Acts 5:36-37

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  5:37 After him Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census, ⁴  and incited people to follow him in revolt. ⁵  He too was killed, and all who followed him were scattered.

Acts 12:20

12:20 Now Herod ⁶  was having an angry quarrel ⁷  with the people of Tyre ⁸  and Sidon. ⁹  So they joined together ¹⁰  and presented themselves before him. And after convincing ¹¹  Blastus, the king’s personal assistant, ¹²  to help them, ¹³  they asked for peace, ¹⁴  because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country.

Acts 13:43

13:43 When the meeting of the synagogue ¹⁵  had broken up, ¹⁶  many of the Jews and God-fearing proselytes ¹⁷  followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and were persuading ¹⁸  them ¹⁹  to continue ²⁰  in the grace of God.

Acts 17:4

17:4 Some of them were persuaded ²¹  and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group ²²  of God-fearing Greeks ²³  and quite a few ²⁴  prominent women.

Acts 19:26

19:26 And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded ²⁵  and turned away ²⁶  a large crowd, ²⁷  not only in Ephesus ²⁸  but in practically all of the province of Asia, ²⁹  by saying ³⁰  that gods made by hands are not gods at all. ³¹ 

Acts 26:26

26:26 For the king knows about these things, and I am speaking freely ³²  to him, ³³  because I cannot believe ³⁴  that any of these things has escaped his notice, ³⁵  for this was not done in a corner. ³⁶ 

[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.

[5:37]  ⁴ tn Or “registration.”

[5:37]  ⁵ tn The verb ἀφίστημι (afisthmi) as a transitive means “cause to revolt” as used in Josephus, Ant. 8.7.5 (8.198), 20.5.2 (20.102); see BDAG 157 s.v. 1.

[12:20]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:20]  ⁸ tn Or “was extremely angry.” L&N 33.453 gives the meaning “be angry and quarrel, quarrel angrily” here. However, in L&N 88.180 the alternative “to be violently angry, to be furious” is given. The term is used only once in the NT (BDAG 461 s.v. θυμομαχέω).

[12:20]  ⁹ sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.

[12:20]  ¹⁰ sn Sidon was an ancient Phoenician royal city on the coast between Berytus (Beirut) and Tyre (BDAG 923 s.v. Σιδών).

[12:20]  ¹¹ tn Or “with one accord.”

[12:20]  ¹² tn Or “persuading.”

[12:20]  ¹³ tn On the term translated “personal assistant” BDAG 554 s.v. κοιτῶν states, “used as part of a title: ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος the one in charge of the bed-chamber, the chamberlain.” This individual was not just a domestic servant or butler, but a highly respected person who had considerable responsibility for the king’s living quarters and personal affairs. The English word “chamberlain” corresponds very closely to this meaning but is not in common use today. The term “personal assistant,” while it might convey more business associations than management of personal affairs, nevertheless communicates the concept well in contemporary English.

[12:20]  ¹⁴ tn The words “to help them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:20]  ¹⁵ tn Or “for a reconciliation.” There were grave political risks in having Herod angry at them. The detail shows the ruler’s power.

[13:43]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[13:43]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 607 s.v. λύω 3 has “λυθείσης τ. συναγωγῆς when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up Ac 13:43.”

[13:43]  ¹² tn Normally the phrase σεβόμενοι τὸν θεόν (sebomenoi ton qeon) refers to Gentiles (“God-fearers”) who believed in God, attended the synagogue, and followed the Mosaic law to some extent, but stopped short of undergoing circumcision. BDAG 918 s.v. σέβω 1.b lists in this category references in Acts 16:14; 18:7; with σεβόμενοι alone, Acts 13:50; 17:4, 17; the phrase is also found in Josephus, Ant. 14.7.2 (14.110). Unique to this particular verse is the combination σεβόμενοι προσηλύτων (sebomenoi proshlutwn). Later rabbinic discussion suggests that to be regarded as a proper proselyte, a Gentile male had to submit to circumcision. If that is the case here, these Gentiles in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch should be regarded as full proselytes who had converted completely to Judaism and undergone circumcision. It is probably more likely, however, that προσηλύτων is used here in a somewhat looser sense (note the use of σεβομένας [sebomena"] alone to refer to women in Acts 13:50) and that these Gentiles were still in the category commonly called “God-fearers” without being full, technical proselytes to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Regardless, the point is that many Gentiles, as well as Jews, came to faith.

[13:43]  ¹³ tn This is the meaning given for ἔπειθον (epeiqon) in this verse by BDAG 791 s.v. πείθω 1.b.

[13:43]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “who, as they were speaking with them, were persuading them.”

[13:43]  ¹⁵ tn The verb προμένειν (promenein) is similar in force to the use of μένω (menw, “to reside/remain”) in the Gospel and Epistles of John.

[17:4]  ¹³ tn Or “convinced.”

[17:4]  ¹⁴ tn Or “a large crowd.”

[17:4]  ¹⁵ tn Or “of devout Greeks,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Luke frequently mentions such people (Acts 13:43, 50; 16:14; 17:17; 18:7).

[17:4]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “not a few”; this use of negation could be misleading to the modern English reader, however, and so has been translated as “quite a few” (which is the actual meaning of the expression).

[19:26]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “persuading.” The participle πείσας (peisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:26]  ¹⁷ tn Or “misled.”

[19:26]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 3.a has “of pers. ὄχλος a large crowd…Ac 11:24, 26; 19:26.”

[19:26]  ¹⁹ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[19:26]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 22.

[19:26]  ²¹ tn The participle λέγων (legwn) has been regarded as indicating instrumentality.

[19:26]  ²² tn The words “at all” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[26:26]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 782 s.v. παρρησιάζομαι 1 states, “speak freely, openly, fearlessly…likew. in the ptc. w. a verb of saying foll.…παρρησιασάμενοι εἶπαν 13:46. – 26:26.” This could refer to boldness in speaking here.

[26:26]  ²⁰ tn Grk “to whom I am speaking freely.” The relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the personal pronoun (“him”) to simplify the translation.

[26:26]  ²¹ tn Grk “I cannot convince myself.” BDAG 792 s.v. πείθω 3.a states, “οὐ πείθομαι w. acc. and inf. I cannot believe Ac 26:26” (see also BDAG 586 s.v. λανθάνω).

[26:26]  ²² tn BDAG 586 s.v. λανθάνω states, “λανθάνειν αὐτὸν τούτων οὐ πείθομαι οὐθέν I cannot bring myself to believe that any of these things has escaped his notice Ac 26:26.”

[26:26]  ²³ tn This term refers to a hidden corner (BDAG 209 s.v. γωνία). Paul’s point is that these events to which he refers were not done in a secret, hidden place, tucked away outside of view. They were done in public for all the world to see.