2:18 Even on my servants, 1 both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 2
1 tn Grk “slaves.” Although this translation frequently renders δοῦλος (doulos) as “slave,” the connotation is often of one who has sold himself into slavery; in a spiritual sense, the idea is that of becoming a slave of God or of Jesus Christ voluntarily. The voluntary notion is not conspicuous here; hence, the translation “servants.” In any case, the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
2 sn The words and they will prophesy in Acts 2:18 are not quoted from Joel 2:29 at this point but are repeated from earlier in the quotation (Acts 2:17) for emphasis. Tongues speaking is described as prophecy, just like intelligible tongues are described in 1 Cor 14:26-33.
3 tn Grk “Whom God raised up.”
4 tn Or “having freed.”
5 sn The term translated pains is frequently used to describe pains associated with giving birth (see Rev 12:2). So there is irony here in the mixed metaphor.
6 tn Or “for him to be held by it” (in either case, “it” refers to death’s power).
5 tn Or “Lord, take notice of.”
6 sn Grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage. The request is not for a stop to persecution or revenge on the opponents, but for boldness (great courage) to carry out the mission of proclaiming the message of what God is doing through Jesus.
7 tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18.
8 tn Grk “word.”
9 tn Or “with all boldness.”
7 tn Or “poor.”
8 tn Grk “houses, selling them were bringing.” The participle πωλοῦντες (pwlounte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
9 tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
9 tn This is a continuation of the preceding sentence in Greek, but because this would produce an awkward sentence in English, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.
11 tn Or “ability”; Grk “authority.”
13 tn Or “appeared.”
14 sn Azotus was a city on the coast of southern Palestine, known as Ashdod in OT times.
15 tn The words “the area” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
16 tn Or “he preached the gospel.”
17 tn Or “cities.”
18 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.
15 tn The words “against him” are implied, as suggested by L&N 30.71.
16 tn Or “guarding.” This is a negative term in Luke-Acts (Luke 6:7; 14:1; 20:20).
17 tn The word πύλη (pulh) may refer to a house door or gate, or to the large gates used in a palace, temple, or city wall. Here the context clearly indicates a reference to the latter, so the translation “city gates” is used.
17 tn Grk “Giving her his hand, he helped her.” The participle δούς (dous) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
18 tn Grk “Then calling the saints…he presented her.” The participle φωνήσας (fwnhsa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style; it could also be taken temporally (“After he called”).
19 tn The participle ἀγαθουργῶν (agaqourgwn) is regarded as indicating means here, parallel to the following participles διδούς (didou") and ἐμπιπλῶν (empiplwn). This is the easiest way to understand the Greek structure. Semantically, the first participle is a general statement, followed by two participles giving specific examples of doing good.
20 tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
21 tn Grk “satisfying [filling] your hearts with food and joy.” This is an idiomatic expression; it strikes the English reader as strange to speak of “filling one’s heart with food.” Thus the additional direct object “you” has been supplied, separating the two expressions somewhat: “satisfying you with food and your hearts with joy.”
22 sn God’s general sovereignty and gracious care in the creation are the way Paul introduces the theme of the goodness of God. He was trying to establish monotheism here. It is an OT theme (Gen 8:22; Ps 4:7; 145:15-16; 147:8-9; Isa 25:6; Jer 5:24) which also appears in the NT (Luke 12:22-34).
21 tn Grk “to Antioch, strengthening.” Due to the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here. This participle (ἐπιστηρίζοντες, episthrizonte") and the following one (παρακαλοῦντες, parakalounte") have been translated as finite verbs connected by the coordinating conjunction “and.”
22 sn And encouraged them to continue. The exhortations are like those noted in Acts 11:23; 13:43. An example of such a speech is found in Acts 20:18-35. Christianity is now characterized as “the faith.”
23 sn This reference to the kingdom of God clearly refers to its future arrival.
24 tn Or “sufferings.”
23 tn Here BDAG 990-91 s.v. ταράσσω 2 states, “Of mental confusion caused by false teachings ταρ. τινά Ac 15:24 (w. λόγοις foll.).”
24 tn BDAG 71 s.v. ἀνασκευάζω describes this verb with a figurative meaning: “to cause inward distress, upset, unsettle.”
25 tn Grk “souls.”
26 tn Grk “by words”; L&N 25.231 translates the phrase “they troubled and upset you by what they said.”
25 tn Or “cities.”
26 tn BDAG 762-63 s.v. παραδίδωμι 3 has “they handed down to them the decisions to observe Ac 16:4.”
27 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
28 tn Grk “for them”; the referent (Gentile believers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 tn Or “observe” or “follow.”
27 sn The one man refers to Adam (the word “man” is understood).
28 tn Or “mankind.” BDAG 276 s.v. ἔθνος 1 has “every nation of humankind Ac 17:26.”
29 tn Grk “to live over all the face of the earth.”
30 tn BDAG 884-85 s.v. προστάσσω has “(οἱ) προστεταγμένοι καιροί (the) fixed times Ac 17:26” here, but since the following phrase is also translated “fixed limits,” this would seem redundant in English, so the word “set” has been used instead.
31 tn Grk “the boundaries of their habitation.” L&N 80.5 has “fixed limits of the places where they would live” for this phrase.
29 sn This marks the beginning of another “we” section in Acts. These have been traditionally understood to mean that Luke was in the company of Paul for this part of the journey.
30 map For location see JP1-C1; JP2-C1; JP3-C1; JP4-C1.
31 sn The days of Unleavened Bread refer to the week following Passover. Originally an agricultural festival commemorating the beginning of harvest, it was celebrated for seven days beginning on the fifteenth day of the month Nisan (March-April). It was later combined with Passover (Exod 12:1-20; Ezek 45:21-24; Matt 26:17; Luke 22:1).
32 tn BDAG 160 s.v. ἄχρι 1.a.α has “ἄ. ἡμερῶν πέντε within five days Ac 20:6.”
33 tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the others mentioned in v. 4) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
34 sn Troas was a port city (and surrounding region) on the northwest coast of Asia Minor. From Philippi to Troas was about 125 mi (200 km).
31 tn Grk “And I said.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai, in καγώ [kagw]) has not been translated here.
32 tn For the distributive sense of the expression κατὰ τὰς συναγωγάς (kata ta" sunagwga") BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.1.d has “of places viewed serially, distributive use w. acc.…κατ᾿ οἶκαν from house to house…Ac 2:46b; 5:42…Likew. the pl.…κ. τὰς συναγωγάς 22:19.” See also L&N 37.114.