Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire. 2
66:16 Come! Listen, all you who are loyal to God! 3
I will declare what he has done for me.
26:12 “While doing this very thing, 67 as I was going 68 to Damascus with authority and complete power 69 from the chief priests, 26:13 about noon along the road, Your Majesty, 70 I saw a light from heaven, 71 brighter than the sun, shining everywhere around 72 me and those traveling with me. 26:14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 73 ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself 74 by kicking against the goads.’ 75 26:15 So I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord replied, 76 ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 26:16 But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason, to designate you in advance 77 as a servant and witness 78 to the things 79 you have seen 80 and to the things in which I will appear to you.
1 tn Aram “answered and said.”
2 tn Aram “from the midst of the fire.” For stylistic reasons the words “the midst of” have been left untranslated.
3 tn Heb “all of the fearers of God.”
4 tn Grk “a Jewish man.”
5 tn BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατρέφω b has “of mental and spiritual nurture bring up, rear, train…ἀνατεθραμμένος ἐν τ. πόλει ταύτῃ 22:3.”
6 tn Or “with precision.” Although often translated “strictly” this can be misunderstood for “solely” in English. BDAG 39 s.v. ἀκρίβεια gives the meaning as “exactness, precision.” To avoid the potential misunderstanding the translation “with strictness” is used, although it is slightly more awkward than “strictly.”
7 tn Grk “strictly at the feet of” (an idiom).
8 tn Or “brought up in this city under Gamaliel, educated with strictness…” The phrase παρὰ τοὺς πόδας Γαμαλιὴλ (para tou" poda" Gamalihl) could be understood with what precedes or with what follows. The punctuation of NA27 and UBS4, which place a comma after ταύτῃ (tauth), has been followed in the translation.
9 tn Or “our forefathers.”
10 tn Grk “ancestors, being.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
11 tn BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.α has “of pers. …ζ. τοῦ θεοῦ one who is loyal to God Ac 22:3.”
12 tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the first person pronoun (“I”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.
13 sn That is, persecuted the Christian movement (Christianity). The Way is also used as a description of the Christian faith in Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22).
14 tn BDAG 442-43 s.v. θάνατος 1.a has “διώκειν ἄχρι θανάτου persecute even to death Ac 22:4.”
15 tn Grk “binding.” See Acts 8:3.
16 tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “W. local εἰς…εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3; cp. 22:4.”
17 tn That is, the whole Sanhedrin. BDAG 861 s.v. πρεσβυτέριον has “an administrative group concerned with the interests of a specific community, council of elders – a. of the highest Judean council in Jerusalem, in our lit. usu. called συνέδριον…ὁ ἀρχιερεύς καὶ πᾶν τὸ πρ. Ac 22:5.”
18 tn Grk “from whom.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.
19 tn Grk “receiving.” The participle δεξάμενος (dexameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
20 tn Grk “letters to the brothers, [and] I was going to Damascus.” Such a translation, however, might be confusing since the term “brother” is frequently used of a fellow Christian. In this context, Paul is speaking about fellow Jews.
21 tn Grk “even there and bring…” or “there and even bring…” The ascensive καί (kai) shows that Paul was fervent in his zeal against Christians, but it is difficult to translate for it really belongs with the entire idea of arresting and bringing back the prisoners.
22 tn BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b has “δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά bring someone as prisoner…Ac 9:2, 21; 22:5.”
23 tn Grk “I was going…to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners that they might be punished.”
24 tn Grk “It happened that as.” 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.
25 tn Grk “going and nearing Damascus.”
26 tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 3.b has “φῶς a very bright light Ac 22:6.”
27 tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
28 tn Or “shone.”
29 tn This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek using the connective τέ (te), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence a new sentence was begun in the translation here. To indicate the logical sequence for the modern English reader, τέ was translated as “then.”
