5:14 Haman’s 4 wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows seventy-five feet 5 high built, and in the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet contented.” 6
It seemed like a good idea to Haman, so he had the gallows built.
6:11 So Haman took the clothing and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai. He led him about on the horse throughout the plaza of the city, calling before him, “So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!”
6:12 Then Mordecai again sat at the king’s gate, while Haman hurried away to his home, mournful and with a veil over his head.
16:9 A person 7 plans his course, 8
but the Lord directs 9 his steps. 10
9:11 Again, 11 I observed this on the earth: 12
the race is not always 13 won by the swiftest,
the battle is not always won by the strongest;
prosperity 14 does not always belong to those who are the wisest,
wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning,
nor does success 15 always come to those with the most knowledge –
for time and chance may overcome 16 them all.
“He was led like a sheep to slaughter,
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did 37 not open his mouth.
8:33 In humiliation 38 justice was taken from him. 39
Who can describe his posterity? 40
For his life was taken away 41 from the earth.” 42
8:34 Then the eunuch said 43 to Philip, “Please tell me, 44 who is the prophet saying this about – himself or someone else?” 45 8:35 So Philip started speaking, 46 and beginning with this scripture 47 proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. 8:36 Now as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water! What is to stop me 48 from being baptized?” 8:37 [[EMPTY]] 49 8:38 So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, 50 and Philip baptized 51 him. 8:39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any more, but 52 went on his way rejoicing. 53 8:40 Philip, however, found himself 54 at Azotus, 55 and as he passed through the area, 56 he proclaimed the good news 57 to all the towns 58 until he came to Caesarea. 59
8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
1 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “and she went and entered [a field] and gleaned in the field behind the harvesters.” Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the reapers”; TEV “the workers.”
3 sn The text is written from Ruth’s limited perspective. As far as she was concerned, she randomly picked a spot in the field. But God was providentially at work and led her to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who, as a near relative of Elimelech, was a potential benefactor.
4 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “fifty cubits.” Assuming a standard length for the cubit of about 18 inches (45 cm), this would be about seventy-five feet (22.5 meters), which is a surprisingly tall height for the gallows. Perhaps the number assumes the gallows was built on a large supporting platform or a natural hill for visual effect, in which case the structure itself may have been considerably smaller. Cf. NCV “a seventy-five foot platform”; CEV “a tower built about seventy-five feet high.”
6 tn Or “joyful”; NRSV “in good spirits”; TEV “happy.”
7 tn Heb “the heart of a man.” This stresses that it is within the heart that plans are made. Only those plans that are approved by God will succeed.
8 tn Heb “his way” (so KJV, NASB).
9 tn The verb כּוּן (kun, “to establish; to confirm”) with צַעַד (tsa’ad, “step”) means “to direct” (e.g., Ps 119:133; Jer 10:23). This contrasts what people plan and what actually happens – God determines the latter.
10 sn “Steps” is an implied comparison, along with “way,” to indicate the events of the plan as they work out.
11 tn Heb “I returned and.” In the Hebrew idiom, “to return and do” means “to do again.”
12 tn Heb “under the sun.”
13 tn The term “always” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation (five times in this verse) for clarity.
14 tn Heb “bread.”
15 tn Heb “favor.”
16 tn Heb “happen to.”
17 sn The penny refers to an assarion, a small Roman copper coin. One of them was worth one-sixteenth of a denarius or less than a half hour’s average wage. Sparrows were the cheapest items sold in the market. God knows about even the most financially insignificant things; see Isa 49:15.
18 tn Or “to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your Father.”
19 tn Grk “And,” but καί (kai) carries something of a resultative force in this context because what follows describes Philip’s response to the angel’s command.
20 tn Grk “So getting up he went.” The aorist participle ἀναστάς (anastas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
21 tn Grk “And there.” 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.
22 tn Grk “and behold.” This expression is used to portray Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian in a vivid way. In the English translation this vividness is difficult to convey; it is necessary to supply the words “he met.”
23 sn The term eunuch normally referred to a man who had been castrated, but this was not always the case (see Gen 39:1 LXX, where Potiphar is called a eunuch). Such castrated individuals were preferred as court officials in the East, although Judaism opposed the practice. The Mosaic law excluded eunuchs from Israel (Deut 23:1), although God certainly accepted them (Isa 56:3-5; Wis 3:14). This individual was a high official, since he was said to be in charge of all her treasury. He may or may not have been a eunuch physically. He appears to be the first fully Gentile convert to Christianity, since the Samaritans mentioned previously (Acts 8:4-25) were regarded as half-breeds.
24 tn Or “the Candace” (the title of the queen of the Ethiopians). The term Κανδάκης (Kandakh") is much more likely a title rather than a proper name (like Pharaoh, which is a title); see L&N 37.77. A few, however, still take the word to be the name of the queen (L&N 93.209). BDAG 507 s.v. Κανδάκη, treats the term as a title and lists classical usage by Strabo (Geography 17.1.54) and others.
25 tn Grk “who was over all her treasury, who.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the pronoun “he” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.
26 sn Since this man had come to Jerusalem to worship, he may have been a proselyte to Judaism. This event is a precursor to Acts 10.
27 tn Grk “and was sitting.” 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.
28 tn Grk “and was reading.” 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.
29 tn The participle προσδραμών (prosdramwn) is regarded as attendant circumstance.
30 tn The words “to it” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
31 tn Grk “heard him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
32 tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
33 tn Grk “he said”; but since what follows is a question, it is better English style to translate the introduction to the question “he asked him.”
34 tn Grk “He”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
35 tn Grk “How am I able, unless…” The translation is based on the force of the conjunction γάρ (gar) in this context. The translation “How in the world can I?” is given in BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 1.f.
36 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
37 tn Grk “does.” The present tense here was translated as a past tense to maintain consistency with the first line of the quotation (“he was led like a sheep to slaughter”), which has an aorist passive verb normally translated as a past tense in English.
38 tc ‡ Most later
39 tn Or “justice was denied him”; Grk “his justice was taken away.”
40 tn Or “family; or “origin.” The meaning of γενεά (genea) in the quotation is uncertain; BDAG 192 s.v. γενεά 4 suggests “family history.”
41 tn Grk “is taken away.” The present tense here was translated as a past tense to maintain consistency with the rest of the quotation.
42 sn A quotation from Isa 53:7-8.
43 tn Grk “answered and said.” The redundant participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqei") has not been translated.
44 tn Grk “I beg you,” “I ask you.”
45 sn About himself, or about someone else? It is likely in 1st century Judaism this would have been understood as either Israel or Isaiah.
46 tn Grk “opening his mouth” (a Semitic idiom for beginning to speak in a somewhat formal manner). The participle ἀνοίξας (anoixa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
47 sn Beginning with this scripture. The discussion likely included many of the scriptures Acts has already noted for the reader in earlier speeches. At the least, readers of Acts would know what other scriptures might be meant.
48 tn Or “What prevents me.” The rhetorical question means, “I should get baptized, right?”
49 tc A few later
50 tn Grk “and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch.” Since this is somewhat redundant in English, it was simplified to “and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water.”
51 sn Philip baptized. Again, someone beyond the Twelve has ministered an ordinance of faith.
52 tn BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 2 indicates that under certain circumstances γάρ (gar) has the same meaning as δέ (de).
53 sn Note that the response to the gospel is rejoicing (joy, cf. Acts 11:23; 13:48).
54 tn Or “appeared.”
55 sn Azotus was a city on the coast of southern Palestine, known as Ashdod in OT times.
56 tn The words “the area” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
57 tn Or “he preached the gospel.”
58 tn Or “cities.”
59 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.