Acts 8:3

8:3 But Saul was trying to destroy ¹  the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off ²  both men and women and put them in prison. ³ 

Acts 9:1-19

The Conversion of Saul

9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats ⁴  to murder ⁵  the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest 9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ⁶  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ⁷  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ⁸  to Jerusalem. ⁹  9:3 As he was going along, approaching ¹⁰  Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed ¹¹  around him. 9:4 He ¹²  fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, ¹³  why are you persecuting me?” ¹⁴  9:5 So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting! 9:6 But stand up ¹⁵  and enter the city and you will be told ¹⁶  what you must do.” 9:7 (Now the men ¹⁷  who were traveling with him stood there speechless, ¹⁸  because they heard the voice but saw no one.) ¹⁹  9:8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open, ²⁰  he could see nothing. ²¹  Leading him by the hand, his companions ²²  brought him into Damascus. 9:9 For ²³  three days he could not see, and he neither ate nor drank anything. ²⁴ 

9:10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The ²⁵  Lord ²⁶  said to him in a vision, “Ananias,” and he replied, “Here I am, ²⁷  Lord.” 9:11 Then the Lord told him, “Get up and go to the street called ‘Straight,’ ²⁸  and at Judas’ house look for a man from Tarsus named Saul. For he is praying, 9:12 and he has seen in a vision ²⁹  a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him so that he may see again.” 9:13 But Ananias replied, ³⁰  “Lord, I have heard from many people ³¹  about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, 9:14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison ³²  all who call on your name!” ³³  9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument ³⁴  to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. ³⁵  9:16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” ³⁶  9:17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, placed ³⁷  his hands on Saul ³⁸  and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came here, ³⁹  has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ⁴⁰  9:18 Immediately ⁴¹  something like scales ⁴²  fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He ⁴³  got up and was baptized, 9:19 and after taking some food, his strength returned.

For several days ⁴⁴  he was with the disciples in Damascus,

Acts 22:3-4

22:3 “I am a Jew, ⁴⁵  born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up ⁴⁶  in this city, educated with strictness ⁴⁷  under ⁴⁸  Gamaliel ⁴⁹  according to the law of our ancestors, ⁵⁰  and was ⁵¹  zealous ⁵²  for God just as all of you are today. 22:4 I ⁵³  persecuted this Way ⁵⁴  even to the point of death, ⁵⁵  tying up ⁵⁶  both men and women and putting ⁵⁷  them in prison,

Acts 26:9-10

26:9 Of course, ⁵⁸  I myself was convinced ⁵⁹  that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 26:10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received ⁶⁰  from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote ⁶¹  against them when they were sentenced to death. ⁶² 

Acts 26:1

Paul Offers His Defense

26:1 So Agrippa ⁶³  said to Paul, “You have permission ⁶⁴  to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand ⁶⁵  and began his defense: ⁶⁶ 

Colossians 1:9

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ⁶⁷  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ⁶⁸  to fill ⁶⁹  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁷⁰  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:13

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ⁷¹ 

[8:3]  ¹ tn Or “began to harm [the church] severely.” If the nuance of this verb is “destroy,” then the imperfect verb ἐλυμαίνετο (elumaineto) is best translated as a conative imperfect as in the translation above. If instead the verb is taken to mean “injure severely” (as L&N 20.24), it should be translated in context as an ingressive imperfect (“began to harm the church severely”). Either option does not significantly alter the overall meaning, since it is clear from the stated actions of Saul in the second half of the verse that he intended to destroy or ravage the church.

[8:3]  ² tn The participle σύρων (surwn) has been translated as an finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:3]  ³ tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3.”

[9:1]  ⁴ tn Or “Saul, making dire threats.”

[9:1]  ⁵ tn The expression “breathing out threats and murder” is an idiomatic expression for “making threats to murder” (see L&N 33.293). Although the two terms “threats” and “murder” are syntactically coordinate, the second is semantically subordinate to the first. In other words, the content of the threats is to murder the disciples.

[9:2]  ⁶ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:2]  ⁷ sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).

[9:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.

[9:2]  ⁹ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

[9:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “As he was going along, it happened that when he was approaching.” The 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.

