Acts 6:13

6:13 They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place ¹  and the law. ² 

Acts 16:20-21

16:20 When ³  they had brought them ⁴  before the magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion. ⁵  They are ⁶  Jews 16:21 and are advocating ⁷  customs that are not lawful for us to accept ⁸  or practice, ⁹  since we are ¹⁰  Romans.”

Acts 17:6-7

17:6 When they did not find them, they dragged ¹¹  Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, ¹²  screaming, “These people who have stirred up trouble ¹³  throughout the world ¹⁴  have come here too, 17:7 and ¹⁵  Jason has welcomed them as guests! They ¹⁶  are all acting against Caesar’s ¹⁷  decrees, saying there is another king named ¹⁸  Jesus!” ¹⁹ 

Acts 21:28

21:28 shouting, “Men of Israel, ²⁰  help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, ²¹  and this sanctuary! ²²  Furthermore ²³  he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple ²⁴  and made this holy place ritually unclean!” ²⁵ 

Acts 22:22

The Roman Commander Questions Paul

22:22 The crowd ²⁶  was listening to him until he said this. ²⁷  Then ²⁸  they raised their voices and shouted, ²⁹  “Away with this man ³⁰  from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!” ³¹ 

Acts 28:22

28:22 But we would like to hear from you what you think, for regarding this sect we know ³²  that people ³³  everywhere speak against ³⁴  it.”

Acts 28:1

Paul on Malta

28:1 After we had safely reached shore, ³⁵  we learned that the island was called Malta. ³⁶ 

Acts 18:17-18

18:17 So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue, ³⁷  and began to beat ³⁸  him in front of the judgment seat. ³⁹  Yet none of these things were of any concern ⁴⁰  to Gallio.

Paul Returns to Antioch in Syria

18:18 Paul, after staying ⁴¹  many more days in Corinth, ⁴²  said farewell to ⁴³  the brothers and sailed away to Syria accompanied by ⁴⁴  Priscilla and Aquila. ⁴⁵  He ⁴⁶  had his hair cut off ⁴⁷  at Cenchrea ⁴⁸  because he had made a vow. ⁴⁹ 

Jeremiah 38:4

38:4 So these officials said to the king, “This man must be put to death. For he is demoralizing ⁵⁰  the soldiers who are left in the city as well as all the other people there by these things he is saying. ⁵¹  This ⁵²  man is not seeking to help these people but is trying to harm them.” ⁵³ 

Amos 7:10

Amos Confronts a Priest

7:10 Amaziah the priest of Bethel ⁵⁴  sent this message ⁵⁵  to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! ⁵⁶  The land cannot endure all his prophecies. ⁵⁷ 

Matthew 5:11-12

5:11 “Blessed are you when people ⁵⁸  insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely ⁵⁹  on account of me. 5:12 Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

Matthew 10:25

10:25 It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much more will they defame the members of his household!

Matthew 10:1

Sending Out the Twelve Apostles

10:1 Jesus ⁶⁰  called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits ⁶¹  so they could cast them out and heal every kind of disease and sickness. ⁶² 

Colossians 4:13

4:13 For I can testify that he has worked hard ⁶³  for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

[6:13]  ¹ sn This holy place is a reference to the temple.

[6:13]  ² 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.

[16:20]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn BDAG 309 s.v. ἐκταράσσω has “agitate, cause trouble to, throw into confusion” for the meaning of this verb.

[16:20]  ⁶ 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.

[16:21]  ⁷ tn Grk “proclaiming,” but in relation to customs, “advocating” is a closer approximation to the meaning.

[16:21]  ⁸ tn Or “acknowledge.”

[16:21]  ⁹ sn Customs that are not lawful for us to accept or practice. Ironically, the charges are similar to those made against Jesus in Luke 23:2, where Jews argued he was “twisting” their customs. The charge has three elements: (1) a racial element (Jewish); (2) a social element (unlawful); and (3) a traditional element (not their customs).

