Isaiah 66:19-20

66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them ¹  and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, ²  Lud ³  (known for its archers ⁴ ), Tubal, Javan, ⁵  and to the distant coastlands ⁶  that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor. 66:20 They will bring back all your countrymen ⁷  from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. They will bring them ⁸  on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels ⁹  to my holy hill Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring offerings to the Lord’s temple in ritually pure containers.

Jeremiah 3:19

3:19 “I thought to myself, ¹⁰ 

‘Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son! ¹¹ 

What a joy it would be for me to give ¹²  you a pleasant land,

the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!’ ¹³ 

I thought you would call me, ‘Father’ ¹⁴ 

and would never cease being loyal to me. ¹⁵ 

Zechariah 14:16

14:16 Then all who survive from all the nations that came to attack Jerusalem will go up annually to worship the King, the Lord who rules over all, and to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. ¹⁶ 

Acts 8:27

8:27 So ¹⁷  he got up ¹⁸  and went. There ¹⁹  he met ²⁰  an Ethiopian eunuch, ²¹  a court official of Candace, ²²  queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He ²³  had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁴ 

[66:19]  ¹ tn Heb “and I will set a sign among them.” The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Elsewhere “to set a sign” means “perform a mighty act” (Ps 78:43; Jer 32:20), “make [someone] an object lesson” (Ezek 14:8), and “erect a [literal] standard” (Ps 74:4).

[66:19]  ² tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).

[66:19]  ³ sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).

[66:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).

[66:19]  ⁵ sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).

[66:19]  ⁶ tn Or “islands” (NIV).

[66:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “brothers” (so NIV); NCV “fellow Israelites.”

[66:20]  ⁸ tn The words “they will bring them” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[66:20]  ⁹ tn The precise meaning of this word is uncertain. Some suggest it refers to “chariots.” See HALOT 498 s.v. *כִּרְכָּרָה.

[3:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I, myself, said.” See note on “I thought that she might come back to me” in 3:7.

[3:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “How I would place you among the sons.” Israel appears to be addressed here contextually as the Lord’s wife (see the next verse). The pronouns of address in the first two lines are second feminine singular as are the readings of the two verbs preferred by the Masoretes (the Qere readings) in the third and fourth lines. The verbs that are written in the text in the third and fourth lines (the Kethib readings) are second masculine plural as is the verb describing Israel’s treachery in the next verse.

[3:19]  ¹² tn The words “What a joy it would be for me to” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied in the parallel structure.

[3:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “the most beautiful heritage among the nations.”

[3:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my father.”

[3:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “turn back from [following] after me.”

[14:16]  ¹⁶ sn Having imposed his sovereignty over the earth following the Battle of Armageddon, the Lord will receive homage and tribute from all who survive from all the nations. The Feast of Tabernacles was especially associated with covenant institution and renewal so it will be appropriate for all people to acknowledge that they are vassals to the Lord at that time (cf. Deut 31:9-13; Neh 8:12-18; 9:1-38).

[8:27]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And,” but καί (kai) carries something of a resultative force in this context because what follows describes Philip’s response to the angel’s command.

[8:27]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “So getting up he went.” The aorist participle ἀναστάς (anastas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:27]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And there.” 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.

[8:27]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and behold.” This expression is used to portray Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian in a vivid way. In the English translation this vividness is difficult to convey; it is necessary to supply the words “he met.”

[8:27]  ²¹ sn The term eunuch normally referred to a man who had been castrated, but this was not always the case (see Gen 39:1 LXX, where Potiphar is called a eunuch). Such castrated individuals were preferred as court officials in the East, although Judaism opposed the practice. The Mosaic law excluded eunuchs from Israel (Deut 23:1), although God certainly accepted them (Isa 56:3-5; Wis 3:14). This individual was a high official, since he was said to be in charge of all her treasury. He may or may not have been a eunuch physically. He appears to be the first fully Gentile convert to Christianity, since the Samaritans mentioned previously (Acts 8:4-25) were regarded as half-breeds.

[8:27]  ²² tn Or “the Candace” (the title of the queen of the Ethiopians). The term Κανδάκης (Kandakh") is much more likely a title rather than a proper name (like Pharaoh, which is a title); see L&N 37.77. A few, however, still take the word to be the name of the queen (L&N 93.209). BDAG 507 s.v. Κανδάκη, treats the term as a title and lists classical usage by Strabo (Geography 17.1.54) and others.

[8:27]  ²³ tn Grk “who was over all her treasury, who.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the pronoun “he” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.

[8:27]  ²⁴ sn Since this man had come to Jerusalem to worship, he may have been a proselyte to Judaism. This event is a precursor to Acts 10.