Acts 2:5

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

Acts 13:6

13:6 When they had crossed over ³  the whole island as far as Paphos, ⁴  they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus, ⁵ 

Acts 13:45

13:45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, ⁶  and they began to contradict ⁷  what Paul was saying ⁸  by reviling him. ⁹ 

Acts 14:2

14:2 But the Jews who refused to believe ¹⁰  stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds ¹¹  against the brothers.

Acts 14:5

14:5 When both the Gentiles and the Jews (together with their rulers) made ¹²  an attempt to mistreat ¹³  them and stone them, ¹⁴ 

Acts 17:1

Paul and Silas at Thessalonica

17:1 After they traveled through ¹⁵  Amphipolis ¹⁶  and Apollonia, ¹⁷  they came to Thessalonica, ¹⁸  where there was a Jewish synagogue. ¹⁹ 

Acts 18:19

18:19 When they reached Ephesus, ²⁰  Paul ²¹  left Priscilla and Aquila ²²  behind there, but he himself went ²³  into the synagogue ²⁴  and addressed ²⁵  the Jews.

Acts 18:28

18:28 for he refuted the Jews vigorously ²⁶  in public debate, ²⁷  demonstrating from the scriptures that the Christ ²⁸  was Jesus. ²⁹ 

Acts 20:21

20:21 testifying ³⁰  to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. ³¹ 

Acts 22:12

22:12 A man named Ananias, ³²  a devout man according to the law, ³³  well spoken of by all the Jews who live there, ³⁴ 

Acts 25:2

25:2 So the chief priests and the most prominent men ³⁵  of the Jews brought formal charges ³⁶  against Paul to him.

Acts 26:2-3

26:2 “Regarding all the things I have been accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa, ³⁷  I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today, 26:3 because you are especially ³⁸  familiar with all the customs and controversial issues ³⁹  of the Jews. Therefore I ask ⁴⁰  you to listen to me patiently.

Acts 28:19

28:19 But when the Jews objected, ⁴¹  I was forced to appeal to Caesar ⁴²  – not that I had some charge to bring ⁴³  against my own people. ⁴⁴ 

[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.”

[13:6]  ³ tn Or “had passed through,” “had traveled through.”

[13:6]  ⁴ sn Paphos. A city on the southwestern coast of the island of Cyprus. It was the seat of the Roman proconsul.

[13:6]  ⁵ sn Named Bar-Jesus. “Jesus” is the Latin form of the name “Joshua.” The Aramaic “bar” means “son of,” so this man was surnamed “son of Joshua.” The scene depicts the conflict between Judaism and the emerging new faith at a cosmic level, much like the Simon Magus incident in Acts 8:9-24. Paul’s ministry looks like Philip’s and Peter’s here.

[13:45]  ⁵ sn They were filled with jealousy. Their foolish response to the gospel is noted again (see Acts 5:17). The same verb is used in Acts 7:9; 17:5.

[13:45]  ⁶ tn The imperfect verb ἀντέλεγον (antelegon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect in the logical sequence of events: After they were filled with jealousy, the Jewish opponents began to contradict what Paul said.

[13:45]  ⁷ tn Grk “the things being said by Paul.” For smoothness and simplicity of English style, the passive construction has been converted to active voice in the translation.

[13:45]  ⁸ tn The participle βλασφημοῦντες (blasfhmounte") has been regarded as indicating the means of the action of the main verb. It could also be translated as a finite verb (“and reviled him”) in keeping with contemporary English style. The direct object (“him”) is implied rather than expressed and could be impersonal (“it,” referring to what Paul was saying rather than Paul himself), but the verb occurs more often in contexts involving defamation or slander against personal beings (not always God). For a very similar context to this one, compare Acts 18:6. The translation “blaspheme” is not used because in contemporary English its meaning is more narrowly defined and normally refers to blasphemy against God (not what Paul’s opponents were doing here). The modern term “slandering” comes close to what was being done to Paul here.

[14:2]  ⁷ tn Or “who would not believe.”

[14:2]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn On this verb see BDAG 1022 s.v. ὑβρίζω.

[14:5]  ¹¹ 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.

[17:1]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 250 s.v. διοδεύω 1 has “go, travel through” for this verse.

[17:1]  ¹² sn Amphipolis. The capital city of the southeastern district of Macedonia (BDAG 55 s.v. ᾿Αμφίπολις). It was a military post. From Philippi this was about 33 mi (53 km).

[17:1]  ¹³ sn Apollonia was a city in Macedonia about 27 mi (43 km) west southwest of Amphipolis.

