Acts 9:19

9:19 and after taking some food, his strength returned.

For several days ¹  he was with the disciples in Damascus,

Acts 10:48

10:48 So he gave orders to have them baptized ²  in the name of Jesus Christ. ³  Then they asked him to stay for several days.

Acts 12:1

James is Killed and Peter Imprisoned

12:1 About that time King Herod ⁴  laid hands on ⁵  some from the church to harm them. ⁶ 

Acts 16:12

16:12 and from there to Philippi, ⁷  which is a leading city of that district ⁸  of Macedonia, ⁹  a Roman colony. ¹⁰  We stayed in this city for some days.

Acts 17:6

17:6 When they did not find them, they dragged ¹¹  Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, ¹²  screaming, “These people who have stirred up trouble ¹³  throughout the world ¹⁴  have come here too,

Acts 19:1

Disciples of John the Baptist at Ephesus

19:1 While ¹⁵  Apollos was in Corinth, ¹⁶  Paul went through the inland ¹⁷  regions ¹⁸  and came to Ephesus. ¹⁹  He ²⁰  found some disciples there ²¹ 

Acts 27:1

Paul and Company Sail for Rome

27:1 When it was decided we ²²  would sail to Italy, ²³  they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion ²⁴  of the Augustan Cohort ²⁵  named Julius.

Acts 9:2

9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ²⁶  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ²⁷  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ²⁸  to Jerusalem. ²⁹ 

Acts 15:2

15:2 When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate ³⁰  with them, the church ³¹  appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with ³²  the apostles and elders in Jerusalem ³³  about this point of disagreement. ³⁴ 

Acts 15:36

Paul and Barnabas Part Company

15:36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return ³⁵  and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord ³⁶  to see how they are doing.” ³⁷ 

Acts 17:5

17:5 But the Jews became jealous, ³⁸  and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, ³⁹  they formed a mob ⁴⁰  and set the city in an uproar. ⁴¹  They attacked Jason’s house, ⁴²  trying to find Paul and Silas ⁴³  to bring them out to the assembly. ⁴⁴ 

Acts 23:23

23:23 Then ⁴⁵  he summoned ⁴⁶  two of the centurions ⁴⁷  and said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea ⁴⁸  along with seventy horsemen ⁴⁹  and two hundred spearmen ⁵⁰  by ⁵¹  nine o’clock tonight, ⁵² 

Acts 24:24

Paul Speaks Repeatedly to Felix

24:24 Some days later, when Felix ⁵³  arrived with his wife Drusilla, ⁵⁴  who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak ⁵⁵  about faith in Christ Jesus. ⁵⁶ 

[9:19]  ¹ tn Grk “It happened that for several days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[10:48]  ² tn The Greek construction (passive infinitive with accusative subject) could be translated either “he ordered them to be baptized” or “he ordered that they be baptized,” but the implication in English in either case is that Peter was giving orders to the Gentiles in Cornelius’ house, telling them to get baptized. It is much more likely in the context that Peter was ordering those Jewish Christians who accompanied him to baptize the new Gentile converts. They would doubtless have still had misgivings even after witnessing the outpouring of the Spirit and hearing the tongues. It took Peter’s apostolic authority (“ordered”) to convince them to perform the baptisms.

[10:48]  ³ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Jesus’ right to judge as the provider of forgiveness is highlighted here.

[12:1]  ³ sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great). His mediocre career is summarized in Josephus, Ant. 18-19. This event took place in a.d. 42 or 43.

[12:1]  ⁴ tn Or “King Herod had some from the church arrested.”

[12:1]  ⁵ tn Or “to cause them injury.”

[16:12]  ⁴ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[16:12]  ⁵ tc ‡ Or perhaps, “a city in the first district” (there are a number of textual variants). L&N 1.85 follow the text of UBS⁴ and NA²⁷ here: “In Ac 16:12…the Greek New Testament published by the United Bible Societies has adopted a conjectural emendation, since the more traditional text, πρώτη τῆς μερίδος, literally ‘first of the district,’ is not only misleading in meaning but does not reflect the historical fact that Philippi was a city in one of the four districts of Macedonia but was not a capital city.” The original text is probably πρώτη τῆς μερίδος (prwth th" merido", “first of that district”) as found in Ì⁷⁴ א A C Ψ 33^vid 36 81 323 945 1175 1891 pc. This has traditionally been translated to give the impression that Philippi was the capital city of the district, but it does not necessarily have to be translated this way. The translation of the article before μερίδος as “that” acknowledges that there were other districts in the province of Macedonia.

[16:12]  ⁶ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[16:12]  ⁷ sn A Roman colony was a city whose residents were regarded as Roman citizens, since such cities were originally colonized by citizens of Rome. From Troas to Philippi was 130 mi (208 km).

[17:6]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Or “the empire.” This was a way of referring to the Roman empire (BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουμένη 2.b).

[19:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “It happened that while.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[19:1]  ⁷ map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

[19:1]  ⁸ tn Or “interior.”

[19:1]  ⁹ tn BDAG 92 s.v. ἀνωτερικός has “upper τὰ ἀ. μέρη the upper (i.e. inland) country, the interior Ac 19:1.”

