Acts 4:19

4:19 But Peter and John replied, ¹  “Whether it is right before God to obey ²  you rather than God, you decide,

Acts 7:7

7:7 But I will punish ³  the nation they serve as slaves,’ said God, ‘and after these things they will come out of there ⁴  and worship ⁵  me in this place.’ ⁶ 

Acts 16:4

16:4 As they went through the towns, ⁷  they passed on ⁸  the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem ⁹  for the Gentile believers ¹⁰  to obey. ¹¹ 

Acts 21:25

21:25 But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided ¹²  that they should avoid ¹³  meat that has been sacrificed to idols ¹⁴  and blood and what has been strangled ¹⁵  and sexual immorality.”

Acts 24:21

24:21 other than ¹⁶  this one thing ¹⁷  I shouted out while I stood before ¹⁸  them: ‘I am on trial before you today concerning the resurrection of the dead.’” ¹⁹ 

Acts 25:20

25:20 Because I was at a loss ²⁰  how I could investigate these matters, ²¹  I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried ²²  there on these charges. ²³ 

Acts 25:25

25:25 But I found that he had done nothing that deserved death, ²⁴  and when he appealed ²⁵  to His Majesty the Emperor, ²⁶  I decided to send him. ²⁷ 

Acts 27:1

Paul and Company Sail for Rome

27:1 When it was decided we ²⁸  would sail to Italy, ²⁹  they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion ³⁰  of the Augustan Cohort ³¹  named Julius.

[4:19]  ¹ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[4:19]  ² 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).

[7:7]  ³ tn BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α states, “Oft. the emphasis is unmistakably laid upon that which follows the Divine Judge’s verdict, upon the condemnation or punishment: condemn, punish …Ac 7:7 (Gen 15:14).”

[7:7]  ⁴ tn The words “of there” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[7:7]  ⁵ tn Or “and serve,” but with religious/cultic overtones (BDAG 587 s.v. λατρεύω).

[7:7]  ⁶ sn An allusion to Exod 3:12.

[16:4]  ⁵ tn Or “cities.”

[16:4]  ⁶ tn BDAG 762-63 s.v. παραδίδωμι 3 has “they handed down to them the decisions to observe Ac 16:4.”

[16:4]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[16:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “for them”; the referent (Gentile believers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:4]  ⁹ tn Or “observe” or “follow.”

[21:25]  ⁷ tn L&N 13.154 has “‘having decided that they must keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from an animal that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality’ Ac 21:25.”

[21:25]  ⁸ tn This is a different Greek word than the one used in Acts 15:20, 29. BDAG 1068 s.v. φυλάσσω 3 has “to be on one’s guard against, look out for, avoid…w. acc. of pers. or thing avoided…Ac 21:25.” The Greek word used in Acts 15:20, 29 is ἀπέχω (apecw). The difference in meaning, although slight, has been maintained in the translation.

[21:25]  ⁹ tn There is no specific semantic component in the Greek word εἰδωλόθυτος that means “meat” (see BDAG 280 s.v. εἰδωλόθυτος; L&N 5.15). The stem –θυτος means “sacrifice” (referring to an animal sacrificially killed) and thereby implies meat.

[21:25]  ¹⁰ sn What has been strangled. That is, to refrain from eating animals that had been killed without having the blood drained from them. According to the Mosaic law (Lev 17:13-14) Jews were forbidden to eat flesh with the blood still in it (note the preceding provision in this verse, and blood).

[24:21]  ⁹ tn BDAG 433 s.v. ἤ 2.c has “οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἤ nothing else than…Ac 17:21. τί…ἤ what other…than…24:21.”

[24:21]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “one utterance.”

[24:21]  ¹¹ tn Cf. BDAG 327 s.v. ἐν 1.e, which has “before, in the presence of, etc.”

[24:21]  ¹² sn The resurrection of the dead. Paul’s point was, what crime was there in holding this religious belief?

[25:20]  ¹¹ tn Or “Because I was undecided.” Grk “Being at a loss.” The participle ἀπορούμενος (aporoumeno") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[25:20]  ¹² tn L&N 27.34 states, “ἀπορούμενος δὲ ἐγὼ τὴν περὶ τούτων ζήτησιν ‘I was undecided about how I could get information on these matters’ Ac 25:20. The clause ‘about how I could get information on these matters’ may also be rendered as ‘about how I should try to find out about these matters’ or ‘about how I could learn about these matters.’”

[25:20]  ¹³ tn Or “stand trial.”

[25:20]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “on these things.”

[25:25]  ¹³ sn He had done nothing that deserved death. Festus’ opinion of Paul’s guilt is like Pilate’s of Jesus (Luke 23:4, 14, 22).

[25:25]  ¹⁴ tn The participle ἐπικαλεσαμένου (epikalesamenou) has been taken temporally. It could also be translated as causal: “and because he appealed…”

[25:25]  ¹⁵ tn A designation of the Roman emperor (in this case, Nero). BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός states, “ὁ Σεβαστός His Majesty the Emperor Ac 25:21, 25 (of Nero).”

[25:25]  ¹⁶ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[27:1]  ¹⁵ sn The last “we” section in Acts begins here and extends to 28:16 (the previous one ended at 21:18).

[27:1]  ¹⁶ sn Sail to Italy. This voyage with its difficulty serves to show how God protected Paul on his long journey to Rome. From the perspective of someone in Palestine, this may well picture “the end of the earth” quite literally (cf. Acts 1:8).

[27:1]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[27:1]  ¹⁸ tn According to BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός, “In σπεῖρα Σεβαστή 27:1 (cp. OGI 421) Σεβαστή is likew. an exact transl. of Lat. Augusta, an honorary title freq. given to auxiliary troops (Ptolem. renders it Σεβαστή in connection w. three legions that bore it: 2, 3, 30; 2, 9, 18; 4, 3, 30) imperial cohort.” According to W. Foerster (TDNT 7:175), “In Ac. 27:1 the σπεῖρα Σεβαστή is an expression also found elsewhere for ‘auxiliary troops.’” In no case would this refer to a special imperial bodyguard, and to translate “imperial regiment” or “imperial cohort” might give this impression. There is some archaeological evidence for a Cohors Augusta I stationed in Syria during the time of Augustus, but whether this is the same unit is very debatable.