Acts 11:12

11:12 The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers ¹  also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.

Acts 16:17

16:17 She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out, ²  “These men are servants ³  of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way ⁴  of salvation.” ⁵ 

Acts 17:11

17:11 These Jews ⁶  were more open-minded ⁷  than those in Thessalonica, ⁸  for they eagerly ⁹  received ¹⁰  the message, examining ¹¹  the scriptures carefully every day ¹²  to see if these things were so.

Acts 25:11

25:11 If then I am in the wrong ¹³  and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying, ¹⁴  but if not one of their charges against me is true, ¹⁵  no one can hand me over to them. ¹⁶  I appeal to Caesar!” ¹⁷ 

[11:12]  ¹ sn Six witnesses is three times more than what would normally be required. They could confirm the events were not misrepresented by Peter.

[16:17]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.

[17:11]  ³ tn Grk “These”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue at Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:11]  ⁴ tn Or “more willing to learn.” L&N 27.48 and BDAG 404 s.v. εὐγενής 2 both use the term “open-minded” here. The point is that they were more receptive to Paul’s message.

[17:11]  ⁵ sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).

[17:11]  ⁶ tn Or “willingly,” “readily”; Grk “with all eagerness.”

[17:11]  ⁷ tn Grk “who received.” Here the relative pronoun (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“they”) preceded by a semicolon, which is less awkward in contemporary English than a relative clause at this point.

[17:11]  ⁸ tn This verb (BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω 1) refers to careful examination.

[17:11]  ⁹ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[25:11]  ⁴ tn BDAG 20 s.v. ἀδικέω 1.b has “intr. be in the wrong (Ex 2:13) εἰ ἀδικῶ Ac 25:11.”

[25:11]  ⁵ tn BDAG 764 s.v. παραιτέομαι 2.b.β, “οὐ παραιτοῦμαι τὸ ἀποθανεῖν I am not trying to escape death Ac 25:11 (cp. Jos., Vi. 141).” To avoid redundancy in the translation, the English gerund “dying” is used to translate the Greek infinitive ἀποθανεῖν (apoqanein).

[25:11]  ⁶ tn Or “but if there is nothing to their charges against me.” Both “if” clauses in this verse are first class conditions. Paul stated the options without prejudice, assuming in turn the reality of each for the sake of the argument.

[25:11]  ⁷ sn That is, no one can hand me over to them lawfully. Paul was aware of the dangers of a return to Jerusalem.

[25:11]  ⁸ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).