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 9:13

9:13 But Ananias replied, ³  “Lord, I have heard from many people ⁴  about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem,

Acts 25:25

25:25 But I found that he had done nothing that deserved death, ⁵  and when he appealed ⁶  to His Majesty the Emperor, ⁷  I decided to send him. ⁸ 

[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.

[9:13]  ³ sn Ananias replied. Past events might have suggested to Ananias that this was not good counsel, but like Peter in Acts 10, Ananias’ intuitions were wrong.

[9:13]  ⁴ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[25:25]  ⁵ sn He had done nothing that deserved death. Festus’ opinion of Paul’s guilt is like Pilate’s of Jesus (Luke 23:4, 14, 22).

[25:25]  ⁶ tn The participle ἐπικαλεσαμένου (epikalesamenou) has been taken temporally. It could also be translated as causal: “and because he appealed…”

[25:25]  ⁷ tn A designation of the Roman emperor (in this case, Nero). BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός states, “ὁ Σεβαστός His Majesty the Emperor Ac 25:21, 25 (of Nero).”

[25:25]  ⁸ tn The word “him” 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.