Job 35:9-10

35:9 “People ¹  cry out

because of the excess of oppression; ² 

they cry out for help

because of the power ³  of the mighty. ⁴ 

35:10 But no one says, ‘Where is God, my Creator,

who gives songs in the night, ⁵ 

Habakkuk 3:17-18

3:17 When ⁶  the fig tree does not bud,

and there are no grapes on the vines;

when the olive trees do not produce, ⁷ 

and the fields yield no crops; ⁸ 

when the sheep disappear ⁹  from the pen,

and there are no cattle in the stalls,

3:18 I will rejoice because of ¹⁰  the Lord;

I will be happy because of the God who delivers me!

Zechariah 13:8-9

13:8 It will happen in all the land, says the Lord,

that two-thirds of the people ¹¹  in it will be cut off and die,

but one-third will be left in it. ¹² 

13:9 Then I will bring the remaining third into the fire;

I will refine them like silver is refined

and will test them like gold is tested.

They will call on my name and I will answer;

I will say, ‘These are my people,’

and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” ¹³ 

Acts 16:25

16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying ¹⁴  and singing hymns to God, ¹⁵  and the rest of ¹⁶  the prisoners were listening to them.

Acts 16:1

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16:1 He also came to Derbe ¹⁷  and to Lystra. ¹⁸  A disciple ¹⁹  named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, ²⁰  but whose father was a Greek. ²¹ 

Acts 1:7

1:7 He told them, “You are not permitted to know ²²  the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.

Acts 3:15

3:15 You killed ²³  the Originator ²⁴  of life, whom God raised ²⁵  from the dead. To this fact we are witnesses! ²⁶ 

Acts 3:1

Peter and John Heal a Lame Man at the Temple

3:1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time ²⁷  for prayer, ²⁸  at three o’clock in the afternoon. ²⁹ 

Acts 4:12-14

4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people ³⁰  by which we must ³¹  be saved.”

4:13 When they saw the boldness ³²  of Peter and John, and discovered ³³  that they were uneducated ³⁴  and ordinary ³⁵  men, they were amazed and recognized these men had been with Jesus. 4:14 And because they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against this. ³⁶ 

Revelation 15:2-4

15:2 Then ³⁷  I saw something like a sea of glass ³⁸  mixed with fire, and those who had conquered ³⁹  the beast and his image and the number of his name. They were standing ⁴⁰  by ⁴¹  the sea of glass, holding harps given to them by God. ⁴²  15:3 They ⁴³  sang the song of Moses the servant ⁴⁴  of God and the song of the Lamb: ⁴⁵ 

“Great and astounding are your deeds,

Lord God, the All-Powerful! ⁴⁶ 

Just ⁴⁷  and true are your ways,

King over the nations! ⁴⁸ 

15:4 Who will not fear you, O Lord,

and glorify ⁴⁹  your name, because you alone are holy? ⁵⁰ 

All nations ⁵¹  will come and worship before you

for your righteous acts ⁵²  have been revealed.”

[35:9]  ¹ tn The word “people” is supplied, because the sentence only has the masculine plural verb.

[35:9]  ² tn The final noun is an abstract plural, “oppression.” There is no reason to change it to “oppressors” to fit the early versions. The expression is literally “multitude of oppression.”

[35:9]  ³ tn Heb “the arm,” a metaphor for strength or power.

[35:9]  ⁴ tn Or “of the many” (see HALOT 1172 s.v. I רַב 6.a).

[35:10]  ⁵ tn There have been several attempts to emend the line, none of which are particularly helpful or interesting. H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 225) says, “It is a pity to rob Elihu of a poetic line when he creates one.”

[3:17]  ⁶ tn Or “though.”

[3:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “the produce of the olive disappoints.”

[3:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “food.”

[3:17]  ⁹ tn Or “are cut off.”

[3:18]  ¹⁰ tn Or “in.”

