John 1:7

1:7 He came as a witness ¹  to testify ²  about the light, so that everyone ³  might believe through him.

John 1:2

1:2 The Word ⁴  was with God in the beginning.

John 1:15

1:15 John ⁵  testified ⁶  about him and shouted out, ⁷  “This one was the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am, ⁸  because he existed before me.’”

Jeremiah 44:4

44:4 I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over ⁹  again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate. ¹⁰ 

Matthew 3:1-6

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3:1 In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness ¹¹  of Judea proclaiming, 3:2 “Repent, ¹²  for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3:3 For he is the one about whom Isaiah the prophet had spoken: ¹³ 

“The voice ¹⁴  of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make ¹⁵  his paths straight.’” ¹⁶ 

3:4 Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. ¹⁷  3:5 Then people from Jerusalem, ¹⁸  as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him, 3:6 and he was baptizing them ¹⁹  in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

Matthew 4:23

Jesus’ Healing Ministry

4:23 Jesus ²⁰  went throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, ²¹  preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of disease and sickness among the people.

Matthew 11:8-13

11:8 What ²²  did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? ²³  Look, those who wear fancy clothes are in the homes of kings! ²⁴  11:9 What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more ²⁵  than a prophet. 11:10 This is the one about whom it is written:

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, ²⁶ 

who will prepare your way before you.’ ²⁷ 

11:11 “I tell you the truth, ²⁸  among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least ²⁹  in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is. 11:12 From ³⁰  the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and forceful people lay hold of it. ³¹  11:13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John appeared. ³² 

Acts 10:37-38

10:37 you know what happened throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John announced: ³³  10:38 with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, ³⁴  that ³⁵  God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He ³⁶  went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, ³⁷  because God was with him. ³⁸ 

Acts 10:42-43

10:42 He ³⁹  commanded us to preach to the people and to warn ⁴⁰  them ⁴¹  that he is the one ⁴²  appointed ⁴³  by God as judge ⁴⁴  of the living and the dead. 10:43 About him all the prophets testify, ⁴⁵  that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins ⁴⁶  through his name.”

Acts 10:1

Peter Visits Cornelius

10:1 Now there was a man in Caesarea ⁴⁷  named Cornelius, a centurion ⁴⁸  of what was known as the Italian Cohort. ⁴⁹ 

Acts 1:11-12

1:11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here ⁵⁰  looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven ⁵¹  will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.”

A Replacement for Judas is Chosen

1:12 Then they returned to Jerusalem ⁵²  from the mountain ⁵³  called the Mount of Olives ⁵⁴  (which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey ⁵⁵  away).

[1:7]  ¹ tn Grk “came for a testimony.”

[1:7]  ² tn Or “to bear witness.”

[1:7]  ³ tn Grk “all.”

[1:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the Word) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:15]  ⁵ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[1:15]  ⁶ tn Or “bore witness.”

[1:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “and shouted out saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant is English and has not been translated.

[1:15]  ⁸ tn Or “has a higher rank than I.”

[44:4]  ⁹ tn See 7:13 for an explanation of this idiom and compare 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15 for similar references to the persistent warnings of the prophets.

[44:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “sent…over again, saying, ‘Do not do this terrible thing that I hate.’” The indirect quote has been used to shorten the sentence and eliminate one level of embedded quotes.

[3:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “desert.”

[3:2]  ¹² tn Grk “and saying, ‘Repent.’” The participle λέγων (legwn) at the beginning of v. 2 is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[3:3]  ¹³ tn Grk “was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying.” The participle λέγοντος (legonto") is redundant and has not been translated. The passive construction has also been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[3:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “A voice.”

[3:3]  ¹⁵ sn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

[3:3]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

[3:4]  ¹⁷ sn John’s lifestyle was in stark contrast to many of the religious leaders of Jerusalem who lived in relative ease and luxury. While his clothing and diet were indicative of someone who lived in the desert, they also depicted him in his role as God’s prophet (cf. Zech 13:4); his appearance is similar to the Prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8). Locusts and wild honey were a common diet in desert regions, and locusts (dried insects) are listed in Lev 11:22 among the “clean” foods.

[3:5]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Then Jerusalem.”

[3:6]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “they were being baptized by him.” The passive construction has been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[4:23]  ²⁰ tn Grk “And he.”

[4:23]  ²¹ sn Synagogues were places for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).

[11:8]  ²² tn Grk “But what.” Here ἀλλά (alla, a strong contrastive in Greek) produces a somewhat awkward sense in English, and has not been translated. The same situation occurs at the beginning of v. 9.

[11:8]  ²³ sn The reference to fancy clothes makes the point that John was not rich or powerful, in that he did not come from the wealthy classes.

[11:8]  ²⁴ tn Or “palaces.”

[11:9]  ²⁵ tn John the Baptist is “more” because he introduces the one (Jesus) who brings the new era. The term is neuter, but may be understood as masculine in this context (BDAG 806 s.v. περισσότερος b).

[11:10]  ²⁶ tn Grk “before your face” (an idiom).

