Isaiah 56:6-7

56:6 As for foreigners who become followers of ¹  the Lord and serve him,

who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants –

all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,

and who are faithful to ²  my covenant –

56:7 I will bring them to my holy mountain;

I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me. ³ 

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,

for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.” ⁴ 

Matthew 8:11-12

8:11 I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet ⁵  with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ⁶  in the kingdom of heaven, 8:12 but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ⁷ 

Matthew 15:28

15:28 Then ⁸  Jesus answered her, “Woman, ⁹  your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Acts 10:2-4

10:2 He ¹⁰  was a devout, God-fearing man, ¹¹  as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people ¹²  and prayed to God regularly. 10:3 About three o’clock one afternoon ¹³  he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God ¹⁴  who came in ¹⁵  and said to him, “Cornelius.” 10:4 Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius ¹⁶  replied, ¹⁷  “What is it, Lord?” The angel ¹⁸  said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity ¹⁹  have gone up as a memorial ²⁰  before God.

Acts 10:34-35

10:34 Then Peter started speaking: ²¹  “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people, ²²  10:35 but in every nation ²³  the person who fears him ²⁴  and does what is right ²⁵  is welcomed before him.

Acts 11:3-18

11:3 saying, “You went to ²⁶  uncircumcised men and shared a meal with ²⁷  them.” 11:4 But Peter began and explained it to them point by point, ²⁸  saying, 11:5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, ²⁹  an object something like a large sheet descending, ³⁰  being let down from heaven ³¹  by its four corners, and it came to me. 11:6 As I stared ³²  I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, ³³  and wild birds. ³⁴  11:7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; slaughter ³⁵  and eat!’ 11:8 But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord, for nothing defiled or ritually unclean ³⁶  has ever entered my mouth!’ 11:9 But the voice replied a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not consider ³⁷  ritually unclean!’ 11:10 This happened three times, and then everything was pulled up to heaven again. 11:11 At that very moment, ³⁸  three men sent to me from Caesarea ³⁹  approached ⁴⁰  the house where we were staying. ⁴¹  11:12 The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers ⁴²  also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 11:13 He informed us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter, 11:14 who will speak a message ⁴³  to you by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ 11:15 Then as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on ⁴⁴  them just as he did ⁴⁵  on us at the beginning. ⁴⁶  11:16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, ⁴⁷  as he used to say, ⁴⁸  ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ⁴⁹  11:17 Therefore if God ⁵⁰  gave them the same gift ⁵¹  as he also gave us after believing ⁵²  in the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁵³  who was I to hinder ⁵⁴  God?” 11:18 When they heard this, ⁵⁵  they ceased their objections ⁵⁶  and praised ⁵⁷  God, saying, “So then, God has granted the repentance ⁵⁸  that leads to life even to the Gentiles.” ⁵⁹ 

Acts 11:1

Peter Defends His Actions to the Jerusalem Church

11:1 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted ⁶⁰  the word of God. ⁶¹ 

Colossians 1:18-19

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ⁶²  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ⁶³ 

1:19 For God ⁶⁴  was pleased to have all his ⁶⁵  fullness dwell ⁶⁶  in the Son ⁶⁷ 

Philippians 3:3

3:3 For we are the circumcision, ⁶⁸  the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, ⁶⁹  exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on human credentials ⁷⁰ 

Colossians 2:11

2:11 In him you also were circumcised – not, however, ⁷¹  with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal ⁷²  of the fleshly body, ⁷³  that is, ⁷⁴  through the circumcision done by Christ.

[56:6]  ¹ tn Heb “who attach themselves to.”

[56:6]  ² tn Heb “and take hold of”; NAB “hold to”; NIV, NRSV “hold fast.”

[56:7]  ³ tn Heb “in the house of my prayer.”

[56:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”

[8:11]  ⁵ tn Grk “and recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away. The word “banquet” has been supplied to clarify for the modern reader the festive nature of the imagery. The banquet imagery is a way to describe the fellowship and celebration of being among the people of God at the end.

[8:11]  ⁶ tn Grk “and Isaac and Jacob,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[8:12]  ⁷ sn Weeping and gnashing of teeth is a figure for remorse and trauma, which occurs here because of exclusion from God’s promise.

[15:28]  ⁸ tn Grk “Then answering, Jesus said to her.” This expression has been simplified in the translation.

