Acts 26:20

26:20 but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, ¹  and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, ²  performing deeds consistent with ³  repentance.

Acts 26:1

Paul Offers His Defense

26:1 So Agrippa ⁴  said to Paul, “You have permission ⁵  to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand ⁶  and began his defense: ⁷ 

Acts 10:10-12

10:10 He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing the meal, a trance came over him. ⁸  10:11 He ⁹  saw heaven ¹⁰  opened ¹¹  and an object something like a large sheet ¹²  descending, ¹³  being let down to earth ¹⁴  by its four corners. 10:12 In it ¹⁵  were all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles ¹⁶  of the earth and wild birds. ¹⁷ 

Galatians 1:17

1:17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem ¹⁸  to see those who were apostles before me, but right away I departed to Arabia, ¹⁹  and then returned to Damascus.

[26:20]  ¹ tn BDAG 1093-94 s.v. χώρα 2.b states, “of the provincial name (1 Macc 8:3) ἡ χώρα τῆς ᾿Ιουδαίας Ac 26:20.”

[26:20]  ² sn That they should repent and turn to God. This is the shortest summary of Paul’s message that he preached.

[26:20]  ³ tn BDAG 93 s.v. ἄξιος 1.b, “καρποὶ ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας fruits in keeping with your repentance…Lk 3:8; Mt 3:8. For this ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας ἔργα Ac 26:20.” Note how Paul preached the gospel offer and the issue of response together, side by side.

[26:1]  ⁴ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “It is permitted for you.”

[26:1]  ⁶ tn Or “extended his hand” (a speaker’s gesture).

[26:1]  ⁷ tn Or “and began to speak in his own defense.”

[10:10]  ⁸ tn The traditional translation, “he fell into a trance,” is somewhat idiomatic; it is based on the textual variant ἐπέπεσεν (epepesen, “he fell”) found in the Byzantine text but almost certainly not original.

[10:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[10:11]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[10:11]  ¹¹ tn On the heavens “opening,” see Matt 3:16; Luke 3:21; Rev 19:11 (cf. BDAG 84 s.v. ἀνοίγω 2). This is the language of a vision or a revelatory act of God.

[10:11]  ¹² tn Or “a large linen cloth” (the term was used for the sail of a ship; BDAG 693 s.v. ὀθόνη).

[10:11]  ¹³ tn Or “coming down.”

[10:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “to the ground.”

[10:12]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “in which.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “it,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.

[10:12]  ¹⁶ tn Or “snakes.” Grk “creeping things.” According to L&N 4.51, in most biblical contexts the term (due to the influence of Hebrew classifications such as Gen 1:25-26, 30) included small four-footed animals like rats, mice, frogs, toads, salamanders, and lizards. In this context, however, where “creeping things” are contrasted with “four-footed animals,” the English word “reptiles,” which primarily but not exclusively designates snakes, is probably more appropriate. See also Gen 6:20, as well as the law making such creatures unclean food in Lev 11:2-47.

[10:12]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[1:17]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:17]  ¹⁹ sn As a geographical region Arabia included the territory west of Mesopotamia, east and south of Syria and Palestine, extending to the isthmus of Suez. During the Roman occupation, some independent kingdoms arose like that of the Nabateans south of Damascus, and these could be called simply Arabia. In light of the proximity to Damascus, this may well be the territory Paul says he visited here. See also C. W. Briggs, “The Apostle Paul in Arabia,” Biblical World 41 (1913): 255-59.