Psalms 68:28

68:28 God has decreed that you will be powerful. ¹ 

O God, you who have acted on our behalf, demonstrate your power,

Psalms 126:2-3

126:2 At that time we laughed loudly

and shouted for joy. ² 

At that time the nations said, ³ 

“The Lord has accomplished great things for these people.”

126:3 The Lord did indeed accomplish great things for us.

We were happy.

Numbers 23:23

23:23 For there is no spell against ⁴  Jacob,

nor is there any divination against Israel.

At this time ⁵  it must be said ⁶  of Jacob

and of Israel, ‘Look at ⁷  what God has done!’

Isaiah 26:12

26:12 O Lord, you make us secure, ⁸ 

for even all we have accomplished, you have done for us. ⁹ 

John 3:21

3:21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God. ¹⁰ 

Acts 15:12

15:12 The whole group kept quiet ¹¹  and listened to Barnabas and Paul while they explained all the miraculous signs ¹²  and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.

Acts 15:2

15:2 When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate ¹³  with them, the church ¹⁴  appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with ¹⁵  the apostles and elders in Jerusalem ¹⁶  about this point of disagreement. ¹⁷ 

Colossians 1:5

1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ¹⁸  from the hope laid up ¹⁹  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ²⁰ 

[68:28]  ¹ tn Heb “God has commanded your strength.” The statement is apparently addressed to Israel (see v. 26).

[126:2]  ² tn Heb “then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with a shout.”

[126:2]  ³ tn Heb “they said among the nations.”

[23:23]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The form is the preposition “like, as” and the word for “time” – according to the time, about this time, now.

[23:23]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn The words “look at” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[26:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “O Lord, you establish peace for us.”

[26:12]  ⁹ tc Some suggest emending גַּם כָּל (gam kol, “even all”) to כִּגְמֻל (kigmul, “according to the deed[s] of”) One might then translate “for according to what our deeds deserve, you have acted on our behalf.” Nevertheless, accepting the MT as it stands, the prophet affirms that Yahweh deserved all the credit for anything Israel had accomplished.

[3:21]  ¹⁰ sn John 3:16-21 provides an introduction to the (so-called) “realized” eschatology of the Fourth Gospel: Judgment has come; eternal life may be possessed now, in the present life, as well as in the future. The terminology “realized eschatology” was originally coined by E. Haenchen and used by J. Jeremias in discussion with C. H. Dodd, but is now characteristically used to describe Dodd’s own formulation. See L. Goppelt, Theology of the New Testament, 1:54, note 10, and R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:cxvii-cxviii) for further discussion. Especially important to note is the element of choice portrayed in John’s Gospel. If there is a twofold reaction to Jesus in John’s Gospel, it should be emphasized that that reaction is very much dependent on a person’s choice, a choice that is influenced by his way of life, whether his deeds are wicked or are done in God (John 3:20-21). For John there is virtually no trace of determinism at the surface. Only when one looks beneath the surface does one find statements like “no one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

[15:12]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 922 s.v. σιγάω 1.a lists this passage under the meaning “say nothing, keep still, keep silent.”

[15:12]  ¹² tn Here in connection with τέρατα (terata) the miraculous nature of these signs is indicated.

[15:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “no little argument and debate” (an idiom).

[15:2]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the church, or the rest of the believers at Antioch) has been specified to avoid confusion with the Judaizers mentioned in the preceding clause.

[15:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “go up to,” but in this context a meeting is implied.

[15:2]  ¹⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “point of controversy.” It is unclear whether this event parallels Gal 2:1-10 or that Gal 2 fits with Acts 11:30. More than likely Gal 2:1-10 is to be related to Acts 11:30.

[1:5]  ¹⁸ tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.

[1:5]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ²⁰ tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.