1 Samuel 15:26-31

15:26 Samuel said to Saul, “I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!”

15:27 When Samuel turned to leave, Saul ¹  grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore. 15:28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you! 15:29 The Preeminent One ²  of Israel does not go back on his word ³  or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind.” ⁴  15:30 Saul ⁵  again replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel. Go back with me so I may worship the Lord your God.” 15:31 So Samuel followed Saul back, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

1 Samuel 15:1

Saul Is Rejected as King

15:1 Then Samuel said to Saul, “I was the one the Lord sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord says. ⁶ 

Kisah Para Rasul 14:5-18

14:5 When both the Gentiles and the Jews (together with their rulers) made ⁷  an attempt to mistreat ⁸  them and stone them, ⁹  14:6 Paul and Barnabas ¹⁰  learned about it ¹¹  and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra ¹²  and Derbe ¹³  and the surrounding region. 14:7 There ¹⁴  they continued to proclaim ¹⁵  the good news.

Paul and Barnabas at Lystra

14:8 In ¹⁶  Lystra ¹⁷  sat a man who could not use his feet, ¹⁸  lame from birth, ¹⁹  who had never walked. 14:9 This man was listening to Paul as he was speaking. When Paul ²⁰  stared ²¹  intently at him and saw he had faith to be healed, 14:10 he said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” ²²  And the man ²³  leaped up and began walking. ²⁴  14:11 So when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted ²⁵  in the Lycaonian language, ²⁶  “The gods have come down to us in human form!” ²⁷  14:12 They began to call ²⁸  Barnabas Zeus ²⁹  and Paul Hermes, ³⁰  because he was the chief speaker. 14:13 The priest of the temple ³¹  of Zeus, ³²  located just outside the city, brought bulls ³³  and garlands ³⁴  to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them. ³⁵  14:14 But when the apostles ³⁶  Barnabas and Paul heard about ³⁷  it, they tore ³⁸  their clothes and rushed out ³⁹  into the crowd, shouting, ⁴⁰  14:15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We too are men, with human natures ⁴¹  just like you! We are proclaiming the good news to you, so that you should turn ⁴²  from these worthless ⁴³  things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, ⁴⁴  the sea, and everything that is in them. 14:16 In ⁴⁵  past ⁴⁶  generations he allowed all the nations ⁴⁷  to go their own ways, 14:17 yet he did not leave himself without a witness by doing good, ⁴⁸  by giving you rain from heaven ⁴⁹  and fruitful seasons, satisfying you ⁵⁰  with food and your hearts with joy.” ⁵¹  14:18 Even by saying ⁵²  these things, they scarcely persuaded ⁵³  the crowds not to offer sacrifice to them.

Kisah Para Rasul 21:20

21:20 When they heard this, they praised ⁵⁴  God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews ⁵⁵  there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers ⁵⁶  of the law. ⁵⁷ 

Yeremia 1:18

1:18 I, the Lord, ⁵⁸  hereby promise to make you ⁵⁹  as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in ⁶⁰  the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land.

Daniel 5:17-23

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting on the Wall

5:17 But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else! However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its ⁶¹  interpretation. 5:18 As for you, O king, the most high God bestowed on your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty. ⁶²  5:19 Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear ⁶³  before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared ⁶⁴  whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished. 5:20 And when his mind ⁶⁵  became arrogant ⁶⁶  and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him. 5:21 He was driven from human society, his mind ⁶⁷  was changed to that of an animal, he lived ⁶⁸  with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.

5:22 “But you, his son ⁶⁹  Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, ⁷⁰  although you knew all this. 5:23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods ⁷¹  that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control ⁷²  your very breath and all your ways!

Matius 22:16

22:16 They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, ⁷³  saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ⁷⁴  You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality. ⁷⁵ 

[15:27]  ¹ tn Heb “he,” but Saul is clearly the referent. A Qumran ms and the LXX include the name “Saul” here.

[15:29]  ² tn Heb “splendor,” used here by metonymy as a title for the Lord.

