Matthew 28:19

28:19 Therefore go ¹  and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ² 

Acts 2:38

2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized ³  in the name of Jesus Christ ⁴  for ⁵  the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ⁶ 

Acts 2:41

2:41 So those who accepted ⁷  his message ⁸  were baptized, and that day about three thousand people ⁹  were added. ¹⁰ 

Acts 8:36-39

8:36 Now as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water! What is to stop me ¹¹  from being baptized?” 8:37 [[EMPTY]] ¹²  8:38 So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, ¹³  and Philip baptized ¹⁴  him. 8:39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any more, but ¹⁵  went on his way rejoicing. ¹⁶ 

Acts 22:16

22:16 And now what are you waiting for? ¹⁷  Get up, ¹⁸  be baptized, and have your sins washed away, ¹⁹  calling on his name.’ ²⁰ 

Romans 10:9-14

10:9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord ²¹  and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10:10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness ²²  and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. ²³  10:11 For the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ²⁴  10:12 For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him. 10:13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. ²⁵ 

10:14 How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them ²⁶ ?

Romans 10:1

10:1 Brothers and sisters, ²⁷  my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites ²⁸  is for their salvation.

Romans 3:21

3:21 But now ²⁹  apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) ³⁰  has been disclosed –

[28:19]  ¹ tn “Go…baptize…teach” are participles modifying the imperative verb “make disciples.” According to ExSyn 645 the first participle (πορευθέντες, poreuqentes, “Go”) fits the typical structural pattern for the attendant circumstance participle (aorist participle preceding aorist main verb, with the mood of the main verb usually imperative or indicative) and thus picks up the mood (imperative in this case) from the main verb (μαθητεύσατε, maqhteusate, “make disciples”). This means that semantically the action of “going” is commanded, just as “making disciples” is. As for the two participles that follow the main verb (βαπτίζοντες, baptizontes, “baptizing”; and διδάσκοντες, didaskontes, “teaching”), these do not fit the normal pattern for attendant circumstance participles, since they are present participles and follow the aorist main verb. However, some interpreters do see them as carrying additional imperative force in context. Others regard them as means, manner, or even result.

[28:19]  ² tc Although some scholars have denied that the trinitarian baptismal formula in the Great Commission was a part of the original text of Matthew, there is no ms support for their contention. F. C. Conybeare, “The Eusebian Form of the Text of Mt. 28:19,” ZNW 2 (1901): 275-88, based his view on a faulty reading of Eusebius’ quotations of this text. The shorter reading has also been accepted, on other grounds, by a few other scholars. For discussion (and refutation of the conjecture that removes this baptismal formula), see B. J. Hubbard, The Matthean Redaction of a Primitive Apostolic Commissioning (SBLDS 19), 163-64, 167-75; and Jane Schaberg, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (SBLDS 61), 27-29.

[2:38]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:38]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Here the genitive τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (tou Jagiou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the gift consists of the Holy Spirit.

[2:41]  ⁷ tn Or “who acknowledged the truth of.”

[2:41]  ⁸ tn Grk “word.”

[2:41]  ⁹ tn Grk “souls” (here an idiom for the whole person).

[2:41]  ¹⁰ tn Or “were won over.”

[8:36]  ¹¹ tn Or “What prevents me.” The rhetorical question means, “I should get baptized, right?”

[8:37]  ¹² tc A few later mss (E 36 323 453 945 1739 1891 pc) add, with minor variations, 8:37 “He said to him, ‘If you believe with your whole heart, you may.’ He replied, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’” Verse 37 is lacking in {Ì^45,74 א A B C 33 614 vg sy^p,h co}. It is clearly not a part of the original text of Acts. The variant is significant in showing how some in the early church viewed a confession of faith. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

[8:38]  ¹³ tn Grk “and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch.” Since this is somewhat redundant in English, it was simplified to “and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water.”

[8:38]  ¹⁴ sn Philip baptized. Again, someone beyond the Twelve has ministered an ordinance of faith.

[8:39]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 2 indicates that under certain circumstances γάρ (gar) has the same meaning as δέ (de).

[8:39]  ¹⁶ sn Note that the response to the gospel is rejoicing (joy, cf. Acts 11:23; 13:48).

[22:16]  ¹⁷ tn L&N 67.121 has “to extend time unduly, with the implication of lack of decision – ‘to wait, to delay.’ νῦν τί μέλλεις… ἀναστὰς βάπτισαι ‘what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized’ Ac 22:16.”

[22:16]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “getting up.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") is an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance and has been translated as a finite verb.

[22:16]  ¹⁹ sn The expression have your sins washed away means “have your sins purified” (the washing is figurative).

[22:16]  ²⁰ sn The expression calling on his name describes the confession of the believer: Acts 2:17-38, esp. v. 38; Rom 10:12-13; 1 Cor 1:2.

[10:9]  ²¹ tn Or “the Lord.” The Greek construction, along with the quotation from Joel 2:32 in v. 13 (in which the same “Lord” seems to be in view) suggests that κύριον (kurion) is to be taken as “the Lord,” that is, Yahweh. Cf. D. B. Wallace, “The Semantics and Exegetical Significance of the Object-Complement Construction in the New Testament,” GTJ 6 (1985): 91-112.

[10:10]  ²² tn Grk “believes to righteousness.”

[10:10]  ²³ tn Grk “confesses to salvation.”

[10:11]  ²⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 28:16.

[10:13]  ²⁵ sn A quotation from Joel 2:32.

[10:14]  ²⁶ tn Grk “preaching”; the words “to them” are supplied for clarification.

[10:1]  ²⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[10:1]  ²⁸ tn Grk “on behalf of them”; the referent (Paul’s fellow Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:21]  ²⁹ tn Νυνὶ δέ (Nuni de, “But now”) could be understood as either (1) logical or (2) temporal in force, but most recent interpreters take it as temporal, referring to a new phase in salvation history.

[3:21]  ³⁰ tn Grk “being witnessed by the law and the prophets,” a remark which is virtually parenthetical to Paul’s argument.