30 tn Grk “did not hear” (but see Acts 9:7). BDAG 38 s.v. ἀκούω 7 has “W. acc. τὸν νόμον understand the law Gal 4:21; perh. Ac 22:9; 26:14…belong here.” If the word has this sense here, then a metonymy is present, since the lack of effect is put for a failure to appreciate what was heard.
31 tn Grk “So I said.”
32 tn Grk “Getting up.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") is an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance and has been translated as a finite verb.
33 tn Grk “about all things.”
34 tn Or “assigned,” “ordered.” BDAG 991 s.v. τάσσω 2.a has “act. and pass., foll. by acc. w. inf.…περὶ πάντων ὧν τέτακταί σοι ποιῆσαι concerning everything that you have been ordered to do 22:10.” There is an allusion to a divine call and commission here.
35 tn BDAG 106 s.v. ἀπό 5.a has “οὐκ ἐνέβλεπον ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τοῦ φωτός I could not see because of the brilliance of the light Ac 22:11.”
36 tn Or “brightness”; Grk “glory.”
37 tn Grk “by” (ὑπό, Jupo), but this would be too awkward in English following the previous “by.”
38 tn Grk “a certain Ananias.”
39 sn The law refers to the law of Moses.
40 tn BDAG 534 s.v. κατοικέω 1.a translates this present participle “ὑπὸ πάντων τῶν (sc. ἐκεῖ) κατοικούντων ᾿Ιουδαίων by all the Jews who live there Ac 22:12.”
41 tn Grk “coming.” The participle ἐλθών (elqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
42 tn Grk “coming to me and standing beside [me] said to me.” The participle ἐπιστάς (epistas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
43 tn Grk “Brother Saul, look up” (here an idiom for regaining one’s sight). BDAG 59 s.v. ἀναβλέπω places this usage under 1, “look up Ac 22:13a. W. εἰς αὐτόν to show the direction of the glance…22:13b; but perh. this vs. belongs under 2a.” BDAG 59 s.v. 2.a.α states, “of blind persons, who were formerly able to see, regain sight.” The problem for the translator is deciding between the literal and the idiomatic usage and at the same time attempting to retain the wordplay in Acts 22:13: “[Ananias] said to me, ‘Look up!’ and at that very moment I looked up to him.” The assumption of the command is that the effort to look up will be worth it (through the regaining of sight).
44 tn Grk “hour,” but ὥρα (Jwra) is often used for indefinite short periods of time (so BDAG 1102-3 s.v. ὥρα 2.c: “αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ at that very time, at once, instantly…Lk 2:38, 24:33; Ac 16:18; 22:13”). A comparison with the account in Acts 9:18 indicates that this is clearly the meaning here.
45 tn Grk “I looked up to him.”
46 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
47 tn L&N 30.89 has “‘to choose in advance, to select beforehand, to designate in advance’…‘the God of our ancestors has already chosen you to know his will’ Ac 22:14.”
48 tn Grk “and to see.” This 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.
49 sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ (Acts 3:14).
50 tn Or “a solemn declaration”; Grk “a voice.” BDAG 1071-72 s.v. φωνή 2.c states, “that which the voice gives expression to: call, cry, outcry, loud or solemn declaration (… = order, command)…Cp. 22:14; 24:21.”
51 tn Or “a witness to him.”
52 tn Grk “all men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo").
53 tn L&N 67.121 has “to extend time unduly, with the implication of lack of decision – ‘to wait, to delay.’ νῦν τί μέλλεις… ἀναστὰς βάπτισαι ‘what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized’ Ac 22:16.”
54 tn Grk “getting up.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") is an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance and has been translated as a finite verb.
55 sn The expression have your sins washed away means “have your sins purified” (the washing is figurative).
56 sn The expression calling on his name describes the confession of the believer: Acts 2:17-38, esp. v. 38; Rom 10:12-13; 1 Cor 1:2.
