Acts 6:3

6:3 But carefully select from among you, brothers, ¹  seven ²  men who are well-attested, ³  full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge ⁴  of this necessary task. ⁵ 

Acts 12:15

12:15 But they said to her, “You’ve lost your mind!” ⁶  But she kept insisting that it was Peter, ⁷  and they kept saying, ⁸  “It is his angel!” ⁹ 

Acts 13:39

13:39 and by this one ¹⁰  everyone who believes is justified ¹¹  from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify ¹²  you. ¹³ 

Acts 17:32

17:32 Now when they heard about ¹⁴  the resurrection from the dead, some began to scoff, ¹⁵  but others said, “We will hear you again about this.”

[6:3]  ¹ tn It is not clear from a historical standpoint (but it is unlikely) that women would have been involved in the selection process too. For this reason the translation “brothers” has been retained, rather than “brothers and sisters” (used in contexts where both male and female believers are clearly addressed).

[6:3]  ² sn Seven. Jewish town councils often had seven members (Josephus, Ant. 4.18.14 [4.214]).

[6:3]  ³ tn Or “are of good reputation” (BDAG 618 s.v. μαρτυρέω 2.b).

[6:3]  ⁴ tn The translation “put in charge” is given by BDAG 492 s.v. καθίστημι 2.

[6:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “of this need”; translated “necessary work” or “needed task” by L&N 42.22.

[12:15]  ⁶ sn “You’ve lost your mind!” Such a response to the miraculous is not unusual in Luke-Acts. See Luke 24:11; Acts 26:25. The term μαίνομαι (mainomai) can have the idea of being “raving mad” or “totally irrational” (BDAG 610 s.v.). It is a strong expression.

[12:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “she kept insisting that the situation was thus” (cf. BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 10.a). Most translations supply a less awkward English phrase like “it was so”; the force of her insistence, however, is that “it was Peter,” which was the point under dispute.

[12:15]  ⁸ tn The two imperfect tense verbs, διϊσχυρίζετο (diiscurizeto) and ἔλεγον (elegon), are both taken iteratively. The picture is thus virtually a shouting match between Rhoda and the rest of the believers.

[12:15]  ⁹ sn The assumption made by those inside, “It is his angel,” seems to allude to the idea of an attending angel (cf. Gen 48:16 LXX; Matt 18:10; Test. Jacob 1:10).

[13:39]  ¹¹ sn This one refers here to Jesus.

[13:39]  ¹² tn Or “is freed.” The translation of δικαιωθῆναι (dikaiwqhnai) and δικαιοῦται (dikaioutai) in Acts 13:38-39 is difficult. BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 3 categorizes δικαιωθῆναι in 13:38 (Greek text) under the meaning “make free/pure” but categorizes δικαιοῦται in Acts 13:39 as “be found in the right, be free of charges” (BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 2.b.β). In the interest of consistency both verbs are rendered as “justified” in this translation.

[13:39]  ¹³ tn Or “could not free.”

[13:39]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation, with “by the law of Moses” becoming the subject of the final clause. The words “from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify you” are part of v. 38 in the Greek text, but due to English style and word order must be placed in v. 39 in the translation.

[17:32]  ¹⁶ tn The participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") has been taken temporally.

[17:32]  ¹⁷ tn L&N 33.408 has “some scoffed (at him) Ac 17:32” for ἐχλεύαζον (ecleuazon) here; the imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to scoff”).