Acts 4:21

4:21 After threatening them further, they released them, for they could not find how to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising ¹  God for what had happened.

Acts 5:13

5:13 None of the rest dared to join them, ²  but the people held them in high honor. ³ 

Acts 5:40-41

5:40 and they summoned the apostles and had them beaten. ⁴  Then ⁵  they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. 5:41 So they left the council rejoicing because they had been considered worthy ⁶  to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. ⁷ 

Acts 14:11-20

14:11 So when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted ⁸  in the Lycaonian language, ⁹  “The gods have come down to us in human form!” ¹⁰  14:12 They began to call ¹¹  Barnabas Zeus ¹²  and Paul Hermes, ¹³  because he was the chief speaker. 14:13 The priest of the temple ¹⁴  of Zeus, ¹⁵  located just outside the city, brought bulls ¹⁶  and garlands ¹⁷  to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them. ¹⁸  14:14 But when the apostles ¹⁹  Barnabas and Paul heard about ²⁰  it, they tore ²¹  their clothes and rushed out ²²  into the crowd, shouting, ²³  14:15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We too are men, with human natures ²⁴  just like you! We are proclaiming the good news to you, so that you should turn ²⁵  from these worthless ²⁶  things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, ²⁷  the sea, and everything that is in them. 14:16 In ²⁸  past ²⁹  generations he allowed all the nations ³⁰  to go their own ways, 14:17 yet he did not leave himself without a witness by doing good, ³¹  by giving you rain from heaven ³²  and fruitful seasons, satisfying you ³³  with food and your hearts with joy.” ³⁴  14:18 Even by saying ³⁵  these things, they scarcely persuaded ³⁶  the crowds not to offer sacrifice to them.

14:19 But Jews came from Antioch ³⁷  and Iconium, ³⁸  and after winning ³⁹  the crowds over, they stoned ⁴⁰  Paul and dragged him out of the city, presuming him to be dead. 14:20 But after the disciples had surrounded him, he got up and went back ⁴¹  into the city. On ⁴²  the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe. ⁴³ 

Acts 16:20-22

16:20 When ⁴⁴  they had brought them ⁴⁵  before the magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion. ⁴⁶  They are ⁴⁷  Jews 16:21 and are advocating ⁴⁸  customs that are not lawful for us to accept ⁴⁹  or practice, ⁵⁰  since we are ⁵¹  Romans.”

16:22 The crowd joined the attack ⁵²  against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes ⁵³  off Paul and Silas ⁵⁴  and ordered them to be beaten with rods. ⁵⁵ 

Acts 16:39

16:39 and came ⁵⁶  and apologized to them. After ⁵⁷  they brought them out, they asked them repeatedly ⁵⁸  to leave the city.

Acts 28:4-10

28:4 When the local people ⁵⁹  saw the creature hanging from Paul’s ⁶⁰  hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice herself ⁶¹  has not allowed him to live!” ⁶²  28:5 However, ⁶³  Paul ⁶⁴  shook ⁶⁵  the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. 28:6 But they were expecting that he was going to swell up ⁶⁶  or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited ⁶⁷  a long time and had seen ⁶⁸  nothing unusual happen ⁶⁹  to him, they changed their minds ⁷⁰  and said he was a god. ⁷¹ 

28:7 Now in the region around that place ⁷²  were fields belonging to the chief official ⁷³  of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably as guests for three days. 28:8 The father ⁷⁴  of Publius lay sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him ⁷⁵  and after praying, placed ⁷⁶  his hands on him and healed ⁷⁷  him. 28:9 After this had happened, many of the people on the island who were sick ⁷⁸  also came and were healed. ⁷⁹  28:10 They also bestowed many honors, ⁸⁰  and when we were preparing to sail, ⁸¹  they gave ⁸²  us all the supplies we needed. ⁸³ 

Acts 28:1

Paul on Malta

28:1 After we had safely reached shore, ⁸⁴  we learned that the island was called Malta. ⁸⁵ 

Colossians 4:10-13

4:10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him). 4:11 And Jesus who is called Justus also sends greetings. In terms of Jewish converts, ⁸⁶  these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ⁸⁷  of Christ, ⁸⁸  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ⁸⁹  in all the will of God. 4:13 For I can testify that he has worked hard ⁹⁰  for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

[4:21]  ¹ tn Or “glorifying.”

