Acts 3:11-26

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. 3:17 And now, brothers, I know you acted in ignorance, ²³  as your rulers did too. 3:18 But the things God foretold ²⁴  long ago through ²⁵  all the prophets – that his Christ ²⁶  would suffer – he has fulfilled in this way. 3:19 Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out, 3:20 so that times of refreshing ²⁷  may come from the presence of the Lord, ²⁸  and so that he may send the Messiah ²⁹  appointed ³⁰  for you – that is, Jesus. 3:21 This one ³¹  heaven must ³²  receive until the time all things are restored, ³³  which God declared ³⁴  from times long ago ³⁵  through his holy prophets. 3:22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must obey ³⁶  him in everything he tells you. ³⁷  3:23 Every person ³⁸  who does not obey that prophet will be destroyed and thus removed ³⁹  from the people.’ ⁴⁰  3:24 And all the prophets, from Samuel and those who followed him, have spoken about and announced ⁴¹  these days. 3:25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, ⁴²  saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants ⁴³  all the nations ⁴⁴  of the earth will be blessed.’ ⁴⁵  3:26 God raised up ⁴⁶  his servant and sent him first to you, to bless you by turning ⁴⁷  each one of you from your iniquities.” ⁴⁸ 

[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.”

[3:17]  ²³ sn The ignorance Peter mentions here does not excuse them from culpability. It was simply a way to say “you did not realize the great mistake you made.”

[3:18]  ²⁴ sn God foretold. Peter’s topic is the working out of God’s plan and promise through events the scriptures also note.

[3:18]  ²⁵ tn Grk “by the mouth of” (an idiom).

[3:18]  ²⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[3:20]  ²⁷ tn Or “relief.”

[3:20]  ²⁸ tn The words “so that…Lord” are traditionally placed in v. 19 by most English translations, but in the present translation the verse division follows the standard critical editions of the Greek text (NA²⁷, UBS⁴).

[3:20]  ²⁹ tn Or “the Christ”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[3:20]  ³⁰ tn Or “designated in advance.”

[3:21]  ³¹ tn Grk “whom,” continuing the sentence from v. 20.

[3:21]  ³² sn The term must used here (δεῖ, dei, “it is necessary”) is a key Lukan term to point to the plan of God and what must occur.

[3:21]  ³³ tn Grk “until the times of the restoration of all things.” Because of the awkward English style of the extended genitive construction, and because the following relative clause has as its referent the “time of restoration” rather than “all things,” the phrase was translated “until the time all things are restored.”

[3:21]  ³⁴ tn Or “spoke.”

[3:21]  ³⁵ tn Or “from all ages past.”

[3:22]  ³⁶ tn Grk “hear,” but the idea of “hear and obey” or simply “obey” is frequently contained in the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw; see L&N 36.14) and the following context (v. 23) makes it clear that failure to “obey” the words of this “prophet like Moses” will result in complete destruction.

[3:22]  ³⁷ sn A quotation from Deut 18:15. By quoting Deut 18:15 Peter declared that Jesus was the eschatological “prophet like [Moses]” mentioned in that passage, who reveals the plan of God and the way of God.

[3:23]  ³⁸ tn Grk “every soul” (here “soul” is an idiom for the whole person).

[3:23]  ³⁹ tn Or “will be completely destroyed.” In Acts 3:23 the verb ἐξολεθρεύω (exoleqreuw) is translated “destroy and remove” by L&N 20.35.

[3:23]  ⁴⁰ sn A quotation from Deut 18:19, also Lev 23:29. The OT context of Lev 23:29 discusses what happened when one failed to honor atonement. One ignored the required sacrifice of God at one’s peril.

[3:24]  ⁴¹ tn Or “proclaimed.”

[3:25]  ⁴² tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[3:25]  ⁴³ tn Or “in your offspring”; Grk “in your seed.”

[3:25]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “families.” The Greek word πατριά (patria) can indicate persons of succeeding generations who are related by birth (“lineage,” “family”) but it can also indicate a relatively large unit of people who make up a sociopolitical group and who share a presumed biological descent. In many contexts πατριά is very similar to ἔθνος (eqnos) and λαός (laos). In light of the context of the OT quotation, it is better to translate πατριά as “nations” here.

[3:25]  ⁴⁵ sn A quotation from Gen 22:18.

[3:26]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “God raising up his servant, sent him.” The participle ἀναστήσας (anasthsa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Some translations (e.g., NIV, NRSV) render this participle as temporal (“when God raised up his servant”).

[3:26]  ⁴⁷ sn The picture of turning is again seen as the appropriate response to the message. See v. 19 above. In v. 19 it was “turning to,” here it is “turning away from.” The direction of the two metaphors is important.

[3:26]  ⁴⁸ tn For the translation of plural πονηρία (ponhria) as “iniquities,” see G. Harder, TDNT 6:565. The plural is important, since for Luke turning to Jesus means turning away from sins, not just the sin of rejecting Jesus.