Acts 10:2

10:2 He ¹  was a devout, God-fearing man, ²  as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people ³  and prayed to God regularly.

Acts 16:14-15

16:14 A ⁴  woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth ⁵  from the city of Thyatira, ⁶  a God-fearing woman, listened to us. ⁷  The Lord opened her heart to respond ⁸  to what Paul was saying. 16:15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, ⁹  “If ¹⁰  you consider me to be a believer in the Lord, ¹¹  come and stay in my house.” And she persuaded ¹²  us.

Acts 16:34

16:34 The jailer ¹³  brought them into his house and set food ¹⁴  before them, and he rejoiced greatly ¹⁵  that he had come to believe ¹⁶  in God, together with his entire household. ¹⁷ 

Genesis 17:27

17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Genesis 18:19

18:19 I have chosen him ¹⁸  so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep ¹⁹  the way of the Lord by doing ²⁰  what is right and just. Then the Lord will give ²¹  to Abraham what he promised ²²  him.”

Joshua 24:15

24:15 If you have no desire ²³  to worship ²⁴  the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, ²⁵  whether it be the gods whom your ancestors ²⁶  worshiped ²⁷  beyond the Euphrates, ²⁸  or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family ²⁹  will worship ³⁰  the Lord!”

[10:2]  ¹ tn In the Greek text this represents a continuation of the previous sentence. Because of the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

[10:2]  ² sn The description of Cornelius as a devout, God-fearing man probably means that he belonged to the category called “God-fearers,” Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 43-44, and Sir 11:17; 27:11; 39:27.

[10:2]  ³ tn Or “gave many gifts to the poor.” This was known as “giving alms,” or acts of mercy (Sir 7:10; BDAG 315-16 s.v. ἐλεημοσύνη).

[16:14]  ⁴ tn Grk “And a.” 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.

[16:14]  ⁵ tn On the term translated “a dealer in purple cloth” see BDAG 855 s.v. πορφυρόπωλις.

[16:14]  ⁶ sn Thyatira was a city in the province of Lydia in Asia Minor.

[16:14]  ⁷ tn The words “to us” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[16:14]  ⁸ tn Although BDAG 880 s.v. προσέχω 2.b gives the meaning “pay attention to” here, this could be misunderstood by the modern English reader to mean merely listening intently. The following context, however, indicates that Lydia responded positively to Paul’s message, so the verb here was translated “to respond.”

[16:15]  ⁹ tn Grk “urged us, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[16:15]  ¹⁰ tn This is a first class condition in Greek, with the statement presented as real or true for the sake of the argument.

[16:15]  ¹¹ tn Or “faithful to the Lord.” BDAG 821 s.v. πίστος 2 states concerning this verse, “Of one who confesses the Christian faith believing or a believer in the Lord, in Christ, in God πιστ. τῷ κυρίῳ Ac 16:15.” L&N 11.17 has “one who is included among the faithful followers of Christ – ‘believer, Christian, follower.’”

[16:15]  ¹² tn Although BDAG 759 s.v. παραβιάζομαι has “urge strongly, prevail upon,” in contemporary English “persuade” is a more frequently used synonym for “prevail upon.”

[16:34]  ¹³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the jailer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:34]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “placed [food] on the table” (a figurative expression). Since the actual word for food is not specified, it would also be possible to translate “set a meal before them,” but since this is taking place in the middle of the night, the preparations necessary for a full meal would probably not have been made. More likely Paul and Silas were given whatever was on hand that needed little or no preparation.

[16:34]  ¹⁵ tn Or “he was overjoyed.”

[16:34]  ¹⁶ tn The translation “come to believe” reflects more of the resultative nuance of the perfect tense here.

[16:34]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase “together with his entire household” is placed at the end of the English sentence so that it refers to both the rejoicing and the belief. A formal equivalence translation would have “and he rejoiced greatly with his entire household that he had come to believe in God,” but the reference to the entire household being baptized in v. 33 presumes that all in the household believed.

[18:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the Lord.

[18:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).

[18:19]  ²⁰ tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the Lord.

[18:19]  ²¹ tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.

[18:19]  ²² tn Heb “spoke to.”

[24:15]  ²³ tn Heb “if it is bad in your eyes.”

[24:15]  ²⁴ tn Or “to serve.”

[24:15]  ²⁵ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:15]  ²⁷ tn Or “served.”

[24:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

[24:15]  ²⁹ tn Heb “house.”

[24:15]  ³⁰ tn Or “will serve.”