Acts 13:26-37

Context
13:26 Brothers,¹ descendants² of Abraham’s family,³ and those Gentiles among you who fear God,⁴ the message⁵ of this salvation has been sent to us. 13:27 For the people who live in Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize⁶ him,⁷ and they fulfilled the sayings⁸ of the prophets that are read every Sabbath by condemning⁹ him.¹⁰ 13:28 Though¹¹ they found¹² no basis¹³ for a death sentence,¹⁴ they asked Pilate to have him executed. 13:29 When they had accomplished¹⁵ everything that was written¹⁶ about him, they took him down¹⁷ from the cross¹⁸ and placed him¹⁹ in a tomb. 13:30 But God raised²⁰ him from the dead, 13:31 and²¹ for many days he appeared to those who had accompanied²² him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These²³ are now his witnesses to the people. 13:32 And we proclaim to you the good news about the promise to our ancestors,²⁴ 13:33 that this promise²⁵ God has fulfilled to us, their children, by raising²⁶ Jesus, as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son;²⁷ today I have fathered you.’²⁸ 13:34 But regarding the fact that he has raised Jesus²⁹ from the dead, never³⁰ again to be³¹ in a state of decay, God³² has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you³³ the holy and trustworthy promises³⁴ made to David.’³⁵ 13:35 Therefore he also says in another psalm,³⁶ ‘You will not permit your Holy One³⁷ to experience³⁸ decay.’³⁹ 13:36 For David, after he had served⁴⁰ God’s purpose in his own generation, died,⁴¹ was buried with his ancestors,⁴² and experienced⁴³ decay, 13:37 but the one⁴⁴ whom God raised up did not experience⁴⁵ decay.

[13:26] ¹tn Grk “Men brothers,” but this is both awkward and unnecessary in English.

[13:26] ²tn Grk “sons”

[13:26] ³tn Or “race.”

[13:26] ⁴tn Grk “and those among you who fear God,” but this is practically a technical term for 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, 743-44. Note how Paul includes God-fearing Gentiles as recipients of this promise.

[13:26] ⁵tn Grk “word.”

[13:27] ⁶tn BDAG 12-13 s.v. ἀγνοέω 1.b gives “not to know w. acc. of pers.” as the meaning here, but “recognize” is a better translation in this context because recognition of the true identity of the one they condemned is the issue. See Acts 2:22-24; 4:26-28.

[13:27] ⁷tn Grk “this one.”

[13:27] ⁸tn Usually φωνή (fwnh) means “voice,” but BDAG 1071-72 s.v. φωνή 2.c has “Also of sayings in scripture…Ac 13:27.”

[13:27] ⁹tn The participle κρίναντες (krinante") is instrumental here.

[13:27] ¹⁰tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[13:28] ¹¹tn Grk “And though.” 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.

[13:28] ¹²tn The participle εὑρόντες (Jeuronte") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[13:28] ¹³sn No basis. Luke insists on Jesus’ innocence again and again in Luke 23:1-25.

[13:28] ¹⁴tn Grk “no basis for death,” but in this context a sentence of death is clearly indicated.

[13:29] ¹⁵tn Or “carried out.”

[13:29] ¹⁶sn That is, everything that was written in OT scripture.

[13:29] ¹⁷tn Grk “taking him down from the cross, they placed him.” The participle καθελόντες (kaqelonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[13:29] ¹⁸tn Grk “tree,” but frequently figurative for a cross. The allusion is to Deut 21:23. See Acts 5:30; 10:39.

[13:29] ¹⁹tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[13:30] ²⁰sn See the note on the phrase “raised up” in v. 22, which is the same Greek verb used here.

[13:31] ²¹tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun (“who”) was replaced by the conjunction “and” and the pronoun “he” at this point to improve the English style.

[13:31] ²²sn Those who had accompanied him refers to the disciples, who knew Jesus in ministry. Luke is aware of resurrection appearances in Galilee though he did not relate any of them in Luke 24.

[13:31] ²³tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun (“who”) was replaced by the demonstrative pronoun “these” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek and the awkwardness of two relative clauses (“who for many days appeared” and “who are now his witnesses”) following one another.

