Now on that day a great 9 persecution began 10 against the church in Jerusalem, 11 and all 12 except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions 13 of Judea and Samaria.
1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn 21 from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. 22
1:1 From Paul, 23 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
1 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
2 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
3 tn Grk “let him be to you as.”
4 tn Or “a pagan.”
5 sn To treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector means not to associate with such a person. See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.
6 tn Or “the favor.”
7 tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.
8 tn The term ἀναίρεσις (anairesi") can refer to murder (BDAG 64 s.v.; 2 Macc 5:13; Josephus, Ant. 5.2.12 [5.165]).
9 tn Or “severe.”
10 tn Grk “Now there happened on that day a great persecution.” It is less awkward to say in English “Now on that day a great persecution began.”
11 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
12 sn All. Given that the Jerusalem church is still active after this and that the Hellenists are the focus of Acts 6-8, it is possible to argue that only the Hellenistic Christians were forced to scatter.
13 tn Or “countryside.”
14 tn Grk “that.” Verse 10 is a subordinate clause to the verb “enlighten” in v. 9.
15 tn Or “manifold wisdom,” “wisdom in its rich variety.”
16 tn The Greek article has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
17 tn The direct object “her” is implied, but not found in the Greek text. It has been supplied in the English translation to clarify the sense of the passage.
18 tn The use of the pronoun αὐτός (autos) is intensive and focuses attention on Christ as the one who has made the church glorious.
19 tn Grk “but in order that it may be holy and blameless.”
20 tn The term “actually” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in the English translation to bring out the heightened sense of the statement.
21 tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.
22 tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”
23 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
24 tn Grk “the members which are on the earth.” See BDAG 628 s.v. μέλος 1, “put to death whatever in you is worldly.”
25 tn Or “lust.”
26 tn Grk “in one body.” This phrase emphasizes the manner in which the believers were called, not the goal of their calling, and focuses upon their unity.