had given orders ³³  by ³⁴  the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.

Acts 1:19-21

1:19 This ³⁵  became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so that in their own language ³⁶  they called that field ³⁷  Hakeldama, that is, “Field of Blood.”) 1:20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his house become deserted, ³⁸  and let there be no one to live in it,’ ³⁹  and ‘Let another take his position of responsibility.’ ⁴⁰  1:21 Thus one of the men ⁴¹  who have accompanied us during all the time the Lord Jesus associated with ⁴²  us,

[41:22]  ¹ tn Heb “As for the former things, tell us what they are!”

[41:22]  ² tn Heb “so we might set [them to] our heart.”

[41:22]  ³ tn Heb “and might know their outcome.”

[41:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “Declare the coming things, with respect to the end.”

[41:23]  ⁵ tc The translation assumes the Qere (וְנִרְאֶה [vÿnir’eh], from יָרֵא [yare’], “be afraid”).

[43:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”

[43:19]  ⁷ tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”

[43:19]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has נתיבות (“paths”).

[44:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “let him call” or “let him proclaim” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “Let him stand up and speak.”

[44:7]  ¹⁰ tc The Hebrew text reads, “from (the time) I established an ancient people, and the coming things.” Various emendations have been proposed. One of the options assumes the reading מַשְׁמִיעִים מֵעוֹלָם אוֹתִיּוֹת (mashmi’im me’olam ’otiyyot); This literally reads “the ones causing to hear from antiquity coming things,” but more idiomatically would read “as for those who predict from antiquity what will happen” (cf. NAB, NEB, REB). The emendation directs the attention of the reader to those who claim to be able to predict the future, challenging them to actually do what they claim they can do. The MT presents Yahweh as an example to whom these alleged “predictors of the future” can compare themselves. Since the ancient versions are unanimous in their support of the MT, the emendations should be set aside.

[44:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb and those things which are coming let them declare for themselves.”

[44:8]  ¹² tn BDB 923 s.v. רָהָה derives this verb from an otherwise unattested root, while HALOT 403 s.v. יָרָה defines it as “be stupefied” on the basis of an Arabic cognate. The form is likely a corruption of תיראו, the reading attested in the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a.

[44:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “rock” or “rocky cliff,” a title that depicts God as a protective refuge in his role as sovereign king; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”

[46:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “remember the former things, from antiquity”; KJV, ASV “the former things of old.”

[46:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and there is no other” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[46:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “from long ago”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “from ancient times.”

[13:19]  ¹⁷ tn Or (perhaps) “I am certainly telling you this.” According to BDF §12.3 ἀπ᾿ ἄρτι (ap’ arti) should be read as ἀπαρτί (aparti), meaning “exactly, certainly.”

[13:19]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “so that you may believe.”

[13:19]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “that I am.” R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:555) argues for a nonpredicated ἐγώ εἰμι (egw eimi) here, but this is far from certain.

[15:18]  ²⁰ sn Who makes these things known. The remark emphasizes how God’s design of these things reaches back to the time he declared them.

[15:18]  ²¹ sn An allusion to Isa 45:21.

[15:1]  ²² sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.

[15:1]  ²³ tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.

[1:10]  ²⁴ tn Grk “And as.” 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.

[1:10]  ²⁵ tn Grk “behold.”

[1:11]  ²⁶ tn The word “here” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[1:11]  ²⁷ tc Codex Bezae (D) and several other witnesses lack the words εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν (ei" ton ouranon, “into heaven”) here, most likely by way of accidental deletion. In any event, it is hardly correct to suppose that the Western text has intentionally suppressed references to the ascension of Christ here, for the phrase is solidly attested in the final clause of the verse.

[1:12]  ²⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:12]  ²⁹ tn Or “from the hill.” The Greek term ὄρος (oros) refers to a relatively high elevation of land in contrast with βουνός (bounos, “hill”).

[1:12]  ³⁰ sn The Mount of Olives is the traditional name for this mountain, also called Olivet. The Mount of Olives is really a ridge running north to south about 1.8 mi (3 km) long, east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Its central elevation is about 100 ft (30 m) higher than Jerusalem. It was named for the large number of olive trees which grew on it.

[1:12]  ³¹ sn The phrase a Sabbath day’s journey refers to the distance the rabbis permitted a person to travel on the Sabbath without breaking the Sabbath, specified in tractate Sotah 5:3 of the Mishnah as 2,000 cubits (a cubit was about 18 inches). In this case the distance was about half a mile (1 km).

[1:2]  ³² tn The words “to heaven” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied from v. 11. Several modern translations (NIV, NRSV) supply the words “to heaven” after “taken up” to specify the destination explicitly mentioned later in 1:11.

[1:2]  ³³ tn Or “commands.” Although some modern translations render ἐντειλάμενος (enteilameno") as “instructions” (NIV, NRSV), the word implies authority or official sanction (G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:545), so that a word like “orders” conveys the idea more effectively. The action of the temporal participle is antecedent (prior) to the action of the verb it modifies (“taken up”).

[1:2]  ³⁴ tn Or “through.”

[1:19]  ³⁵ tn Grk “And this.” 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.

[1:19]  ³⁶ sn Their own language refers to Aramaic, the primary language spoken in Palestine in Jesus’ day.

[1:19]  ³⁷ tn Grk “that field was called.” The passive voice has been converted to active in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.

[1:20]  ³⁸ tn Or “uninhabited” or “empty.”

[1:20]  ³⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 69:25.

[1:20]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “Let another take his office.”

[1:21]  ⁴¹ tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, where a successor to Judas is being chosen, only men were under consideration in the original historical context.

[1:21]  ⁴² tn Grk “the Lord Jesus went in and out among us.” According to BDAG 294 s.v. εἰσέρχομαι 1.b.β, “ἐν παντὶ χρόνῳ ᾧ εἰσῆλθεν καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς went in and out among us = associated with us Ac 1:21.”