Ruth 2:3

2:3 So Ruth ¹  went and gathered grain in the fields ²  behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up ³  in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.

Esther 5:14

5:14 Haman’s ⁴  wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows seventy-five feet ⁵  high built, and in the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet contented.” ⁶ 

It seemed like a good idea to Haman, so he had the gallows built.

Esther 6:11-12

6:11 So Haman took the clothing and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai. He led him about on the horse throughout the plaza of the city, calling before him, “So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!”

6:12 Then Mordecai again sat at the king’s gate, while Haman hurried away to his home, mournful and with a veil over his head.

Proverbs 16:9

16:9 A person ⁷  plans his course, ⁸ 

but the Lord directs ⁹  his steps. ¹⁰ 

Ecclesiastes 9:11

Wisdom Cannot Protect against Seemingly Chance Events

9:11 Again, ¹¹  I observed this on the earth: ¹² 

the race is not always ¹³  won by the swiftest,

the battle is not always won by the strongest;

prosperity ¹⁴  does not always belong to those who are the wisest,

wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning,

nor does success ¹⁵  always come to those with the most knowledge –

for time and chance may overcome ¹⁶  them all.

Matthew 10:29-30

10:29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? ¹⁷  Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ¹⁸  10:30 Even all the hairs on your head are numbered.

Acts 8:27-40

8:27 So ¹⁹  he got up ²⁰  and went. There ²¹  he met ²²  an Ethiopian eunuch, ²³  a court official of Candace, ²⁴  queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He ²⁵  had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁶  8:28 and was returning home, sitting ²⁷  in his chariot, reading ²⁸  the prophet Isaiah. 8:29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 8:30 So Philip ran up ²⁹  to it ³⁰  and heard the man ³¹  reading Isaiah the prophet. He ³²  asked him, ³³  “Do you understand what you’re reading?” 8:31 The man ³⁴  replied, “How in the world can I, ³⁵  unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 8:32 Now the passage of scripture the man ³⁶  was reading was this:

“He was led like a sheep to slaughter,

and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,

so he did ³⁷  not open his mouth.

8:33 In humiliation ³⁸  justice was taken from him. ³⁹ 

Who can describe his posterity? ⁴⁰ 

For his life was taken away ⁴¹  from the earth.” ⁴² 

8:34 Then the eunuch said ⁴³  to Philip, “Please tell me, ⁴⁴  who is the prophet saying this about – himself or someone else?” ⁴⁵  8:35 So Philip started speaking, ⁴⁶  and beginning with this scripture ⁴⁷  proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. 8:36 Now as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water! What is to stop me ⁴⁸  from being baptized?” 8:37 [[EMPTY]] ⁴⁹  8:38 So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, ⁵⁰  and Philip baptized ⁵¹  him. 8:39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any more, but ⁵²  went on his way rejoicing. ⁵³  8:40 Philip, however, found himself ⁵⁴  at Azotus, ⁵⁵  and as he passed through the area, ⁵⁶  he proclaimed the good news ⁵⁷  to all the towns ⁵⁸  until he came to Caesarea. ⁵⁹ 

Romans 8:31

8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “and she went and entered [a field] and gleaned in the field behind the harvesters.” Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the reapers”; TEV “the workers.”

[2:3]  ³ sn The text is written from Ruth’s limited perspective. As far as she was concerned, she randomly picked a spot in the field. But God was providentially at work and led her to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who, as a near relative of Elimelech, was a potential benefactor.

[5:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “fifty cubits.” Assuming a standard length for the cubit of about 18 inches (45 cm), this would be about seventy-five feet (22.5 meters), which is a surprisingly tall height for the gallows. Perhaps the number assumes the gallows was built on a large supporting platform or a natural hill for visual effect, in which case the structure itself may have been considerably smaller. Cf. NCV “a seventy-five foot platform”; CEV “a tower built about seventy-five feet high.”

[5:14]  ⁶ tn Or “joyful”; NRSV “in good spirits”; TEV “happy.”

[16:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “the heart of a man.” This stresses that it is within the heart that plans are made. Only those plans that are approved by God will succeed.

[16:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “his way” (so KJV, NASB).

[16:9]  ⁹ tn The verb כּוּן (kun, “to establish; to confirm”) with צַעַד (tsa’ad, “step”) means “to direct” (e.g., Ps 119:133; Jer 10:23). This contrasts what people plan and what actually happens – God determines the latter.

[16:9]  ¹⁰ sn “Steps” is an implied comparison, along with “way,” to indicate the events of the plan as they work out.

[9:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I returned and.” In the Hebrew idiom, “to return and do” means “to do again.”

[9:11]  ¹² tn Heb “under the sun.”

[9:11]  ¹³ tn The term “always” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation (five times in this verse) for clarity.

[9:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “bread.”

[9:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “favor.”

[9:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “happen to.”

[10:29]  ¹⁷ sn The penny refers to an assarion, a small Roman copper coin. One of them was worth one-sixteenth of a denarius or less than a half hour’s average wage. Sparrows were the cheapest items sold in the market. God knows about even the most financially insignificant things; see Isa 49:15.

[10:29]  ¹⁸ tn Or “to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your Father.”

[8:27]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And,” but καί (kai) carries something of a resultative force in this context because what follows describes Philip’s response to the angel’s command.

[8:27]  ²⁰ tn Grk “So getting up he went.” The aorist participle ἀναστάς (anastas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:27]  ²¹ tn Grk “And there.” 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.

