Acts 7:53

7:53 You ¹  received the law by decrees given by angels, ²  but you did not obey ³  it.” ⁴ 

Acts 28:16

28:16 When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live ⁵  by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.

Acts 12:4

12:4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads ⁶  of soldiers to guard him. Herod ⁷  planned ⁸  to bring him out for public trial ⁹  after the Passover.

Acts 16:4

16:4 As they went through the towns, ¹⁰  they passed on ¹¹  the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem ¹²  for the Gentile believers ¹³  to obey. ¹⁴ 

Acts 21:25

21:25 But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided ¹⁵  that they should avoid ¹⁶  meat that has been sacrificed to idols ¹⁷  and blood and what has been strangled ¹⁸  and sexual immorality.”

Acts 23:35

23:35 he said, “I will give you a hearing ¹⁹  when your accusers arrive too.” Then ²⁰  he ordered that Paul ²¹  be kept under guard in Herod’s palace. ²² 

Acts 21:24

21:24 take them and purify ²³  yourself along with them and pay their expenses, ²⁴  so that they may have their heads shaved. ²⁵  Then ²⁶  everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told ²⁷  about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with ²⁸  the law. ²⁹ 

Acts 22:20

22:20 And when the blood of your witness ³⁰  Stephen was shed, ³¹  I myself was standing nearby, approving, ³²  and guarding the cloaks ³³  of those who were killing him.’ ³⁴ 

[7:53]  ¹ tn Grk “whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, who received the law” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the pronoun “You” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.

[7:53]  ² tn Traditionally, “as ordained by angels,” but εἰς (eis) with the accusative here should be understood as instrumental (a substitute for ἐν [en]); so BDAG 291 s.v. εἰς 9, BDF §206. Thus the phrase literally means “received the law by the decrees [orders] of angels” with the genitive understood as a subjective genitive, that is, the angels gave the decrees.

[7:53]  ³ tn The Greek word φυλάσσω (fulassw, traditionally translated “keep”) in this context connotes preservation of and devotion to an object as well as obedience.

[7:53]  ⁴ tn Or “did not obey it.”

[28:16]  ⁵ tn Or “to stay.”

[12:4]  ⁹ sn Four squads of soldiers. Each squad was a detachment of four soldiers.

[12:4]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “guard him, planning to bring him out.” The Greek construction continues with a participle (βουλόμενος, boulomeno") and an infinitive (ἀναγαγεῖν, anagagein), but this creates an awkward and lengthy sentence in English. Thus a reference to Herod was introduced as subject and the participle translated as a finite verb (“Herod planned”).

[12:4]  ¹¹ tn Or “intended”; Grk “wanted.”

[12:4]  ¹² tn Grk “to bring him out to the people,” but in this context a public trial (with certain condemnation as the result) is doubtless what Herod planned. L&N 15.176 translates this phrase “planning to bring him up for a public trial after the Passover.”

[16:4]  ¹³ tn Or “cities.”

[16:4]  ¹⁴ tn BDAG 762-63 s.v. παραδίδωμι 3 has “they handed down to them the decisions to observe Ac 16:4.”

[16:4]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[16:4]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “for them”; the referent (Gentile believers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:4]  ¹⁷ tn Or “observe” or “follow.”

[21:25]  ¹⁷ tn L&N 13.154 has “‘having decided that they must keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from an animal that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality’ Ac 21:25.”

[21:25]  ¹⁸ tn This is a different Greek word than the one used in Acts 15:20, 29. BDAG 1068 s.v. φυλάσσω 3 has “to be on one’s guard against, look out for, avoid…w. acc. of pers. or thing avoided…Ac 21:25.” The Greek word used in Acts 15:20, 29 is ἀπέχω (apecw). The difference in meaning, although slight, has been maintained in the translation.

[21:25]  ¹⁹ tn There is no specific semantic component in the Greek word εἰδωλόθυτος that means “meat” (see BDAG 280 s.v. εἰδωλόθυτος; L&N 5.15). The stem –θυτος means “sacrifice” (referring to an animal sacrificially killed) and thereby implies meat.

[21:25]  ²⁰ sn What has been strangled. That is, to refrain from eating animals that had been killed without having the blood drained from them. According to the Mosaic law (Lev 17:13-14) Jews were forbidden to eat flesh with the blood still in it (note the preceding provision in this verse, and blood).

[23:35]  ²¹ tn Or “I will hear your case.” BDAG 231 s.v. διακούω has “as legal t.t. give someone an opportunity to be heard in court, give someone (τινός) a hearing Ac 23:35”; L&N 56.13 has “to give a judicial hearing in a legal matter – ‘to hear a case, to provide a legal hearing, to hear a case in court.’”

[23:35]  ²² tn Grk “ordering.” The participle κελεύσας (keleusas) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun here due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence. “Then” has also been supplied to indicate the logical and temporal sequence.

[23:35]  ²³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:35]  ²⁴ sn Herod’s palace (Grk “Herod’s praetorium”) was the palace built in Caesarea by Herod the Great. See Josephus, Ant. 15.9.6 (15.331). These events belong to the period of a.d. 56-57.

[21:24]  ²⁵ sn That is, undergo ritual cleansing. Paul’s cleansing would be necessary because of his travels in “unclean” Gentile territory. This act would represent a conciliatory gesture. Paul would have supported a “law-free” mission to the Gentiles as an option, but this gesture would represent an attempt to be sensitive to the Jews (1 Cor 9:15-22).

[21:24]  ²⁶ tn L&N 57.146 has “δαπάνησον ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ‘pay their expenses’ Ac 21:24.”

[21:24]  ²⁷ tn The future middle indicative has causative force here. BDAG 686 s.v. ξυράω has “mid. have oneself shaved…τὴν κεφαλήν have one’s head shaved…Ac 21:24.”

[21:24]  ²⁸ tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[21:24]  ²⁹ tn The verb here describes a report or some type of information (BDAG 534 s.v. κατηχέω 1).

[21:24]  ³⁰ tn Grk “adhere to the keeping of the law.” L&N 41.12 has “στοιχέω: to live in conformity with some presumed standard or set of customs – ‘to live, to behave in accordance with.’”

[21:24]  ³¹ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[22:20]  ²⁹ sn Now Paul referred to Stephen as your witness, and he himself had also become a witness. The reversal was now complete; the opponent had now become a proponent.

[22:20]  ³⁰ sn When the blood of your witness Stephen was shed means “when your witness Stephen was murdered.”

[22:20]  ³¹ tn Grk “and approving.” This 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.

[22:20]  ³² tn Or “outer garments.”

[22:20]  ³³ tn Or “who were putting him to death.” For the translation of ἀναιρούντων (anairountwn) as “putting to death” see BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω 2.