Jeremiah 36:19

36:19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. You must not let anyone know where you are.” ¹ 

Jeremiah 36:25

36:25 The king did not even listen to Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah, who had urged him not to burn the scroll. ² 

Jeremiah 38:7-13

An Ethiopian Official Rescues Jeremiah from the Cistern

38:7 An Ethiopian, Ebed Melech, ³  a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put ⁴  in the cistern. While the king was holding court ⁵  at the Benjamin Gate, 38:8 Ebed Melech departed the palace and went to speak to the king. He said to him, 38:9 “Your royal Majesty, those men have been very wicked in all that they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have thrown him into a cistern and he is sure to die of starvation there because there is no food left in the city. ⁶  38:10 Then the king gave Ebed Melech the Ethiopian the following order: “Take thirty ⁷  men with you from here and go pull the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.” 38:11 So Ebed Melech took the men with him and went to a room under the treasure room in the palace. ⁸  He got some worn-out clothes and old rags ⁹  from there and let them down by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. 38:12 Ebed Melech ¹⁰  called down to Jeremiah, “Put these rags and worn-out clothes under your armpits to pad the ropes. ¹¹  Jeremiah did as Ebed Melech instructed. ¹²  38:13 So they pulled Jeremiah up from the cistern with ropes. Jeremiah, however, still remained confined ¹³  to the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Esther 4:14

4:14 “Don’t imagine that because you are part of the king’s household you will be the one Jew ¹⁴  who will escape. If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the Jews will appear ¹⁵  from another source, ¹⁶  while you and your father’s household perish. It may very well be ¹⁷  that you have achieved royal status ¹⁸  for such a time as this!”

Proverbs 16:7

16:7 When a person’s ¹⁹  ways are pleasing to the Lord, ²⁰ 

he ²¹  even reconciles his enemies to himself. ²² 

Matthew 27:23-24

27:23 He asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?” But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!”

Jesus is Condemned and Mocked

27:24 When ²³  Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but that instead a riot was starting, he took some water, washed his hands before the crowd and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. You take care of it yourselves!” ²⁴ 

Matthew 27:54

27:54 Now when the centurion ²⁵  and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were extremely terrified and said, “Truly this one was God’s Son!”

Luke 23:14-15

23:14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading ²⁶  the people. When I examined him before you, I ²⁷  did not find this man guilty ²⁸  of anything you accused him of doing. 23:15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, he has done nothing ²⁹  deserving death. ³⁰ 

Luke 23:41

23:41 And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing ³¹  wrong.”

Luke 23:47

23:47 Now when the centurion ³²  saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent!” ³³ 

Acts 5:34-39

5:34 But a Pharisee ³⁴  whose name was Gamaliel, ³⁵  a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up ³⁶  in the council ³⁷  and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time. 5:35 Then he said to the council, ³⁸  “Men of Israel, ³⁹  pay close attention to ⁴⁰  what you are about to do to these men. 5:36 For some time ago ⁴¹  Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He ⁴²  was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and nothing came of it. ⁴³  5:37 After him Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census, ⁴⁴  and incited people to follow him in revolt. ⁴⁵  He too was killed, and all who followed him were scattered. 5:38 So in this case I say to you, stay away from these men and leave them alone, because if this plan or this undertaking originates with people, ⁴⁶  it will come to nothing, ⁴⁷  5:39 but if ⁴⁸  it is from God, you will not be able to stop them, or you may even be found ⁴⁹  fighting against God.” He convinced them, ⁵⁰ 

Acts 23:9

23:9 There was a great commotion, ⁵¹  and some experts in the law ⁵²  from the party of the Pharisees stood up ⁵³  and protested strongly, ⁵⁴  “We find nothing wrong ⁵⁵  with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

Acts 23:29

23:29 I found he ⁵⁶  was accused with reference to controversial questions ⁵⁷  about their law, but no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment. ⁵⁸ 

Acts 25:25

25:25 But I found that he had done nothing that deserved death, ⁵⁹  and when he appealed ⁶⁰  to His Majesty the Emperor, ⁶¹  I decided to send him. ⁶² 

Acts 26:31-32

26:31 and as they were leaving they said to one another, ⁶³  “This man is not doing anything deserving ⁶⁴  death or imprisonment.” 26:32 Agrippa ⁶⁵  said to Festus, ⁶⁶  “This man could have been released ⁶⁷  if he had not appealed to Caesar.” ⁶⁸ 

[36:19]  ¹ tn The verbs here are both direct imperatives but it sounds awkward to say “You and Jeremiah, go and hide” in contemporary English. The same force is accomplished by phrasing the statement as strong advice.

