Acts 13:2

13:2 While they were serving ¹  the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart ²  for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Acts 14:3

14:3 So they stayed there ³  for a considerable time, speaking out courageously for the Lord, who testified ⁴  to the message ⁵  of his grace, granting miraculous signs ⁶  and wonders to be performed through their hands.

Acts 16:15

16:15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, ⁷  “If ⁸  you consider me to be a believer in the Lord, ⁹  come and stay in my house.” And she persuaded ¹⁰  us.

Acts 20:32

20:32 And now I entrust ¹¹  you to God and to the message ¹²  of his grace. This message ¹³  is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Acts 25:26

25:26 But I have nothing definite ¹⁴  to write to my lord ¹⁵  about him. ¹⁶  Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, ¹⁷  so that after this preliminary hearing ¹⁸  I may have something to write.

[13:2]  ¹ tn This term is frequently used in the LXX of the service performed by priests and Levites in the tabernacle (Exod 28:35, 43; 29:30; 30:20; 35:19; 39:26; Num 1:50; 3:6, 31) and the temple (2 Chr 31:2; 35:3; Joel 1:9, 13; 2:17, and many more examples). According to BDAG 591 s.v. λειτουργέω 1.b it is used “of other expression of religious devotion.” Since the previous verse described the prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch, it is probable that the term here describes two of them (Barnabas and Saul) as they were serving in that capacity. Since they were not in Jerusalem where the temple was located, general religious service is referred to here.

[13:2]  ² tn Or “Appoint.”

[14:3]  ³ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[14:3]  ⁴ sn The Lord testified to the message by granting the signs described in the following clause.

[14:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “word.”

[14:3]  ⁶ tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned.

[16:15]  ⁵ tn Grk “urged us, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[16:15]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.”

[20:32]  ⁷ tn Or “commend.” BDAG 772 s.v. παρατίθημι 3.b has “τινά τινι entrust someone to the care or protection of someone…Of divine protection παρέθεντο αὐτοὺς τῷ κυρίῳ Ac 14:23; cp. 20:32.”

[20:32]  ⁸ tn Grk “word.”

[20:32]  ⁹ tn Grk “the message of his grace, which.” The phrase τῷ δυναμένῳ οἰκοδομῆσαι… (tw dunamenw oikodomhsai…) refers to τῷ λόγω (tw logw), not τῆς χάριτος (ths caritos); in English it could refer to either “the message” or “grace,” but in Greek, because of agreement in gender, the referent can only be “the message.” To make this clear, a new sentence was begun in the translation and the referent “the message” was repeated at the beginning of this new sentence.

[25:26]  ⁹ sn There is irony here. How can Festus write anything definite about Paul, if he is guilty of nothing.

[25:26]  ¹⁰ sn To my lord means “to His Majesty the Emperor.”

[25:26]  ¹¹ tn Grk “about whom I have nothing definite…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced with a personal pronoun (“him”) and a new sentence begun in the translation at the beginning of v. 26.

[25:26]  ¹² sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[25:26]  ¹³ tn Or “investigation.” BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνάκρισις has “a judicial hearing, investigation, hearing, esp. preliminary hearing…τῆς ἀ. γενομένης Ac 25:26.” This is technical legal language.