Acts 14:12-13

14:12 They began to call ¹  Barnabas Zeus ²  and Paul Hermes, ³  because he was the chief speaker. 14:13 The priest of the temple ⁴  of Zeus, ⁵  located just outside the city, brought bulls ⁶  and garlands ⁷  to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them. ⁸ 

[14:12]  ¹ tn The imperfect verb ἐκάλουν (ekaloun) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[14:12]  ² sn Zeus was the chief Greek deity, worshiped throughout the Greco-Roman world (known to the Romans as Jupiter).

[14:12]  ³ sn Hermes was a Greek god who (according to Greek mythology) was the messenger of the gods and the god of oratory (equivalent to the Roman god Mercury).

[14:13]  ⁴ tn The words “the temple of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. The translation “the priest of (the temple/shrine of) Zeus located before the city” is given for this phrase by BDAG 426 s.v. Ζεύς.

[14:13]  ⁵ sn See the note on Zeus in the previous verse.

[14:13]  ⁶ tn Or “oxen.”

[14:13]  ⁷ tn Or “wreaths.”

[14:13]  ⁸ tn The words “to them” are not in the Greek text, but are clearly implied by the response of Paul and Barnabas in the following verse.