Luke 24:48

24:48 You are witnesses ¹  of these things.

Mark 1:1

The Ministry of John the Baptist

1:1 The beginning of the gospel ²  of Jesus Christ, ³  the Son of God. ⁴ 

John 15:27

15:27 and you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Acts 1:3

1:3 To the same apostles ⁵  also, after his suffering, ⁶  he presented himself alive with many convincing proofs. He was seen by them over a forty-day period ⁷  and spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God.

Acts 1:8

1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts ⁸  of the earth.”

Acts 1:21-22

1:21 Thus one of the men ⁹  who have accompanied us during all the time the Lord Jesus associated with ¹⁰  us, 1:22 beginning from his baptism by John until the day he ¹¹  was taken up from us – one of these must become a witness of his resurrection together with us.”

Acts 4:20

4:20 for it is impossible ¹²  for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”

Acts 10:39-41

10:39 We ¹³  are witnesses of all the things he did both in Judea ¹⁴  and in Jerusalem. ¹⁵  They ¹⁶  killed him by hanging him on a tree, ¹⁷  10:40 but ¹⁸  God raised him up on the third day and caused him to be seen, ¹⁹  10:41 not by all the people, but by us, the witnesses God had already chosen, ²⁰  who ate and drank ²¹  with him after he rose from the dead.

Hebrews 2:3

2:3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him,

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Hebrews 5:1

5:1 For every high priest is taken from among the people ²²  and appointed ²³  to represent them before God, ²⁴  to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Hebrews 5:1

5:1 For every high priest is taken from among the people ²⁵  and appointed ²⁶  to represent them before God, ²⁷  to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Hebrews 1:1-3

Introduction: God Has Spoken Fully and Finally in His Son

1:1 After God spoke long ago ²⁸  in various portions ²⁹  and in various ways ³⁰  to our ancestors ³¹  through the prophets, 1:2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, ³²  whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. ³³  1:3 The Son is ³⁴  the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, ³⁵  and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. ³⁶ 

[24:48]  ¹ sn You are witnesses. This becomes a key concept of testimony in Acts. See Acts 1:8.

[1:1]  ² sn By the time Mark wrote, the word gospel had become a technical term referring to the preaching about Jesus Christ and God’s saving power accomplished through him for all who believe (cf. Rom 1:16).

[1:1]  ³ tn The genitive in the phrase τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou euangeliou Ihsou Cristou, “the gospel of Jesus Christ”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which Jesus brings [or proclaims]”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about Jesus Christ”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which Jesus proclaims is in fact the gospel about himself.

[1:1]  ⁴ tc א* Θ 28 l2211 pc sa^ms Or lack υἱοῦ θεοῦ (Juiou qeou, “son of God”), while virtually all the rest of the witnesses have the words (A Ë^1,13 33 Ï also have τοῦ [tou] before θεοῦ), so the evidence seems to argue for the authenticity of the words. Most likely, the words were omitted by accident in some witnesses, since the last four words of v. 1, in uncial script, would have looked like this: iu_c_r_u_u_u_q_u_. With all the successive upsilons an accidental deletion is likely. Further, the inclusion of υἱοῦ θεοῦ here finds its complement in 15:39, where the centurion claims that Jesus was υἱὸς θεοῦ (Juios qeou, “son of God”). Even though א is in general one of the best NT mss, its testimony is not quite as preeminent in this situation. There are several other instances in which it breaks up chains of genitives ending in ου (cf., e.g., Acts 28:31; Col 2:2; Heb 12:2; Rev 12:14; 15:7; 22:1), showing that there is a significantly higher possibility of accidental scribal omission in a case like this. This christological inclusio parallels both Matthew (“Immanuel…God with us” in 1:23/“I am with you” in 28:20) and John (“the Word was God” in 1:1/“My Lord and my God” in 20:28), probably reflecting nascent christological development and articulation.

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the apostles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:3]  ⁶ sn After his suffering is a reference to Jesus’ crucifixion and the abuse which preceded it.

[1:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “during forty days.” The phrase “over a forty-day period” is used rather than “during forty days” because (as the other NT accounts of Jesus’ appearances make clear) Jesus was not continually visible to the apostles during the forty days, but appeared to them on various occasions.

[1:8]  ⁸ tn Or “to the ends.”

[1:21]  ⁹ tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, where a successor to Judas is being chosen, only men were under consideration in the original historical context.

