Acts 6:9-10

6:9 But some men from the Synagogue ¹  of the Freedmen (as it was called), ²  both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, as well as some from Cilicia and the province of Asia, ³  stood up and argued with Stephen. 6:10 Yet ⁴  they were not able to resist ⁵  the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

Acts 15:1-2

The Jerusalem Council

15:1 Now some men came down from Judea ⁶  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ⁷  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 15:2 When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate ⁸  with them, the church ⁹  appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with ¹⁰  the apostles and elders in Jerusalem ¹¹  about this point of disagreement. ¹² 

Acts 17:2-9

17:2 Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, ¹³  as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed ¹⁴  them from the scriptures, 17:3 explaining and demonstrating ¹⁵  that the Christ ¹⁶  had to suffer and to rise from the dead, ¹⁷  saying, ¹⁸  “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” ¹⁹  17:4 Some of them were persuaded ²⁰  and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group ²¹  of God-fearing Greeks ²²  and quite a few ²³  prominent women. 17:5 But the Jews became jealous, ²⁴  and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, ²⁵  they formed a mob ²⁶  and set the city in an uproar. ²⁷  They attacked Jason’s house, ²⁸  trying to find Paul and Silas ²⁹  to bring them out to the assembly. ³⁰  17:6 When they did not find them, they dragged ³¹  Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, ³²  screaming, “These people who have stirred up trouble ³³  throughout the world ³⁴  have come here too, 17:7 and ³⁵  Jason has welcomed them as guests! They ³⁶  are all acting against Caesar’s ³⁷  decrees, saying there is another king named ³⁸  Jesus!” ³⁹  17:8 They caused confusion among ⁴⁰  the crowd and the city officials ⁴¹  who heard these things. 17:9 After ⁴²  the city officials ⁴³  had received bail ⁴⁴  from Jason and the others, they released them.

Acts 17:17

17:17 So he was addressing ⁴⁵  the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles ⁴⁶  in the synagogue, ⁴⁷  and in the marketplace every day ⁴⁸  those who happened to be there.

Acts 19:8

Paul Continues to Minister at Ephesus

19:8 So Paul ⁴⁹  entered ⁵⁰  the synagogue ⁵¹  and spoke out fearlessly ⁵²  for three months, addressing ⁵³  and convincing ⁵⁴  them about the kingdom of God. ⁵⁵ 

Philippians 1:27-30

1:27 Only conduct yourselves ⁵⁶  in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that – whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent – I should hear that ⁵⁷  you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel, ⁵⁸  1:28 and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is ⁵⁹  a sign of their ⁶⁰  destruction, but of your salvation – a sign which ⁶¹  is from God. 1:29 For it has been granted to you ⁶²  not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him, 1:30 since you are encountering ⁶³  the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing. ⁶⁴ 

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ⁶⁵  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ⁶⁶ 

Jude 1:3

Condemnation of the False Teachers

1:3 Dear friends, although I have been eager to write to you ⁶⁷  about our common salvation, I now feel compelled ⁶⁸  instead to write to encourage ⁶⁹  you to contend earnestly ⁷⁰  for the faith ⁷¹  that was once for all ⁷²  entrusted to the saints. ⁷³ 

[6:9]  ¹ sn A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).

[6:9]  ² tn Grk “the so-called Synagogue of the Freedmen.” The translation of the participle λεγομένης (legomenh") by the phrase “as it was called” is given by L&N 87.86. “Freedmen” would be slaves who had gained their freedom, or the descendants of such people (BDAG 594-95 s.v. Λιβερτῖνος).

[6:9]  ³ 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.

[6:10]  ⁴ tn Grk “and.” The context, however, indicates that the conjunction carries an adversative force.

[6:10]  ⁵ sn They were not able to resist. This represents another fulfillment of Luke 12:11-12; 21:15.

[15:1]  ⁶ sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.

[15:1]  ⁷ tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.

[15:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “no little argument and debate” (an idiom).

[15:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the church, or the rest of the believers at Antioch) has been specified to avoid confusion with the Judaizers mentioned in the preceding clause.

[15:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “go up to,” but in this context a meeting is implied.

[15:2]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:2]  ¹² tn Or “point of controversy.” It is unclear whether this event parallels Gal 2:1-10 or that Gal 2 fits with Acts 11:30. More than likely Gal 2:1-10 is to be related to Acts 11:30.

[17:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “he went in to them”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:2]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 772 s.v. παρατίθημι 2.b has “demonstrate, point out” here.

[17:3]  ¹⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[17:3]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[17:4]  ²⁰ tn Or “convinced.”

[17:4]  ²¹ tn Or “a large crowd.”

[17:4]  ²² tn Or “of devout Greeks,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Luke frequently mentions such people (Acts 13:43, 50; 16:14; 17:17; 18:7).

[17:4]  ²³ tn Grk “not a few”; this use of negation could be misleading to the modern English reader, however, and so has been translated as “quite a few” (which is the actual meaning of the expression).

[17:5]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ tn On this term, which is a NT hapax legomenon, see BDAG 745 s.v. ὀχλοποιέω.

[17:5]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ sn The attack took place at Jason’s house because this was probably the location of the new house church.

[17:5]  ²⁹ tn Grk “them”; the referents (Paul and Silas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:5]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ tn Or “the empire.” This was a way of referring to the Roman empire (BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουμένη 2.b).

[17:7]  ³⁵ tn Grk “whom.” Because of the awkwardness in English of having two relative clauses follow one another (“who have stirred up trouble…whom Jason has welcomed”) the relative pronoun here (“whom”) has been replaced by the conjunction “and,” creating a clause that is grammatically coordinate but logically subordinate in the translation.