[17:1]  ¹⁴ sn Thessalonica (modern Salonica) was a city in Macedonia about 33 mi (53 km) west of Apollonia. It was the capital of Macedonia. The road they traveled over was called the Via Egnatia. It is likely they rode horses, given their condition in Philippi. The implication of v. 1 is that the two previously mentioned cities lacked a synagogue.

[17:1]  ¹⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:19]  ¹³ sn Ephesus was an influential city in Asia Minor. It was the location of the famous temple of Artemis. In 334 b.c. control of the city had passed to Alexander the Great, who contributed a large sum to the building of a new and more elaborate temple of Artemis, which became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and lasted until destroyed by the Goths in a.d. 263. This major port city would be reached from Corinth by ship. It was 250 mi (400 km) east of Corinth by sea.

[18:19]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:19]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “left them”; the referents (Priscilla and Aquila) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:19]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “going”; the participle εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[18:19]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:19]  ¹⁸ 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 18:19. 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.

[18:28]  ¹⁵ tn Or “vehemently.” BDAG 414 s.v. εὐτόνως has “vigorously, vehemently…εὐ. διακατελέγχεσθαί τινι refute someone vigorously Ac 18:28.”

[18:28]  ¹⁶ tn L&N 33.442 translates the phrase τοῖς ᾿Ιουδαίοις διακατηλέγχετο δημοσίᾳ (toi" Ioudaioi" diakathlenceto dhmosia) as “he defeated the Jews in public debate.” On this use of the term δημόσιος (dhmosio") see BDAG 223 s.v. 2.

[18:28]  ¹⁷ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Again the issue is identifying the Christ as Jesus (see 5:42; 8:5; 9:22; 18:5).

[18:28]  ¹⁸ tn Although many English translations have here “that Jesus was the Christ,” in the case of two accusatives following a copulative infinitive, the first would normally be the subject and the second the predicate nominative. Additionally, the first accusative here (τὸν χριστόν, ton criston) has the article, a further indication that it should be regarded as subject of the infinitive.

[20:21]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 1 has “testify of, bear witness to (orig. under oath)…of repentance to Judeans and Hellenes Ac 20:21.”

[20:21]  ¹⁸ tc Several mss, including some of the more important ones (Ì⁷⁴ א Α C [D] E 33 36 323 945 1175 1241 1505 1739 pm and a number of versions), read Χριστόν (Criston, “Christ”) at the end of this verse. This word is lacking in B H L P Ψ 614 pm. Although the inclusion is supported by many earlier and better mss, internal evidence is on the side of the omission: In Acts, both “Lord Jesus” and “Lord Jesus Christ” occur, though between 16:31 and the end of the book “Lord Jesus Christ” appears only in 28:31, perhaps as a kind of climactic assertion. Thus, the shorter reading is to be preferred.

[22:12]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “a certain Ananias.”

[22:12]  ²⁰ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[22:12]  ²¹ tn BDAG 534 s.v. κατοικέω 1.a translates this present participle “ὑπὸ πάντων τῶν (sc. ἐκεῖ) κατοικούντων ᾿Ιουδαίων by all the Jews who live there Ac 22:12.”

[25:2]  ²¹ tn BDAG 893-94 s.v. πρῶτος 2.a.β has “οἱ πρῶτοι the most prominent men, the leading men w. gen. of the place…or of a group…οἱ πρ. τοῦ λαοῦ…Lk 19:47; cp. Ac 25:2; 28:17.”

[25:2]  ²² tn BDAG 326 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 3 has “ἐ. τινὶ κατά τινος bring formal charges against someone…Ac 24:1; 25:2.”

[26:2]  ²³ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:3]  ²⁵ tn BDAG 613 s.v. μάλιστα 1 states, “μ. γνώστην ὄντα σε since you are outstandingly familiar Ac 26:3.”

[26:3]  ²⁶ tn Grk “several controversial issues.” BDAG 428 s.v. ζήτημα states, “in our lit. only in Ac, w. the mng. it still has in Mod. Gk. (controversial) question, issue, argument…Ac 15:2; 26:3. ζ. περί τινος questions about someth.…18:15; 25:19.”

[26:3]  ²⁷ tn BDAG 218 s.v. δέομαι states, “In our lit. only w. the mng. to ask for something pleadingly, ask, request,” and then in section a.α states, “w. inf. foll.…Ac 26:3.”

[28:19]  ²⁷ tn That is, objected to my release.

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

[28:19]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Or “my own nation.”