[36:25]  ² tn Heb “And also Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged [or had urged] the king not to burn the scroll, but he did not listen to them.” The translation attempts to lessen the clash in chronological sequencing with the preceding. This sentence is essentially a flash back to a time before the scroll was totally burned (v. 23).

[38:7]  ³ sn This individual, Ebed Melech, is mentioned only here. Later he will be promised deliverance from destruction when the city falls because he had shown trust in God (see Jer 39:16-18).

[38:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “Ebed Melech, the Cushite, a man, an eunuch/official, and he was [= who was; a circumstantial clause] in the house of the king, heard that they had put Jeremiah…” The passive construction “Jeremiah had been put” has been used to avoid the indefinite subject “they” or the addition of “the officials.” For the translation of סָרִיס (saris) as “official” here rather than “eunuch” see the translator’s note on 29:2 and see also the usage in 34:19. For the translation of “Cushite” as Ethiopian see the study note on 13:23.

[38:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “And the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate.” This clause is circumstantial to the following clause; thus “while the king was…” Most commentators agree that the reference to sitting in the gate here likely refers to the same kind of judicial context that has been posited for 26:10 (see the translator’s note there for further references). Hence the translation uses “sitting” with the more technical “holding court” to better reflect the probable situation.

[38:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “Those men have made evil all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah in that they have thrown him into the cistern and he will die of starvation in the place where he is because there is no more food in the city.” The particle אֵת (’et) before “they have thrown” (אֵת אֲשֶׁר הִשְׁלִיכוּ, ’et ’asher hishlikhu) is explanatory or further definition of “all they have done to” (i.e., the particle is repeated for apposition). The verb form “and he is sure to die” is an unusual use of the vav (ו) consecutive + imperfect that the grammars see as giving a logical consequence without a past nuance (cf. GKC 328 §111.l and IBHS 557-58 §33.3.1f).

[38:10]  ⁷ tc Some modern English versions (e.g., NRSV, REB, TEV) and commentaries read “three” on the basis that thirty men would not be necessary for the task (cf. J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 231). Though the difference in “three” and “thirty” involves minimal emendation (שְׁלֹשָׁה [shÿlosha] for שְׁלֹשִׁים [shÿloshim]) there is no textual or versional evidence for it except for one Hebrew ms. Perhaps the number was large to prevent the officials from hindering Ebed Melech from accomplishing the task.

[38:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “went into the palace in under the treasury.” Several of the commentaries (e.g., J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 227; J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 639, n. 6) emend the prepositional phrase “in under” (אֶל־תַּחַת, ’el-takhat) to the noun “wardrobe” plus the preposition “to” (אֶל־מֶלְתַחַת, ’el-meltakhat). This is a plausible emendation which would involve dropping out מֶל (mel) due to its similarity with the אֶל (’el) which precedes it. However, there is no textual or versional evidence for such a reading and the compound preposition is not in itself objectionable (cf. BDB 1066 s.v. תַּחַת III.1.a). The Greek version reads “the part underground” (representing a Hebrew Vorlage of אֶל תַּחַת הָאָרֶץ, ’el takhat ha’arets) in place of אֶל תַּחַת הָאוֹצָר (’el takhat ha’otsar). The translation follows the Hebrew text but adds the word “room” for the sake of English style.

[38:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “worn-out clothes and worn-out rags.”

[38:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Ebed Melech the Ethiopian.” The words “the Ethiopian” are unnecessary and are not repeated in the translation because he has already been identified as such in vv. 7, 10.

[38:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “under the joints of your arms under the ropes.” The two uses of “under” have different orientations and are best reflected by “between your armpits and the ropes” or “under your armpits to pad the ropes.”

