Acts 3:13-15

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. 3:14 But you rejected ⁷  the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released to you. 3:15 You killed ⁸  the Originator ⁹  of life, whom God raised ¹⁰  from the dead. To this fact we are witnesses! ¹¹ 

Acts 22:14

22:14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors ¹²  has already chosen ¹³  you to know his will, to see ¹⁴  the Righteous One, ¹⁵  and to hear a command ¹⁶  from his mouth,

Acts 22:1

Paul’s Defense

22:1 “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense ¹⁷  that I now ¹⁸  make to you.”

Acts 12:17

12:17 He motioned to them ¹⁹  with his hand to be quiet and then related ²⁰  how the Lord had brought ²¹  him out of the prison. He said, “Tell James and the brothers these things,” and then he left and went to another place. ²² 

Acts 1:18

1:18 (Now this man Judas ²³  acquired a field with the reward of his unjust deed, ²⁴  and falling headfirst ²⁵  he burst open in the middle and all his intestines ²⁶  gushed out.

Ezra 7:27

7:27 ²⁷ Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who so moved in the heart of the king to so honor the temple of the Lord which is in Jerusalem!

Luke 1:55

1:55 as he promised ²⁸  to our ancestors, ²⁹  to Abraham and to his descendants ³⁰  forever.”

Luke 1:72

1:72 He has done this ³¹  to show mercy ³²  to our ancestors, ³³ 

and to remember his holy covenant ³⁴  –

[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”).

[3:14]  ⁷ tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”

[3:15]  ⁸ tn Or “You put to death.”

[3:15]  ⁹ tn Or “Founder,” “founding Leader.”

[3:15]  ¹⁰ sn Whom God raised. God is the main actor here, as he testifies to Jesus and vindicates him.

[3:15]  ¹¹ 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.

[22:14]  ¹² tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[22:14]  ¹³ tn L&N 30.89 has “‘to choose in advance, to select beforehand, to designate in advance’…‘the God of our ancestors has already chosen you to know his will’ Ac 22:14.”

[22:14]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and to see.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[22:14]  ¹⁵ sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ (Acts 3:14).

[22:14]  ¹⁶ tn Or “a solemn declaration”; Grk “a voice.” BDAG 1071-72 s.v. φωνή 2.c states, “that which the voice gives expression to: call, cry, outcry, loud or solemn declaration (… = order, command)…Cp. 22:14; 24:21.”

[22:1]  ¹⁷ sn Listen to my defense. This is the first of several speeches Paul would make in his own defense: Acts 24:10ff.; 25:8, 16; and 26:1ff. For the use of such a speech (“apologia”) in Greek, see Josephus, Ag. Ap. 2.15 [2.147]; Wis 6:10.

[22:1]  ¹⁸ tn The adverb νυνί (nuni, “now”) is connected with the phrase τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς νυνὶ ἀπολογίας (th" pro" Juma" nuni apologia") rather than the verb ἀκούσατε (akousate), and the entire construction (prepositional phrase plus adverb) is in first attributive position and thus translated into English by a relative clause.

[12:17]  ¹⁹ tn Or “He gave them a signal.” Grk “Giving them a signal…he related to them.” The participle κατασείσας (kataseisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[12:17]  ²⁰ tc ‡ Most mss, including some of the most important ones (B D E Ψ Ï sy), read αὐτοῖς (autoi", “to them”) here, while some excellent and early witnesses (Ì^45vid,74vid א A 33 81 945 1739 pc) lack the pronoun. Although it is possible that the pronoun was deleted because it was seen as superfluous, it is also possible that it was added as a natural expansion on the text, strengthening the connection between Peter and his listeners. Although a decision is difficult, the shorter reading is slightly preferred. NA²⁷ puts the pronoun in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[12:17]  ²¹ tn Or “led.”

[12:17]  ²² sn He…went to another place. This is Peter’s last appearance in Acts with the exception of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15.

[1:18]  ²³ tn The referent of “this man” (Judas) was specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:18]  ²⁴ tn Traditionally, “with the reward of his wickedness.”

[1:18]  ²⁵ tn Traditionally, “falling headlong.”

[1:18]  ²⁶ tn Or “all his bowels.”

[7:27]  ²⁷ sn At this point the language of the book reverts from Aramaic (7:12-26) back to Hebrew.

[1:55]  ²⁸ tn Grk “as he spoke.” Since this is a reference to the covenant to Abraham, ἐλάλησεν (elalhsen) can be translated in context “as he promised.” God keeps his word.

[1:55]  ²⁹ tn Grk “fathers.”

[1:55]  ³⁰ tn Grk “his seed” (an idiom for offspring or descendants).

[1:72]  ³¹ tn The words “He has done this” (referring to the raising up of the horn of salvation from David’s house) are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to allow a new sentence to be started in the translation. The Greek sentence is lengthy and complex at this point, while contemporary English uses much shorter sentences.

[1:72]  ³² sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.

[1:72]  ³³ tn Or “our forefathers”; Grk “our fathers.” This begins with the promise to Abraham (vv. 55, 73), and thus refers to many generations of ancestors.

[1:72]  ³⁴ sn The promises of God can be summarized as being found in the one promise (the oath that he swore) to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3).