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 7:22

7:22 So Moses was trained ¹²  in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful ¹³  in his words and deeds.

Acts 10:36

10:36 You know ¹⁴  the message ¹⁵  he sent to the people ¹⁶  of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace ¹⁷  through ¹⁸  Jesus Christ ¹⁹  (he is Lord ²⁰  of all) –

Acts 13:44

13:44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city assembled together to hear the word of the Lord. ²¹ 

Acts 14:12

14:12 They began to call ²²  Barnabas Zeus ²³  and Paul Hermes, ²⁴  because he was the chief speaker.

Acts 15:32

15:32 Both Judas and Silas, who were prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with a long speech. ²⁵ 

Acts 16:32

16:32 Then ²⁶  they spoke the word of the Lord ²⁷  to him, along with all those who were in his house.

Acts 20:2

20:2 After he had gone through those regions ²⁸  and spoken many words of encouragement ²⁹  to the believers there, ³⁰  he came to Greece, ³¹ 

[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.

[7:22]  ¹³ tn Or “instructed.”

[7:22]  ¹⁴ tn Or “was able” (BDAG 264 s.v. δυνατός 1.b.α).

[10:36]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “the word.”

[10:36]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “to the sons.”

[10:36]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Or “by.”

[10:36]  ²² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[10:36]  ²³ 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]  ²¹ 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.

[14:12]  ²⁵ tn The imperfect verb ἐκάλουν (ekaloun) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[14:12]  ²⁶ sn Zeus was the chief Greek deity, worshiped throughout the Greco-Roman world (known to the Romans as Jupiter).

[14:12]  ²⁷ 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).

[15:32]  ²⁹ tn Here λόγου (logou) is singular. BDAG 599-600 s.v. λόγος 1.a.β has “in a long speech” for this phrase.

[16:32]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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.

[20:2]  ³⁷ tn BDAG 633 s.v. μέρος 1.b.γ gives the meanings “the parts (of a geographical area), region, district,” but the use of “district” in this context probably implies too much specificity.

[20:2]  ³⁸ tn Grk “and encouraging them with many words.” The participle παρακαλέσας (parakalesa", “encouraging”) has been translated by the phrase “spoken…words of encouragement” because the formal equivalent is awkward in contemporary English.

[20:2]  ³⁹ tn Grk “[to] them”; the referent (the believers there) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:2]  ⁴⁰ tn In popular usage the term translated “Greece” here could also refer to the Roman province officially known as Achaia (BDAG 318 s.v. ῾Ελλάς).