1 Thessalonians 1:5

1:5 in that ¹  our gospel did not come to you merely in words, ²  but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (surely you recall the character we displayed when we came among you to help you). ³ 

Acts 4:13

4:13 When they saw the boldness ⁴  of Peter and John, and discovered ⁵  that they were uneducated ⁶  and ordinary ⁷  men, they were amazed and recognized these men had been with Jesus.

Acts 4:20

4:20 for it is impossible ⁸  for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”

Acts 4:31

4:31 When ⁹  they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, ¹⁰  and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak ¹¹  the word of God ¹²  courageously. ¹³ 

Acts 14:3

14:3 So they stayed there ¹⁴  for a considerable time, speaking out courageously for the Lord, who testified ¹⁵  to the message ¹⁶  of his grace, granting miraculous signs ¹⁷  and wonders to be performed through their hands.

Acts 17:2-3

17:2 Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, ¹⁸  as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed ¹⁹  them from the scriptures, 17:3 explaining and demonstrating ²⁰  that the Christ ²¹  had to suffer and to rise from the dead, ²²  saying, ²³  “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” ²⁴ 

Ephesians 6:19-20

6:19 Pray ²⁵  for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak ²⁶  – that I may confidently make known ²⁷  the mystery of the gospel, 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.

[1:5]  ¹ tn Or “because.”

[1:5]  ² tn Or “speech,” or “an act of speaking.”

[1:5]  ³ tn Grk “just as you know what sort of people we were among you for your sakes.” Verse 5 reflects on the experience of Paul and his fellow preachers; v. 6 begins to describe the Thessalonians’ response.

[4:13]  ⁴ tn Or “courage.”

[4:13]  ⁵ tn Or “and found out.”

[4:13]  ⁶ sn Uneducated does not mean “illiterate,” that is, unable to read or write. Among Jews in NT times there was almost universal literacy, especially as the result of widespread synagogue schools. The term refers to the fact that Peter and John had no formal rabbinic training and thus, in the view of their accusers, were not qualified to expound the law or teach publicly. The objection is like Acts 2:7.

[4:13]  ⁷ tn For the translation of ἰδιῶται (idiwtai) as “ordinary men” see L&N 27.26.

[4:20]  ⁸ tn Grk “for we are not able not to speak about what we have seen and heard,” but the double negative, which cancels out in English, is emphatic in Greek. The force is captured somewhat by the English translation “it is impossible for us not to speak…” although this is slightly awkward.

[4:31]  ⁹ tn Grk “And when.” 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.

[4:31]  ¹⁰ sn The place where they were assembled…was shaken. This signifies that God is in their midst. See Acts 16:26; Exod 19:18; Ps 114:7; Isa 6:4.

[4:31]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to speak”). Logical sequencing suggests that their speaking began after they were filled with the Spirit. The prayer was answered immediately.

[4:31]  ¹² tn Or “speak God’s message.”

[4:31]  ¹³ tn Or “with boldness.”

[14:3]  ¹⁴ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[14:3]  ¹⁵ sn The Lord testified to the message by granting the signs described in the following clause.

[14:3]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “word.”

[14:3]  ¹⁷ tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned.

[17:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he went in to them”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:2]  ¹⁹ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 17:2. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[17:3]  ²⁰ tn BDAG 772 s.v. παρατίθημι 2.b has “demonstrate, point out” here.

[17:3]  ²¹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[17:3]  ²² sn The Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead. These two points (suffering and resurrection) would have been among the more controversial aspects of Paul’s messianic preaching. The term translated “had to” (δεῖ, dei) shows how divine design and scripture corresponded here.

[17:3]  ²³ tn The Greek words used here (καὶ ὅτι, kai {oti, “and that”) mark the switch from indirect to direct discourse. Contemporary English requires the use of an introductory verb of speaking or saying to make this transition.

[17:3]  ²⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[6:19]  ²⁵ tn To avoid a lengthy, convoluted sentence in English, the Greek sentence was broken up at this point and the verb “pray” was inserted in the English translation to pick up the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseuxomenoi, “praying”) in v. 18.

[6:19]  ²⁶ tn Grk “that a word may be given to me in the opening of my mouth.” Here “word” (λόγος, logo") is used in the sense of “message.”

[6:19]  ²⁷ tn The infinitive γνωρίσαι (gnwrisai, “to make known”) is functioning epexegetically to further explain what the author means by the preceding phrase “that I may be given the message when I begin to speak.”