26:1 So Agrippa 4 said to Paul, “You have permission 5 to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand 6 and began his defense: 7
21:10 While we remained there for a number of days, 14 a prophet named Agabus 15 came down from Judea.
94:20 Cruel rulers 16 are not your allies,
those who make oppressive laws. 17
94:21 They conspire against 18 the blameless, 19
and condemn to death the innocent. 20
10:1 Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead, 21
those who are always instituting unfair regulations, 22
7:45 Then the officers 32 returned 33 to the chief priests and Pharisees, 34 who said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him back with you?” 35 7:46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 7:47 Then the Pharisees answered, 36 “You haven’t been deceived too, have you? 37 7:48 None of the rulers 38 or the Pharisees have believed in him, have they? 39
1 tn Grk “by receiving authority.” The participle λαβών (labwn) has been taken instrumentally.
2 tn Grk “cast down a pebble against them.” L&N 30.103 states, “(an idiom, Grk ‘to bring a pebble against someone,’ a reference to a white or black pebble used in voting for or against someone) to make known one’s choice against someone – ‘to vote against.’ …‘when they were sentenced to death, I also voted against them’ Ac 26:10.”
3 tn Grk “when they were being executed”; but the context supports the sentencing rather than the execution itself (cf. L&N 30.103).
4 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
5 tn Grk “It is permitted for you.”
6 tn Or “extended his hand” (a speaker’s gesture).
7 tn Or “and began to speak in his own defense.”
8 tn Grk “On the next day leaving, we came.” The participle ἐξελθόντες (exelqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
9 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. This was another 40 mi (65 km).
10 tn Grk “and entering…we stayed.” The participle εἰσελθόντες (eiselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
11 sn Philip was one of the seven deacons appointed in the Jerusalem church (Acts 6:1-7).
12 tn Grk “virgin.” While the term παρθένος (parqeno") can refer to a woman who has never had sexual relations, the emphasis in this context seems to be on the fact that Philip’s daughters were not married (L&N 9.39).
13 sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Luke again noted women who were gifted in the early church (see Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.31; 3.39).
14 tn BDAG 848 s.v. πολύς 1.b.α has “ἐπὶ ἡμέρας πλείους for a (large) number of days, for many days…Ac 13:31. – 21:10…24:17; 25:14; 27:20.”
15 sn Agabus also appeared in Acts 11:28. He was from Jerusalem, so the two churches were still in contact with one another.
16 tn Heb “a throne of destruction.” “Throne” stands here by metonymy for rulers who occupy thrones.
17 tn Heb “Is a throne of destruction united to you, one that forms trouble upon a statute?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “Of course not!” The translation, while not preserving the interrogative form of the statement, reflects its rhetorical force.
18 tn Or “attack.”
19 tn Heb “the life of the blameless.”
20 tn Heb “and the blood of the innocent they declare guilty.”
21 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who decree evil decrees.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
22 tn Heb “[to] the writers who write out harm.” The participle and verb are in the Piel, suggesting repetitive action.
23 tn The translation again represents an attempt to break up a long complex Hebrew sentence into equivalent English ones that conform more to contemporary English style: Heb “And as soon as Jeremiah finished saying all that…the priests…grabbed him and said…” The word “some” has been supplied in the translation, because obviously it was not all the priests, the prophets, and all the people, but only some of them. There is, of course, rhetorical intent here to show that all were implicated, although all may not have actually participated. (This is a common figure called synecdoche where all is put for a part – all for all kinds or representatives of all kinds. See E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 614-19, and compare usage in Acts 10:12; Matt 3:5.)
24 tn Or “You must certainly die!” The construction here is again emphatic with the infinitive preceding the finite verb (cf. Joüon 2:423 §123.h, and compare usage in Exod 21:28).
25 tn Heb “in place of Jehoiada the priest.” The word “the priest” is unnecessary to the English sentence.
26 tc Heb “The
27 sn The Hebrew term translated lunatic applies to anyone who exhibits irrational behavior. It was used for example of David who drooled and scratched on the city gate to convince Achish not to arrest him as a politically dangerous threat (1 Sam 21:14). It was often used contemptuously of the prophets by those who wanted to play down the significance of their words (2 Kgs 9:11; Hos 9:7 and here).
28 tn The verb here is a good example of what IBHS 431 §26.2f calls the estimative-declarative reflexive where a person presents himself in a certain light. For examples of this usage see 2 Sam 13:5; Prov 13:7.
29 tn See the translator’s note on 20:2 for this word which only occurs here and in 20:2-3.
30 tn This word only occurs here in the Hebrew Bible. All the lexicons are agreed as seeing it referring to a collar placed around the neck. The basis for this definition are the cognate languages (see, e.g., HALOT 958-59 s.v. צִינֹק for the most complete discussion).
31 tn Heb “So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah…?” The rhetorical question functions as an emphatic assertion made explicit in the translation.
32 tn Or “servants.” The “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. As “servants” or “officers” of the Sanhedrin, their representatives should be distinguished from the Levites serving as temple police (perhaps John 7:30 and 44; also John 8:20; 10:39; 19:6; Acts 4:3). Even when performing ‘police’ duties such as here, their “officers” are doing so only as part of their general tasks (See K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:540).
33 tn Grk “came.”
34 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
35 tn Grk “Why did you not bring him?” The words “back with you” are implied.
36 tn Grk “answered them.”
37 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “have you?”).
38 sn The chief priests and Pharisees (John 7:45) is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. Likewise the term ruler here denotes a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in John 3:1, and Nicodemus also speaks up in this episode (John 7:50).
39 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “have they?”).
40 tn The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.
41 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42 tn Or “could seize.”
43 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.