Acts 7:38

7:38 This is the man who was in the congregation ¹  in the wilderness ²  with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors, ³  and he ⁴  received living oracles ⁵  to give to you. ⁶ 

Acts 11:19

Activity in the Church at Antioch

11:19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen ⁷  went as far as ⁸  Phoenicia, ⁹  Cyprus, ¹⁰  and Antioch, ¹¹  speaking the message ¹²  to no one but Jews.

Acts 13:1

The Church at Antioch Commissions Barnabas and Saul

13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: ¹³  Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, ¹⁴  Lucius the Cyrenian, ¹⁵  Manaen (a close friend of Herod ¹⁶  the tetrarch ¹⁷  from childhood ¹⁸ ) and Saul.

Acts 15:36

Paul and Barnabas Part Company

15:36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return ¹⁹  and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord ²⁰  to see how they are doing.” ²¹ 

Acts 17:11

17:11 These Jews ²²  were more open-minded ²³  than those in Thessalonica, ²⁴  for they eagerly ²⁵  received ²⁶  the message, examining ²⁷  the scriptures carefully every day ²⁸  to see if these things were so.

Acts 18:27

18:27 When Apollos ²⁹  wanted to cross over to Achaia, ³⁰  the brothers encouraged ³¹  him ³²  and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he ³³  assisted greatly those who had believed by grace,

Acts 19:4

19:4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, ³⁴  that is, in Jesus.”

Acts 26:11

26:11 I punished ³⁵  them often in all the synagogues ³⁶  and tried to force ³⁷  them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged ³⁸  at them, I went to persecute ³⁹  them even in foreign cities.

Acts 28:4

28:4 When the local people ⁴⁰  saw the creature hanging from Paul’s ⁴¹  hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice herself ⁴²  has not allowed him to live!” ⁴³ 

[7:38]  ¹ tn This term, ἐκκλησία (ekklhsia), is a secular use of the term that came to mean “church” in the epistles. Here a reference to an assembly is all that is intended.

[7:38]  ² tn Or “desert.”

[7:38]  ³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:38]  ⁴ tn Grk “fathers, who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he” and a new clause introduced by “and” was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.

[7:38]  ⁵ tn Or “messages.” This is an allusion to the law given to Moses.

[7:38]  ⁶ tc ‡ The first person pronoun ἡμῖν (Jhmin, “to us”) is read by A C D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï lat sy, while the second person pronoun ὑμῖν (Jumin, “to you”) is read by Ì⁷⁴ א B 36 453 al co. The second person pronoun thus has significantly better external support. As well, ὑμῖν is a harder reading in this context, both because it is surrounded by first person pronouns and because Stephen perhaps “does not wish to disassociate himself from those who received God’s revelation in the past, but only from those who misinterpreted and disobeyed that revelation” (TCGNT 307). At the same time, Stephen does associate himself to some degree with his disobedient ancestors in v. 39, suggesting that the decisive break does not really come until v. 51 (where both his present audience and their ancestors are viewed as rebellious). Thus, both externally and internally ὑμῖν is the preferred reading.

[11:19]  ⁷ sn The phrase over Stephen means in connection with Stephen’s death. See Acts 8:1b-3.

[11:19]  ⁸ tn Or “finally reached.” The translations “went as far as” and “finally reached” for διῆλθον (dihlqon) in this verse are given in L&N 15.17.

[11:19]  ⁹ sn Phoenicia was an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine.

[11:19]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and Cyprus,” 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.

[11:19]  ¹¹ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). This was probably the third largest city in the Greco-Roman world (Alexandria in Egypt was the second largest, and Rome the largest) and was the seat of government in Syria. Five miles away was a major temple to Artemis, Apollo, and Astarte, major pagan deities.

[11:19]  ¹² tn Grk “word.”

[13:1]  ¹³ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).

[13:1]  ¹⁴ sn Simeon may well have been from North Africa, since the Latin loanword Niger refers to someone as “dark-complexioned.”

[13:1]  ¹⁵ sn The Cyrenian refers to a native of the city of Cyrene, on the coast of northern Africa west of Egypt.

[13:1]  ¹⁶ sn Herod is generally taken as a reference to Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee from 4 b.c. to a.d. 39, who had John the Baptist beheaded, and who is mentioned a number of times in the gospels.

[13:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “the governor.”

