Acts 4:25

4:25 who said by the Holy Spirit through ¹  your servant David our forefather, ² 

‘Why do the nations ³  rage, ⁴ 

and the peoples plot foolish ⁵  things?

Acts 7:7

7:7 But I will punish ⁶  the nation they serve as slaves,’ said God, ‘and after these things they will come out of there ⁷  and worship ⁸  me in this place.’ ⁹ 

Acts 8:9

8:9 Now in that city was a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic ¹⁰  and amazing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great.

Acts 10:45

10:45 The ¹¹  circumcised believers ¹²  who had accompanied Peter were greatly astonished ¹³  that ¹⁴  the gift of the Holy Spirit ¹⁵  had been poured out ¹⁶  even on the Gentiles,

Acts 11:1

Peter Defends His Actions to the Jerusalem Church

11:1 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted ¹⁷  the word of God. ¹⁸ 

Acts 11:18

11:18 When they heard this, ¹⁹  they ceased their objections ²⁰  and praised ²¹  God, saying, “So then, God has granted the repentance ²²  that leads to life even to the Gentiles.” ²³ 

Acts 13:47-48

13:47 For this ²⁴  is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have appointed ²⁵  you to be a light ²⁶  for the Gentiles, to bring salvation ²⁷  to the ends of the earth.’” ²⁸  13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice ²⁹  and praise ³⁰  the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life ³¹  believed.

Acts 14:27

14:27 When they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported ³²  all the things God ³³  had done with them, and that he had opened a door ³⁴  of faith for the Gentiles.

Acts 15:23

15:23 They sent this letter with them: ³⁵ 

From the apostles ³⁶  and elders, your brothers, ³⁷  to the Gentile brothers and sisters ³⁸  in Antioch, ³⁹  Syria, ⁴⁰  and Cilicia, greetings!

Acts 17:26

17:26 From one man ⁴¹  he made every nation of the human race ⁴²  to inhabit the entire earth, ⁴³  determining their set times ⁴⁴  and the fixed limits of the places where they would live, ⁴⁵ 

Acts 21:19

21:19 When Paul ⁴⁶  had greeted them, he began to explain ⁴⁷  in detail ⁴⁸  what God ⁴⁹  had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

Acts 21:25

21:25 But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided ⁵⁰  that they should avoid ⁵¹  meat that has been sacrificed to idols ⁵²  and blood and what has been strangled ⁵³  and sexual immorality.”

Acts 26:4

26:4 Now all the Jews know the way I lived ⁵⁴  from my youth, spending my life from the beginning among my own people ⁵⁵  and in Jerusalem. ⁵⁶ 

Acts 26:23

26:23 that ⁵⁷  the Christ ⁵⁸  was to suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, to proclaim light both to our people ⁵⁹  and to the Gentiles.” ⁶⁰ 

[4:25]  ¹ tn Grk “by the mouth of” (an idiom).

[4:25]  ² tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”

[4:25]  ³ tn Or “Gentiles.”

[4:25]  ⁴ sn The Greek word translated rage includes not only anger but opposition, both verbal and nonverbal. See L&N 88.185.

[4:25]  ⁵ tn Or “futile”; traditionally, “vain.”

[7:7]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn The words “of there” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[7:7]  ⁸ tn Or “and serve,” but with religious/cultic overtones (BDAG 587 s.v. λατρεύω).

[7:7]  ⁹ sn An allusion to Exod 3:12.

[8:9]  ¹¹ tn On the idiom προϋπῆρχεν μαγεύων (prouphrcen mageuwn) meaning “had been practicing magic” see BDAG 889 s.v. προϋπάρχω.

[10:45]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And the.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[10:45]  ¹⁷ tn Or “The Jewish Christians”; Grk “The believers from the circumcision.”

[10:45]  ¹⁸ sn The Jewish Christians who were with Peter were greatly astonished because they thought the promise of the Spirit would be limited only to those of Israel. God’s plan was taking on fresh dimensions even as it was a reflection of what the prophets had promised.

[10:45]  ¹⁹ tn Or “because.”

[10:45]  ²⁰ tn That is, the gift consisting of the Holy Spirit. Here τοῦ πνεύματος (tou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the gift consists of the Spirit.

[10:45]  ²¹ sn The gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out. Compare the account in Acts 2, especially 2:33. Note also Joel 2:17-21 and Acts 11:15-18.

[11:1]  ²¹ tn See BDAG 221 s.v. δέχομαι 5 for this translation of ἐδέξαντο (edexanto) here.

[11:1]  ²² tn Here the phrase “word of God” is another way to describe the gospel (note the preceding verb ἐδέξαντο, edexanto, “accepted”). The phrase could also be translated “the word [message] from God.”

[11:18]  ²⁶ tn Grk “these things.”

[11:18]  ²⁷ tn Or “became silent,” but this would create an apparent contradiction with the subsequent action of praising God. The point, in context, is that they ceased objecting to what Peter had done.

[11:18]  ²⁸ tn Or “glorified.”