[5:13]  ² tn Or “to associate with them.” The group was beginning to have a controversial separate identity. People were cautious about joining them. The next verse suggests that the phrase “none of the rest” in this verse is rhetorical hyperbole.

[5:13]  ³ tn Or “the people thought very highly of them.”

[5:40]  ⁴ sn Had them beaten. The punishment was the “forty lashes minus one,” see also Acts 22:19; 2 Cor 11:24; Mark 13:9. The apostles had disobeyed the religious authorities and took their punishment for their “disobedience” (Deut 25:2-3; m. Makkot 3:10-14). In Acts 4:18 they were warned. Now they are beaten. The hostility is rising as the narrative unfolds.

[5:40]  ⁵ tn The word “Then” is supplied as the beginning of a new sentence in the translation. The construction in Greek has so many clauses (most of them made up of participles) that a continuous English sentence would be very awkward.

[5:41]  ⁶ sn That is, considered worthy by God. They “gloried in their shame” of honoring Jesus with their testimony (Luke 6:22-23; 2 Macc 6:30).

[5:41]  ⁷ sn The name refers to the name of Jesus (cf. 3 John 7).

[14:11]  ⁸ tn Grk “they lifted up their voice” (an idiom).

[14:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “in Lycaonian, saying.” The word “language” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[14:11]  ¹⁰ tn So BDAG 707 s.v. ὁμοιόω 1. However, L&N 64.4 takes the participle ὁμοιωθέντες (Jomoiwqente") as an adjectival participle modifying θεοί (qeoi): “the gods resembling men have come down to us.”

[14:12]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect verb ἐκάλουν (ekaloun) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[14:12]  ¹² sn Zeus was the chief Greek deity, worshiped throughout the Greco-Roman world (known to the Romans as Jupiter).

[14:12]  ¹³ sn Hermes was a Greek god who (according to Greek mythology) was the messenger of the gods and the god of oratory (equivalent to the Roman god Mercury).

[14:13]  ¹⁴ tn The words “the temple of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. The translation “the priest of (the temple/shrine of) Zeus located before the city” is given for this phrase by BDAG 426 s.v. Ζεύς.

[14:13]  ¹⁵ sn See the note on Zeus in the previous verse.

[14:13]  ¹⁶ tn Or “oxen.”

[14:13]  ¹⁷ tn Or “wreaths.”

[14:13]  ¹⁸ tn The words “to them” are not in the Greek text, but are clearly implied by the response of Paul and Barnabas in the following verse.

[14:14]  ¹⁹ sn The apostles Barnabas and Paul. This is one of only two places where Luke calls Paul an apostle, and the description here is shared with Barnabas. This is a nontechnical use here, referring to a commissioned messenger.

[14:14]  ²⁰ tn The participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is taken temporally.

[14:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “tearing their clothes they rushed out.” The participle διαρρήξαντες (diarrhxante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. This action is a Jewish response to blasphemy (m. Sanhedrin 7.5; Jdt 14:16-17).

[14:14]  ²² tn So BDAG 307 s.v. ἐκπηδάω 1, “rush (lit. ‘leap’) out…εἰς τὸν ὄχλον into the crowd Ac 14:14.”

[14:14]  ²³ tn Grk “shouting and saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes, in v. 15) has not been translated because it is redundant.

