Job 29:16

29:16 I was a father ¹  to the needy,

and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;

Proverbs 18:17

18:17 The first to state his case ²  seems ³  right,

until his opponent ⁴  begins to ⁵  cross-examine him. ⁶ 

Proverbs 29:12

29:12 If a ruler listens to ⁷  lies, ⁸ 

all his ministers ⁹  will be wicked. ¹⁰ 

Acts 25:16

25:16 I answered them ¹¹  that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone ¹²  before the accused had met his accusers face to face ¹³  and had been given ¹⁴  an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation. ¹⁵ 

Acts 25:2

25:2 So the chief priests and the most prominent men ¹⁶  of the Jews brought formal charges ¹⁷  against Paul to him.

Acts 2:11

2:11 both Jews and proselytes, ¹⁸  Cretans and Arabs – we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great deeds God has done!” ¹⁹ 

[29:16]  ¹ sn The word “father” does not have a wide range of meanings in the OT. But there are places that it is metaphorical, especially in a legal setting like this where the poor need aid.

[18:17]  ² tn Heb “in his legal case”; NAB “who pleads his case first.”

[18:17]  ³ tn The term “seems” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness (cf. KJV “seemeth”).

[18:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “his neighbor”; NRSV “the other.”

[18:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “comes and.” The Kethib is the imperfect יָבֹא (yavo’), and the Qere is the conjunction with the participle/perfect tense form וּבָא (uva’). The latter is reflected in most of the ancient versions. There is not an appreciable difference in the translations, except for the use of the conjunction.

[18:17]  ⁶ sn The proverb is a continuous sentence teaching that there must be cross-examination to settle legal disputes. There are two sides in any disputes, and so even though the first to present his case sounds right, it must be challenged. The verb הָקַר (haqar, translated “cross-examines”) is used for careful, diligent searching and investigating to know something (e.g., Ps 139:1).

[29:12]  ⁷ tn The Hiphil participle מַקְשִׁיב (maqshiv) means “to give attention to; to regard; to heed.” Cf. NASB, NCV, TEV “pays attention to.”

[29:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “word of falsehood” or “lying word.” Cf. TEV “false information.”

[29:12]  ⁹ tn The verb שָׁרַת (sharat) means “to minister; to serve.” The Piel plural participle here refers to servants of the king who attend to him – courtiers and ministers (cf. NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV “officials”; NLT “advisers”). This, his entourage, will have to resort to evil practices to gain his favor if he is swayed by such lies.

[29:12]  ¹⁰ sn The servants of the monarch adjust to their ruler; when they see that court flattery and deception are effective, they will begin to practice it and in the end become wicked (e.g., Prov 16:10; 20:8; 25:2).

[25:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “to whom I answered.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced with a personal pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 16.

[25:16]  ¹² tn Grk “any man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos).

[25:16]  ¹³ tn Or “has met his accusers in person.”

[25:16]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and receives.”

[25:16]  ¹⁵ tn Or “indictment” (a legal technical term). BDAG 273-74 s.v. ἔγκλημα 1 states, “legal t.t.…ἀπολογία περὶ τοῦ ἐ. defense against the accusation Ac 25:16.” L&N 56.6 defines ἔγκλημα (enklhma) as “(a technical, legal term) a formal indictment or accusation brought against someone – ‘indictment, accusation, case.’ …‘and might receive an opportunity for a defense against the indictment’ Ac 25:16.”

[25:2]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 893-94 s.v. πρῶτος 2.a.β has “οἱ πρῶτοι the most prominent men, the leading men w. gen. of the place…or of a group…οἱ πρ. τοῦ λαοῦ…Lk 19:47; cp. Ac 25:2; 28:17.”

[25:2]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 326 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 3 has “ἐ. τινὶ κατά τινος bring formal charges against someone…Ac 24:1; 25:2.”

[2:11]  ¹⁸ sn Proselytes refers to Gentile (i.e., non-Jewish) converts to Judaism.

[2:11]  ¹⁹ tn Or “God’s mighty works.” Here the genitive τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a subjective genitive.