[11:18]  ²⁹ sn Here the summary phrase for responding to the gospel is the repentance that leads to life. Note how the presence of life is tied to the presence of the Spirit (cf. John 4:7-42; 7:37-39).

[11:18]  ³⁰ sn In the Greek text the phrase even to the Gentiles is in an emphatic position.

[13:47]  ³¹ tn Here οὕτως (Joutws) is taken to refer to what follows, the content of the quotation, as given for this verse by BDAG 742 s.v. οὕτω/οὕτως 2.

[13:47]  ³² tn BDAG 1004 s.v. τίθημι 3.a has “τιθέναι τινὰ εἴς τι place/appoint someone to or for (to function as) someth….Ac 13:47.” This is a double accusative construction of object (“you”) and complement (“a light”).

[13:47]  ³³ sn Paul alludes here to the language of the Servant in Isaiah, pointing to Isa 42:6; 49:6. He and Barnabas do the work of the Servant in Isaiah.

[13:47]  ³⁴ tn Grk “that you should be for salvation,” but more simply “to bring salvation.”

[13:47]  ³⁵ sn An allusion to Isa 42:6 and 49:6. The expression the ends of the earth recalls Luke 3:6 and Acts 1:8. Paul sees himself and Barnabas as carrying out the commission of Luke 24:27. (See 2 Cor 6:2, where servant imagery also appears concerning Paul’s message.)

[13:48]  ³⁶ tn The imperfect verb ἔχαιρον (ecairon) and the following ἐδόξαζον (edoxazon) are translated as ingressive imperfects.

[13:48]  ³⁷ tn Or “glorify.” Although “honor” is given by BDAG 258 s.v. δοξάζω as a translation, it would be misleading here, because the meaning is “to honor in the sense of attributing worth to something,” while in contemporary English usage one speaks of “honoring” a contract in the sense of keeping its stipulations. It is not a synonym for “obey” in this context (“obey the word of the Lord”), but that is how many English readers would understand it.

[13:48]  ³⁸ sn Note the contrast to v. 46 in regard to eternal life.

[14:27]  ⁴¹ tn Or “announced.”

[14:27]  ⁴² sn Note that God is the subject of the activity. The outcome of this mission is seen as a confirmation of the mission to the Gentiles.

[14:27]  ⁴³ sn On the image of opening, or of the door, see 1 Cor 16:9; 2 Cor 2:12; Col 4:3.

[15:23]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “writing by their hand” (an idiom for sending a letter).

[15:23]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “The apostles.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[15:23]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “brothers,” but “your” is supplied to specify the relationship, since without it “brothers” could be understood as vocative in English.

[15:23]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “to the brothers who are from the Gentiles.”

[15:23]  ⁵⁰ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).

[15:23]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “and Syria,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[17:26]  ⁵¹ sn The one man refers to Adam (the word “man” is understood).

[17:26]  ⁵² tn Or “mankind.” BDAG 276 s.v. ἔθνος 1 has “every nation of humankind Ac 17:26.”

[17:26]  ⁵³ tn Grk “to live over all the face of the earth.”

[17:26]  ⁵⁴ tn BDAG 884-85 s.v. προστάσσω has “(οἱ) προστεταγμένοι καιροί (the) fixed times Ac 17:26” here, but since the following phrase is also translated “fixed limits,” this would seem redundant in English, so the word “set” has been used instead.

[17:26]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “the boundaries of their habitation.” L&N 80.5 has “fixed limits of the places where they would live” for this phrase.

[21:19]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:19]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “to report,” “to describe.” The imperfect verb ἐξηγεῖτο (exhgeito) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[21:19]  ⁵⁸ tn BDAG 293 s.v. εἷς 5.e has “καθ᾿ ἕν one after the other (hence τὸ καθ᾿ ἕν ‘a detailed list’: PLille 11, 8 [III bc]; PTebt. 47, 34; 332, 16) J 21:25. Also καθ᾿ ἕν ἕκαστον…Ac 21:19.”

[21:19]  ⁵⁹ sn Note how Paul credited God with the success of his ministry.

[21:25]  ⁶¹ 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]  ⁶² 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]  ⁶³ 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]  ⁶⁴ 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).

[26:4]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “my manner of life.”

[26:4]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “nation.”

[26:4]  ⁶⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[26:23]  ⁷¹ tn BDAG 277-78 s.v. εἰ 2 has “marker of an indirect question as content, that…Sim. also (Procop. Soph., Ep. 123 χάριν ἔχειν εἰ = that) μαρτυρόμενος…εἰ παθητὸς ὁ Χριστός testifying…that the Christ was to suffer…Ac 26:23.”

[26:23]  ⁷² tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[26:23]  ⁷³ tn That is, to the Jewish people. Grk “the people”; the word “our” has been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[26:23]  ⁷⁴ sn Note how the context of Paul’s gospel message about Jesus, resurrection, and light both to Jews and to the Gentiles is rooted in the prophetic message of the OT scriptures. Paul was guilty of following God’s call and preaching the scriptural hope.