Acts 6:12-13

6:12 They incited the people, the ¹  elders, and the experts in the law; ²  then they approached Stephen, ³  seized him, and brought him before the council. ⁴  6:13 They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place ⁵  and the law. ⁶ 

Acts 16:19-20

16:19 But when her owners ⁷  saw their hope of profit ⁸  was gone, they seized ⁹  Paul and Silas and dragged ¹⁰  them into the marketplace before the authorities. 16:20 When ¹¹  they had brought them ¹²  before the magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion. ¹³  They are ¹⁴  Jews

Acts 18:12-13

Paul Before the Proconsul Gallio

18:12 Now while Gallio ¹⁵  was proconsul ¹⁶  of Achaia, ¹⁷  the Jews attacked Paul together ¹⁸  and brought him before the judgment seat, ¹⁹  18:13 saying, “This man is persuading ²⁰  people to worship God in a way contrary to ²¹  the law!”

[6:12]  ¹ tn Grk “and the,” 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.

[6:12]  ² tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 4:5.

[6:12]  ³ tn Grk “approaching, they seized him”; the referent (Stephen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:12]  ⁴ tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). Stephen suffers just as Peter and John did.

[6:13]  ⁵ sn This holy place is a reference to the temple.

[6:13]  ⁶ sn The law refers to the law of Moses. It elaborates the nature of the blasphemy in v. 11. To speak against God’s law in Torah was to blaspheme God (Deut 28:15-19). On the Jewish view of false witnesses, see Exod 19:16-18; 20:16; m. Sanhedrin 3.6; 5.1-5. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 may indicate why the temple was mentioned.

[16:19]  ⁷ tn Or “masters.”

[16:19]  ⁸ tn On this use of ἐργασία (ergasia), see BDAG 390 s.v. 4. It is often the case that destructive practices and commerce are closely tied together.

[16:19]  ⁹ tn Grk “was gone, seizing.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενοι (epilabomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:19]  ¹⁰ tn On the term ἕλκω ({elkw) see BDAG 318 s.v. 1.

[16:20]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And when.” 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.

[16:20]  ¹² tn Grk “having brought them.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενοι (epilabomenoi) has been taken temporally. It is also possible in English to translate this participle as a finite verb: “they brought them before the magistrates and said.”

[16:20]  ¹³ tn BDAG 309 s.v. ἐκταράσσω has “agitate, cause trouble to, throw into confusion” for the meaning of this verb.

[16:20]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “being Jews, and they are proclaiming.” The participle ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[18:12]  ¹⁵ sn Gallio was proconsul of Achaia from a.d. 51-52. This date is one of the firmly established dates in Acts. Lucius Junius Gallio was the son of the rhetorician Seneca and the brother of Seneca the philosopher. The date of Gallio’s rule is established from an inscription (W. Dittenberger, ed., Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum 2.3 no. 8). Thus the event mentioned here is probably to be dated July-October a.d. 51.

[18:12]  ¹⁶ sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.

[18:12]  ¹⁷ sn Achaia was a Roman province created in 146 b.c. that included the most important parts of Greece (Attica, Boeotia, and the Peloponnesus).

[18:12]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “with one accord.”

[18:12]  ¹⁹ 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), there is no need for an alternative translation here since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time.

[18:13]  ²⁰ tn Or “inciting.”

[18:13]  ²¹ tn Grk “worship God contrary to.” BDAG 758 s.v. παρά C.6 has “against, contrary to” for Acts 18:13. The words “in a way” are not in the Greek text, but are a necessary clarification to prevent the misunderstanding in the English translation that worshiping God was in itself contrary to the law. What is under dispute is the manner in which God was being worshiped, that is, whether Gentiles were being required to follow all aspects of the Mosaic law, including male circumcision. There is a hint of creating public chaos or disturbing Jewish custom here since Jews were the ones making the complaint. Luke often portrays the dispute between Christians and Jews as within Judaism.