Acts 9:20

9:20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, ¹  saying, “This man is the Son of God.” ² 

Acts 13:46

13:46 Both Paul and Barnabas replied courageously, ³  “It was necessary to speak the word of God ⁴  to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy ⁵  of eternal life, we ⁶  are turning to the Gentiles. ⁷ 

Acts 17:1-2

Paul and Silas at Thessalonica

17:1 After they traveled through ⁸  Amphipolis ⁹  and Apollonia, ¹⁰  they came to Thessalonica, ¹¹  where there was a Jewish synagogue. ¹²  17:2 Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, ¹³  as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed ¹⁴  them from the scriptures,

Acts 17:17

17:17 So he was addressing ¹⁵  the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles ¹⁶  in the synagogue, ¹⁷  and in the marketplace every day ¹⁸  those who happened to be there.

Acts 18:4

18:4 He addressed ¹⁹  both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue ²⁰  every Sabbath, attempting to persuade ²¹  them.

Acts 19:8

Paul Continues to Minister at Ephesus

19:8 So Paul ²²  entered ²³  the synagogue ²⁴  and spoke out fearlessly ²⁵  for three months, addressing ²⁶  and convincing ²⁷  them about the kingdom of God. ²⁸ 

[9:20]  ¹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:20]  ² tn The ὅτι (Joti) is understood to introduce direct (“This man is the Son of God”) rather than indirect discourse (“that this man is the Son of God”) because the pronoun οὗτος (Jouto") combined with the present tense verb ἐστιν (estin) suggests the contents of what was proclaimed are a direct (albeit summarized) quotation.

[13:46]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “and consider yourselves unworthy.”

[13:46]  ⁶ tn Grk “behold, we.” In this context ἰδού (idou) is not easily translated into English.

[13:46]  ⁷ 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.

[17:1]  ⁸ tn BDAG 250 s.v. διοδεύω 1 has “go, travel through” for this verse.

[17:1]  ⁹ sn Amphipolis. The capital city of the southeastern district of Macedonia (BDAG 55 s.v. ᾿Αμφίπολις). It was a military post. From Philippi this was about 33 mi (53 km).

[17:1]  ¹⁰ sn Apollonia was a city in Macedonia about 27 mi (43 km) west southwest of Amphipolis.

[17:1]  ¹¹ sn Thessalonica (modern Salonica) was a city in Macedonia about 33 mi (53 km) west of Apollonia. It was the capital of Macedonia. The road they traveled over was called the Via Egnatia. It is likely they rode horses, given their condition in Philippi. The implication of v. 1 is that the two previously mentioned cities lacked a synagogue.

[17:1]  ¹² sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[17:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “he went in to them”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:2]  ¹⁴ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 17:2. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[17:17]  ¹⁵ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 17:17. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[17:17]  ¹⁶ tn Or “and the devout,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44, and the note on the phrase “God-fearing Greeks” in 17:4.

[17:17]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[17:17]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[18:4]  ¹⁹ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 18:4. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[18:4]  ²⁰ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:4]  ²¹ tn Grk “Addressing in the synagogue every Sabbath, he was attempting to persuade both Jews and Greeks.” Because in English the verb “address” is not used absolutely but normally has an object specified, the direct objects of the verb ἔπειθεν (epeiqen) have been moved forward as the objects of the English verb “addressed,” and the pronoun “them” repeated in the translation as the object of ἔπειθεν. The verb ἔπειθεν has been translated as a conative imperfect.

[19:8]  ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:8]  ²³ tn Grk “So entering the synagogue, he spoke out fearlessly.” The participle εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:8]  ²⁴ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[19:8]  ²⁵ tn Or “boldly.”

[19:8]  ²⁶ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 19:8. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[19:8]  ²⁷ tn Or “addressing them persuasively.” The two participles διαλεγόμενος and πείθων (dialegomeno" and peiqwn) can be understood as a hendiadys (so NIV, NRSV), thus, “addressing them persuasively.”

[19:8]  ²⁸ sn To talk about Jesus as the Christ who has come is to talk about the kingdom of God. This is yet another summary of the message like that in 18:28.