James 3:17

3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, ¹  full of mercy and good fruit, ²  impartial, and not hypocritical. ³ 

Psalms 119:1

Psalm 119 ⁴ 

א (Alef)

119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, ⁵ 

who obey ⁶  the law of the Lord.

Matthew 5:8

5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Luke 1:6

1:6 They ⁷  were both righteous in the sight of God, following ⁸  all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. ⁹ 

Luke 1:1

Explanatory Preface

1:1 Now ¹⁰  many have undertaken to compile an account ¹¹  of the things ¹²  that have been fulfilled ¹³  among us,

Luke 1:5

Birth Announcement of John the Baptist

1:5 During the reign ¹⁴  of Herod ¹⁵  king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to ¹⁶  the priestly division of Abijah, ¹⁷  and he had a wife named Elizabeth, ¹⁸  who was a descendant of Aaron. ¹⁹ 

Luke 5:4

5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and lower ²⁰  your nets for a catch.”

[3:17]  ¹ tn Or “willing to yield,” “open to persuasion.”

[3:17]  ² tn Grk “fruits.” The plural Greek term καρπούς has been translated with the collective singular “fruit.”

[3:17]  ³ tn Or “sincere.”

[119:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 119. The psalmist celebrates God’s law and the guidance it provides his people. He expresses his desire to know God’s law thoroughly so that he might experience the blessings that come to those who obey it. This lengthy psalm exhibits an elaborate acrostic pattern. The psalm is divided into twenty-two sections (corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each of which is comprised of eight verses. Each of the verses in the first section (vv. 1-8) begins with the letter alef (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This pattern continues throughout the psalm as each new section highlights a successive letter of the alphabet. Each verse in section two (vv. 9-16) begins with the second letter of the alphabet, each verse in section three (vv. 17-24) with the third letter, etc. This rigid pattern creates a sense of order and completeness and may have facilitated memorization.

[119:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”

[119:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “walk in.”

[1:6]  ⁷ tn Grk “And they.” 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.

[1:6]  ⁸ tn Grk “walking in” (an idiom for one’s lifestyle).

[1:6]  ⁹ tn The predicate adjective has the effect of an adverb here (BDF §243).

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Since” or “Because.” This begins a long sentence that extends through v. 4. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, the Greek sentence has been divided up into shorter English sentences in the translation.

[1:1]  ¹¹ tn This is sometimes translated “narrative,” but the term itself can refer to an oral or written account. It is the verb “undertaken” which suggests a written account, since it literally is “to set one’s hand” to something (BDAG 386 s.v. ἐπιχειρέω). “Narrative” is too specific, denoting a particular genre of work for the accounts that existed in the earlier tradition. Not all of that material would have been narrative.

[1:1]  ¹² tn Or “events.”

[1:1]  ¹³ tn Or “have been accomplished.” Given Luke’s emphasis on divine design (e.g., Luke 24:43-47) a stronger sense (“fulfilled”) is better than a mere reference to something having taken place (“accomplished”).

[1:5]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “It happened that in the days.” 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.

[1:5]  ¹⁵ sn 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.

[1:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “of”; but the meaning of the preposition ἐκ (ek) is more accurately expressed in contemporary English by the relative clause “who belonged to.”

[1:5]  ¹⁷ sn There were twenty-four divisions of priesthood and the priestly division of Abijah was eighth on the list according to 1 Chr 24:10.

[1:5]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “and her name was Elizabeth.”

[1:5]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “a wife of the daughters of Aaron.”

[5:4]  ²⁰ tn Or “let down.” The verb here is plural, so this is a command to all in the boat, not just Peter.