Acts 11:19-20

Activity in the Church at Antioch

11:19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen ¹  went as far as ²  Phoenicia, ³  Cyprus, ⁴  and Antioch, ⁵  speaking the message ⁶  to no one but Jews. 11:20 But there were some men from Cyprus ⁷  and Cyrene ⁸  among them who came ⁹  to Antioch ¹⁰  and began to speak to the Greeks ¹¹  too, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus.

[11:19]  ¹ sn The phrase over Stephen means in connection with Stephen’s death. See Acts 8:1b-3.

[11:19]  ² tn Or “finally reached.” The translations “went as far as” and “finally reached” for διῆλθον (dihlqon) in this verse are given in L&N 15.17.

[11:19]  ³ sn Phoenicia was an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine.

[11:19]  ⁴ tn Grk “and Cyprus,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[11:19]  ⁵ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). This was probably the third largest city in the Greco-Roman world (Alexandria in Egypt was the second largest, and Rome the largest) and was the seat of government in Syria. Five miles away was a major temple to Artemis, Apollo, and Astarte, major pagan deities.

[11:19]  ⁶ tn Grk “word.”

[11:20]  ⁷ sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.

[11:20]  ⁸ sn Cyrene was a city on the northern African coast west of Egypt.

[11:20]  ⁹ tn Grk “among them, coming to Antioch began to speak.” The participle ἐλθόντες (elqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[11:20]  ¹⁰ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.

[11:20]  ¹¹ sn The statement that some men from Cyprus and Cyrene…began to speak to the Greeks shows that Peter’s experience of reaching out to the Gentiles was not unique.