[13:32] ²⁴tn Or “to our forefathers”; Grk “the fathers.”

[13:33] ²⁵tn Grk “that this”; the referent (the promise mentioned in the previous verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:33] ²⁶tn Or “by resurrecting.” The participle ἀναστήσας (anasthsa") is taken as instrumental here.

[13:33] ²⁷sn You are my Son. The key to how the quotation is used is the naming of Jesus as “Son” to the Father. The language is that of kingship, as Ps 2 indicates. Here is the promise about what the ultimate Davidic heir would be.

[13:33] ²⁸tn Grk “I have begotten you.” The traditional translation for γεγέννηκα (gegennhka, “begotten”) is misleading to the modern English reader because it is no longer in common use. Today one speaks of “fathering” a child in much the same way speakers of English formerly spoke of “begetting a child.”

[13:34] ²⁹tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:34] ³⁰tn Although μηκέτι (mhketi) can mean “no longer” or “no more,” the latter is more appropriate here, since to translate “no longer” in this context could give the reader the impression that Jesus did experience decay before his resurrection. Since the phrase “no more again to be” is somewhat awkward in English, the simpler phrase “never again to be” was used instead.

[13:34] ³¹tn The translation “to be in again” for ὑποστρέφω (Jupostrefw) is given in L&N 13.24.

[13:34] ³²tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:34] ³³tn The pronoun “you” is plural here. The promises of David are offered to the people.

[13:34] ³⁴tn Or “the trustworthy decrees made by God to David.” The phrase τὰ ὅσια Δαυὶδ τὰ πιστά (ta Josia Dauid ta pista) is “compressed,” that is, in a very compact or condensed form. It could be expanded in several different ways. BDAG 728 s.v. ὅσιος 3 understands it to refer to divine decrees: “I will grant you the sure decrees of God relating to David.” BDAG then states that this quotation from Isa 55:3 is intended to show that the following quotation from Ps 16:10 could not refer to David himself, but must refer to his messianic descendant (Jesus). L&N 33.290 render the phrase “I will give to you the divine promises made to David, promises that can be trusted,” although they also note that τὰ ὅσια in Acts 13:34 can mean “divine decrees” or “decrees made by God.” In contemporary English it is less awkward to translate πιστά as an adjective (“trustworthy”). The concept of “divine decrees,” not very understandable to the modern reader, has been replaced by “promises,” and since God is the implied speaker in the context, it is clear that these promises were made by God.

[13:34] ³⁵sn A quotation from Isa 55:3. The point of this citation is to make clear that the promise of a Davidic line and blessings are made to the people as well.

[13:35] ³⁶tn Grk “Therefore he also says in another”; the word “psalm” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[13:35] ³⁷tn The Greek word translated “Holy One” here (ὅσιόν, {osion) is related to the use of ὅσια (Josia) in v. 34. The link is a wordplay. The Holy One, who does not die, brings the faithful holy blessings of promise to the people.

[13:35] ³⁸tn Grk “to see,” but the literal translation of the phrase “to see decay” could be misunderstood to mean simply “to look at decay,” while here “see decay” is really figurative for “experience decay.”

[13:35] ³⁹sn A quotation from Ps 16:10.

[13:36] ⁴⁰tn The participle ὑπηρετήσας (Juphrethsa") is taken temporally.

[13:36] ⁴¹tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for the death of a believer.

[13:36] ⁴²tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “was gathered to his fathers” (a Semitic idiom).

[13:36] ⁴³tn Grk “saw,” but the literal translation of the phrase “saw decay” could be misunderstood to mean simply “looked at decay,” while here “saw decay” is really figurative for “experienced decay.” This remark explains why David cannot fulfill the promise.

[13:37] ⁴⁴sn The one whom God raised up refers to Jesus.

[13:37] ⁴⁵tn Grk “see,” but the literal translation of the phrase “did not see decay” could be misunderstood to mean simply “did not look at decay,” while here “did not see decay” is really figurative for “did not experience decay.”