Isaiah 9:2-3

9:2 (9:1) The people walking in darkness

see a bright light; ¹ 

light shines

on those who live in a land of deep darkness. ² 

9:3 You ³  have enlarged the nation;

you give them great joy. ⁴ 

They rejoice in your presence

as harvesters rejoice;

as warriors celebrate ⁵  when they divide up the plunder.

Luke 15:18-24

15:18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned ⁶  against heaven ⁷  and against ⁸  you. 15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me ⁹  like one of your hired workers.”’ 15:20 So ¹⁰  he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home ¹¹  his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; ¹²  he ran and hugged ¹³  his son ¹⁴  and kissed him. 15:21 Then ¹⁵  his son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven ¹⁶  and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ¹⁷  15:22 But the father said to his slaves, ¹⁸  ‘Hurry! Bring the best robe, ¹⁹  and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger ²⁰  and sandals ²¹  on his feet! 15:23 Bring ²²  the fattened calf ²³  and kill it! Let us eat ²⁴  and celebrate, 15:24 because this son of mine was dead, and is alive again – he was lost and is found!’ ²⁵  So ²⁶  they began to celebrate.

Acts 16:29-34

16:29 Calling for lights, the jailer ²⁷  rushed in and fell down ²⁸  trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. 16:30 Then he brought them outside ²⁹  and asked, “Sirs, what must ³⁰  I do to be saved?” 16:31 They replied, ³¹  “Believe ³²  in the Lord Jesus ³³  and you will be saved, you and your household.” 16:32 Then ³⁴  they spoke the word of the Lord ³⁵  to him, along with all those who were in his house. 16:33 At ³⁶  that hour of the night he took them ³⁷  and washed their wounds; ³⁸  then ³⁹  he and all his family ⁴⁰  were baptized right away. ⁴¹  16:34 The jailer ⁴²  brought them into his house and set food ⁴³  before them, and he rejoiced greatly ⁴⁴  that he had come to believe ⁴⁵  in God, together with his entire household. ⁴⁶ 

Revelation 7:15-17

7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve ⁴⁷  him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. ⁴⁸  7:16 They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat, ⁴⁹  7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” ⁵⁰ 

[9:2]  ¹ sn The darkness symbolizes judgment and its effects (see 8:22); the light represents deliverance and its effects, brought about by the emergence of a conquering Davidic king (see vv. 3-6).

[9:2]  ² tn Traditionally צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet) has been interpreted as a compound noun, meaning “shadow of death” (so KJV, ASV, NIV), but usage indicates that the word, though it sometimes refers to death, means “darkness.” The term should probably be repointed as an abstract noun צַלְמוּת (tsalmut). See the note at Ps 23:4.

[9:3]  ³ sn The Lord is addressed directly in vv. 3-4.

[9:3]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew consonantal text reads “You multiply the nation, you do not make great the joy.” The particle לֹא (lo’, “not”) is obviously incorrect; the marginal reading has לוֹ (lo, “to him”). In this case, one should translate, “You multiply the nation, you increase his (i.e., their) joy.” However, the parallelism is tighter if one emends הַגּוֹי לוֹ (hagoy lo, “the nation, to him”) to הַגִּילָה (haggilah, “the joy,” a noun attested in Isa 65:18), which corresponds to הַשִּׂמְחָה (hasimkhah, “the joy”) later in the verse (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:386). As attractive as this reading is, it has not textual evidence supporting it. The MT reading (accepting the marginal reading “to him” for the negative particle “not”) affirms that Yahweh caused the nation to grow in population and increased their joy.

[9:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “as they are happy.” The word “warriors” is supplied in the translation to clarify the word picture. This last simile comes close to reality, for vv. 4-5 indicate that the people have won a great military victory over their oppressors.

[15:18]  ⁶ sn In the confession “I have sinned” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”

[15:18]  ⁷ sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.

[15:18]  ⁸ tn According to BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνωπιον 4.a, “in relation to ἁμαρτάνειν ἐ. τινος sin against someone Lk 15:18, 21 (cf. Jdth 5:17; 1 Km 7:6; 20:1).”

[15:19]  ⁹ tn Or “make me.” Here is a sign of total humility.

[15:20]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the son’s decision to return home. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[15:20]  ¹¹ tn Grk “a long way off from [home].” The word “home” is implied (L&N 85.16).

[15:20]  ¹² tn Or “felt great affection for him,” “felt great pity for him.”

