Acts 1:11

1:11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here ¹  looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven ²  will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.”

Acts 2:22

2:22 “Men of Israel, ³  listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, ⁴  wonders, and miraculous signs ⁵  that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know –

Acts 3:16

3:16 And on the basis of faith in Jesus’ ⁶  name, ⁷  his very name has made this man – whom you see and know – strong. The ⁸  faith that is through Jesus ⁹  has given him this complete health in the presence ¹⁰  of you all.

Acts 3:22

3:22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must obey ¹¹  him in everything he tells you. ¹² 

Acts 3:25

3:25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, ¹³  saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants ¹⁴  all the nations ¹⁵  of the earth will be blessed.’ ¹⁶ 

Acts 5:28

5:28 saying, “We gave ¹⁷  you strict orders ¹⁸  not to teach in this name. ¹⁹  Look, ²⁰  you have filled Jerusalem ²¹  with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood ²²  on us!”

Acts 7:52

7:52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors ²³  not persecute? ²⁴  They ²⁵  killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, ²⁶  whose betrayers and murderers you have now become! ²⁷ 

Acts 13:41

13:41 ‘Look, you scoffers; be amazed and perish! ²⁸ 

For I am doing a work in your days,

a work you would never believe, even if someone tells you.’” ²⁹ 

Acts 17:23

17:23 For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship, ³⁰  I even found an altar with this inscription: ³¹  ‘To an unknown god.’ Therefore what you worship without knowing it, ³²  this I proclaim to you.

Acts 18:14

18:14 But just as Paul was about to speak, ³³  Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy, ³⁴  I would have been justified in accepting the complaint ³⁵  of you Jews, ³⁶ 

Acts 20:18

20:18 When they arrived, he said to them, “You yourselves know how I lived ³⁷  the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot ³⁸  in the province of Asia, ³⁹ 

Acts 25:26

25:26 But I have nothing definite ⁴⁰  to write to my lord ⁴¹  about him. ⁴²  Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, ⁴³  so that after this preliminary hearing ⁴⁴  I may have something to write.

Acts 28:25

28:25 So they began to leave, ⁴⁵  unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors ⁴⁶  through the prophet Isaiah

[1:11]  ¹ tn The word “here” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[1:11]  ² tc Codex Bezae (D) and several other witnesses lack the words εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν (ei" ton ouranon, “into heaven”) here, most likely by way of accidental deletion. In any event, it is hardly correct to suppose that the Western text has intentionally suppressed references to the ascension of Christ here, for the phrase is solidly attested in the final clause of the verse.

[2:22]  ³ tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage, although it can also be argued that Peter’s remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.

[2:22]  ⁴ tn Or “miraculous deeds.”

[2:22]  ⁵ tn Again, the context indicates the miraculous nature of these signs, and this is specified in the translation.

[3:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “in his name”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:16]  ⁶ sn Here is another example of appeal to the person by mentioning the name. See the note on the word name in 3:6.

[3:16]  ⁷ tn Grk “see and know, and the faith.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation and καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated.

[3:16]  ⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:16]  ⁹ tn Or “in full view.”

[3:22]  ⁷ tn Grk “hear,” but the idea of “hear and obey” or simply “obey” is frequently contained in the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw; see L&N 36.14) and the following context (v. 23) makes it clear that failure to “obey” the words of this “prophet like Moses” will result in complete destruction.

[3:22]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Deut 18:15. By quoting Deut 18:15 Peter declared that Jesus was the eschatological “prophet like [Moses]” mentioned in that passage, who reveals the plan of God and the way of God.

[3:25]  ⁹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[3:25]  ¹⁰ tn Or “in your offspring”; Grk “in your seed.”

[3:25]  ¹¹ tn Or “families.” The Greek word πατριά (patria) can indicate persons of succeeding generations who are related by birth (“lineage,” “family”) but it can also indicate a relatively large unit of people who make up a sociopolitical group and who share a presumed biological descent. In many contexts πατριά is very similar to ἔθνος (eqnos) and λαός (laos). In light of the context of the OT quotation, it is better to translate πατριά as “nations” here.

[3:25]  ¹² sn A quotation from Gen 22:18.

