Acts 8:10

8:10 All the people, ¹  from the least to the greatest, paid close attention to him, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’” ² 

Acts 12:22

12:22 But the crowd ³  began to shout, ⁴  “The voice of a god, ⁵  and not of a man!”

Acts 28:6

28:6 But they were expecting that he was going to swell up ⁶  or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited ⁷  a long time and had seen ⁸  nothing unusual happen ⁹  to him, they changed their minds ¹⁰  and said he was a god. ¹¹ 

¹ tn Grk “all of them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Or “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” The translation “what is called the Great Power of God” is given by BDAG 263 s.v. δύναμις 5, but the repetition of the article before καλουμένη μεγάλη (kaloumenh megalh) suggests the translation “the power of God that is called ‘Great.’”

³ tn The translation “crowd” is given by BDAG 223 s.v. δῆμος; the word often means a gathering of citizens to conduct public business. Here it is simply the group of people gathered to hear the king’s speech.

⁴ tn The imperfect verb ἐπεφώνει (epefwnei) is taken ingressively in the sequence of events. Presumably the king had started his speech when the crowd began shouting.

⁵ sn The voice of a god. Contrast the response of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14:13-15.

⁶ tn Or “going to burn with fever.” According to BDAG 814 s.v. πίμπρημι, either meaning (“swell up” or “burn with fever”) is possible for Acts 28:6.

⁷ tn The participle προσδοκώντων (prosdokwntwn) has been taken temporally.

⁸ tn The participle θεωρούντων (qewrountwn) has been taken temporally.

⁹ tn Grk “happening.” The participle γινόμενον (ginomenon) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁰ tn Grk “changing their minds.” The participle μεταβαλόμενοι (metabalomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹¹ sn And said he was a god. The reaction is like Acts 14:11-19 where the crowd wanted to make Paul and Barnabas into gods. The providence of God had protected Paul again.