[15:28]  ⁹ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[10:2]  ¹⁰ tn In the Greek text this represents a continuation of the previous sentence. Because of the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

[10:2]  ¹¹ sn The description of Cornelius as a devout, God-fearing man probably means that he belonged to the category called “God-fearers,” Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 43-44, and Sir 11:17; 27:11; 39:27.

[10:2]  ¹² tn Or “gave many gifts to the poor.” This was known as “giving alms,” or acts of mercy (Sir 7:10; BDAG 315-16 s.v. ἐλεημοσύνη).

[10:3]  ¹³ tn Grk “at about the ninth hour of the day.” This would be the time for afternoon prayer.

[10:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the angel of God.” Linguistically, “angel of God” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of God” or “the angel of God” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.

[10:3]  ¹⁵ tn The participles εἰσελθόντα (eiselqonta) and εἰπόντα (eiponta) are accusative, and thus best taken as adjectival participles modifying ἄγγελον (angelon): “an angel who came in and said.”

[10:4]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Cornelius) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:4]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “said,” but in response to the angel’s address, “replied” is better English style.

[10:4]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:4]  ¹⁹ tn Or “your gifts to the needy.”

[10:4]  ²⁰ sn The language used in the expression gone up as a memorial before God parallels what one would say of acceptable sacrifices (Ps 141:2; Sir 35:6; 50:16).

[10:34]  ²¹ tn Grk “Opening his mouth Peter said” (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.

[10:34]  ²² tn Grk “God is not one who is a respecter of persons,” that is, “God is not one to show partiality” (cf. BDAG 887 s.v. προσωπολήμπτης). L&N 88.239 translates this verse “I realize that God does not show favoritism (in dealing with people).” The underlying Hebrew idiom includes the personal element (“respecter of persons”) so the phrase “in dealing with people” is included in the present translation. It fits very well with the following context and serves to emphasize the relational component of God’s lack of partiality. The latter is a major theme in the NT: Rom 2:11; Eph 2:11-22; Col 3:25; Jas 2:1; 1 Pet 1:17. This was the lesson of Peter’s vision.

[10:35]  ²³ sn See Luke 24:47.

[10:35]  ²⁴ tn Or “shows reverence for him.”

[10:35]  ²⁵ tn Grk “works righteousness”; the translation “does what is right” for this phrase in this verse is given by L&N 25.85.

[11:3]  ²⁶ tn Or “You were a guest in the home of” (according to L&N 23.12).

[11:3]  ²⁷ tn Or “and ate with.” It was table fellowship and the possibility of eating unclean food that disturbed them.

[11:4]  ²⁸ tn Or “to them in logical sequence,” “to them in order.” BDAG 490 s.v. καθεξῆς has “explain to someone point by point” for this phrase. This is the same term used in Luke 1:3.

[11:5]  ²⁹ tn This term describes a supernatural vision and reflects a clear distinction from something imagined (BDAG 718 s.v. ὅραμα 1). Peter repeated the story virtually word for word through v. 13. The repetition with this degree of detail shows the event’s importance.

[11:5]  ³⁰ tn Or “coming down.”

[11:5]  ³¹ tn Or “the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[11:6]  ³² tn Grk “Staring I looked into it.” The participle ἀτενίσας (atenisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[11:6]  ³³ tn Or “snakes.” Grk “creeping things.” According to L&N 4.51, in most biblical contexts the term (due to the influence of Hebrew classifications such as Gen 1:25-26, 30) included small four-footed animals like rats, mice, frogs, toads, salamanders, and lizards. In this context, however, where “creeping things” are contrasted with “four-footed animals,” the English word “reptiles,” which primarily but not exclusively designates snakes, is probably more appropriate.

[11:6]  ³⁴ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[11:7]  ³⁵ tn Or “kill.” Traditionally θῦσον (quson) is translated “kill,” but in the case of animals intended for food, “slaughter” is more appropriate.

[11:8]  ³⁶ tn Possibly there is a subtle distinction in meaning between κοινός (koinos) and ἀκάθαρτος (akaqartos) here, but according to L&N 53.39 it is difficult to determine precise differences in meaning based on existing contexts. The sentiment Peter expressed is like Ezek 4:14.

