Psalms 37:39-40

37:39 But the Lord delivers the godly; ¹ 

he protects them in times of trouble. ² 

37:40 The Lord helps them and rescues them;

he rescues them from evil men and delivers them, ³ 

for they seek his protection.

Psalms 109:31

109:31 because he stands at the right hand of the needy,

to deliver him from those who threaten ⁴  his life.

Jeremiah 15:20-21

15:20 I will make you as strong as a wall to these people,

a fortified wall of bronze.

They will attack you,

but they will not be able to overcome you.

For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you,” ⁵ 

says the Lord.

15:21 “I will deliver you from the power of the wicked.

I will free you from the clutches of violent people.”

Jeremiah 20:10-11

20:10 I ⁶  hear many whispering words of intrigue against me.

Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! ⁷ 

They are saying, “Come on, let’s publicly denounce him!” ⁸ 

All my so-called friends ⁹  are just watching for

something that would lead to my downfall. ¹⁰ 

They say, “Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up,

so we can prevail over ¹¹  him and get our revenge on him.

20:11 But the Lord is with me to help me like an awe-inspiring warrior. ¹² 

Therefore those who persecute me will fail and will not prevail over me.

They will be thoroughly disgraced because they did not succeed.

Their disgrace will never be forgotten.

Matthew 10:19

10:19 Whenever ¹³  they hand you over for trial, do not worry about how to speak or what to say, ¹⁴  for what you should say will be given to you at that time. ¹⁵ 

Acts 18:9-10

18:9 The Lord said to Paul by a vision ¹⁶  in the night, ¹⁷  “Do not be afraid, ¹⁸  but speak and do not be silent, 18:10 because I am with you, and no one will assault ¹⁹  you to harm ²⁰  you, because I have many people in this city.”

Acts 23:11

23:11 The following night the Lord ²¹  stood near ²²  Paul ²³  and said, “Have courage, ²⁴  for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, ²⁵  so you must also testify in Rome.” ²⁶ 

Acts 27:23-24

27:23 For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong ²⁷  and whom I serve ²⁸  came to me ²⁹  27:24 and said, ³⁰  ‘Do not be afraid, Paul! You must stand before ³¹  Caesar, ³²  and God has graciously granted you the safety ³³  of all who are sailing with you.’

[37:39]  ¹ tn Heb “and the deliverance of the godly [ones] [is] from the Lord.”

[37:39]  ² tn Heb “[he is] their place of refuge in a time of trouble.”

[37:40]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive carry on the generalizing tone of the preceding verse.

[109:31]  ⁴ tn Heb “judge.”

[15:20]  ⁵ sn See 1:18. The Lord renews his promise of protection and reiterates his call to Jeremiah.

[20:10]  ⁶ tn It would be difficult to render accurately the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) that introduces this verse without lengthening the English line unduly. It probably means something like “This is true even though I…,” i.e., the particle is concessive (cf. BDB s.v. כִּי 2.c). No other nuance seems appropriate. The particle is left out of the translation, but its presence is acknowledged here.

[20:10]  ⁷ tn The phrase translated “Those who would cause me terror are everywhere” has already occurred in 6:25 in the context of the terror caused by the enemy from the north and in 20:3 in reference to the curse pronounced on Pashhur who would experience it first hand. Some have seen the phrase here not as Jeremiah’s ejaculation of terror but of his assailant’s taunts of his message or even their taunting nickname for him. But comparison of this passage with the first two lines of Ps 31:13 (31:14 HT) which are word for word the same as these two will show that it refers to the terror inspired by the plots of his enemies to do away with him. It is also clear from the context of that passage and the following context here that the “whispering of many” (the literal translation of “many whispering words of intrigue against me) refers to intrigues to take vengeance on him and do away with him.

[20:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “Denounce and let us denounce him.” The verb which is translated “denounce” (נָגַד, nagad) does not take an accusative object of person as it does here very often. When it does it usually means to inform someone. The only relevant passage appears to be Job 17:5 where it means something like “denounce.” What is probably involved here are the attempts to portray Jeremiah as a traitor (Jer 26:10) and a false prophet (see his conflict with Hananiah in Jer 28).