[14:15]  ²⁴ tn Grk “with the same kinds of feelings,” L&N 25.32. BDAG 706 s.v. ὁμοιοπαθής translates the phrase “with the same nature τινί as someone.” In the immediate context, the contrast is between human and divine nature, and the point is that Paul and Barnabas are mere mortals, not gods.

[14:15]  ²⁵ tn Grk “in order that you should turn,” with ἐπιστρέφειν (epistrefein) as an infinitive of purpose, but this is somewhat awkward contemporary English. To translate the infinitive construction “proclaim the good news, that you should turn,” which is much smoother English, could give the impression that the infinitive clause is actually the content of the good news, which it is not. The somewhat less formal “to get you to turn” would work, but might convey to some readers manipulativeness on the part of the apostles. Thus “proclaim the good news, so that you should turn,” is used, to convey that the purpose of the proclamation of good news is the response by the hearers. The emphasis here is like 1 Thess 1:9-10.

[14:15]  ²⁶ tn Or “useless,” “futile.” The reference is to idols and idolatry, worshiping the creation over the Creator (Rom 1:18-32). See also 1 Kgs 16:2, 13, 26; 2 Kgs 17:15; Jer 2:5; 8:19; 3 Macc 6:11.

[14:15]  ²⁷ tn Grk “and the earth, and the sea,” but καί (kai) has not been translated before “the earth” and “the sea” since contemporary English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[14:16]  ²⁸ tn Grk “them, who in.” The relative pronoun (“who”) was replaced by the pronoun “he” (“In past generations he”) and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek and the awkwardness of two relative clauses (“who made the heaven” and “who in past generations”) following one another.

[14:16]  ²⁹ tn On this term see BDAG 780 s.v. παροίχομαι. The word is a NT hapax legomenon.

[14:16]  ³⁰ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (in Greek the word for “nation” and “Gentile” is the same). The plural here alludes to the variety of false religions in the pagan world.

[14:17]  ³¹ tn The participle ἀγαθουργῶν (agaqourgwn) is regarded as indicating means here, parallel to the following participles διδούς (didou") and ἐμπιπλῶν (empiplwn). This is the easiest way to understand the Greek structure. Semantically, the first participle is a general statement, followed by two participles giving specific examples of doing good.

[14:17]  ³² tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[14:17]  ³³ tn Grk “satisfying [filling] your hearts with food and joy.” This is an idiomatic expression; it strikes the English reader as strange to speak of “filling one’s heart with food.” Thus the additional direct object “you” has been supplied, separating the two expressions somewhat: “satisfying you with food and your hearts with joy.”

[14:17]  ³⁴ sn God’s general sovereignty and gracious care in the creation are the way Paul introduces the theme of the goodness of God. He was trying to establish monotheism here. It is an OT theme (Gen 8:22; Ps 4:7; 145:15-16; 147:8-9; Isa 25:6; Jer 5:24) which also appears in the NT (Luke 12:22-34).

[14:18]  ³⁵ tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is regarded as indicating means.

[14:18]  ³⁶ tn BDAG 524 s.v. καταπαύω 2.b gives both “restrain” and “dissuade someone fr. someth.,” but “they scarcely dissuaded the crowds from offering sacrifice,” while accurate, is less common in contemporary English than saying “they scarcely persuaded the crowds not to offer sacrifice.” Paganism is portrayed as a powerful reality that is hard to reverse.

[14:19]  ³⁷ sn Antioch was a city in Pisidia about 90 mi (145 km) west northwest of Lystra.

[14:19]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn The participle πείσαντες (peisante") is taken temporally (BDAG 791 s.v. πείθω 1.c).

[14:19]  ⁴⁰ 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.

[14:20]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “and entered”; the word “back” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[14:20]  ⁴² tn Grk “And on.” 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.

[14:20]  ⁴³ sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra. This was the easternmost point of the journey.

[16:20]  ⁴⁴ 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.

[16:20]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “having brought them.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενοι (epilabomenoi) has been taken temporally. It is also possible in English to translate this participle as a finite verb: “they brought them before the magistrates and said.”