[17:7]  ³⁶ tn Grk “and they.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[17:7]  ³⁷ tn Or “the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[17:7]  ³⁸ tn The word “named” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity.

[17:7]  ³⁹ sn Acting…saying…Jesus. The charges are serious, involving sedition (Luke 23:2). If the political charges were true, Rome would have to react.

[17:8]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “They troubled the crowd and the city officials”; but this could be understood to mean “they bothered” or “they annoyed.” In reality the Jewish instigators managed to instill doubt and confusion into both the mob and the officials by their false charges of treason. Verse 8 suggests the charges raised again Paul, Silas, Jason, and the others were false.

[17:8]  ⁴¹ 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.’”

[17:9]  ⁴² tn Grk “And after.” 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.

[17:9]  ⁴³ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the city officials) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:9]  ⁴⁴ tn That is, “a payment” or “a pledge of security” (BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 1) for which “bail” is the most common contemporary English equivalent.

[17:17]  ⁴⁵ 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 17:17. 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.

[17:17]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “and the devout,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44, and the note on the phrase “God-fearing Greeks” in 17:4.

[17:17]  ⁴⁷ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[17:17]  ⁴⁸ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[19:8]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “So entering the synagogue, he spoke out fearlessly.” The participle εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:8]  ⁵¹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[19:8]  ⁵² tn Or “boldly.”

[19:8]  ⁵³ 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 19:8. 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.

[19:8]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “addressing them persuasively.” The two participles διαλεγόμενος and πείθων (dialegomeno" and peiqwn) can be understood as a hendiadys (so NIV, NRSV), thus, “addressing them persuasively.”

[19:8]  ⁵⁵ sn To talk about Jesus as the Christ who has come is to talk about the kingdom of God. This is yet another summary of the message like that in 18:28.

[1:27]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “live as citizens.” The verb πολιτεύεσθε (politeuesqe) connotes the life of a freeman in a free Roman colony.

[1:27]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “the things concerning you, [namely,] that.” The ὅτι (Joti) clause is appositional to τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν (ta peri Jumwn) and therefore “the things concerning you” was not translated.

[1:27]  ⁵⁸ tn The phrase “the faith of the gospel” could mean one of three things: “the faith that is the gospel” (genitive of apposition), “the faith that originates from the gospel” (genitive of source), or “faith in the gospel” (objective genitive).

[1:28]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “which is,” continuing the sentence begun in v. 27.

[1:28]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “to them.”

[1:28]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “this.” The pronoun refers back to “a sign”; thus these words have been repeated for clarity.

[1:29]  ⁶² tn Grk “For that which is on behalf of Christ has been granted to you – namely, not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him.” The infinitive phrases are epexegetical to the subject, τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ (to Juper Cristou), which has the force of “the on-behalf-of-Christ thing,” or “the thing on behalf of Christ.” To translate this in English requires a different idiom.

[1:30]  ⁶³ tn Grk “having,” most likely as an instrumental participle. Thus their present struggle is evidence that they have received the gift of suffering.

[1:30]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “that you saw in me and now hear [to be] in me.”

[2:1]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[1:3]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “while being quite diligent to write to you,” or “while making all haste to write to you.” Two issues are at stake: (1) whether σπουδή (spoudh) here means diligence, eagerness, or haste; (2) whether ποιούμενος γράφειν (poioumeno" grafein) is to be taken conatively (“I was about to write”) or progressively (“I was writing”). Without knowing more of the background, it is difficult to tell which option is to be preferred.

[1:3]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “I had the necessity.” The term ἀνάγκη (anankh, “necessity”) often connotes urgency or distress. In this context, Jude is indicating that the more comprehensive treatment about the faith shared between himself and his readers was not nearly as urgent as the letter he found it now necessary to write.

[1:3]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “encouraging.” Παρακαλῶν (parakalwn) is most likely a telic participle. In keeping with other participles of purpose, it is present tense and occurs after the main verb.

[1:3]  ⁷⁰ tn the verb ἐπαγωνίζομαι (epagwnizomai) is an intensive form of ἀγωνίζομαι (agwnizomai). As such, the notion of struggling, fighting, contending, etc. is heightened.

[1:3]  ⁷¹ tn Τῇ πίστει (th pistei) here is taken as a dative of advantage (“on behalf of the faith”). Though rare (see BDAG 820 s.v. 3), it is not unexampled and must have this meaning here.

[1:3]  ⁷² sn The adverb once for all (ἅπαξ, Japax) seems to indicate that the doctrinal convictions of the early church had been substantially codified. That is to say, Jude could appeal to written documents of the Christian faith in his arguments with the false teachers. Most likely, these documents were the letters of Paul and perhaps one or more gospels. First and Second Peter may also have been among the documents Jude has in mind (see also the note on the phrase entrusted to the saints in this verse).

[1:3]  ⁷³ sn I now feel compelled instead…saints. Apparently news of some crisis has reached Jude, prompting him to write a different letter than what he had originally planned. A plausible scenario (assuming authenticity of 2 Peter or at least that there are authentic Petrine snippets in it) is that after Peter’s death, Jude intended to write to the same Gentile readers that Peter had written to (essentially, Paul’s churches). Jude starts by affirming that the gospel the Gentiles had received from Paul was the same as the one the Jewish Christians had received from the other apostles (our common salvation). But in the midst of writing this letter, Jude felt that the present crisis deserved another, shorter piece. The crisis, as the letter reveals, is that the false teachers whom Peter prophesied have now infiltrated the church. The letter of Jude is thus an ad hoc letter, intended to confirm the truth of Peter’s letter and encourage the saints to ground their faith in the written documents of the nascent church, rather than listen to the twisted gospel of the false teachers. In large measure, the letter of Jude illustrates the necessity of clinging to the authority of scripture as opposed to those who claim to be prophets.