From the apostles 3 and elders, your brothers, 4 to the Gentile brothers and sisters 5 in Antioch, 6 Syria, 7 and Cilicia, greetings!
23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
1 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine, south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.
2 tn Grk “writing by their hand” (an idiom for sending a letter).
3 tn Grk “The apostles.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
4 tn Grk “brothers,” but “your” is supplied to specify the relationship, since without it “brothers” could be understood as vocative in English.
5 tn Grk “to the brothers who are from the Gentiles.”
6 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).
7 tn Grk “and Syria,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
3 tc ‡ The earliest
4 tn The imperfect verb has been translated conatively.
4 tn Grk “but Jesus, answering, said.” This construction with passive participle and finite verb is pleonastic (redundant) and has been simplified in the translation to “replied to him.”
5 tn Grk “Permit now.”
6 tn Grk “he”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Or “permitted him.”
5 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
6 tn Grk “behold the heavens.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
7 tn Or “sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ourano") may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The same word is used in v. 17.
8 tc ‡ αὐτῷ (autw, “to/before him”) is found in the majority of witnesses (א1 C Ds L W 0233 Ë1,13 33 Ï lat), perhaps added as a point of clarification or emphasis. NA27 includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
9 sn The phrase like a dove is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descended like one in some sort of bodily representation.