5:17 Now the high priest rose up, and all those with him (that is, the religious party of the Sadducees 1 ), 2 and they were filled with jealousy. 3
26:1 So Agrippa 13 said to Paul, “You have permission 14 to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand 15 and began his defense: 16
1:19 For God 17 was pleased to have all his 18 fullness dwell 19 in the Son 20
1 sn See the note on Sadducees in 4:1.
2 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
3 sn Filled with jealousy. In Acts, the term “jealousy” (ζήλος, zhlos) occurs only here and in Acts 13:45. It is a key term in Judaism for religiously motivated rage (1 Macc 2:24; 1QH 14:13-15; m. Sanhedrin 9:5). It was a zeal motivated by a desire to maintain the purity of the faith.
4 sn See the note on Pharisee in 5:34.
5 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.
6 tn Grk “them”; the referent (the Gentiles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Or “keep.”
8 tn These words are repeated from v. 4 (“all the Jews know”). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, it was necessary to begin a new sentence at the beginning of v. 5 in the translation, but for this to make sense, the main verb ἵσασι ({isasi) has to be repeated to connect with the ὅτι (Joti) clause (indirect discourse) in v. 5.
9 tn Grk “having known me from time past.” The participle προγινώσκοντες (proginwskonte") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
10 tn BDAG 866 s.v. προγινώσκω 2 has “Know from time past…προγινώσκοντές με ἄνωθεν Ac 26:5.” L&N 28.6 states, “‘they have already known me beforehand, if they are willing to testify’ Ac 26:5.”
11 tn That is, strictest religious party. “Party” alone is used in the translation because “the strictest religious party of our religion” would be redundant.
12 sn See the note on Pharisee in 5:34.
13 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
14 tn Grk “It is permitted for you.”
15 tn Or “extended his hand” (a speaker’s gesture).
16 tn Or “and began to speak in his own defense.”
17 tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen).
18 tn The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.
19 tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikhsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.
20 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.