Acts 2:15

2:15 In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk, ¹  for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ² 

Acts 12:18

12:18 At daybreak ³  there was great consternation ⁴  among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.

Acts 16:35

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

Acts 17:2

17:2 Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, ⁸  as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed ⁹  them from the scriptures,

[2:15]  ¹ tn Grk “These men are not drunk, as you suppose.”

[2:15]  ² tn Grk “only the third hour.”

[12:18]  ³ tn BDAG 436 s.v. ἡμέρα 1.a has “day is breaking” for ἡμέρα γίνεται (Jhmera ginetai) in this verse.

[12:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “no little consternation.” The translation given for τάραχος (taraco") in this verse by BDAG 991 s.v. τάραχος 1 is “mental agitation.” The situation indicated by the Greek word is described in L&N 25.243 as “a state of acute distress and great anxiety, with the additional possible implications of dismay and confusion – ‘great distress, extreme anxiety.’” The English word “consternation” is preferred here because it conveys precisely such a situation of anxiety mixed with fear. The reason for this anxiety is explained in the following verse.

[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.”

[17:2]  ⁷ tn Grk “he went in to them”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:2]  ⁸ 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 17:2. 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.