Acts 17:4

17:4 Some of them were persuaded ¹  and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group ²  of God-fearing Greeks ³  and quite a few ⁴  prominent women.

Acts 19:9

19:9 But when ⁵  some were stubborn ⁶  and refused to believe, reviling ⁷  the Way ⁸  before the congregation, he left ⁹  them and took the disciples with him, ¹⁰  addressing ¹¹  them every day ¹²  in the lecture hall ¹³  of Tyrannus.

Acts 19:13

19:13 But some itinerant ¹⁴  Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name ¹⁵  of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by ¹⁶  evil spirits, saying, “I sternly warn ¹⁷  you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.”

Acts 23:9

23:9 There was a great commotion, ¹⁸  and some experts in the law ¹⁹  from the party of the Pharisees stood up ²⁰  and protested strongly, ²¹  “We find nothing wrong ²²  with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

[17:4]  ¹ tn Or “convinced.”

[17:4]  ² tn Or “a large crowd.”

[17:4]  ³ tn Or “of devout Greeks,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Luke frequently mentions such people (Acts 13:43, 50; 16:14; 17:17; 18:7).

[17:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “not a few”; this use of negation could be misleading to the modern English reader, however, and so has been translated as “quite a few” (which is the actual meaning of the expression).

[19:9]  ⁵ tn BDAG 1105-6 s.v. ὡς 8.b lists this use as a temporal conjunction.

[19:9]  ⁶ tn Or “some became hardened.” See BDAG 930 s.v. σκληρύνω b and Acts 7:51-53.

[19:9]  ⁷ tn Or “speaking evil of.” BDAG 500 s.v. κακολογέω has “speak evil of, revile, insult…τὶ someth. τὴν ὁδόν the Way (i.e. Christian way of life) Ac 19:9.”

[19:9]  ⁸ sn The Way refers to the Christian movement (Christianity). Luke frequently refers to it as “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).

[19:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “leaving them, he took.” The participle ἀποστάς (apostas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:9]  ¹⁰ tn The words “with him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[19:9]  ¹¹ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 19:9. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[19:9]  ¹² tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[19:9]  ¹³ tn The “lecture hall” was a place where teachers and pupils met. The term is a NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 982 s.v. σχολή). L&N 7.14 notes, “it is better to use a translation such as ‘lecture hall’ rather than ‘school,’ since one does not wish to give the impression of the typical classroom situation characteristic of present-day schools.”

[19:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “some Jewish exorcists who traveled about.” The adjectival participle περιερχομένων (periercomenwn) has been translated as “itinerant.”

[19:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “to name the name.”

[19:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “who had.” Here ἔχω (ecw) is used of demon possession, a common usage according to BDAG 421 s.v. ἔχω 7.a.α.

[19:13]  ¹² sn The expression I sternly warn you means “I charge you as under oath.”

[23:9]  ¹³ tn Or “clamor” (cf. BDAG 565 s.v. κραυγή 1.a, which has “there arose a loud outcry” here, and Exod 12:30).

[23:9]  ¹⁴ tn Or “and some scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 4:5.

[23:9]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “standing up.” The participle ἀναστάντες (anastante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:9]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “protested strongly, saying.” L&N 39.27 has “διαμάχομαι: to fight or contend with, involving severity and thoroughness – ‘to protest strongly, to contend with.’…‘some scribes from the party of the Pharisees protested strongly’ Ac 23:9.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[23:9]  ¹⁷ sn “We find nothing wrong with this man.” Here is another declaration of innocence. These leaders recognized the possibility that Paul might have the right to make his claim.