[16:20]  ⁴⁶ tn BDAG 309 s.v. ἐκταράσσω has “agitate, cause trouble to, throw into confusion” for the meaning of this verb.

[16:20]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “being Jews, and they are proclaiming.” The participle ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:21]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “proclaiming,” but in relation to customs, “advocating” is a closer approximation to the meaning.

[16:21]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “acknowledge.”

[16:21]  ⁵⁰ sn Customs that are not lawful for us to accept or practice. Ironically, the charges are similar to those made against Jesus in Luke 23:2, where Jews argued he was “twisting” their customs. The charge has three elements: (1) a racial element (Jewish); (2) a social element (unlawful); and (3) a traditional element (not their customs).

[16:21]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “we being Romans.” The participle οὖσιν (ousin) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[16:22]  ⁵² tn L&N 39.50 has “the crowd joined the attack against them” for συνεπέστη (sunepesth) in this verse.

[16:22]  ⁵³ tn Grk “tearing the clothes off them, the magistrates ordered.” The participle περιρήξαντες (perirhxante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Although it may be possible to understand the aorist active participle περιρήξαντες in a causative sense (“the magistrates caused the clothes to be torn off Paul and Silas”) in the mob scene that was taking place, it is also possible that the magistrates themselves actively participated. This act was done to prepare them for a public flogging (2 Cor 11:25; 1 Thess 2:2).

[16:22]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “off them”; the referents (Paul and Silas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:22]  ⁵⁵ tn The infinitive ῥαβδίζειν (rJabdizein) means “to beat with rods or sticks” (as opposed to fists or clubs, BDAG 902 s.v. ῥαβδίζω).

[16:39]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “and coming, they apologized.” The participle ἐλθόντες (elqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:39]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “and after.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[16:39]  ⁵⁸ tn The verb ἐρώτων (erwtwn) has been translated as an iterative imperfect; the English adverb “repeatedly” brings out the iterative force in the translation.

[28:4]  ⁵⁹ tn Although this is literally βάρβαροι (barbaroi; “foreigners, barbarians”) used for non-Greek or non-Romans, as BDAG 166 s.v. βάρβαρος 2.b notes, “Of the inhabitants of Malta, who apparently spoke in their native language Ac 28:2, 4 (here β. certainly without derogatory tone…).”

[28:4]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ⁶¹ tn That is, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live. BDAG 250 s.v. δίκη 2 states, “Justice personified as a deity Ac 28:4”; L&N 12.27, “a goddess who personifies justice in seeking out and punishing the guilty – ‘the goddess Justice.’ ἡ δίκη ζῆν οὐκ εἴασεν ‘the goddess Justice would not let him live’ Ac 28:4.” Although a number of modern English translations have rendered δίκη (dikh) “justice,” preferring to use an abstraction, in the original setting it is almost certainly a reference to a pagan deity. In the translation, the noun “justice” was capitalized and the reflexive pronoun “herself” was supplied to make the personification clear. This was considered preferable to supplying a word like ‘goddess’ in connection with δίκη.

[28:4]  ⁶² sn The entire scene is played out initially as a kind of oracle from the gods resulting in the judgment of a guilty person (Justice herself has not allowed him to live). Paul’s survival of this incident without ill effects thus spoke volumes about his innocence.

[28:5]  ⁶³ tn BDAG 737 s.v. οὖν 4 indicates the particle has an adversative sense here: “but, however.”

[28:5]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:5]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “shaking the creature off…he suffered no harm.” The participle ἀποτινάξας (apotinaxa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[28:6]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “going to burn with fever.” According to BDAG 814 s.v. πίμπρημι, either meaning (“swell up” or “burn with fever”) is possible for Acts 28:6.

[28:6]  ⁶⁷ tn The participle προσδοκώντων (prosdokwntwn) has been taken temporally.

[28:6]  ⁶⁸ tn The participle θεωρούντων (qewrountwn) has been taken temporally.