[15:20]  ¹³ tn Grk “he fell on his neck,” an idiom for showing special affection for someone by throwing one’s arms around them. The picture is of the father hanging on the son’s neck in welcome.

[15:20]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:21]  ¹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:21]  ¹⁶ sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God. 1st century Judaism tended to minimize use of the divine name out of reverence.

[15:21]  ¹⁷ sn The younger son launches into his confession just as he had planned. See vv. 18-19.

[15:22]  ¹⁸ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[15:22]  ¹⁹ sn With the instructions Hurry! Bring the best robe, there is a total acceptance of the younger son back into the home.

[15:22]  ²⁰ tn Grk “hand”; but χείρ (ceir) can refer to either the whole hand or any relevant part of it (L&N 8.30).

[15:22]  ²¹ sn The need for sandals underlines the younger son’s previous destitution, because he was barefoot.

[15:23]  ²² tn Grk “And bring.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[15:23]  ²³ tn Or “the prize calf” (L&N 65.8). See also L&N 44.2, “grain-fattened.” Such a calf was usually reserved for religious celebrations.

[15:23]  ²⁴ tn The participle φαγόντες (fagontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[15:24]  ²⁵ sn This statement links the parable to the theme of 15:6, 9.

[15:24]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the father’s remarks in the preceding verses.

[16:29]  ²⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the jailer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:29]  ²⁸ tn Or “and prostrated himself.”

[16:30]  ²⁹ tn Grk “And bringing them outside, he asked.” The participle προαγαγών (proagagwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun by supplying the conjunction “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[16:30]  ³⁰ tn The Greek term (δεῖ, dei) is used by Luke to represent divine necessity.

[16:31]  ³¹ tn Grk “said.”

[16:31]  ³² sn Here the summary term of response is a call to believe. In this context it refers to trusting the sovereign God’s power to deliver, which events had just pictured for the jailer.

[16:31]  ³³ tc The majority of mss add Χριστόν (Criston, “Christ”) here (C D E Ψ 1739 Ï sy sa), but the best and earliest witnesses read simply τὸν κύριον ᾿Ιησοῦν (ton kurion Ihsoun, “the Lord Jesus”; Ì^74vid א A B 33 81 pc bo). The addition of “Christ” to “Lord Jesus” is an obviously motivated reading. Thus on both external and internal grounds, the shorter reading is strongly preferred.

[16:32]  ³⁴ tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the continuity with the preceding verse. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style does not.

[16:32]  ³⁵ sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.

[16:33]  ³⁶ tn Grk “And at.” 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.

[16:33]  ³⁷ tn Grk “taking them…he washed.” The participle παραλαβών (paralabwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:33]  ³⁸ tn On this phrase BDAG 603 s.v. λούω 1 gives a literal translation as “by washing he freed them from the effects of the blows.”

[16:33]  ³⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[16:33]  ⁴⁰ sn All his family. It was often the case in the ancient world that conversion of the father led to the conversion of all those in the household.

[16:33]  ⁴¹ tn Or “immediately.”

[16:34]  ⁴² tn Grk “He”; the referent (the jailer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:34]  ⁴³ tn Grk “placed [food] on the table” (a figurative expression). Since the actual word for food is not specified, it would also be possible to translate “set a meal before them,” but since this is taking place in the middle of the night, the preparations necessary for a full meal would probably not have been made. More likely Paul and Silas were given whatever was on hand that needed little or no preparation.

[16:34]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “he was overjoyed.”

[16:34]  ⁴⁵ tn The translation “come to believe” reflects more of the resultative nuance of the perfect tense here.

[16:34]  ⁴⁶ tn The phrase “together with his entire household” is placed at the end of the English sentence so that it refers to both the rejoicing and the belief. A formal equivalence translation would have “and he rejoiced greatly with his entire household that he had come to believe in God,” but the reference to the entire household being baptized in v. 33 presumes that all in the household believed.

[7:15]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “worship.” The word here is λατρεύω (latreuw).

[7:15]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “will spread his tent over them,” normally an idiom for taking up residence with someone, but when combined with the preposition ἐπί (epi, “over”) the idea is one of extending protection or shelter (BDAG 929 s.v. σκηνόω).

[7:16]  ⁴⁹ tn An allusion to Isa 49:10. The phrase “burning heat” is one word in Greek (καῦμα, kauma) that refers to a burning, intensely-felt heat. See BDAG 536 s.v.

[7:17]  ⁵⁰ sn An allusion to Isa 25:8.