Acts 11:2-3

11:2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, ¹  the circumcised believers ²  took issue with ³  him, 11:3 saying, “You went to ⁴  uncircumcised men and shared a meal with ⁵  them.”

Acts 11:17-18

11:17 Therefore if God ⁶  gave them the same gift ⁷  as he also gave us after believing ⁸  in the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁹  who was I to hinder ¹⁰  God?” 11:18 When they heard this, ¹¹  they ceased their objections ¹²  and praised ¹³  God, saying, “So then, God has granted the repentance ¹⁴  that leads to life even to the Gentiles.” ¹⁵ 

Acts 13:50

13:50 But the Jews incited ¹⁶  the God-fearing women of high social standing and the prominent men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out ¹⁷  of their region.

Acts 14:5

14:5 When both the Gentiles and the Jews (together with their rulers) made ¹⁸  an attempt to mistreat ¹⁹  them and stone them, ²⁰ 

Acts 14:19

14:19 But Jews came from Antioch ²¹  and Iconium, ²²  and after winning ²³  the crowds over, they stoned ²⁴  Paul and dragged him out of the city, presuming him to be dead.

Acts 17:5-6

17:5 But the Jews became jealous, ²⁵  and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, ²⁶  they formed a mob ²⁷  and set the city in an uproar. ²⁸  They attacked Jason’s house, ²⁹  trying to find Paul and Silas ³⁰  to bring them out to the assembly. ³¹  17:6 When they did not find them, they dragged ³²  Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, ³³  screaming, “These people who have stirred up trouble ³⁴  throughout the world ³⁵  have come here too,

Acts 17:13

17:13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica ³⁶  heard that Paul had also proclaimed the word of God ³⁷  in Berea, ³⁸  they came there too, inciting ³⁹  and disturbing ⁴⁰  the crowds.

Acts 18:12-13

Paul Before the Proconsul Gallio

18:12 Now while Gallio ⁴¹  was proconsul ⁴²  of Achaia, ⁴³  the Jews attacked Paul together ⁴⁴  and brought him before the judgment seat, ⁴⁵  18:13 saying, “This man is persuading ⁴⁶  people to worship God in a way contrary to ⁴⁷  the law!”

Acts 19:9

19:9 But when ⁴⁸  some were stubborn ⁴⁹  and refused to believe, reviling ⁵⁰  the Way ⁵¹  before the congregation, he left ⁵²  them and took the disciples with him, ⁵³  addressing ⁵⁴  them every day ⁵⁵  in the lecture hall ⁵⁶  of Tyrannus.

Acts 21:27-31

21:27 When the seven days were almost over, ⁵⁷  the Jews from the province of Asia ⁵⁸  who had seen him in the temple area ⁵⁹  stirred up the whole crowd ⁶⁰  and seized ⁶¹  him, 21:28 shouting, “Men of Israel, ⁶²  help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, ⁶³  and this sanctuary! ⁶⁴  Furthermore ⁶⁵  he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple ⁶⁶  and made this holy place ritually unclean!” ⁶⁷  21:29 (For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him previously, and ⁶⁸  they assumed Paul had brought him into the inner temple courts.) ⁶⁹  21:30 The whole city was stirred up, ⁷⁰  and the people rushed together. ⁷¹  They seized ⁷²  Paul and dragged him out of the temple courts, ⁷³  and immediately the doors were shut. 21:31 While they were trying ⁷⁴  to kill him, a report ⁷⁵  was sent up ⁷⁶  to the commanding officer ⁷⁷  of the cohort ⁷⁸  that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ⁷⁹ 

Acts 22:21-22

22:21 Then ⁸⁰  he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

The Roman Commander Questions Paul

22:22 The crowd ⁸¹  was listening to him until he said this. ⁸²  Then ⁸³  they raised their voices and shouted, ⁸⁴  “Away with this man ⁸⁵  from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!” ⁸⁶ 

Galatians 5:11

5:11 Now, brothers and sisters, ⁸⁷  if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? ⁸⁸  In that case the offense of the cross ⁸⁹  has been removed. ⁹⁰ 

Ephesians 3:8

3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ⁹¹  – this grace was given, ⁹²  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

Ephesians 3:13

3:13 For this reason I ask you ⁹³  not to lose heart because of what I am suffering for you, ⁹⁴  which ⁹⁵  is your glory. ⁹⁶ 

[11:2]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:2]  ² tn Or “the Jewish Christians”; Grk “those of the circumcision.” Within the larger group of Christians were some whose loyalties ran along ethnic-religious lines.

