16:1 He also came to Derbe 18 and to Lystra. 19 A disciple 20 named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, 21 but whose father was a Greek. 22
19:1 While 23 Apollos was in Corinth, 24 Paul went through the inland 25 regions 26 and came to Ephesus. 27 He 28 found some disciples there 29
20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging 30 them and saying farewell, 31 he left to go to Macedonia. 32
1 sn The twelve refers to the twelve apostles.
2 tn Grk “calling the whole group…together, said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενοι (proskalesamenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
3 tn Or “the multitude.”
4 tn Grk “to serve tables.”
5 tn So BDAG 410 s.v. εὐπορέω.
6 tn Or “determined,” “resolved.”
7 tn Grk “to send [something] for a ministry,” but today it is common to speak of sending relief for victims of natural disasters.
9 tn Grk “and entered”; the word “back” is not in the Greek text but is implied.
10 tn Grk “And on.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
11 sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra. This was the easternmost point of the journey.
13 tn Grk “to Antioch, strengthening.” Due to the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here. This participle (ἐπιστηρίζοντες, episthrizonte") and the following one (παρακαλοῦντες, parakalounte") have been translated as finite verbs connected by the coordinating conjunction “and.”
14 sn And encouraged them to continue. The exhortations are like those noted in Acts 11:23; 13:43. An example of such a speech is found in Acts 20:18-35. Christianity is now characterized as “the faith.”
15 sn This reference to the kingdom of God clearly refers to its future arrival.
16 tn Or “sufferings.”
17 tn According to BDAG 793 s.v. πειράζω 2.c, “In Ac 15:10 the πειράζειν τὸν θεόν consists in the fact that after God’s will has been clearly made known through granting of the Spirit to the Gentiles (v. 8), some doubt and make trial to see whether God’s will really becomes operative.” All testing of God in Luke is negative: Luke 4:2; 11:16.
18 sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restriction that some in the early church wanted to place on Gentile converts to Christianity of observing the law of Moses and having males circumcised. The yoke is a decidedly negative image: Matt 23:4, but cf. Matt 11:29-30.
19 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
21 sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra. It was about 90 mi (145 km) from Tarsus.
22 sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 25 mi (40 km) south of Iconium.
23 tn Grk “And behold, a disciple.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.
24 tn L&N 31.103 translates this phrase “the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer.”
25 sn His father was a Greek. Timothy was the offspring of a mixed marriage between a Jewish woman (see 2 Tim 1:5) and a Gentile man. On mixed marriages in Judaism, see Neh 13:23-27; Ezra 9:1-10:44; Mal 2:10-16; Jub. 30:7-17; m. Qiddushin 3.12; m. Yevamot 7.5.
25 tn Grk “It happened that while.” 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.
26 map For location see JP1-C2; JP2-C2; JP3-C2; JP4-C2.
27 tn Or “interior.”
28 tn BDAG 92 s.v. ἀνωτερικός has “upper τὰ ἀ. μέρη the upper (i.e. inland) country, the interior Ac 19:1.”
29 map For location see JP1-D2; JP2-D2; JP3-D2; JP4-D2.
30 tn Grk “and found.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the sequencing with the following verse the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
31 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.
29 tn Or “exhorting.”
30 tn Or “and taking leave of them.”
31 sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
33 tn BDAG 78 s.v. ἀνευρίσκω has “look/search for (w. finding presupposed) τινά…τοὺς μαθητάς Ac 21:4.” The English verb “locate,” when used in reference to persons, has the implication of both looking for and finding someone. The participle ἀνευρόντες (aneuronte") has been taken temporally.
34 tn BDAG 154 s.v. αὐτοῦ states, “deictic adv. designating a position relatively near or far…there…Ac 21:4.”
35 tn The imperfect verb ἔλεγον (elegon) has been taken iteratively.
36 sn Although they told this to Paul through the Spirit, it appears Paul had a choice here (see v. 14). Therefore this amounted to a warning: There was risk in going to Jerusalem, so he was urged not to go.
37 tn BDAG 367 s.v. ἐπιβαίνω places Ac 21:4 under 1, “go up/upon, mount, board…πλοίῳ…Ac 27:2…Abs. go on board, embark…21:1 D, 2. – So perh. also ἐ. εἰς ᾿Ιεροσόλυμα embark for Jerusalem (i.e. to the seaport of Caesarea) vs. 4.” BDAG notes, however, “But this pass. may also belong to 2. to move to an area and be there, set foot in.” Because the message from the disciples to Paul through the Holy Spirit has the character of a warning, the latter meaning has been adopted for this translation.
38 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.