[8:27]  ²² tn Grk “and behold.” This expression is used to portray Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian in a vivid way. In the English translation this vividness is difficult to convey; it is necessary to supply the words “he met.”

[8:27]  ²³ sn The term eunuch normally referred to a man who had been castrated, but this was not always the case (see Gen 39:1 LXX, where Potiphar is called a eunuch). Such castrated individuals were preferred as court officials in the East, although Judaism opposed the practice. The Mosaic law excluded eunuchs from Israel (Deut 23:1), although God certainly accepted them (Isa 56:3-5; Wis 3:14). This individual was a high official, since he was said to be in charge of all her treasury. He may or may not have been a eunuch physically. He appears to be the first fully Gentile convert to Christianity, since the Samaritans mentioned previously (Acts 8:4-25) were regarded as half-breeds.

[8:27]  ²⁴ tn Or “the Candace” (the title of the queen of the Ethiopians). The term Κανδάκης (Kandakh") is much more likely a title rather than a proper name (like Pharaoh, which is a title); see L&N 37.77. A few, however, still take the word to be the name of the queen (L&N 93.209). BDAG 507 s.v. Κανδάκη, treats the term as a title and lists classical usage by Strabo (Geography 17.1.54) and others.

[8:27]  ²⁵ tn Grk “who was over all her treasury, who.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the pronoun “he” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.

[8:27]  ²⁶ sn Since this man had come to Jerusalem to worship, he may have been a proselyte to Judaism. This event is a precursor to Acts 10.

[8:28]  ²⁷ tn Grk “and was sitting.” 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.

[8:28]  ²⁸ tn Grk “and was reading.” 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.

[8:30]  ²⁹ tn The participle προσδραμών (prosdramwn) is regarded as attendant circumstance.

[8:30]  ³⁰ tn The words “to it” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[8:30]  ³¹ tn Grk “heard him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:30]  ³² tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[8:30]  ³³ tn Grk “he said”; but since what follows is a question, it is better English style to translate the introduction to the question “he asked him.”

[8:31]  ³⁴ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:31]  ³⁵ tn Grk “How am I able, unless…” The translation is based on the force of the conjunction γάρ (gar) in this context. The translation “How in the world can I?” is given in BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 1.f.

[8:32]  ³⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:32]  ³⁷ tn Grk “does.” The present tense here was translated as a past tense to maintain consistency with the first line of the quotation (“he was led like a sheep to slaughter”), which has an aorist passive verb normally translated as a past tense in English.

[8:33]  ³⁸ tc ‡ Most later mss (C E Ψ 33^vid Ï sy) read “In his humiliation,” adding αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) after ταπεινώσει (tapeinwsei, “humiliation”), while the earlier and better witnesses lack the pronoun (so Ì⁷⁴ א A B 1739 pc lat). However, the LXX of Isa 53:8 also lacks the pronoun, supplying motivation for scribes to omit it here. At the same time, scribes would also be motivated to add the pronoun both for clarity’s sake (note the similar impulse that led to the addition of δέ [de] by many of the same mss at the beginning of the next line) and to give balance to the lines (the pronoun is indisputably used five other times in vv. 32-33 in quoting Isa 53). On balance, the shorter reading is preferred.

[8:33]  ³⁹ tn Or “justice was denied him”; Grk “his justice was taken away.”

[8:33]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “family; or “origin.” The meaning of γενεά (genea) in the quotation is uncertain; BDAG 192 s.v. γενεά 4 suggests “family history.”

[8:33]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “is taken away.” The present tense here was translated as a past tense to maintain consistency with the rest of the quotation.

[8:33]  ⁴² sn A quotation from Isa 53:7-8.

[8:34]  ⁴³ tn Grk “answered and said.” The redundant participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqei") has not been translated.

[8:34]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “I beg you,” “I ask you.”

[8:34]  ⁴⁵ sn About himself, or about someone else? It is likely in 1st century Judaism this would have been understood as either Israel or Isaiah.

[8:35]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “opening his mouth” (a Semitic idiom for beginning to speak in a somewhat formal manner). The participle ἀνοίξας (anoixa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:35]  ⁴⁷ sn Beginning with this scripture. The discussion likely included many of the scriptures Acts has already noted for the reader in earlier speeches. At the least, readers of Acts would know what other scriptures might be meant.

[8:36]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “What prevents me.” The rhetorical question means, “I should get baptized, right?”

[8:37]  ⁴⁹ tc A few later mss (E 36 323 453 945 1739 1891 pc) add, with minor variations, 8:37 “He said to him, ‘If you believe with your whole heart, you may.’ He replied, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’” Verse 37 is lacking in {Ì^45,74 א A B C 33 614 vg sy^p,h co}. It is clearly not a part of the original text of Acts. The variant is significant in showing how some in the early church viewed a confession of faith. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

[8:38]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch.” Since this is somewhat redundant in English, it was simplified to “and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water.”

[8:38]  ⁵¹ sn Philip baptized. Again, someone beyond the Twelve has ministered an ordinance of faith.

[8:39]  ⁵² tn BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 2 indicates that under certain circumstances γάρ (gar) has the same meaning as δέ (de).

[8:39]  ⁵³ sn Note that the response to the gospel is rejoicing (joy, cf. Acts 11:23; 13:48).

[8:40]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “appeared.”

[8:40]  ⁵⁵ sn Azotus was a city on the coast of southern Palestine, known as Ashdod in OT times.

[8:40]  ⁵⁶ tn The words “the area” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[8:40]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “he preached the gospel.”

[8:40]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “cities.”

[8:40]  ⁵⁹ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.