Numbers 23:23

23:23 For there is no spell against ¹  Jacob,

nor is there any divination against Israel.

At this time ²  it must be said ³  of Jacob

and of Israel, ‘Look at ⁴  what God has done!’

Habakkuk 1:5

The Lord Reveals Some Startling News

1:5 “Look at the nations and pay attention! ⁵ 

You will be shocked and amazed! ⁶ 

For I will do something in your lifetime ⁷ 

that you will not believe even though you are forewarned. ⁸ 

Acts 2:12

2:12 All were astounded and greatly confused, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

Acts 2:32-36

2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it. ⁹  2:33 So then, exalted ¹⁰  to the right hand ¹¹  of God, and having received ¹²  the promise of the Holy Spirit ¹³  from the Father, he has poured out ¹⁴  what you both see and hear. 2:34 For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says,

‘The Lord said to my lord,

“Sit ¹⁵  at my right hand

2:35 until I make your enemies a footstool ¹⁶  for your feet.”’ ¹⁷ 

2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt ¹⁸  that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified ¹⁹  both Lord ²⁰  and Christ.” ²¹ 

Acts 3:12-16

3:12 When Peter saw this, he declared to the people, “Men of Israel, ²²  why are you amazed at this? Why ²³  do you stare at us as if we had made this man ²⁴  walk by our own power or piety? 3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ²⁵  the God of our forefathers, ²⁶  has glorified ²⁷  his servant ²⁸  Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected ²⁹  in the presence of Pilate after he had decided ³⁰  to release him. 3:14 But you rejected ³¹  the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released to you. 3:15 You killed ³²  the Originator ³³  of life, whom God raised ³⁴  from the dead. To this fact we are witnesses! ³⁵  3:16 And on the basis of faith in Jesus’ ³⁶  name, ³⁷  his very name has made this man – whom you see and know – strong. The ³⁸  faith that is through Jesus ³⁹  has given him this complete health in the presence ⁴⁰  of you all.

Acts 13:40-41

13:40 Watch out, ⁴¹  then, that what is spoken about by ⁴²  the prophets does not happen to you:

13:41 ‘Look, you scoffers; be amazed and perish! ⁴³ 

For I am doing a work in your days,

a work you would never believe, even if someone tells you.’” ⁴⁴ 

Ephesians 3:8-11

3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ⁴⁵  – this grace was given, ⁴⁶  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ 3:9 and to enlighten ⁴⁷  everyone about God’s secret plan ⁴⁸  – a secret that has been hidden for ages ⁴⁹  in God ⁵⁰  who has created all things. 3:10 The purpose of this enlightenment is that ⁵¹  through the church the multifaceted wisdom ⁵²  of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms. 3:11 This was according to ⁵³  the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,

Colossians 1:27

1:27 God wanted to make known to them the glorious ⁵⁴  riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁵⁵  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 3:16

3:16 Let the word of Christ ⁵⁶  dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace ⁵⁷  in your hearts to God.

[23:23]  ¹ tn Or “in Jacob.” But given the context the meaning “against” is preferable. The words describe two techniques of consulting God; the first has to do with observing omens in general (“enchantments”), and the second with casting lots or arrows of the like (“divinations” [Ezek 21:26]). See N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NCB), 295-96.

[23:23]  ² tn The form is the preposition “like, as” and the word for “time” – according to the time, about this time, now.

[23:23]  ³ tn The Niphal imperfect here carries the nuance of obligation – one has to say in amazement that God has done something marvelous or “it must be said.”

[23:23]  ⁴ tn The words “look at” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[1:5]  ⁵ tn Or “look among the nations and observe.” The imperatival forms in v. 5 are plural, indicating that the Lord’s message is for the whole nation, not just the prophet.

[1:5]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text combines the Hitpael and Qal imperatival forms of the verb תָּמַה (tamah, “be amazed”). A literal translation might read, “Shock yourselves and be shocked!” The repetition of sounds draws attention to the statement. The imperatives here have the force of an emphatic assertion. On this use of the imperative in Hebrew, see GKC 324 §110.c and IBHS 572-73 §34.4c.

[1:5]  ⁷ tc Heb “for a work working in your days.” Following the LXX reading, some supply a first person singular pronoun with the participle פֹּעֵל (po’el). Ellipsis of a first singular pronoun before participles is relatively rare (see GKC 360 §116.s); perhaps an original אֲנֹכִי (’anoki; or אֲנִי, ’aniy) followed the initial כִּי (ki) and was omitted by homoioteleuton.

[1:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “you will not believe when it is told.” In this context the force of כִּי (ki) may be “when,” “if,” or “even though.”

[2:32]  ⁹ tn Or “of him”; Grk “of which [or whom] we are all witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

[2:33]  ¹⁰ tn The aorist participle ὑψωθείς (Juywqei") could be taken temporally: “So then, after he was exalted…” In the translation the more neutral “exalted” (a shorter form of “having been exalted”) was used to preserve the ambiguity of the original Greek.

[2:33]  ¹¹ sn The expression the right hand of God represents supreme power and authority. Its use here sets up the quotation of Ps 110:1 in v. 34.

[2:33]  ¹² tn The aorist participle λαβών (labwn) could be taken temporally: “So then, after he was exalted…and received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit.” In the translation the more neutral “having received” was used to preserve the ambiguity of the original Greek.

[2:33]  ¹³ tn Here the genitive τοῦ πνεύματος (tou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the promise consists of the Holy Spirit.

[2:33]  ¹⁴ sn The use of the verb poured out looks back to 2:17-18, where the same verb occurs twice.

