15:1 Now some men came down from Judea 8 and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised 9 according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
1 tn BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α states, “Oft. the emphasis is unmistakably laid upon that which follows the Divine Judge’s verdict, upon the condemnation or punishment: condemn, punish …Ac 7:7 (Gen 15:14).”
2 tn The words “of there” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
3 tn Or “and serve,” but with religious/cultic overtones (BDAG 587 s.v. λατρεύω).
4 sn An allusion to Exod 3:12.
5 tn Or “ability”; Grk “authority.”
9 tn Grk “He”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Grk “How am I able, unless…” The translation is based on the force of the conjunction γάρ (gar) in this context. The translation “How in the world can I?” is given in BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 1.f.
13 sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.
14 tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.
17 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
18 sn The pronoun you is plural in Greek.