Acts 13:39

13:39 and by this one ¹  everyone who believes is justified ²  from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify ³  you. ⁴ 

Acts 15:1

The Jerusalem Council

15:1 Now some men came down from Judea ⁵  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ⁶  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Acts 15:5

15:5 But some from the religious party of the Pharisees ⁷  who had believed stood up and said, “It is necessary ⁸  to circumcise the Gentiles ⁹  and to order them to observe ¹⁰  the law of Moses.”

Acts 21:21

21:21 They have been informed about you – that you teach all the Jews now living ¹¹  among the Gentiles to abandon ¹²  Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children ¹³  or live ¹⁴  according to our customs.

Acts 28:23

28:23 They set ¹⁵  a day to meet with him, ¹⁶  and they came to him where he was staying ¹⁷  in even greater numbers. ¹⁸  From morning until evening he explained things ¹⁹  to them, ²⁰  testifying ²¹  about the kingdom of God ²²  and trying to convince ²³  them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets.

[13:39]  ¹ sn This one refers here to Jesus.

[13:39]  ² tn Or “is freed.” The translation of δικαιωθῆναι (dikaiwqhnai) and δικαιοῦται (dikaioutai) in Acts 13:38-39 is difficult. BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 3 categorizes δικαιωθῆναι in 13:38 (Greek text) under the meaning “make free/pure” but categorizes δικαιοῦται in Acts 13:39 as “be found in the right, be free of charges” (BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 2.b.β). In the interest of consistency both verbs are rendered as “justified” in this translation.

[13:39]  ³ tn Or “could not free.”

[13:39]  ⁴ tn Grk “from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation, with “by the law of Moses” becoming the subject of the final clause. The words “from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify you” are part of v. 38 in the Greek text, but due to English style and word order must be placed in v. 39 in the translation.

[15:1]  ⁵ sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.

[15:1]  ⁶ tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.

[15:5]  ⁹ sn See the note on Pharisee in 5:34.

[15:5]  ¹⁰ sn The Greek word used here (δεῖ, dei) is a strong term that expresses divine necessity. The claim is that God commanded the circumcision of Gentiles.

[15:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the Gentiles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:5]  ¹² tn Or “keep.”

[21:21]  ¹³ tn BDAG 511 s.v. κατά B.1.a has “τοὺς κ. τὰ ἔθνη ᾿Ιουδαίους the Judeans (dispersed) throughout the nations 21:21.” The Jews in view are not those in Palestine, but those who are scattered throughout the Gentile world.

[21:21]  ¹⁴ tn Or “to forsake,” “to rebel against.” BDAG 120 s.v. ἀποστασία has “ἀποστασίαν διδάσκεις ἀπὸ Μωϋσέως you teach (Judeans) to abandon Moses Ac 21:21.”

[21:21]  ¹⁵ sn That is, not to circumcise their male children. Biblical references to circumcision always refer to male circumcision.

[21:21]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “or walk.”

[28:23]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Having set.” The participle ταξάμενοι (taxamenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[28:23]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Having set a day with him”; the words “to meet” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[28:23]  ¹⁹ tn Or “came to him in his rented quarters.”

[28:23]  ²⁰ tn BDAG 848 s.v. πολύς 1.b.β.ב states, “(even) more πλείονες in even greater numbers Ac 28:23.”

[28:23]  ²¹ tn The word “things” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[28:23]  ²² tn Grk “to whom he explained.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun at this point in the translation.

[28:23]  ²³ tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 1 has “to make a solemn declaration about the truth of someth. testify of, bear witness to (orig. under oath)…God’s kingdom 28:23.”

[28:23]  ²⁴ sn Testifying about the kingdom of God. The topic is important. Paul’s preaching was about the rule of God and his promise in Jesus. Paul’s text was the Jewish scriptures.

[28:23]  ²⁵ tn Or “persuade.”