[9:3]  ¹¹ tn Or “shone” (BDAG 799 s.v. περιαστράπτω). The light was more brilliant than the sun according to Acts 26:13.

[9:4]  ¹² tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[9:4]  ¹³ tn The double vocative suggests emotion.

[9:4]  ¹⁴ sn Persecuting me. To persecute the church is to persecute Jesus.

[9:6]  ¹⁵ tn Or “But arise.”

[9:6]  ¹⁶ tn Literally a passive construction, “it will be told to you.” This has been converted to another form of passive construction in the translation.

[9:7]  ¹⁷ tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which is used only rarely in a generic sense of both men and women. In the historical setting here, Paul’s traveling companions were almost certainly all males.

[9:7]  ¹⁸ tn That is, unable to speak because of fear or amazement. See BDAG 335 s.v. ἐνεός.

[9:7]  ¹⁹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Acts 22:9 appears to indicate that they saw the light but did not hear a voice. They were “witnesses” that something happened.

[9:8]  ²⁰ tn Grk “his eyes being open,” a genitive absolute construction that has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[9:8]  ²¹ sn He could see nothing. This sign of blindness, which was temporary until v. 18, is like the sign of deafness experienced by Zechariah in Luke 1. It allowed some time for Saul (Paul) to reflect on what had happened without distractions.

[9:8]  ²² tn Grk “they”; the referents (Saul’s companions) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:9]  ²³ tn Grk “And for.” 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.

[9:9]  ²⁴ tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader. The fasting might indicate an initial realization of Luke 5:33-39. Fasting was usually accompanied by reflective thought.

[9:10]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And the.” 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.

[9:10]  ²⁶ sn The Lord is directing all the events leading to the expansion of the gospel as he works on both sides of the meeting between Paul and Ananias. “The Lord” here refers to Jesus (see v. 17).

[9:10]  ²⁷ tn Grk “behold, I,” but this construction often means “here is/there is” (cf. BDAG 468 s.v. ἰδού 2).

[9:11]  ²⁸ sn The noting of the detail of the locale, ironically called ‘Straight’ Street, shows how directive and specific the Lord was.

[9:12]  ²⁹ tc ‡ The words ἐν ὀράματι (en oramati, “in a vision”) are not found in some of the earliest and best mss (Ì⁷⁴ א A 81 pc lat sa bo), but are implied from the context. The phrase is included, although sometimes in a different order with ἄνδρα (andra, “man”) or omitting ἄνδρα altogether, by B C E Ψ 33 1175 1739 Ï. The order of words in NA²⁷, ἄνδρα ἐν ὁράματι, is supported only by B C 1175. Generally speaking, when there are three or more variants, with one an omission and the others involving rearrangements, the longer readings are later scribal additions. Further, the reading looks like a clarifying note, for an earlier vision is explicitly mentioned in v. 10. On the other hand, it is possible that some scribes deleted the words because of perceived repetition, though this is unlikely since it is a different vision two verses back. It is also possible that some scribes could have confused ὁράματι with ὀνόματι (onomati, “name”); TCGNT 319 notes that several mss place ονόματι before ᾿Ανανίαν (Ananian, “Ananias”) while a few others drop ὀνόματι altogether. The Sahidic mss are among those that drop the word, however, and they also lack ἐν ὁράματι; all that is left is one version and father that drops ὀνόματι. Perhaps the best argument for the authenticity of the phrase is that B C 1175 preserve a rare, distinctively Lukan word order, but this is not nearly as harsh or unusual as what Luke does elsewhere. A decision is difficult in this case, but on balance the omission of the phrase seems to be authentic. The words are nevertheless added in the translation because of contextual considerations. NA²⁷ places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[9:13]  ³⁰ sn Ananias replied. Past events might have suggested to Ananias that this was not good counsel, but like Peter in Acts 10, Ananias’ intuitions were wrong.

[9:13]  ³¹ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[9:14]  ³² tn Grk “to bind.”

[9:14]  ³³ sn The expression “those who call on your name” is a frequent description of believers (Acts 2:21; 1 Cor 1:2; Rom 10:13).

[9:15]  ³⁴ tn Or “tool.”

[9:15]  ³⁵ tn Grk “the sons of Israel.” In Acts, Paul is a minister to all nations, including Israel (Rom 1:16-17).

