Acts 3:18-22

3:18 But the things God foretold ¹  long ago through ²  all the prophets – that his Christ ³  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 ⁴  may come from the presence of the Lord, ⁵  and so that he may send the Messiah ⁶  appointed ⁷  for you – that is, Jesus. 3:21 This one ⁸  heaven must ⁹  receive until the time all things are restored, ¹⁰  which God declared ¹¹  from times long ago ¹²  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 ¹³  him in everything he tells you. ¹⁴ 

[3:18]  ¹ sn God foretold. Peter’s topic is the working out of God’s plan and promise through events the scriptures also note.

[3:18]  ² tn Grk “by the mouth of” (an idiom).

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

[3:20]  ⁴ tn Or “relief.”

[3:20]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Or “the Christ”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[3:20]  ⁷ tn Or “designated in advance.”

[3:21]  ⁸ tn Grk “whom,” continuing the sentence from v. 20.

[3:21]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Or “spoke.”

[3:21]  ¹² tn Or “from all ages past.”

[3:22]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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.