Acts 2:35

2:35 until I make your enemies a footstool ¹  for your feet.”’ ² 

Acts 2:45

2:45 and they began selling ³  their property ⁴  and possessions and distributing the proceeds ⁵  to everyone, as anyone had need.

Acts 4:35

4:35 and placing them at the apostles’ feet. The proceeds ⁶  were distributed to each, as anyone had need.

Acts 2:39

2:39 For the promise ⁷  is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”

Acts 3:19

3:19 Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out,

Acts 5:24

5:24 Now when the commander ⁸  of the temple guard ⁹  and the chief priests heard this report, ¹⁰  they were greatly puzzled concerning it, ¹¹  wondering what this could ¹²  be.

Acts 7:3

7:3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your country and from your relatives, and come to the land I will show you.’ ¹³ 

Acts 8:31

8:31 The man ¹⁴  replied, “How in the world can I, ¹⁵  unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

Acts 3:22

3:22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must obey ¹⁶  him in everything he tells you. ¹⁷ 

Acts 10:17

10:17 Now while Peter was puzzling over ¹⁸  what the vision he had seen could signify, the men sent by Cornelius had learned where Simon’s house was ¹⁹  and approached ²⁰  the gate.

Acts 15:17

15:17 so that the rest of humanity ²¹  may seek the Lord,

namely, ²²  all the Gentiles ²³  I have called to be my own,’ ²⁴  says the Lord, ²⁵  who makes these things

Acts 18:14

18:14 But just as Paul was about to speak, ²⁶  Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy, ²⁷  I would have been justified in accepting the complaint ²⁸  of you Jews, ²⁹ 

Acts 26:29

26:29 Paul replied, “I pray to God that whether in a short or a long time ³⁰  not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains.” ³¹ 

Acts 17:18

17:18 Also some of the Epicurean ³²  and Stoic ³³  philosophers were conversing ³⁴  with him, and some were asking, ³⁵  “What does this foolish babbler ³⁶  want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods.” ³⁷  (They said this because he was proclaiming the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) ³⁸ 

[2:35]  ¹ sn The metaphor make your enemies a footstool portrays the complete subjugation of the enemies.

[2:35]  ² sn A quotation from Ps 110:1, one of the most often-cited OT passages in the NT, pointing to the exaltation of Jesus.

[2:45]  ³ tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive (“began…”). Since in context this is a description of the beginning of the community of believers, it is more likely that these statements refer to the start of various activities and practices that the early church continued for some time.

[2:45]  ⁴ tn It is possible that the first term for property (κτήματα, kthmata) refers to real estate (as later usage seems to indicate) while the second term (ὑπάρξεις, Juparxeis) refers to possessions in general, but it may also be that the two terms are used together for emphasis, simply indicating that all kinds of possessions were being sold. However, if the first term is more specifically a reference to real estate, it foreshadows the incident with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11.

[2:45]  ⁵ tn Grk “distributing them” (αὐτά, auta). The referent (the proceeds of the sales) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:35]  ⁵ tn Grk “It” (or “They,” plural). The referent of the understood pronoun subject, the proceeds from the sales, of the verb διεδίδετο (diedideto) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:39]  ⁷ sn The promise refers to the promise of the Holy Spirit that Jesus received from the Father in 2:33 and which he now pours out on others. The promise consists of the Holy Spirit (see note in 2:33). Jesus is the active mediator of God’s blessing.

[5:24]  ⁹ tn Or “captain.”

[5:24]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the official of the temple,” a title for the commander of the Jewish soldiers guarding the temple (thus the translation, “the commander of the temple guard”). See L&N 37.91.

[5:24]  ¹¹ tn Grk “heard these words.”

[5:24]  ¹² tn Grk “concerning them,” agreeing with the plural antecedent “these words.” Since the phrase “these words” was translated as the singular “this report,” the singular “concerning it” is used here.

[5:24]  ¹³ tn The optative verb here expresses confused uncertainty.

[7:3]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Gen 12:1.

[8:31]  ¹³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:31]  ¹⁴ 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.

[3:22]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “hear,” but the idea of “hear and obey” or simply “obey” is frequently contained in the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw; see L&N 36.14) and the following context (v. 23) makes it clear that failure to “obey” the words of this “prophet like Moses” will result in complete destruction.

[3:22]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Deut 18:15. By quoting Deut 18:15 Peter declared that Jesus was the eschatological “prophet like [Moses]” mentioned in that passage, who reveals the plan of God and the way of God.

[10:17]  ¹⁷ tn Or “was greatly confused over.” The term means to be perplexed or at a loss (BDAG 235 s.v. διαπορέω).

