Yeremia 19:13

19:13 The houses in Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled by dead bodies ¹  just like this place, Topheth. For they offered sacrifice to the stars ²  and poured out drink offerings to other gods on the roofs of those houses.’”

Yeremia 44:17-19

44:17 Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. ³  We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven ⁴  just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles. ⁵  44:18 But ever since we stopped sacrificing and pouring out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven, we have been in great need. Our people have died in wars or of starvation.” ⁶  44:19 The women added, ⁷  “We did indeed sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven. But it was with the full knowledge and approval of our husbands that we made cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her.” ⁸ 

Ulangan 4:19

4:19 When you look up ⁹  to the sky ¹⁰  and see the sun, moon, and stars – the whole heavenly creation ¹¹  – you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, ¹²  for the Lord your God has assigned ¹³  them to all the people ¹⁴  of the world. ¹⁵ 

Ulangan 17:3

17:3 by serving other gods and worshiping them – the sun, ¹⁶  moon, or any other heavenly bodies which I have not permitted you to worship. ¹⁷ 

Ulangan 17:2

17:2 Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you – in one of your villages ¹⁸  that the Lord your God is giving you – who sins before the Lord your God ¹⁹  and breaks his covenant

Kisah Para Rasul 17:16

Paul at Athens

17:16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, ²⁰  his spirit was greatly upset ²¹  because he saw ²²  the city was full of idols.

Kisah Para Rasul 21:3

21:3 After we sighted Cyprus ²³  and left it behind on our port side, ²⁴  we sailed on to Syria and put in ²⁵  at Tyre, ²⁶  because the ship was to unload its cargo there.

Kisah Para Rasul 21:5

21:5 When ²⁷  our time was over, ²⁸  we left and went on our way. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied ²⁹  us outside of the city. After ³⁰  kneeling down on the beach and praying, ³¹ 

Kisah Para Rasul 23:5

23:5 Paul replied, ³²  “I did not realize, ³³  brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.’” ³⁴ 

Kisah Para Rasul 23:2

23:2 At that ³⁵  the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near ³⁶  Paul ³⁷  to strike ³⁸  him on the mouth.

Kisah Para Rasul 1:3-5

1:3 To the same apostles ³⁹  also, after his suffering, ⁴⁰  he presented himself alive with many convincing proofs. He was seen by them over a forty-day period ⁴¹  and spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God. 1:4 While he was with them, ⁴²  he declared, ⁴³  “Do not leave Jerusalem, ⁴⁴  but wait there ⁴⁵  for what my ⁴⁶  Father promised, ⁴⁷  which you heard about from me. ⁴⁸  1:5 For ⁴⁹  John baptized with water, but you ⁵⁰  will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Yehezkiel 8:16

8:16 Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. Right there ⁵¹  at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, ⁵²  were about twenty-five ⁵³  men with their backs to the Lord’s temple, ⁵⁴  facing east – they were worshiping the sun ⁵⁵  toward the east!

Zefanya 1:5

1:5 I will remove ⁵⁶  those who worship the stars in the sky from their rooftops, ⁵⁷ 

those who swear allegiance to the Lord ⁵⁸  while taking oaths in the name of ⁵⁹  their ‘king,’ ⁶⁰ 

Kisah Para Rasul 7:42

7:42 But God turned away from them and gave them over ⁶¹  to worship the host ⁶²  of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘It was not to me that you offered slain animals and sacrifices ⁶³  forty years in the wilderness, was it, ⁶⁴  house of Israel?

[19:13]  ¹ tn The words “by dead bodies” is not in the text but is implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:13]  ² tn Heb “the host of heaven.”

[44:17]  ³ tn Heb “that went out of our mouth.” I.e., everything we said, promised, or vowed.

[44:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “sacrifice to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” The expressions have been combined to simplify and shorten the sentence. The same combination also occurs in vv. 18, 19.

