Isaiah 49:24

49:24 Can spoils be taken from a warrior,

or captives be rescued from a conqueror? ¹ 

Isaiah 53:12

53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, ² 

he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, ³ 

because he willingly submitted ⁴  to death

and was numbered with the rebels,

when he lifted up the sin of many

and intervened ⁵  on behalf of the rebels.”

Mark 3:27

3:27 But no one is able to enter a strong man’s ⁶  house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house. ⁷ 

Luke 11:21-22

11:21 When a strong man, ⁸  fully armed, guards his own palace, ⁹  his possessions are safe. ¹⁰  11:22 But ¹¹  when a stronger man ¹²  attacks ¹³  and conquers him, he takes away the first man’s ¹⁴  armor on which the man relied ¹⁵  and divides up ¹⁶  his plunder. ¹⁷ 

Luke 11:1

Instructions on Prayer

11:1 Now ¹⁸  Jesus ¹⁹  was praying in a certain place. When ²⁰  he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John ²¹  taught ²²  his disciples.”

Luke 3:8

3:8 Therefore produce ²³  fruit ²⁴  that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say ²⁵  to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ ²⁶  For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! ²⁷ 

Luke 4:4

4:4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man ²⁸  does not live by bread alone.’” ²⁹ 

Revelation 12:7-10

War in Heaven

12:7 Then ³⁰  war broke out in heaven: Michael ³¹  and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 12:8 But ³²  the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, ³³  so there was no longer any place left ³⁴  in heaven for him and his angels. ³⁵  12:9 So ³⁶  that huge dragon – the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world – was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him. 12:10 Then ³⁷  I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,

“The salvation and the power

and the kingdom of our God,

and the ruling authority ³⁸  of his Christ, ³⁹  have now come,

because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, ⁴⁰ 

the one who accuses them day and night ⁴¹  before our God,

has been thrown down.

Revelation 20:1-3

The Thousand Year Reign

20:1 Then ⁴²  I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding ⁴³  in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain. 20:2 He ⁴⁴  seized the dragon – the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan – and tied him up for a thousand years. 20:3 The angel ⁴⁵  then ⁴⁶  threw him into the abyss and locked ⁴⁷  and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)

Revelation 20:7-9

Satan’s Final Defeat

20:7 Now ⁴⁸  when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison 20:8 and will go out to deceive ⁴⁹  the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, ⁵⁰  to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea. ⁵¹  20:9 They ⁵²  went up ⁵³  on the broad plain of the earth ⁵⁴  and encircled ⁵⁵  the camp ⁵⁶  of the saints and the beloved city, but ⁵⁷  fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely. ⁵⁸ 

[49:24]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text has צָדִיק (tsadiq, “a righteous [one]”), but this makes no sense in the parallelism. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly עריץ (“violent [one], tyrant”; see v. 25).

[53:12]  ² tn Scholars have debated the precise meaning of the term רַבִּים (rabbim) that occurs five times in this passage (Isa 52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 [2x]). Its two broad categories of translation are “much”/“many” and “great” (HALOT 1171-72 s.v. I רַב). Unlike other Hebrew terms for might or strength, this term is linked with numbers or abundance. In all sixteen uses outside of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (articular and plural) it signifies an inclusive meaning: “the majority” or “the multitude” (J. Jeremias, TDNT 6:536-37). This term occurs in parallelism with עֲצוּמִים (’atsumim), which normally signifies “numerous” or “large” or “powerful” (through large numbers). Like רַבִּים (rabbim), it refers to greatness in numbers (cf. Deut 4:38; 7:1; 9:1; 11:34). It emphasizes the multitudes with whom the Servant will share the spoil of his victory. As J. Olley wrote: “Yahweh has won the victory and vindicates his Servant, giving to him many subservient people, together with their spoils. These numerous peoples in turn receive blessing, sharing in the “peace” resulting from Yahweh’s victory and the Servant’s suffering” (John W. Olley, “‘The Many’: How Is Isa 53,12a to Be Understood,” Bib 68 [1987]: 330-56).

[53:12]  ³ sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.

[53:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”

[53:12]  ⁵ tn The Hiphil of פָּגַע (paga’) can mean “cause to attack” (v. 6), “urge, plead verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25), or “intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16). Perhaps the third nuance fits best here, for military imagery is employed in the first two lines of the verse.

[3:27]  ⁶ sn The strong man here pictures Satan.

[3:27]  ⁷ sn Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7-10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.

[11:21]  ⁸ tn The referent of the expression “a strong man” is Satan.

[11:21]  ⁹ tn The word αὐλή (aulh) describes any building large and elaborate enough to have an interior courtyard, thus “dwelling, palace, mansion” (L&N 7.6).

[11:21]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “his goods are in peace.”

[11:22]  ¹¹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[11:22]  ¹² tn The referent of the expression “a stronger man” is Jesus.

[11:22]  ¹³ tn Grk “stronger man than he attacks.”

[11:22]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “his”; the referent (the first man mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:22]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “on which he relied.”

[11:22]  ¹⁶ tn Or “and distributes.”

[11:22]  ¹⁷ sn Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7-10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.

[11:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[11:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:1]  ²⁰ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[11:1]  ²¹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[11:1]  ²² sn It was not unusual for Jewish groups to have their own prayer as a way of expressing corporate identity. Judaism had the Eighteen Benedictions and apparently John the Baptist had a prayer for his disciples as well.