[11:2]  ³ tn Or “believers disputed with,” “believers criticized” (BDAG 231 s.v. διακρίνω 5.b).

[11:3]  ⁴ tn Or “You were a guest in the home of” (according to L&N 23.12).

[11:3]  ⁵ tn Or “and ate with.” It was table fellowship and the possibility of eating unclean food that disturbed them.

[11:17]  ⁶ tc Codex Bezae (D) and {a few other Western witnesses} here lack ὁ θεός (Jo qeo", “God”), perhaps because these scribes considered the Holy Spirit to be the gift of Christ rather than the gift of God; thus leaving the subject implicit would naturally draw the reader back to v. 16 to see the Lord Jesus as the bestower of the Spirit.

[11:17]  ⁷ sn That is, the same gift of the Holy Spirit.

[11:17]  ⁸ tn Or “gave us when we believed”; or “gave us after we believed”; or “gave us who believed”; or “gave them when they believed the same gift as he also gave us.” The aorist dative plural participle πιστεύσασιν (pisteusasin) can be understood in several different ways: (1) It could modify ἡμῖν (Jhmin, “us”) or αὐτοῖς (autois, “them”). Proximity (it immediately follows ἡμῖν) would suggest that it belongs with ἡμῖν, so the last option (“gave them when they believed the same gift he also gave us”) is less likely. (2) The participle could be either adverbial or adjectival, modifying ἡμῖν. This decision is primarily a contextual one. The point Peter made is not whether or not the Gentiles believed, since both groups (“us” and “they”) had believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. The point was whether or not the Gentiles received the Spirit when they believed, just as Jewish Christians had received the Spirit on the day of Pentecost when they believed. Translated as an adjectival participle, πιστεύσασιν only affirms the fact of belief, however, and raises somewhat of a theological problem if one realizes, “Would God have given the Gentiles the Spirit if they had not believed?” (In other words, belief in itself is a theological prerequisite for receiving the Spirit. As such, in the case of the Gentiles, it is assumed.) Thus in context it makes more sense to understand the participle πιστεύσασιν as adverbial, related to the time of belief in connection with the giving of the Spirit. (3) The participle πιστεύσασιν as a temporal participle can refer to action antecedent to the action of the main verb ἔδωκεν (edwken) or contemporaneous with it. Logically, at least, the gift of the Spirit followed belief in the case of the original Christians, who had believed before the day of Pentecost. In the case of Cornelius and his household, belief and the reception of the Spirit were virtually simultaneous. One can argue that Peter is “summarizing” the experience of Jewish Christians, and therefore the actions of belief and reception of the Spirit, while historically separate, have been “telescoped” into one (“gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed”), but to be technically accurate the participle πιστεύσασιν should be translated “gave them the same gift as he also gave us after we believed.” A number of these problems can be avoided, however, by using a translation in English that maintains some of the ambiguity of the Greek original. Thus “if God gave them the same gift as he also gave us after believing” is used, where the phrase “after believing” can refer either to “them” or to “us,” or both.

[11:17]  ⁹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[11:17]  ¹⁰ tn Or “prevent,” “forbid” (BDAG 580 s.v. κωλύω 1.a). Peter’s point is that he will not stand in the way of God.

[11:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “these things.”

[11:18]  ¹² tn Or “became silent,” but this would create an apparent contradiction with the subsequent action of praising God. The point, in context, is that they ceased objecting to what Peter had done.