[44:17]  sn See the translator’s note and the study note on 7:18 for the problem of translation and identification of the term translated here “the goddess called the Queen of Heaven.”

[44:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “saw [or experienced] no disaster/trouble/harm.”

[44:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “we have been consumed/destroyed by sword or by starvation.” The “we” cannot be taken literally here since they are still alive.

[44:18]  sn What is being contrasted here is the relative peace and prosperity under the reign of Manasseh, who promoted all kinds of pagan cults including the worship of astral deities (2 Kgs 21:2-9), and the disasters that befell Judah after the reforms of Josiah, which included the removal of all the cult images and altars from Jerusalem and Judah (2 Kgs 23:4-15). The disasters included the death of Josiah himself at the battle of Megiddo, the deportation of his son Jehoahaz to Egypt, the death of Jehoiakim, the deportation of Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) and many other Judeans in 597 b.c., the death by war, starvation, and disease of many Judeans during the siege of Jerusalem in 588-86 b.c., and the captivity of many of those who survived. Instead of seeing these as punishments for their disobedience to the Lord as Jeremiah had preached to them, they saw these as consequences of their failure to continue the worship of the foreign gods.

[44:19]  ⁷ tc The words “And the women added” are not in the Hebrew text. They are, however, implicit in what is said. They are found in the Syriac version and in one recension of the Greek version. W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 2:279, n. 19a) suggests that these words are missing from the Hebrew text because of haplography, i.e., that the scribe left out וַהַנָּשִׁים אָמְרוּ כִי (vahannashim ’omru khi) because his eye jumped from the ו at the beginning to the כִּי (ki) that introduced the temporal clause and left out everything in between. It is, however, just as likely, given the fact that there are several other examples of quotes which have not been formally introduced in the book of Jeremiah, that the words were not there and are supplied by these two ancient versions as a translator’s clarification.

[44:19]  ⁸ tn Or “When we sacrificed and poured out drink offering to the Queen of Heaven and made cakes in her image, wasn’t it with the knowledge and approval of our husbands?” Heb “When we sacrificed to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings [for the use of לְ (lamed) + the infinitive construct to carry on the tense of the preceding verb see BDB 518 s.v. לְ 7.b(h)] to her, did we make cakes to make an image of her and pour out drink offerings apart from [i.e., “without the knowledge and consent of,” so BDB 116 s.v. בִּלְעֲדֵי b(a)] our husbands?” The question expects a positive answer and has been rendered as an affirmation in the translation. The long, complex Hebrew sentence has again been broken in two and restructured to better conform with contemporary English style.

[44:19]  sn According to Jer 7:18-19 it was not only with the full knowledge and approval of their husbands but also with their active participation. Most of the commentaries call attention to the fact that what is being alluded to here is that a woman’s vow had to have her husband’s conscious approval to have any validity (cf. Num 30:7-16 and see the reference to the vow in v. 17).

[4:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “lest you lift up your eyes.” In the Hebrew text vv. 16-19 are subordinated to “Be careful” in v. 15, but this makes for an unduly long sentence in English.

[4:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[4:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all the host of heaven.”

[4:19]  ¹² tn In the Hebrew text the verbal sequence in v. 19 is “lest you look up…and see…and be seduced…and worship them…and serve them.” However, the first two actions are not prohibited in and of themselves. The prohibition pertains to the final three actions. The first two verbs describe actions that are logically subordinate to the following actions and can be treated as temporal or circumstantial: “lest, looking up…and seeing…, you are seduced.” See Joüon 2:635 §168.h.

[4:19]  ¹³ tn Or “allotted.”

[4:19]  ¹⁴ tn Or “nations.”

[4:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “under all the heaven.”

