Acts 17:1

Paul and Silas at Thessalonica

17:1 After they traveled through ¹  Amphipolis ²  and Apollonia, ³  they came to Thessalonica, ⁴  where there was a Jewish synagogue. ⁵ 

Acts 8:1-40

8:1 And Saul agreed completely with killing ⁶  him.

Saul Begins to Persecute the Church

Now on that day a great ⁷  persecution began ⁸  against the church in Jerusalem, ⁹  and all ¹⁰  except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions ¹¹  of Judea and Samaria. 8:2 Some ¹²  devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation ¹³  over him. ¹⁴  8:3 But Saul was trying to destroy ¹⁵  the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off ¹⁶  both men and women and put them in prison. ¹⁷ 

Philip Preaches in Samaria

8:4 Now those who had been forced to scatter went around proclaiming the good news of the word. 8:5 Philip went down to the main city of Samaria ¹⁸  and began proclaiming ¹⁹  the Christ ²⁰  to them. 8:6 The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what Philip said, ²¹  as they heard and saw the miraculous signs ²²  he was performing. 8:7 For unclean spirits, ²³  crying with loud shrieks, were coming out of many who were possessed, ²⁴  and many paralyzed and lame people were healed. 8:8 So there was ²⁵  great joy ²⁶  in that city.

8:9 Now in that city was a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic ²⁷  and amazing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 8:10 All the people, ²⁸  from the least to the greatest, paid close attention to him, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’” ²⁹  8:11 And they paid close attention to him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God ³⁰  and the name of Jesus Christ, ³¹  they began to be baptized, ³²  both men and women. 8:13 Even Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed close to ³³  Philip constantly, and when he saw the signs and great miracles that were occurring, he was amazed. ³⁴ 

8:14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem ³⁵  heard that Samaria had accepted the word ³⁶  of God, they sent ³⁷  Peter and John to them. 8:15 These two ³⁸  went down and prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 8:16 (For the Spirit ³⁹  had not yet come upon ⁴⁰  any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) ⁴¹  8:17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on the Samaritans, ⁴²  and they received the Holy Spirit. ⁴³ 

8:18 Now Simon, when he saw that the Spirit ⁴⁴  was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them money, 8:19 saying, “Give me this power ⁴⁵  too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” 8:20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, ⁴⁶  because you thought you could acquire ⁴⁷  God’s gift with money! 8:21 You have no share or part ⁴⁸  in this matter ⁴⁹  because your heart is not right before God! 8:22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord ⁵⁰  that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart. ⁵¹  8:23 For I see that you are bitterly envious ⁵²  and in bondage to sin.” 8:24 But Simon replied, ⁵³  “You pray to the Lord for me so that nothing of what you have said may happen to ⁵⁴  me.”

8:25 So after Peter and John ⁵⁵  had solemnly testified ⁵⁶  and spoken the word of the Lord, ⁵⁷  they started back to Jerusalem, proclaiming ⁵⁸  the good news to many Samaritan villages ⁵⁹  as they went. ⁶⁰ 

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

8:26 Then an angel of the Lord ⁶¹  said to Philip, ⁶²  “Get up and go south ⁶³  on the road that goes down from Jerusalem ⁶⁴  to Gaza.” (This is a desert ⁶⁵  road.) ⁶⁶  8:27 So ⁶⁷  he got up ⁶⁸  and went. There ⁶⁹  he met ⁷⁰  an Ethiopian eunuch, ⁷¹  a court official of Candace, ⁷²  queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He ⁷³  had come to Jerusalem to worship, ⁷⁴  8:28 and was returning home, sitting ⁷⁵  in his chariot, reading ⁷⁶  the prophet Isaiah. 8:29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 8:30 So Philip ran up ⁷⁷  to it ⁷⁸  and heard the man ⁷⁹  reading Isaiah the prophet. He ⁸⁰  asked him, ⁸¹  “Do you understand what you’re reading?” 8:31 The man ⁸²  replied, “How in the world can I, ⁸³  unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 8:32 Now the passage of scripture the man ⁸⁴  was reading was this:

“He was led like a sheep to slaughter,

and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,

so he did ⁸⁵  not open his mouth.

