Acts 9:17

9:17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, placed ¹  his hands on Saul ²  and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came here, ³  has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ⁴ 

Acts 13:46

13:46 Both Paul and Barnabas replied courageously, ⁵  “It was necessary to speak the word of God ⁶  to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy ⁷  of eternal life, we ⁸  are turning to the Gentiles. ⁹ 

Acts 15:7

15:7 After there had been much debate, ¹⁰  Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that some time ago ¹¹  God chose ¹²  me to preach to the Gentiles so they would hear the message ¹³  of the gospel ¹⁴  and believe. ¹⁵ 

Acts 19:27

19:27 There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, ¹⁶  but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis ¹⁷  will be regarded as nothing, ¹⁸  and she whom all the province of Asia ¹⁹  and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.” ²⁰ 

Acts 21:11

21:11 He came ²¹  to us, took ²²  Paul’s belt, ²³  tied ²⁴  his own hands and feet with it, ²⁵  and said, “The Holy Spirit says this: ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will hand him over ²⁶  to the Gentiles.’”

Acts 28:27

28:27 For the heart of this people has become dull, ²⁷ 

and their ears are hard of hearing, ²⁸ 

and they have closed their eyes,

so that they would not see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, ²⁹  and I would heal them.”’ ³⁰ 

[9:17]  ¹ tn Grk “and placing his hands on Saul, he said.” The participle ἐπιθείς (epiqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. For the same reason καί (kai) has not been translated before the participle.

[9:17]  ² tn Grk “on him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:17]  ³ tn Grk “on the road in which you came,” but the relative clause makes for awkward English style, so it was translated as a temporal clause (“as you came here”).

[9:17]  ⁴ sn Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Here someone who is not an apostle (Ananias) commissions another person with the Spirit.

[13:46]  ⁵ tn Grk “Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out courageously and said.” The redundancy is removed in the translation and the verb “replied” is used in keeping with the logical sequence of events. The theme of boldness reappears: Acts 4:24-30; 9:27-28.

[13:46]  ⁶ tn Grk “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken.” For smoothness and simplicity of English style, the passive construction has been converted to active voice in the translation.

[13:46]  ⁷ tn Or “and consider yourselves unworthy.”

[13:46]  ⁸ tn Grk “behold, we.” In this context ἰδού (idou) is not easily translated into English.

[13:46]  ⁹ sn This turning to the Gentiles would be a shocking rebuke to 1st century Jews who thought they alone were the recipients of the promise.

[15:7]  ⁹ tn Or “discussion.” This term is repeated from v. 2.

[15:7]  ¹⁰ tn Or “long ago” (an idiom, literally “from ancient days”). According to L&N 67.26, “this reference to Peter having been chosen by God sometime before to bring the gospel to the Gentiles can hardly be regarded as a reference to ancient times, though some persons understand this to mean that God’s decision was made at the beginning of time. The usage of ἀφ᾿ ἡμερῶν ἀρχαίων is probably designed to emphasize the established nature of God’s decision for Peter to take the gospel to the Gentiles beginning with the centurion Cornelius. The fact that this was relatively early in the development of the church may also serve to explain the use of the idiom.”

[15:7]  ¹¹ sn God chose. The theme of God’s sovereign choice is an important point, because 1st century Jews believed Israel’s unique position and customs were a reflection of God’s choice.

[15:7]  ¹² tn Or “word.”

[15:7]  ¹³ tn Or “of the good news.”

[15:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “God chose among you from my mouth the Gentiles to hear the message of the gospel and to believe.” The sense of this sentence in Greek is difficult to render in English. The Greek verb ἐκλέγομαι (eklegomai, “choose”) normally takes a person or thing as a direct object; in this verse the verb has neither clearly stated. The translation understands the phrase “from my mouth,” referring to Peter, as a description of both who God chose and the task to be done. This coupled with the following statement about Gentiles hearing the message of the gospel leads to the more dynamic rendering in the translation.

[19:27]  ¹³ tn Or “come under public criticism.” BDAG 101 s.v. ἀπελεγμός has “come into disrepute Ac 19:27.”

[19:27]  ¹⁴ sn Artemis was the name of a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus.

[19:27]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 597 s.v. λογίζομαι 1.b has “εἰς οὐθὲν λογισθῆναι be looked upon as nothing…Ac 19:27.”

[19:27]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 22.

[19:27]  ¹⁷ tn Or “her magnificence.” BDAG 488 s.v. καθαιρέω 2.b has “καθαιρεῖσθαι τῆς μεγαλειότητος αὐτῆς suffer the loss of her magnificence Ac 19:27”; L&N 13.38 has “‘and to have her greatness done away with’ Ac 19:27.”

[21:11]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And coming.” 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. The participle ἐλθών (elqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “and taking.” 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. The participle ἄρας (aras) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ¹⁹ sn The belt was a band or sash used to keep money as well as to gird up the tunic (BDAG 431 s.v. ζώνη).

[21:11]  ²⁰ tn The participle δήσας (dhsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ²¹ tn The words “with it” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[21:11]  ²² tn Grk “and will deliver him over into the hands of” (a Semitic idiom).

[28:27]  ²¹ tn Or “insensitive.”

[28:27]  ²² tn Grk “they hear heavily with their ears” (an idiom for slow comprehension).

[28:27]  ²³ sn Note how the failure to respond to the message of the gospel is seen as a failure to turn.

[28:27]  ²⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10.