[20:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “the men of my peace [who are concerned about my welfare].” For this phrase compare Ps 41:9 (41:10 HT); Jer 38:22. It is generally agreed that irony is being invoked here, hence “so-called” is supplied in the translation to bring out the irony.

[20:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “watching my stumbling [for me to stumble].” Metaphorically they were watching for some slip-up that would lead to his downfall. Compare the use in Pss 35:15 and 38:17 (38:18 HT).

[20:10]  ¹¹ tn All the text says literally is “Perhaps he can be enticed so that we can prevail over him.” However the word “enticed” needs some qualification. As W. McKane (Jeremiah [ICC], 1:479) notes it should probably be read in the context of the “stumbling” (= “something that would lead to my downfall”). Hence “slipping up” has been supplied as an object. It is vague enough to avoid specifics as the original text does but suggests some reference to “something that would lead to my downfall.”

[20:11]  ¹² sn This line has some interesting ties with Jer 15:20-21 where Jeremiah is assured by God that he is indeed with him as he promised him when he called him (1:8, 19) and will deliver him from the clutches of wicked and violent people. The word translated here “awe-inspiring” is the same as the word “violent people” there. Jeremiah is confident that his “awe-inspiring” warrior will overcome “violent people.” The statement of confidence here is, by the way, a common element in the psalms of petition in the Psalter. The common elements of that type of psalm are all here: invocation (v. 7), lament (vv. 7-10), confession of trust/confidence in being heard (v. 11), petition (v. 12), thanksgiving or praise (v. 13). For some examples of this type of psalm see Pss 3, 7, 26.

[10:19]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:19]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “how or what you might speak.”

[10:19]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “in that hour.”

[18:9]  ¹⁶ sn Frequently in Acts such a vision will tell the reader where events are headed. See Acts 10:9-16 and 16:9-10 for other accounts of visions.

[18:9]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 682 s.v. νύξ 1.c has “W. prep. ἐν ν. at night, in the night…Ac 18:9.”

[18:9]  ¹⁸ tn The present imperative here (with negation) is used (as it normally is) of a general condition (BDF §335).

[18:10]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 384 s.v. ἐπιτίθημι 2 has “to set upon, attack, lay a hand on” here, but “assault” is a contemporary English equivalent very close to the meaning of the original.

[18:10]  ²⁰ tn Or “injure.”

[23:11]  ²¹ sn The presence of the Lord indicated the vindicating presence and direction of God.

[23:11]  ²² tn Grk “standing near Paul, said.” The participle ἐπιστάς (epistas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:11]  ²³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:11]  ²⁴ tn Or “Do not be afraid.”

[23:11]  ²⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:11]  ²⁶ sn Like Jesus went to Jerusalem, Paul would now go to Rome. This trip forms the concluding backdrop to Acts. This is the second notice about going to Rome (see Acts 19:21 for the first).

[27:23]  ²⁷ tn Grk “of whom I am.” The relative clause with its possessive was translated following L&N 15.86 s.v. παρίσταμαι.

[27:23]  ²⁸ tn Or “worship.”

[27:23]  ²⁹ tn Or “stood by me.” BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 2.a.α states, “approach, come τινί (to) someone…Ac 9:39; 27:23.”

[27:24]  ³⁰ tn Grk “came to me saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[27:24]  ³¹ tn BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 2.a.α states, “Also as a t.t. of legal usage appear before, come before…Καίσαρι σε δεῖ παραστῆναι you must stand before the Emperor (as judge) Ac 27:24.” See Acts 23:11. Luke uses the verb δεῖ (dei) to describe what must occur.

[27:24]  ³² tn Or “before the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[27:24]  ³³ tn Grk “God has graciously granted you all who are sailing with you.” The words “the safety of” have been supplied to clarify the meaning of the verb κεχάρισται (kecaristai) in this context.