[11:18]  ¹³ tn Or “glorified.”

[11:18]  ¹⁴ sn Here the summary phrase for responding to the gospel is the repentance that leads to life. Note how the presence of life is tied to the presence of the Spirit (cf. John 4:7-42; 7:37-39).

[11:18]  ¹⁵ sn In the Greek text the phrase even to the Gentiles is in an emphatic position.

[13:50]  ¹⁶ tn For the translation of παρώτρυναν (parwtrunan) as “incited” see BDAG 780 s.v. παροτρύνω.

[13:50]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 299 s.v. ἐκβάλλω 1 has “throw out.” Once again, many Jews reacted to the message (Acts 5:17, 33; 6:11; 13:45).

[14:5]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “So there came about an attempt” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[14:5]  ¹⁹ tn On this verb see BDAG 1022 s.v. ὑβρίζω.

[14:5]  ²⁰ tn The direct object “them” is repeated after both verbs in the translation for stylistic reasons, although it occurs only after λιθοβολῆσαι (liqobolhsai) in the Greek text.

[14:19]  ²¹ sn Antioch was a city in Pisidia about 90 mi (145 km) west northwest of Lystra.

[14:19]  ²² sn Iconium was a city in Lycaonia about 18 mi (30 km) north of Lystra. Note how Jews from other cities were chasing Paul (2 Cor 11:4-6; Gal 2:4-5; Acts 9:16).

[14:19]  ²³ tn The participle πείσαντες (peisante") is taken temporally (BDAG 791 s.v. πείθω 1.c).

[14:19]  ²⁴ tn Grk “stoning Paul they dragged him.” The participle λιθάσαντες (liqasante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[17:5]  ²⁵ tn Grk “becoming jealous.” The participle ζηλώσαντες (zhlwsante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. So elsewhere in Acts (5:17; 7:9; 13:45).

[17:5]  ²⁶ tn Literally ἀγοραῖος (agoraio") refers to the crowd in the marketplace, although BDAG 14-15 s.v. ἀγοραῖος 1 gives the meaning, by extension, as “rabble.” Such a description is certainly appropriate in this context. L&N 15.127 translates the phrase “worthless men from the streets.”

[17:5]  ²⁷ tn On this term, which is a NT hapax legomenon, see BDAG 745 s.v. ὀχλοποιέω.

[17:5]  ²⁸ tn BDAG 458 s.v. θορυβέω 1 has “set the city in an uproar, start a riot in the city” for the meaning of ἐθορύβουν (eqoruboun) in this verse.

[17:5]  ²⁹ sn The attack took place at Jason’s house because this was probably the location of the new house church.

[17:5]  ³⁰ tn Grk “them”; the referents (Paul and Silas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:5]  ³¹ tn BDAG 223 s.v. δῆμος 2 has “in a Hellenistic city, a convocation of citizens called together for the purpose of transacting official business, popular assembly προάγειν εἰς τὸν δ. Ac 17:5.”

[17:6]  ³² tn See BDAG 977-78 s.v. σύρω on this verb. It was used in everyday speech of dragging in fish by a net, or dragging away someone’s (presumably) dead body (Paul in Acts 14:19).

[17:6]  ³³ tn L&N 37.93 defines πολιτάρχης (politarch") as “a public official responsible for administrative matters within a town or city and a member of the ruling council of such a political unit – ‘city official’” (see also BDAG 845 s.v.).

[17:6]  ³⁴ tn Or “rebellion.” BDAG 72 s.v. ἀναστατόω has “disturb, trouble, upset,” but in light of the references in the following verse to political insurrection, “stirred up rebellion” would also be appropriate.

[17:6]  ³⁵ tn Or “the empire.” This was a way of referring to the Roman empire (BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουμένη 2.b).

[17:13]  ³⁶ sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).

[17:13]  ³⁷ tn Grk “that the word of God had also been proclaimed by Paul.” This passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:13]  ³⁸ sn Berea (alternate spelling in NRSV Beroea; Greek Beroia) was a very old city in Macedonia on the river Astraeus about 45 mi (75 km) from Thessalonica.

