Acts 3:13

3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ¹  the God of our forefathers, ²  has glorified ³  his servant ⁴  Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected ⁵  in the presence of Pilate after he had decided ⁶  to release him.

Acts 3:22

3:22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must obey ⁷  him in everything he tells you. ⁸ 

Acts 7:44

7:44 Our ancestors ⁹  had the tabernacle ¹⁰  of testimony in the wilderness, ¹¹  just as God ¹²  who spoke to Moses ordered him ¹³  to make it according to the design he had seen.

Acts 8:1

8:1 And Saul agreed completely with killing ¹⁴  him.

Saul Begins to Persecute the Church

Now on that day a great ¹⁵  persecution began ¹⁶  against the church in Jerusalem, ¹⁷  and all ¹⁸  except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions ¹⁹  of Judea and Samaria.

Acts 8:26

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

8:26 Then an angel of the Lord ²⁰  said to Philip, ²¹  “Get up and go south ²²  on the road that goes down from Jerusalem ²³  to Gaza.” (This is a desert ²⁴  road.) ²⁵ 

Acts 13:1

The Church at Antioch Commissions Barnabas and Saul

13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: ²⁶  Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, ²⁷  Lucius the Cyrenian, ²⁸  Manaen (a close friend of Herod ²⁹  the tetrarch ³⁰  from childhood ³¹ ) and Saul.

Acts 13:22

13:22 After removing him, God ³²  raised up ³³  David their king. He testified about him: ³⁴  ‘I have found David ³⁵  the son of Jesse to be a man after my heart, ³⁶  who will accomplish everything I want him to do.’ ³⁷ 

Acts 13:27

13:27 For the people who live in Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize ³⁸  him, ³⁹  and they fulfilled the sayings ⁴⁰  of the prophets that are read every Sabbath by condemning ⁴¹  him. ⁴² 

Acts 15:36

Paul and Barnabas Part Company

15:36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return ⁴³  and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord ⁴⁴  to see how they are doing.” ⁴⁵ 

Acts 18:14

18:14 But just as Paul was about to speak, ⁴⁶  Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy, ⁴⁷  I would have been justified in accepting the complaint ⁴⁸  of you Jews, ⁴⁹ 

Acts 21:21

21:21 They have been informed about you – that you teach all the Jews now living ⁵⁰  among the Gentiles to abandon ⁵¹  Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children ⁵²  or live ⁵³  according to our customs.

Acts 23:3

23:3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! ⁵⁴  Do ⁵⁵  you sit there judging me according to the law, ⁵⁶  and in violation of the law ⁵⁷  you order me to be struck?”

Acts 25:14

25:14 While ⁵⁸  they were staying there many days, Festus ⁵⁹  explained Paul’s case to the king to get his opinion, ⁶⁰  saying, “There is a man left here as a prisoner by Felix.

Acts 25:16

25:16 I answered them ⁶¹  that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone ⁶²  before the accused had met his accusers face to face ⁶³  and had been given ⁶⁴  an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation. ⁶⁵ 

[3:13]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

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

[3:13]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”

[3:13]  ⁶ tn This genitive absolute construction could be understood as temporal (“when he had decided”) or concessive (“although he had decided”).

[3:22]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.

[7:44]  ¹³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:44]  ¹⁴ tn Or “tent.”

[7:44]  ¹⁵ tn Or “desert.”

[7:44]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the one”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:44]  ¹⁷ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[8:1]  ¹⁹ tn The term ἀναίρεσις (anairesi") can refer to murder (BDAG 64 s.v.; 2 Macc 5:13; Josephus, Ant. 5.2.12 [5.165]).

[8:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “severe.”

[8:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “Now there happened on that day a great persecution.” It is less awkward to say in English “Now on that day a great persecution began.”

[8:1]  ²² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:1]  ²³ sn All. Given that the Jerusalem church is still active after this and that the Hellenists are the focus of Acts 6-8, it is possible to argue that only the Hellenistic Christians were forced to scatter.

[8:1]  ²⁴ tn Or “countryside.”

[8:26]  ²⁵ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.

[8:26]  ²⁶ tn Grk “Lord spoke to Philip, saying.” The redundant participle λέγων (legwn) has not been translated.

[8:26]  ²⁷ tn Or “Get up and go about noon.” The phrase κατὰ μεσημβρίαν (kata meshmbrian) can be translated either “about noon” (L&N 67.74) or “toward the south” (L&N 82.4). Since the angel’s command appears to call for immediate action (“Get up”) and would not therefore need a time indicator, a directional reference (“toward the south”) is more likely here.

[8:26]  ²⁸ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:26]  ²⁹ tn Or “wilderness.”

[8:26]  ³⁰ tn The words “This is a desert road” are probably best understood as a comment by the author of Acts, but it is possible they form part of the angel’s speech to Philip, in which case the verse would read: “Get up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza – the desert road.”

[13:1]  ³¹ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).

[13:1]  ³² sn Simeon may well have been from North Africa, since the Latin loanword Niger refers to someone as “dark-complexioned.”

[13:1]  ³³ sn The Cyrenian refers to a native of the city of Cyrene, on the coast of northern Africa west of Egypt.

[13:1]  ³⁴ sn Herod is generally taken as a reference to Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee from 4 b.c. to a.d. 39, who had John the Baptist beheaded, and who is mentioned a number of times in the gospels.

[13:1]  ³⁵ tn Or “the governor.”

