Acts 3:2

3:2 And a man lame ¹  from birth ²  was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called “the Beautiful Gate” every day ³  so he could beg for money ⁴  from those going into the temple courts. ⁵ 

Acts 9:2

9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ⁶  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ⁷  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ⁸  to Jerusalem. ⁹ 

Acts 12:20

12:20 Now Herod ¹⁰  was having an angry quarrel ¹¹  with the people of Tyre ¹²  and Sidon. ¹³  So they joined together ¹⁴  and presented themselves before him. And after convincing ¹⁵  Blastus, the king’s personal assistant, ¹⁶  to help them, ¹⁷  they asked for peace, ¹⁸  because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country.

[3:2]  ¹ tn Or “crippled.”

[3:2]  ² tn Grk “from his mother’s womb.”

[3:2]  ³ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

[3:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “alms.” The term “alms” is not in common use today, so what the man expected, “money,” is used in the translation instead. The idea is that of money given as a gift to someone who was poor. Giving alms was viewed as honorable in Judaism (Tob 1:3, 16; 12:8-9; m. Pe’ah 1:1). See also Luke 11:41; 12:33; Acts 9:36; 10:2, 4, 31; 24:17.

[3:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[9:2]  ⁶ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:2]  ⁷ sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).

[9:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.

[9:2]  ⁹ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

[12:20]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:20]  ¹² tn Or “was extremely angry.” L&N 33.453 gives the meaning “be angry and quarrel, quarrel angrily” here. However, in L&N 88.180 the alternative “to be violently angry, to be furious” is given. The term is used only once in the NT (BDAG 461 s.v. θυμομαχέω).

[12:20]  ¹³ sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.

[12:20]  ¹⁴ sn Sidon was an ancient Phoenician royal city on the coast between Berytus (Beirut) and Tyre (BDAG 923 s.v. Σιδών).

[12:20]  ¹⁵ tn Or “with one accord.”

[12:20]  ¹⁶ tn Or “persuading.”

[12:20]  ¹⁷ tn On the term translated “personal assistant” BDAG 554 s.v. κοιτῶν states, “used as part of a title: ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος the one in charge of the bed-chamber, the chamberlain.” This individual was not just a domestic servant or butler, but a highly respected person who had considerable responsibility for the king’s living quarters and personal affairs. The English word “chamberlain” corresponds very closely to this meaning but is not in common use today. The term “personal assistant,” while it might convey more business associations than management of personal affairs, nevertheless communicates the concept well in contemporary English.

[12:20]  ¹⁸ tn The words “to help them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:20]  ¹⁹ tn Or “for a reconciliation.” There were grave political risks in having Herod angry at them. The detail shows the ruler’s power.