[13:8]  ¹¹ tn The words “of the people” are supplied in the translation for clarity (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT).

[13:8]  ¹² sn The fractions mentioned here call to mind the affliction of God’s people described by Ezekiel, though Ezekiel referred to his own times whereas Zechariah is looking forward to a future eschatological age. Ezekiel spoke of cutting his hair at God’s command (Ezek 5:1-4) and then of burning a third of it, striking a third with a sword, and scattering the rest. From this last third a few hairs would survive to become the nucleus of a new Israel. It is this “third” Zechariah speaks of (v. 9), the remnant who will be purified and reclaimed as God’s covenant people.

[13:9]  ¹³ sn The expression I will say ‘It is my people,’ and they will say ‘the Lord is my God’ is reminiscent of the restoration of Israel predicted by Hosea, who said that those who had been rejected as God’s people would be reclaimed and once more become his sons and daughters (Hos 2:23).

[16:25]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “praying, were singing.” The participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:25]  ¹⁵ sn Praying and singing hymns to God. Tertullian said, “The legs feel nothing in the stocks when the heart is in heaven” (To the Martyrs 2; cf. Rom 5:3; Jas 1:2; 1 Pet 5:6). The presence of God means the potential to be free (cf. v. 26).

[16:25]  ¹⁶ tn The words “the rest of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[16:1]  ¹⁷ sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra. It was about 90 mi (145 km) from Tarsus.

[16:1]  ¹⁸ sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 25 mi (40 km) south of Iconium.

[16:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And behold, a disciple.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.

[16:1]  ²⁰ tn L&N 31.103 translates this phrase “the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer.”

[16:1]  ²¹ sn His father was a Greek. Timothy was the offspring of a mixed marriage between a Jewish woman (see 2 Tim 1:5) and a Gentile man. On mixed marriages in Judaism, see Neh 13:23-27; Ezra 9:1-10:44; Mal 2:10-16; Jub. 30:7-17; m. Qiddushin 3.12; m. Yevamot 7.5.

[1:7]  ²² tn Grk “It is not for you to know.”

[3:15]  ²³ tn Or “You put to death.”

[3:15]  ²⁴ tn Or “Founder,” “founding Leader.”

[3:15]  ²⁵ sn Whom God raised. God is the main actor here, as he testifies to Jesus and vindicates him.

[3:15]  ²⁶ tn Grk “whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the words “to this fact” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.

[3:1]  ²⁷ tn Grk “hour.”

[3:1]  ²⁸ sn Going up to the temple at the time for prayer. The earliest Christians, being of Jewish roots, were still participating in the institutions of Judaism at this point. Their faith in Christ did not make them non-Jewish in their practices.

[3:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “at the ninth hour.” This is calculated from sunrise (Josephus, Ant. 14.4.3 [14.65]; Dan 9:21).

[4:12]  ³⁰ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[4:12]  ³¹ sn Must be saved. The term used here (δεῖ, dei, “it is necessary”) reflects the necessity set up by God’s directive plan.

[4:13]  ³² tn Or “courage.”

[4:13]  ³³ tn Or “and found out.”

[4:13]  ³⁴ sn Uneducated does not mean “illiterate,” that is, unable to read or write. Among Jews in NT times there was almost universal literacy, especially as the result of widespread synagogue schools. The term refers to the fact that Peter and John had no formal rabbinic training and thus, in the view of their accusers, were not qualified to expound the law or teach publicly. The objection is like Acts 2:7.

[4:13]  ³⁵ tn For the translation of ἰδιῶται (idiwtai) as “ordinary men” see L&N 27.26.

[4:14]  ³⁶ tn Or “nothing to say in opposition.”

[15:2]  ³⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[15:2]  ³⁸ sn See Rev 4:6 where the sea of glass was mentioned previously.

[15:2]  ³⁹ tn Or “had been victorious over”; traditionally, “had overcome.”

[15:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “of his name, standing.” A new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were.”