8:33 In humiliation ⁸⁶  justice was taken from him. ⁸⁷ 

Who can describe his posterity? ⁸⁸ 

For his life was taken away ⁸⁹  from the earth.” ⁹⁰ 

8:34 Then the eunuch said ⁹¹  to Philip, “Please tell me, ⁹²  who is the prophet saying this about – himself or someone else?” ⁹³  8:35 So Philip started speaking, ⁹⁴  and beginning with this scripture ⁹⁵  proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. 8:36 Now as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water! What is to stop me ⁹⁶  from being baptized?” 8:37 [[EMPTY]] ⁹⁷  8:38 So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, ⁹⁸  and Philip baptized ⁹⁹  him. 8:39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any more, but ¹⁰⁰  went on his way rejoicing. ¹⁰¹  8:40 Philip, however, found himself ¹⁰²  at Azotus, ¹⁰³  and as he passed through the area, ¹⁰⁴  he proclaimed the good news ¹⁰⁵  to all the towns ¹⁰⁶  until he came to Caesarea. ¹⁰⁷ 

[17:1]  ¹ tn BDAG 250 s.v. διοδεύω 1 has “go, travel through” for this verse.

[17:1]  ² sn Amphipolis. The capital city of the southeastern district of Macedonia (BDAG 55 s.v. ᾿Αμφίπολις). It was a military post. From Philippi this was about 33 mi (53 km).

[17:1]  ³ sn Apollonia was a city in Macedonia about 27 mi (43 km) west southwest of Amphipolis.

[17:1]  ⁴ sn Thessalonica (modern Salonica) was a city in Macedonia about 33 mi (53 km) west of Apollonia. It was the capital of Macedonia. The road they traveled over was called the Via Egnatia. It is likely they rode horses, given their condition in Philippi. The implication of v. 1 is that the two previously mentioned cities lacked a synagogue.

[17:1]  ⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[8:1]  ⁶ tn The term ἀναίρεσις (anairesi") can refer to murder (BDAG 64 s.v.; 2 Macc 5:13; Josephus, Ant. 5.2.12 [5.165]).

[8:1]  ⁷ tn Or “severe.”

[8:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “Now there happened on that day a great persecution.” It is less awkward to say in English “Now on that day a great persecution began.”

[8:1]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:1]  ¹⁰ sn All. Given that the Jerusalem church is still active after this and that the Hellenists are the focus of Acts 6-8, it is possible to argue that only the Hellenistic Christians were forced to scatter.

[8:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “countryside.”

[8:2]  ¹¹ tn “Some” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[8:2]  ¹² sn Made loud lamentation. For someone who was stoned to death, lamentation was normally not allowed (m. Sanhedrin 6:6). The remark points to an unjust death.

[8:2]  ¹³ tn Or “mourned greatly for him.”

[8:3]  ¹⁶ tn Or “began to harm [the church] severely.” If the nuance of this verb is “destroy,” then the imperfect verb ἐλυμαίνετο (elumaineto) is best translated as a conative imperfect as in the translation above. If instead the verb is taken to mean “injure severely” (as L&N 20.24), it should be translated in context as an ingressive imperfect (“began to harm the church severely”). Either option does not significantly alter the overall meaning, since it is clear from the stated actions of Saul in the second half of the verse that he intended to destroy or ravage the church.

[8:3]  ¹⁷ tn The participle σύρων (surwn) has been translated as an finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:3]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3.”

[8:5]  ²¹ tn The word “main” is supplied in the translation to clarify that “Samaria” is not the name of the city (at least in NT times). See both BDAG 912 s.v. Σαμάρεια, and L&N 93.568.

[8:5]  ²² tn The imperfect ἐκήρυσσεν (ekhrussen) has been translated as an ingressive, since this is probably the first time such preaching took place.

[8:5]  ²³ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[8:6]  ²⁶ tn Grk “to what was being said by Philip,” a passive construction that has been changed to active voice in the translation.

