Acts 16:2

16:2 The brothers in Lystra ¹  and Iconium ²  spoke well ³  of him. ⁴ 

Acts 15:8

15:8 And God, who knows the heart, ⁵  has testified ⁶  to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ⁷ 

Acts 22:12

22:12 A man named Ananias, ⁸  a devout man according to the law, ⁹  well spoken of by all the Jews who live there, ¹⁰ 

Acts 26:5

26:5 They know, ¹¹  because they have known ¹²  me from time past, ¹³  if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party ¹⁴  of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. ¹⁵ 

Acts 6:3

6:3 But carefully select from among you, brothers, ¹⁶  seven ¹⁷  men who are well-attested, ¹⁸  full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge ¹⁹  of this necessary task. ²⁰ 

Acts 10:43

10:43 About him all the prophets testify, ²¹  that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins ²²  through his name.”

Acts 13:22

13:22 After removing him, God ²³  raised up ²⁴  David their king. He testified about him: ²⁵  ‘I have found David ²⁶  the son of Jesse to be a man after my heart, ²⁷  who will accomplish everything I want him to do.’ ²⁸ 

Acts 14:3

14:3 So they stayed there ²⁹  for a considerable time, speaking out courageously for the Lord, who testified ³⁰  to the message ³¹  of his grace, granting miraculous signs ³²  and wonders to be performed through their hands.

Acts 22:5

22:5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders ³³  can testify about me. From them ³⁴  I also received ³⁵  letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way ³⁶  to make arrests there and bring ³⁷  the prisoners ³⁸  to Jerusalem ³⁹  to be punished.

Acts 23:11

23:11 The following night the Lord ⁴⁰  stood near ⁴¹  Paul ⁴²  and said, “Have courage, ⁴³  for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, ⁴⁴  so you must also testify in Rome.” ⁴⁵ 

Acts 10:22

10:22 They said, “Cornelius the centurion, ⁴⁶  a righteous ⁴⁷  and God-fearing man, well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, ⁴⁸  was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear a message ⁴⁹  from you.”

[16:2]  ¹ sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 25 mi (40 km) south of Iconium.

[16:2]  ² sn Iconium was a city in Lycaonia about 110 mi (175 km) east of Pisidian Antioch.

[16:2]  ³ tn For this sense of μαρτυρέω (marturew), see BDAG 618 s.v. 2.b.

[16:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “who was well spoken of by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium.” Because of the awkwardness in English of having two relative clauses follow one another (“who was a believer…who was well spoken of”) and the awkwardness of the passive verb (“was well spoken of”), the relative pronoun at the beginning of 16:2 (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“him”) and the construction converted from passive to active at the same time a new sentence was started in the translation.

[15:8]  ⁵ sn The expression who knows the heart means “who knows what people think.”

[15:8]  ⁶ tn Or “has borne witness.”

[15:8]  ⁷ sn By giving them…just as he did to us. The allusion is to the events of Acts 10-11, esp. 10:44-48 and Peter’s remarks in 11:15-18.

[22:12]  ⁹ tn Grk “a certain Ananias.”

[22:12]  ¹⁰ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[22:12]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 534 s.v. κατοικέω 1.a translates this present participle “ὑπὸ πάντων τῶν (sc. ἐκεῖ) κατοικούντων ᾿Ιουδαίων by all the Jews who live there Ac 22:12.”

[26:5]  ¹³ tn These words are repeated from v. 4 (“all the Jews know”). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, it was necessary to begin a new sentence at the beginning of v. 5 in the translation, but for this to make sense, the main verb ἵσασι ({isasi) has to be repeated to connect with the ὅτι (Joti) clause (indirect discourse) in v. 5.

[26:5]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “having known me from time past.” The participle προγινώσκοντες (proginwskonte") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[26:5]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 866 s.v. προγινώσκω 2 has “Know from time past…προγινώσκοντές με ἄνωθεν Ac 26:5.” L&N 28.6 states, “‘they have already known me beforehand, if they are willing to testify’ Ac 26:5.”

[26:5]  ¹⁶ tn That is, strictest religious party. “Party” alone is used in the translation because “the strictest religious party of our religion” would be redundant.

[26:5]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on Pharisee in 5:34.

[6:3]  ¹⁷ tn It is not clear from a historical standpoint (but it is unlikely) that women would have been involved in the selection process too. For this reason the translation “brothers” has been retained, rather than “brothers and sisters” (used in contexts where both male and female believers are clearly addressed).

