Acts 13:34

13:34 But regarding the fact that he has raised Jesus ¹  from the dead, never ²  again to be ³  in a state of decay, God ⁴  has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you ⁵  the holy and trustworthy promises ⁶  made to David.’ ⁷ 

Acts 20:3

20:3 where he stayed ⁸  for three months. Because the Jews had made ⁹  a plot ¹⁰  against him as he was intending ¹¹  to sail ¹²  for Syria, he decided ¹³  to return through Macedonia. ¹⁴ 

[13:34]  ¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:34]  ² tn 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]  ³ tn The translation “to be in again” for ὑποστρέφω (Jupostrefw) is given in L&N 13.24.

[13:34]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:34]  ⁵ tn The pronoun “you” is plural here. The promises of David are offered to the people.

[13:34]  ⁶ tn 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 The concept of “divine decrees,” not very understandable to the modern reader, has been replaced by “promises,” and since God is the implied speaker in the context, it is clear that these promises were made by God.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]  ⁷ sn 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.

[20:3]  ⁸ tn BDAG 841 s.v. ποιέω 5.c, “w. an acc. of time spend, stay.”

[20:3]  ⁹ tn The participle βενομένης (benomenh") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle. L&N 30.71 has “ἐπιβουλῆς αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων ‘because the Jews had made a plot against him’ Ac 20:3.”

[20:3]  ¹⁰ sn This plot is one of several noted by Luke (Acts 9:20; 20:19; 23:30).

[20:3]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”

[20:3]  ¹² tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4 gives “put out to sea” here (as a nautical technical term). However, since the English expression “put out to sea” could be understood to mean Paul was already aboard the ship (which is not clear from the context), the simpler expression “sail” is used at this point in the translation.

[20:3]  ¹³ tn BDAG 199 s.v. γίνομαι 7 has “ἐγένετο γνώμης he decided Ac 20:3.”

[20:3]  ¹⁴ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.