Acts 17:27

17:27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around ¹  for him and find him, ²  though he is ³  not far from each one of us.

Acts 2:18

2:18 Even on my servants, ⁴  both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. ⁵ 

Acts 8:30

8:30 So Philip ran up ⁶  to it ⁷  and heard the man ⁸  reading Isaiah the prophet. He ⁹  asked him, ¹⁰  “Do you understand what you’re reading?”

[17:27]  ¹ tn See BDAG 1097-98 s.v. ψηλαφάω, which lists “touch, handle” and “to feel around for, grope for” as possible meanings.

[17:27]  ² sn Perhaps grope around for him and find him. The pagans’ struggle to know God is the point here. Conscience alone is not good enough.

[17:27]  ³ tn The participle ὑπάρχοντα (Juparconta) has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[2:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “slaves.” Although this translation frequently renders δοῦλος (doulos) as “slave,” the connotation is often of one who has sold himself into slavery; in a spiritual sense, the idea is that of becoming a slave of God or of Jesus Christ voluntarily. The voluntary notion is not conspicuous here; hence, the translation “servants.” In any case, the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[2:18]  ⁵ sn The words and they will prophesy in Acts 2:18 are not quoted from Joel 2:29 at this point but are repeated from earlier in the quotation (Acts 2:17) for emphasis. Tongues speaking is described as prophecy, just like intelligible tongues are described in 1 Cor 14:26-33.

[8:30]  ⁷ tn The participle προσδραμών (prosdramwn) is regarded as attendant circumstance.

[8:30]  ⁸ tn The words “to it” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[8:30]  ⁹ tn Grk “heard him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:30]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[8:30]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he said”; but since what follows is a question, it is better English style to translate the introduction to the question “he asked him.”