Acts 9:38

9:38 Because Lydda ¹  was near Joppa, when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Come to us without delay.” ² 

Acts 10:38

10:38 with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, ³  that ⁴  God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He ⁵  went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, ⁶  because God was with him. ⁷ 

Acts 11:19

Activity in the Church at Antioch

11:19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen ⁸  went as far as ⁹  Phoenicia, ¹⁰  Cyprus, ¹¹  and Antioch, ¹²  speaking the message ¹³  to no one but Jews.

Acts 15:3

15:3 So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia ¹⁴  and Samaria, they were relating at length ¹⁵  the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy ¹⁶  to all the brothers.

Acts 17:23

17:23 For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship, ¹⁷  I even found an altar with this inscription: ¹⁸  ‘To an unknown god.’ Therefore what you worship without knowing it, ¹⁹  this I proclaim to you.

Acts 18:27

18:27 When Apollos ²⁰  wanted to cross over to Achaia, ²¹  the brothers encouraged ²²  him ²³  and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he ²⁴  assisted greatly those who had believed by grace,

Acts 19:21

A Riot in Ephesus

19:21 Now after all these things had taken place, ²⁵  Paul resolved ²⁶  to go to Jerusalem, ²⁷  passing through Macedonia ²⁸  and Achaia. ²⁹  He said, ³⁰  “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” ³¹ 

[9:38]  ¹ sn Lydda was a city northwest of Jerusalem on the way to Joppa.

[9:38]  ² tn Grk “Do not delay to come to us.” It is somewhat smoother to say in English, “Come to us without delay.”

[10:38]  ³ sn The somewhat awkward naming of Jesus as from Nazareth here is actually emphatic. He is the key subject of these key events.

[10:38]  ⁴ tn Or “how.” The use of ὡς (Jws) as an equivalent to ὅτι (Joti) to introduce indirect or even direct discourse is well documented. BDAG 1105 s.v. ὡς 5 lists Acts 10:28 in this category.

[10:38]  ⁵ tn Grk “power, who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.

[10:38]  ⁶ tn The translation “healing all who were oppressed by the devil” is given in L&N 22.22.

[10:38]  ⁷ sn See Acts 7:9.

[11:19]  ⁵ sn The phrase over Stephen means in connection with Stephen’s death. See Acts 8:1b-3.

[11:19]  ⁶ tn Or “finally reached.” The translations “went as far as” and “finally reached” for διῆλθον (dihlqon) in this verse are given in L&N 15.17.

[11:19]  ⁷ sn Phoenicia was an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine.

[11:19]  ⁸ tn Grk “and Cyprus,” but 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.

[11:19]  ⁹ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). This was probably the third largest city in the Greco-Roman world (Alexandria in Egypt was the second largest, and Rome the largest) and was the seat of government in Syria. Five miles away was a major temple to Artemis, Apollo, and Astarte, major pagan deities.

[11:19]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “word.”

[15:3]  ⁷ sn Phoenicia was an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine in ancient Syria.

[15:3]  ⁸ tn L&N 33.201 indicates that ἐκδιηγέομαι (ekdihgeomai) means to provide detailed information in a systematic manner, “to inform, to relate, to tell fully.” “Relating at length” conveys this effectively in the present context.

[15:3]  ⁹ tn For ἐποίουν (epoioun) in this verse BDAG 839 s.v. ποιέω 2.c has “they brought joy to the members.”

[17:23]  ⁹ tn Or “your sanctuaries.” L&N 53.54 gives “sanctuary” (place of worship) as an alternate meaning for the word σεβάσματα (sebasmata).

[17:23]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “on which was written,” but since it would have been carved in stone, it is more common to speak of an “inscription” in English. To simplify the English the relative construction with a passive verb (“on which was inscribed”) was translated as a prepositional phrase with a substantive (“inscription”).

[17:23]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 13 s.v. ἀγνοέω 1.b has “Abs. ὅ ἀγνοοῦντες εὐσεβεῖτε what you worship without knowing it (on the subject matter Maximus Tyr. 11, 5e: all sorts of philosophers ἴσασιν οὐκ ἑκόντες καὶ λέγουσιν ἄκοντες sc. τὸ θεῖον = they know and name God without intending to do so) Ac 17:23.” Paul, in typical Jewish Christian style, informs them of the true God, of whom their idols are an ignorant reflection.

[18:27]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Apollos) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:27]  ¹² sn To cross over to Achaia. Achaia was organized by the Romans as a separate province in 27 b.c. and was located across the Aegean Sea from Ephesus. The city of Corinth was in Achaia.

[18:27]  ¹³ tn Grk “encouraging [him], the brothers wrote.” The participle προτρεψάμενοι (protreyamenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. This was the typical letter of commendation from the Ephesians to the Achaeans.

[18:27]  ¹⁴ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[18:27]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “who, when he arrived.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was replaced with the pronoun “he” and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[19:21]  ¹³ tn Grk “all these things had been fulfilled.”

[19:21]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Paul purposed in [his] spirit” (an idiom). According to BDAG 1003 s.v. τίθημι 1.b.ε the entire idiom means “to resolve” (or “decide”): “ἔθετο ