Acts 1:3

1:3 To the same apostles ¹  also, after his suffering, ²  he presented himself alive with many convincing proofs. He was seen by them over a forty-day period ³  and spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God.

Acts 2:22

2:22 “Men of Israel, ⁴  listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, ⁵  wonders, and miraculous signs ⁶  that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know –

Acts 2:33

2:33 So then, exalted ⁷  to the right hand ⁸  of God, and having received ⁹  the promise of the Holy Spirit ¹⁰  from the Father, he has poured out ¹¹  what you both see and hear.

Acts 4:31

4:31 When ¹²  they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, ¹³  and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak ¹⁴  the word of God ¹⁵  courageously. ¹⁶ 

Acts 6:7

6:7 The word of God continued to spread, ¹⁷  the number of disciples in Jerusalem ¹⁸  increased greatly, and a large group ¹⁹  of priests became obedient to the faith.

Acts 7:43

7:43 But you took along the tabernacle ²⁰  of Moloch ²¹  and the star of the ²²  god Rephan, ²³  the images you made to worship, but I will deport ²⁴  you beyond Babylon.’ ²⁵ 

Acts 10:4

10:4 Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius ²⁶  replied, ²⁷  “What is it, Lord?” The angel ²⁸  said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity ²⁹  have gone up as a memorial ³⁰  before God.

Acts 10:33

10:33 Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come. ³¹  So now we are all here in the presence of God ³²  to listen ³³  to everything the Lord has commanded you to say to us.” ³⁴ 

Acts 10:41

10:41 not by all the people, but by us, the witnesses God had already chosen, ³⁵  who ate and drank ³⁶  with him after he rose from the dead.

Acts 13:43

13:43 When the meeting of the synagogue ³⁷  had broken up, ³⁸  many of the Jews and God-fearing proselytes ³⁹  followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and were persuading ⁴⁰  them ⁴¹  to continue ⁴²  in the grace of God.

Acts 16:17

16:17 She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out, ⁴³  “These men are servants ⁴⁴  of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way ⁴⁵  of salvation.” ⁴⁶ 

Acts 17:13

17:13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica ⁴⁷  heard that Paul had also proclaimed the word of God ⁴⁸  in Berea, ⁴⁹  they came there too, inciting ⁵⁰  and disturbing ⁵¹  the crowds.

Acts 18:26

18:26 He began to speak out fearlessly ⁵²  in the synagogue, ⁵³  but when Priscilla and Aquila ⁵⁴  heard him, they took him aside ⁵⁵  and explained the way of God to him more accurately.

Acts 20:24

20:24 But I do not consider my life ⁵⁶  worth anything ⁵⁷  to myself, so that ⁵⁸  I may finish my task ⁵⁹  and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news ⁶⁰  of God’s grace.

Acts 20:28

20:28 Watch out for ⁶¹  yourselves and for all the flock of which ⁶²  the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, ⁶³  to shepherd the church of God ⁶⁴  that he obtained ⁶⁵  with the blood of his own Son. ⁶⁶ 

Acts 26:22

26:22 I have experienced ⁶⁷  help from God to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except ⁶⁸  what the prophets and Moses said ⁶⁹  was going to happen:

[1:3]  ¹ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the apostles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:3]  ² sn After his suffering is a reference to Jesus’ crucifixion and the abuse which preceded it.

[1:3]  ³ tn Grk “during forty days.” The phrase “over a forty-day period” is used rather than “during forty days” because (as the other NT accounts of Jesus’ appearances make clear) Jesus was not continually visible to the apostles during the forty days, but appeared to them on various occasions.

[2:22]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “miraculous deeds.”

[2:22]  ⁶ tn Again, the context indicates the miraculous nature of these signs, and this is specified in the translation.

[2:33]  ⁷ tn The aorist participle ὑψωθείς (Juywqei") could be taken temporally: “So then, after he was exalted…” In the translation the more neutral “exalted” (a shorter form of “having been exalted”) was used to preserve the ambiguity of the original Greek.

[2:33]  ⁸ sn The expression the right hand of God represents supreme power and authority. Its use here sets up the quotation of Ps 110:1 in v. 34.

[2:33]  ⁹ tn The aorist participle λαβών (labwn) could be taken temporally: “So then, after he was exalted…and received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit.” In the translation the more neutral “having received” was used to preserve the ambiguity of the original Greek.

[2:33]  ¹⁰ tn Here the genitive τοῦ πνεύματος (tou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the promise consists of the Holy Spirit.

[2:33]  ¹¹ sn The use of the verb poured out looks back to 2:17-18, where the same verb occurs twice.

[4:31]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And when.” 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.

