Acts 10:22

10:22 They said, “Cornelius the centurion, ¹  a righteous ²  and God-fearing man, well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, ³  was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear a message ⁴  from you.”

Acts 21:24

21:24 take them and purify ⁵  yourself along with them and pay their expenses, ⁶  so that they may have their heads shaved. ⁷  Then ⁸  everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told ⁹  about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with ¹⁰  the law. ¹¹ 

[10:22]  ¹ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[10:22]  ² tn Or “just.”

[10:22]  ³ tn The phrase τοῦ ἔθνους τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων (tou eqnou" twn Ioudaiwn) is virtually a technical term for the Jewish nation (1 Macc 10:25; 11:30, 33; Josephus, Ant. 14.10.22 [14.248]). “All the Jewish people,” while another possible translation of the Greek phrase, does not convey the technical sense of a reference to the nation in English.

[10:22]  ⁴ tn Grk “hear words.”

[21:24]  ⁵ sn That is, undergo ritual cleansing. Paul’s cleansing would be necessary because of his travels in “unclean” Gentile territory. This act would represent a conciliatory gesture. Paul would have supported a “law-free” mission to the Gentiles as an option, but this gesture would represent an attempt to be sensitive to the Jews (1 Cor 9:15-22).

[21:24]  ⁶ tn L&N 57.146 has “δαπάνησον ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ‘pay their expenses’ Ac 21:24.”

[21:24]  ⁷ tn The future middle indicative has causative force here. BDAG 686 s.v. ξυράω has “mid. have oneself shaved…τὴν κεφαλήν have one’s head shaved…Ac 21:24.”

[21:24]  ⁸ tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[21:24]  ⁹ tn The verb here describes a report or some type of information (BDAG 534 s.v. κατηχέω 1).

[21:24]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “adhere to the keeping of the law.” L&N 41.12 has “στοιχέω: to live in conformity with some presumed standard or set of customs – ‘to live, to behave in accordance with.’”

[21:24]  ¹¹ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.