Nehemiah 13:25

13:25 So I entered a complaint with them. I called down a curse on them, and I struck some of the men and pulled out their hair. I had them swear by God saying, “You will not marry off ¹  your daughters to their sons, and you will not take any of their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!

Jeremiah 9:3

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

9:3 The Lord says, ² 

“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.

Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. ³ 

They have become powerful in the land,

but they have not done so by honest means. ⁴ 

Indeed, they do one evil thing after another ⁵ 

and do not pay attention to me. ⁶ 

Acts 6:8-10

Stephen is Arrested

6:8 Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and miraculous signs ⁷  among the people. 6:9 But some men from the Synagogue ⁸  of the Freedmen (as it was called), ⁹  both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, as well as some from Cilicia and the province of Asia, ¹⁰  stood up and argued with Stephen. 6:10 Yet ¹¹  they were not able to resist ¹²  the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

Acts 9:22

9:22 But Saul became more and more capable, ¹³  and was causing consternation ¹⁴  among the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving ¹⁵  that Jesus ¹⁶  is the Christ. ¹⁷ 

Acts 17:3

17:3 explaining and demonstrating ¹⁸  that the Christ ¹⁹  had to suffer and to rise from the dead, ²⁰  saying, ²¹  “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” ²² 

Acts 18:4-6

18:4 He addressed ²³  both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue ²⁴  every Sabbath, attempting to persuade ²⁵  them.

18:5 Now when Silas and Timothy arrived ²⁶  from Macedonia, ²⁷  Paul became wholly absorbed with proclaiming ²⁸  the word, testifying ²⁹  to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. ³⁰  18:6 When they opposed him ³¹  and reviled him, ³²  he protested by shaking out his clothes ³³  and said to them, “Your blood ³⁴  be on your own heads! I am guiltless! ³⁵  From now on I will go to the Gentiles!”

Acts 18:28

18:28 for he refuted the Jews vigorously ³⁶  in public debate, ³⁷  demonstrating from the scriptures that the Christ ³⁸  was Jesus. ³⁹ 

Philippians 1:27

1:27 Only conduct yourselves ⁴⁰  in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that – whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent – I should hear that ⁴¹  you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel, ⁴² 

Philippians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul ⁴³  and Timothy, slaves ⁴⁴  of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, ⁴⁵  with the overseers ⁴⁶  and deacons.

Philippians 2:2

2:2 complete my joy and be of the same mind, ⁴⁷  by having the same love, being united in spirit, ⁴⁸  and having one purpose.

Philippians 2:1

Christian Unity and Christ’s Humility

2:1 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, ⁴⁹  any affection or mercy, ⁵⁰ 

Philippians 1:18

1:18 What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

Yes, ⁵¹  and I will continue to rejoice,

Philippians 1:12

Ministry as a Prisoner

1:12 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, ⁵²  that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel: ⁵³ 

Philippians 1:2

1:2 Grace and peace to you ⁵⁴  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Philippians 1:13

1:13 The ⁵⁵  whole imperial guard ⁵⁶  and everyone else knows ⁵⁷  that I am in prison ⁵⁸  for the sake of Christ,

Philippians 4:7-8

4:7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds ⁵⁹  in Christ Jesus.

4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, ⁶⁰  whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.

Revelation 2:10

2:10 Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown ⁶¹  into prison so you may be tested, ⁶²  and you will experience suffering ⁶³  for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself. ⁶⁴ 

Revelation 12:11

12:11 But ⁶⁵  they overcame him

by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony,

and they did not love their lives ⁶⁶  so much that they were afraid to die.

[13:25]  ¹ tn Heb “give.”

[9:3]  ² tn The words “The Lord says” have been moved up from the end of the verse to make clear that a change in speaker has occurred.

[9:3]  ³ tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”

[9:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “but not through honesty.”

[9:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”

[9:3]  ⁶ tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).

[6:8]  ⁷ tn The miraculous nature of these signs is implied in the context. Here the work of miracles extends beyond the Twelve for the first time.

[6:9]  ⁸ sn A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).

[6:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “the so-called Synagogue of the Freedmen.” The translation of the participle λεγομένης (legomenh") by the phrase “as it was called” is given by L&N 87.86. “Freedmen” would be slaves who had gained their freedom, or the descendants of such people (BDAG 594-95 s.v. Λιβερτῖνος).

