Acts 3:20

3:20 so that times of refreshing ¹  may come from the presence of the Lord, ²  and so that he may send the Messiah ³  appointed ⁴  for you – that is, Jesus.

Acts 11:15

11:15 Then as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on ⁵  them just as he did ⁶  on us at the beginning. ⁷ 

Acts 18:19

18:19 When they reached Ephesus, ⁸  Paul ⁹  left Priscilla and Aquila ¹⁰  behind there, but he himself went ¹¹  into the synagogue ¹²  and addressed ¹³  the Jews.

[3:20]  ¹ tn Or “relief.”

[3:20]  ² 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]  ³ tn Or “the Christ”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[3:20]  ⁴ tn Or “designated in advance.”

[11:15]  ⁵ tn Or “came down on.”

[11:15]  ⁶ tn The words “he did” are not in the Greek text but are implied. They form an ellipsis which must be supplied for the modern English reader. Some modern translations supply “it” rather than “he” because the gender of πνεῦμα (pneuma) in Greek is neuter, but there are sufficient NT contexts that use masculine pronouns to refer to the Spirit to justify the use of a masculine pronoun here in the translation.

[11:15]  ⁷ sn At the beginning is an allusion to Acts 2 and Pentecost. The beginning is a way to refer to the start of the period of the realization of Jesus’ promise in Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8. Peter was arguing that God gave Gentiles the same benefits he gave the Jews at the start of their mission.

[18:19]  ⁹ sn Ephesus was an influential city in Asia Minor. It was the location of the famous temple of Artemis. In 334 b.c. control of the city had passed to Alexander the Great, who contributed a large sum to the building of a new and more elaborate temple of Artemis, which became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and lasted until destroyed by the Goths in a.d. 263. This major port city would be reached from Corinth by ship. It was 250 mi (400 km) east of Corinth by sea.

[18:19]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:19]  ¹¹ tn Grk “left them”; the referents (Priscilla and Aquila) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:19]  ¹² tn Grk “going”; the participle εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[18:19]  ¹³ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:19]  ¹⁴ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 18:19. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.