15:1 But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not just please ourselves. 11
1 tn Grk “It happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
2 tn Grk “When our days were over.” L&N 67.71 has “ὅτε δὲ ἐγένετο ἡμᾶς ἐξαρτίσαι τὰς ἡμέρας ‘when we brought that time to an end’ or ‘when our time with them was over’ Ac 21:5.”
3 tn Grk “accompanying.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation and the participle προπεμπόντων (propempontwn) translated as a finite verb.
4 tn Grk “city, and after.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
5 sn On praying in Acts, see 1:14, 24; 2:47; 4:23; 6:6; 10:2; 12:5, 12; 13:3; 16:25.
6 sn Mention of Christian brothers from there (Rome) shows that God’s message had already spread as far as Italy and the capital of the empire.
7 sn The Forum of Appius was a small traveler’s stop on the Appian Way about 43 mi (71 km) south of Rome (BDAG 125 s.v. ᾿Αππίου φόρον). It was described by Horace as “crammed with boatmen and stingy tavernkeepers” (Satires 1.5.3).
8 sn Three Taverns was a stop on the Appian Way 33 mi (55 km) south of Rome.
9 tn Grk “whom, when he saw [them], Paul.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the personal pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun here in the translation.
10 tn Grk “and to be helped by you.” The passive construction was changed to an active one in the translation.
11 tn Grk “and not please ourselves.” NT Greek negatives used in contrast like this are often not absolute, but relative: “not so much one as the other.”
12 tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.
14 tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.
15 tn Grk “Eagerly help.”
16 tn Although it is possible the term νομικός (nomikos) indicates an expert in Jewish religious law here, according to L&N 33.338 and 56.37 it is more probable that Zenas was a specialist in civil law.
17 tn Grk “that nothing may be lacking for them.”
18 tn Grk “if anyone is blameless…” as a continuation of v. 5b, beginning to describe the elder’s character.
19 tn Or “married only once,” “devoted solely to his wife.” See the note on “wife” in 1 Tim 3:2; also 1 Tim 3:12; 5:9.
20 tn Or “believing children.” The phrase could be translated “believing children,” but the parallel with 1 Tim 3:4 (“keeping his children in control”) argues for the sense given in the translation.
21 sn The overseer is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in this passage and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between these verses and 1 Tim 3:1-7.
22 tn Grk “as God’s steward.”