Acts 24:17

24:17 After several years ¹  I came to bring to my people gifts for the poor ²  and to present offerings, ³ 

Acts 3:3

3:3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple courts, ⁴  he asked them for money. ⁵ 

Acts 10:31

10:31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your acts of charity ⁶  have been remembered before God. ⁷ 

Acts 9:36

Peter Raises Dorcas

9:36 Now in Joppa ⁸  there was a disciple named Tabitha (which in translation means ⁹  Dorcas). ¹⁰  She was continually doing good deeds and acts of charity. ¹¹ 

Acts 10:2

10:2 He ¹²  was a devout, God-fearing man, ¹³  as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people ¹⁴  and prayed to God regularly.

Acts 3:2

3:2 And a man lame ¹⁵  from birth ¹⁶  was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called “the Beautiful Gate” every day ¹⁷  so he could beg for money ¹⁸  from those going into the temple courts. ¹⁹ 

Acts 3:10

3:10 and they recognized him as the man who used to sit and ask for donations ²⁰  at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with astonishment and amazement ²¹  at what had happened to him.

Acts 10:4

10:4 Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius ²²  replied, ²³  “What is it, Lord?” The angel ²⁴  said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity ²⁵  have gone up as a memorial ²⁶  before God.

[24:17]  ¹ tn BDAG 401 s.v. ἔτος has “δι᾿ ἐ. πλειόνων after several years 24:17.”

[24:17]  ² tn Grk “to bring alms,” but the term “alms” is not in common use today, so the closest modern equivalent, “gifts for the poor,” is used instead.

[24:17]  ³ tn Or “sacrifices.” BDAG 887 s.v. προσφορά 1 has “προσφοράς ποιεῖν have sacrifices made Ac 24:17,” but this may be overly specific. It is not clear from the immediate context whether the offering of sacrificial animals (so BDAG assumes) or offerings of some other sort (such as financial gifts) are in view. The combination with ἐλεημοσύνας (elehmosuna") in the preceding clause may suggest monetary offerings. Some have suggested this is an allusion to the payments made by Paul on behalf of the four other men mentioned in Acts 21:23-26, but the text here seems to suggest something Paul had planned to do before he came, while the decision to pay for the expenses of the men in 21:23ff. was made at the suggestion of the Jerusalem leadership after he arrived. In either case, Paul was portraying himself as a pious worshiper of his God.

[3:3]  ⁴ tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[3:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “alms.” See the note on the word “money” in the previous verse.

[10:31]  ⁷ tn Or “your gifts to the needy.”

[10:31]  ⁸ sn This statement is a paraphrase rather than an exact quotation of Acts 10:4.

[9:36]  ¹⁰ sn Joppa was a seaport on the Philistine coast, in the same location as modern Jaffa. “Though Joppa never became a major seaport, it was of some importance as a logistical base and an outlet to the Mediterranean” (A. F. Rainey, ISBE 2:1118-19).

[9:36]  ¹¹ tn Grk “which being translated is called.” In English this would normally be expressed “which is translated as” or “which in translation means.” The second option is given by L&N 33.145.

[9:36]  ¹² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Dorcas is the Greek translation of the Aramaic name Tabitha. Dorcas in Greek means “gazelle” or “deer.”

[9:36]  ¹³ tn Or “and helping the poor.” Grk “She was full of good deeds and acts of charity which she was continually doing.” Since it is somewhat redundant in English to say “she was full of good deeds…which she was continually doing,” the translation has been simplified to “she was continually doing good deeds and acts of charity.” The imperfect verb ἐποίει (epoiei) has been translated as a progressive imperfect (“was continually doing”).

[10:2]  ¹³ tn In the Greek text this represents a continuation of the previous sentence. Because of the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

[10:2]  ¹⁴ sn The description of Cornelius as a devout, God-fearing man probably means that he belonged to the category called “God-fearers,” Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 43-44, and Sir 11:17; 27:11; 39:27.

[10:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “gave many gifts to the poor.” This was known as “giving alms,” or acts of mercy (Sir 7:10; BDAG 315-16 s.v. ἐλεημοσύνη).

[3:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or “crippled.”

[3:2]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “from his mother’s womb.”

[3:2]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

[3:2]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “alms.” The term “alms” is not in common use today, so what the man expected, “money,” is used in the translation instead. The idea is that of money given as a gift to someone who was poor. Giving alms was viewed as honorable in Judaism (Tob 1:3, 16; 12:8-9; m. Pe’ah 1:1). See also Luke 11:41; 12:33; Acts 9:36; 10:2, 4, 31; 24:17.

[3:2]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[3:10]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “alms,” but this term is not in common use today, so the closest modern equivalent, “donations,” is used instead. The idea is that of a donation to charity.

[3:10]  ²⁰ sn Amazement is a frequent response to miracles of Jesus or the apostles. These took the ancients by as much surprise as they would people today. But in terms of response to what God is doing, amazement does not equal faith (Luke 4:36; 5:9, 26; 7:16).

[10:4]  ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Cornelius) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:4]  ²³ tn Grk “said,” but in response to the angel’s address, “replied” is better English style.

[10:4]  ²⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:4]  ²⁵ tn Or “your gifts to the needy.”

[10:4]  ²⁶ sn The language used in the expression gone up as a memorial before God parallels what one would say of acceptable sacrifices (Ps 141:2; Sir 35:6; 50:16).