Acts 2:5

2:5 Now there were devout Jews ¹  from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem. ² 

Acts 10:35

10:35 but in every nation ³  the person who fears him ⁴  and does what is right ⁵  is welcomed before him.

Acts 14:2

14:2 But the Jews who refused to believe ⁶  stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds ⁷  against the brothers.

Acts 14:5

14:5 When both the Gentiles and the Jews (together with their rulers) made ⁸  an attempt to mistreat ⁹  them and stone them, ¹⁰ 

Acts 14:16

14:16 In ¹¹  past ¹²  generations he allowed all the nations ¹³  to go their own ways,

Acts 15:14

15:14 Simeon ¹⁴  has explained ¹⁵  how God first concerned himself ¹⁶  to select ¹⁷  from among the Gentiles ¹⁸  a people for his name.

Acts 15:19

15:19 “Therefore I conclude ¹⁹  that we should not cause extra difficulty ²⁰  for those among the Gentiles ²¹  who are turning to God,

Acts 26:17

26:17 I will rescue ²²  you from your own people ²³  and from the Gentiles, to whom ²⁴  I am sending you

Acts 28:19

28:19 But when the Jews objected, ²⁵  I was forced to appeal to Caesar ²⁶  – not that I had some charge to bring ²⁷  against my own people. ²⁸ 

Acts 28:28

28:28 “Therefore be advised ²⁹  that this salvation from God ³⁰  has been sent to the Gentiles; ³¹  they ³²  will listen!”

[2:5]  ¹ tn Grk “Jews, devout men.” It is possible that only men are in view here in light of OT commands for Jewish men to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem at various times during the year (cf. Exod 23:17, 34:23; Deut 16:16). However, other evidence seems to indicate that both men and women might be in view. Luke 2:41-52 shows that whole families would make the temporary trip to Jerusalem. In addition, it is probable that the audience consisted of families who had taken up permanent residence in Jerusalem. The verb κατοικέω (katoikew) normally means “reside” or “dwell,” and archaeological evidence from tombs in Jerusalem does indicate that many families immigrated to Jerusalem permanently (see B. Witherington, Acts, 135); this would naturally include women. Also, the word ἀνήρ (ajnhr), which usually does mean “male” or “man” (as opposed to woman), sometimes is used generically to mean “a person” (BDAG 79 s.v. 2; cf. Matt 12:41). Given this evidence, then, it is conceivable that the audience in view here is not individual male pilgrims but a mixed group of men and women.

[2:5]  ² tn Grk “Now there were residing in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.”

[10:35]  ³ sn See Luke 24:47.

[10:35]  ⁴ tn Or “shows reverence for him.”

[10:35]  ⁵ tn Grk “works righteousness”; the translation “does what is right” for this phrase in this verse is given by L&N 25.85.

[14:2]  ⁵ tn Or “who would not believe.”

[14:2]  ⁶ tn Or “embittered their minds” (Grk “their souls”). BDAG 502 s.v. κακόω 2 has “make angry, embitter τὰς ψυχάς τινων κατά τινος poison the minds of some persons against another Ac 14:2.”

[14:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “So there came about an attempt” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[14:5]  ⁸ tn On this verb see BDAG 1022 s.v. ὑβρίζω.

[14:5]  ⁹ tn The direct object “them” is repeated after both verbs in the translation for stylistic reasons, although it occurs only after λιθοβολῆσαι (liqobolhsai) in the Greek text.

[14:16]  ⁹ tn Grk “them, who in.” The relative pronoun (“who”) was replaced by the pronoun “he” (“In past generations he”) and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek and the awkwardness of two relative clauses (“who made the heaven” and “who in past generations”) following one another.

[14:16]  ¹⁰ tn On this term see BDAG 780 s.v. παροίχομαι. The word is a NT hapax legomenon.

[14:16]  ¹¹ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (in Greek the word for “nation” and “Gentile” is the same). The plural here alludes to the variety of false religions in the pagan world.

[15:14]  ¹¹ sn Simeon is a form of the apostle Peter’s Aramaic name. James uses Peter’s “Jewish” name here.

[15:14]  ¹² tn Or “reported,” “described.”

[15:14]  ¹³ tn BDAG 378 s.v. ἐπισκέπτομαι 3 translates this phrase in Acts 15:14, “God concerned himself about winning a people fr. among the nations.”

[15:14]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “to take,” but in the sense of selecting or choosing (accompanied by the preposition ἐκ [ek] plus a genitive specifying the group selected from) see Heb 5:1; also BDAG 584 s.v. λαμβάνω 6.

[15:14]  ¹⁵ sn In the Greek text the expression “from among the Gentiles” is in emphatic position.

[15:19]  ¹³ tn Or “I have decided,” “I think.” The verb κρίνω (krinw) has a far broader range of meaning than the often-used English verb “judge.” BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 3 places this use in Acts 15:19 in the category “judge, think, consider, look upon” followed by double accusative of object and predicate. However, many modern translations give the impression that a binding decision is being handed down by James: “it is my judgment” (NASB, NIV); “I have reached the decision” (NRSV). L&N 22.25, on the other hand, translate the phrase here “I think that we should not cause extra difficulty for those among the Gentiles.” This gives more the impression of an opinion than a binding decision. The resolution of this lies not so much in the lexical data as in how one conceives James’ role in the leadership of the Jerusalem church, plus the dynamics of the specific situation where the issue of Gentile inclusion in the church was being discussed. The major possibilities are: (1) James is handing down a binding decision to the rest of the church as the one who has ultimate authority to decide this matter; (2) James is offering his own personal opinion in the matter, which is not binding on the church; (3) James is voicing a consensus opinion of all the apostles and elders, although phrasing it as if it were his own; (4) James is making a suggestion to the rest of the leadership as to what course they should follow. In light of the difficulty in reconstructing the historical situation in detail, it is best to use a translation which maintains as many of the various options as possible. For this reason the translation “Therefore I conclude” has been used, leaving open the question whether in reaching this conclusion James is speaking only for himself or for the rest of the leadership.

[15:19]  ¹⁴ tn Or “trouble.” This term is a NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 775 s.v. παρενοχλέω).

[15:19]  ¹⁵ tn Or “among the nations” (in Greek the word for “nation” and “Gentile” is the same).

[26:17]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “rescuing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle ἐξαιρούμενος (exairoumeno") has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 17.

[26:17]  ¹⁶ tn That is, from the Jewish people. Grk “the people”; the words “your own” have been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[26:17]  ¹⁷ tn The antecedent of the relative pronoun is probably both the Jews (“your own people”) and the Gentiles, indicating the comprehensive commission Paul received.

[28:19]  ¹⁷ tn That is, objected to my release.

[28:19]  ¹⁸ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[28:19]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 533 s.v. κατηγορέω 1 states, “nearly always as legal t.t.: bring charges in court.” L&N 33.427 states for κατηγορέω, “to bring serious charges or accusations against someone, with the possible connotation of a legal or court context – ‘to accuse, to bring charges.’”

[28:19]  ²⁰ tn Or “my own nation.”

[28:28]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Therefore let it be known to you.”

[28:28]  ²⁰ tn Or “of God.”

[28:28]  ²¹ sn The term Gentiles is in emphatic position in the Greek text of this clause. Once again there is the pattern: Jewish rejection of the gospel leads to an emphasis on Gentile inclusion (Acts 13:44-47).

[28:28]  ²² tn Grk “they also.”