[11:10]  ²⁷ sn The quotation is primarily from Mal 3:1 with pronouns from Exod 23:20. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.

[11:11]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[11:11]  ²⁹ sn After John comes a shift of eras. The new era is so great that the lowest member of it (the one who is least in the kingdom of God) is greater than the greatest one of the previous era.

[11:12]  ³⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[11:12]  ³¹ tn Or “the kingdom of heaven is forcibly entered and violent people take hold of it.” For a somewhat different interpretation of this passage, see the note on the phrase “urged to enter in” in Luke 16:16.

[11:13]  ³² tn The word “appeared” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[10:37]  ³³ tn Or “proclaimed.”

[10:38]  ³⁴ sn The somewhat awkward naming of Jesus as from Nazareth here is actually emphatic. He is the key subject of these key events.

[10:38]  ³⁵ tn Or “how.” The use of ὡς (Jws) as an equivalent to ὅτι (Joti) to introduce indirect or even direct discourse is well documented. BDAG 1105 s.v. ὡς 5 lists Acts 10:28 in this category.

[10:38]  ³⁶ tn Grk “power, who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.

[10:38]  ³⁷ tn The translation “healing all who were oppressed by the devil” is given in L&N 22.22.

[10:38]  ³⁸ sn See Acts 7:9.

[10:42]  ³⁹ tn Grk “and he.” 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.

[10:42]  ⁴⁰ tn The verb διαμαρτύρομαι (diamarturomai) can mean “warn,” and such a meaning is highly probable in this context where a reference to the judgment of both the living and the dead is present. The more general meaning “to testify solemnly” does not capture this nuance.

[10:42]  ⁴¹ tn The word “them” 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.

[10:42]  ⁴² tn Grk “that this one is the one,” but this is awkward in English and has been simplified to “that he is the one.”

[10:42]  ⁴³ tn Or “designated.” BDAG 723 s.v. ὁρίζω 2.b has “the one appointed by God as judge” for this phrase.

[10:42]  ⁴⁴ sn Jesus has divine authority as judge over the living and the dead: Acts 17:26-31; Rom 14:9; 1 Thess 5:9-10; 1 Tim 4:1; 1 Pet 4:5.

[10:43]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “All the prophets testify about him.” Although modern English translations tend to place “about him” after “testify” (so NIV, NRSV) the phrase “about him” has been left at the beginning of v. 43 for emphatic reasons.

[10:43]  ⁴⁶ sn Forgiveness of sins. See Luke 24:47; also Acts 14:23; 19:4; 9:42; 11:17; 16:31. The gospel is present in the prophetic promise, Rom 1:1-7. The message is in continuity with the ancient hope.

[10:1]  ⁴⁷ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). It was known as “Caesarea by the sea” (BDAG 499 s.v. Καισάρεια 2). Largely Gentile, it was a center of Roman administration and the location of many of Herod the Great’s building projects (Josephus, Ant. 15.9.6 [15.331-341]).

[10:1]  ⁴⁸ sn A centurion was a noncommissioned officer in the Roman army or one of the auxiliary territorial armies, commanding a centuria of (nominally) 100 men. The responsibilities of centurions were broadly similar to modern junior officers, but there was a wide gap in social status between them and officers, and relatively few were promoted beyond the rank of senior centurion. The Roman troops stationed in Judea were auxiliaries, who would normally be rewarded with Roman citizenship after 25 years of service. Some of the centurions may have served originally in the Roman legions (regular army) and thus gained their citizenship at enlistment. Others may have inherited it, like Paul.

[10:1]  ⁴⁹ sn A cohort was a Roman military unit of about 600 soldiers, one-tenth of a legion (BDAG 936 s.v. σπεῖρα). The Italian Cohort has been identified as cohors II Italica which is known to have been stationed in Syria in a.d. 88.

[1:11]  ⁵⁰ tn The word “here” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[1:11]  ⁵¹ tc Codex Bezae (D) and several other witnesses lack the words εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν (ei" ton ouranon, “into heaven”) here, most likely by way of accidental deletion. In any event, it is hardly correct to suppose that the Western text has intentionally suppressed references to the ascension of Christ here, for the phrase is solidly attested in the final clause of the verse.

[1:12]  ⁵² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:12]  ⁵³ tn Or “from the hill.” The Greek term ὄρος (oros) refers to a relatively high elevation of land in contrast with βουνός (bounos, “hill”).

[1:12]  ⁵⁴ sn The Mount of Olives is the traditional name for this mountain, also called Olivet. The Mount of Olives is really a ridge running north to south about 1.8 mi (3 km) long, east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Its central elevation is about 100 ft (30 m) higher than Jerusalem. It was named for the large number of olive trees which grew on it.

[1:12]  ⁵⁵ sn The phrase a Sabbath day’s journey refers to the distance the rabbis permitted a person to travel on the Sabbath without breaking the Sabbath, specified in tractate Sotah 5:3 of the Mishnah as 2,000 cubits (a cubit was about 18 inches). In this case the distance was about half a mile (1 km).