9:31 Then 9 the church throughout Judea, Galilee, 10 and Samaria experienced 11 peace and thus was strengthened. 12 Living 13 in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church 14 increased in numbers.
13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: 15 Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, 16 Lucius the Cyrenian, 17 Manaen (a close friend of Herod 18 the tetrarch 19 from childhood 20 ) and Saul.
25:23 So the next day Agrippa 47 and Bernice came with great pomp 48 and entered the audience hall, 49 along with the senior military officers 50 and the prominent men of the city. When Festus 51 gave the order, 52 Paul was brought in.
‘Go to this people and say,
“You will keep on hearing, 57 but will never understand,
and you will keep on looking, 58 but will never perceive.
1 tn Or “to the ends.”
2 tn Or “relief.”
3 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).
4 tn Or “the Christ”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
5 tn Or “designated in advance.”
3 sn With one mind. Compare Acts 1:14.
4 tn Or “Lord of all.”
5 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.
4 tn Or “Therefore.” This verse is another summary text in Acts (cf. 2:41-47; 4:32-37; 5:12-16; 6:7).
5 tn Grk “and Galilee,” 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.
6 tn Grk “had.”
7 tn Or “Built up.” The participle οἰκοδομουμένη (oikodomoumenh) has been translated as a participle of result related to εἶχεν (eicen). It could also be understood as adverbial to ἐπληθύνετο (eplhquneto): “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced peace. Strengthened and living in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.” Although some scholars do not regard the participle of result as a legitimate category, it is actually fairly common (see ExSyn 637-39).
8 tn Grk “And living.” 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.
9 tn Grk “it”; the referent (the church) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).
6 sn Simeon may well have been from North Africa, since the Latin loanword Niger refers to someone as “dark-complexioned.”
7 sn The Cyrenian refers to a native of the city of Cyrene, on the coast of northern Africa west of Egypt.
8 sn Herod is generally taken as a reference to Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee from 4
9 tn Or “the governor.”
10 tn Or “(a foster brother of Herod the tetrarch).” The meaning “close friend from childhood” is given by L&N 34.15, but the word can also mean “foster brother” (L&N 10.51). BDAG 976 s.v. σύντροφας states, “pert. to being brought up with someone, either as a foster-brother or as a companion/friend,” which covers both alternatives. Context does not given enough information to be certain which is the case here, although many modern translations prefer the meaning “close friend from childhood.”
6 tn Grk “And now.” 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.
7 tn Grk “upon,” but in a negative sense.
8 sn The term translated mistiness here appears in the writings of the physician Galen as a medical technical description of a person who is blind. The picture of judgment to darkness is symbolic as well. Whatever power Elymas had, it represented darkness. Magic will again be an issue in Acts 19:18-19. This judgment is like that of Ananias and his wife in Acts 5:1-11.
9 tn Grk “fell on.”
10 tn The noun χειραγωγός (ceiragwgo") is plural, so “people” is used rather than singular “someone.”
7 tn For the translation of παρώτρυναν (parwtrunan) as “incited” see BDAG 780 s.v. παροτρύνω.
8 tn BDAG 299 s.v. ἐκβάλλω 1 has “throw out.” Once again, many Jews reacted to the message (Acts 5:17, 33; 6:11; 13:45).
8 sn The citizens of Pisidian Antioch were not discouraged by the persecution, but instead were filled with joy.
9 tn Grk “driven away,” but this could result in a misunderstanding in English (“driven” as in a cart or wagon?). “Forced away” conveys the idea; Gallio rejected their complaint. In contemporary English terminology the case was “thrown out of court.” The verb ἀπήλασεν (aphlasen) has been translated as a causative since Gallio probably did not perform this action in person, but ordered his aides or officers to remove the plaintiffs.
10 sn See the note on the term judgment seat in 18:12.
10 tn Grk “And after.” 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.
11 tn Grk “And saying.” The participle εἰπών (eipwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
12 tn Grk “these things.”
13 sn Verse 41 in the English text is included as part of verse 40 in the standard critical editions of the Greek NT.
11 tn That is, the whole Sanhedrin. BDAG 861 s.v. πρεσβυτέριον has “an administrative group concerned with the interests of a specific community, council of elders – a. of the highest Judean council in Jerusalem, in our lit. usu. called συνέδριον…ὁ ἀρχιερεύς καὶ πᾶν τὸ πρ. Ac 22:5.”
12 tn Grk “from whom.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.
13 tn Grk “receiving.” The participle δεξάμενος (dexameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
14 tn Grk “letters to the brothers, [and] I was going to Damascus.” Such a translation, however, might be confusing since the term “brother” is frequently used of a fellow Christian. In this context, Paul is speaking about fellow Jews.
15 tn Grk “even there and bring…” or “there and even bring…” The ascensive καί (kai) shows that Paul was fervent in his zeal against Christians, but it is difficult to translate for it really belongs with the entire idea of arresting and bringing back the prisoners.
16 tn BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b has “δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά bring someone as prisoner…Ac 9:2, 21; 22:5.”
17 tn Grk “I was going…to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners that they might be punished.”
12 sn Now Paul referred to Stephen as your witness, and he himself had also become a witness. The reversal was now complete; the opponent had now become a proponent.
13 sn When the blood of your witness Stephen was shed means “when your witness Stephen was murdered.”
14 tn Grk “and approving.” This 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.
15 tn Or “outer garments.”
16 tn Or “who were putting him to death.” For the translation of ἀναιρούντων (anairountwn) as “putting to death” see BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω 2.
13 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
14 tn Or “great pageantry” (BDAG 1049 s.v. φαντασία; the term is a NT hapax legomenon).
15 tn Or “auditorium.” “Auditorium” may suggest to the modern English reader a theater where performances are held. Here it is the large hall where a king or governor would hold audiences. Paul once spoke of himself as a “spectacle” to the world (1 Cor 4:8-13).
16 tn Grk “the chiliarchs” (officers in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος (ciliarco") literally described the “commander of a thousand,” but it was used as the standard translation for the Latin tribunus militum or tribunus militare, the military tribune who commanded a cohort of 600 men.
17 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
18 tn Grk “and Festus ordering, Paul was brought in.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has not been translated. The participle κελεύσαντος (keleusanto") has been taken temporally.
14 tn BDAG 703 s.v. ὀλίγος 2.b.β has “καὶ ἐν ὀλ. καὶ ἐν μεγάλῳ whether in a short or a long time vs. 29 (cf. B-D-F §195; GWhitaker, The Words of Agrippa to St. Paul: JTS 15, 1914, 82f; AFridrichsen, SymbOsl 14, ’35, 50; Field, Notes 141-43; s. Rob. 653).”
15 sn Except for these chains. The chains represented Paul’s unjust suffering for the sake of the message. His point was, in effect, “I do not care how long it takes. I only hope you and everyone else hearing this would become believers in Christ, but without my unjust suffering.”
15 tn Grk “And putting in.” The participle καταχθέντες (katacqente") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. On the meaning of the participle, BDAG 516 s.v. κατάγω states, “Hence the pass., in act. sense, of ships and seafarers put in εἴς τι at a harbor…εἰς Συρακούσας Ac 28:12.” 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.
16 sn Syracuse was a city on the eastern coast of the island of Sicily. It was 75 mi (120 km) from Malta.
16 tn Grk “you will hear with hearing” (an idiom).
17 tn Or “seeing”; Grk “you will look by looking” (an idiom).