Isaiah 60:8

60:8 Who are these who float along ¹  like a cloud,

who fly like doves to their shelters? ² 

Matthew 2:1-3

The Visit of the Wise Men

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem ³  in Judea, in the time ⁴  of King Herod, ⁵  wise men ⁶  from the East came to Jerusalem ⁷  2:2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose ⁸  and have come to worship him.” 2:3 When King Herod ⁹  heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him.

Matthew 8:11-12

8:11 I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet ¹⁰  with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ¹¹  in the kingdom of heaven, 8:12 but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹² 

Matthew 11:20-24

Woes on Unrepentant Cities

11:20 Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities ¹³  in which he had done many of his miracles, because they did not repent. 11:21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! ¹⁴  Woe to you, Bethsaida! If ¹⁵  the miracles ¹⁶  done in you had been done in Tyre ¹⁷  and Sidon, ¹⁸  they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 11:22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you! 11:23 And you, Capernaum, ¹⁹  will you be exalted to heaven? ²⁰  No, you will be thrown down to Hades! ²¹  For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have continued to this day. 11:24 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom ²²  on the day of judgment than for you!”

Matthew 12:40-42

12:40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish ²³  for three days and three nights, ²⁴  so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 12:41 The people ²⁵  of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them ²⁶  – and now, ²⁷  something greater than Jonah is here! 12:42 The queen of the South ²⁸  will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon – and now, ²⁹  something greater than Solomon is here!

Matthew 20:16

20:16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Luke 17:16-18

17:16 He ³⁰  fell with his face to the ground ³¹  at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. ³²  (Now ³³  he was a Samaritan.) ³⁴  17:17 Then ³⁵  Jesus said, ³⁶  “Were ³⁷  not ten cleansed? Where are the other ³⁸  nine? 17:18 Was no one found to turn back and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ³⁹ 

Acts 8:5-8

8:5 Philip went down to the main city of Samaria ⁴⁰  and began proclaiming ⁴¹  the Christ ⁴²  to them. 8:6 The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what Philip said, ⁴³  as they heard and saw the miraculous signs ⁴⁴  he was performing. 8:7 For unclean spirits, ⁴⁵  crying with loud shrieks, were coming out of many who were possessed, ⁴⁶  and many paralyzed and lame people were healed. 8:8 So there was ⁴⁷  great joy ⁴⁸  in that city.

Acts 10:33

10:33 Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come. ⁴⁹  So now we are all here in the presence of God ⁵⁰  to listen ⁵¹  to everything the Lord has commanded you to say to us.” ⁵² 

Acts 13:42

13:42 As Paul and Barnabas ⁵³  were going out, ⁵⁴  the people ⁵⁵  were urging ⁵⁶  them to speak about these things ⁵⁷  on the next Sabbath.

Acts 28:28

28:28 “Therefore be advised ⁵⁸  that this salvation from God ⁵⁹  has been sent to the Gentiles; ⁶⁰  they ⁶¹  will listen!”

Romans 5:20

5:20 Now the law came in ⁶²  so that the transgression ⁶³  may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more,

[60:8]  ¹ tn Heb “fly” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NAB, NIV “fly along.”

[60:8]  ² tn Heb “to their windows,” i.e., to the openings in their coops. See HALOT 83 s.v. אֲרֻבָּה.

[2:1]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “in the days.”

[2:1]  ⁵ sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

[2:1]  ⁶ sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).

[2:1]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Or “in its rising,” referring to the astrological significance of a star in a particular portion of the sky. The term used for the “East” in v. 1 is ἀνατολαί (anatolai, a plural form that is used typically of the rising of the sun), while in vv. 2 and 9 the singular ἀνατολή (anatolh) is used. The singular is typically used of the rising of a star and as such should not normally be translated “in the east” (cf. BDAG 74 s.v. 1: “because of the sg. and the article in contrast to ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν, vs. 1, [it is] prob. not a geograph. expr. like the latter, but rather astronomical…likew. vs. 9”).

[2:3]  ⁷ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[8:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “and recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away. The word “banquet” has been supplied to clarify for the modern reader the festive nature of the imagery. The banquet imagery is a way to describe the fellowship and celebration of being among the people of God at the end.

[8:11]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and Isaac and Jacob,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[8:12]  ¹¹ sn Weeping and gnashing of teeth is a figure for remorse and trauma, which occurs here because of exclusion from God’s promise.

[11:20]  ¹³ tn The Greek word here is πόλις (polis) which can be translated “city” or “town.” “Cities” was chosen here to emphasize the size of the places Jesus’ mentions in the following verses.

[11:21]  ¹⁵ sn Chorazin was a town of Galilee that was probably fairly small in contrast to Bethsaida and is otherwise unattested. Bethsaida was declared a polis by the tetrarch Herod Philip, sometime after a.d. 30.

[11:21]  ¹⁶ tn This introduces a second class (contrary to fact) condition in the Greek text.

