Luke 15:30

15:30 But when this son of yours ¹  came back, who has devoured ²  your assets with prostitutes, ³  you killed the fattened calf ⁴  for him!’

Acts 9:17

9:17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, placed ⁵  his hands on Saul ⁶  and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came here, ⁷  has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ⁸ 

Acts 22:13

22:13 came ⁹  to me and stood beside me ¹⁰  and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ ¹¹  And at that very moment ¹²  I looked up and saw him. ¹³ 

Philemon 1:16

1:16 no longer as a slave, ¹⁴  but more than a slave, as a dear brother. He is especially so to me, and even more so to you now, both humanly speaking ¹⁵  and in the Lord.

[15:30]  ¹ sn Note the younger son is not “my brother” but this son of yours (an expression with a distinctly pejorative nuance).

[15:30]  ² sn This is another graphic description. The younger son’s consumption had been like a glutton. He had both figuratively and literally devoured the assets which were given to him.

[15:30]  ³ sn The charge concerning the prostitutes is unproven, but essentially the older brother accuses the father of committing an injustice by rewarding his younger son’s unrighteous behavior.

[15:30]  ⁴ sn See note on the phrase “fattened calf” in v. 23.

[9:17]  ⁵ tn Grk “and placing his hands on Saul, he said.” The participle ἐπιθείς (epiqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. For the same reason καί (kai) has not been translated before the participle.

[9:17]  ⁶ tn Grk “on him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:17]  ⁷ tn Grk “on the road in which you came,” but the relative clause makes for awkward English style, so it was translated as a temporal clause (“as you came here”).

[9:17]  ⁸ sn Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Here someone who is not an apostle (Ananias) commissions another person with the Spirit.

[22:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “coming.” The participle ἐλθών (elqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “coming to me and standing beside [me] said to me.” The participle ἐπιστάς (epistas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Brother Saul, look up” (here an idiom for regaining one’s sight). BDAG 59 s.v. ἀναβλέπω places this usage under 1, “look up Ac 22:13a. W. εἰς αὐτόν to show the direction of the glance…22:13b; but perh. this vs. belongs under 2a.” BDAG 59 s.v. 2.a.α states, “of blind persons, who were formerly able to see, regain sight.” The problem for the translator is deciding between the literal and the idiomatic usage and at the same time attempting to retain the wordplay in Acts 22:13: “[Ananias] said to me, ‘Look up!’ and at that very moment I looked up to him.” The assumption of the command is that the effort to look up will be worth it (through the regaining of sight).

[22:13]  ¹² tn Grk “hour,” but ὥρα (Jwra) is often used for indefinite short periods of time (so BDAG 1102-3 s.v. ὥρα 2.c: “αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ at that very time, at once, instantly…Lk 2:38, 24:33; Ac 16:18; 22:13”). A comparison with the account in Acts 9:18 indicates that this is clearly the meaning here.

[22:13]  ¹³ tn Grk “I looked up to him.”

[1:16]  ¹⁴ tn Although the Greek word δοῦλος (doulos) is sometimes translated “servant” here (so KJV), the word “slave” is a much more candid and realistic picture of the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus. In the Greco-Roman world of the 1st century the slave was considered a “living tool” of the master. The slave was “property” in every sense of the word. This understanding heightens the tense scenario that is in view here. It is likely that Onesimus may have even feared for his life upon returning to Colossae. Undoubtedly Paul has asked this runaway slave to return to what could amount to a potentially severe and life-endangering situation.

[1:16]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “in the flesh.”