[15:29]  ³ tn Or perhaps “does not lie.”

[15:29]  ⁴ sn This observation marks the preceding statement (v. 28) as an unconditional, unalterable decree. When God makes such a decree he will not alter it or change his mind. This does not mean that God never deviates from his stated intentions or changes his mind. On the contrary, several passages describe him as changing his mind. In fact, his willingness to do so is one of his fundamental divine attributes (see Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). For a fuller discussion see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Change His Mind?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.

[15:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the voice of the words of the Lord” (so KJV).

[14:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “So there came about an attempt” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[14:5]  ⁸ tn On this verb see BDAG 1022 s.v. ὑβρίζω.

[14:5]  ⁹ tn The direct object “them” is repeated after both verbs in the translation for stylistic reasons, although it occurs only after λιθοβολῆσαι (liqobolhsai) in the Greek text.

[14:6]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Paul and Barnabas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:6]  ¹¹ tn Grk “learning about it, fled.” The participle συνιδόντες (sunidonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. It could also be taken temporally (“when they learned about it”) as long as opening clause of v. 5 is not translated as a temporal clause too, which results in a redundancy.

[14:6]  ¹² sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 18 mi (30 km) south of Iconium, a Roman colony that was not on the main roads of Lycaonia. Because of its relative isolation, its local character was able to be preserved.

[14:6]  map For location see JP1 E2; JP2 E2; JP3 E2.

[14:6]  ¹³ sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra.

[14:6]  map For location see JP1 E2; JP2 E2; JP3 E2.

[14:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “region, and there.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, καί (kai) has not been translated and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[14:7]  ¹⁵ tn The periphrastic construction εὐαγγελιζόμενοι ἦσαν (euangelizomenoi hsan) has been translated as a progressive imperfect.

[14:8]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And in.” 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.

[14:8]  ¹⁷ sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 18 mi (30 km) south of Iconium.

[14:8]  map For location see JP1 E2; JP2 E2; JP3 E2.

[14:8]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “powerless in his feet,” meaning he was unable to use his feet to walk.

[14:8]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “lame from his mother’s womb” (an idiom).

[14:8]  sn The description lame from birth makes clear how serious the condition was, and how real it was. This event is very similar to Acts 3:1-10, except here the lame man’s faith is clear from the start.

[14:9]  ²⁰ tn Grk “speaking, who.” The relative pronoun has been replaced by the noun “Paul,” and a new sentence begun in the translation because an English relative clause would be very awkward here.

[14:9]  ²¹ tn Or “looked.”

[14:10]  ²² tn BDAG 722 s.v. ὀρθός 1.a has “stand upright on your feet.”

[14:10]  ²³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:10]  ²⁴ tn This verb is imperfect tense in contrast to the previous verb, which is aorist. It has been translated ingressively, since the start of a sequence is in view here.

[14:11]  ²⁵ tn Grk “they lifted up their voice” (an idiom).

[14:11]  ²⁶ tn Grk “in Lycaonian, saying.” The word “language” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[14:11]  ²⁷ tn So BDAG 707 s.v. ὁμοιόω 1. However, L&N 64.4 takes the participle ὁμοιωθέντες (Jomoiwqente") as an adjectival participle modifying θεοί (qeoi): “the gods resembling men have come down to us.”

[14:11]  sn The gods have come down to us in human form. Greek culture spoke of “divine men.” In this region there was a story of Zeus and Hermes visiting the area (Ovid, Metamorphoses 8.611-725). The locals failed to acknowledge them, so judgment followed. The present crowd was determined not to make the mistake a second time.

[14:12]  ²⁸ tn The imperfect verb ἐκάλουν (ekaloun) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[14:12]  ²⁹ sn Zeus was the chief Greek deity, worshiped throughout the Greco-Roman world (known to the Romans as Jupiter).

[14:12]  ³⁰ sn Hermes was a Greek god who (according to Greek mythology) was the messenger of the gods and the god of oratory (equivalent to the Roman god Mercury).

