Acts 22:4

22:4 I ¹  persecuted this Way ²  even to the point of death, ³  tying up ⁴  both men and women and putting ⁵  them in prison,

Acts 8:3

8:3 But Saul was trying to destroy ⁶  the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off ⁷  both men and women and put them in prison. ⁸ 

Acts 9:2

9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ⁹  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ¹⁰  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ¹¹  to Jerusalem. ¹² 

Acts 13:50

13:50 But the Jews incited ¹³  the God-fearing women of high social standing and the prominent men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out ¹⁴  of their region.

[22:4]  ¹ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the first person pronoun (“I”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[22:4]  ² sn That is, persecuted the Christian movement (Christianity). The Way is also used as a description of the Christian faith in Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22).

[22:4]  ³ tn BDAG 442-43 s.v. θάνατος 1.a has “διώκειν ἄχρι θανάτου persecute even to death Ac 22:4.”

[22:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “binding.” See Acts 8:3.

[22:4]  ⁵ tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “W. local εἰς…εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3; cp. 22:4.”

[8:3]  ⁶ tn Or “began to harm [the church] severely.” If the nuance of this verb is “destroy,” then the imperfect verb ἐλυμαίνετο (elumaineto) is best translated as a conative imperfect as in the translation above. If instead the verb is taken to mean “injure severely” (as L&N 20.24), it should be translated in context as an ingressive imperfect (“began to harm the church severely”). Either option does not significantly alter the overall meaning, since it is clear from the stated actions of Saul in the second half of the verse that he intended to destroy or ravage the church.

[8:3]  ⁷ tn The participle σύρων (surwn) has been translated as an finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:3]  ⁸ tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3.”

[9:2]  ¹¹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:2]  ¹² sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).

[9:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.

[9:2]  ¹⁴ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

[13:50]  ¹⁶ tn For the translation of παρώτρυναν (parwtrunan) as “incited” see BDAG 780 s.v. παροτρύνω.

[13:50]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 299 s.v. ἐκβάλλω 1 has “throw out.” Once again, many Jews reacted to the message (Acts 5:17, 33; 6:11; 13:45).