4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness 7 to be tempted by the devil.
1 tn Grk “coming, the disciples said.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselqontes) has been translated as a finite verb to make the sequence of events clear in English.
2 tn Grk “For truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
3 tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”
4 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
5 sn In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor 5:1-10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).
6 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
7 tn Or “desert.”
8 tn Grk “And I.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, καί (kai) has not been translated here; instead a new sentence was started in the translation.
9 sn Note the repetition of the verb from v. 38, an indication of the father’s desperation.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
11 tn The words “do so” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity and stylistic reasons.
12 tn Grk “in his name”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 sn Here is another example of appeal to the person by mentioning the name. See the note on the word name in 3:6.
14 tn Grk “see and know, and the faith.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation and καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated.
15 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Or “in full view.”
17 tn Grk “answered and said to them.” The expression, redundant in English, has been simplified to “replied.”
18 tn Grk “Jesus I know about.” Here ᾿Ιησοῦν (Ihsoun) is in emphatic position in Greek, but placing the object first is not normal in contemporary English style.
19 tn BDAG 380 s.v. ἐπίσταμαι 2 has “know, be acquainted with τινά…τὸν Παῦλον Ac 19:15.” Here the translation “be acquainted with” was used to differentiate from the previous phrase which has γινώσκω (ginwskw).
20 sn But who are you? This account shows how the power of Paul was so distinct that parallel claims to access that power were denied. In fact, such manipulation, by those who did not know Jesus, was judged (v. 16). The indirect way in which the exorcists made the appeal shows their distance from Jesus.
21 tn Grk “in whom the evil spirit was.”
22 tn Grk “the man in whom the evil spirit was, jumping on them.” The participle ἐφαλόμενος (efalomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. L&N 15.239 has “ἐφαλόμενος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς ‘the man jumped on them’ Ac 19:16.”
23 tn Grk “and beating them all into submission.” The participle κατακυριεύσας (katakurieusa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. According to W. Foerster, TDNT 3:1098, the word means “the exercise of dominion against someone, i.e., to one’s own advantage.” These exorcists were shown to be powerless in comparison to Jesus who was working through Paul.
24 tn BDAG 484 s.v. ἰσχύω 3 has “win out, prevail…κατά τινος over, against someone Ac 19:16.”