[9:16]  ³⁶ tn Or “because of my name.” BDAG 1031 s.v. ὑπέρ 2 lists Acts 9:16 as an example of ὑπέρ (Juper) used to indicate “the moving cause or reason, because of, for the sake of, for.”

[9:17]  ³⁷ tn Grk “and placing his hands on Saul, he said.” The participle ἐπιθείς (epiqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. For the same reason καί (kai) has not been translated before the participle.

[9:17]  ³⁸ tn Grk “on him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:17]  ³⁹ tn Grk “on the road in which you came,” but the relative clause makes for awkward English style, so it was translated as a temporal clause (“as you came here”).

[9:17]  ⁴⁰ sn Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Here someone who is not an apostle (Ananias) commissions another person with the Spirit.

[9:18]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “And immediately.” 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.

[9:18]  ⁴² tn The comparison to “scales” suggests a crusty covering which peeled away (cf. BDAG 592 s.v. λεπίς 2).

[9:18]  ⁴³ tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence was started, with “and” placed before the final element of the previous clause as required by English style.

[9:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “It happened that for several days.” 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.

[22:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

[22:3]  ⁴⁶ tn BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατρέφω b has “of mental and spiritual nurture bring up, rear, train…ἀνατεθραμμένος ἐν τ. πόλει ταύτῃ 22:3.”

[22:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “with precision.” Although often translated “strictly” this can be misunderstood for “solely” in English. BDAG 39 s.v. ἀκρίβεια gives the meaning as “exactness, precision.” To avoid the potential misunderstanding the translation “with strictness” is used, although it is slightly more awkward than “strictly.”

[22:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “strictly at the feet of” (an idiom).

[22:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “brought up in this city under Gamaliel, educated with strictness…” The phrase παρὰ τοὺς πόδας Γαμαλιὴλ (para tou" poda" Gamalihl) could be understood with what precedes or with what follows. The punctuation of NA²⁷ and UBS⁴, which place a comma after ταύτῃ (tauth), has been followed in the translation.

[22:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “our forefathers.”

[22:3]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “ancestors, being.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:3]  ⁵² tn BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.α has “of pers. …ζ. τοῦ θεοῦ one who is loyal to God Ac 22:3.”

[22:4]  ⁵³ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the first person pronoun (“I”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[22:4]  ⁵⁴ sn That is, persecuted the Christian movement (Christianity). The Way is also used as a description of the Christian faith in Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22).

[22:4]  ⁵⁵ tn BDAG 442-43 s.v. θάνατος 1.a has “διώκειν ἄχρι θανάτου persecute even to death Ac 22:4.”

[22:4]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “binding.” See Acts 8:3.

[22:4]  ⁵⁷ tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “W. local εἰς…εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3; cp. 22:4.”

[26:9]  ⁵⁸ tn BDAG 737 s.v. οὖν 3 states, “It has been proposed that some traces of older Gk. usage in which οὖν is emphatic, = certainly, really, to be sure etc. (s. L-S-J-M s.v. 1) remain in the pap…and in the NT…indeed, of course Ac 26:9.”

[26:9]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “I thought to myself.” BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.a has “ἔδοξα ἐμαυτῷ δεῖν πρᾶξαι = Lat. mihi videbar I was convinced that it was necessary to do Ac 26:9.”

[26:10]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “by receiving authority.” The participle λαβών (labwn) has been taken instrumentally.

[26:10]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “cast down a pebble against them.” L&N 30.103 states, “(an idiom, Grk ‘to bring a pebble against someone,’ a reference to a white or black pebble used in voting for or against someone) to make known one’s choice against someone – ‘to vote against.’ …‘when they were sentenced to death, I also voted against them’ Ac 26:10.”

[26:10]  ⁶² tn Grk “when they were being executed”; but the context supports the sentencing rather than the execution itself (cf. L&N 30.103).

[26:1]  ⁶³ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:1]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “It is permitted for you.”

[26:1]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “extended his hand” (a speaker’s gesture).

[26:1]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “and began to speak in his own defense.”

[1:9]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ⁶⁸ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ⁶⁹ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:1]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:13]  ⁷¹ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).