Acts 10:9

10:9 About noon ¹  the next day, while they were on their way and approaching ²  the city, Peter went up on the roof ³  to pray.

Acts 10:45

10:45 The ⁴  circumcised believers ⁵  who had accompanied Peter were greatly astonished ⁶  that ⁷  the gift of the Holy Spirit ⁸  had been poured out ⁹  even on the Gentiles,

Acts 15:1

The Jerusalem Council

15:1 Now some men came down from Judea ¹⁰  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ¹¹  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Acts 15:5

15:5 But some from the religious party of the Pharisees ¹²  who had believed stood up and said, “It is necessary ¹³  to circumcise the Gentiles ¹⁴  and to order them to observe ¹⁵  the law of Moses.”

Acts 21:20-23

21:20 When they heard this, they praised ¹⁶  God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews ¹⁷  there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers ¹⁸  of the law. ¹⁹  21:21 They have been informed about you – that you teach all the Jews now living ²⁰  among the Gentiles to abandon ²¹  Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children ²²  or live ²³  according to our customs. 21:22 What then should we do? They will no doubt ²⁴  hear that you have come. 21:23 So do what ²⁵  we tell you: We have four men ²⁶  who have taken ²⁷  a vow; ²⁸ 

Galatians 2:12-14

2:12 Until ²⁹  certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this ³⁰  and separated himself ³¹  because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision. ³²  2:13 And the rest of the Jews also joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray with them ³³  by their hypocrisy. 2:14 But when I saw that they were not behaving consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas ³⁴  in front of them all, “If you, although you are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to force ³⁵  the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

¹ tn Grk “about the sixth hour.”

² tn The participles ὁδοιπορούντων (Jodoiporountwn, “while they were on their way”) and ἐγγιζόντων (engizontwn, “approaching”) have been translated as temporal participles.

³ sn Went up on the roof. Most of the roofs in the NT were flat roofs made of pounded dirt, sometimes mixed with lime or stones, supported by heavy wooden beams. They generally had an easy means of access, either a sturdy wooden ladder or stone stairway, sometimes on the outside of the house.

⁴ tn Grk “And the.” 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.

⁵ tn Or “The Jewish Christians”; Grk “The believers from the circumcision.”

⁶ sn The Jewish Christians who were with Peter were greatly astonished because they thought the promise of the Spirit would be limited only to those of Israel. God’s plan was taking on fresh dimensions even as it was a reflection of what the prophets had promised.

⁷ tn Or “because.”

⁸ tn That is, the gift consisting of the Holy Spirit. Here τοῦ πνεύματος (tou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the gift consists of the Spirit.

⁹ sn The gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out. Compare the account in Acts 2, especially 2:33. Note also Joel 2:17-21 and Acts 11:15-18.

¹⁰ sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.

¹¹ tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.

¹² sn See the note on Pharisee in 5:34.

¹³ sn The Greek word used here (δεῖ, dei) is a strong term that expresses divine necessity. The claim is that God commanded the circumcision of Gentiles.

¹⁴ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the Gentiles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ tn Or “keep.”

¹⁶ tn Or “glorified.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “how many thousands there are among the Jews.”

¹⁸ 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.”

¹⁹ 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).

²⁰ tn BDAG 511 s.v. κατά B.1.a has “τοὺς κ. τὰ ἔθνη ᾿Ιουδαίους the Judeans (dispersed) throughout the nations 21:21.” The Jews in view are not those in Palestine, but those who are scattered throughout the Gentile world.

²¹ tn Or “to forsake,” “to rebel against.” BDAG 120 s.v. ἀποστασία has “ἀποστασίαν διδάσκεις ἀπὸ Μωϋσέως you teach (Judeans) to abandon Moses Ac 21:21.”

²² sn That is, not to circumcise their male children. Biblical references to circumcision always refer to male circumcision.

²³ tn Grk “or walk.”

²⁴ tn L&N 71.16 has “pertaining to being in every respect certain – ‘certainly, really, doubtless, no doubt.’…‘they will no doubt hear that you have come’ Ac 21:22.”

²⁵ tn Grk “do this that.”

²⁶ tn Grk “There are four men here.”

²⁷ tn L&N 33.469 has “‘there are four men here who have taken a vow’ or ‘we have four men who…’ Ac 21:23.”

²⁸ tn On the term for “vow,” see BDAG 416 s.v. εὐχή 2.

²⁹ tn The conjunction γάρ has not been translated here.

³⁰ tn Grk “he drew back.” If ἑαυτόν (Jeauton) goes with both ὑπέστελλεν (Jupestellen) and ἀφώριζεν (afwrizen) rather than only the latter, the meaning would be “he drew himself back” (see BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 1.a).

³¹ tn Or “and held himself aloof.”

³² tn Grk “the [ones] of the circumcision,” that is, the group of Jewish Christians who insisted on circumcision of Gentiles before they could become Christians.

³³ tn The words “with them” are a reflection of the σύν- (sun-) prefix on the verb συναπήχθη (sunaphcqh; see L&N 31.76).

³⁴ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

³⁵ tn Here ἀναγκάζεις (anankazei") has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534).