Acts 8:36-38

8:36 Now as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water! What is to stop me ¹  from being baptized?” 8:37 [[EMPTY]] ²  8:38 So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, ³  and Philip baptized ⁴  him.

Acts 16:15

16:15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, ⁵  “If ⁶  you consider me to be a believer in the Lord, ⁷  come and stay in my house.” And she persuaded ⁸  us.

Acts 16:31-34

16:31 They replied, ⁹  “Believe ¹⁰  in the Lord Jesus ¹¹  and you will be saved, you and your household.” 16:32 Then ¹²  they spoke the word of the Lord ¹³  to him, along with all those who were in his house. 16:33 At ¹⁴  that hour of the night he took them ¹⁵  and washed their wounds; ¹⁶  then ¹⁷  he and all his family ¹⁸  were baptized right away. ¹⁹  16:34 The jailer ²⁰  brought them into his house and set food ²¹  before them, and he rejoiced greatly ²²  that he had come to believe ²³  in God, together with his entire household. ²⁴ 

Acts 22:16

22:16 And now what are you waiting for? ²⁵  Get up, ²⁶  be baptized, and have your sins washed away, ²⁷  calling on his name.’ ²⁸ 

Titus 3:5

3:5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,

Titus 3:1

Conduct Toward Those Outside the Church

3:1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and ²⁹  authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work.

Titus 3:1

Conduct Toward Those Outside the Church

3:1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and ³⁰  authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work.

[8:36]  ¹ tn Or “What prevents me.” The rhetorical question means, “I should get baptized, right?”

[8:37]  ² tc A few later mss (E 36 323 453 945 1739 1891 pc) add, with minor variations, 8:37 “He said to him, ‘If you believe with your whole heart, you may.’ He replied, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’” Verse 37 is lacking in {Ì^45,74 א A B C 33 614 vg sy^p,h co}. It is clearly not a part of the original text of Acts. The variant is significant in showing how some in the early church viewed a confession of faith. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

[8:38]  ³ tn Grk “and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch.” Since this is somewhat redundant in English, it was simplified to “and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water.”

[8:38]  ⁴ sn Philip baptized. Again, someone beyond the Twelve has ministered an ordinance of faith.

[16:15]  ⁵ tn Grk “urged us, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[16:15]  ⁶ tn This is a first class condition in Greek, with the statement presented as real or true for the sake of the argument.

[16:15]  ⁷ tn Or “faithful to the Lord.” BDAG 821 s.v. πίστος 2 states concerning this verse, “Of one who confesses the Christian faith believing or a believer in the Lord, in Christ, in God πιστ. τῷ κυρίῳ Ac 16:15.” L&N 11.17 has “one who is included among the faithful followers of Christ – ‘believer, Christian, follower.’”

[16:15]  ⁸ tn Although BDAG 759 s.v. παραβιάζομαι has “urge strongly, prevail upon,” in contemporary English “persuade” is a more frequently used synonym for “prevail upon.”

[16:31]  ⁹ tn Grk “said.”

[16:31]  ¹⁰ sn Here the summary term of response is a call to believe. In this context it refers to trusting the sovereign God’s power to deliver, which events had just pictured for the jailer.

[16:31]  ¹¹ tc The majority of mss add Χριστόν (Criston, “Christ”) here (C D E Ψ 1739 Ï sy sa), but the best and earliest witnesses read simply τὸν κύριον ᾿Ιησοῦν (ton kurion Ihsoun, “the Lord Jesus”; Ì^74vid א A B 33 81 pc bo). The addition of “Christ” to “Lord Jesus” is an obviously motivated reading. Thus on both external and internal grounds, the shorter reading is strongly preferred.

[16:32]  ¹² tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the continuity with the preceding verse. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style does not.

[16:32]  ¹³ sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.

[16:33]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “And at.” 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.

[16:33]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “taking them…he washed.” The participle παραλαβών (paralabwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:33]  ¹⁶ tn On this phrase BDAG 603 s.v. λούω 1 gives a literal translation as “by washing he freed them from the effects of the blows.”

[16:33]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[16:33]  ¹⁸ sn All his family. It was often the case in the ancient world that conversion of the father led to the conversion of all those in the household.

[16:33]  ¹⁹ tn Or “immediately.”

[16:34]  ²⁰ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the jailer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:34]  ²¹ tn Grk “placed [food] on the table” (a figurative expression). Since the actual word for food is not specified, it would also be possible to translate “set a meal before them,” but since this is taking place in the middle of the night, the preparations necessary for a full meal would probably not have been made. More likely Paul and Silas were given whatever was on hand that needed little or no preparation.

[16:34]  ²² tn Or “he was overjoyed.”

[16:34]  ²³ tn The translation “come to believe” reflects more of the resultative nuance of the perfect tense here.

[16:34]  ²⁴ tn The phrase “together with his entire household” is placed at the end of the English sentence so that it refers to both the rejoicing and the belief. A formal equivalence translation would have “and he rejoiced greatly with his entire household that he had come to believe in God,” but the reference to the entire household being baptized in v. 33 presumes that all in the household believed.

[22:16]  ²⁵ tn L&N 67.121 has “to extend time unduly, with the implication of lack of decision – ‘to wait, to delay.’ νῦν τί μέλλεις… ἀναστὰς βάπτισαι ‘what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized’ Ac 22:16.”

[22:16]  ²⁶ tn Grk “getting up.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") is an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance and has been translated as a finite verb.

[22:16]  ²⁷ sn The expression have your sins washed away means “have your sins purified” (the washing is figurative).

[22:16]  ²⁸ sn The expression calling on his name describes the confession of the believer: Acts 2:17-38, esp. v. 38; Rom 10:12-13; 1 Cor 1:2.

[3:1]  ²⁹ tc Most later witnesses (D² 0278 Ï lat sy) have καί (kai, “and”) after ἀρχαῖς (arcai", “rulers”), though the earliest and best witnesses (א A C D* F G Ψ 33 104 1739 1881) lack the conjunction. Although the καί is most likely not authentic, it has been added in translation due to the requirements of English style. For more discussion, see TCGNT 586.

[3:1]  ³⁰ tc Most later witnesses (D² 0278 Ï lat sy) have καί (kai, “and”) after ἀρχαῖς (arcai", “rulers”), though the earliest and best witnesses (א A C D* F G Ψ 33 104 1739 1881) lack the conjunction. Although the καί is most likely not authentic, it has been added in translation due to the requirements of English style. For more discussion, see TCGNT 586.