[6:3]  ¹⁸ sn Seven. Jewish town councils often had seven members (Josephus, Ant. 4.18.14 [4.214]).

[6:3]  ¹⁹ tn Or “are of good reputation” (BDAG 618 s.v. μαρτυρέω 2.b).

[6:3]  ²⁰ tn The translation “put in charge” is given by BDAG 492 s.v. καθίστημι 2.

[6:3]  ²¹ tn Grk “of this need”; translated “necessary work” or “needed task” by L&N 42.22.

[10:43]  ²¹ tn Or “All the prophets testify about him.” Although modern English translations tend to place “about him” after “testify” (so NIV, NRSV) the phrase “about him” has been left at the beginning of v. 43 for emphatic reasons.

[10:43]  ²² sn Forgiveness of sins. See Luke 24:47; also Acts 14:23; 19:4; 9:42; 11:17; 16:31. The gospel is present in the prophetic promise, Rom 1:1-7. The message is in continuity with the ancient hope.

[13:22]  ²⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:22]  ²⁶ sn The expression raised up refers here to making someone king. There is a wordplay here: “raising up” refers to bringing someone onto the scene of history, but it echoes with the parallel to Jesus’ resurrection.

[13:22]  ²⁷ tn Grk “about whom.” The relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the pronoun “him” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek. The verb εἶπεν (eipen) has not been translated (literally “he said testifying”) because it is redundant when combined with the participle μαρτυρήσας (marturhsa", “testifying”). Instead the construction of verb plus participle has been translated as a single English verb (“testified”).

[13:22]  ²⁸ sn A quotation from Ps 89:20.

[13:22]  ²⁹ sn A quotation from 1 Sam 13:14.

[13:22]  ³⁰ tn Or “who will perform all my will,” “who will carry out all my wishes.”

[14:3]  ²⁹ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[14:3]  ³⁰ sn The Lord testified to the message by granting the signs described in the following clause.

[14:3]  ³¹ tn Grk “word.”

[14:3]  ³² tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned.

[22:5]  ³³ tn That is, the whole Sanhedrin. BDAG 861 s.v. πρεσβυτέριον has “an administrative group concerned with the interests of a specific community, council of elders – a. of the highest Judean council in Jerusalem, in our lit. usu. called συνέδριον…ὁ ἀρχιερεύς καὶ πᾶν τὸ πρ. Ac 22:5.”

[22:5]  ³⁴ tn Grk “from whom.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[22:5]  ³⁵ tn Grk “receiving.” The participle δεξάμενος (dexameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:5]  ³⁶ tn Grk “letters to the brothers, [and] I was going to Damascus.” Such a translation, however, might be confusing since the term “brother” is frequently used of a fellow Christian. In this context, Paul is speaking about fellow Jews.

[22:5]  ³⁷ tn Grk “even there and bring…” or “there and even bring…” The ascensive καί (kai) shows that Paul was fervent in his zeal against Christians, but it is difficult to translate for it really belongs with the entire idea of arresting and bringing back the prisoners.

[22:5]  ³⁸ tn BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b has “δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά bring someone as prisoner…Ac 9:2, 21; 22:5.”

[22:5]  ³⁹ tn Grk “I was going…to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners that they might be punished.”

[23:11]  ³⁷ sn The presence of the Lord indicated the vindicating presence and direction of God.

[23:11]  ³⁸ tn Grk “standing near Paul, said.” The participle ἐπιστάς (epistas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:11]  ³⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:11]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “Do not be afraid.”

[23:11]  ⁴¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:11]  ⁴² sn Like Jesus went to Jerusalem, Paul would now go to Rome. This trip forms the concluding backdrop to Acts. This is the second notice about going to Rome (see Acts 19:21 for the first).

[10:22]  ⁴¹ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[10:22]  ⁴² tn Or “just.”

[10:22]  ⁴³ tn The phrase τοῦ ἔθνους τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων (tou eqnou" twn Ioudaiwn) is virtually a technical term for the Jewish nation (1 Macc 10:25; 11:30, 33; Josephus, Ant. 14.10.22 [14.248]). “All the Jewish people,” while another possible translation of the Greek phrase, does not convey the technical sense of a reference to the nation in English.

[10:22]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “hear words.”