[6:9]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[6:10]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and.” The context, however, indicates that the conjunction carries an adversative force.

[6:10]  ¹² sn They were not able to resist. This represents another fulfillment of Luke 12:11-12; 21:15.

[9:22]  ¹³ tn Grk “was becoming stronger,” but this could be understood in a physical sense, while the text refers to Saul’s growing ability to demonstrate to fellow Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. The translation “to become capable” for ἐνδυναμόω (endunamow) is given in L&N 74.7, with this specific verse as an example.

[9:22]  ¹⁴ tn Or “was confounding.” For the translation “to cause consternation” for συγχέω (suncew) see L&N 25.221.

[9:22]  ¹⁵ tn Or “by showing for certain.”

[9:22]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “that this one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:22]  ¹⁷ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Note again the variation in the titles used.

[17:3]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 772 s.v. παρατίθημι 2.b has “demonstrate, point out” here.

[17:3]  ¹⁹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[17:3]  ²⁰ sn The Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead. These two points (suffering and resurrection) would have been among the more controversial aspects of Paul’s messianic preaching. The term translated “had to” (δεῖ, dei) shows how divine design and scripture corresponded here.

[17:3]  ²¹ tn The Greek words used here (καὶ ὅτι, kai {oti, “and that”) mark the switch from indirect to direct discourse. Contemporary English requires the use of an introductory verb of speaking or saying to make this transition.

[17:3]  ²² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[18:4]  ²³ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 18:4. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[18:4]  ²⁴ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:4]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Addressing in the synagogue every Sabbath, he was attempting to persuade both Jews and Greeks.” Because in English the verb “address” is not used absolutely but normally has an object specified, the direct objects of the verb ἔπειθεν (epeiqen) have been moved forward as the objects of the English verb “addressed,” and the pronoun “them” repeated in the translation as the object of ἔπειθεν. The verb ἔπειθεν has been translated as a conative imperfect.

[18:5]  ²⁶ tn Grk “came down.”

[18:5]  ²⁷ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[18:5]  ²⁸ tn BDAG 971 s.v. συνέχω 6 states, “συνείχετο τῷ λόγῳ (Paul) was wholly absorbed in preaching Ac 18:5…in contrast to the activity cited in vs. 3.” The imperfect συνείχετο (suneiceto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“became wholly absorbed…”), stressing the change in Paul’s activity once Silas and Timothy arrived. At this point Paul apparently began to work less and preach more.

[18:5]  ²⁹ tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 2 has “testify of, bear witness to solemnly (orig. under oath)…W. acc. and inf. foll. Ac 18:5.”

[18:5]  ³⁰ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[18:6]  ³¹ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[18:6]  ³² tn The participle βλασφημούντων (blasfhmountwn) has been taken temporally. The direct object (“him”) is implied rather than expressed and could be impersonal (“it,” referring to what Paul was saying rather than Paul himself), but the verb occurs more often in contexts involving defamation or slander against personal beings (not always God). For a very similar context to this one, compare Acts 13:45. The translation “blaspheme” is not used because in contemporary English its meaning is more narrowly defined and normally refers to blasphemy against God (not what Paul’s opponents were doing here). What they were doing was more like slander or defamation of character.

[18:6]  ³³ tn Grk “shaking out his clothes, he said to them.” L&N 16:8 translates Acts 18:6 “when they opposed him and said evil things about him, he protested by shaking the dust from his clothes.” The addition of the verb “protested by” in the translation is necessary to clarify for the modern reader that this is a symbolic action. It is similar but not identical to the phrase in Acts 13:51, where the dust from the feet is shaken off. The participle ἐκτιναξάμενος (ektinaxameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[18:6]  ³⁴ sn Your blood be on your own heads! By invoking this epithet Paul declared himself not responsible for their actions in rejecting Jesus whom Paul preached (cf. Ezek 33:4; 3:6-21; Matt 23:35; 27:25).

[18:6]  ³⁵ tn Or “innocent.” BDAG 489 s.v. καθαρός 3.a has “guiltless Ac 18:6.”

[18:28]  ³⁶ tn Or “vehemently.” BDAG 414 s.v. εὐτόνως has “vigorously, vehemently…εὐ. διακατελέγχεσθαί τινι refute someone vigorously Ac 18:28.”

