Acts 23:1-2

23:1 Paul looked directly ¹  at the council ²  and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience ³  before God to this day.” 23:2 At that ⁴  the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near ⁵  Paul ⁶  to strike ⁷  him on the mouth.

Philippians 1:14-15

1:14 and most of the brothers and sisters, ⁸  having confidence in the Lord ⁹  because of my imprisonment, now more than ever ¹⁰  dare to speak the word ¹¹  fearlessly.

1:15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.

[23:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Paul, looking directly at the council, said.” The participle ἀτενίσας (atenisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:1]  ² tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:1]  ³ tn BDAG 846 s.v. πολιτεύομαι 3 has “W. a double dat. συνειδήσει ἀγαθῇ πεπολίτευμαι τῷ θεῷ I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God Ac 23:1.”

[23:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “and” (δέ, de); the phrase “at that” has been used in the translation to clarify the cause and effect relationship.

[23:2]  ⁵ tn BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 2.b.α has “οἱ παρεστῶτες αὐτῷ those standing near him Ac 23:2.”

[23:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:2]  ⁷ tn Or “hit” (‘strike’ maintains the wordplay with the following verse). The action was probably designed to indicate a rejection of Paul’s claim to a clear conscience in the previous verse.

[1:14]  ⁸ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[1:14]  ⁹ tn Or “most of the brothers and sisters in the Lord, having confidence.”

[1:14]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “even more so.”

[1:14]  ¹¹ tc A number of significant mss have “of God” after “word.” Although τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) is amply supported in the Alexandrian and Western texts (א A B [D*] P Ψ 048^vid 075 0278 33 81 1175 al lat co), the omission is difficult to explain as either an intentional deletion or unintentional oversight. To be sure, the pedigree of the witnesses is not nearly as great for the shorter reading (Ì⁴⁶ D² 1739 1881 Ï), but it explains well the rise of the other reading. Further, it explains the rise of κυρίου (kuriou, “of the Lord”), the reading of F and G (for if these mss had followed a Vorlage with τοῦ θεοῦ, κυρίου would not have been expected). Further, τοῦ θεοῦ is in different locations among the mss; such dislocations are usually signs of scribal additions to the text. Thus, the Byzantine text and a few other witnesses here have the superior reading, and it should be accepted as the original.