[13:1]  ¹⁸ tn Or “(a foster brother of Herod the tetrarch).” The meaning “close friend from childhood” is given by L&N 34.15, but the word can also mean “foster brother” (L&N 10.51). BDAG 976 s.v. σύντροφας states, “pert. to being brought up with someone, either as a foster-brother or as a companion/friend,” which covers both alternatives. Context does not given enough information to be certain which is the case here, although many modern translations prefer the meaning “close friend from childhood.”

[15:36]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Returning let us visit.” The participle ἐπιστρέψαντες (epistreyante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[15:36]  ²⁰ tn See the note on the phrase “word of the Lord” in v. 35.

[15:36]  ²¹ tn BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 10.b has “how they are” for this phrase.

[17:11]  ²⁵ tn Grk “These”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue at Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:11]  ²⁶ tn Or “more willing to learn.” L&N 27.48 and BDAG 404 s.v. εὐγενής 2 both use the term “open-minded” here. The point is that they were more receptive to Paul’s message.

[17:11]  ²⁷ sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).

[17:11]  ²⁸ tn Or “willingly,” “readily”; Grk “with all eagerness.”

[17:11]  ²⁹ tn Grk “who received.” Here the relative pronoun (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“they”) preceded by a semicolon, which is less awkward in contemporary English than a relative clause at this point.

[17:11]  ³⁰ tn This verb (BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω 1) refers to careful examination.

[17:11]  ³¹ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[18:27]  ³¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Apollos) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:27]  ³² sn To cross over to Achaia. Achaia was organized by the Romans as a separate province in 27 b.c. and was located across the Aegean Sea from Ephesus. The city of Corinth was in Achaia.

[18:27]  ³³ tn Grk “encouraging [him], the brothers wrote.” The participle προτρεψάμενοι (protreyamenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. This was the typical letter of commendation from the Ephesians to the Achaeans.

[18:27]  ³⁴ 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.

[18:27]  ³⁵ tn Grk “who, when he arrived.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was replaced with the pronoun “he” and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[19:4]  ³⁷ sn These disciples may have had their contact with John early on in the Baptist’s ministry before Jesus had emerged. This is the fifth time Luke links John the Baptist and Jesus (Acts 1:5; 11:16; 13:25; 18:25).

[26:11]  ⁴³ tn Grk “and punishing…I tried.” The participle τιμωρῶν (timwrwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. 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.

[26:11]  ⁴⁴ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[26:11]  ⁴⁵ tn The imperfect verb ἠνάγκαζον (hnankazon) has been translated as a conative imperfect (so BDAG 60 s.v. ἀναγκάζω 1, which has “ἠνάγκαζον βλασφημεῖν I tried to force them to blaspheme Ac 26:11”).

[26:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “was so insanely angry with them.” BDAG 322 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι states, “to be filled with such anger that one appears to be mad, be enraged…περισσῶς ἐμμαινόμενος αὐτοῖς being furiously enraged at them Ac 26:11”; L&N 88.182 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι, “to be so furiously angry with someone as to be almost out of one’s mind – ‘to be enraged, to be infuriated, to be insanely angry’ …‘I was so infuriated with them that I even went to foreign cities to persecute them’ Ac 26:11.”

[26:11]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “I pursued them even as far as foreign cities.”

[28:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Although this is literally βάρβαροι (barbaroi; “foreigners, barbarians”) used for non-Greek or non-Romans, as BDAG 166 s.v. βάρβαρος 2.b notes, “Of the inhabitants of Malta, who apparently spoke in their native language Ac 28:2, 4 (here β. certainly without derogatory tone…).”

[28:4]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ⁵¹ tn That is, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live. BDAG 250 s.v. δίκη 2 states, “Justice personified as a deity Ac 28:4”; L&N 12.27, “a goddess who personifies justice in seeking out and punishing the guilty – ‘the goddess Justice.’ ἡ δίκη ζῆν οὐκ εἴασεν ‘the goddess Justice would not let him live’ Ac 28:4.” Although a number of modern English translations have rendered δίκη (dikh) “justice,” preferring to use an abstraction, in the original setting it is almost certainly a reference to a pagan deity. In the translation, the noun “justice” was capitalized and the reflexive pronoun “herself” was supplied to make the personification clear. This was considered preferable to supplying a word like ‘goddess’ in connection with δίκη.

[28:4]  ⁵² sn The entire scene is played out initially as a kind of oracle from the gods resulting in the judgment of a guilty person (Justice herself has not allowed him to live). Paul’s survival of this incident without ill effects thus spoke volumes about his innocence.