[4:19]  sn The OT views the heavenly host as God’s council, which surrounds his royal throne ready to do his bidding (see 1 Kgs 22:19). God has given this group, sometimes called the “sons of God” (cf. Job 1:6; 38:7; Ps 89:6), jurisdiction over the nations. See Deut 32:8 (LXX). Some also see this assembly as the addressee in Ps 82. While God delegated his council to rule over the nations, he established a theocratic government over Israel and ruled directly over his chosen people via the Mosaic covenant. See v. 20, as well as Deut 32:9.

[17:3]  ¹⁶ tc The MT reads “and to the sun,” thus including the sun, the moon, and other heavenly spheres among the gods. However, Theodotion and Lucian read “or to the sun,” suggesting perhaps that the sun and the other heavenly bodies are not in the category of actual deities.

[17:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “which I have not commanded you.” The words “to worship” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[17:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “gates.”

[17:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “does the evil in the eyes of the Lord your God.”

[17:16]  ²⁰ map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

[17:16]  ²¹ tn Grk “greatly upset within him,” but the words “within him” were not included in the translation because they are redundant in English. See L&N 88.189. The term could also be rendered “infuriated.”

[17:16]  sn His spirit was greatly upset. See Rom 1:18-32 for Paul’s feelings about idolatry. Yet he addressed both Jews and Gentiles with tact and reserve.

[17:16]  ²² tn Or “when he saw.” The participle θεωροῦντος (qewrounto") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle; it could also be translated as temporal.

[21:3]  ²³ sn Cyprus is a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.

[21:3]  ²⁴ sn The expression left it behind on our port side here means “sailed past to the south of it” since the ship was sailing east.

[21:3]  ²⁵ tn BDAG 531 s.v. κατέρχομαι 2 states, “arrive, put in, nautical t.t. of ships and those who sail in them, who ‘come down’ fr. the ‘high seas’…ἔις τι at someth. a harbor 18:22; 21:3; 27:5.”

[21:3]  ²⁶ sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia. From Patara to Tyre was about 400 mi (640 km). It required a large cargo ship over 100 ft (30 m) long, and was a four to five day voyage.

[21:3]  map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[21:5]  ²⁷ tn Grk “It happened that when.” 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.

[21:5]  ²⁸ tn Grk “When our days were over.” L&N 67.71 has “ὅτε δὲ ἐγένετο ἡμᾶς ἐξαρτίσαι τὰς ἡμέρας ‘when we brought that time to an end’ or ‘when our time with them was over’ Ac 21:5.”

[21:5]  ²⁹ tn Grk “accompanying.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation and the participle προπεμπόντων (propempontwn) translated as a finite verb.

[21:5]  ³⁰ tn Grk “city, and after.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[21:5]  ³¹ sn On praying in Acts, see 1:14, 24; 2:47; 4:23; 6:6; 10:2; 12:5, 12; 13:3; 16:25.

[23:5]  ³² tn Grk “said.”

[23:5]  ³³ tn Or “know.”

[23:5]  ³⁴ sn A quotation from Exod 22:28. This text defines a form of blasphemy. Paul, aware of the fact that he came close to crossing the line, backed off out of respect for the law.

[23:2]  ³⁵ tn Grk “and” (δέ, de); the phrase “at that” has been used in the translation to clarify the cause and effect relationship.

[23:2]  ³⁶ tn BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 2.b.α has “οἱ παρεστῶτες αὐτῷ those standing near him Ac 23:2.”

[23:2]  ³⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:2]  ³⁸ tn Or “hit” (‘strike’ maintains the wordplay with the following verse). The action was probably designed to indicate a rejection of Paul’s claim to a clear conscience in the previous verse.

[1:3]  ³⁹ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the apostles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:3]  ⁴⁰ sn After his suffering is a reference to Jesus’ crucifixion and the abuse which preceded it.

[1:3]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “during forty days.” The phrase “over a forty-day period” is used rather than “during forty days” because (as the other NT accounts of Jesus’ appearances make clear) Jesus was not continually visible to the apostles during the forty days, but appeared to them on various occasions.

