Mark 16:14

16:14 Then he appeared to the eleven themselves, while they were eating, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him resurrected.

John 6:70

6:70 Jesus replied, ¹  “Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is the devil?” ² 

Acts 1:13-26

1:13 When ³  they had entered Jerusalem, ⁴  they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. Peter ⁵  and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James were there. ⁶  1:14 All these continued together in prayer with one mind, together with the women, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. ⁷  1:15 In those days ⁸  Peter stood up among the believers ⁹  (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty people) and said, 1:16 “Brothers, ¹⁰  the scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit foretold through ¹¹  David concerning Judas – who became the guide for those who arrested Jesus – 1:17 for he was counted as one of us and received a share in this ministry.” ¹²  1:18 (Now this man Judas ¹³  acquired a field with the reward of his unjust deed, ¹⁴  and falling headfirst ¹⁵  he burst open in the middle and all his intestines ¹⁶  gushed out. 1:19 This ¹⁷  became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so that in their own language ¹⁸  they called that field ¹⁹  Hakeldama, that is, “Field of Blood.”) 1:20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his house become deserted, ²⁰  and let there be no one to live in it,’ ²¹  and ‘Let another take his position of responsibility.’ ²²  1:21 Thus one of the men ²³  who have accompanied us during all the time the Lord Jesus associated with ²⁴  us, 1:22 beginning from his baptism by John until the day he ²⁵  was taken up from us – one of these must become a witness of his resurrection together with us.” 1:23 So they ²⁶  proposed two candidates: ²⁷  Joseph called Barsabbas (also called Justus) and Matthias. 1:24 Then they prayed, ²⁸  “Lord, you know the hearts of all. Show us which one of these two you have chosen 1:25 to assume the task ²⁹  of this service ³⁰  and apostleship from which Judas turned aside ³¹  to go to his own place.” ³²  1:26 Then ³³  they cast lots for them, and the one chosen was Matthias; ³⁴  so he was counted with the eleven apostles. ³⁵ 

Acts 1:1

Jesus Ascends to Heaven

1:1 I wrote ³⁶  the former ³⁷  account, ³⁸  Theophilus, ³⁹  about all that Jesus began to do and teach

Colossians 1:15

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ⁴⁰ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ⁴¹  over all creation, ⁴² 

[6:70]  ¹ tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”

[6:70]  ² tn Although most translations render this last phrase as “one of you is a devil,” such a translation presupposes that there is more than one devil. This finds roots in the KJV in which the Greek word for demon was often translated “devil.” In fact, the KJV never uses the word “demon.” (Sixty-two of the 63 NT instances of δαιμόνιον [daimonion] are translated “devil” [in Acts 17:18 the plural has been translated “gods”]. This can get confusing in places where the singular “devil” is used: Is Satan or one of the demons in view [cf. Matt 9:33 (demon); 13:39 (devil); 17:18 (demon); Mark 7:26 (demon); Luke 4:2 (devil); etc.]?) Now regarding John 6:70, both the construction in Greek and the technical use of διάβολος (diabolos) indicate that the one devil is in view. To object to the translation “the devil” because it thus equates Judas with Satan does not take into consideration that Jesus often spoke figuratively (e.g., “destroy this temple” [John 2:19]; “he [John the Baptist] is Elijah” [Matt 11:14]), even equating Peter with the devil on one occasion (Mark 8:33). According to ExSyn 249, “A curious phenomenon has occurred in the English Bible with reference to one particular monadic noun, διάβολος. The KJV translates both διάβολος and δαιμόνιον as ‘devil.’ Thus in the AV translators’ minds, ‘devil’ was not a monadic noun. Modern translations have correctly rendered δαιμόνιον as ‘demon’ and have, for the most part, recognized that διάβολος is monadic (cf., e.g., 1 Pet 5:8; Rev 20:2). But in John 6:70 modern translations have fallen into the error of the King James translators. The KJV has ‘one of you is a devil.’ So does the RSV, NRSV, ASV, NIV, NKJV, and the JB [Jerusalem Bible]. Yet there is only one devil…The legacy of the KJV still lives on, then, even in places where it ought not.”

[1:13]  ³ tn Grk “And when.” 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.