[17:13]  ³⁹ tn BDAG 911 s.v. σαλεύω 2 has “incite” for σαλεύοντες (saleuonte") in Acts 17:13.

[17:13]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “stirring up” (BDAG 990-91 s.v. ταράσσω 2). The point is the agitation of the crowds.

[18:12]  ⁴¹ sn Gallio was proconsul of Achaia from a.d. 51-52. This date is one of the firmly established dates in Acts. Lucius Junius Gallio was the son of the rhetorician Seneca and the brother of Seneca the philosopher. The date of Gallio’s rule is established from an inscription (W. Dittenberger, ed., Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum 2.3 no. 8). Thus the event mentioned here is probably to be dated July-October a.d. 51.

[18:12]  ⁴² sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.

[18:12]  ⁴³ sn Achaia was a Roman province created in 146 b.c. that included the most important parts of Greece (Attica, Boeotia, and the Peloponnesus).

[18:12]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “with one accord.”

[18:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), there is no need for an alternative translation here since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time.

[18:13]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “inciting.”

[18:13]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “worship God contrary to.” BDAG 758 s.v. παρά C.6 has “against, contrary to” for Acts 18:13. The words “in a way” are not in the Greek text, but are a necessary clarification to prevent the misunderstanding in the English translation that worshiping God was in itself contrary to the law. What is under dispute is the manner in which God was being worshiped, that is, whether Gentiles were being required to follow all aspects of the Mosaic law, including male circumcision. There is a hint of creating public chaos or disturbing Jewish custom here since Jews were the ones making the complaint. Luke often portrays the dispute between Christians and Jews as within Judaism.

[19:9]  ⁴⁸ tn BDAG 1105-6 s.v. ὡς 8.b lists this use as a temporal conjunction.

[19:9]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “some became hardened.” See BDAG 930 s.v. σκληρύνω b and Acts 7:51-53.

[19:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “speaking evil of.” BDAG 500 s.v. κακολογέω has “speak evil of, revile, insult…τὶ someth. τὴν ὁδόν the Way (i.e. Christian way of life) Ac 19:9.”

[19:9]  ⁵¹ sn The Way refers to the Christian movement (Christianity). Luke frequently refers to it as “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).

[19:9]  ⁵² tn Grk “leaving them, he took.” The participle ἀποστάς (apostas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:9]  ⁵³ tn The words “with him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[19:9]  ⁵⁴ 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 19:9. 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.

[19:9]  ⁵⁵ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[19:9]  ⁵⁶ tn The “lecture hall” was a place where teachers and pupils met. The term is a NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 982 s.v. σχολή). L&N 7.14 notes, “it is better to use a translation such as ‘lecture hall’ rather than ‘school,’ since one does not wish to give the impression of the typical classroom situation characteristic of present-day schools.”

[21:27]  ⁵⁷ tn BDAG 975 s.v. συντελέω 4 has “to come to an end of a duration, come to an end, be over…Ac 21:27.”

[21:27]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[21:27]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “in the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:27]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “threw the whole crowd into consternation.” L&N 25.221 has “συνέχεον πάντα τὸν ὄχλον ‘they threw the whole crowd into consternation’ Ac 21:27. It is also possible to render the expression in Ac 21:27 as ‘they stirred up the whole crowd.’”

[21:27]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “and laid hands on.”

[21:28]  ⁶² tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage since “the whole crowd” is mentioned in v. 27, although it can also be argued that these remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.

[21:28]  ⁶³ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[21:28]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “this place.”

[21:28]  ⁶⁵ tn BDAG 400 s.v. ἔτι 2.b has “ἔ. δὲ καί furthermore…al. ἔ. τε καί…Lk 14:26; Ac 21:28.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek, but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

[21:28]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “into the temple.” The specific reference is to the Court of the Sons of Israel (see the note following the term “unclean” at the end of this verse). To avoid giving the modern reader the impression that they entered the temple building itself, the phrase “the inner courts of the temple” has been used in the translation.