[8:6]  ²⁷ tn Here the following context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned. This term appears 13 times in Acts, but only twice more after Acts 8:13 (i.e., 14:3; 15:12).

[8:7]  ³¹ sn The expression unclean spirits refers to evil supernatural spirits which were ceremonially unclean, and which caused the persons possessed by them to be ceremonially unclean.

[8:7]  ³² tn Grk “For [in the case of] many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out, crying in a loud voice.”

[8:8]  ³⁶ tn Grk “and there came about,” but this is somewhat awkward in English.

[8:8]  ³⁷ sn Great joy. The reason for eschatological joy was that such events pointed to God’s decisive deliverance (Luke 7:22-23). Note how the acts of healing extend beyond the Twelve here.

[8:9]  ⁴¹ tn On the idiom προϋπῆρχεν μαγεύων (prouphrcen mageuwn) meaning “had been practicing magic” see BDAG 889 s.v. προϋπάρχω.

[8:10]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “all of them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:10]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” The translation “what is called the Great Power of God” is given by BDAG 263 s.v. δύναμις 5, but the repetition of the article before καλουμένη μεγάλη (kaloumenh megalh) suggests the translation “the power of God that is called ‘Great.’”

[8:12]  ⁵¹ sn The kingdom of God is also what Jesus preached: Acts 1:3. The term reappears in 14:22; 19:8; 28:23, 31.

[8:12]  ⁵² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[8:12]  ⁵³ tn The imperfect verb ἐβαπτίζοντο (ebaptizonto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[8:13]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “he kept close company with.”

[8:13]  ⁵⁷ sn He was amazed. Now Simon, the one who amazed others, is himself amazed, showing the superiority of Philip’s connection to God. Christ is better than anything the culture has to offer.

[8:14]  ⁶¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:14]  ⁶² tn Or “message.”

[8:14]  ⁶³ sn They sent. The Jerusalem church with the apostles was overseeing the expansion of the church, as the distribution of the Spirit indicates in vv. 15-17.

[8:15]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the phrase “these two” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.

[8:16]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “For he”; the referent (the Spirit) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:16]  ⁷² tn Or “fallen on.”

[8:16]  ⁷³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[8:17]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “on them”; the referent (the Samaritans) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:17]  ⁷⁷ sn They received the Holy Spirit. It is likely this special distribution of the Spirit took place because a key ethnic boundary was being crossed. Here are some of “those far off” of Acts 2:38-40.

[8:18]  ⁸¹ tc Most witnesses (Ì^45,74 A* C D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï latt sy bo) here read “the Holy Spirit” (τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, to pneuma to {agion), while a few key mss have simply τὸ πνεῦμα (א A^c B sa mae). Although it is possible that some scribes omitted τὸ ἅγιον because of its perceived superfluity (note vv. 15, 17, 19), it is far more likely that others added the adjective out of pious motives.

[8:19]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “ability”; Grk “authority.”

[8:20]  ⁹¹ tn Grk “May your silver together with you be sent into destruction.” This is a strong curse. The gifts of God are sovereignly bestowed and cannot be purchased.

[8:20]  ⁹² tn Or “obtain.”

[8:21]  ⁹⁶ tn The translation “share or part” is given by L&N 63.13.

[8:21]  ⁹⁷ tn Since the semantic range for λόγος (logos) is so broad, a number of different translations could be given for the prepositional phrase here. Something along the lines of “in this thing” would work well, but is too colloquial for the present translation.

[8:22]  ¹⁰¹ tn Or “and implore the Lord.”

[8:22]  ¹⁰² tn Grk “that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” The passive construction is somewhat awkward in contemporary English and has thus been converted to an active construction in the translation.

[8:23]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Grk “in the gall of bitterness,” an idiom meaning to be particularly envious or resentful of someone. In this case Simon was jealous of the apostles’ power to bestow the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, and wanted that power for himself. The literal phrase does not convey this to the modern reader, and in fact some modern translations have simply rendered the phrase as involving bitterness, which misses the point of the envy on Simon’s part. See L&N 88.166. The OT images come from Deut 29:17-18 and Isa 58:6.

