Acts 13:36

13:36 For David, after he had served ¹  God’s purpose in his own generation, died, ²  was buried with his ancestors, ³  and experienced ⁴  decay,

Acts 15:20

15:20 but that we should write them a letter ⁵  telling them to abstain ⁶  from things defiled ⁷  by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled ⁸  and from blood.

Acts 17:16

Paul at Athens

17:16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, ⁹  his spirit was greatly upset ¹⁰  because he saw ¹¹  the city was full of idols.

Acts 17:22

17:22 So Paul stood ¹²  before the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious ¹³  in all respects. ¹⁴ 

[13:36]  ¹ tn The participle ὑπηρετήσας (Juphrethsa") is taken temporally.

[13:36]  ² tn 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]  ³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “was gathered to his fathers” (a Semitic idiom).

[13:36]  ⁴ tn 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.

[15:20]  ⁵ tn The translation “to write a letter, to send a letter to” for ἐπιστέλλω (epistellw) is given in L&N 33.49.

[15:20]  ⁶ tn Three of the four prohibitions deal with food (the first, third and fourth) while one prohibition deals with behavior (the second, refraining from sexual immorality). Since these occur in the order they do, the translation “abstain from” is used to cover both sorts of activity (eating food items, immoral behavior).

[15:20]  ⁷ tn Or “polluted.”

[15:20]  ⁸ sn What has been strangled. That is, to refrain from eating animals that had been killed without having the blood drained from them. According to the Mosaic law (Lev 17:13-14), Jews were forbidden to eat flesh with the blood still in it (note the following provision in Acts 15:20, and from blood).

[17:16]  ⁹ map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

[17:16]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “greatly upset within him,” but the words “within him” were not included in the translation because they are redundant in English. See L&N 88.189. The term could also be rendered “infuriated.”

[17:16]  ¹¹ tn Or “when he saw.” The participle θεωροῦντος (qewrounto") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle; it could also be translated as temporal.

[17:22]  ¹³ tn Grk “standing…said.” The participle ζηλώσαντες (zhlwsante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[17:22]  ¹⁴ tn The term δεισιδαιμονεστέρους (deisidaimonesterou") is difficult. On the one hand it can have the positive sense of “devout,” but on the other hand it can have the negative sense of “superstitious” (BDAG 216 s.v. δεισιδαίμων). As part of a laudatory introduction (the technical rhetorical term for this introduction was capatatio), the term is probably positive here. It may well be a “backhanded” compliment, playing on the ambiguity.

[17:22]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 513 s.v. κατά B.6 translates the phrase κατὰ πάντα (kata panta) as “in all respects.”