[2:34]  ¹⁵ sn Sit at my right hand. The word “sit” alludes back to the promise of “seating one on his throne” in v. 30.

[2:35]  ¹⁶ sn The metaphor make your enemies a footstool portrays the complete subjugation of the enemies.

[2:35]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 110:1, one of the most often-cited OT passages in the NT, pointing to the exaltation of Jesus.

[2:36]  ¹⁸ tn Or “know for certain.” This term is in an emphatic position in the clause.

[2:36]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” The clause has been simplified in the translation by replacing the pronoun “him” with the explanatory clause “this Jesus whom you crucified” which comes at the end of the sentence.

[2:36]  ²⁰ sn Lord. This looks back to the quotation of Ps 110:1 and the mention of “calling on the Lord” in 2:21. Peter’s point is that the Lord on whom one calls for salvation is Jesus, because he is the one mediating God’s blessing of the Spirit as a sign of the presence of salvation and the last days.

[2:36]  ²¹ tn Or “and Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[3:12]  ²² tn Or perhaps “People of Israel,” since this was taking place in Solomon’s Portico and women may have been present. The Greek ἄνδρες ᾿Ισραηλῖται (andre" Israhlitai) used in the plural would normally mean “men, gentlemen” (BDAG 79 s.v. ἀνήρ 1.a).

[3:12]  ²³ tn Grk “or why.”

[3:12]  ²⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ²⁵ tc ‡ The repetition of ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) before the names of Isaac and Jacob is found in Ì⁷⁴ א C (A D without article) 36 104 1175 pc lat. The omission of the second and third ὁ θεός is supported by B E Ψ 33 1739 Ï pc. The other time that Exod 3:6 is quoted in Acts (7:32) the best witnesses also lack the repeated ὁ θεός, but the three other times this OT passage is quoted in the NT the full form, with the thrice-mentioned θεός, is used (Matt 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Scribes would be prone to conform the wording here to the LXX; the longer reading is thus most likely not authentic. NA²⁷ has the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[3:13]  ²⁶ tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

[3:13]  ²⁷ sn Has glorified. Jesus is alive, raised and active, as the healing illustrates so dramatically how God honors him.

[3:13]  ²⁸ sn His servant. The term servant has messianic connotations given the context of the promise, the note of suffering, and the titles and functions noted in vv. 14-15.

[3:13]  ²⁹ tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”

[3:13]  ³⁰ tn This genitive absolute construction could be understood as temporal (“when he had decided”) or concessive (“although he had decided”).

[3:14]  ³¹ tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”

[3:15]  ³² tn Or “You put to death.”

[3:15]  ³³ tn Or “Founder,” “founding Leader.”

[3:15]  ³⁴ sn Whom God raised. God is the main actor here, as he testifies to Jesus and vindicates him.

[3:15]  ³⁵ tn Grk “whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the words “to this fact” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.

[3:16]  ³⁶ tn Grk “in his name”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:16]  ³⁷ sn Here is another example of appeal to the person by mentioning the name. See the note on the word name in 3:6.

[3:16]  ³⁸ tn Grk “see and know, and the faith.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation and καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated.

[3:16]  ³⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:16]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “in full view.”

[13:40]  ⁴¹ sn The speech closes with a warning, “Watch out,” that also stresses culpability.

[13:40]  ⁴² tn Or “in.”

[13:41]  ⁴³ tn Or “and die!”

[13:41]  ⁴⁴ sn A quotation from Hab 1:5. The irony in the phrase even if someone tells you, of course, is that Paul has now told them. So the call in the warning is to believe or else face the peril of being scoffers whom God will judge. The parallel from Habakkuk is that the nation failed to see how Babylon’s rising to power meant perilous judgment for Israel.

[3:8]  ⁴⁵ sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.

[3:8]  ⁴⁶ sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).

[3:9]  ⁴⁷ tn There is a possible causative nuance in the Greek verb, but this is difficult to convey in the translation.

[3:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “what is the plan of the divine secret.” Earlier the author had used οἰκονομία (oikonomia; here “plan”) to refer to his own “stewardship” (v. 2). But now he is speaking about the content of this secret, not his own activity in relation to it.

[3:9]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “for eternity,” or perhaps “from the Aeons.” Cf. 2:2, 7.

[3:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “by God.” It is possible that ἐν (en) plus the dative here indicates agency, that is, that God has performed the action of hiding the secret. However, this usage of the preposition ἐν is quite rare in the NT, and even though here it does follow a perfect passive verb as in the Classical idiom, it is more likely that a different nuance is intended.

[3:10]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “that.” Verse 10 is a subordinate clause to the verb “enlighten” in v. 9.

[3:10]  ⁵² tn Or “manifold wisdom,” “wisdom in its rich variety.”

[3:11]  ⁵³ tn Grk “according to.” The verse is a prepositional phrase subordinate to v. 10.

[1:27]  ⁵⁴ tn The genitive noun τῆς δόξης (ths doxhs) is an attributive genitive and has therefore been translated as “glorious riches.”

[1:1]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[3:16]  ⁵⁶ tc Since “the word of Christ” occurs nowhere else in the NT, two predictable variants arose: “word of God” and “word of the Lord.” Even though some of the witnesses for these variants are impressive (κυρίου [kuriou, “of the Lord”] in א* I 1175 pc bo; θεοῦ [qeou, “of God”] in A C* 33 104 323 945 al), the reading Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “of Christ”) is read by an excellent cross-section of witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א² B C² D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï lat sa). On both internal and external grounds, Χριστοῦ is strongly preferred.

[3:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “with grace”; “all” is supplied as it is implicitly related to all the previous instructions in the verse.