[11:9]  ³⁷ tn Or “declare.” The wording matches Acts 10:15.

[11:11]  ³⁸ tn Grk “And behold.”

[11:11]  ³⁹ 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.

[11:11]  ⁴⁰ tn See BDAG 418 s.v. ἐφίστημι 1 for this meaning for ἐπέστησαν (epesthsan) here.

[11:11]  ⁴¹ tn The word “staying” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[11:12]  ⁴² sn Six witnesses is three times more than what would normally be required. They could confirm the events were not misrepresented by Peter.

[11:14]  ⁴³ tn Grk “words” (ῥήματα, rJhmata), but in this context the overall message is meant rather than the individual words.

[11:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “came down on.”

[11:15]  ⁴⁵ tn The words “he did” are not in the Greek text but are implied. They form an ellipsis which must be supplied for the modern English reader. Some modern translations supply “it” rather than “he” because the gender of πνεῦμα (pneuma) in Greek is neuter, but there are sufficient NT contexts that use masculine pronouns to refer to the Spirit to justify the use of a masculine pronoun here in the translation.

[11:15]  ⁴⁶ sn At the beginning is an allusion to Acts 2 and Pentecost. The beginning is a way to refer to the start of the period of the realization of Jesus’ promise in Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8. Peter was arguing that God gave Gentiles the same benefits he gave the Jews at the start of their mission.

[11:16]  ⁴⁷ sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; here and in Luke 22:61, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.

[11:16]  ⁴⁸ tn The imperfect verb ἔλεγεν (elegen) is taken as a customary imperfect.

[11:16]  ⁴⁹ sn John…Spirit. This remark repeats Acts 1:5.

[11:17]  ⁵⁰ tc Codex Bezae (D) and {a few other Western witnesses} here lack ὁ θεός (Jo qeo", “God”), perhaps because these scribes considered the Holy Spirit to be the gift of Christ rather than the gift of God; thus leaving the subject implicit would naturally draw the reader back to v. 16 to see the Lord Jesus as the bestower of the Spirit.

[11:17]  ⁵¹ sn That is, the same gift of the Holy Spirit.

[11:17]  ⁵² tn Or “gave us when we believed”; or “gave us after we believed”; or “gave us who believed”; or “gave them when they believed the same gift as he also gave us.” The aorist dative plural participle πιστεύσασιν (pisteusasin) can be understood in several different ways: (1) It could modify ἡμῖν (Jhmin, “us”) or αὐτοῖς (autois, “them”). Proximity (it immediately follows ἡμῖν) would suggest that it belongs with ἡμῖν, so the last option (“gave them when they believed the same gift he also gave us”) is less likely. (2) The participle could be either adverbial or adjectival, modifying ἡμῖν. This decision is primarily a contextual one. The point Peter made is not whether or not the Gentiles believed, since both groups (“us” and “they”) had believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. The point was whether or not the Gentiles received the Spirit when they believed, just as Jewish Christians had received the Spirit on the day of Pentecost when they believed. Translated as an adjectival participle, πιστεύσασιν only affirms the fact of belief, however, and raises somewhat of a theological problem if one realizes, “Would God have given the Gentiles the Spirit if they had not believed?” (In other words, belief in itself is a theological prerequisite for receiving the Spirit. As such, in the case of the Gentiles, it is assumed.) Thus in context it makes more sense to understand the participle πιστεύσασιν as adverbial, related to the time of belief in connection with the giving of the Spirit. (3) The participle πιστεύσασιν as a temporal participle can refer to action antecedent to the action of the main verb ἔδωκεν (edwken) or contemporaneous with it. Logically, at least, the gift of the Spirit followed belief in the case of the original Christians, who had believed before the day of Pentecost. In the case of Cornelius and his household, belief and the reception of the Spirit were virtually simultaneous. One can argue that Peter is “summarizing” the experience of Jewish Christians, and therefore the actions of belief and reception of the Spirit, while historically separate, have been “telescoped” into one (“gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed”), but to be technically accurate the participle πιστεύσασιν should be translated “gave them the same gift as he also gave us after we believed.” A number of these problems can be avoided, however, by using a translation in English that maintains some of the ambiguity of the Greek original. Thus “if God gave them the same gift as he also gave us after believing” is used, where the phrase “after believing” can refer either to “them” or to “us,” or both.

