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 10:47

10:47 “No one can withhold the water for these people to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, ³  can he?” ⁴ 

Acts 13:39

13:39 and by this one ⁵  everyone who believes is justified ⁶  from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify ⁷  you. ⁸ 

Acts 15:1

The Jerusalem Council

15:1 Now some men came down from Judea ⁹  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ¹⁰  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Acts 17:19

17:19 So they took Paul and ¹¹  brought him to the Areopagus, ¹²  saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are proclaiming?

Acts 19:40

19:40 For ¹³  we are in danger of being charged with rioting ¹⁴  today, since there is no cause we can give to explain ¹⁵  this disorderly gathering.” ¹⁶ 

Acts 24:11

24:11 As you can verify ¹⁷  for yourself, not more than twelve days ago ¹⁸  I went up to Jerusalem ¹⁹  to worship.

Acts 27:31

27:31 Paul said to the centurion ²⁰  and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you ²¹  cannot be saved.”

[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.

[10:47]  ³ tn Grk “just as also we.” The auxiliary verb in English must be supplied. This could be either “have” (NIV, NRSV) or “did” (NASB). “Did” is preferred here because the comparison Peter is making concerns not just the fact of the present possession of the Spirit (“they received the Spirit we now possess”), but the manner in which the Gentiles in Cornelius’ house received the Spirit (“they received the Spirit in the same manner we did [on the day of Pentecost]”).

[10:47]  ⁴ tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ question, “can he?” The question is rhetorical. Peter was saying these Gentiles should be baptized since God had confirmed they were his.

[13:39]  ⁵ sn This one refers here to Jesus.

[13:39]  ⁶ tn Or “is freed.” The translation of δικαιωθῆναι (dikaiwqhnai) and δικαιοῦται (dikaioutai) in Acts 13:38-39 is difficult. BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 3 categorizes δικαιωθῆναι in 13:38 (Greek text) under the meaning “make free/pure” but categorizes δικαιοῦται in Acts 13:39 as “be found in the right, be free of charges” (BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 2.b.β). In the interest of consistency both verbs are rendered as “justified” in this translation.

[13:39]  ⁷ tn Or “could not free.”

[13:39]  ⁸ tn Grk “from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation, with “by the law of Moses” becoming the subject of the final clause. The words “from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify you” are part of v. 38 in the Greek text, but due to English style and word order must be placed in v. 39 in the translation.

[15:1]  ⁷ sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.

[15:1]  ⁸ tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.

[17:19]  ⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “to the council of the Areopagus.” See also the term in v. 22.

[19:40]  ¹¹ tn Grk “For indeed.” The ascensive force of καί (kai) would be awkward to translate here.

[19:40]  ¹² tn The term translated “rioting” refers to a revolt or uprising (BDAG 940 s.v. στάσις 2, 3). This would threaten Roman rule and invite Roman intervention.

[19:40]  ¹³ tn Or “to account for.” Grk “since there is no cause concerning which we can give account concerning this disorderly gathering.” The complexity of the Greek relative clause (“which”) and the multiple prepositions (“concerning”) have been simplified in the translation consistent with contemporary English style.

[19:40]  ¹⁴ tn Or “commotion.” BDAG 979 s.v. συστροφή 1 gives the meaning “a tumultuous gathering of people, disorderly/seditious gathering or commotion…Ac 19:40.”

[24:11]  ¹³ tn BDAG 369 s.v. ἐπιγινώσκω 2.c has “notice, perceive, learn of, ascertain…Also as legal t.t. ascertain (2 Macc 14:9) τὶ Ac 23:28; cp. 24:8. W. ὅτι foll. Ac 24:11.” “Verify” is an English synonym for “ascertain.”

[24:11]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “it is not more than twelve days from when.” This has been simplified to “not more than twelve days ago.”

[24:11]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[27:31]  ¹⁵ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[27:31]  ¹⁶ sn The pronoun you is plural in Greek.