[3:8]  ²³ tn The verb here is ποιέω (poiew; see v. 4).

[3:8]  ²⁴ tn Grk “fruits.” The plural Greek term καρπούς has been translated with the collective singular “fruit” (so NIV; cf. Matt 3:8 where the singular καρπός is found). Some other translations render the plural καρπούς as “fruits” (e.g., NRSV, NASB, NAB, NKJV).

[3:8]  ²⁵ tn In other words, “do not even begin to think this.”

[3:8]  ²⁶ sn We have Abraham as our father. John’s warning to the crowds really assumes two things: (1) A number of John’s listeners apparently believed that simply by their physical descent from Abraham, they were certain heirs of the promises made to the patriarch, and (2) God would never judge his covenant people lest he inadvertently place the fulfillment of his promises in jeopardy. In light of this, John tells these people two things: (1) they need to repent and produce fruit in keeping with repentance, for only that saves from the coming wrath, and (2) God will raise up “children for Abraham from these stones” if he wants to. Their disobedience will not threaten the realization of God’s sovereign purposes.

[3:8]  ²⁷ sn The point of the statement God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham is that ancestry or association with a tradition tied to the great founder of the Jewish nation is not an automatic source of salvation.

[4:4]  ²⁸ tn Or “a person.” The Greek word ὁ ἄνθρωπος (Jo anqrwpo") is used generically for humanity. The translation “man” is used because the emphasis in Jesus’ response seems to be on his dependence on God as a man.

[4:4]  ²⁹ tc Most mss (A [D] Θ Ψ [0102] Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt) complete the citation with ἀλλ᾿ ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι θεοῦ (ajll’ ejpi panti rJhmati qeou, “but by every word from God”), an assimilation to Matt 4:4 (which is a quotation of Deut 8:3). The shorter reading is found in א B L W 1241 pc sa. There is no good reason why scribes would omit the rest of the quotation here. The shorter reading, on both internal and external grounds, should be considered the original wording in Luke.

[12:7]  ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[12:7]  ³¹ sn The archangel Michael had a special role in protecting the nation of Israel in the OT (Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1; see also Jude 9).

[12:8]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the implied contrast.

[12:8]  ³³ tn The words “to prevail” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:8]  ³⁴ tn Grk “found.”

[12:8]  ³⁵ tn Grk “for them”; the referent (the dragon and his angels, v. 7) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:9]  ³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.

[12:10]  ³⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:10]  ³⁸ tn Or “the right of his Messiah to rule.” See L&N 37.35.

[12:10]  ³⁹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[12:10]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The translation “fellow believer” would normally apply (L&N 11.23), but since the speaker(s) are not specified in this context, it is not clear if such a translation would be appropriate here. The more generic “brothers and sisters” was chosen to emphasize the fact of a relationship without specifying its type.

[12:10]  ⁴¹ tn Or “who accuses them continually.”

[20:1]  ⁴² tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[20:1]  ⁴³ tn The word “holding” is implied. The two clauses “having the key of the abyss” and “a huge chain in his hand” can be construed in two ways: (1) both are controlled by the participle ἔχοντα (econta) and both are modified by the phrase “in his hand” – “having in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.” (2) The participle ἔχοντα refers only to the key, and the phrase “in his hand” refers only to the chain – “having the key of the abyss and holding a huge chain in his hand.” Because of the stylistic tendency in Rev to use the verb ἔχω (ecw) to mean “hold (something)” and the phrase “in his hand” forming a “bracket” along with the verb ἔχω around both the phrases in question, the first option is preferred.

[20:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel introduced in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[20:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “and shut.” While the lexical force of the term is closer to “shut,” it is acceptable to render the verb ἔκλεισεν (ekleisen) as “locked” here in view of the mention of the key in the previous verse.

[20:7]  ⁴⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[20:8]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “mislead.”

[20:8]  ⁵⁰ sn The battle with Gog and Magog is described in the OT in Ezek 38:1-39:20.

[20:8]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “of whom the number of them [is] like the sand of the sea” (an allusion to Isa 10:22).

[20:9]  ⁵² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:9]  ⁵³ tn The shift here to past tense reflects the Greek text.

[20:9]  ⁵⁴ tn On the phrase “broad plain of the earth” BDAG 823 s.v. πλάτος states, “τὸ πλάτος τῆς γῆς Rv 20:9 comes fr. the OT (Da 12:2 LXX. Cp. Hab 1:6; Sir 1:3), but the sense is not clear: breadth = the broad plain of the earth is perh. meant to provide room for the countless enemies of God vs. 8, but the ‘going up’ is better suited to Satan (vs. 7) who has recently been freed, and who comes up again fr. the abyss (vs. 3).” The referent here thus appears to be a plain large enough to accommodate the numberless hoards that have drawn up for battle against the Lord Christ and his saints.

[20:9]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “surrounded.”

[20:9]  ⁵⁶ tn On the term παρεμβολή (parembolh) BDAG 775 s.v. states, “Mostly used as a military t.t.…so always in our lit.…1. a (fortified) camp…ἡ παρεμβολὴ τῶν ἁγίων Rv 20:9 is also to be understood fr. the OT use of the word.”

[20:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[20:9]  ⁵⁸ tn See L&N 20.45 for the translation of κατεσθίω (katesqiw) as “to destroy utterly, to consume completely.”