Acts 17:21

17:21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there used to spend their time ¹  in nothing else than telling ²  or listening to something new.) ³ 

Acts 23:30

23:30 When I was informed ⁴  there would be a plot ⁵  against this man, I sent him to you at once, also ordering his accusers to state their charges ⁶  against him before you.

Acts 26:1

Paul Offers His Defense

26:1 So Agrippa ⁷  said to Paul, “You have permission ⁸  to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand ⁹  and began his defense: ¹⁰ 

Acts 10:28

10:28 He said to them, “You know that ¹¹  it is unlawful ¹²  for a Jew ¹³  to associate with or visit a Gentile, ¹⁴  yet God has shown me that I should call no person ¹⁵  defiled or ritually unclean. ¹⁶ 

Acts 24:10

Paul’s Defense Before Felix

24:10 When the governor gestured for him to speak, Paul replied, “Because I know ¹⁷  that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I confidently make my defense. ¹⁸ 

Acts 17:18

17:18 Also some of the Epicurean ¹⁹  and Stoic ²⁰  philosophers were conversing ²¹  with him, and some were asking, ²²  “What does this foolish babbler ²³  want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods.” ²⁴  (They said this because he was proclaiming the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) ²⁵ 

[17:21]  ¹ tn The imperfect verb ηὐκαίρουν (hukairoun) has been translated as a customary or habitual imperfect.

[17:21]  ² tn BDAG 406-7 s.v. εὐκαιρέω has “used to spend their time in nothing else than telling Ac 17:21.”

[17:21]  ³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The reference to newness may be pejorative.

[23:30]  ⁴ tn Grk “It being revealed to me.” The participle μηνυθείσης (mhnuqeish") has been taken temporally.

[23:30]  ⁵ tn The term translated “plot” here is a different one than the one in Acts 23:16 (see BDAG 368 s.v. ἐπιβουλή).

[23:30]  ⁶ tn Grk “the things against him.” This could be rendered as “accusations,” “grievances,” or “charges,” but since “ordered his accusers to state their accusations” sounds redundant in English, “charges” was used instead.

[26:1]  ⁷ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “It is permitted for you.”

[26:1]  ⁹ tn Or “extended his hand” (a speaker’s gesture).

[26:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “and began to speak in his own defense.”

[10:28]  ¹⁰ tn Here ὡς (Jws) is used like ὅτι (Joti) to introduce indirect discourse (cf. BDAG 1105 s.v. ὡς 5).

[10:28]  ¹¹ tn This term is used of wanton or callously lawless acts (BDAG 24 s.v. ἀθέμιτος).

[10:28]  ¹² tn Grk “a Jewish man” (ἀνδρὶ ᾿Ιουδαίῳ, andri Ioudaiw).

[10:28]  ¹³ tn Grk “a foreigner,” but in this context, “a non-Jew,” that is, a Gentile. This term speaks of intimate association (BDAG 556 s.v. κολλάω 2.b.α). On this Jewish view, see John 18:28, where a visit to a Gentile residence makes a Jewish person unclean.

[10:28]  ¹⁴ tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo").

[10:28]  ¹⁵ tn Possibly there is a subtle distinction in meaning between κοινός (koinos) and ἀκάθαρτος (akaqartos) here, but according to L&N 53.39 it is difficult to determine precise differences in meaning based on existing contexts.

[24:10]  ¹³ tn Grk “knowing.” The participle ἐπιστάμενος (epistamenos) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[24:10]  ¹⁴ sn “Because…defense.” Paul also paid an indirect compliment to the governor, implying that he would be fair in his judgment.

[17:18]  ¹⁶ sn An Epicurean was a follower of the philosophy of Epicurus, who founded a school in Athens about 300 b.c. Although the Epicureans saw the aim of life as pleasure, they were not strictly hedonists, because they defined pleasure as the absence of pain. Along with this, they desired the avoidance of trouble and freedom from annoyances. They saw organized religion as evil, especially the belief that the gods punished evildoers in an afterlife. In keeping with this, they were unable to accept Paul’s teaching about the resurrection.

[17:18]  ¹⁷ sn A Stoic was a follower of the philosophy founded by Zeno (342-270 b.c.), a Phoenician who came to Athens and modified the philosophical system of the Cynics he found there. The Stoics rejected the Epicurean ideal of pleasure, stressing virtue instead. The Stoics emphasized responsibility for voluntary actions and believed risks were worth taking, but thought the actual attainment of virtue was difficult. They also believed in providence.

[17:18]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβάλλω 1 has “converse, confer” here.

[17:18]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “saying.”

[17:18]  ²⁰ tn Or “ignorant show-off.” The traditional English translation of σπερμολόγος (spermologo") is given in L&N 33.381 as “foolish babbler.” However, an alternate view is presented in L&N 27.19, “(a figurative extension of meaning of a term based on the practice of birds in picking up seeds) one who acquires bits and pieces of relatively extraneous information and proceeds to pass them off with pretense and show – ‘ignorant show-off, charlatan.’” A similar view is given in BDAG 937 s.v. σπερμολόγος: “in pejorative imagery of persons whose communication lacks sophistication and seems to pick up scraps of information here and there scrapmonger, scavenger…Engl. synonyms include ‘gossip’, ‘babbler’, chatterer’; but these terms miss the imagery of unsystematic gathering.”

[17:18]  ²¹ tn The meaning of this phrase is not clear. Literally it reads “strange deities” (see BDAG 210 s.v. δαιμόνιον 1). The note of not being customary is important. In the ancient world what was new was suspicious. The plural δαιμονίων (daimoniwn, “deities”) shows the audience grappling with Paul’s teaching that God was working through Jesus.

[17:18]  ²² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.