[11:21]  ¹⁷ tn Or “powerful deeds.”

[11:21]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[11:21]  ¹⁹ sn Tyre and Sidon are two other notorious OT cities (Isa 23; Jer 25:22; 47:4). The remark is a severe rebuke, in effect: “Even the sinners of the old era would have responded to the proclamation of the kingdom, unlike you!”

[11:23]  ¹⁷ sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

[11:23]  ¹⁸ tn The interrogative particle introducing this question expects a negative reply.

[11:23]  ¹⁹ sn In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Luke 10:15; 16:23; Rev 20:13-14).

[11:24]  ¹⁹ 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, and will result in more severe punishment, than the worst sins of the old era. The phrase region of Sodom is in emphatic position in the Greek text.

[12:40]  ²¹ tn Grk “large sea creature.”

[12:40]  ²² sn A quotation from Jonah 1:17.

[12:41]  ²³ tn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anhr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1.a, 2).

[12:41]  ²⁴ tn Grk “at the preaching of Jonah.”

[12:41]  ²⁵ tn Grk “behold.”

[12:42]  ²⁵ sn On the queen of the South see 1 Kgs 10:1-3 and 2 Chr 9:1-12, as well as Josephus, Ant. 8.6.5-6 (8.165-175). The South most likely refers to modern southwest Arabia, possibly the eastern part of modern Yemen, although there is an ancient tradition reflected in Josephus which identifies this geo-political entity as Ethiopia.

[12:42]  ²⁶ tn Grk “behold.”

[17:16]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:16]  ²⁸ tn Grk “he fell on his face” (an idiom for complete prostration).

[17:16]  ²⁹ sn And thanked him. This action recognized God’s healing work through Jesus.

[17:16]  ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a parenthetical comment.

[17:16]  ³¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The comment that the man was a Samaritan means that to most Jews of Jesus’ day he would have been despised as a half-breed and a heretic. The note adds a touch of irony to the account (v. 18).

[17:17]  ²⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[17:17]  ³⁰ tn Grk “Jesus answering said”; this is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

[17:17]  ³¹ tn The Greek construction used here (οὐχί, ouci) expects a positive reply.

[17:17]  ³² tn The word “other” is implied in the context.

[17:18]  ³¹ sn Jesus’ point in calling the man a foreigner is that none of the other nine, who were presumably Israelites, responded with gratitude. Only the “outsiders” were listening and responding.

[8:5]  ³³ tn The word “main” is supplied in the translation to clarify that “Samaria” is not the name of the city (at least in NT times). See both BDAG 912 s.v. Σαμάρεια, and L&N 93.568.

[8:5]  ³⁴ tn The imperfect ἐκήρυσσεν (ekhrussen) has been translated as an ingressive, since this is probably the first time such preaching took place.

[8:5]  ³⁵ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[8:6]  ³⁵ tn Grk “to what was being said by Philip,” a passive construction that has been changed to active voice in the translation.

[8:6]  ³⁶ tn Here the following context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned. This term appears 13 times in Acts, but only twice more after Acts 8:13 (i.e., 14:3; 15:12).

[8:7]  ³⁷ sn The expression unclean spirits refers to evil supernatural spirits which were ceremonially unclean, and which caused the persons possessed by them to be ceremonially unclean.

[8:7]  ³⁸ tn Grk “For [in the case of] many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out, crying in a loud voice.”

[8:8]  ³⁹ tn Grk “and there came about,” but this is somewhat awkward in English.

[8:8]  ⁴⁰ sn Great joy. The reason for eschatological joy was that such events pointed to God’s decisive deliverance (Luke 7:22-23). Note how the acts of healing extend beyond the Twelve here.

[10:33]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “you have done well by coming.” The idiom καλῶς ποιεῖν (kalw" poiein) is translated “be kind enough to do someth.” by BDAG 505-6 s.v. καλῶς 4.a. The participle παραγενόμενος (paragenomeno") has been translated as an English infinitive due to the nature of the English idiom (“kind enough to” + infinitive).

[10:33]  ⁴² tn The translation “we are here in the presence of God” for ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ πάρεσμεν (enwpion tou qeou paresmen) is given by BDAG 773 s.v. πάρειμι 1.a.

[10:33]  ⁴³ tn Or “to hear everything.”

[10:33]  ⁴⁴ tn The words “to say to us” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Cornelius knows Peter is God’s representative, bringing God’s message.

[13:42]  ⁴³ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Paul and Barnabas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:42]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “were leaving.” The participle ἐξιόντων (exiontwn) is taken temporally.

[13:42]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:42]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “begging,” “inviting.”

[13:42]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “matters.”

[28:28]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “Therefore let it be known to you.”

[28:28]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “of God.”

[28:28]  ⁴⁷ 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]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “they also.”

[5:20]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “slipped in.”

[5:20]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “trespass.”