Acts 16:6-7

Paul’s Vision of the Macedonian Man

16:6 They went through the region of Phrygia ¹  and Galatia, ²  having been prevented ³  by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message ⁴  in the province of Asia. ⁵  16:7 When they came to ⁶  Mysia, ⁷  they attempted to go into Bithynia, ⁸  but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow ⁹  them to do this, ¹⁰ 

[16:6]  ¹ sn Phrygia was a district in central Asia Minor west of Pisidia.

[16:6]  ² sn Galatia refers to either (1) the region of the old kingdom of Galatia in the central part of Asia Minor (North Galatia), or (2) the Roman province of Galatia, whose principal cities in the 1st century were Ancyra and Pisidian Antioch (South Galatia). The exact extent and meaning of this area has been a subject of considerable controversy in modern NT studies.

[16:6]  ³ tn Or “forbidden.”

[16:6]  ⁴ tn Or “word.”

[16:6]  ⁵ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[16:7]  ⁶ tn BDAG 511 s.v. κατά B.1.b has “to Mysia” here.

[16:7]  ⁷ sn Mysia was a province in northwest Asia Minor.

[16:7]  ⁸ sn Bithynia was a province in northern Asia Minor northeast of Mysia.

[16:7]  ⁹ tn Or “permit”; see BDAG 269 s.v. ἐάω 1.

[16:7]  ¹⁰ tn The words “do this” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons, since English handles ellipses differently than Greek.