Psalms 27:12

27:12 Do not turn me over to my enemies, ¹ 

for false witnesses who want to destroy me testify against me. ² 

Psalms 27:1

Psalm 27 ³ 

By David.

27:1 The Lord delivers and vindicates me! ⁴ 

I fear no one! ⁵ 

The Lord protects my life!

I am afraid of no one! ⁶ 

Psalms 24:9

24:9 Look up, you gates!

Rise up, you eternal doors!

Then the majestic king will enter!

Psalms 25:10

25:10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable ⁷ 

to those who follow the demands of his covenant. ⁸ 

Matthew 26:59-60

26:59 The ⁹  chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were trying to find false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 26:60 But they did not find anything, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally ¹⁰  two came forward

Acts 6:13

6:13 They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place ¹¹  and the law. ¹² 

Acts 24:5-6

24:5 For we have found ¹³  this man to be a troublemaker, ¹⁴  one who stirs up riots ¹⁵  among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader ¹⁶  of the sect of the Nazarenes. ¹⁷  24:6 He ¹⁸  even tried to desecrate ¹⁹  the temple, so we arrested ²⁰  him.

Acts 24:12-13

24:12 They did not find me arguing ²¹  with anyone or stirring up a crowd ²²  in the temple courts ²³  or in the synagogues ²⁴  or throughout the city, ²⁵  24:13 nor can they prove ²⁶  to you the things ²⁷  they are accusing me of doing. ²⁸ 

[27:12]  ¹ tn Heb “do not give me over to the desire of my enemies.”

[27:12]  ² tn Heb “for they have risen up against me, lying witnesses and a testifier of violence.” The form יָפֵחַ (yafeakh) is traditionally understood as a verb meaning “snort, breathe out”: “for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty” (KJV; cf. BDB 422 s.v.). A better option is to take the form as a noun meaning “a witness” (or “testifier”). See Prov 6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9, and Hab 2:3.

[27:1]  ³ sn Psalm 27. The author is confident of the Lord’s protection and asks the Lord to vindicate him.

[27:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord [is] my light and my deliverance.” “Light” is often used as a metaphor for deliverance and the life/blessings it brings. See Pss 37:6; 97:11; 112:4; Isa 49:6; 51:4; Mic 7:8. Another option is that “light” refers here to divine guidance (see Ps 43:3).

[27:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “Whom shall I fear?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[27:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “Of whom shall I be afraid?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[25:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “all the paths of the Lord are faithful and trustworthy.” The Lord’s “paths” refer here to his characteristic actions.

[25:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “to the ones who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

[26:59]  ⁹ tn Grk “Now the.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:60]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[6:13]  ¹¹ sn This holy place is a reference to the temple.

[6:13]  ¹² sn The law refers to the law of Moses. It elaborates the nature of the blasphemy in v. 11. To speak against God’s law in Torah was to blaspheme God (Deut 28:15-19). On the Jewish view of false witnesses, see Exod 19:16-18; 20:16; m. Sanhedrin 3.6; 5.1-5. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 may indicate why the temple was mentioned.

[24:5]  ¹³ tn Grk “For having found.” The participle εὑρόντες (Jeurontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[24:5]  ¹⁴ tn L&N 22.6 has “(a figurative extension of meaning of λοιμός ‘plague,’ 23.158) one who causes all sorts of trouble – ‘troublemaker, pest.’ … ‘for we have found this man to be a troublemaker” Ac 24:5.”

[24:5]  ¹⁵ tn Or “dissensions.” While BDAG 940 s.v. στάσις 3 translates this phrase “κινεῖν στάσεις (v.l. στάσιν) τισί create dissension among certain people Ac 24:5,” it is better on the basis of the actual results of Paul’s ministry to categorize this usage under section 2, “uprising, riot, revolt, rebellion” (cf. the use in Acts 19:40).

[24:5]  ¹⁶ tn This term is yet another NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 894 s.v. πρωτοστάτης).

[24:5]  ¹⁷ sn The sect of the Nazarenes is a designation for followers of Jesus the Nazarene, that is, Christians.

[24:6]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was replaced by the third person singular pronoun (“he”) and a new sentence begun here in the translation.

[24:6]  ¹⁹ tn Or “profane” (BDAG 173 s.v. βεβηλόω). The term was also used of profaning the Sabbath.

[24:6]  ²⁰ tn Or “seized.” Grk “whom also we arrested.” Because of the awkwardness of a relative clause in English at this point, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the pronoun “him” as object of the verb.

[24:12]  ²¹ tn Or “disputing,” “conducting a heated discussion.”

[24:12]  ²² tn BDAG 381 s.v. ἐπίστασις 2 has “ἐ. ποιεῖν ὄχλου to cause a crowd to gather Ac 24:12.” Roman authorities would not allow a mob to gather and threaten the peace, and anyone suspected of instigating a mob would certainly be arrested.

[24:12]  ²³ tn Grk “in the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[24:12]  ²⁴ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[24:12]  ²⁵ sn A second part of Paul’s defense is that he did nothing while he was in Jerusalem to cause unrest, neither arguing nor stirring up a crowd in the temple courts or in the synagogues or throughout the city.

[24:13]  ²⁶ tn BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 1.f has “οὐδὲ παραστῆσαι δύνανταί σοι περὶ ὧν νυνὶ κατηγοροῦσίν μου nor can they prove to you the accusations they are now making against me Ac 24:13.”

[24:13]  ²⁷ tn The words “the things” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[24:13]  ²⁸ tn Grk “nor can they prove to you [the things] about which they are now accusing me.” This has been simplified to eliminate the relative pronoun (“which”) in the translation.