Acts 5:25

5:25 But someone came and reported to them, “Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the temple courts ¹  and teaching ²  the people!”

Acts 7:43

7:43 But you took along the tabernacle ³  of Moloch ⁴  and the star of the ⁵  god Rephan, ⁶  the images you made to worship, but I will deport ⁷  you beyond Babylon.’ ⁸ 

Acts 15:17

15:17 so that the rest of humanity ⁹  may seek the Lord,

namely, ¹⁰  all the Gentiles ¹¹  I have called to be my own,’ ¹²  says the Lord, ¹³  who makes these things

Acts 25:16

25:16 I answered them ¹⁴  that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone ¹⁵  before the accused had met his accusers face to face ¹⁶  and had been given ¹⁷  an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation. ¹⁸ 

Acts 28:15

28:15 The brothers from there, ¹⁹  when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius ²⁰  and Three Taverns ²¹  to meet us. When he saw them, ²²  Paul thanked God and took courage.

¹ tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

² sn Obeying God (see v. 29), the apostles were teaching again (4:18-20; 5:20). They did so despite the risk.

³ tn Or “tent.”

⁴ sn Moloch was a Canaanite deity who was believed to be the god of the sky and the sun.

⁵ tc ‡ Most mss, including several important ones (Ì⁷⁴ א A C E Ψ 33 1739 Ï h p vg sy^h mae bo Cyr), have ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here, in conformity with the LXX of Amos 5:26. But other significant and diverse witnesses lack the pronoun: The lack of ὑμῶν in B D 36 453 gig sy^p sa Ir^lat Or is difficult to explain if it is not the original wording here. NA²⁷ has the word in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

⁶ sn Rephan (῾Ραιφάν, RJaifan) was a pagan deity. The term was a name for Saturn. It was variously spelled in the mss (BDAG 903 s.v. has Rompha as an alternate spelling). The references cover a range of deities and a history of unfaithfulness.

⁷ tn Or “I will make you move.”

⁸ sn A quotation from Amos 5:25-27. This constituted a prediction of the exile.

⁵ tn Or “so that all other people.” The use of this term follows Amos 9:11 LXX.

⁶ tn Here καί (kai) introduces an explanatory clause that explains the preceding phrase “the rest of humanity.” The clause introduced by καί (kai) could also be punctuated in English as a parenthesis.

⁷ tn Or “all the nations” (in Greek the word for “nation” and “Gentile” is the same).

⁸ tn Grk “all the Gentiles on whom my name has been called.” Based on well-attested OT usage, the passive of ἐπικαλέω (epikalew) here indicates God’s ownership (“all the Gentiles who belong to me”) or calling (“all the Gentiles whom I have called to be my own”). See L&N 11.28.

⁹ sn A quotation from Amos 9:11-12 LXX. James demonstrated a high degree of cultural sensitivity when he cited a version of the text (the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament) that Gentiles would use.

⁷ tn Grk “to whom I answered.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced with a personal pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 16.

⁸ tn Grk “any man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos).

⁹ tn Or “has met his accusers in person.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “and receives.”

¹¹ tn Or “indictment” (a legal technical term). BDAG 273-74 s.v. ἔγκλημα 1 states, “legal t.t.…ἀπολογία περὶ τοῦ ἐ. defense against the accusation Ac 25:16.” L&N 56.6 defines ἔγκλημα (enklhma) as “(a technical, legal term) a formal indictment or accusation brought against someone – ‘indictment, accusation, case.’ …‘and might receive an opportunity for a defense against the indictment’ Ac 25:16.”

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ 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).

¹¹ sn Three Taverns was a stop on the Appian Way 33 mi (55 km) south of Rome.

¹² 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.