Acts 18:13

18:13 saying, “This man is persuading ¹  people to worship God in a way contrary to ²  the law!”

Acts 22:15

22:15 because you will be his witness ³  to all people ⁴  of what you have seen and heard.

Acts 16:35

16:35 At daybreak ⁵  the magistrates ⁶  sent their police officers, ⁷  saying, “Release those men.”

Acts 24:16

24:16 This is the reason ⁸  I do my best to always ⁹  have a clear ¹⁰  conscience toward God and toward people. ¹¹ 

Acts 5:34

5:34 But a Pharisee ¹²  whose name was Gamaliel, ¹³  a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up ¹⁴  in the council ¹⁵  and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time.

Acts 16:37

16:37 But Paul said to the police officers, ¹⁶  “They had us beaten in public ¹⁷  without a proper trial ¹⁸  – even though we are Roman citizens ¹⁹  – and they threw us ²⁰  in prison. And now they want to send us away ²¹  secretly? Absolutely not! They ²²  themselves must come and escort us out!” ²³ 

[18:13]  ¹ tn Or “inciting.”

[18:13]  ² tn Grk “worship God contrary to.” BDAG 758 s.v. παρά C.6 has “against, contrary to” for Acts 18:13. The words “in a way” are not in the Greek text, but are a necessary clarification to prevent the misunderstanding in the English translation that worshiping God was in itself contrary to the law. What is under dispute is the manner in which God was being worshiped, that is, whether Gentiles were being required to follow all aspects of the Mosaic law, including male circumcision. There is a hint of creating public chaos or disturbing Jewish custom here since Jews were the ones making the complaint. Luke often portrays the dispute between Christians and Jews as within Judaism.

[22:15]  ³ tn Or “a witness to him.”

[22:15]  ⁴ tn Grk “all men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo").

[16:35]  ⁵ tn The translation “day is breaking” for ἡμέρα γίνεται (Jhmera ginetai) in this verse is given by BDAG 436 s.v. ἡμέρα 1.a.

[16:35]  ⁶ tn On the term translated “magistrates,” see BDAG 947-48 s.v. στρατηγός 1. These city leaders were properly called duoviri, but were popularly known as praetors (στρατηγοί, strathgoi). They were the chief officials of Philippi. The text leaves the impression that they came to the decision to release Paul and Silas independently. God was at work everywhere.

[16:35]  ⁷ tn On the term ῥαβδοῦχος (rJabdouco") see BDAG 902 s.v. The term was used of the Roman lictor and roughly corresponds to contemporary English “constable, policeman.”

[24:16]  ⁷ tn BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 9.a, “ἐν τούτῳ πιστεύομεν this is the reason why we believe Jn 16:30; cp. Ac 24:16.”

[24:16]  ⁸ tn BDAG 224 s.v. διά 2.a, “διὰ παντός…always, continually, constantly…Ac 2:25 (Ps 15:8); 10:2; 24:16.” However, the positioning of the adverb “always” in the English translation is difficult; the position used is one of the least awkward.

[24:16]  ⁹ tn BDAG 125 s.v. ἀπρόσκοπος 1 has “ἀ. συνείδησις a clear conscience Ac 24:16.”

[24:16]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use (Paul does not have only males in view).

[5:34]  ⁹ sn A Pharisee was a member of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[5:34]  ¹⁰ sn Gamaliel was a famous Jewish scholar and teacher mentioned here in v. 34 and in Acts 22:3. He had a grandson of the same name and is referred to as “Gamaliel the Elder” to avoid confusion. He is quoted a number of times in the Mishnah, was given the highest possible title for Jewish teachers, Rabba (cf. John 20:16), and was highly regarded in later rabbinic tradition.

[5:34]  ¹¹ tn Grk “standing up in the council, ordered.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[5:34]  ¹² tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[16:37]  ¹¹ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the police officers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:37]  ¹² tn Grk “Having us beaten in public.” The participle δείραντες (deirante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:37]  ¹³ tn Or “in public, uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.

[16:37]  ¹⁴ tn The participle ὑπάρχοντας (Juparconta") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[16:37]  ¹⁵ tn The word “us” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[16:37]  ¹⁶ tn L&N 28.71 has “send us away secretly” for this verse.

[16:37]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “But they.”

[16:37]  ¹⁸ sn They themselves must come and escort us out! Paul was asking for the injustice he and Silas suffered to be symbolically righted. It was a way of publicly taking their actions off the record and showing the apostles’ innocence, a major public statement. Note the apology given in v. 39.