Acts 5:36

5:36 For some time ago ¹  Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He ²  was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and nothing came of it. ³ 

Acts 21:24

21:24 take them and purify ⁴  yourself along with them and pay their expenses, ⁵  so that they may have their heads shaved. ⁶  Then ⁷  everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told ⁸  about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with ⁹  the law. ¹⁰ 

Acts 23:9

23:9 There was a great commotion, ¹¹  and some experts in the law ¹²  from the party of the Pharisees stood up ¹³  and protested strongly, ¹⁴  “We find nothing wrong ¹⁵  with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

Acts 25:10-11

25:10 Paul replied, ¹⁶  “I am standing before Caesar’s ¹⁷  judgment seat, ¹⁸  where I should be tried. ¹⁹  I have done nothing wrong ²⁰  to the Jews, as you also know very well. ²¹  25:11 If then I am in the wrong ²²  and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying, ²³  but if not one of their charges against me is true, ²⁴  no one can hand me over to them. ²⁵  I appeal to Caesar!” ²⁶ 

Acts 26:22

26:22 I have experienced ²⁷  help from God to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except ²⁸  what the prophets and Moses said ²⁹  was going to happen:

[5:36]  ¹ tn Grk “For before these days.”

[5:36]  ² tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point.

[5:36]  ³ tn Grk “and they came to nothing.” Gamaliel’s argument is that these two insurrectionists were taken care of by natural events.

[21:24]  ⁴ sn That is, undergo ritual cleansing. Paul’s cleansing would be necessary because of his travels in “unclean” Gentile territory. This act would represent a conciliatory gesture. Paul would have supported a “law-free” mission to the Gentiles as an option, but this gesture would represent an attempt to be sensitive to the Jews (1 Cor 9:15-22).

[21:24]  ⁵ tn L&N 57.146 has “δαπάνησον ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ‘pay their expenses’ Ac 21:24.”

[21:24]  ⁶ tn The future middle indicative has causative force here. BDAG 686 s.v. ξυράω has “mid. have oneself shaved…τὴν κεφαλήν have one’s head shaved…Ac 21:24.”

[21:24]  ⁷ tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[21:24]  ⁸ tn The verb here describes a report or some type of information (BDAG 534 s.v. κατηχέω 1).

[21:24]  ⁹ tn Grk “adhere to the keeping of the law.” L&N 41.12 has “στοιχέω: to live in conformity with some presumed standard or set of customs – ‘to live, to behave in accordance with.’”

[21:24]  ¹⁰ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[23:9]  ⁷ tn Or “clamor” (cf. BDAG 565 s.v. κραυγή 1.a, which has “there arose a loud outcry” here, and Exod 12:30).

[23:9]  ⁸ tn Or “and some scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 4:5.

[23:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “standing up.” The participle ἀναστάντες (anastante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:9]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “protested strongly, saying.” L&N 39.27 has “διαμάχομαι: to fight or contend with, involving severity and thoroughness – ‘to protest strongly, to contend with.’…‘some scribes from the party of the Pharisees protested strongly’ Ac 23:9.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[23:9]  ¹¹ sn “We find nothing wrong with this man.” Here is another declaration of innocence. These leaders recognized the possibility that Paul might have the right to make his claim.

[25:10]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “said.”

[25:10]  ¹¹ tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[25:10]  ¹² tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here. Here of course Paul’s reference to “Caesar’s judgment seat” is a form of metonymy; since Festus is Caesar’s representative, Festus’ judgment seat represents Caesar’s own.

[25:10]  ¹³ tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.

[25:10]  ¹⁴ sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.

[25:10]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 506 s.v. καλῶς 7 states, “comp. κάλλιον (for the superl., as Galen, Protr. 8 p. 24, 19J.=p. 10, 31 Kaibel; s. B-D-F §244, 2) ὡς καί σὺ κ. ἐπιγινώσκεις as also you know very well Ac 25:10.”

[25:11]  ¹³ tn BDAG 20 s.v. ἀδικέω 1.b has “intr. be in the wrong (Ex 2:13) εἰ ἀδικῶ Ac 25:11.”

[25:11]  ¹⁴ tn BDAG 764 s.v. παραιτέομαι 2.b.β, “οὐ παραιτοῦμαι τὸ ἀποθανεῖν I am not trying to escape death Ac 25:11 (cp. Jos., Vi. 141).” To avoid redundancy in the translation, the English gerund “dying” is used to translate the Greek infinitive ἀποθανεῖν (apoqanein).

[25:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or “but if there is nothing to their charges against me.” Both “if” clauses in this verse are first class conditions. Paul stated the options without prejudice, assuming in turn the reality of each for the sake of the argument.

[25:11]  ¹⁶ sn That is, no one can hand me over to them lawfully. Paul was aware of the dangers of a return to Jerusalem.

[25:11]  ¹⁷ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[26:22]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “So experiencing…I stand.” The participle τυχών (tucwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[26:22]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 311 s.v. ἐκτός 3.b, “functions as prep. w. gen. οὐδὲν ἐ. ὧν nothing except what (cf. 1 Ch 29:3; 2 Ch 17:19; TestNapht. 6:2) Ac 26:22.”

[26:22]  ¹⁸ sn What the prophets and Moses said. Paul argued that his message reflected the hope of the Jewish scriptures.