Acts 1:9

1:9 After ¹  he had said this, while they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Acts 1:12

A Replacement for Judas is Chosen

1:12 Then they returned to Jerusalem ²  from the mountain ³  called the Mount of Olives ⁴  (which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey ⁵  away).

Acts 2:5

2:5 Now there were devout Jews ⁶  from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem. ⁷ 

Acts 3:24

3:24 And all the prophets, from Samuel and those who followed him, have spoken about and announced ⁸  these days.

Acts 5:41

5:41 So they left the council rejoicing because they had been considered worthy ⁹  to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. ¹⁰ 

Acts 9:18

9:18 Immediately ¹¹  something like scales ¹²  fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He ¹³  got up and was baptized,

Acts 12:1

James is Killed and Peter Imprisoned

12:1 About that time King Herod ¹⁴  laid hands on ¹⁵  some from the church to harm them. ¹⁶ 

Acts 13:29

13:29 When they had accomplished ¹⁷  everything that was written ¹⁸  about him, they took him down ¹⁹  from the cross ²⁰  and placed him ²¹  in a tomb.

Acts 15:19

15:19 “Therefore I conclude ²²  that we should not cause extra difficulty ²³  for those among the Gentiles ²⁴  who are turning to God,

Acts 18:21

18:21 but said farewell to ²⁵  them and added, ²⁶  “I will come back ²⁷  to you again if God wills.” ²⁸  Then ²⁹  he set sail from Ephesus,

Acts 20:26

20:26 Therefore I declare ³⁰  to you today that I am innocent ³¹  of the blood of you all. ³² 

[1:9]  ¹ tn Grk “And after.” 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.

[1:12]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:12]  ³ tn Or “from the hill.” The Greek term ὄρος (oros) refers to a relatively high elevation of land in contrast with βουνός (bounos, “hill”).

[1:12]  ⁴ sn The Mount of Olives is the traditional name for this mountain, also called Olivet. The Mount of Olives is really a ridge running north to south about 1.8 mi (3 km) long, east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Its central elevation is about 100 ft (30 m) higher than Jerusalem. It was named for the large number of olive trees which grew on it.

[1:12]  ⁵ sn The phrase a Sabbath day’s journey refers to the distance the rabbis permitted a person to travel on the Sabbath without breaking the Sabbath, specified in tractate Sotah 5:3 of the Mishnah as 2,000 cubits (a cubit was about 18 inches). In this case the distance was about half a mile (1 km).

[2:5]  ³ tn Grk “Jews, devout men.” It is possible that only men are in view here in light of OT commands for Jewish men to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem at various times during the year (cf. Exod 23:17, 34:23; Deut 16:16). However, other evidence seems to indicate that both men and women might be in view. Luke 2:41-52 shows that whole families would make the temporary trip to Jerusalem. In addition, it is probable that the audience consisted of families who had taken up permanent residence in Jerusalem. The verb κατοικέω (katoikew) normally means “reside” or “dwell,” and archaeological evidence from tombs in Jerusalem does indicate that many families immigrated to Jerusalem permanently (see B. Witherington, Acts, 135); this would naturally include women. Also, the word ἀνήρ (ajnhr), which usually does mean “male” or “man” (as opposed to woman), sometimes is used generically to mean “a person” (BDAG 79 s.v. 2; cf. Matt 12:41). Given this evidence, then, it is conceivable that the audience in view here is not individual male pilgrims but a mixed group of men and women.

[2:5]  ⁴ tn Grk “Now there were residing in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.”

[3:24]  ⁴ tn Or “proclaimed.”

[5:41]  ⁵ sn That is, considered worthy by God. They “gloried in their shame” of honoring Jesus with their testimony (Luke 6:22-23; 2 Macc 6:30).

[5:41]  ⁶ sn The name refers to the name of Jesus (cf. 3 John 7).

[9:18]  ⁶ tn Grk “And immediately.” 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.

[9:18]  ⁷ tn The comparison to “scales” suggests a crusty covering which peeled away (cf. BDAG 592 s.v. λεπίς 2).

[9:18]  ⁸ tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence was started, with “and” placed before the final element of the previous clause as required by English style.

[12:1]  ⁷ sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great). His mediocre career is summarized in Josephus, Ant. 18-19. This event took place in a.d. 42 or 43.

[12:1]  ⁸ tn Or “King Herod had some from the church arrested.”

[12:1]  ⁹ tn Or “to cause them injury.”

[13:29]  ⁸ tn Or “carried out.”

[13:29]  ⁹ sn That is, everything that was written in OT scripture.

[13:29]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “taking him down from the cross, they placed him.” The participle καθελόντες (kaqelonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[13:29]  ¹¹ tn Grk “tree,” but frequently figurative for a cross. The allusion is to Deut 21:23. See Acts 5:30; 10:39.

[13:29]  ¹² tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[15:19]  ⁹ tn Or “I have decided,” “I think.” The verb κρίνω (krinw) has a far broader range of meaning than the often-used English verb “judge.” BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 3 places this use in Acts 15:19 in the category “judge, think, consider, look upon” followed by double accusative of object and predicate. However, many modern translations give the impression that a binding decision is being handed down by James: “it is my judgment” (NASB, NIV); “I have reached the decision” (NRSV). L&N 22.25, on the other hand, translate the phrase here “I think that we should not cause extra difficulty for those among the Gentiles.” This gives more the impression of an opinion than a binding decision. The resolution of this lies not so much in the lexical data as in how one conceives James’ role in the leadership of the Jerusalem church, plus the dynamics of the specific situation where the issue of Gentile inclusion in the church was being discussed. The major possibilities are: (1) James is handing down a binding decision to the rest of the church as the one who has ultimate authority to decide this matter; (2) James is offering his own personal opinion in the matter, which is not binding on the church; (3) James is voicing a consensus opinion of all the apostles and elders, although phrasing it as if it were his own; (4) James is making a suggestion to the rest of the leadership as to what course they should follow. In light of the difficulty in reconstructing the historical situation in detail, it is best to use a translation which maintains as many of the various options as possible. For this reason the translation “Therefore I conclude” has been used, leaving open the question whether in reaching this conclusion James is speaking only for himself or for the rest of the leadership.

[15:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “trouble.” This term is a NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 775 s.v. παρενοχλέω).

[15:19]  ¹¹ tn Or “among the nations” (in Greek the word for “nation” and “Gentile” is the same).

[18:21]  ¹⁰ tn Or “but took leave of.”

[18:21]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and saying”; the participle εἰπών (eipwn) has been translated as “added” rather than “said” to avoid redundancy with the previous “said farewell.” The participle εἰπών has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[18:21]  ¹² tn Or “will return.”

[18:21]  ¹³ tn The participle θέλοντος (qelontos), a genitive absolute construction, has been translated as a conditional adverbial participle. Again Paul acts in dependence on God.

[18:21]  ¹⁴ tn A new sentence was begun here in the translation due to the length of the sentence in Greek and the requirements of contemporary English style, which generally uses shorter sentences.

[20:26]  ¹¹ tn Or “testify.”

[20:26]  ¹² tn Grk “clean, pure,” thus “guiltless” (BDAG 489 s.v. καθαρός 3.a).

[20:26]  ¹³ tn That is, “that if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible” (an idiom). According to L&N 33.223, the meaning of the phrase “that I am innocent of the blood of all of you” is “that if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible.” However, due to the length of this phrase and its familiarity to many modern English readers, the translation was kept closer to formal equivalence in this case. The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied; Paul is addressing the Ephesian congregation (in the person of its elders) in both v. 25 and 27.