Acts 16:17

16:17 She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out, ¹  “These men are servants ²  of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way ³  of salvation.” ⁴ 

Acts 18:26

18:26 He began to speak out fearlessly ⁵  in the synagogue, ⁶  but when Priscilla and Aquila ⁷  heard him, they took him aside ⁸  and explained the way of God to him more accurately.

Acts 19:9

19:9 But when ⁹  some were stubborn ¹⁰  and refused to believe, reviling ¹¹  the Way ¹²  before the congregation, he left ¹³  them and took the disciples with him, ¹⁴  addressing ¹⁵  them every day ¹⁶  in the lecture hall ¹⁷  of Tyrannus.

Acts 19:23

19:23 At ¹⁸  that time ¹⁹  a great disturbance ²⁰  took place concerning the Way. ²¹ 

Acts 24:14

24:14 But I confess this to you, that I worship ²²  the God of our ancestors ²³  according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law ²⁴  and that is written in the prophets.

[16:17]  ¹ tn Grk “crying out, saying”; the participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant in English and has not been translated. The imperfect verb ἔκραζεν (ekrazen) has been translated as a progressive imperfect.

[16:17]  ² tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18. The translation “servants” was used here because in this context there appears to be more emphasis on the activity of Paul and his companions (“proclaiming to you the way of salvation”) than on their status as “slaves of the Most High God.”

[16:17]  ³ tn Or “a way.” The grammar of this phrase is a bit ambiguous. The phrase in Greek is ὁδὸν σωτηρίας (Jodon swthria"). Neither the head noun nor the genitive noun has the article; this is in keeping with Apollonius’ Canon (see ExSyn 239-40). Since both nouns are anarthrous, this construction also fits Apollonius’ Corollary (see ExSyn 250-54); since the genitive noun is abstract it is most naturally qualitative, so the head noun could either be definite or indefinite without being unusual as far as the grammar is concerned. Luke’s usage of ὁδός elsewhere is indecisive as far as this passage is concerned. However, when one looks at the historical background it is clear that (1) the woman is shut up (via exorcism) not because her testimony is false but because of its source (analogous to Jesus’ treatment of demons perhaps), and (b) “the way” is a par excellence description of the new faith throughout Acts. It thus seems that at least in Luke’s presentation “the way of salvation” is the preferred translation.

[16:17]  ⁴ sn Proclaiming to you the way of salvation. The remarks were an ironic recognition of Paul’s authority, but he did not desire such a witness, possibly for fear of confusion. Her expression the Most High God might have been understood as Zeus by the audience.

[18:26]  ⁵ tn Or “boldly.” This is a frequent term in Acts (9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 19:8; 26:26).

[18:26]  ⁶ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:26]  ⁷ sn Priscilla and Aquila. This key couple, of which Priscilla was an important enough figure to be mentioned by name, instructed Apollos about the most recent work of God. See also the note on Aquila in 18:2.

[18:26]  ⁸ tn BDAG 883 s.v. προσλαμβάνω 3 has “take aside, mid. τινά someone…So prob. also Ac 18:26: Priscilla and Aquila take Apollos aside to teach him undisturbed.”

[19:9]  ⁹ tn BDAG 1105-6 s.v. ὡς 8.b lists this use as a temporal conjunction.

[19:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or “some became hardened.” See BDAG 930 s.v. σκληρύνω b and Acts 7:51-53.

[19:9]  ¹¹ tn Or “speaking evil of.” BDAG 500 s.v. κακολογέω has “speak evil of, revile, insult…τὶ someth. τὴν ὁδόν the Way (i.e. Christian way of life) Ac 19:9.”

[19:9]  ¹² sn The Way refers to the Christian movement (Christianity). Luke frequently refers to it as “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).

[19:9]  ¹³ tn Grk “leaving them, he took.” The participle ἀποστάς (apostas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:9]  ¹⁴ tn The words “with him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[19:9]  ¹⁵ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 19:9. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[19:9]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[19:9]  ¹⁷ tn The “lecture hall” was a place where teachers and pupils met. The term is a NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 982 s.v. σχολή). L&N 7.14 notes, “it is better to use a translation such as ‘lecture hall’ rather than ‘school,’ since one does not wish to give the impression of the typical classroom situation characteristic of present-day schools.”

[19:23]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “There happened at that time.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Instead the verb “took place” has been supplied in the translation.

[19:23]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.2.a, “in definite indications of time…Of the past: κ. ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρόν at that time, then…Ac 12:1; 19:23.”

[19:23]  ²⁰ tn Grk “no little disturbance” (an idiom; see BDAG 991 s.v. τάραχος 2).

[19:23]  ²¹ sn The Way refers to the Christian movement (Christianity).

[24:14]  ²² tn Or “serve.”

[24:14]  ²³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[24:14]  ²⁴ sn That is, the law of Moses. Paul was claiming that he legitimately worshiped the God of Israel. He was arguing that this amounted to a religious dispute rather than a political one, so that the Roman authorities need not concern themselves with it.