Acts 8:31

8:31 The man ¹  replied, “How in the world can I, ²  unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

Acts 10:32

10:32 Therefore send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. This man is staying as a guest in the house of Simon the tanner, ³  by the sea.’

Acts 17:34

17:34 But some people ⁴  joined him ⁵  and believed. Among them ⁶  were Dionysius, who was a member of the Areopagus, ⁷  a woman ⁸  named Damaris, and others with them.

Acts 21:3

21:3 After we sighted Cyprus ⁹  and left it behind on our port side, ¹⁰  we sailed on to Syria and put in ¹¹  at Tyre, ¹²  because the ship was to unload its cargo there.

Acts 23:19

23:19 The commanding officer ¹³  took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, “What is it that you want ¹⁴  to report to me?”

Acts 27:13

27:13 When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought ¹⁵  they could carry out ¹⁶  their purpose, so they weighed anchor ¹⁷  and sailed close along the coast ¹⁸  of Crete.

[8:31]  ¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:31]  ² tn Grk “How am I able, unless…” The translation is based on the force of the conjunction γάρ (gar) in this context. The translation “How in the world can I?” is given in BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 1.f.

[10:32]  ³ tn Or “with a certain Simon Berseus.” Although most modern English translations treat βυρσεῖ (bursei) as Simon’s profession (“Simon the tanner”), it is possible that the word is actually Simon’s surname (“Simon Berseus” or “Simon Tanner”). BDAG 185 s.v. βυρσεύς regards it as a surname.

[17:34]  ⁵ tn Although the Greek word here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which normally refers to males, husbands, etc., in this particular context it must have a generic force similar to that of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), since “a woman named Damaris” is mentioned specifically as being part of this group (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. ἀνήρ 1.a).

[17:34]  ⁶ tn Grk “joining him, believed.” The participle κολληθέντες (kollhqente") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. On the use of this verb in Acts, see 5:13; 8:29; 9:26; 10:28.

[17:34]  ⁷ tn Grk “among whom.” Due to the length of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been translated as a third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[17:34]  ⁸ tn Grk “the Areopagite” (a member of the council of the Areopagus). The noun “Areopagite” is not in common usage today in English. It is clearer to use a descriptive phrase “a member of the Areopagus” (L&N 11.82). However, this phrase alone can be misleading in English: “Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris” could be understood to refer to three people (Dionysius, an unnamed member of the Areopagus, and Damaris) rather than only two. Converting the descriptive phrase to a relative clause in English (“who was a member of the Areopagus”) removes the ambiguity.

[17:34]  ⁹ tn Grk “and a woman”; but 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.

[21:3]  ⁷ sn Cyprus is a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.

[21:3]  ⁸ sn The expression left it behind on our port side here means “sailed past to the south of it” since the ship was sailing east.

[21:3]  ⁹ tn BDAG 531 s.v. κατέρχομαι 2 states, “arrive, put in, nautical t.t. of ships and those who sail in them, who ‘come down’ fr. the ‘high seas’…ἔις τι at someth. a harbor 18:22; 21:3; 27:5.”

[21:3]  ¹⁰ sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia. From Patara to Tyre was about 400 mi (640 km). It required a large cargo ship over 100 ft (30 m) long, and was a four to five day voyage.

[23:19]  ⁹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:19]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “you have,” but the expression “have to report” in English could be understood to mean “must report” rather than “possess to report.” For this reason the nearly equivalent expression “want to report,” which is not subject to misunderstanding, was used in the translation.

[27:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “thinking.” The participle δόξαντες (doxante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[27:13]  ¹² tn Or “accomplish.” L&N 68.29, for κρατέω, has “to be able to complete or finish, presumably despite difficulties – ‘to accomplish, to do successfully, to carry out.’ …‘thinking that they could carry out their purpose’ Ac 27:13.”

[27:13]  ¹³ tn Or “departed.”

[27:13]  ¹⁴ tn L&N 54.8, “παραλέγομαι: (a technical, nautical term) to sail along beside some object – ‘to sail along the coast, to sail along the shore.’…‘they sailed along the coast of Crete’ Ac 27:13.” With the addition of the adverb ἆσσον (asson) this becomes “sailed close along the coast of Crete.”