Acts 16:13-14

16:13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the side of the river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down ¹  and began to speak ²  to the women ³  who had assembled there. ⁴  16:14 A ⁵  woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth ⁶  from the city of Thyatira, ⁷  a God-fearing woman, listened to us. ⁸  The Lord opened her heart to respond ⁹  to what Paul was saying.

[16:13]  ¹ tn Grk “and sitting down we began to speak.” The participle καθίσαντες (kaqisante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:13]  ² tn The imperfect verb ἐλαλοῦμεν (elaloumen) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[16:13]  ³ sn To the women. Apparently there were not enough Jews present in Philippi to have a synagogue (ten men would have been required to have one).

[16:13]  ⁴ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[16:14]  ⁵ tn Grk “And a.” 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.

[16:14]  ⁶ tn On the term translated “a dealer in purple cloth” see BDAG 855 s.v. πορφυρόπωλις.

[16:14]  ⁷ sn Thyatira was a city in the province of Lydia in Asia Minor.

[16:14]  ⁸ tn The words “to us” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[16:14]  ⁹ tn Although BDAG 880 s.v. προσέχω 2.b gives the meaning “pay attention to” here, this could be misunderstood by the modern English reader to mean merely listening intently. The following context, however, indicates that Lydia responded positively to Paul’s message, so the verb here was translated “to respond.”