[18:28]  ³⁷ tn L&N 33.442 translates the phrase τοῖς ᾿Ιουδαίοις διακατηλέγχετο δημοσίᾳ (toi" Ioudaioi" diakathlenceto dhmosia) as “he defeated the Jews in public debate.” On this use of the term δημόσιος (dhmosio") see BDAG 223 s.v. 2.

[18:28]  ³⁸ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Again the issue is identifying the Christ as Jesus (see 5:42; 8:5; 9:22; 18:5).

[18:28]  ³⁹ tn Although many English translations have here “that Jesus was the Christ,” in the case of two accusatives following a copulative infinitive, the first would normally be the subject and the second the predicate nominative. Additionally, the first accusative here (τὸν χριστόν, ton criston) has the article, a further indication that it should be regarded as subject of the infinitive.

[1:27]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “live as citizens.” The verb πολιτεύεσθε (politeuesqe) connotes the life of a freeman in a free Roman colony.

[1:27]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “the things concerning you, [namely,] that.” The ὅτι (Joti) clause is appositional to τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν (ta peri Jumwn) and therefore “the things concerning you” was not translated.

[1:27]  ⁴² tn The phrase “the faith of the gospel” could mean one of three things: “the faith that is the gospel” (genitive of apposition), “the faith that originates from the gospel” (genitive of source), or “faith in the gospel” (objective genitive).

[1:1]  ⁴³ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Traditionally, “servants” or “bondservants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁴⁵ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[1:1]  ⁴⁶ sn The overseers (or “church leaders,” L&N 53.71) is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in Titus 1:6-7 and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between Titus 1:6-7 and 1 Tim 3:1-7.

[2:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “and feel the same way,” “and think the same thoughts.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated “and be of the same mind” to reflect its epexegetical force to the imperative “complete my joy.”

[2:2]  ⁴⁸ tn The Greek word here is σύμψυχοι (sumyucoi, literally “fellow souled”).

[2:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “spiritual fellowship” if πνεύματος (pneumato") is an attributive genitive; or “fellowship brought about by the Spirit” if πνεύματος is a genitive of source or production.

[2:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “and any affection and mercy.” The Greek idea, however, is best expressed by “or” in English.

[1:18]  ⁵¹ tn Or “But.” The conjunction ἀλλά (alla) may be emphatic or contrastive. If the former, the idea may be that Paul will continue rejoicing because of the proclamation of the gospel or because of his imminent release from prison (v. 19); if the latter, Paul is now turning his attention solely to this second reason to rejoice, viz., that he will soon be released from prison. In this latter view the clause should be translated, “But I will also rejoice since I know…”

[1:12]  ⁵² tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:12]  ⁵³ tn Grk “for the advance of the gospel.” The genitive εὐαγγελίου (euangeliou) is taken as objective.

[1:2]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:13]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “so that the whole imperial guard.” The ὥστε (Jwste) clause that begins v. 13 indicates two results of the spread of the gospel: Outsiders know why Paul is imprisoned (v. 13) and believers are emboldened by his imprisonment (v. 14).

[1:13]  ⁵⁶ sn The whole imperial guard (Grk “praetorium”) can refer to the elite troops stationed in Rome or the headquarters of administrators in the provinces (cf. Matt 27:27; Mark 15:16; John 18:28, 33; 19:9; Acts 23:35). In either case a metonymy is involved, with the place (the praetorium) put for those (soldiers or government officials) who were connected with it or stationed in it.

[1:13]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “it has become known by the whole imperial guard and all the rest.”

[1:13]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “my bonds [are].”

[4:7]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “will guard the hearts of you and the minds of you.” To improve the English style, the second occurrence of ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “of you”) has not been translated, since it is somewhat redundant in English.

[4:8]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[2:10]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “is about to throw some of you,” but the force is causative in context.

[2:10]  ⁶² tn Or “tempted.”

[2:10]  ⁶³ tn Or “experience persecution,” “will be in distress” (see L&N 22.2).

[2:10]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “crown of life,” with the genitive “of life” (τῆς ζωῆς, th" zwh") functioning in apposition to “crown” (στέφανον, stefanon): “the crown that consists of life.”

[12:11]  ⁶⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.

[12:11]  ⁶⁶ sn They did not love their lives. See Matt 16:25; Luke 17:33; John 12:25.