Acts 16:21

16:21 and are advocating ¹  customs that are not lawful for us to accept ²  or practice, ³  since we are ⁴  Romans.”

Acts 15:4

15:4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received ⁵  by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported ⁶  all the things God had done with them. ⁷ 

Acts 22:18

22:18 and saw the Lord ⁸  saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

[16:21]  ¹ tn Grk “proclaiming,” but in relation to customs, “advocating” is a closer approximation to the meaning.

[16:21]  ² tn Or “acknowledge.”

[16:21]  ³ sn Customs that are not lawful for us to accept or practice. Ironically, the charges are similar to those made against Jesus in Luke 23:2, where Jews argued he was “twisting” their customs. The charge has three elements: (1) a racial element (Jewish); (2) a social element (unlawful); and (3) a traditional element (not their customs).

[16:21]  ⁴ tn Grk “we being Romans.” The participle οὖσιν (ousin) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[15:4]  ⁵ tn BDAG 761 s.v. παραδέχομαι 2 has “receive, accept” for the meaning here.

[15:4]  ⁶ tn Or “announced.”

[15:4]  ⁷ tn “They reported all the things God had done with them” – an identical phrase occurs in Acts 14:27. God is always the agent.

[22:18]  ⁹ tn Or “Jesus”; Grk “him.” The referent (the Lord, cf. v. 19) has been specified in the translation for clarity.