[19:1]  ¹⁰ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[19:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and found.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the sequencing with the following verse the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[19:1]  ¹² tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[27:1]  ⁷ sn The last “we” section in Acts begins here and extends to 28:16 (the previous one ended at 21:18).

[27:1]  ⁸ sn Sail to Italy. This voyage with its difficulty serves to show how God protected Paul on his long journey to Rome. From the perspective of someone in Palestine, this may well picture “the end of the earth” quite literally (cf. Acts 1:8).

[27:1]  ⁹ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[27:1]  ¹⁰ tn According to BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός, “In σπεῖρα Σεβαστή 27:1 (cp. OGI 421) Σεβαστή is likew. an exact transl. of Lat. Augusta, an honorary title freq. given to auxiliary troops (Ptolem. renders it Σεβαστή in connection w. three legions that bore it: 2, 3, 30; 2, 9, 18; 4, 3, 30) imperial cohort.” According to W. Foerster (TDNT 7:175), “In Ac. 27:1 the σπεῖρα Σεβαστή is an expression also found elsewhere for ‘auxiliary troops.’” In no case would this refer to a special imperial bodyguard, and to translate “imperial regiment” or “imperial cohort” might give this impression. There is some archaeological evidence for a Cohors Augusta I stationed in Syria during the time of Augustus, but whether this is the same unit is very debatable.

[9:2]  ⁸ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:2]  ⁹ sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).

[9:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.

[9:2]  ¹¹ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

[15:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “no little argument and debate” (an idiom).

[15:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the church, or the rest of the believers at Antioch) has been specified to avoid confusion with the Judaizers mentioned in the preceding clause.

[15:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “go up to,” but in this context a meeting is implied.

[15:2]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:2]  ¹³ tn Or “point of controversy.” It is unclear whether this event parallels Gal 2:1-10 or that Gal 2 fits with Acts 11:30. More than likely Gal 2:1-10 is to be related to Acts 11:30.

[15:36]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Returning let us visit.” The participle ἐπιστρέψαντες (epistreyante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[15:36]  ¹¹ tn See the note on the phrase “word of the Lord” in v. 35.

[15:36]  ¹² tn BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 10.b has “how they are” for this phrase.

[17:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “becoming jealous.” The participle ζηλώσαντες (zhlwsante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. So elsewhere in Acts (5:17; 7:9; 13:45).

[17:5]  ¹² tn Literally ἀγοραῖος (agoraio") refers to the crowd in the marketplace, although BDAG 14-15 s.v. ἀγοραῖος 1 gives the meaning, by extension, as “rabble.” Such a description is certainly appropriate in this context. L&N 15.127 translates the phrase “worthless men from the streets.”

[17:5]  ¹³ tn On this term, which is a NT hapax legomenon, see BDAG 745 s.v. ὀχλοποιέω.

[17:5]  ¹⁴ tn BDAG 458 s.v. θορυβέω 1 has “set the city in an uproar, start a riot in the city” for the meaning of ἐθορύβουν (eqoruboun) in this verse.

[17:5]  ¹⁵ sn The attack took place at Jason’s house because this was probably the location of the new house church.

[17:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “them”; the referents (Paul and Silas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:5]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 223 s.v. δῆμος 2 has “in a Hellenistic city, a convocation of citizens called together for the purpose of transacting official business, popular assembly προάγειν εἰς τὸν δ. Ac 17:5.”

[23:23]  ¹² tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to the reported ambush, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[23:23]  ¹³ tn Grk “summoning…he said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:23]  ¹⁴ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:23]  ¹⁵ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. This was a journey of about 65 mi (just over 100 km).

[23:23]  ¹⁶ tn Or “cavalrymen.”

[23:23]  ¹⁷ tn A military technical term of uncertain meaning. BDAG 217 s.v. δεξιολάβος states, “a word of uncertain mng., military t.t., acc. to Joannes Lydus…and Theophyl. Sim., Hist. 4, 1 a light-armed soldier, perh. bowman, slinger; acc. to a scholion in CMatthaei p. 342 body-guard….Spearman Goodspd., NRSV; ‘security officer’, GDKilpatrick, JTS 14, ’63, 393f.”

[23:23]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “from.”

[23:23]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “from the third hour of the night.”

[24:24]  ¹³ sn See the note on Antonius Felix in 23:24.

[24:24]  ¹⁴ sn It is possible that Drusilla, being Jewish, was the source of Felix’s knowledge about the new movement called Christianity. The youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I and sister of Agrippa II, she would have been close to 20 years old at the time. She had married the king of a small region in Syria but divorced him at the age of 16 to marry Felix. This was her second marriage and Felix’s third (Josephus, Ant. 19.9.1 [19.354], 20.7.2 [20.141-144]). As a member of Herod’s family, she probably knew about the Way.

[24:24]  ¹⁵ tn The word “speak” is implied; BDAG 32 s.v. ἀκούω 1.c has “ἤκουσεν αὐτοῦ περὶ τῆς…πίστεως he heard him speak about faith Ac 24:24.”

[24:24]  ¹⁶ tn Or “Messiah Jesus”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”