[16:21]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “we being Romans.” The participle οὖσιν (ousin) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[17:6]  ¹¹ tn See BDAG 977-78 s.v. σύρω on this verb. It was used in everyday speech of dragging in fish by a net, or dragging away someone’s (presumably) dead body (Paul in Acts 14:19).

[17:6]  ¹² tn L&N 37.93 defines πολιτάρχης (politarch") as “a public official responsible for administrative matters within a town or city and a member of the ruling council of such a political unit – ‘city official’” (see also BDAG 845 s.v.).

[17:6]  ¹³ tn Or “rebellion.” BDAG 72 s.v. ἀναστατόω has “disturb, trouble, upset,” but in light of the references in the following verse to political insurrection, “stirred up rebellion” would also be appropriate.

[17:6]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the empire.” This was a way of referring to the Roman empire (BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουμένη 2.b).

[17:7]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “whom.” Because of the awkwardness in English of having two relative clauses follow one another (“who have stirred up trouble…whom Jason has welcomed”) the relative pronoun here (“whom”) has been replaced by the conjunction “and,” creating a clause that is grammatically coordinate but logically subordinate in the translation.

[17:7]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and they.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[17:7]  ¹⁷ tn Or “the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[17:7]  ¹⁸ tn The word “named” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity.

[17:7]  ¹⁹ sn Acting…saying…Jesus. The charges are serious, involving sedition (Luke 23:2). If the political charges were true, Rome would have to react.

[21:28]  ²⁰ tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage since “the whole crowd” is mentioned in v. 27, although it can also be argued that these remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.

[21:28]  ²¹ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[21:28]  ²² tn Grk “this place.”

[21:28]  ²³ tn BDAG 400 s.v. ἔτι 2.b has “ἔ. δὲ καί furthermore…al. ἔ. τε καί…Lk 14:26; Ac 21:28.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek, but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

[21:28]  ²⁴ tn Grk “into the temple.” The specific reference is to the Court of the Sons of Israel (see the note following the term “unclean” at the end of this verse). To avoid giving the modern reader the impression that they entered the temple building itself, the phrase “the inner courts of the temple” has been used in the translation.

[21:28]  ²⁵ tn Or “and has defiled this holy place.”

[22:22]  ²⁶ tn Grk “They were listening”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:22]  ²⁷ tn Grk “until this word.”

[22:22]  ²⁸ tn Grk “And.” To indicate the logical sequence, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” here.

[22:22]  ²⁹ tn Grk “and said.”

[22:22]  ³⁰ tn Grk “this one.”

[22:22]  ³¹ tn BDAG 491 s.v. καθήκω has “to be appropriate, come/reach to, be proper/fitting…Usu. impers. καθήκει it comes (to someone)…foll. by acc. and inf….οὐ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν he should not be allowed to live Ac 22:22.”

[28:22]  ³² tn Grk “regarding this sect it is known to us.” The passive construction “it is known to us” has been converted to an active one to simplify the translation.

[28:22]  ³³ tn Grk “that everywhere it is spoken against.” To simplify the translation the passive construction “it is spoken against” has been converted to an active one with the subject “people” supplied.

[28:22]  ³⁴ tn On the term translated “speak against,” see BDAG 89 s.v. ἀντιλέγω 1.

[28:1]  ³⁵ tn Grk “We having been brought safely through” [to land] (same verb as 27:44). The word “shore” is implied, and the slight variations in translation from 27:44 have been made to avoid redundancy in English. The participle διασωθέντες (diaswqente") has been taken temporally.

[28:1]  ³⁶ sn Malta is an island (known by the same name today) in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sicily. The ship had traveled 625 mi (1,000 km) in the storm.

[18:17]  ³⁷ tn That is, “the official in charge of the synagogue”; ἀρχισυνάγωγος (arcisunagwgo") refers to the “leader/president of a synagogue” (so BDAG 139 s.v. and L&N 53.93).

[18:17]  ³⁸ tn The imperfect verb ἔτυπτον (etupton) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[18:17]  ³⁹ sn See the note on the term judgment seat in 18:12.

