Acts 7:42

7:42 But God turned away from them and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘It was not to me that you offered slain animals and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, was it, house of Israel?

Acts 13:22

13:22 After removing him, God raised up David their king. He testified about him:I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my heart, who will accomplish everything I want him to do.’ 10 

Acts 22:30

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

22:30 The next day, because the commanding officer 11  wanted to know the true reason 12  Paul 13  was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council 14  to assemble. He then brought 15  Paul down and had him stand before them.

Acts 25:11

25:11 If then I am in the wrong 16  and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying, 17  but if not one of their charges against me is true, 18  no one can hand me over to them. 19  I appeal to Caesar!” 20 

Acts 28:17

Paul Addresses the Jewish Community in Rome

28:17 After three days 21  Paul 22  called the local Jewish leaders 23  together. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, 24  although I had done 25  nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, 26  from Jerusalem 27  I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans. 28 


sn The expression and gave them over suggests similarities to the judgment on the nations described by Paul in Rom 1:18-32.

tn Or “stars.”

tn The two terms for sacrifices “semantically reinforce one another and are here combined essentially for emphasis” (L&N 53.20).

tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ question, “was it?”

tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

sn The expression raised up refers here to making someone king. There is a wordplay here: “raising up” refers to bringing someone onto the scene of history, but it echoes with the parallel to Jesus’ resurrection.

tn Grk “about whom.” The relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the pronoun “him” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek. The verb εἶπεν (eipen) has not been translated (literally “he said testifying”) because it is redundant when combined with the participle μαρτυρήσας (marturhsa", “testifying”). Instead the construction of verb plus participle has been translated as a single English verb (“testified”).

sn A quotation from Ps 89:20.

sn A quotation from 1 Sam 13:14.

10 tn Or “who will perform all my will,” “who will carry out all my wishes.”

tn Grk “he”; the referent (the commanding officer) has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

10 tn Grk “the certainty, why.” BDAG 147 s.v. ἀσφαλής 2 has “τὸ ἀ. the certainty = the truth (in ref. to ferreting out the facts…ἵνα τὸ ἀ. ἐπιγνῶ) γνῶναι 21:34; 22:30.”

11 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

12 tn Grk “the whole Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

13 tn Grk “and bringing.” The participle καταγαγών (katagagwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to clarify the logical sequence.

13 tn BDAG 20 s.v. ἀδικέω 1.b has “intr. be in the wrong (Ex 2:13) εἰ ἀδικῶ Ac 25:11.”

14 tn BDAG 764 s.v. παραιτέομαι 2.b.β, “οὐ παραιτοῦμαι τὸ ἀποθανεῖν I am not trying to escape death Ac 25:11 (cp. Jos., Vi. 141).” To avoid redundancy in the translation, the English gerund “dying” is used to translate the Greek infinitive ἀποθανεῖν (apoqanein).

15 tn Or “but if there is nothing to their charges against me.” Both “if” clauses in this verse are first class conditions. Paul stated the options without prejudice, assuming in turn the reality of each for the sake of the argument.

16 sn That is, no one can hand me over to them lawfully. Paul was aware of the dangers of a return to Jerusalem.

17 tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

17 tn Grk “It happened that after three days.” 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.

18 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

19 tn L&N 33.309 has “‘after three days, he called the local Jewish leaders together’ Ac 28:17.”

20 tn Grk “Men brothers,” but this is both awkward and unnecessary in English.

21 tn The participle ποιήσας (poihsas) has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

22 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

23 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

24 tn Grk “into the hands of the Romans,” but this is redundant when παρεδόθην (paredoqhn) has been translated “handed over.”