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 3:10

3:10 and they recognized him as the man who used to sit and ask for donations ³  at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with astonishment and amazement ⁴  at what had happened to him.

Acts 6:14

6:14 For we have heard him saying that Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs ⁵  that Moses handed down to us.”

Acts 7:38

7:38 This is the man who was in the congregation ⁶  in the wilderness ⁷  with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors, ⁸  and he ⁹  received living oracles ¹⁰  to give to you. ¹¹ 

Acts 7:40

7:40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go in front of us, for this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt ¹²  – we do not know what has happened to him!’ ¹³ 

Acts 9:15

9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument ¹⁴  to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. ¹⁵ 

Acts 9:21

9:21 All ¹⁶  who heard him were amazed and were saying, “Is this not ¹⁷  the man who in Jerusalem was ravaging ¹⁸  those who call on this name, and who had come here to bring them as prisoners ¹⁹  to the chief priests?”

Acts 17:3

17:3 explaining and demonstrating ²⁰  that the Christ ²¹  had to suffer and to rise from the dead, ²²  saying, ²³  “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” ²⁴ 

Acts 18:25-26

18:25 He had been instructed in ²⁵  the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm ²⁶  he spoke and taught accurately the facts ²⁷  about Jesus, although he knew ²⁸  only the baptism of John. 18:26 He began to speak out fearlessly ²⁹  in the synagogue, ³⁰  but when Priscilla and Aquila ³¹  heard him, they took him aside ³²  and explained the way of God to him more accurately.

Acts 19:26

19:26 And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded ³³  and turned away ³⁴  a large crowd, ³⁵  not only in Ephesus ³⁶  but in practically all of the province of Asia, ³⁷  by saying ³⁸  that gods made by hands are not gods at all. ³⁹ 

Acts 28:4

28:4 When the local people ⁴⁰  saw the creature hanging from Paul’s ⁴¹  hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice herself ⁴²  has not allowed him to live!” ⁴³ 

[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.

[3:10]  ³ tn Grk “alms,” but this term is not in common use today, so the closest modern equivalent, “donations,” is used instead. The idea is that of a donation to charity.

[3:10]  ⁴ sn Amazement is a frequent response to miracles of Jesus or the apostles. These took the ancients by as much surprise as they would people today. But in terms of response to what God is doing, amazement does not equal faith (Luke 4:36; 5:9, 26; 7:16).

[6:14]  ⁵ tn Or “practices.”

[7:38]  ⁷ tn This term, ἐκκλησία (ekklhsia), is a secular use of the term that came to mean “church” in the epistles. Here a reference to an assembly is all that is intended.

[7:38]  ⁸ tn Or “desert.”

[7:38]  ⁹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:38]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “fathers, who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he” and a new clause introduced by “and” was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.

[7:38]  ¹¹ tn Or “messages.” This is an allusion to the law given to Moses.

[7:38]  ¹² tc ‡ The first person pronoun ἡμῖν (Jhmin, “to us”) is read by A C D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï lat sy, while the second person pronoun ὑμῖν (Jumin, “to you”) is read by Ì⁷⁴ א B 36 453 al co. The second person pronoun thus has significantly better external support. As well, ὑμῖν is a harder reading in this context, both because it is surrounded by first person pronouns and because Stephen perhaps “does not wish to disassociate himself from those who received God’s revelation in the past, but only from those who misinterpreted and disobeyed that revelation” (TCGNT 307). At the same time, Stephen does associate himself to some degree with his disobedient ancestors in v. 39, suggesting that the decisive break does not really come until v. 51 (where both his present audience and their ancestors are viewed as rebellious). Thus, both externally and internally ὑμῖν is the preferred reading.

[7:40]  ⁹ tn Or simply “of Egypt.” The phrase “the land of” could be omitted as unnecessary or redundant.

[7:40]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Exod 32:1, 23. Doubt (we do not know what has happened to him) expresses itself in unfaithful action. The act is in contrast to God’s promise in Exod 23:20.

[9:15]  ¹¹ tn Or “tool.”

[9:15]  ¹² tn Grk “the sons of Israel.” In Acts, Paul is a minister to all nations, including Israel (Rom 1:16-17).

[9:21]  ¹³ tn Grk “And all.” 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.

[9:21]  ¹⁴ tn The Greek interrogative particle used in this verse (οὐχ, ouc) expects a positive reply. They all knew about Saul’s persecutions.

[9:21]  ¹⁵ tn Normally, “destroying,” but compare 4 Macc 4:23; 11:4 and MM 529 s.v. πορθέω for examples from Koine papyri. See also BDAG 853 s.v. πορθέω.

[9:21]  ¹⁶ 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.

[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.”

[18:25]  ¹⁷ tn Or “had been taught.”

[18:25]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “and boiling in spirit” (an idiom for great eagerness or enthusiasm; BDAG 426 s.v. ζέω).

[18:25]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “the things.”

[18:25]  ²⁰ tn Grk “knowing”; the participle ἐπιστάμενος (epistameno") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[18:26]  ¹⁹ tn Or “boldly.” This is a frequent term in Acts (9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 19:8; 26:26).

[18:26]  ²⁰ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:26]  ²¹ sn Priscilla and Aquila. This key couple, of which Priscilla was an important enough figure to be mentioned by name, instructed Apollos about the most recent work of God. See also the note on Aquila in 18:2.

[18:26]  ²² tn BDAG 883 s.v. προσλαμβάνω 3 has “take aside, mid. τινά someone…So prob. also Ac 18:26: Priscilla and Aquila take Apollos aside to teach him undisturbed.”

[19:26]  ²¹ tn Grk “persuading.” The participle πείσας (peisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:26]  ²² tn Or “misled.”

[19:26]  ²³ tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 3.a has “of pers. ὄχλος a large crowd…Ac 11:24, 26; 19:26.”

[19:26]  ²⁴ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[19:26]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 22.

[19:26]  ²⁶ tn The participle λέγων (legwn) has been regarded as indicating instrumentality.

[19:26]  ²⁷ tn The words “at all” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[28:4]  ²³ tn Although this is literally βάρβαροι (barbaroi; “foreigners, barbarians”) used for non-Greek or non-Romans, as BDAG 166 s.v. βάρβαρος 2.b notes, “Of the inhabitants of Malta, who apparently spoke in their native language Ac 28:2, 4 (here β. certainly without derogatory tone…).”

[28:4]  ²⁴ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ²⁵ tn That is, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live. BDAG 250 s.v. δίκη 2 states, “Justice personified as a deity Ac 28:4”; L&N 12.27, “a goddess who personifies justice in seeking out and punishing the guilty – ‘the goddess Justice.’ ἡ δίκη ζῆν οὐκ εἴασεν ‘the goddess Justice would not let him live’ Ac 28:4.” Although a number of modern English translations have rendered δίκη (dikh) “justice,” preferring to use an abstraction, in the original setting it is almost certainly a reference to a pagan deity. In the translation, the noun “justice” was capitalized and the reflexive pronoun “herself” was supplied to make the personification clear. This was considered preferable to supplying a word like ‘goddess’ in connection with δίκη.

[28:4]  ²⁶ sn The entire scene is played out initially as a kind of oracle from the gods resulting in the judgment of a guilty person (Justice herself has not allowed him to live). Paul’s survival of this incident without ill effects thus spoke volumes about his innocence.