Acts 7:51

7:51 “You stubborn ¹  people, with uncircumcised ²  hearts and ears! ³  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors ⁴  did!

Acts 10:23

10:23 So Peter ⁵  invited them in and entertained them as guests.

On the next day he got up and set out ⁶  with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa ⁷  accompanied him.

Acts 15:17

15:17 so that the rest of humanity ⁸  may seek the Lord,

namely, ⁹  all the Gentiles ¹⁰  I have called to be my own,’ ¹¹  says the Lord, ¹²  who makes these things

Acts 17:17

17:17 So he was addressing ¹³  the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles ¹⁴  in the synagogue, ¹⁵  and in the marketplace every day ¹⁶  those who happened to be there.

Acts 25:5

25:5 “So,” he said, “let your leaders ¹⁷  go down there ¹⁸  with me, and if this man has done anything wrong, ¹⁹  they may bring charges ²⁰  against him.”

[7:51]  ¹ sn Traditionally, “stiff-necked people.” Now the critique begins in earnest.

[7:51]  ² tn The term ἀπερίτμητοι (aperitmhtoi, “uncircumcised”) is a NT hapax legomenon (occurs only once). See BDAG 101-2 s.v. ἀπερίτμητος and Isa 52:1.

[7:51]  ³ tn Or “You stubborn and obstinate people!” (The phrase “uncircumcised hearts and ears” is another figure for stubbornness.)

[7:51]  ⁴ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[10:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:23]  ⁶ tn Or “went forth.”

[10:23]  ⁷ sn Some of the brothers from Joppa. As v. 45 makes clear, there were Jewish Christians in this group of witnesses.

[15:17]  ⁹ tn Or “so that all other people.” The use of this term follows Amos 9:11 LXX.

[15:17]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) introduces an explanatory clause that explains the preceding phrase “the rest of humanity.” The clause introduced by καί (kai) could also be punctuated in English as a parenthesis.

[15:17]  ¹¹ tn Or “all the nations” (in Greek the word for “nation” and “Gentile” is the same).

[15:17]  ¹² tn Grk “all the Gentiles on whom my name has been called.” Based on well-attested OT usage, the passive of ἐπικαλέω (epikalew) here indicates God’s ownership (“all the Gentiles who belong to me”) or calling (“all the Gentiles whom I have called to be my own”). See L&N 11.28.

[15:17]  ¹³ sn A quotation from Amos 9:11-12 LXX. James demonstrated a high degree of cultural sensitivity when he cited a version of the text (the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament) that Gentiles would use.

[17:17]  ¹³ 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 17:17. 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.

[17:17]  ¹⁴ tn Or “and the devout,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44, and the note on the phrase “God-fearing Greeks” in 17:4.

[17:17]  ¹⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[17:17]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[25:5]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “let those who are influential among you” (i.e., the powerful).

[25:5]  ¹⁸ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[25:5]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and if there is anything wrong with this man,” but this could be misunderstood in English to mean a moral or physical defect, while the issue in context is the commission of some crime, something legally improper (BDAG 149 s.v. ἄτοπος 2).

[25:5]  ²⁰ tn BDAG 533 s.v. κατηγορέω 1 states, “nearly always as legal t.t.: bring charges in court.” L&N 33.427 states for κατηγορέω, “to bring serious charges or accusations against someone, with the possible connotation of a legal or court context – ‘to accuse, to bring charges.”