[14:13]  ³¹ tn The words “the temple of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. The translation “the priest of (the temple/shrine of) Zeus located before the city” is given for this phrase by BDAG 426 s.v. Ζεύς.

[14:13]  ³² sn See the note on Zeus in the previous verse.

[14:13]  ³³ tn Or “oxen.”

[14:13]  ³⁴ tn Or “wreaths.”

[14:13]  sn Garlands were commonly wreaths of wool with leaves and flowers woven in, worn on a person’s head or woven around a staff. They were an important part of many rituals used to worship pagan gods. Although it was an erroneous reaction, the priest’s reaction shows how all acknowledged their power and access to God.

[14:13]  ³⁵ tn The words “to them” are not in the Greek text, but are clearly implied by the response of Paul and Barnabas in the following verse.

[14:14]  ³⁶ sn The apostles Barnabas and Paul. This is one of only two places where Luke calls Paul an apostle, and the description here is shared with Barnabas. This is a nontechnical use here, referring to a commissioned messenger.

[14:14]  ³⁷ tn The participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is taken temporally.

[14:14]  ³⁸ tn Grk “tearing their clothes they rushed out.” The participle διαρρήξαντες (diarrhxante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. This action is a Jewish response to blasphemy (m. Sanhedrin 7.5; Jdt 14:16-17).

[14:14]  ³⁹ tn So BDAG 307 s.v. ἐκπηδάω 1, “rush (lit. ‘leap’) out…εἰς τὸν ὄχλον into the crowd Ac 14:14.”

[14:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “shouting and saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes, in v. 15) has not been translated because it is redundant.

[14:14]  sn What follows is one of two speeches in Acts to a purely pagan audience (Acts 17 in Athens is the other). So Paul focused on God as Creator, a common link.

[14:15]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “with the same kinds of feelings,” L&N 25.32. BDAG 706 s.v. ὁμοιοπαθής translates the phrase “with the same nature τινί as someone.” In the immediate context, the contrast is between human and divine nature, and the point is that Paul and Barnabas are mere mortals, not gods.

[14:15]  ⁴² tn Grk “in order that you should turn,” with ἐπιστρέφειν (epistrefein) as an infinitive of purpose, but this is somewhat awkward contemporary English. To translate the infinitive construction “proclaim the good news, that you should turn,” which is much smoother English, could give the impression that the infinitive clause is actually the content of the good news, which it is not. The somewhat less formal “to get you to turn” would work, but might convey to some readers manipulativeness on the part of the apostles. Thus “proclaim the good news, so that you should turn,” is used, to convey that the purpose of the proclamation of good news is the response by the hearers. The emphasis here is like 1 Thess 1:9-10.

[14:15]  ⁴³ tn Or “useless,” “futile.” The reference is to idols and idolatry, worshiping the creation over the Creator (Rom 1:18-32). See also 1 Kgs 16:2, 13, 26; 2 Kgs 17:15; Jer 2:5; 8:19; 3 Macc 6:11.

[14:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “and the earth, and the sea,” but καί (kai) has not been translated before “the earth” and “the sea” since contemporary English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[14:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “them, who in.” The relative pronoun (“who”) was replaced by the pronoun “he” (“In past generations he”) 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 and the awkwardness of two relative clauses (“who made the heaven” and “who in past generations”) following one another.

[14:16]  ⁴⁶ tn On this term see BDAG 780 s.v. παροίχομαι. The word is a NT hapax legomenon.

[14:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (in Greek the word for “nation” and “Gentile” is the same). The plural here alludes to the variety of false religions in the pagan world.

[14:17]  ⁴⁸ tn The participle ἀγαθουργῶν (agaqourgwn) is regarded as indicating means here, parallel to the following participles διδούς (didou") and ἐμπιπλῶν (empiplwn). This is the easiest way to understand the Greek structure. Semantically, the first participle is a general statement, followed by two participles giving specific examples of doing good.

[14:17]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[14:17]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “satisfying [filling] your hearts with food and joy.” This is an idiomatic expression; it strikes the English reader as strange to speak of “filling one’s heart with food.” Thus the additional direct object “you” has been supplied, separating the two expressions somewhat: “satisfying you with food and your hearts with joy.”