[13:1]  ³⁶ tn Or “(a foster brother of Herod the tetrarch).” The meaning “close friend from childhood” is given by L&N 34.15, but the word can also mean “foster brother” (L&N 10.51). BDAG 976 s.v. σύντροφας states, “pert. to being brought up with someone, either as a foster-brother or as a companion/friend,” which covers both alternatives. Context does not given enough information to be certain which is the case here, although many modern translations prefer the meaning “close friend from childhood.”

[13:22]  ³⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:22]  ³⁸ sn The expression raised up refers here to making someone king. There is a wordplay here: “raising up” refers to bringing someone onto the scene of history, but it echoes with the parallel to Jesus’ resurrection.

[13:22]  ³⁹ tn Grk “about whom.” The relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the pronoun “him” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek. The verb εἶπεν (eipen) has not been translated (literally “he said testifying”) because it is redundant when combined with the participle μαρτυρήσας (marturhsa", “testifying”). Instead the construction of verb plus participle has been translated as a single English verb (“testified”).

[13:22]  ⁴⁰ sn A quotation from Ps 89:20.

[13:22]  ⁴¹ sn A quotation from 1 Sam 13:14.

[13:22]  ⁴² tn Or “who will perform all my will,” “who will carry out all my wishes.”

[13:27]  ⁴³ tn BDAG 12-13 s.v. ἀγνοέω 1.b gives “not to know w. acc. of pers.” as the meaning here, but “recognize” is a better translation in this context because recognition of the true identity of the one they condemned is the issue. See Acts 2:22-24; 4:26-28.

[13:27]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “this one.”

[13:27]  ⁴⁵ tn Usually φωνή (fwnh) means “voice,” but BDAG 1071-72 s.v. φωνή 2.c has “Also of sayings in scripture…Ac 13:27.”

[13:27]  ⁴⁶ tn The participle κρίναντες (krinante") is instrumental here.

[13:27]  ⁴⁷ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[15:36]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “Returning let us visit.” The participle ἐπιστρέψαντες (epistreyante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[15:36]  ⁵⁰ tn See the note on the phrase “word of the Lord” in v. 35.

[15:36]  ⁵¹ tn BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 10.b has “how they are” for this phrase.

[18:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “about to open his mouth” (an idiom).

[18:14]  ⁵⁶ tn BDAG 902 s.v. ῥᾳδιούργημα states, “From the sense ‘prank, knavery, roguish trick, slick deed’ it is but a short step to that of a serious misdeed, crime, villainy…a serious piece of villainy Ac 18:14 (w. ἀδίκημα).”

[18:14]  ⁵⁷ tn According to BDAG 78 s.v. ἀνέχω 3 this is a legal technical term: “Legal t.t. κατὰ λόγον ἂν ἀνεσχόμην ὑμῶν I would have been justified in accepting your complaint Ac 18:14.”

[18:14]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “accepting your complaint, O Jews.”

[21:21]  ⁶¹ tn BDAG 511 s.v. κατά B.1.a has “τοὺς κ. τὰ ἔθνη ᾿Ιουδαίους the Judeans (dispersed) throughout the nations 21:21.” The Jews in view are not those in Palestine, but those who are scattered throughout the Gentile world.

[21:21]  ⁶² tn Or “to forsake,” “to rebel against.” BDAG 120 s.v. ἀποστασία has “ἀποστασίαν διδάσκεις ἀπὸ Μωϋσέως you teach (Judeans) to abandon Moses Ac 21:21.”

[21:21]  ⁶³ sn That is, not to circumcise their male children. Biblical references to circumcision always refer to male circumcision.

[21:21]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “or walk.”

[23:3]  ⁶⁷ sn You whitewashed wall. This was an idiom for hypocrisy – just as the wall was painted on the outside but something different on the inside, so this person was not what he appeared or pretended to be (L&N 88.234; see also BDAG 1010 s.v. τοῖχος). Paul was claiming that the man’s response was two-faced (Ezek 13:10-16; Matt 23:27-28). See also Deut 28:22.

[23:3]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “And do.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[23:3]  ⁶⁹ tn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[23:3]  ⁷⁰ tn BDAG 769 s.v. παρανομέω has “παρανομῶν κελεύεις in violation of the law you order Ac 23:3.”

[25:14]  ⁷³ tn BDAG 1105-6 s.v. ὡς 8.b states, “w. pres. or impf. while, when, as long as…Ac 1:10; 7:23; 9:23; 10:17; 13:25; 19:9; 21:27; 25:14.”

[25:14]  ⁷⁴ sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[25:14]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “Festus laid Paul’s case before the king for consideration.” BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατίθημι 2 states, “otherw. only mid. to lay someth. before someone for consideration, declare, communicate, refer w. the added idea that the pers. to whom a thing is ref. is asked for his opinion lay someth. before someone for consideration…Ac 25:14.”

[25:16]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “to whom I answered.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced with a personal pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 16.

[25:16]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “any man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos).

[25:16]  ⁸¹ tn Or “has met his accusers in person.”

[25:16]  ⁸² tn Grk “and receives.”

[25:16]  ⁸³ tn Or “indictment” (a legal technical term). BDAG 273-74 s.v. ἔγκλημα 1 states, “legal t.t.…ἀπολογία περὶ τοῦ ἐ. defense against the accusation Ac 25:16.” L&N 56.6 defines ἔγκλημα (enklhma) as “(a technical, legal term) a formal indictment or accusation brought against someone – ‘indictment, accusation, case.’ …‘and might receive an opportunity for a defense against the indictment’ Ac 25:16.”