Acts 20:12

20:12 They took the boy home alive and were greatly ¹  comforted.

Acts 3:26

3:26 God raised up ²  his servant and sent him first to you, to bless you by turning ³  each one of you from your iniquities.” ⁴ 

Acts 4:25

4:25 who said by the Holy Spirit through ⁵  your servant David our forefather, ⁶ 

‘Why do the nations ⁷  rage, ⁸ 

and the peoples plot foolish ⁹  things?

Acts 4:30

4:30 while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs ¹⁰  and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

Acts 3:13

3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ¹¹  the God of our forefathers, ¹²  has glorified ¹³  his servant ¹⁴  Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected ¹⁵  in the presence of Pilate after he had decided ¹⁶  to release him.

Acts 4:27

4:27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against ¹⁷  your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, ¹⁸ 

¹ tn Grk “were not to a moderate degree” (an idiom). L&N 78.11 states: “μετρίως: a moderate degree of some activity or state – ‘moderately, to a moderate extent.’ ἤγαγον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ζῶντα, καὶ παρεκλήθησαν οὐ μετρίωθς ‘they took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted’ Ac 20:12. In Ac 20:12 the phrase οὐ μετρίως, literally ‘not to a moderate degree,’ is equivalent to a strong positive statement, namely, ‘greatly’ or ‘to a great extent.’”

² tn Grk “God raising up his servant, sent him.” The participle ἀναστήσας (anasthsa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Some translations (e.g., NIV, NRSV) render this participle as temporal (“when God raised up his servant”).

³ sn The picture of turning is again seen as the appropriate response to the message. See v. 19 above. In v. 19 it was “turning to,” here it is “turning away from.” The direction of the two metaphors is important.

⁴ tn For the translation of plural πονηρία (ponhria) as “iniquities,” see G. Harder, TDNT 6:565. The plural is important, since for Luke turning to Jesus means turning away from sins, not just the sin of rejecting Jesus.

³ tn Grk “by the mouth of” (an idiom).

⁴ tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”

⁵ tn Or “Gentiles.”

⁶ sn The Greek word translated rage includes not only anger but opposition, both verbal and nonverbal. See L&N 88.185.

⁷ tn Or “futile”; traditionally, “vain.”

⁴ tn The miraculous nature of these signs is implied in the context.

⁵ tc ‡ The repetition of ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) before the names of Isaac and Jacob is found in Ì⁷⁴ א C (A D without article) 36 104 1175 pc lat. The omission of the second and third ὁ θεός is supported by B E Ψ 33 1739 Ï pc. The other time that Exod 3:6 is quoted in Acts (7:32) the best witnesses also lack the repeated ὁ θεός, but the three other times this OT passage is quoted in the NT the full form, with the thrice-mentioned θεός, is used (Matt 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Scribes would be prone to conform the wording here to the LXX; the longer reading is thus most likely not authentic. NA²⁷ has the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

⁶ tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

⁷ sn Has glorified. Jesus is alive, raised and active, as the healing illustrates so dramatically how God honors him.

⁸ sn His servant. The term servant has messianic connotations given the context of the promise, the note of suffering, and the titles and functions noted in vv. 14-15.

⁹ tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”

¹⁰ tn This genitive absolute construction could be understood as temporal (“when he had decided”) or concessive (“although he had decided”).

⁶ sn The application of Ps 2:1-2 is that Jews and Gentiles are opposing Jesus. The surprise of the application is that Jews are now found among the enemies of God’s plan.

⁷ sn A wordplay on “Christ,” v. 26, which means “one who has been anointed.”