[38:12]  ¹² tn Or “Jeremiah did so.” The alternate translation is what the text reads literally.

[38:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “Jeremiah remained/stayed in the courtyard of the guardhouse.” The translation is meant to better reflect the situation; i.e., Jeremiah was released from the cistern but still had to stay in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

[4:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from all the Jews”; KJV “more than all the Jews”; NIV “you alone of all the Jews.”

[4:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “stand”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT “arise.”

[4:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “place” (so KJV, NIV, NLT); NRSV “from another quarter.” This is probably an oblique reference to help coming from God. D. J. A. Clines disagrees; in his view a contrast between deliverance by Esther and deliverance by God is inappropriate (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther [NCBC], 302). But Clines’ suggestion that perhaps the reference is to deliverance by Jewish officials or by armed Jewish revolt is less attractive than seeing this veiled reference as part of the literary strategy of the book, which deliberately keeps God’s providential dealings entirely in the background.

[4:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “And who knows whether” (so NASB). The question is one of hope, but free of presumption. Cf. Jonah 3:9.

[4:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “have come to the kingdom”; NRSV “to royal dignity”; NIV “to royal position”; NLT “have been elevated to the palace.”

[16:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “ways of a man.”

[16:7]  ²⁰ tn The first line uses an infinitive in a temporal clause, followed by its subject in the genitive case: “in the taking pleasure of the Lord” = “when the Lord is pleased with.” So the condition set down for the second colon is a lifestyle that is pleasing to God.

[16:7]  ²¹ tn The referent of the verb in the second colon is unclear. The straightforward answer is that it refers to the person whose ways please the Lord – it is his lifestyle that disarms his enemies. W. McKane comments that the righteous have the power to mend relationships (Proverbs [OTL], 491); see, e.g., 10:13; 14:9; 15:1; 25:21-22). The life that is pleasing to God will be above reproach and find favor with others. Some would interpret this to mean that God makes his enemies to be at peace with him (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT). This is workable, but in this passage it would seem God would do this through the pleasing life of the believer (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV).

[16:7]  ²² tn Heb “even his enemies he makes to be at peace with him.”

[27:24]  ²³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:24]  ²⁴ sn You take care of it yourselves! Compare the response of the chief priests and elders to Judas in 27:4. The expression is identical except that in 27:4 it is singular and here it is plural.

[27:54]  ²⁵ sn See the note on the word centurion in Matt 8:5.

[23:14]  ²⁶ tn This term also appears in v. 2.

[23:14]  ²⁷ tn Grk “behold, I” A transitional use of ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here.

[23:14]  ²⁸ tn Grk “nothing did I find in this man by way of cause.” The reference to “nothing” is emphatic.

[23:15]  ²⁹ sn With the statement “he has done nothing,” Pilate makes another claim that Jesus is innocent of any crime worthy of death.

[23:15]  ³⁰ tn Grk “nothing deserving death has been done by him.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style.

[23:41]  ³¹ sn This man has done nothing wrong is yet another declaration that Jesus was innocent of any crime.

[23:47]  ³² sn See the note on the word centurion in 7:2.

[23:47]  ³³ tn Or “righteous.” It is hard to know whether “innocent” or “righteous” is intended, as the Greek term used can mean either, and both make good sense in this context. Luke has been emphasizing Jesus as innocent, so that is slightly more likely here. Of course, one idea entails the other.

[5:34]  ³⁴ sn A Pharisee was a member of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[5:34]  ³⁵ sn Gamaliel was a famous Jewish scholar and teacher mentioned here in v. 34 and in Acts 22:3. He had a grandson of the same name and is referred to as “Gamaliel the Elder” to avoid confusion. He is quoted a number of times in the Mishnah, was given the highest possible title for Jewish teachers, Rabba (cf. John 20:16), and was highly regarded in later rabbinic tradition.

[5:34]  ³⁶ tn Grk “standing up in the council, ordered.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[5:34]  ³⁷ tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[5:35]  ³⁸ tn Grk “said to them”; the referent (the council) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:35]  ³⁹ tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it is highly unlikely that this is a generic usage, since Gamaliel was addressing the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high council, which would have been exclusively male.

