Acts 7:40

7:40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go in front of us, for this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt ¹  – we do not know what has happened to him!’ ² 

Acts 7:49-50

7:49 ‘Heaven is my throne,

and earth is the footstool for my feet.

What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,

or what is my resting place? ³ 

7:50 Did my hand ⁴  not make all these things?’ ⁵ 

Acts 11:5

11:5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, ⁶  an object something like a large sheet descending, ⁷  being let down from heaven ⁸  by its four corners, and it came to me.

Acts 20:5

20:5 These had gone on ahead ⁹  and were waiting for us in Troas. ¹⁰ 

Acts 20:33

20:33 I have desired ¹¹  no one’s silver or gold or clothing.

Acts 21:39

21:39 Paul answered, ¹²  “I am a Jew ¹³  from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. ¹⁴  Please ¹⁵  allow me to speak to the people.”

Acts 25:26

25:26 But I have nothing definite ¹⁶  to write to my lord ¹⁷  about him. ¹⁸  Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, ¹⁹  so that after this preliminary hearing ²⁰  I may have something to write.

Acts 26:10

26:10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received ²¹  from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote ²²  against them when they were sentenced to death. ²³ 

Acts 26:14

26:14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ²⁴  ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself ²⁵  by kicking against the goads.’ ²⁶ 

Acts 26:29

26:29 Paul replied, “I pray to God that whether in a short or a long time ²⁷  not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains.” ²⁸ 

Acts 27:18

27:18 The next day, because we were violently battered by the storm, ²⁹  they began throwing the cargo overboard, ³⁰ 

Acts 27:26

27:26 But we must ³¹  run aground on some island.”

Acts 28:12

28:12 We put in ³²  at Syracuse ³³  and stayed there three days.

[7:40]  ¹ tn Or simply “of Egypt.” The phrase “the land of” could be omitted as unnecessary or redundant.

[7:40]  ² sn A quotation from Exod 32:1, 23. Doubt (we do not know what has happened to him) expresses itself in unfaithful action. The act is in contrast to God’s promise in Exod 23:20.

[7:49]  ³ sn What kind…resting place? The rhetorical questions suggest mere human beings cannot build a house to contain God.

[7:50]  ⁵ tn Or “Did I.” The phrase “my hand” is ultimately a metaphor for God himself.

[7:50]  ⁶ tn The question in Greek introduced with οὐχί (ouci) expects a positive reply.

[11:5]  ⁷ tn This term describes a supernatural vision and reflects a clear distinction from something imagined (BDAG 718 s.v. ὅραμα 1). Peter repeated the story virtually word for word through v. 13. The repetition with this degree of detail shows the event’s importance.

[11:5]  ⁸ tn Or “coming down.”

[11:5]  ⁹ tn Or “the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[20:5]  ⁹ tn Grk “These, having gone on ahead, were waiting.” The participle προελθόντες (proelqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[20:5]  ¹⁰ sn Troas was a port city (and surrounding region) on the northwest coast of Asia Minor.

[20:33]  ¹¹ tn Traditionally, “coveted.” BDAG 371 s.v. ἐπιθυμέω 1 has “to have a strong desire to do or secure someth., desire, long for w. gen. of the thing desired…silver, gold, clothing Ac 20:33.” The traditional term “covet” is not in common usage and difficult for many modern English readers to understand. The statement affirms Paul’s integrity. He was not doing this for personal financial gain.

[21:39]  ¹³ tn Grk “said.”

[21:39]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

[21:39]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “of a not insignificant city.” The double negative, common in Greek, is awkward in English and has been replaced by a corresponding positive expression (BDAG 142 s.v. ἄσημος 1).

[21:39]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “I beg you.”

[25:26]  ¹⁵ sn There is irony here. How can Festus write anything definite about Paul, if he is guilty of nothing.

[25:26]  ¹⁶ sn To my lord means “to His Majesty the Emperor.”

[25:26]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “about whom I have nothing definite…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced with a personal pronoun (“him”) and a new sentence begun in the translation at the beginning of v. 26.

[25:26]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[25:26]  ¹⁹ tn Or “investigation.” BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνάκρισις has “a judicial hearing, investigation, hearing, esp. preliminary hearing…τῆς ἀ. γενομένης Ac 25:26.” This is technical legal language.

[26:10]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “by receiving authority.” The participle λαβών (labwn) has been taken instrumentally.

[26:10]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “cast down a pebble against them.” L&N 30.103 states, “(an idiom, Grk ‘to bring a pebble against someone,’ a reference to a white or black pebble used in voting for or against someone) to make known one’s choice against someone – ‘to vote against.’ …‘when they were sentenced to death, I also voted against them’ Ac 26:10.”

[26:10]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “when they were being executed”; but the context supports the sentencing rather than the execution itself (cf. L&N 30.103).

[26:14]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “in the Hebrew language.” See Acts 22:7 and 9:4.

[26:14]  ²⁰ tn Grk “It is hard for you.”

[26:14]  ²¹ tn “Goads” are pointed sticks used to direct a draft animal (an idiom for stubborn resistance). See BDAG 539-40 s.v. κέντρον 2.

[26:29]  ²¹ tn BDAG 703 s.v. ὀλίγος 2.b.β has “καὶ ἐν ὀλ. καὶ ἐν μεγάλῳ whether in a short or a long time vs. 29 (cf. B-D-F §195; GWhitaker, The Words of Agrippa to St. Paul: JTS 15, 1914, 82f; AFridrichsen, SymbOsl 14, ’35, 50; Field, Notes 141-43; s. Rob. 653).”

[26:29]  ²² sn Except for these chains. The chains represented Paul’s unjust suffering for the sake of the message. His point was, in effect, “I do not care how long it takes. I only hope you and everyone else hearing this would become believers in Christ, but without my unjust suffering.”

[27:18]  ²³ tn BDAG 980 s.v. σφόδρῶς states, “very much, greatly, violently…σφ. χειμάζεσθαι be violently beaten by a storm Ac 27:18.”

[27:18]  ²⁴ tn Or “jettisoning [the cargo]” (a nautical technical term). The words “the cargo” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[27:26]  ²⁵ tn This is another use of δεῖ (dei) to indicate necessity (see also v. 24). Acts 28:1 shows the fulfillment of this.

[28:12]  ²⁷ tn Grk “And putting in.” The participle καταχθέντες (katacqente") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. On the meaning of the participle, BDAG 516 s.v. κατάγω states, “Hence the pass., in act. sense, of ships and seafarers put in εἴς τι at a harbor…εἰς Συρακούσας Ac 28:12.” 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.

[28:12]  ²⁸ sn Syracuse was a city on the eastern coast of the island of Sicily. It was 75 mi (120 km) from Malta.