Luke 2:37

2:37 She had lived as a widow since then for eighty-four years. ¹  She never left the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. ² 

Luke 18:1

Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow

18:1 Then ³  Jesus ⁴  told them a parable to show them they should always ⁵  pray and not lose heart. ⁶ 

Luke 18:7

18:7 Won’t ⁷  God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out ⁸  to him day and night? ⁹  Will he delay ¹⁰  long to help them?

Acts 26:7

26:7 a promise ¹¹  that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God ¹²  night and day. Concerning this hope the Jews are accusing me, ¹³  Your Majesty! ¹⁴ 

Ephesians 6:18

6:18 With every prayer and petition, pray ¹⁵  at all times in the Spirit, and to this end ¹⁶  be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.

[2:37]  ¹ tn Grk “living with her husband for seven years from her virginity and she was a widow for eighty four years.” The chronology of the eighty-four years is unclear, since the final phrase could mean “she was widowed until the age of eighty-four” (so BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.α). However, the more natural way to take the syntax is as a reference to the length of her widowhood, the subject of the clause, in which case Anna was about 105 years old (so D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:251-52; I. H. Marshall, Luke, [NIGTC], 123-24).

[2:37]  ² sn The statements about Anna worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day make her extreme piety clear.

[18:1]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[18:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ⁵ tn Or “should pray at all times” (L&N 67.88).

[18:1]  ⁶ sn This is one of the few parables that comes with an explanation at the start: …they should always pray and not lose heart. It is part of Luke’s goal in encouraging Theophilus (1:4).

[18:7]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:7]  ⁸ sn The prayers have to do with the righteous who cry out to him to receive justice. The context assumes the righteous are persecuted.

[18:7]  ⁹ tn The emphatic particles in this sentence indicate that God will indeed give justice to the righteous.

[18:7]  ¹⁰ sn The issue of delay has produced a whole host of views for this verse. (1) Does this assume provision to endure in the meantime? Or (2) does it mean God restricts the level of persecution until he comes? Either view is possible.

[26:7]  ¹¹ tn Grk “to which [promise] our twelve tribes…” The antecedent of the relative pronoun (the promise in v. 6) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:7]  ¹² tn Or “earnestly worship.” The object of this service, God, is omitted but implied: BDAG 587 s.v. λατρεύω states, “Without the dat. of the one to whom service is given: ἐν ἐκτενείᾳ νύκτα κ. ἡμέραν λ. serve (God) earnestly night and day Ac 26:7.” Although clear from the context in Greek, “God” must be supplied as the recipient of the service for the modern English reader.

[26:7]  ¹³ tn Grk “I am being accused by the Jews.” The passive construction was simplified by converting it to an active one in the translation.

[26:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “O King!”

[6:18]  ¹⁵ tn Both “pray” and “be alert” are participles in the Greek text (“praying…being alert”). Both are probably instrumental, loosely connected with all of the preceding instructions. As such, they are not additional commands to do but instead are the means through which the prior instructions are accomplished.

[6:18]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and toward it.”