Acts 17:11

17:11 These Jews ¹  were more open-minded ²  than those in Thessalonica, ³  for they eagerly ⁴  received ⁵  the message, examining ⁶  the scriptures carefully every day ⁷  to see if these things were so.

Acts 25:16

25:16 I answered them ⁸  that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone ⁹  before the accused had met his accusers face to face ¹⁰  and had been given ¹¹  an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation. ¹² 

[17:11]  ¹ tn Grk “These”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue at Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:11]  ² tn Or “more willing to learn.” L&N 27.48 and BDAG 404 s.v. εὐγενής 2 both use the term “open-minded” here. The point is that they were more receptive to Paul’s message.

[17:11]  ³ sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).

[17:11]  ⁴ tn Or “willingly,” “readily”; Grk “with all eagerness.”

[17:11]  ⁵ tn Grk “who received.” Here the relative pronoun (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“they”) preceded by a semicolon, which is less awkward in contemporary English than a relative clause at this point.

[17:11]  ⁶ tn This verb (BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω 1) refers to careful examination.

[17:11]  ⁷ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[25:16]  ⁸ tn Grk “to whom I answered.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced with a personal pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 16.

[25:16]  ⁹ tn Grk “any man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos).

[25:16]  ¹⁰ tn Or “has met his accusers in person.”

[25:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and receives.”

[25:16]  ¹² tn Or “indictment” (a legal technical term). BDAG 273-74 s.v. ἔγκλημα 1 states, “legal t.t.…ἀπολογία περὶ τοῦ ἐ. defense against the accusation Ac 25:16.” L&N 56.6 defines ἔγκλημα (enklhma) as “(a technical, legal term) a formal indictment or accusation brought against someone – ‘indictment, accusation, case.’ …‘and might receive an opportunity for a defense against the indictment’ Ac 25:16.”