[11:17]  ⁵³ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[11:17]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “prevent,” “forbid” (BDAG 580 s.v. κωλύω 1.a). Peter’s point is that he will not stand in the way of God.

[11:18]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “these things.”

[11:18]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “became silent,” but this would create an apparent contradiction with the subsequent action of praising God. The point, in context, is that they ceased objecting to what Peter had done.

[11:18]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “glorified.”

[11:18]  ⁵⁸ sn Here the summary phrase for responding to the gospel is the repentance that leads to life. Note how the presence of life is tied to the presence of the Spirit (cf. John 4:7-42; 7:37-39).

[11:18]  ⁵⁹ sn In the Greek text the phrase even to the Gentiles is in an emphatic position.

[11:1]  ⁶⁰ tn See BDAG 221 s.v. δέχομαι 5 for this translation of ἐδέξαντο (edexanto) here.

[11:1]  ⁶¹ tn Here the phrase “word of God” is another way to describe the gospel (note the preceding verb ἐδέξαντο, edexanto, “accepted”). The phrase could also be translated “the word [message] from God.”

[1:18]  ⁶² tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

[1:18]  ⁶³ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”

[1:19]  ⁶⁴ tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen).

[1:19]  ⁶⁵ tn The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.

[1:19]  ⁶⁶ tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikhsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.

[1:19]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:3]  ⁶⁸ tn There is a significant wordplay here in the Greek text. In v. 2 a rare, strong word is used to describe those who were pro-circumcision (κατατομή, katatomh, “mutilation”; see BDAG 528 s.v.), while in v. 3 the normal word for circumcision is used (περιτομή, peritomh; see BDAG 807 s.v.). Both have τομή (the feminine form of the adjective τομός [tomo"], meaning “cutting, sharp”) as their root; the direction of the action of the former is down or off (from κατά, kata), hence the implication of mutilation or emasculation, while the direction of the action of the latter is around (from περί, peri). The similarity in sound yet wide divergence of meaning between the two words highlights in no uncertain terms the differences between Paul and his opponents.

[3:3]  ⁶⁹ tc The verb λατρεύω (latreuw; here the participial form, λατρεύοντες [latreuonte"]) either takes a dative direct object or no object at all, bearing virtually a technical nuance of “worshiping God” (see BDAG 587 s.v.). In this text, πνεύματι (pneumati) takes an instrumental force (“by the Spirit”) rather than functioning as object of λατρεύοντες. However, the word after πνεύματι is in question, no doubt because of the collocation with λατρεύοντες. Most witnesses, including some of the earliest and best representatives of the Alexandrian, Western, and Byzantine texts (א* A B C D² F G 0278^vid 33 1739 1881 Ï co Ambr), read θεοῦ (qeou; thus, “worship by the Spirit of God”). But several other important witnesses (א² D* P Ψ 075 365 1175 lat sy Chr) have the dative θεῷ (qew) here (“worship God by the Spirit”). Ì⁴⁶ is virtually alone in its omission of the divine name, probably due to an unintentional oversight. The dative θεῷ was most likely a scribal emendation intended to give the participle its proper object, and thus avoid confusion about the force of πνεύματι. Although the Church came to embrace the full deity of the Spirit, the NT does not seem to speak of worshiping the Spirit explicitly. The reading θεῷ thus appears to be a clarifying reading. On external and internal grounds, then, θεοῦ is the preferred reading.

[3:3]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “have no confidence in the flesh.”

[2:11]  ⁷¹ tn The terms “however” and “but” in this sentence were supplied in order to emphasize the contrast.

[2:11]  ⁷² tn The articular noun τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (th apekdusei) is a noun which ends in -σις (-sis) and therefore denotes action, i.e., “removal.” Since the head noun is a verbal noun, the following genitive τοῦ σώματος (tou swmatos) is understood as an objective genitive, receiving the action of the head noun.

[2:11]  ⁷³ tn Grk “in the removal of the body of flesh.” The genitive τῆς σαρκός (th" sarko") has been translated as an attributive genitive, “fleshly body.”

[2:11]  ⁷⁴ tn The second prepositional phrase beginning with ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ (en th peritomh) is parallel to the prepositional phrase ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (en th apekdusei) and gives a further explanation of it. The words “that is” were supplied to bring out this force in the translation.