[5:35]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “men, be careful.”

[5:36]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “For before these days.”

[5:36]  ⁴² tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point.

[5:36]  ⁴³ tn Grk “and they came to nothing.” Gamaliel’s argument is that these two insurrectionists were taken care of by natural events.

[5:37]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “registration.”

[5:37]  ⁴⁵ tn The verb ἀφίστημι (afisthmi) as a transitive means “cause to revolt” as used in Josephus, Ant. 8.7.5 (8.198), 20.5.2 (20.102); see BDAG 157 s.v. 1.

[5:38]  ⁴⁶ tn Here ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[5:38]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “it will be put to an end.”

[5:39]  ⁴⁸ tn This is expressed in a first class condition, in contrast to the condition in v. 38b, which is third class. As such, v. 39 is rhetorically presented as the more likely option.

[5:39]  ⁴⁹ tn According to L&N 39.32, the verb εὑρεθῆτε (Jeureqhte, an aorist passive subjunctive) may also be translated “find yourselves” – “lest you find yourselves fighting against God.” The Jewish leader Gamaliel is shown contemplating the other possible alternative about what is occurring.

[5:39]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “They were convinced by him.” This passive construction was converted to an active one (“He convinced them”) in keeping with contemporary English style. The phrase “He convinced them” is traditionally placed in Acts 5:40 by most English translations; the standard Greek critical text (represented by NA²⁷ and UBS⁴) places it at the end of v. 39.

[23:9]  ⁵¹ tn Or “clamor” (cf. BDAG 565 s.v. κραυγή 1.a, which has “there arose a loud outcry” here, and Exod 12:30).

[23:9]  ⁵² tn Or “and some scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 4:5.

[23:9]  ⁵³ tn Grk “standing up.” The participle ἀναστάντες (anastante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:9]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “protested strongly, saying.” L&N 39.27 has “διαμάχομαι: to fight or contend with, involving severity and thoroughness – ‘to protest strongly, to contend with.’…‘some scribes from the party of the Pharisees protested strongly’ Ac 23:9.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[23:9]  ⁵⁵ sn “We find nothing wrong with this man.” Here is another declaration of innocence. These leaders recognized the possibility that Paul might have the right to make his claim.

[23:29]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “whom I found.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been changed to a personal pronoun (“he”) and a new sentence begun in the translation at this point.

[23:29]  ⁵⁷ tn BDAG 428 s.v. ζήτημα states, “in our lit. only in Ac, w. the mng. it still has in Mod. Gk. (controversial) question, issue, argument…Ac 15:2; 26:3. ζ. περί τινος questions about someth.…18:15; 25:19. – In 23:29, since περί had already been used, the subj. of the discussion is added in the gen. ζ. τοῦ νόμου αὐτῶν.”

[23:29]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “but having no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.” BDAG 273-74 s.v. ἔγκλημα 1 has “legal t.t.…ἔ. ἄξιον θανάτου ἢ δεσμῶν a charge deserving death or imprisonment 23:29.”

[25:25]  ⁵⁹ sn He had done nothing that deserved death. Festus’ opinion of Paul’s guilt is like Pilate’s of Jesus (Luke 23:4, 14, 22).

[25:25]  ⁶⁰ tn The participle ἐπικαλεσαμένου (epikalesamenou) has been taken temporally. It could also be translated as causal: “and because he appealed…”

[25:25]  ⁶¹ tn A designation of the Roman emperor (in this case, Nero). BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός states, “ὁ Σεβαστός His Majesty the Emperor Ac 25:21, 25 (of Nero).”

[25:25]  ⁶² tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[26:31]  ⁶³ tn Grk “they spoke to one another saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[26:31]  ⁶⁴ tn BDAG 93 s.v. ἄξιος 1.b has “θανάτου ἢ δεσμῶν ἄ. nothing deserving death or imprisonment 23:29; 26:31.”

[26:32]  ⁶⁵ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:32]  ⁶⁶ sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[26:32]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “set free.”

[26:32]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).