Acts 3:25

3:25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, ¹  saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants ²  all the nations ³  of the earth will be blessed.’ ⁴ 

Acts 6:1

The Appointment of the First Seven Deacons

6:1 Now in those ⁵  days, when the disciples were growing in number, ⁶  a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews ⁷  against the native Hebraic Jews, ⁸  because their widows ⁹  were being overlooked ¹⁰  in the daily distribution of food. ¹¹ 

Acts 21:27

21:27 When the seven days were almost over, ¹²  the Jews from the province of Asia ¹³  who had seen him in the temple area ¹⁴  stirred up the whole crowd ¹⁵  and seized ¹⁶  him,

Acts 21:30

21:30 The whole city was stirred up, ¹⁷  and the people rushed together. ¹⁸  They seized ¹⁹  Paul and dragged him out of the temple courts, ²⁰  and immediately the doors were shut.

[3:25]  ¹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[3:25]  ² tn Or “in your offspring”; Grk “in your seed.”

[3:25]  ³ tn Or “families.” The Greek word πατριά (patria) can indicate persons of succeeding generations who are related by birth (“lineage,” “family”) but it can also indicate a relatively large unit of people who make up a sociopolitical group and who share a presumed biological descent. In many contexts πατριά is very similar to ἔθνος (eqnos) and λαός (laos). In light of the context of the OT quotation, it is better to translate πατριά as “nations” here.

[3:25]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Gen 22:18.

[6:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “these.” The translation uses “those” for stylistic reasons.

[6:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “were multiplying.”

[6:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.

[6:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “against the Hebrews,” but as with “Hellenists” this needs further explanation for the modern reader.

[6:1]  ⁹ sn The care of widows is a major biblical theme: Deut 10:18; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 26:12-13; 27:19; Isa 1:17-23; Jer 7:6; Mal 3:5.

[6:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “neglected.”

[6:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in the daily serving.”

[21:27]  ⁹ tn BDAG 975 s.v. συντελέω 4 has “to come to an end of a duration, come to an end, be over…Ac 21:27.”

[21:27]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[21:27]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:27]  ¹² tn Or “threw the whole crowd into consternation.” L&N 25.221 has “συνέχεον πάντα τὸν ὄχλον ‘they threw the whole crowd into consternation’ Ac 21:27. It is also possible to render the expression in Ac 21:27 as ‘they stirred up the whole crowd.’”

[21:27]  ¹³ tn Grk “and laid hands on.”

[21:30]  ¹³ tn On this term see BDAG 545 s.v. κινέω 2.b.

[21:30]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the people formed a mob.” BDAG 967 s.v. συνδρομή has “formation of a mob by pers. running together, running together…ἐγένετο σ. τοῦ λαοῦ the people rushed together Ac 21:30.”

[21:30]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and seizing.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενοι (epilabomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[21:30]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “out of the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.