¹ tn Or “relief.”

sn Times of refreshing. The phrase implies relief from difficult, distressful or burdensome circumstances. It is generally regarded as a reference to the messianic age being ushered in.

² tn The words “so that…Lord” are traditionally placed in v. 19 by most English translations, but in the present translation the verse division follows the standard critical editions of the Greek text (NA²⁷, UBS⁴).

³ tn Or “the Christ”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

sn He may send the Messiah appointed for you – that is, Jesus. The language points to the expectation of Jesus’ return to gather his people. It is a development of the question raised in Acts 1:6.

⁴ tn Or “designated in advance.”

⁵ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

⁶ tn Or “in your offspring”; Grk “in your seed.”

sn In your descendants (Grk “in your seed”). Seed has an important ambiguity in this verse. The blessing comes from the servant (v. 26), who in turn blesses the responsive children of the covenant as the scripture promised. Jesus is the seed who blesses the seed.

⁷ tn Or “families.” The Greek word πατριά (patria) can indicate persons of succeeding generations who are related by birth (“lineage,” “family”) but it can also indicate a relatively large unit of people who make up a sociopolitical group and who share a presumed biological descent. In many contexts πατριά is very similar to ἔθνος (eqnos) and λαός (laos). In light of the context of the OT quotation, it is better to translate πατριά as “nations” here.

⁸ sn A quotation from Gen 22:18.