[21:28]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “and has defiled this holy place.”

[21:29]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “whom.”

[21:29]  ⁶⁹ tn On the phrase “inner temple courts” see the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:30]  ⁷⁰ tn On this term see BDAG 545 s.v. κινέω 2.b.

[21:30]  ⁷¹ tn Or “the people formed a mob.” BDAG 967 s.v. συνδρομή has “formation of a mob by pers. running together, running together…ἐγένετο σ. τοῦ λαοῦ the people rushed together Ac 21:30.”

[21:30]  ⁷² tn Grk “and seizing.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενοι (epilabomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[21:30]  ⁷³ tn Grk “out of the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:31]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “seeking.”

[21:31]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “information” (originally concerning a crime; BDAG 1050 s.v. φάσις).

[21:31]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “went up”; this verb is used because the report went up to the Antonia Fortress where the Roman garrison was stationed.

[21:31]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος (ciliarco") literally described the “commander of a thousand,” but it was used as the standard translation for the Latin tribunus militum or tribunus militare, the military tribune who commanded a cohort of 600 men.

[21:31]  ⁷⁸ sn A cohort was a Roman military unit of about 600 soldiers, one-tenth of a legion.

[21:31]  ⁷⁹ tn BDAG 953 s.v. συγχέω has “Pass. w. act.force be in confusion…ὅλη συγχύννεται ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ 21:31.”

[22:21]  ⁸⁰ 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.

[22:22]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “They were listening”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:22]  ⁸² tn Grk “until this word.”

[22:22]  ⁸³ tn Grk “And.” To indicate the logical sequence, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” here.

[22:22]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “and said.”

[22:22]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “this one.”

[22:22]  ⁸⁶ tn BDAG 491 s.v. καθήκω has “to be appropriate, come/reach to, be proper/fitting…Usu. impers. καθήκει it comes (to someone)…foll. by acc. and inf….οὐ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν he should not be allowed to live Ac 22:22.”

[5:11]  ⁸⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

[5:11]  ⁸⁸ sn That is, if Paul still teaches observance of the Mosaic law (preaches circumcision), why is he still being persecuted by his opponents, who insist that Gentile converts to Christianity must observe the Mosaic law?

[5:11]  ⁸⁹ sn The offense of the cross refers to the offense to Jews caused by preaching Christ crucified.

[5:11]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “nullified.”

[3:8]  ⁹¹ sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.

[3:8]  ⁹² sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).

[3:13]  ⁹³ tn Grk “I ask.” No direct object is given in Greek, leaving room for the possibility that either “God” (since the verb is often associated with prayer) or “you” is in view.

[3:13]  ⁹⁴ tn Grk “my trials on your behalf.”

[3:13]  ⁹⁵ sn Which. The antecedent (i.e., the word or concept to which this clause refers back) may be either “what I am suffering for you” or the larger concept of the recipients not losing heart over Paul’s suffering for them. The relative pronoun “which” is attracted to the predicate nominative “glory” in its gender and number (feminine singular), making the antecedent ambiguous. Paul’s suffering for them could be viewed as their glory (cf. Col 1:24 for a parallel) in that his suffering has brought about their salvation, but if so his suffering must be viewed as more than his present imprisonment in Rome; it would be a general description of his ministry overall (cf. 2 Cor 11:23-27). The other option is that the author is implicitly arguing that the believers have continued to have courage in the midst of his trials (as not to lose heart suggests) and that this is their glory. Philippians 1:27-28 offers an interesting parallel: The believers’ courage in the face of adversity is a sign of their salvation.

[3:13]  ⁹⁶ tn Or “Or who is your glory?” The relative pronoun ἥτις (Jhti"), if divided differently, would become ἤ τίς (h ti"). Since there were no word breaks in the original mss, either word division is possible. The force of the question would be that for the readers to become discouraged over Paul’s imprisonment would mean that they were no longer trusting in God’s sovereignty.