[1:21]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the Lord Jesus went in and out among us.” According to BDAG 294 s.v. εἰσέρχομαι 1.b.β, “ἐν παντὶ χρόνῳ ᾧ εἰσῆλθεν καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς went in and out among us = associated with us Ac 1:21.”

[1:22]  ¹¹ tn Here the pronoun “he” refers to Jesus.

[4:20]  ¹² tn Grk “for we are not able not to speak about what we have seen and heard,” but the double negative, which cancels out in English, is emphatic in Greek. The force is captured somewhat by the English translation “it is impossible for us not to speak…” although this is slightly awkward.

[10:39]  ¹³ tn Grk “And we.” 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.

[10:39]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the land of the Jews,” but this is similar to the phrase used as the name of the province of Judea in 1 Macc 8:3 (see BDAG 1093-94 s.v. χώρα 2.b).

[10:39]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:39]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “in Jerusalem, whom they killed.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “him” 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.

[10:39]  ¹⁷ tn Or “by crucifying him” (“hang on a tree” is by the time of the 1st century an idiom for crucifixion). The allusion is to the judgment against Jesus as a rebellious figure, appealing to the language of Deut 21:23. The Jewish leadership has badly “misjudged” Jesus.

[10:40]  ¹⁸ tn The conjunction “but” is not in the Greek text, but the contrast is clearly implied in the context. This is technically asyndeton, or lack of a connective, in Greek.

[10:40]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and granted that he should become visible.” The literal Greek idiom is somewhat awkward in English. L&N 24.22 offers the translation “caused him to be seen” for this verse.

[10:41]  ²⁰ tn Or “the witnesses God had previously chosen.” See Acts 1:8.

[10:41]  ²¹ sn Ate and drank. See Luke 24:35-49.

[5:1]  ²² tn Grk “from among men,” but since the point in context is shared humanity (rather than shared maleness), the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated “people.”

[5:1]  ²³ tn Grk “who is taken from among people is appointed.”

[5:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “appointed on behalf of people in reference to things relating to God.”

[5:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “from among men,” but since the point in context is shared humanity (rather than shared maleness), the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated “people.”

[5:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “who is taken from among people is appointed.”

[5:1]  ²⁷ tn Grk “appointed on behalf of people in reference to things relating to God.”

[1:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “spoke formerly.”

[1:1]  ²⁹ tn Or “parts.” The idea is that God’s previous revelation came in many parts and was therefore fragmentary or partial (L&N 63.19), in comparison with the final and complete revelation contained in God’s Son. However, some interpret πολυμερῶς (polumerw") in Heb 1:1 to mean “on many different occasions” and would thus translate “many times” (L&N 67.11). This is the option followed by the NIV: “at many times and in various ways.” Finally, this word is also understood to refer to the different manners in which something may be done, and would then be translated “in many different ways” (L&N 89.81). In this last case, the two words πολυμερῶς and πολυτρόπως (polutropw") mutually reinforce one another (“in many and various ways,” NRSV).

[1:1]  ³⁰ tn These two phrases are emphasized in Greek by being placed at the beginning of the sentence and by alliteration.

[1:1]  ³¹ tn Grk “to the fathers.”

[1:2]  ³² tn The Greek puts an emphasis on the quality of God’s final revelation. As such, it is more than an indefinite notion (“a son”) though less than a definite one (“the son”), for this final revelation is not just through any son of God, nor is the emphasis specifically on the person himself. Rather, the focus here is on the nature of the vehicle of God’s revelation: He is no mere spokesman (or prophet) for God, nor is he merely a heavenly messenger (or angel); instead, this final revelation comes through one who is intimately acquainted with the heavenly Father in a way that only a family member could be. There is, however, no exact equivalent in English (“in son” is hardly good English style).

[1:2]  ³³ tn Grk “the ages.” The temporal (ages) came to be used of the spatial (what exists in those time periods). See Heb 11:3 for the same usage.

[1:3]  ³⁴ tn Grk “who being…and sustaining.” Heb 1:1-4 form one skillfully composed sentence in Greek, but it must be broken into shorter segments to correspond to contemporary English usage, which does not allow for sentences of this length and complexity.

[1:3]  ³⁵ tn Grk “by the word of his power.”

[1:3]  ³⁶ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1, quoted often in Hebrews.