[8:24]  ¹¹¹ tn Grk “Simon answered and said.”

[8:24]  ¹¹² tn Grk “may come upon.”

[8:25]  ¹¹⁶ tn Grk “after they”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:25]  ¹¹⁷ tn The verb διαμαρτύρομαι (diamarturomai) can mean “warn,” and could be taken to refer specifically to the warning given to Simon in the preceding verses. However, a more general reference is more likely, referring to parting exhortations from Peter and John to the entire group of believers.

[8:25]  ¹¹⁸ sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in Acts 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.

[8:25]  ¹¹⁹ tn Grk “they were returning to Jerusalem and were proclaiming.” The first imperfect is taken ingressively and the second is viewed iteratively (“proclaiming…as they went”).

[8:25]  ¹²⁰ sn By proclaiming the good news to many Samaritan villages, the apostles now actively share in the broader ministry the Hellenists had started.

[8:25]  ¹²¹ tn “As they went” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the imperfect tense (see tn above).

[8:26]  ¹²¹ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.

[8:26]  ¹²² tn Grk “Lord spoke to Philip, saying.” The redundant participle λέγων (legwn) has not been translated.

[8:26]  ¹²³ tn Or “Get up and go about noon.” The phrase κατὰ μεσημβρίαν (kata meshmbrian) can be translated either “about noon” (L&N 67.74) or “toward the south” (L&N 82.4). Since the angel’s command appears to call for immediate action (“Get up”) and would not therefore need a time indicator, a directional reference (“toward the south”) is more likely here.

[8:26]  ¹²⁴ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:26]  ¹²⁵ tn Or “wilderness.”

[8:26]  ¹²⁶ tn The words “This is a desert road” are probably best understood as a comment by the author of Acts, but it is possible they form part of the angel’s speech to Philip, in which case the verse would read: “Get up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza – the desert road.”

[8:27]  ¹²⁶ tn Grk “And,” but καί (kai) carries something of a resultative force in this context because what follows describes Philip’s response to the angel’s command.

[8:27]  ¹²⁷ tn Grk “So getting up he went.” The aorist participle ἀναστάς (anastas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:27]  ¹²⁸ tn Grk “And there.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[8:27]  ¹²⁹ tn Grk “and behold.” This expression is used to portray Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian in a vivid way. In the English translation this vividness is difficult to convey; it is necessary to supply the words “he met.”

[8:27]  ¹³⁰ sn The term eunuch normally referred to a man who had been castrated, but this was not always the case (see Gen 39:1 LXX, where Potiphar is called a eunuch). Such castrated individuals were preferred as court officials in the East, although Judaism opposed the practice. The Mosaic law excluded eunuchs from Israel (Deut 23:1), although God certainly accepted them (Isa 56:3-5; Wis 3:14). This individual was a high official, since he was said to be in charge of all her treasury. He may or may not have been a eunuch physically. He appears to be the first fully Gentile convert to Christianity, since the Samaritans mentioned previously (Acts 8:4-25) were regarded as half-breeds.

[8:27]  ¹³¹ tn Or “the Candace” (the title of the queen of the Ethiopians). The term Κανδάκης (Kandakh") is much more likely a title rather than a proper name (like Pharaoh, which is a title); see L&N 37.77. A few, however, still take the word to be the name of the queen (L&N 93.209). BDAG 507 s.v. Κανδάκη, treats the term as a title and lists classical usage by Strabo (Geography 17.1.54) and others.

[8:27]  ¹³² tn Grk “who was over all her treasury, who.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the pronoun “he” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.

[8:27]  ¹³³ sn Since this man had come to Jerusalem to worship, he may have been a proselyte to Judaism. This event is a precursor to Acts 10.

[8:28]  ¹³¹ tn Grk “and was sitting.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[8:28]  ¹³² tn Grk “and was reading.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[8:30]  ¹³⁶ tn The participle προσδραμών (prosdramwn) is regarded as attendant circumstance.