[4:31]  ¹¹ sn The place where they were assembled…was shaken. This signifies that God is in their midst. See Acts 16:26; Exod 19:18; Ps 114:7; Isa 6:4.

[4:31]  ¹² tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to speak”). Logical sequencing suggests that their speaking began after they were filled with the Spirit. The prayer was answered immediately.

[4:31]  ¹³ tn Or “speak God’s message.”

[4:31]  ¹⁴ tn Or “with boldness.”

[6:7]  ¹³ tn Grk “kept on spreading”; the verb has been translated as a progressive imperfect.

[6:7]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:7]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “a great multitude.”

[7:43]  ¹⁶ tn Or “tent.”

[7:43]  ¹⁷ sn Moloch was a Canaanite deity who was believed to be the god of the sky and the sun.

[7:43]  ¹⁸ tc ‡ Most mss, including several important ones (Ì⁷⁴ א A C E Ψ 33 1739 Ï h p vg sy^h mae bo Cyr), have ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here, in conformity with the LXX of Amos 5:26. But other significant and diverse witnesses lack the pronoun: The lack of ὑμῶν in B D 36 453 gig sy^p sa Ir^lat Or is difficult to explain if it is not the original wording here. NA²⁷ has the word in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[7:43]  ¹⁹ sn Rephan (῾Ραιφάν, RJaifan) was a pagan deity. The term was a name for Saturn. It was variously spelled in the mss (BDAG 903 s.v. has Rompha as an alternate spelling). The references cover a range of deities and a history of unfaithfulness.

[7:43]  ²⁰ tn Or “I will make you move.”

[7:43]  ²¹ sn A quotation from Amos 5:25-27. This constituted a prediction of the exile.

[10:4]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Cornelius) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:4]  ²⁰ tn Grk “said,” but in response to the angel’s address, “replied” is better English style.

[10:4]  ²¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:4]  ²² tn Or “your gifts to the needy.”

[10:4]  ²³ sn The language used in the expression gone up as a memorial before God parallels what one would say of acceptable sacrifices (Ps 141:2; Sir 35:6; 50:16).

[10:33]  ²² tn Grk “you have done well by coming.” The idiom καλῶς ποιεῖν (kalw" poiein) is translated “be kind enough to do someth.” by BDAG 505-6 s.v. καλῶς 4.a. The participle παραγενόμενος (paragenomeno") has been translated as an English infinitive due to the nature of the English idiom (“kind enough to” + infinitive).

[10:33]  ²³ tn The translation “we are here in the presence of God” for ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ πάρεσμεν (enwpion tou qeou paresmen) is given by BDAG 773 s.v. πάρειμι 1.a.

[10:33]  ²⁴ tn Or “to hear everything.”

[10:33]  ²⁵ tn The words “to say to us” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Cornelius knows Peter is God’s representative, bringing God’s message.

[10:41]  ²⁵ tn Or “the witnesses God had previously chosen.” See Acts 1:8.

[10:41]  ²⁶ sn Ate and drank. See Luke 24:35-49.

[13:43]  ²⁸ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[13:43]  ²⁹ tn BDAG 607 s.v. λύω 3 has “λυθείσης τ. συναγωγῆς when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up Ac 13:43.”

[13:43]  ³⁰ tn Normally the phrase σεβόμενοι τὸν θεόν (sebomenoi ton qeon) refers to Gentiles (“God-fearers”) who believed in God, attended the synagogue, and followed the Mosaic law to some extent, but stopped short of undergoing circumcision. BDAG 918 s.v. σέβω 1.b lists in this category references in Acts 16:14; 18:7; with σεβόμενοι alone, Acts 13:50; 17:4, 17; the phrase is also found in Josephus, Ant. 14.7.2 (14.110). Unique to this particular verse is the combination σεβόμενοι προσηλύτων (sebomenoi proshlutwn). Later rabbinic discussion suggests that to be regarded as a proper proselyte, a Gentile male had to submit to circumcision. If that is the case here, these Gentiles in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch should be regarded as full proselytes who had converted completely to Judaism and undergone circumcision. It is probably more likely, however, that προσηλύτων is used here in a somewhat looser sense (note the use of σεβομένας [sebomena"] alone to refer to women in Acts 13:50) and that these Gentiles were still in the category commonly called “God-fearers” without being full, technical proselytes to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Regardless, the point is that many Gentiles, as well as Jews, came to faith.

[13:43]  ³¹ tn This is the meaning given for ἔπειθον (epeiqon) in this verse by BDAG 791 s.v. πείθω 1.b.

[13:43]  ³² tn Grk “who, as they were speaking with them, were persuading them.”

[13:43]  ³³ tn The verb προμένειν (promenein) is similar in force to the use of μένω (menw, “to reside/remain”) in the Gospel and Epistles of John.