[1:13]  ⁴ tn The word “Jerusalem” is not in the Greek text but is implied (direct objects were often omitted when clear from the context).

[1:13]  ⁵ sn In the various lists of the twelve, Peter (also called Simon) is always mentioned first (see also Matt 10:1-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16) and the first four are always the same, though not in the same order after Peter.

[1:13]  ⁶ tn The words “were there” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[1:14]  ⁷ sn Jesus’ brothers are mentioned in Matt 13:55 and John 7:3.

[1:15]  ⁸ tn Grk “And in those days.” 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.

[1:15]  ⁹ tn Or “brethren” (but the term includes both male and female believers present in this gathering, as indicated by those named in vv. 13-14).

[1:16]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Men brothers.” In light of the compound phrase ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί (andre" adelfoi, “Men brothers”) Peter’s words are best understood as directly addressed to the males present, possibly referring specifically to the twelve (really ten at this point – eleven minus the speaker, Peter) mentioned by name in v. 13.

[1:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “foretold by the mouth of.”

[1:17]  ¹² tn Or “and was chosen to have a share in this ministry.” The term λαγχάνω (lancanw) here and in 2 Pet 1:1 can be understood as referring to the process of divine choice and thus be translated, “was chosen to have.”

[1:18]  ¹³ tn The referent of “this man” (Judas) was specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:18]  ¹⁴ tn Traditionally, “with the reward of his wickedness.”

[1:18]  ¹⁵ tn Traditionally, “falling headlong.”

[1:18]  ¹⁶ tn Or “all his bowels.”

[1:19]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And this.” 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.

[1:19]  ¹⁸ sn Their own language refers to Aramaic, the primary language spoken in Palestine in Jesus’ day.

[1:19]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “that field was called.” The passive voice has been converted to active in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.

[1:20]  ²⁰ tn Or “uninhabited” or “empty.”

[1:20]  ²¹ sn A quotation from Ps 69:25.

[1:20]  ²² tn Or “Let another take his office.”

[1:21]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Here the pronoun “he” refers to Jesus.

[1:23]  ²⁶ tc Codex Bezae (D) and other Western witnesses have “he proposed,” referring to Peter, thus emphasizing his role above the other apostles. The Western text displays a conscious pattern of elevating Peter in Acts, and thus the singular verb here is a palpably motivated reading.

[1:23]  ²⁷ tn Grk “So they proposed two.” The word “candidates” was supplied in the text for clarity.

[1:24]  ²⁸ tn Grk “And praying, they said.” 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.

[1:25]  ²⁹ tn Grk “to take the place.”

[1:25]  ³⁰ tn Or “of this ministry.”

[1:25]  ³¹ tn Or “the task of this service and apostleship which Judas ceased to perform.”

[1:25]  ³² sn To go to his own place. This may well be a euphemism for Judas’ judged fate. He separated himself from them, and thus separated he would remain.

[1:26]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the continuity with the preceding verse. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style does not.

[1:26]  ³⁴ tn Grk “and the lot fell on Matthias.”

[1:26]  ³⁵ tn Or “he was counted as one of the apostles along with the eleven.”

[1:1]  ³⁶ tn Or “produced,” Grk “made.”

[1:1]  ³⁷ tn Or “first.” The translation “former” is preferred because “first” could imply to the modern English reader that the author means that his previous account was the first one to be written down. The Greek term πρῶτος (prwtos) does not necessarily mean “first” in an absolute sense, but can refer to the first in a set or series. That is what is intended here – the first account (known as the Gospel of Luke) as compared to the second one (known as Acts).

[1:1]  ³⁸ tn The Greek word λόγος (logos) is sometimes translated “book” (NRSV, NIV) or “treatise” (KJV). A formal, systematic treatment of a subject is implied, but the word “book” may be too specific and slightly misleading to the modern reader, so “account” has been used.

[1:1]  ³⁹ tn Grk “O Theophilus,” but the usage of the vocative in Acts with ὦ (w) is unemphatic, following more the classical idiom (see ExSyn 69).

[1:15]  ⁴⁰ sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[1:15]  ⁴¹ tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).

[1:15]  ⁴² tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pash" ktisew") is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.