[14:17]  ⁵¹ sn God’s general sovereignty and gracious care in the creation are the way Paul introduces the theme of the goodness of God. He was trying to establish monotheism here. It is an OT theme (Gen 8:22; Ps 4:7; 145:15-16; 147:8-9; Isa 25:6; Jer 5:24) which also appears in the NT (Luke 12:22-34).

[14:18]  ⁵² tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is regarded as indicating means.

[14:18]  ⁵³ tn BDAG 524 s.v. καταπαύω 2.b gives both “restrain” and “dissuade someone fr. someth.,” but “they scarcely dissuaded the crowds from offering sacrifice,” while accurate, is less common in contemporary English than saying “they scarcely persuaded the crowds not to offer sacrifice.” Paganism is portrayed as a powerful reality that is hard to reverse.

[21:20]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “glorified.”

[21:20]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “how many thousands there are among the Jews.”

[21:20]  sn How many thousands of Jews. See Acts 2-5 for the accounts of their conversion, esp. 2:41 and 4:4. Estimates of the total number of Jews living in Jerusalem at the time range from 20,000 to 50,000.

[21:20]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “are all zealous for the law.” BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.β has “of thing…τοῦ νόμου an ardent observer of the law Ac 21:20.”

[21:20]  ⁵⁷ sn That is, the law of Moses. These Jewish Christians had remained close to their Jewish practices after becoming believers (1 Cor 7:18-19; Acts 16:3).

[1:18]  ⁵⁸ tn See the note on “Jeremiah” at the beginning of v. 17.

[1:18]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “today I have made you.” The Hebrew verb form here emphasizes the certainty of a yet future act; the Lord is promising to protect Jeremiah from any future attacks which may result from his faithfully carrying out his commission. See a similar use of the same Hebrew verb tense in v. 9, and see the translator’s note there.

[1:18]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “I make you a fortified city…against all the land….” The words “as strong as” and “so you will be able to stand against all the people of…” are given to clarify the meaning of the metaphor.

[5:17]  ⁶¹ tn Or “the.”

[5:18]  ⁶² tn Or “royal greatness and majestic honor,” if the four terms are understood as a double hendiadys.

[5:19]  ⁶³ tn Aram “were trembling and fearing.” This can be treated as a hendiadys, “were trembling with fear.”

[5:19]  ⁶⁴ tn Aram “let live.” This Aramaic form is the aphel participle of חַיָה(khayah, “to live”). Theodotion and the Vulgate mistakenly take the form to be from מְחָא (mÿkha’, “to smite”).

[5:20]  ⁶⁵ tn Aram “heart.”

[5:20]  ⁶⁶ sn The point of describing Nebuchadnezzar as arrogant is that he had usurped divine prerogatives, and because of his immense arrogance God had dealt decisively with him.

[5:21]  ⁶⁷ tn Aram “heart.”

[5:21]  ⁶⁸ tn Aram “his dwelling.”

[5:22]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “descendant”; or “successor.”

[5:22]  ⁷⁰ tn Aram “your heart.”

[5:23]  ⁷¹ tn Aram “which.”

[5:23]  ⁷² tn Aram “in whose hand [are].”

[22:16]  ⁷³ sn The Herodians are mentioned in the NT only once in Matt (22:16 = Mark 12:13) and twice in Mark (3:6; 12:13; some mss also read “Herodians” instead of “Herod” in Mark 8:15). It is generally assumed that as a group the Herodians were Jewish supporters of the Herodian dynasty (or of Herod Antipas in particular). In every instance they are linked with the Pharisees. This probably reflects agreement regarding political objectives (nationalism as opposed to submission to the yoke of Roman oppression) rather than philosophy or religious beliefs.

[22:16]  ⁷⁴ sn Teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Very few comments are as deceitful as this one; they did not really believe this at all. The question of the Pharisees and Herodians was specifically designed to trap Jesus.

[22:16]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “And it is not a concern to you about anyone because you do not see the face of men.”