57 tn BDAG 737 s.v. οὖν 3 states, “It has been proposed that some traces of older Gk. usage in which οὖν is emphatic, = certainly, really, to be sure etc. (s. L-S-J-M s.v. 1) remain in the pap…and in the NT…indeed, of course Ac 26:9.”
58 tn Grk “I thought to myself.” BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.a has “ἔδοξα ἐμαυτῷ δεῖν πρᾶξαι = Lat. mihi videbar I was convinced that it was necessary to do Ac 26:9.”
59 tn Grk “by receiving authority.” The participle λαβών (labwn) has been taken instrumentally.
60 tn Grk “cast down a pebble against them.” L&N 30.103 states, “(an idiom, Grk ‘to bring a pebble against someone,’ a reference to a white or black pebble used in voting for or against someone) to make known one’s choice against someone – ‘to vote against.’ …‘when they were sentenced to death, I also voted against them’ Ac 26:10.”
61 tn Grk “when they were being executed”; but the context supports the sentencing rather than the execution itself (cf. L&N 30.103).
62 tn Grk “and punishing…I tried.” The participle τιμωρῶν (timwrwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. 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.
63 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
64 tn The imperfect verb ἠνάγκαζον (hnankazon) has been translated as a conative imperfect (so BDAG 60 s.v. ἀναγκάζω 1, which has “ἠνάγκαζον βλασφημεῖν I tried to force them to blaspheme Ac 26:11”).
65 tn Or “was so insanely angry with them.” BDAG 322 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι states, “to be filled with such anger that one appears to be mad, be enraged…περισσῶς ἐμμαινόμενος αὐτοῖς being furiously enraged at them Ac 26:11”; L&N 88.182 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι, “to be so furiously angry with someone as to be almost out of one’s mind – ‘to be enraged, to be infuriated, to be insanely angry’ …‘I was so infuriated with them that I even went to foreign cities to persecute them’ Ac 26:11.”
66 tn Or “I pursued them even as far as foreign cities.”
67 tn Grk “in which [activity].” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 in the translation. The referent of the relative pronoun (“which”) was specified as “this very thing” for clarity.
68 tn Grk “going.” The participle πορευόμενος (poreuomenos) has been taken temporally.
69 tn L&N 37.40 s.v. ἐπιτροπή states, “the full authority to carry out an assignment or commission – ‘authority, complete power.’ πορευόμενος εἰς τὴν Δαμασκὸν μετ᾿ ἐξουσίας καὶ ἐπιτροπῆς τῶν ἀρχιερέων ‘going to Damascus with authority and complete power from the high priests’ Ac 26:12. In Ac 26:12 the combination of ἐξουσία and ἐπιτροπή serves to reinforce the sense of complete authority.”
70 tn Grk “O King.”
71 tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
72 tn The word “everywhere” has been supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning of περιλάμψαν (perilamyan). Otherwise the modern reader might think that each of the individuals were encircled by lights or halos. See also Acts 9:7; 22:6, 9.
73 tn Grk “in the Hebrew language.” See Acts 22:7 and 9:4.
74 tn Grk “It is hard for you.”
75 tn “Goads” are pointed sticks used to direct a draft animal (an idiom for stubborn resistance). See BDAG 539-40 s.v. κέντρον 2.
76 tn Grk “said.”
77 tn L&N 30.89 has “‘to choose in advance, to select beforehand, to designate in advance.’”
78 sn As a servant and witness. The commission is similar to Acts 1:8 and Luke 1:2. Paul was now an “eyewitness” of the Lord.
79 tn BDAG 719 s.v. ὁράω A.1.b states, “W. attraction of the relative ὧν = τούτων ἅ Lk 9:36; Ac 22:15. The attraction may be due to colloq. breviloquence in μάρτυρα ὧν τε εἶδες με ὧν τε ὀφθήσομαί σοι a witness to the things in which you saw me and to those in which I shall appear to you Ac 26:16b.”
80 tc ‡ Some