Acts 3:11-16

Peter Addresses the Crowd

3:11 While the man ¹  was hanging on to Peter and John, all the people, completely astounded, ran together to them in the covered walkway ²  called Solomon’s Portico. ³  3:12 When Peter saw this, he declared to the people, “Men of Israel, ⁴  why are you amazed at this? Why ⁵  do you stare at us as if we had made this man ⁶  walk by our own power or piety? 3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ⁷  the God of our forefathers, ⁸  has glorified ⁹  his servant ¹⁰  Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected ¹¹  in the presence of Pilate after he had decided ¹²  to release him. 3:14 But you rejected ¹³  the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released to you. 3:15 You killed ¹⁴  the Originator ¹⁵  of life, whom God raised ¹⁶  from the dead. To this fact we are witnesses! ¹⁷  3:16 And on the basis of faith in Jesus’ ¹⁸  name, ¹⁹  his very name has made this man – whom you see and know – strong. The ²⁰  faith that is through Jesus ²¹  has given him this complete health in the presence ²²  of you all.

[3:11]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:11]  ² tn Or “portico,” “colonnade”; Grk “stoa.” The translation “covered walkway” (a descriptive translation) was used here because the architectural term “portico” or “colonnade” is less familiar. However, the more technical term “portico” was retained in the actual name that follows.

[3:11]  ³ sn Solomon’s Portico was a covered walkway formed by rows of columns supporting a roof and open on the inner side facing the center of the temple complex. It was located on the east side of the temple (Josephus, Ant. 15.11.3-5 [15.391-420], 20.9.7 [20.221]) and was a place of commerce and conversation.

[3:12]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “People of Israel,” since this was taking place in Solomon’s Portico and women may have been present. The Greek ἄνδρες ᾿Ισραηλῖται (andre" Israhlitai) used in the plural would normally mean “men, gentlemen” (BDAG 79 s.v. ἀνήρ 1.a).

[3:12]  ⁵ tn Grk “or why.”

[3:12]  ⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ⁷ tc ‡ The repetition of ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) before the names of Isaac and Jacob is found in Ì⁷⁴ א C (A D without article) 36 104 1175 pc lat. The omission of the second and third ὁ θεός is supported by B E Ψ 33 1739 Ï pc. The other time that Exod 3:6 is quoted in Acts (7:32) the best witnesses also lack the repeated ὁ θεός, but the three other times this OT passage is quoted in the NT the full form, with the thrice-mentioned θεός, is used (Matt 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Scribes would be prone to conform the wording here to the LXX; the longer reading is thus most likely not authentic. NA²⁷ has the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[3:13]  ⁸ tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

[3:13]  ⁹ sn Has glorified. Jesus is alive, raised and active, as the healing illustrates so dramatically how God honors him.

[3:13]  ¹⁰ sn His servant. The term servant has messianic connotations given the context of the promise, the note of suffering, and the titles and functions noted in vv. 14-15.

[3:13]  ¹¹ tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”

[3:13]  ¹² tn This genitive absolute construction could be understood as temporal (“when he had decided”) or concessive (“although he had decided”).

[3:14]  ¹³ tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”

[3:15]  ¹⁴ tn Or “You put to death.”

[3:15]  ¹⁵ tn Or “Founder,” “founding Leader.”

[3:15]  ¹⁶ sn Whom God raised. God is the main actor here, as he testifies to Jesus and vindicates him.

[3:15]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the words “to this fact” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.

[3:16]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “in his name”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:16]  ¹⁹ sn Here is another example of appeal to the person by mentioning the name. See the note on the word name in 3:6.

[3:16]  ²⁰ tn Grk “see and know, and the faith.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation and καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated.

[3:16]  ²¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:16]  ²² tn Or “in full view.”