13:42 As Paul and Barnabas 3 were going out, 4 the people 5 were urging 6 them to speak about these things 7 on the next Sabbath.
‘Go to this people and say,
“You will keep on hearing, 40 but will never understand,
and you will keep on looking, 41 but will never perceive.
28:27 For the heart of this people has become dull, 42
and their ears are hard of hearing, 43
and they have closed their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, 44 and I would heal them.”’ 45
28:28 “Therefore be advised 46 that this salvation from God 47 has been sent to the Gentiles; 48 they 49 will listen!”
1 tn Or “full inclusion”; Grk “their fullness.”
2 tc Some important Alexandrian and Western
3 tn Grk “they”; the referents (Paul and Barnabas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Or “were leaving.” The participle ἐξιόντων (exiontwn) is taken temporally.
5 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Or “begging,” “inviting.”
7 tn Or “matters.”
8 tn Grk “Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out courageously and said.” The redundancy is removed in the translation and the verb “replied” is used in keeping with the logical sequence of events. The theme of boldness reappears: Acts 4:24-30; 9:27-28.
9 tn Grk “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken.” For smoothness and simplicity of English style, the passive construction has been converted to active voice in the translation.
10 tn Or “and consider yourselves unworthy.”
11 tn Grk “behold, we.” In this context ἰδού (idou) is not easily translated into English.
12 sn This turning to the Gentiles would be a shocking rebuke to 1st century Jews who thought they alone were the recipients of the promise.
13 tn Here οὕτως (Joutws) is taken to refer to what follows, the content of the quotation, as given for this verse by BDAG 742 s.v. οὕτω/οὕτως 2.
14 tn BDAG 1004 s.v. τίθημι 3.a has “τιθέναι τινὰ εἴς τι place/appoint someone to or for (to function as) someth….Ac 13:47.” This is a double accusative construction of object (“you”) and complement (“a light”).
15 sn Paul alludes here to the language of the Servant in Isaiah, pointing to Isa 42:6; 49:6. He and Barnabas do the work of the Servant in Isaiah.
16 tn Grk “that you should be for salvation,” but more simply “to bring salvation.”
17 sn An allusion to Isa 42:6 and 49:6. The expression the ends of the earth recalls Luke 3:6 and Acts 1:8. Paul sees himself and Barnabas as carrying out the commission of Luke 24:27. (See 2 Cor 6:2, where servant imagery also appears concerning Paul’s message.)
18 tn The imperfect verb ἔχαιρον (ecairon) and the following ἐδόξαζον (edoxazon) are translated as ingressive imperfects.
19 tn Or “glorify.” Although “honor” is given by BDAG 258 s.v. δοξάζω as a translation, it would be misleading here, because the meaning is “to honor in the sense of attributing worth to something,” while in contemporary English usage one speaks of “honoring” a contract in the sense of keeping its stipulations. It is not a synonym for “obey” in this context (“obey the word of the Lord”), but that is how many English readers would understand it.
20 sn Note the contrast to v. 46 in regard to eternal life.
21 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
22 tn The participle βλασφημούντων (blasfhmountwn) has been taken temporally. The direct object (“him”) is implied rather than expressed and could be impersonal (“it,” referring to what Paul was saying rather than Paul himself), but the verb occurs more often in contexts involving defamation or slander against personal beings (not always God). For a very similar context to this one, compare Acts 13:45. The translation “blaspheme” is not used because in contemporary English its meaning is more narrowly defined and normally refers to blasphemy against God (not what Paul’s opponents were doing here). What they were doing was more like slander or defamation of character.
23 tn Grk “shaking out his clothes, he said to them.” L&N 16:8 translates Acts 18:6 “when they opposed him and said evil things about him, he protested by shaking the dust from his clothes.” The addition of the verb “protested by” in the translation is necessary to clarify for the modern reader that this is a symbolic action. It is similar but not identical to the phrase in Acts 13:51, where the dust from the feet is shaken off. The participle ἐκτιναξάμενος (ektinaxameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
24 sn Your blood be on your own heads! By invoking this epithet Paul declared himself not responsible for their actions in rejecting Jesus whom Paul preached (cf. Ezek 33:4; 3:6-21; Matt 23:35; 27:25).
25 tn Or “innocent.” BDAG 489 s.v. καθαρός 3.a has “guiltless Ac 18:6.”
26 tn Or “Jesus”; Grk “him.” The referent (the Lord, cf. v. 19) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
27 tn Grk “And I said.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai, in καγώ [kagw]) has not been translated here.
28 tn For the distributive sense of the expression κατὰ τὰς συναγωγάς (kata ta" sunagwga") BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.1.d has “of places viewed serially, distributive use w. acc.…κατ᾿ οἶκαν from house to house…Ac 2:46b; 5:42…Likew. the pl.…κ. τὰς συναγωγάς 22:19.” See also L&N 37.114.
29 sn Now Paul referred to Stephen as your witness, and he himself had also become a witness. The reversal was now complete; the opponent had now become a proponent.
30 sn When the blood of your witness Stephen was shed means “when your witness Stephen was murdered.”
31 tn Grk “and approving.” 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.
32 tn Or “outer garments.”
33 tn Or “who were putting him to death.” For the translation of ἀναιρούντων (anairountwn) as “putting to death” see BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω 2.
34 tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to Paul’s reply in v. 19, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.
35 tn Or “persuaded.”
36 tn Grk “by the things spoken.”
37 sn Some were convinced…but others refused to believe. Once again the gospel caused division among Jews, as in earlier chapters of Acts (13:46; 18:6).
38 tn The imperfect verb ἀπελύοντο (apeluonto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
39 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
40 tn Grk “you will hear with hearing” (an idiom).
41 tn Or “seeing”; Grk “you will look by looking” (an idiom).
42 tn Or “insensitive.”
43 tn Grk “they hear heavily with their ears” (an idiom for slow comprehension).
44 sn Note how the failure to respond to the message of the gospel is seen as a failure to turn.
45 sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10.
46 tn Grk “Therefore let it be known to you.”
47 tn Or “of God.”
48 sn The term Gentiles is in emphatic position in the Greek text of this clause. Once again there is the pattern: Jewish rejection of the gospel leads to an emphasis on Gentile inclusion (Acts 13:44-47).
49 tn Grk “they also.”