[15:2]  ⁴¹ tn Or “on.” The preposition ἐπί (epi) with the accusative case could mean “on, at, by, near”; given the nature of this scene appearing in a vision, it is difficult to know precisely which the author of Revelation intended. See BDAG 363 s.v. ἐπί 1.c.γ, “At, by, near someone or someth.”

[15:2]  ⁴² tn Grk “harps of God.” The phrase τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a genitive of agency.

[15:3]  ⁴³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[15:3]  ⁴⁴ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[15:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:3]  ⁴⁶ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

[15:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

[15:3]  ⁴⁸ tc Certain mss (Ì⁴⁷ א*^,2 C 1006 1611 1841 pc) read “ages” (αἰώνων, aiwnwn) instead of “nations” (ἐθνῶν, eqnwn), which itself is supported by several mss (א¹ A 051 Ï). The ms evidence seems to be fairly balanced, though αἰώνων has somewhat better support. The replacement of “ages” with “nations” is possibly a scribal attempt to harmonize this verse with the use of “nations” in the following verse. On the other hand, the idea of “nations” fits well with v. 4 and it may be that “ages” is a scribal attempt to assimilate this text to 1 Tim 1:17: “the king of the ages” (βασιλεὺς τῶν αἰώνων, basileu" twn aiwnwn). The decision is a difficult one since both scenarios deal well with the evidence, though the verbal parallel with 1 Tim 1:17 is exact while the parallel with v. 4 is not. The term “king” occurs 17 other times (most occurrences refer to earthly kings) in Revelation and it is not used with either “ages” or “nations” apart from this verse. Probably the reading “nations” should be considered original due to the influence of 1 Tim 1:17.

[15:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “and praise.”

[15:4]  ⁵⁰ sn Because you alone are holy. In the Greek text the sentence literally reads “because alone holy.” Three points can be made in connection with John’s language here: (1) Omitting the second person, singular verb “you are” lays stress on the attribute of God’s holiness. (2) The juxtaposition of alone with holy stresses the unique nature of God’s holiness and complete “otherness” in relationship to his creation. It is not just moral purity which is involved in the use of the term holy, though it certainly includes that. It is also the pervasive OT idea that although God is deeply involved in the governing of his creation, he is to be regarded as separate and distinct from it. (3) John’s use of the term holy is also intriguing since it is the term ὅσιος (Josios) and not the more common NT term ἅγιος (Jagios). The former term evokes images of Christ’s messianic status in early Christian preaching. Both Peter in Acts 2:27 and Paul in Acts 13:35 apply Psalm 16:10 (LXX) to Jesus, referring to him as the “holy one” (ὅσιος). It is also the key term in Acts 13:34 (Isa 55:3 [LXX]) where it refers to the “holy blessings” (i.e., forgiveness and justification) brought about through Jesus in fulfillment of Davidic promise. Thus, in Rev 15:3-4, when John refers to God as “holy,” using the term ὅσιος in a context where the emphasis is on both God and Christ, there might be an implicit connection between divinity and the Messiah. This is bolstered by the fact that the Lamb is referred to in other contexts as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (cf. 1:5; 17:14; 19:16 and perhaps 11:15; G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 796-97).

[15:4]  ⁵¹ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[15:4]  ⁵² tn Or perhaps, “your sentences of condemnation.” On δικαίωμα (dikaiwma) in this context BDAG 249 s.v. 2. states, “righteous deed…δι᾿ ἑνὸς δικαιώματος (opp. παράπτωμα) Ro 5:18. – B 1:2 (cp. Wengst, Barnabas-brief 196, n.4); Rv 15:4 (here perh.= ‘sentence of condemnation’ [cp. Pla., Leg. 9, 864e; ins fr. Asia Minor: LBW 41, 2 [κατὰ] τὸ δι[καί]ωμα τὸ κυρω[θέν]= ‘acc. to the sentence which has become valid’]; difft. Wengst, s. above); 19:8.”