[5:28]  ¹¹ tc ‡ The majority of mss, including a few important witnesses (א² D E [Ψ] 1739 Ï sy sa), have the negative particle οὐ (ou) here, effectively turning the high priest’s words into a question: “Did we not give you strict orders not to teach in this name?” But the earliest and most important mss, along with some others (Ì⁷⁴ א* A B 1175 lat bo), lack the particle, making this a strong statement rather than a question. Scribes may have been tempted to omit the particle to strengthen the contrast between official Judaism and the new faith, but the fact that v. 27 introduces the quotation with ἐπηρώτησεν (ephrwthsen, “he questioned”) may well have prompted scribes to add οὐ to convert the rebuke into a question. Further, that excellent witnesses affirm the shorter reading is sufficient ground for accepting it as most probably authentic. NA²⁷ includes the particle in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[5:28]  ¹² tn Grk “We commanded you with a commandment” (a Semitic idiom that is emphatic).

[5:28]  ¹³ sn The name (i.e., person) of Jesus is the constant issue of debate.

[5:28]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “And behold.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[5:28]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:28]  ¹⁶ sn To bring this man’s blood on us is an idiom meaning “you intend to make us guilty of this man’s death.”

[7:52]  ¹³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ¹⁴ sn Which…persecute. The rhetorical question suggests they persecuted them all.

[7:52]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And they.” 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.

[7:52]  ¹⁶ sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ.

[7:52]  ¹⁷ sn Whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. The harsh critique has OT precedent (1 Kgs 19:10-14; Neh 9:26; 2 Chr 36:16).

[13:41]  ¹⁵ tn Or “and die!”

[13:41]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Hab 1:5. The irony in the phrase even if someone tells you, of course, is that Paul has now told them. So the call in the warning is to believe or else face the peril of being scoffers whom God will judge. The parallel from Habakkuk is that the nation failed to see how Babylon’s rising to power meant perilous judgment for Israel.

[17:23]  ¹⁷ tn Or “your sanctuaries.” L&N 53.54 gives “sanctuary” (place of worship) as an alternate meaning for the word σεβάσματα (sebasmata).

[17:23]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “on which was written,” but since it would have been carved in stone, it is more common to speak of an “inscription” in English. To simplify the English the relative construction with a passive verb (“on which was inscribed”) was translated as a prepositional phrase with a substantive (“inscription”).

[17:23]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 13 s.v. ἀγνοέω 1.b has “Abs. ὅ ἀγνοοῦντες εὐσεβεῖτε what you worship without knowing it (on the subject matter Maximus Tyr. 11, 5e: all sorts of philosophers ἴσασιν οὐκ ἑκόντες καὶ λέγουσιν ἄκοντες sc. τὸ θεῖον = they know and name God without intending to do so) Ac 17:23.” Paul, in typical Jewish Christian style, informs them of the true God, of whom their idols are an ignorant reflection.

[18:14]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “about to open his mouth” (an idiom).

[18:14]  ²⁰ tn BDAG 902 s.v. ῥᾳδιούργημα states, “From the sense ‘prank, knavery, roguish trick, slick deed’ it is but a short step to that of a serious misdeed, crime, villainy…a serious piece of villainy Ac 18:14 (w. ἀδίκημα).”

[18:14]  ²¹ tn According to BDAG 78 s.v. ἀνέχω 3 this is a legal technical term: “Legal t.t. κατὰ λόγον ἂν ἀνεσχόμην ὑμῶν I would have been justified in accepting your complaint Ac 18:14.”

[18:14]  ²² tn Grk “accepting your complaint, O Jews.”

[20:18]  ²¹ tn Grk “You yourselves know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time.” This could be understood to mean “how I stayed with you the whole time,” but the following verses make it clear that Paul’s lifestyle while with the Ephesians is in view here. Thus the translation “how I lived the whole time I was with you” makes this clear.

[20:18]  ²² tn Or “I arrived.” BDAG 367 s.v. ἐπιβαίνω 2, “set foot in…εἰς τ. ᾿Ασίαν set foot in Asia Ac 20:18.” However, L&N 15.83 removes the idiom: “you know that since the first day that I came to Asia.”

[20:18]  ²³ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 16.

[25:26]  ²³ sn There is irony here. How can Festus write anything definite about Paul, if he is guilty of nothing.

[25:26]  ²⁴ sn To my lord means “to His Majesty the Emperor.”

[25:26]  ²⁵ tn Grk “about whom I have nothing definite…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced with a personal pronoun (“him”) and a new sentence begun in the translation at the beginning of v. 26.

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

[25:26]  ²⁷ tn Or “investigation.” BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνάκρισις has “a judicial hearing, investigation, hearing, esp. preliminary hearing…τῆς ἀ. γενομένης Ac 25:26.” This is technical legal language.

[28:25]  ²⁵ tn The imperfect verb ἀπελύοντο (apeluonto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[28:25]  ²⁶ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”