Acts 7:20

7:20 At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful ¹  to God. For ²  three months he was brought up in his father’s house,

Acts 19:8

Paul Continues to Minister at Ephesus

19:8 So Paul ³  entered ⁴  the synagogue ⁵  and spoke out fearlessly ⁶  for three months, addressing ⁷  and convincing ⁸  them about the kingdom of God. ⁹ 

Acts 20:3

20:3 where he stayed ¹⁰  for three months. Because the Jews had made ¹¹  a plot ¹²  against him as he was intending ¹³  to sail ¹⁴  for Syria, he decided ¹⁵  to return through Macedonia. ¹⁶ 

[7:20]  ¹ tn Or “was well-formed before God,” or “was well-pleasing to God” (BDAG 145 s.v. ἀστεῖος suggests the meaning is more like “well-bred” as far as God was concerned; see Exod 2:2).

[7:20]  ² tn Grk “who was brought up for three months.” The continuation of the sentence as a relative clause is awkward in English, so a new sentence was started in the translation by changing the relative pronoun to a regular pronoun (“he”).

[19:8]  ³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:8]  ⁴ tn Grk “So entering the synagogue, he spoke out fearlessly.” The participle εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:8]  ⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[19:8]  ⁶ tn Or “boldly.”

[19:8]  ⁷ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 19:8. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[19:8]  ⁸ tn Or “addressing them persuasively.” The two participles διαλεγόμενος and πείθων (dialegomeno" and peiqwn) can be understood as a hendiadys (so NIV, NRSV), thus, “addressing them persuasively.”

[19:8]  ⁹ sn To talk about Jesus as the Christ who has come is to talk about the kingdom of God. This is yet another summary of the message like that in 18:28.

[20:3]  ⁵ tn BDAG 841 s.v. ποιέω 5.c, “w. an acc. of time spend, stay.”

[20:3]  ⁶ tn The participle βενομένης (benomenh") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle. L&N 30.71 has “ἐπιβουλῆς αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων ‘because the Jews had made a plot against him’ Ac 20:3.”

[20:3]  ⁷ sn This plot is one of several noted by Luke (Acts 9:20; 20:19; 23:30).

[20:3]  ⁸ tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”

[20:3]  ⁹ tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4 gives “put out to sea” here (as a nautical technical term). However, since the English expression “put out to sea” could be understood to mean Paul was already aboard the ship (which is not clear from the context), the simpler expression “sail” is used at this point in the translation.

[20:3]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 199 s.v. γίνομαι 7 has “ἐγένετο γνώμης he decided Ac 20:3.”

[20:3]  ¹¹ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.