[8:30]  ¹³⁷ tn The words “to it” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[8:30]  ¹³⁸ tn Grk “heard him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:30]  ¹³⁹ 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]  ¹⁴⁰ 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.”

[8:31]  ¹⁴¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:31]  ¹⁴² tn Grk “How am I able, unless…” The translation is based on the force of the conjunction γάρ (gar) in this context. The translation “How in the world can I?” is given in BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 1.f.

[8:32]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:32]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Grk “does.” The present tense here was translated as a past tense to maintain consistency with the first line of the quotation (“he was led like a sheep to slaughter”), which has an aorist passive verb normally translated as a past tense in English.

[8:33]  ¹⁵¹ tc ‡ Most later mss (C E Ψ 33^vid Ï sy) read “In his humiliation,” adding αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) after ταπεινώσει (tapeinwsei, “humiliation”), while the earlier and better witnesses lack the pronoun (so Ì⁷⁴ א A B 1739 pc lat). However, the LXX of Isa 53:8 also lacks the pronoun, supplying motivation for scribes to omit it here. At the same time, scribes would also be motivated to add the pronoun both for clarity’s sake (note the similar impulse that led to the addition of δέ [de] by many of the same mss at the beginning of the next line) and to give balance to the lines (the pronoun is indisputably used five other times in vv. 32-33 in quoting Isa 53). On balance, the shorter reading is preferred.

[8:33]  ¹⁵² tn Or “justice was denied him”; Grk “his justice was taken away.”

[8:33]  ¹⁵³ tn Or “family; or “origin.” The meaning of γενεά (genea) in the quotation is uncertain; BDAG 192 s.v. γενεά 4 suggests “family history.”

[8:33]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Grk “is taken away.” The present tense here was translated as a past tense to maintain consistency with the rest of the quotation.

[8:33]  ¹⁵⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 53:7-8.

[8:34]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Grk “answered and said.” The redundant participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqei") has not been translated.

[8:34]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Grk “I beg you,” “I ask you.”

[8:34]  ¹⁵⁸ sn About himself, or about someone else? It is likely in 1st century Judaism this would have been understood as either Israel or Isaiah.

[8:35]  ¹⁶¹ tn Grk “opening his mouth” (a Semitic idiom for beginning to speak in a somewhat formal manner). The participle ἀνοίξας (anoixa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:35]  ¹⁶² sn Beginning with this scripture. The discussion likely included many of the scriptures Acts has already noted for the reader in earlier speeches. At the least, readers of Acts would know what other scriptures might be meant.

[8:36]  ¹⁶⁶ tn Or “What prevents me.” The rhetorical question means, “I should get baptized, right?”

[8:37]  ¹⁷¹ tc A few later mss (E 36 323 453 945 1739 1891 pc) add, with minor variations, 8:37 “He said to him, ‘If you believe with your whole heart, you may.’ He replied, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’” Verse 37 is lacking in {Ì^45,74 א A B C 33 614 vg sy^p,h co}. It is clearly not a part of the original text of Acts. The variant is significant in showing how some in the early church viewed a confession of faith. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

[8:38]  ¹⁷⁶ tn Grk “and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch.” Since this is somewhat redundant in English, it was simplified to “and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water.”

[8:38]  ¹⁷⁷ sn Philip baptized. Again, someone beyond the Twelve has ministered an ordinance of faith.

[8:39]  ¹⁸¹ tn BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 2 indicates that under certain circumstances γάρ (gar) has the same meaning as δέ (de).

[8:39]  ¹⁸² sn Note that the response to the gospel is rejoicing (joy, cf. Acts 11:23; 13:48).

[8:40]  ¹⁸⁶ tn Or “appeared.”

[8:40]  ¹⁸⁷ sn Azotus was a city on the coast of southern Palestine, known as Ashdod in OT times.

[8:40]  ¹⁸⁸ tn The words “the area” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[8:40]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Or “he preached the gospel.”

[8:40]  ¹⁹⁰ tn Or “cities.”

[8:40]  ¹⁹¹ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.