Acts 1:1

Jesus Ascends to Heaven

1:1 I wrote ¹  the former ²  account, ³  Theophilus, ⁴  about all that Jesus began to do and teach

Acts 2:41

2:41 So those who accepted ⁵  his message ⁶  were baptized, and that day about three thousand people ⁷  were added. ⁸ 

Acts 4:4

4:4 But many of those who had listened to ⁹  the message ¹⁰  believed, and the number of the men ¹¹  came to about five thousand.

Acts 10:36

10:36 You know ¹²  the message ¹³  he sent to the people ¹⁴  of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace ¹⁵  through ¹⁶  Jesus Christ ¹⁷  (he is Lord ¹⁸  of all) –

Acts 13:44

13:44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city assembled together to hear the word of the Lord. ¹⁹ 

Acts 16:32

16:32 Then ²⁰  they spoke the word of the Lord ²¹  to him, along with all those who were in his house.

[1:1]  ¹ tn Or “produced,” Grk “made.”

[1:1]  ² tn Or “first.” The translation “former” is preferred because “first” could imply to the modern English reader that the author means that his previous account was the first one to be written down. The Greek term πρῶτος (prwtos) does not necessarily mean “first” in an absolute sense, but can refer to the first in a set or series. That is what is intended here – the first account (known as the Gospel of Luke) as compared to the second one (known as Acts).

[1:1]  ³ tn The Greek word λόγος (logos) is sometimes translated “book” (NRSV, NIV) or “treatise” (KJV). A formal, systematic treatment of a subject is implied, but the word “book” may be too specific and slightly misleading to the modern reader, so “account” has been used.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “O Theophilus,” but the usage of the vocative in Acts with ὦ (w) is unemphatic, following more the classical idiom (see ExSyn 69).

[2:41]  ⁵ tn Or “who acknowledged the truth of.”

[2:41]  ⁶ tn Grk “word.”

[2:41]  ⁷ tn Grk “souls” (here an idiom for the whole person).

[2:41]  ⁸ tn Or “were won over.”

[4:4]  ⁹ tn Or “had heard.”

[4:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “word.”

[4:4]  ¹¹ tn In the historical setting it is likely that only men are referred to here. The Greek term ἀνήρ (anhr) usually refers to males or husbands rather than people in general. Thus to translate “of the people” would give a false impression of the number, since any women and children were apparently not included in the count.

[10:36]  ¹³ tn The subject and verb (“you know”) do not actually occur until the following verse, but have been repeated here because of the requirements of English word order.

[10:36]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the word.”

[10:36]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to the sons.”

[10:36]  ¹⁶ sn Peace is a key OT concept: Isa 52:7; Nah 1:15; also for Luke: Luke 1:79; 2:14; Acts 9:31. See also the similar phrase in Eph 2:17.

[10:36]  ¹⁷ tn Or “by.”

[10:36]  ¹⁸ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[10:36]  ¹⁹ sn He is Lord of all. Though a parenthetical remark, this is the theological key to the speech. Jesus is Lord of all, so the gospel can go to all. The rest of the speech proclaims Jesus’ authority.

[13:44]  ¹⁷ tc Most mss (B* C E Ψ Ï sy bo) read θεοῦ (qeou, “of God”) here instead of κυρίου (kuriou, “of the Lord”). Other mss, among them some important early witnesses (Ì⁷⁴ א A B² 33 81 323 945 1175 1739 al sa), read κυρίου. The external evidence favors κυρίου, though not decisively. Internally, the mention of “God” in v. 43, and especially “the word of God” in v. 46, would provide some temptation for scribes to assimilate the wording in v. 44 to these texts.

[16:32]  ²¹ tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the continuity with the preceding verse. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style does not.

[16:32]  ²² sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.