Matthew 3:2

3:2 “Repent, ¹  for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Matthew 9:13

9:13 Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ ²  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 10:7

10:7 As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near!’

Mark 1:15

1:15 He ³  said, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God ⁴  is near. Repent and believe the gospel!”

Luke 5:32

5:32 I have not come ⁵  to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” ⁶ 

Luke 9:2

9:2 and he sent ⁷  them out to proclaim ⁸  the kingdom of God ⁹  and to heal the sick. ¹⁰ 

Luke 10:11-14

10:11 ‘Even the dust of your town ¹¹  that clings to our feet we wipe off ¹²  against you. ¹³  Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.’ ¹⁴  10:12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom ¹⁵  than for that town! ¹⁶ 

10:13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! ¹⁷  Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if ¹⁸  the miracles ¹⁹  done in you had been done in Tyre ²⁰  and Sidon, ²¹  they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 10:14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you!

Luke 15:7

15:7 I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner ²²  who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people ²³  who have no need to repent. ²⁴ 

Luke 15:10

15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels ²⁵  over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 24:47

24:47 and repentance ²⁶  for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed ²⁷  in his name to all nations, ²⁸  beginning from Jerusalem. ²⁹ 

Acts 2:38

2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized ³⁰  in the name of Jesus Christ ³¹  for ³²  the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³³ 

Acts 3:19

3:19 Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out,

Acts 11:18

11:18 When they heard this, ³⁴  they ceased their objections ³⁵  and praised ³⁶  God, saying, “So then, God has granted the repentance ³⁷  that leads to life even to the Gentiles.” ³⁸ 

Acts 17:30

17:30 Therefore, although God has overlooked ³⁹  such times of ignorance, ⁴⁰  he now commands all people ⁴¹  everywhere to repent, ⁴² 

Acts 20:21

20:21 testifying ⁴³  to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. ⁴⁴ 

Acts 26:20

26:20 but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, ⁴⁵  and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, ⁴⁶  performing deeds consistent with ⁴⁷  repentance.

Acts 26:2

26:2 “Regarding all the things I have been accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa, ⁴⁸  I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today,

Acts 2:25-26

2:25 For David says about him,

‘I saw the Lord always in front of me, ⁴⁹ 

for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.

2:26 Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced;

my body ⁵⁰  also will live in hope,

Hebrews 6:1

6:1 Therefore we must progress beyond ⁵¹  the elementary ⁵²  instructions about Christ ⁵³  and move on ⁵⁴  to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,

[3:2]  ¹ tn Grk “and saying, ‘Repent.’” The participle λέγων (legwn) at the beginning of v. 2 is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[9:13]  ² sn A quotation from Hos 6:6 (see also Matt 12:7).

[1:15]  ³ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:15]  ⁴ sn The kingdom of God is a reference to the sovereign activity of God as he rules over his creation and brings his plans to realization.

[5:32]  ⁵ sn I have not come is another commission statement by Jesus; see 4:43-44.

[5:32]  ⁶ sn Though parallels exist to this saying (Matt 9:13; Mark 2:17), only Luke has this last phrase but sinners to repentance. Repentance is a frequent topic in Luke’s Gospel: 3:3, 8; 13:1-5; 15:7, 10; 16:30; 17:3-4; 24:47.

[9:2]  ⁷ sn “To send out” is often a term of divine commission in Luke: 1:19; 4:18, 43; 7:27; 9:48; 10:1, 16; 11:49; 13:34; 24:49.

[9:2]  ⁸ tn Or “to preach.”

[9:2]  ⁹ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[9:2]  ¹⁰ sn As Jesus’ own ministry (Luke 4:16-44) involved both word (to proclaim) and deed (to heal) so also would that of the disciples.

[10:11]  ¹¹ tn Or “city.”

[10:11]  ¹² sn See Luke 9:5, where the verb is different but the meaning is the same. This was a sign of rejection.

[10:11]  ¹³ tn Here ὑμῖν (Jumin) has been translated as a dative of disadvantage.

[10:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “has come near.” As in v. 9 (see above), the combination of ἐγγίζω (engizw) with the preposition ἐπί (epi) is decisive in showing that the sense is “has come” (see BDAG 270 s.v. ἐγγίζω 2, and W. R. Hutton, “The Kingdom of God Has Come,” ExpTim 64 [Dec 1952]: 89-91).

[10:12]  ¹⁵ sn The allusion to Sodom, the most wicked of OT cities from Gen 19:1-29, shows that to reject the current message is even more serious than the worst sins of the old era and will result in more severe punishment. The noun Sodom is in emphatic position in the Greek text.

[10:12]  ¹⁶ tn Or “city.”

[10:13]  ¹⁷ sn Chorazin was a town of Galilee that was probably fairly small in contrast to Bethsaida and is otherwise unattested. Bethsaida was declared a polis by the tetrarch Herod Philip, sometime after a.d. 30.

[10:13]  ¹⁸ tn This introduces a second class (contrary to fact) condition in the Greek text.

[10:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or “powerful deeds.”

[10:13]  ²⁰ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[10:13]  ²¹ sn Tyre and Sidon are two other notorious OT cities (Isa 23; Jer 25:22; 47:4). The remark is a severe rebuke, in effect: “Even the sinners of the old era would have responded to the proclamation of the kingdom, unlike you!”

[15:7]  ²² sn There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. The pursuit of the sinner is a priority in spite of the presence of others who are doing well (see also Luke 5:32; 19:10). The theme of repentance, a major Lukan theme, is again emphasized.

[15:7]  ²³ tn Here δικαίοις (dikaioi") is an adjective functioning substantivally and has been translated “righteous people.”