[16:17]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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.

[17:13]  ³⁴ sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).

[17:13]  ³⁵ tn Grk “that the word of God had also been proclaimed by Paul.” This passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:13]  ³⁶ sn Berea (alternate spelling in NRSV Beroea; Greek Beroia) was a very old city in Macedonia on the river Astraeus about 45 mi (75 km) from Thessalonica.

[17:13]  ³⁷ tn BDAG 911 s.v. σαλεύω 2 has “incite” for σαλεύοντες (saleuonte") in Acts 17:13.

[17:13]  ³⁸ tn Or “stirring up” (BDAG 990-91 s.v. ταράσσω 2). The point is the agitation of the crowds.

[18:26]  ³⁷ tn Or “boldly.” This is a frequent term in Acts (9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 19:8; 26:26).

[18:26]  ³⁸ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:26]  ³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰ 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.”

[20:24]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “soul.”

[20:24]  ⁴¹ tn Or “I do not consider my life worth a single word.” According to BDAG 599 s.v. λόγος 1.a.α, “In the textually uncertain pass. Ac 20:24 the text as it stands in N., οὐδενὸς λόγου (v.l. λόγον) ποιοῦμαι τὴν ψυχὴν τιμίαν, may well mean: I do not consider my life worth a single word (cp. λόγου ἄξιον [ἄξιος 1a] and our ‘worth mention’).”

[20:24]  ⁴² tn BDAG 1106 s.v. ὡς 9 describes this use as “a final particle, expressing intention/purpose, with a view to, in order to.”

[20:24]  ⁴³ tn Grk “course.” See L&N 42.26, “(a figurative extension of meaning of δρόμος ‘race’) a task or function involving continuity, serious, effort, and possibly obligation – ‘task, mission’…Ac 20:24.” On this Pauline theme see also Phil 1:19-26; Col 1:24; 2 Tim 4:6-7.

[20:24]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “to the gospel.”

[20:28]  ⁴³ tn Or “Be on your guard for” (cf. v. 29). Paul completed his responsibility to the Ephesians with this warning.

[20:28]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “in which.”

[20:28]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “guardians.” BDAG 379-80 s.v. ἐπίσκοπος 2 states, “The term was taken over in Christian communities in ref. to one who served as overseer or supervisor, with special interest in guarding the apostolic tradition…Ac 20:28.” This functional term describes the role of the elders (see v. 17). They were to guard and shepherd the congregation.

[20:28]  ⁴⁶ tc The reading “of God” (τοῦ θεοῦ, tou qeou) is found in א B 614 1175 1505 al vg sy; other witnesses have “of the Lord” (τοῦ κυρίου, tou kuriou) here (so Ì⁷⁴ A C* D E Ψ 33 1739 al co), while the majority of the later minuscule mss conflate these two into “of the Lord and God” (τοῦ κυρίου καὶ [τοῦ] θεοῦ, tou kuriou kai [tou] qeou). Although the evidence is evenly balanced between the first two readings, τοῦ θεοῦ is decidedly superior on internal grounds. The final prepositional phrase of this verse, διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου (dia tou {aimato" tou idiou), could be rendered “through his own blood” or “through the blood of his own.” In the latter translation, the object that “own” modifies must be supplied (see tn below for discussion). But this would not be entirely clear to scribes; those who supposed that ἰδίου modified αἵματος would be prone to alter “God” to “Lord” to avoid the inference that God had blood. In a similar way, later scribes would be prone to conflate the two titles, thereby affirming the deity (with the construction τοῦ κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ following the Granville Sharp rule and referring to a single person [see ExSyn 272, 276-77, 290]) and substitutionary atonement of Christ. For these reasons, τοῦ θεοῦ best explains the rise of the other readings and should be considered authentic.

[20:28]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “acquired.”

[20:28]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “with his own blood”; Grk “with the blood of his own.” The genitive construction could be taken in two ways: (1) as an attributive genitive (second attributive position) meaning “his own blood”; or (2) as a possessive genitive, “with the blood of his own.” In this case the referent is the Son, and the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. See further C. F. DeVine, “The Blood of God,” CBQ 9 (1947): 381-408.

[26:22]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “So experiencing…I stand.” The participle τυχών (tucwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[26:22]  ⁴⁷ tn BDAG 311 s.v. ἐκτός 3.b, “functions as prep. w. gen. οὐδὲν ἐ. ὧν nothing except what (cf. 1 Ch 29:3; 2 Ch 17:19; TestNapht. 6:2) Ac 26:22.”

[26:22]  ⁴⁸ sn What the prophets and Moses said. Paul argued that his message reflected the hope of the Jewish scriptures.