Acts 6:13

6:13 They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place ¹  and the law. ² 

Acts 13:39

13:39 and by this one ³  everyone who believes is justified ⁴  from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify ⁵  you. ⁶ 

Acts 15:5

15:5 But some from the religious party of the Pharisees ⁷  who had believed stood up and said, “It is necessary ⁸  to circumcise the Gentiles ⁹  and to order them to observe ¹⁰  the law of Moses.”

Acts 18:15

18:15 but since it concerns points of disagreement ¹¹  about words and names and your own law, settle ¹²  it yourselves. I will not be ¹³  a judge of these things!”

Acts 25:8

25:8 Paul said in his defense, ¹⁴  “I have committed no offense ¹⁵  against the Jewish law ¹⁶  or against the temple or against Caesar.” ¹⁷ 

¹ sn This holy place is a reference to the temple.

² sn The law refers to the law of Moses. It elaborates the nature of the blasphemy in v. 11. To speak against God’s law in Torah was to blaspheme God (Deut 28:15-19). On the Jewish view of false witnesses, see Exod 19:16-18; 20:16; m. Sanhedrin 3.6; 5.1-5. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 may indicate why the temple was mentioned.

³ sn This one refers here to Jesus.

⁴ tn Or “is freed.” The translation of δικαιωθῆναι (dikaiwqhnai) and δικαιοῦται (dikaioutai) in Acts 13:38-39 is difficult. BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 3 categorizes δικαιωθῆναι in 13:38 (Greek text) under the meaning “make free/pure” but categorizes δικαιοῦται in Acts 13:39 as “be found in the right, be free of charges” (BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 2.b.β). In the interest of consistency both verbs are rendered as “justified” in this translation.

⁵ tn Or “could not free.”

⁶ tn Grk “from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation, with “by the law of Moses” becoming the subject of the final clause. The words “from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify you” are part of v. 38 in the Greek text, but due to English style and word order must be placed in v. 39 in the translation.

⁵ sn See the note on Pharisee in 5:34.

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the Gentiles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Or “keep.”

⁷ tn Or “dispute.”

⁸ tn Grk “see to it” (an idiom).

⁹ tn Or “I am not willing to be.” Gallio would not adjudicate their religious dispute.

⁹ tn Grk “Paul saying in his defense”; the participle ἀπολογουμένου (apologoumenou) could be taken temporally (“when Paul said…”), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle was translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun here in the translation. BDAG 116-17 s.v. ἀπολογέομαι has “W. ὅτι foll. τοῦ Παύλου ἀπολογουμένου, ὅτι when Paul said in his defense (direct quot. foll.) Ac 25:8.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “I have sinned…in nothing.”

¹¹ tn Grk “against the law of the Jews.” Here τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων has been translated as an attributive genitive.

¹² tn Or “against the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).