[18:17]  ⁴⁰ tn L&N 25.223 has “‘none of these things were of any concern to Gallio’ Ac 18:17.”

[18:18]  ⁴¹ tn The participle προσμείνας (prosmeina") is taken temporally.

[18:18]  ⁴² map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

[18:18]  ⁴³ tn Or “Corinth, took leave of.” Grk “saying farewell to”; the participle ἀποταξάμενος (apotaxameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[18:18]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “Syria, and with him.”

[18:18]  ⁴⁵ sn See the note on Aquila in 18:2.

[18:18]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “Aquila, who.” The relationship of the participle κειράμενος (keirameno") is difficult to determine. Traditionally it is taken to refer to Paul, meaning that Paul had his hair cut off because of the vow. However, due to the proximity of the noun ᾿Ακύλας (Akula") and the reversal of the normal order (Aquila and Priscilla, Acts 17:34), the participle is taken as adjectival referring to Aquila by H. Greeven, TDNT 2:777, n. 11. The later references to Paul in Jerusalem (Acts 21:23) do not resolve the problem, because the cutting of Paul’s own hair, while it may be implied, is not specifically mentioned in connection with the completion of the vows made by the other four.

[18:18]  ⁴⁷ tn The word “off” is supplied in the translation to indicate that this was not a normal haircut, but the shaving of the head connected with taking the vow (see Acts 21:24).

[18:18]  ⁴⁸ tn That is, “before he sailed from Cenchrea.”

[18:18]  ⁴⁹ sn He had made a vow. It is debated whether this vow is a private vow of thanksgiving or the Nazirite vow, because it is not clear whether the Nazirite vow could be taken outside Jerusalem. Some have cited the Mishnah (m. Nazir 3:6, 5:4) to argue that the shaving of the hair can occur outside Jerusalem, and Josephus, J. W. 2.15.1 (2.313) is sometimes suggested as a parallel, but these references are not clear. H. Greeven, TDNT 2:777, is certain that this refers to the Nazirite vow. Regardless, it is clear that Paul reflected his pious dependence on God.

[38:4]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “weakening the hands of.” For this idiom see BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Pi. and compare the usage in Isa 13:7; Ezek 21:7 (21:12 HT).

[38:4]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “by saying these things.”

[38:4]  ⁵² tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) has not been rendered here because it is introducing a parallel causal clause to the preceding one. To render “For” might be misunderstood as a grounds for the preceding statement. To render “And” or “Moreover” sounds a little odd here. If it must be represented, “Moreover” is perhaps the best rendering.

[38:4]  ⁵³ tn Or “is not looking out for these people’s best interests but is really trying to do them harm”; Heb “is not seeking the welfare [or “well-being”; Hebrew shalom] of this people but [their] harm [more literally, evil].”

[7:10]  ⁵⁴ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:10]  ⁵⁵ tn The direct object of the verb translated “sent” is elided in the Hebrew text. The words “this message” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “in the middle of the house of Israel.”

[7:10]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “words.”

[5:11]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “when they insult you.” The third person pronoun (here implied in the verb ὀνειδίσωσιν [ojneidiswsin]) has no specific referent, but refers to people in general.

[5:11]  ⁵⁹ tc Although ψευδόμενοι (yeudomenoi, “bearing witness falsely”) could be a motivated reading, clarifying that the disciples are unjustly persecuted, its lack in only D it sy^s Tert does not help its case. Since the Western text is known for numerous free alterations, without corroborative evidence the shorter reading must be judged as secondary.

[10:1]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “And he.”

[10:1]  ⁶¹ sn Unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.

[10:1]  ⁶² tn Grk “and every [kind of] sickness.” Here “every” was not repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:13]  ⁶³ tn Grk “pain.” This word appears only three times in the NT outside of this verse (Rev 16:10, 11; 21:4) where the translation “pain” makes sense. For the present verse it has been translated “worked hard.” See BDAG 852 s.v. πόνος 1.