[10:17]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “having learned.” The participle διερωτήσαντες (dierwthsante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[10:17]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 418 s.v. ἐφίστημι 1 has “ἐπί τι approach or stand by someth. (Sir 41:24) Ac 10:17.”

[15:17]  ¹⁹ tn Or “so that all other people.” The use of this term follows Amos 9:11 LXX.

[15:17]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) introduces an explanatory clause that explains the preceding phrase “the rest of humanity.” The clause introduced by καί (kai) could also be punctuated in English as a parenthesis.

[15:17]  ²¹ tn Or “all the nations” (in Greek the word for “nation” and “Gentile” is the same).

[15:17]  ²² tn Grk “all the Gentiles on whom my name has been called.” Based on well-attested OT usage, the passive of ἐπικαλέω (epikalew) here indicates God’s ownership (“all the Gentiles who belong to me”) or calling (“all the Gentiles whom I have called to be my own”). See L&N 11.28.

[15:17]  ²³ sn A quotation from Amos 9:11-12 LXX. James demonstrated a high degree of cultural sensitivity when he cited a version of the text (the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament) that Gentiles would use.

[18:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “about to open his mouth” (an idiom).

[18:14]  ²² tn BDAG 902 s.v. ῥᾳδιούργημα states, “From the sense ‘prank, knavery, roguish trick, slick deed’ it is but a short step to that of a serious misdeed, crime, villainy…a serious piece of villainy Ac 18:14 (w. ἀδίκημα).”

[18:14]  ²³ tn According to BDAG 78 s.v. ἀνέχω 3 this is a legal technical term: “Legal t.t. κατὰ λόγον ἂν ἀνεσχόμην ὑμῶν I would have been justified in accepting your complaint Ac 18:14.”

[18:14]  ²⁴ tn Grk “accepting your complaint, O Jews.”

[26:29]  ²³ tn BDAG 703 s.v. ὀλίγος 2.b.β has “καὶ ἐν ὀλ. καὶ ἐν μεγάλῳ whether in a short or a long time vs. 29 (cf. B-D-F §195; GWhitaker, The Words of Agrippa to St. Paul: JTS 15, 1914, 82f; AFridrichsen, SymbOsl 14, ’35, 50; Field, Notes 141-43; s. Rob. 653).”

[26:29]  ²⁴ sn Except for these chains. The chains represented Paul’s unjust suffering for the sake of the message. His point was, in effect, “I do not care how long it takes. I only hope you and everyone else hearing this would become believers in Christ, but without my unjust suffering.”

[17:18]  ²⁵ sn An Epicurean was a follower of the philosophy of Epicurus, who founded a school in Athens about 300 b.c. Although the Epicureans saw the aim of life as pleasure, they were not strictly hedonists, because they defined pleasure as the absence of pain. Along with this, they desired the avoidance of trouble and freedom from annoyances. They saw organized religion as evil, especially the belief that the gods punished evildoers in an afterlife. In keeping with this, they were unable to accept Paul’s teaching about the resurrection.

[17:18]  ²⁶ sn A Stoic was a follower of the philosophy founded by Zeno (342-270 b.c.), a Phoenician who came to Athens and modified the philosophical system of the Cynics he found there. The Stoics rejected the Epicurean ideal of pleasure, stressing virtue instead. The Stoics emphasized responsibility for voluntary actions and believed risks were worth taking, but thought the actual attainment of virtue was difficult. They also believed in providence.

[17:18]  ²⁷ tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβάλλω 1 has “converse, confer” here.

[17:18]  ²⁸ tn Grk “saying.”

[17:18]  ²⁹ tn Or “ignorant show-off.” The traditional English translation of σπερμολόγος (spermologo") is given in L&N 33.381 as “foolish babbler.” However, an alternate view is presented in L&N 27.19, “(a figurative extension of meaning of a term based on the practice of birds in picking up seeds) one who acquires bits and pieces of relatively extraneous information and proceeds to pass them off with pretense and show – ‘ignorant show-off, charlatan.’” A similar view is given in BDAG 937 s.v. σπερμολόγος: “in pejorative imagery of persons whose communication lacks sophistication and seems to pick up scraps of information here and there scrapmonger, scavenger…Engl. synonyms include ‘gossip’, ‘babbler’, chatterer’; but these terms miss the imagery of unsystematic gathering.”

[17:18]  ³⁰ tn The meaning of this phrase is not clear. Literally it reads “strange deities” (see BDAG 210 s.v. δαιμόνιον 1). The note of not being customary is important. In the ancient world what was new was suspicious. The plural δαιμονίων (daimoniwn, “deities”) shows the audience grappling with Paul’s teaching that God was working through Jesus.

[17:18]  ³¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.