Acts 18:4

18:4 He addressed ¹  both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue ²  every Sabbath, attempting to persuade ³  them.

Acts 21:14

21:14 Because he could not be persuaded, ⁴  we said no more except, ⁵  “The Lord’s will be done.” ⁶ 

Acts 26:28

26:28 Agrippa ⁷  said to Paul, “In such a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?” ⁸ 

Acts 28:24

28:24 Some were convinced ⁹  by what he said, ¹⁰  but others refused ¹¹  to believe.

[18:4]  ¹ 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 18:4. 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.

[18:4]  ² sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:4]  ³ tn Grk “Addressing in the synagogue every Sabbath, he was attempting to persuade both Jews and Greeks.” Because in English the verb “address” is not used absolutely but normally has an object specified, the direct objects of the verb ἔπειθεν (epeiqen) have been moved forward as the objects of the English verb “addressed,” and the pronoun “them” repeated in the translation as the object of ἔπειθεν. The verb ἔπειθεν has been translated as a conative imperfect.

[21:14]  ⁴ tn The participle πειθομένου (peiqomenou) in this genitive absolute construction has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[21:14]  ⁵ tn Grk “we became silent, saying.”

[21:14]  ⁶ sn “The Lord’s will be done.” Since no one knew exactly what would happen, the matter was left in the Lord’s hands.

[26:28]  ⁷ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:28]  ⁸ tn Or “In a short time you will make me a Christian.” On the difficulty of the precise nuances of Agrippa’s reply in this passage, see BDAG 791 s.v. πείθω 1.b. The idiom is like 1 Kgs 21:7 LXX. The point is that Paul was trying to persuade Agrippa to accept his message. If Agrippa had let Paul persuade him, he would have converted to Christianity.

[28:24]  ¹⁰ tn Or “persuaded.”

[28:24]  ¹¹ tn Grk “by the things spoken.”

[28:24]  ¹² sn Some were convinced…but others refused to believe. Once again the gospel caused division among Jews, as in earlier chapters of Acts (13:46; 18:6).