Psalms 107:10

107:10 They sat in utter darkness, ¹ 

bound in painful iron chains, ² 

Psalms 146:7

146:7 vindicates the oppressed, ³ 

and gives food to the hungry.

The Lord releases the imprisoned.

Zechariah 9:11-12

9:11 Moreover, as for you, because of our covenant relationship secured with blood, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit. 9:12 Return to the stronghold, you prisoners, with hope; today I declare that I will return double what was taken from you.

Acts 5:18-19

5:18 They ⁴  laid hands on ⁵  the apostles and put them in a public jail. 5:19 But during the night an angel of the Lord ⁶  opened ⁷  the doors of the prison, ⁸  led them out, ⁹  and said,

Acts 12:4-11

12:4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads ¹⁰  of soldiers to guard him. Herod ¹¹  planned ¹²  to bring him out for public trial ¹³  after the Passover. 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly ¹⁴  praying to God for him. ¹⁵  12:6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial, ¹⁶  Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while ¹⁷  guards in front of the door were keeping watch ¹⁸  over the prison. 12:7 Suddenly ¹⁹  an angel of the Lord ²⁰  appeared, and a light shone in the prison cell. He struck ²¹  Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off Peter’s ²²  wrists. ²³  12:8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt ²⁴  and put on your sandals.” Peter ²⁵  did so. Then the angel ²⁶  said to him, “Put on your cloak ²⁷  and follow me.” 12:9 Peter ²⁸  went out ²⁹  and followed him; ³⁰  he did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real, ³¹  but thought he was seeing a vision. 12:10 After they had passed the first and second guards, ³²  they came to the iron ³³  gate leading into the city. It ³⁴  opened for them by itself, ³⁵  and they went outside and walked down one narrow street, ³⁶  when at once the angel left him. 12:11 When ³⁷  Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued ³⁸  me from the hand ³⁹  of Herod ⁴⁰  and from everything the Jewish people ⁴¹  were expecting to happen.”

Ephesians 3:1

Paul's Relationship to the Divine Mystery

3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus ⁴²  for the sake of you Gentiles –

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 ⁴³  into prison so you may be tested, ⁴⁴  and you will experience suffering ⁴⁵  for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself. ⁴⁶ 

[107:10]  ¹ tn Heb “those who sat in darkness and deep darkness.” Synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of “darkness” experienced by the exiles. The Hebrew term צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet, “deep darkness”) has traditionally been understood as a compound noun, meaning “shadow of death” (צֵל + מָוֶת [tsel + mavet]; see BDB 853 s.v. צַלְמָוֶת; cf. NASB). Other authorities prefer to vocalize the form צַלְמוּת (tsalmut) and understand it as an abstract noun (from the root צלם) meaning “darkness.” An examination of the word’s usage favors the latter derivation. It is frequently associated with darkness/night and contrasted with light/morning (see Job 3:5; 10:21-22; 12:22; 24:17; 28:3; 34:22; Ps 107:10, 14; Isa 9:1; Jer 13:16; Amos 5:8). In some cases the darkness described is associated with the realm of death (Job 10:21-22; 38:17), but this is a metaphorical application of the word and does not reflect its inherent meaning. In Ps 107:10 the word refers metonymically to a dungeon, which in turn metaphorically depicts the place of Israel’s exile (see vv. 2-3).

[107:10]  ² tn Heb “those bound in suffering and iron.” “Suffering and iron” is a hendiadys (like English “good and angry”), where both words contribute to one idea. In this case the first word characterizes the second; the iron (chains) contribute to the prisoners’ pain and suffering.

[146:7]  ³ tn Heb “executes justice for the oppressed.”

[5:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “jealousy, and they.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but a new sentence has been started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[5:18]  ⁵ tn Or “they arrested.”

[5:19]  ⁶ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” Linguistically, “angel of the Lord” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of the Lord” or “the angel of the Lord” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.

[5:19]  ⁷ tn Grk “opening the doors of the prison.” The participle ἀνοίξας (anoixa") has been translated as a finite verb due to the requirements of contemporary English style.

[5:19]  ⁸ tn Greek φυλακῆς (fulakh"), a different word from the one in v. 18 (τήρησις, thrhsi", “jail”).

[5:19]  ⁹ tn Or “brought them out.” Grk “and leading them out, said.” The participle ἐξαγαγών (exagagwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[12:4]  ¹⁰ sn Four squads of soldiers. Each squad was a detachment of four soldiers.