[28:6]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “happening.” The participle γινόμενον (ginomenon) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[28:6]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “changing their minds.” The participle μεταβαλόμενοι (metabalomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[28:6]  ⁷¹ sn And said he was a god. The reaction is like Acts 14:11-19 where the crowd wanted to make Paul and Barnabas into gods. The providence of God had protected Paul again.

[28:7]  ⁷² tn BDAG 798 s.v. περί 2.a.γ states, “of nearby places…τὰ περὶ τὸν τὸπον the region around the place Ac 28:7.” The presence of ἐκεῖνον (ekeinon) results in the translation “that place.”

[28:7]  ⁷³ tn That is, the chief Roman official. Several inscriptions have confirmed the use of πρῶτος (prwtos) as an administrative title used on the island of Malta for the highest Roman official. See further BDAG 852 s.v. Πόπλιος.

[28:8]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “It happened that the father.” 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.

[28:8]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “to whom Paul going in.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by a personal pronoun (“him”) and a new sentence begun here in the translation. The participle εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[28:8]  ⁷⁶ tn The participle ἐπιθείς (epiqeis) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[28:8]  ⁷⁷ sn And healed him. Here are healings like Luke 9:40; 10:30; 13:13; Acts 16:23.

[28:9]  ⁷⁸ tn BDAG 142 s.v. ἀσθένεια 1 states, “ἔχειν ἀ. be ill Ac 28:9.”

[28:9]  ⁷⁹ sn Many…also came and were healed. Again, here is irony. Paul, though imprisoned, “frees” others of their diseases.

[28:10]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “they also honored us greatly”; Grk “they also honored us with many honors” (an idiom).

[28:10]  ⁸¹ tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.” In this case the simpler English “sail” is more appropriate. The English participle “preparing” has also been supplied, since the provisioning of the ship would take place some time before the actual departure.

[28:10]  ⁸² tn BDAG 384 s.v. ἐπιτίθημι 1.b has “give τινί τι someth. to someone…ἀναγομένοις τὰ πρὸς τὰς χρείας when we sailed they gave us what we needed Ac 28:10.”

[28:10]  ⁸³ sn They gave us all the supplies we needed. What they had lost in the storm and shipwreck was now replaced. Luke describes these pagans very positively.

[28:1]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “We having been brought safely through” [to land] (same verb as 27:44). The word “shore” is implied, and the slight variations in translation from 27:44 have been made to avoid redundancy in English. The participle διασωθέντες (diaswqente") has been taken temporally.

[28:1]  ⁸⁵ sn Malta is an island (known by the same name today) in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sicily. The ship had traveled 625 mi (1,000 km) in the storm.

[4:11]  ⁸⁶ tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” The verse as a whole is difficult to translate because it is unclear whether Paul is saying (1) that the only people working with him are Jewish converts at the time the letter is being written or previously, or (2) that Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus Justus were the only Jewish Christians who ever worked with him. Verses 12-14 appear to indicate that Luke and Demas, who were Gentiles, were also working currently with Paul. This is the view adopted in the translation. See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 207-8.

[4:12]  ⁸⁷ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:12]  ⁸⁸ tc ‡ Strong Alexandrian testimony, along with some other witnesses, suggests that ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) follows Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “Christ”; so א A B C I L 0278 33 81 365 629 1175 2464 al lat), but the evidence for the shorter reading is diverse (Ì⁴⁶ D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï it sy Hier), cutting across all major texttypes. There can be little motivation for omitting the name of Jesus; hence, the shorter reading is judged to be original. NA²⁷ has ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[4:12]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “filled.”

[4:13]  ⁹⁰ tn Grk “pain.” This word appears only three times in the NT outside of this verse (Rev 16:10, 11; 21:4) where the translation “pain” makes sense. For the present verse it has been translated “worked hard.” See BDAG 852 s.v. πόνος 1.