[15:7]  ²⁴ tn Or “who do not need to repent”; Grk “who do not have need of repentance.”

[15:10]  ²⁵ sn The whole of heaven is said to rejoice. Joy in the presence of God’s angels is a way of referring to God’s joy as well without having to name him explicitly. Contemporary Judaism tended to refer to God indirectly where possible out of reverence or respect for the divine name.

[24:47]  ²⁶ sn This repentance has its roots in declarations of the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew concept of a turning of direction.

[24:47]  ²⁷ tn Or “preached,” “announced.”

[24:47]  ²⁸ sn To all nations. The same Greek term (τὰ ἔθνη, ta eqnh) may be translated “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” The hope of God in Christ was for all the nations from the beginning.

[24:47]  ²⁹ sn Beginning from Jerusalem. See Acts 2, which is where it all starts.

[2:38]  ³⁰ tn The verb is a third person imperative, but the common translation “let each of you be baptized” obscures the imperative force in English, since it sounds more like a permissive (“each of you may be baptized”) to the average English reader.

[2:38]  ³¹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:38]  ³² tn There is debate over the meaning of εἰς in the prepositional phrase εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν (eis afesin twn Jamartiwn Jumwn, “for/because of/with reference to the forgiveness of your sins”). Although a causal sense has been argued, it is difficult to maintain here. ExSyn 369-71 discusses at least four other ways of dealing with the passage: (1) The baptism referred to here is physical only, and εἰς has the meaning of “for” or “unto.” Such a view suggests that salvation is based on works – an idea that runs counter to the theology of Acts, namely: (a) repentance often precedes baptism (cf. Acts 3:19; 26:20), and (b) salvation is entirely a gift of God, not procured via water baptism (Acts 10:43 [cf. v. 47]; 13:38-39, 48; 15:11; 16:30-31; 20:21; 26:18); (2) The baptism referred to here is spiritual only. Although such a view fits well with the theology of Acts, it does not fit well with the obvious meaning of “baptism” in Acts – especially in this text (cf. 2:41); (3) The text should be repunctuated in light of the shift from second person plural to third person singular back to second person plural again. The idea then would be, “Repent for/with reference to your sins, and let each one of you be baptized…” Such a view is an acceptable way of handling εἰς, but its subtlety and awkwardness count against it; (4) Finally, it is possible that to a first-century Jewish audience (as well as to Peter), the idea of baptism might incorporate both the spiritual reality and the physical symbol. That Peter connects both closely in his thinking is clear from other passages such as Acts 10:47 and 11:15-16. If this interpretation is correct, then Acts 2:38 is saying very little about the specific theological relationship between the symbol and the reality, only that historically they were viewed together. One must look in other places for a theological analysis. For further discussion see R. N. Longenecker, “Acts,” EBC 9:283-85; B. Witherington, Acts, 154-55; F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 129-30; BDAG 290 s.v. εἰς 4.f.

[2:38]  ³³ tn Here the genitive τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (tou Jagiou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the gift consists of the Holy Spirit.

[11:18]  ³⁴ tn Grk “these things.”

[11:18]  ³⁵ tn Or “became silent,” but this would create an apparent contradiction with the subsequent action of praising God. The point, in context, is that they ceased objecting to what Peter had done.

[11:18]  ³⁶ tn Or “glorified.”

[11:18]  ³⁷ sn Here the summary phrase for responding to the gospel is the repentance that leads to life. Note how the presence of life is tied to the presence of the Spirit (cf. John 4:7-42; 7:37-39).

[11:18]  ³⁸ sn In the Greek text the phrase even to the Gentiles is in an emphatic position.

[17:30]  ³⁹ tn Or “has deliberately paid no attention to.”

[17:30]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “times when people did not know.”

[17:30]  ⁴¹ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[17:30]  ⁴² sn He now commands all people everywhere to repent. God was now asking all mankind to turn to him. No nation or race was excluded.

[20:21]  ⁴³ tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 1 has “testify of, bear witness to (orig. under oath)…of repentance to Judeans and Hellenes Ac 20:21.”

[20:21]  ⁴⁴ tc Several mss, including some of the more important ones (Ì⁷⁴ א Α C [D] E 33 36 323 945 1175 1241 1505 1739 pm and a number of versions), read Χριστόν (Criston, “Christ”) at the end of this verse. This word is lacking in B H L P Ψ 614 pm. Although the inclusion is supported by many earlier and better mss, internal evidence is on the side of the omission: In Acts, both “Lord Jesus” and “Lord Jesus Christ” occur, though between 16:31 and the end of the book “Lord Jesus Christ” appears only in 28:31, perhaps as a kind of climactic assertion. Thus, the shorter reading is to be preferred.

[26:20]  ⁴⁵ tn BDAG 1093-94 s.v. χώρα 2.b states, “of the provincial name (1 Macc 8:3) ἡ χώρα τῆς ᾿Ιουδαίας Ac 26:20.”

[26:20]  ⁴⁶ sn That they should repent and turn to God. This is the shortest summary of Paul’s message that he preached.

[26:20]  ⁴⁷ tn BDAG 93 s.v. ἄξιος 1.b, “καρποὶ ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας fruits in keeping with your repentance…Lk 3:8; Mt 3:8. For this ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας ἔργα Ac 26:20.” Note how Paul preached the gospel offer and the issue of response together, side by side.

[26:2]  ⁴⁸ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[2:25]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “always before me.”

[2:26]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “my flesh.”

[6:1]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “Therefore leaving behind.” The implication is not of abandoning this elementary information, but of building on it.

[6:1]  ⁵² tn Or “basic.”

[6:1]  ⁵³ tn Grk “the message of the beginning of Christ.”

[6:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “leaving behind…let us move on.”