[1:4]  ⁴² tn Or “While he was assembling with them,” or “while he was sharing a meal with them.” There are three basic options for translating the verb συναλίζω (sunalizw): (1) “Eat (salt) with, share a meal with”; (2) “bring together, assemble”; (3) “spend the night with, stay with” (see BDAG 964 s.v.). The difficulty with the first option is that it does not fit the context, and this meaning is not found elsewhere. The second option is difficult because of the singular number and the present tense. The third option is based on a spelling variation of συναυλιζόμενος (sunaulizomeno"), which some minuscules actually read here. The difference in meaning between (2) and (3) is not great, but (3) seems to fit the context somewhat better here.

[1:4]  ⁴³ tn Grk “ordered them”; the command “Do not leave” is not in Greek but is an indirect quotation in the original (see note at end of the verse for explanation).

[1:4]  ⁴⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:4]  ⁴⁵ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text (direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context).

[1:4]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “the,” with the article used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:4]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “for the promise of the Father.” Jesus is referring to the promised gift of the Holy Spirit (see the following verse).

[1:4]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “While he was with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for ‘what my Father promised, which you heard about from me.’” This verse moves from indirect to direct discourse. This abrupt change is very awkward, so the entire quotation has been rendered as direct discourse in the translation.

[1:5]  ⁴⁹ tn In the Greek text v. 5 is a continuation of the previous sentence, which is long and complicated. In keeping with the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:5]  ⁵⁰ tn The pronoun is plural in Greek.

[8:16]  ⁵¹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something.

[8:16]  ⁵² sn The priests prayed to God between the porch and the altar on fast days (Joel 2:17). This is the location where Zechariah was murdered (Matt 23:35).

[8:16]  ⁵³ tc The LXX reads “twenty” instead of twenty-five, perhaps because of the association of the number twenty with the Mesopotamian sun god Shamash.

[8:16]  tn Or “exactly twenty-five.”

[8:16]  ⁵⁴ sn The temple faced east.

[8:16]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “the sun god.”

[8:16]  sn The worship of astral entities may have begun during the reign of Manasseh (2 Kgs 21:5).

[1:5]  ⁵⁶ tn The words “I will remove” are repeated from v. 4b for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 4b-6 contain a long list of objects for the verb “I will remove” in v. 4b. In the present translation a new sentence was begun at the beginning of v. 5 in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences.

[1:5]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “those who worship on their roofs the host of heaven.” The “host of heaven” included the sun, moon, planets, and stars, all of which were deified in the ancient Near East.

[1:5]  ⁵⁸ tc The MT reads, “those who worship, those who swear allegiance to the Lord.” The original form of the LXX omits the phrase “those who worship”; it may have been accidentally repeated from the preceding line. J. J. M. Roberts prefers to delete as secondary the phrase “those who swear allegiance” (J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah [OTL], 168).

[1:5]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “those who swear by.”

[1:5]  ⁶⁰ tn The referent of “their king” is unclear. It may refer sarcastically to a pagan god (perhaps Baal) worshiped by the people. Some English versions (cf. NEB, NASB, NRSV) prefer to emend the text to “Milcom,” the name of an Ammonite god (following some LXX mss, Syriac, and Vulgate) or “Molech,” a god to whom the Israelites offered their children (cf. NIV, NLT). For a discussion of the options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 75-77.

[7:42]  ⁶¹ sn The expression and gave them over suggests similarities to the judgment on the nations described by Paul in Rom 1:18-32.

[7:42]  ⁶² tn Or “stars.”

[7:42]  sn To worship the hosts of heaven. Their action violated Deut 4:19; 17:2-5. See Ps 106:36-43.

[7:42]  ⁶³ tn The two terms for sacrifices “semantically reinforce one another and are here combined essentially for emphasis” (L&N 53.20).

[7:42]  ⁶⁴ tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ question, “was it?”