[12:4]  ¹¹ tn Grk “guard him, planning to bring him out.” The Greek construction continues with a participle (βουλόμενος, boulomeno") and an infinitive (ἀναγαγεῖν, anagagein), but this creates an awkward and lengthy sentence in English. Thus a reference to Herod was introduced as subject and the participle translated as a finite verb (“Herod planned”).

[12:4]  ¹² tn Or “intended”; Grk “wanted.”

[12:4]  ¹³ tn Grk “to bring him out to the people,” but in this context a public trial (with certain condemnation as the result) is doubtless what Herod planned. L&N 15.176 translates this phrase “planning to bring him up for a public trial after the Passover.”

[12:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “constantly.” This term also appears in Luke 22:14 and Acts 26:7.

[12:5]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “but earnest prayer was being made by the church to God for him.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to follow English style, and the somewhat awkward passive “prayer was being made” has been changed to the simpler active verb “were praying.” Luke portrays what follows as an answer to prayer.

[12:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “was going to bring him out,” but the upcoming trial is implied. See Acts 12:4.

[12:6]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “two chains, and.” Logically it makes better sense to translate this as a temporal clause, although technically it is a coordinate clause in Greek.

[12:6]  ¹⁸ tn Or “were guarding.”

[12:7]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And behold.” 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. The interjection ἰδού (idou), often difficult to translate into English, expresses the suddenness of the angel’s appearance.

[12:7]  ²⁰ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.

[12:7]  ²¹ tn Grk “striking the side of Peter, he awoke him saying.” The term refers to a push or a light tap (BDAG 786 s.v. πατάσσω 1.a). The participle πατάξας (pataxa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[12:7]  ²² tn Grk “his”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:7]  ²³ tn Grk “the hands,” but the wrist was considered a part of the hand.

[12:8]  ²⁴ tn While ζώννυμι (zwnnumi) sometimes means “to dress,” referring to the fastening of the belt or sash as the final act of getting dressed, in this context it probably does mean “put on your belt” since in the conditions of a prison Peter had probably not changed into a different set of clothes to sleep. More likely he had merely removed his belt or sash, which the angel now told him to replace. The translation “put on your belt” is given by L&N 49.14 for this verse. The archaic English “girdle” for the sash or belt has an entirely different meaning today.

[12:8]  ²⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:8]  ²⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:8]  ²⁷ tn Or “outer garment.”

[12:9]  ²⁸ tn Grk “And going out he followed.”

[12:9]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Peter going out followed him.” The participle ἐξελθών (exelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[12:9]  ³⁰ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[12:9]  ³¹ tn Grk “what was done through the angel was a reality” (see BDAG 43 s.v. ἀληθής 3).

[12:10]  ³² tn Or perhaps, “guard posts.”

[12:10]  ³³ sn The iron gate shows how important security was here. This door was more secure than one made of wood (which would be usual).

[12:10]  ³⁴ tn Grk “which.” The relative pronoun (“which”) was replaced by the pronoun “it,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.

[12:10]  ³⁵ tn The Greek term here, αὐτομάτη (automath), indicates something that happens without visible cause (BDAG 152 s.v. αὐτόματος).

[12:10]  ³⁶ tn Or “lane,” “alley” (BDAG 907 s.v. ῥύμη).

[12:11]  ³⁷ 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.

[12:11]  ³⁸ tn Or “delivered.”

[12:11]  ³⁹ sn Here the hand of Herod is a metaphor for Herod’s power or control.

[12:11]  ⁴⁰ sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).

[12:11]  ⁴¹ sn Luke characterizes the opposition here as the Jewish people, including their leadership (see 12:3).

[3:1]  ⁴² tc Several early and important witnesses, chiefly of the Western text (א* D* F G [365]), lack ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) here, while most Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (Ì⁴⁶ א¹ A B [C] D¹ Ψ 33 1739 [1881] Ï lat sy bo) have the word. However, because of the Western text’s proclivities to add or delete to the text, seemingly at whim, serious doubts should be attached to the shorter reading. It is strengthened, however, by א’s support. Nevertheless, since both א and D were corrected with the addition of ᾿Ιησοῦ, their testimony might be questioned. Further, in uncial script the nomina sacra here could have led to missing a word by way of homoioteleuton (cMuiMu). At the same time, in light of the rarity of scribal omission of nomina sacra (see TCGNT 582, n. 1), a decision for inclusion of the word here must be tentative. NA²⁷ rightly places ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets.

[2:10]  ⁴³ tn Grk “is about to throw some of you,” but the force is causative in context.

[2:10]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “tempted.”

[2:10]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “experience persecution,” “will be in distress” (see L&N 22.2).

[2:10]  ⁴⁶ 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.”