Acts 3:1-3

Peter and John Heal a Lame Man at the Temple

3:1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time ¹  for prayer, ²  at three o’clock in the afternoon. ³  3:2 And a man lame ⁴  from birth ⁵  was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called “the Beautiful Gate” every day ⁶  so he could beg for money ⁷  from those going into the temple courts. ⁸  3:3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple courts, ⁹  he asked them for money. ¹⁰ 

Galatians 2:9

2:9 and when James, Cephas, ¹¹  and John, who had a reputation as ¹²  pillars, ¹³  recognized ¹⁴  the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me ¹⁵  the right hand of fellowship, agreeing ¹⁶  that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ¹⁷ 

[3:1]  ¹ tn Grk “hour.”

[3:1]  ² sn Going up to the temple at the time for prayer. The earliest Christians, being of Jewish roots, were still participating in the institutions of Judaism at this point. Their faith in Christ did not make them non-Jewish in their practices.

[3:1]  ³ tn Grk “at the ninth hour.” This is calculated from sunrise (Josephus, Ant. 14.4.3 [14.65]; Dan 9:21).

[3:2]  ⁴ tn Or “crippled.”

[3:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “from his mother’s womb.”

[3:2]  ⁶ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

[3:2]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[3:3]  ⁹ tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[3:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “alms.” See the note on the word “money” in the previous verse.

[2:9]  ¹¹ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[2:9]  ¹² tn Or “who were influential as,” or “who were reputed to be.” See also the note on the word “influential” in 2:6.

[2:9]  ¹³ sn Pillars is figurative here for those like James, Peter, and John who were leaders in the Jerusalem church.

[2:9]  ¹⁴ tn The participle γνόντες (gnontes) has been taken temporally. It is structurally parallel to the participle translated “when they saw” in v. 7.

[2:9]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “me and Barnabas.”

[2:9]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “so,” with the ἵνα (Jina) indicating the result of the “pillars” extending the “right hand of fellowship,” but the translation “they gave…the right hand of fellowship so that we would go” could be misunderstood as purpose here. The implication of the scene is that an agreement, outlined at the end of v. 10, was reached between Paul and Barnabas on the one hand and the “pillars” of the Jerusalem church on the other.

[2:9]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.