Acts 1:20

1:20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his house become deserted, ¹  and let there be no one to live in it,’ ²  and ‘Let another take his position of responsibility.’ ³ 

Acts 5:38

5:38 So in this case I say to you, stay away from these men and leave them alone, because if this plan or this undertaking originates with people, ⁴  it will come to nothing, ⁵ 

Acts 7:5

7:5 He ⁶  did not give any of it to him for an inheritance, ⁷  not even a foot of ground, ⁸  yet God ⁹  promised to give it to him as his possession, and to his descendants after him, ¹⁰  even though Abraham ¹¹  as yet had no child.

Acts 8:26

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

8:26 Then an angel of the Lord ¹²  said to Philip, ¹³  “Get up and go south ¹⁴  on the road that goes down from Jerusalem ¹⁵  to Gaza.” (This is a desert ¹⁶  road.) ¹⁷ 

Acts 8:32

8:32 Now the passage of scripture the man ¹⁸  was reading was this:

“He was led like a sheep to slaughter,

and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,

so he did ¹⁹  not open his mouth.

Acts 9:38

9:38 Because Lydda ²⁰  was near Joppa, when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Come to us without delay.” ²¹ 

Acts 16:17-18

16:17 She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out, ²²  “These men are servants ²³  of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way ²⁴  of salvation.” ²⁵  16:18 She continued to do this for many days. But Paul became greatly annoyed, ²⁶  and turned ²⁷  and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ ²⁸  to come out of her!” And it came out of her at once. ²⁹ 

[1:20]  ¹ tn Or “uninhabited” or “empty.”

[1:20]  ² sn A quotation from Ps 69:25.

[1:20]  ³ tn Or “Let another take his office.”

[5:38]  ⁴ tn Here ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[5:38]  ⁵ tn Or “it will be put to an end.”

[7:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “And he.” 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.

[7:5]  ⁸ tn Grk “He did not give him an inheritance in it.” This could be understood to mean that God did not give something else to Abraham as an inheritance while he was living there. The point of the text is that God did not give any of the land to him as an inheritance, and the translation makes this clear.

[7:5]  ⁹ tn Grk “a step of a foot” (cf. Deut 2:5).

[7:5]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:5]  ¹¹ sn An allusion to Gen 12:7; 13:15; 15:2, 18; 17:8; 24:7; 48:4. On the theological importance of the promise and to his descendants after him, see Rom 4 and Gal 3.

[7:5]  ¹² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:26]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.

[8:26]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Lord spoke to Philip, saying.” The redundant participle λέγων (legwn) has not been translated.

[8:26]  ¹² tn Or “Get up and go about noon.” The phrase κατὰ μεσημβρίαν (kata meshmbrian) can be translated either “about noon” (L&N 67.74) or “toward the south” (L&N 82.4). Since the angel’s command appears to call for immediate action (“Get up”) and would not therefore need a time indicator, a directional reference (“toward the south”) is more likely here.

[8:26]  ¹³ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:26]  ¹⁴ tn Or “wilderness.”

[8:26]  ¹⁵ tn The words “This is a desert road” are probably best understood as a comment by the author of Acts, but it is possible they form part of the angel’s speech to Philip, in which case the verse would read: “Get up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza – the desert road.”

[8:32]  ¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:32]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “does.” The present tense here was translated as a past tense to maintain consistency with the first line of the quotation (“he was led like a sheep to slaughter”), which has an aorist passive verb normally translated as a past tense in English.

[9:38]  ¹⁶ sn Lydda was a city northwest of Jerusalem on the way to Joppa.

[9:38]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Do not delay to come to us.” It is somewhat smoother to say in English, “Come to us without delay.”

[16:17]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “crying out, saying”; the participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant in English and has not been translated. The imperfect verb ἔκραζεν (ekrazen) has been translated as a progressive imperfect.

[16:17]  ²⁰ tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18. The translation “servants” was used here because in this context there appears to be more emphasis on the activity of Paul and his companions (“proclaiming to you the way of salvation”) than on their status as “slaves of the Most High God.”

[16:17]  ²¹ tn Or “a way.” The grammar of this phrase is a bit ambiguous. The phrase in Greek is ὁδὸν σωτηρίας (Jodon swthria"). Neither the head noun nor the genitive noun has the article; this is in keeping with Apollonius’ Canon (see ExSyn 239-40). Since both nouns are anarthrous, this construction also fits Apollonius’ Corollary (see ExSyn 250-54); since the genitive noun is abstract it is most naturally qualitative, so the head noun could either be definite or indefinite without being unusual as far as the grammar is concerned. Luke’s usage of ὁδός elsewhere is indecisive as far as this passage is concerned. However, when one looks at the historical background it is clear that (1) the woman is shut up (via exorcism) not because her testimony is false but because of its source (analogous to Jesus’ treatment of demons perhaps), and (b) “the way” is a par excellence description of the new faith throughout Acts. It thus seems that at least in Luke’s presentation “the way of salvation” is the preferred translation.

[16:17]  ²² sn Proclaiming to you the way of salvation. The remarks were an ironic recognition of Paul’s authority, but he did not desire such a witness, possibly for fear of confusion. Her expression the Most High God might have been understood as Zeus by the audience.

[16:18]  ²² tn Grk “becoming greatly annoyed.” The participle διαπονηθείς (diaponhqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. The aorist has been translated as an ingressive aorist (entry into a state or condition). See BDAG 235 s.v. διαπονέομαι.

[16:18]  ²³ tn Grk “and turning.” The participle ἐπιστρέψας (epistreya") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:18]  ²⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[16:18]  ²⁵ tn BDAG 1102-3 s.v. ὥρα 2.c has “at that very time, at once, instantly” for the usage in this verse.