1:1 I wrote 15 the former 16 account, 17 Theophilus, 18 about all that Jesus began to do and teach
1 tn Or “disclosed.”
2 sn Nothing is hidden. Light also exposes, and Jesus was suggesting that his teaching likewise revealed where people are and where they will be. Truth will be manifest in the future, just as it was declared by him then. Nothing will be concealed.
3 tn Or “disclosed.”
4 tn Or “concealed.”
5 sn I.e., be revealed by God. The passive voice verbs here (“be revealed,” be made known”) see the revelation as coming from God. The text is both a warning about bad things being revealed and an encouragement that good things will be made known, though the stress with the images of darkness and what is hidden in vv. 2-3 is on the attempt to conceal.
6 tn Or “because.” Understanding this verse as a result of v. 2 is a slightly better reading of the context. Knowing what is coming should impact our behavior now.
7 tn Grk “spoken in the ear,” an idiom. The contemporary expression is “whispered.”
8 sn The term translated private rooms refers to the inner room of a house, normally without any windows opening outside, the most private location possible (BDAG 988 s.v. ταμεῖον 2).
9 tn The expression “proclaimed from the housetops” is an idiom for proclaiming something publicly (L&N 7.51). Roofs of many first century Jewish houses in Judea and Galilee were flat and had access either from outside or from within the house. Something shouted from atop a house would be heard by everyone in the street below.
10 sn This repentance has its roots in declarations of the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew concept of a turning of direction.
11 tn Or “preached,” “announced.”
12 sn To all nations. The same Greek term (τὰ ἔθνη, ta eqnh) may be translated “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” The hope of God in Christ was for all the nations from the beginning.
13 sn Beginning from Jerusalem. See Acts 2, which is where it all starts.
14 tn Or “to the ends.”
15 tn Or “produced,” Grk “made.”
16 tn Or “first.” The translation “former” is preferred because “first” could imply to the modern English reader that the author means that his previous account was the first one to be written down. The Greek term πρῶτος (prwtos) does not necessarily mean “first” in an absolute sense, but can refer to the first in a set or series. That is what is intended here – the first account (known as the Gospel of Luke) as compared to the second one (known as Acts).
17 tn The Greek word λόγος (logos) is sometimes translated “book” (NRSV, NIV) or “treatise” (KJV). A formal, systematic treatment of a subject is implied, but the word “book” may be too specific and slightly misleading to the modern reader, so “account” has been used.
18 tn Grk “O Theophilus,” but the usage of the vocative in Acts with ὦ (w) is unemphatic, following more the classical idiom (see ExSyn 69).
19 tn Grk “walk.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is a common NT idiom for one’s lifestyle, behavior, or manner of conduct (L&N 41.11).