Acts 13:5

13:5 When ¹  they arrived ²  in Salamis, ³  they began to proclaim ⁴  the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. ⁵  (Now they also had John ⁶  as their assistant.) ⁷ 

Acts 13:15

13:15 After the reading from the law and the prophets, ⁸  the leaders of the synagogue ⁹  sent them a message, ¹⁰  saying, “Brothers, ¹¹  if you have any message ¹²  of exhortation ¹³  for the people, speak it.” ¹⁴ 

Acts 13:44

13:44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city assembled together to hear the word of the Lord. ¹⁵ 

[13:5]  ¹ tn Grk “And when.” 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.

[13:5]  ² tn The participle γενόμενοι (genomenoi) is taken temporally.

[13:5]  ³ sn Salamis was a city on the southeastern coast of the island of Cyprus. This was a commercial center and a center of Judaism.

[13:5]  ⁴ tn The imperfect verb κατήγγελλον (kathngellon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[13:5]  ⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[13:5]  ⁶ sn John refers here to John Mark (see Acts 12:25).

[13:5]  ⁷ tn The word ὑπηρέτης (Juphreth") usually has the meaning “servant,” but it is doubtful John Mark fulfilled that capacity for Barnabas and Saul. He was more likely an apprentice or assistant to them.

[13:15]  ⁸ sn After the reading from the law and the prophets. In the 1st century Jewish synagogue, it was customary after the reading of the Torah (law) and prophets for men to give exhortation from the scriptures.

[13:15]  ⁹ tn Normally ἀρχισυνάγωγος (arcisunagwgo") refers to the “president of a synagogue” (so BDAG 139 s.v. and L&N 53.93). Since the term is plural here, however, and it would sound strange to the English reader to speak of “the presidents of the synagogue,” the alternative translation “leaders” is used. “Rulers” would also be acceptable, but does not convey quite the same idea.

[13:15]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “sent to them”; the word “message” is an understood direct object. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[13:15]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Men brothers,” but this is both awkward and unnecessary in English.

[13:15]  ¹² tn Or “word.”

[13:15]  ¹³ tn Or “encouragement.”

[13:15]  ¹⁴ tn Or “give it.”

[13:44]  ¹⁵ tc Most mss (B* C E Ψ Ï sy bo) read θεοῦ (qeou, “of God”) here instead of κυρίου (kuriou, “of the Lord”). Other mss, among them some important early witnesses (Ì⁷⁴ א A B² 33 81 323 945 1175 1739 al sa), read κυρίου. The external evidence favors κυρίου, though not decisively. Internally, the mention of “God” in v. 43, and especially “the word of God” in v. 46, would provide some temptation for scribes to assimilate the wording in v. 44 to these texts.