Acts 5:4

5:4 Before it was sold, ¹  did it not ²  belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money ³  not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? ⁴  You have not lied to people ⁵  but to God!”

Acts 9:27

9:27 But Barnabas took ⁶  Saul, ⁷  brought ⁸  him to the apostles, and related to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, that ⁹  the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly ¹⁰  in the name of Jesus.

Acts 15:7

15:7 After there had been much debate, ¹¹  Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that some time ago ¹²  God chose ¹³  me to preach to the Gentiles so they would hear the message ¹⁴  of the gospel ¹⁵  and believe. ¹⁶ 

Acts 16:37

16:37 But Paul said to the police officers, ¹⁷  “They had us beaten in public ¹⁸  without a proper trial ¹⁹  – even though we are Roman citizens ²⁰  – and they threw us ²¹  in prison. And now they want to send us away ²²  secretly? Absolutely not! They ²³  themselves must come and escort us out!” ²⁴ 

Acts 22:3

22:3 “I am a Jew, ²⁵  born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up ²⁶  in this city, educated with strictness ²⁷  under ²⁸  Gamaliel ²⁹  according to the law of our ancestors, ³⁰  and was ³¹  zealous ³²  for God just as all of you are today.

Acts 26:18

26:18 to open their eyes so that they turn ³³  from darkness to light and from the power ³⁴  of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share ³⁵  among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Acts 28:17

Paul Addresses the Jewish Community in Rome

28:17 After three days ³⁶  Paul ³⁷  called the local Jewish leaders ³⁸  together. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, ³⁹  although I had done ⁴⁰  nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, ⁴¹  from Jerusalem ⁴²  I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans. ⁴³ 

[5:4]  ¹ tn Grk “Remaining to you.”

[5:4]  ² tn The negative interrogative particle οὐχί (ouci) expects a positive reply to this question and the following one (“And when it was sold, was it not at your disposal?”).

[5:4]  ³ tn Grk “it”; the referent of the pronoun (the money generated from the sale of the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “How is it that you have [or Why have you] placed this deed in your heart?” Both of these literal translations differ from the normal way of expressing the thought in English.

[5:4]  ⁵ tn Grk “to men.” If Peter’s remark refers only to the apostles, the translation “to men” would be appropriate. But if (as is likely) the action was taken to impress the entire congregation (who would presumably have witnessed the donation or been aware of it) then the more general “to people” is more appropriate, since the audience would have included both men and women.

[9:27]  ⁶ tn Grk “taking Saul, brought him.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενος (epilabomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[9:27]  ⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:27]  ⁸ tn Grk “and brought,” 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.

[9:27]  ⁹ tn Grk “and that,” 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.

[9:27]  ¹⁰ tn On this verb which is used 7 times in Acts, see BDAG 782 s.v. παρρησιάζομαι 1. See also v. 28.

[15:7]  ¹¹ tn Or “discussion.” This term is repeated from v. 2.

[15:7]  ¹² tn Or “long ago” (an idiom, literally “from ancient days”). According to L&N 67.26, “this reference to Peter having been chosen by God sometime before to bring the gospel to the Gentiles can hardly be regarded as a reference to ancient times, though some persons understand this to mean that God’s decision was made at the beginning of time. The usage of ἀφ᾿ ἡμερῶν ἀρχαίων is probably designed to emphasize the established nature of God’s decision for Peter to take the gospel to the Gentiles beginning with the centurion Cornelius. The fact that this was relatively early in the development of the church may also serve to explain the use of the idiom.”

[15:7]  ¹³ sn God chose. The theme of God’s sovereign choice is an important point, because 1st century Jews believed Israel’s unique position and customs were a reflection of God’s choice.

[15:7]  ¹⁴ tn Or “word.”

[15:7]  ¹⁵ tn Or “of the good news.”

[15:7]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “God chose among you from my mouth the Gentiles to hear the message of the gospel and to believe.” The sense of this sentence in Greek is difficult to render in English. The Greek verb ἐκλέγομαι (eklegomai, “choose”) normally takes a person or thing as a direct object; in this verse the verb has neither clearly stated. The translation understands the phrase “from my mouth,” referring to Peter, as a description of both who God chose and the task to be done. This coupled with the following statement about Gentiles hearing the message of the gospel leads to the more dynamic rendering in the translation.

[16:37]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the police officers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:37]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Having us beaten in public.” The participle δείραντες (deirante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:37]  ¹⁸ tn Or “in public, uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.

[16:37]  ¹⁹ tn The participle ὑπάρχοντας (Juparconta") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[16:37]  ²⁰ tn The word “us” 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.

[16:37]  ²¹ tn L&N 28.71 has “send us away secretly” for this verse.

[16:37]  ²² tn Grk “But they.”

[16:37]  ²³ sn They themselves must come and escort us out! Paul was asking for the injustice he and Silas suffered to be symbolically righted. It was a way of publicly taking their actions off the record and showing the apostles’ innocence, a major public statement. Note the apology given in v. 39.

[22:3]  ²¹ tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

[22:3]  ²² tn BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατρέφω b has “of mental and spiritual nurture bring up, rear, train…ἀνατεθραμμένος ἐν τ. πόλει ταύτῃ 22:3.”

[22:3]  ²³ tn Or “with precision.” Although often translated “strictly” this can be misunderstood for “solely” in English. BDAG 39 s.v. ἀκρίβεια gives the meaning as “exactness, precision.” To avoid the potential misunderstanding the translation “with strictness” is used, although it is slightly more awkward than “strictly.”

[22:3]  ²⁴ tn Grk “strictly at the feet of” (an idiom).

[22:3]  ²⁵ tn Or “brought up in this city under Gamaliel, educated with strictness…” The phrase παρὰ τοὺς πόδας Γαμαλιὴλ (para tou" poda" Gamalihl) could be understood with what precedes or with what follows. The punctuation of NA²⁷ and UBS⁴, which place a comma after ταύτῃ (tauth), has been followed in the translation.

[22:3]  ²⁶ tn Or “our forefathers.”

[22:3]  ²⁷ tn Grk “ancestors, being.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:3]  ²⁸ tn BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.α has “of pers. …ζ. τοῦ θεοῦ one who is loyal to God Ac 22:3.”

[26:18]  ²⁶ sn To open their eyes so that they turn… Here is Luke’s most comprehensive report of Paul’s divine calling. His role was to call humanity to change their position before God and experience God’s forgiveness as a part of God’s family. The image of turning is a key one in the NT: Luke 1:79; Rom 2:19; 13:12; 2 Cor 4:6; 6:14; Eph 5:8; Col 1:12; 1 Thess 5:5. See also Luke 1:77-79; 3:3; 24:47.

[26:18]  ²⁷ tn BDAG 352-53 s.v. ἐξουσία 2 states, “Also of Satan’s power Ac 26:18.” It is also possible to translate this “the domain of Satan” (cf. BDAG 353 s.v. 6)

[26:18]  ²⁸ tn Or “and an inheritance.”

[28:17]  ³¹ tn Grk “It happened that after three days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[28:17]  ³² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:17]  ³³ tn L&N 33.309 has “‘after three days, he called the local Jewish leaders together’ Ac 28:17.”

[28:17]  ³⁴ tn Grk “Men brothers,” but this is both awkward and unnecessary in English.

[28:17]  ³⁵ tn The participle ποιήσας (poihsas) has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[28:17]  ³⁶ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[28:17]  ³⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[28:17]  ³⁸ tn Grk “into the hands of the Romans,” but this is redundant when παρεδόθην (paredoqhn) has been translated “handed over.”