Acts 8:7

8:7 For unclean spirits, ¹  crying with loud shrieks, were coming out of many who were possessed, ²  and many paralyzed and lame people were healed.

Acts 17:6

17:6 When they did not find them, they dragged ³  Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, ⁴  screaming, “These people who have stirred up trouble ⁵  throughout the world ⁶  have come here too,

[8:7]  ¹ sn The expression unclean spirits refers to evil supernatural spirits which were ceremonially unclean, and which caused the persons possessed by them to be ceremonially unclean.

[8:7]  ² tn Grk “For [in the case of] many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out, crying in a loud voice.”

[17:6]  ³ tn See BDAG 977-78 s.v. σύρω on this verb. It was used in everyday speech of dragging in fish by a net, or dragging away someone’s (presumably) dead body (Paul in Acts 14:19).

[17:6]  ⁴ tn L&N 37.93 defines πολιτάρχης (politarch") as “a public official responsible for administrative matters within a town or city and a member of the ruling council of such a political unit – ‘city official’” (see also BDAG 845 s.v.).

[17:6]  ⁵ tn Or “rebellion.” BDAG 72 s.v. ἀναστατόω has “disturb, trouble, upset,” but in light of the references in the following verse to political insurrection, “stirred up rebellion” would also be appropriate.

[17:6]  ⁶ tn Or “the empire.” This was a way of referring to the Roman empire (BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουμένη 2.b).