Acts 1:26

1:26 Then ¹  they cast lots for them, and the one chosen was Matthias; ²  so he was counted with the eleven apostles. ³ 

Acts 2:45

2:45 and they began selling ⁴  their property ⁵  and possessions and distributing the proceeds ⁶  to everyone, as anyone had need.

Acts 3:24

3:24 And all the prophets, from Samuel and those who followed him, have spoken about and announced ⁷  these days.

Acts 11:24

11:24 because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a significant number of people ⁸  were brought to the Lord.

Acts 14:21

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria

14:21 After they had proclaimed the good news in that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, ⁹  to Iconium, ¹⁰  and to Antioch. ¹¹ 

Acts 15:20

15:20 but that we should write them a letter ¹²  telling them to abstain ¹³  from things defiled ¹⁴  by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled ¹⁵  and from blood.

Acts 15:29

15:29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols ¹⁶  and from blood and from what has been strangled ¹⁷  and from sexual immorality. ¹⁸  If you keep yourselves from doing these things, ¹⁹  you will do well. Farewell. ²⁰ 

Acts 15:32

15:32 Both Judas and Silas, who were prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with a long speech. ²¹ 

[1:26]  ¹ tn 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.

[1:26]  ² tn Grk “and the lot fell on Matthias.”

[1:26]  ³ tn Or “he was counted as one of the apostles along with the eleven.”

[2:45]  ⁴ tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive (“began…”). Since in context this is a description of the beginning of the community of believers, it is more likely that these statements refer to the start of various activities and practices that the early church continued for some time.

[2:45]  ⁵ tn It is possible that the first term for property (κτήματα, kthmata) refers to real estate (as later usage seems to indicate) while the second term (ὑπάρξεις, Juparxeis) refers to possessions in general, but it may also be that the two terms are used together for emphasis, simply indicating that all kinds of possessions were being sold. However, if the first term is more specifically a reference to real estate, it foreshadows the incident with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11.

[2:45]  ⁶ tn Grk “distributing them” (αὐτά, auta). The referent (the proceeds of the sales) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:24]  ⁷ tn Or “proclaimed.”

[11:24]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “a significant crowd.”

[14:21]  ¹³ sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) northwest of Derbe.

[14:21]  ¹⁴ sn Iconium was a city in Lycaonia about 18 mi (30 km) north of Lystra.

[14:21]  ¹⁵ sn Antioch was a city in Pisidia about 90 mi (145 km) west northwest of Lystra.

[15:20]  ¹⁶ tn The translation “to write a letter, to send a letter to” for ἐπιστέλλω (epistellw) is given in L&N 33.49.

[15:20]  ¹⁷ tn Three of the four prohibitions deal with food (the first, third and fourth) while one prohibition deals with behavior (the second, refraining from sexual immorality). Since these occur in the order they do, the translation “abstain from” is used to cover both sorts of activity (eating food items, immoral behavior).

[15:20]  ¹⁸ tn Or “polluted.”

[15:20]  ¹⁹ sn What has been strangled. That is, to refrain from eating animals that had been killed without having the blood drained from them. According to the Mosaic law (Lev 17:13-14), Jews were forbidden to eat flesh with the blood still in it (note the following provision in Acts 15:20, and from blood).

[15:29]  ¹⁹ tn There is no specific semantic component in the Greek word εἰδωλόθυτος that means “meat” (see BDAG 280 s.v. εἰδωλόθυτος; L&N 5.15). The stem –θυτος means “sacrifice” (referring to an animal sacrificially killed) and thereby implies meat.

[15:29]  ²⁰ tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses lack the restriction “and from what has been strangled” (καὶ πνικτῶν, kai pniktwn), though the words are supported by a wide variety of early and important witnesses otherwise and should be considered authentic.

[15:29]  ²¹ tc Codex Bezae (D) as well as 323 614 945 1739 1891 sa and other witnesses have after “sexual immorality” the following statement: “And whatever you do not want to happen to yourselves, do not do to another/others.” By adding this negative form of the Golden Rule, these witnesses effectively change the Apostolic Decree from what might be regarded as ceremonial restrictions into more ethical demands. The issues here are quite complicated, and beyond the scope of this brief note. Suffice it to say that D and its allies here are almost surely an expansion and alteration of the original text of Acts. For an excellent discussion of the exegetical and textual issues, see TCGNT 379-83.

[15:29]  ²² tn Grk “from which things keeping yourselves.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (ὧν, |wn) has been replaced by a pronoun (“these things”) and a new English sentence begun. The participle διατηροῦντες (diathrounte") has been translated as a conditional adverbial participle (“if you keep yourselves”). See further L&N 13.153.

[15:29]  ²³ tn The phrase ἔρρωσθε (errwsqe) may be understood as a stock device indicating a letter is complete (“good-bye,” L&N 33.24) or as a sincere wish that the persons involved may fare well (“may you fare well,” L&N 23.133).

[15:32]  ²² tn Here λόγου (logou) is singular. BDAG 599-600 s.v. λόγος 1.a.β has “in a long speech” for this phrase.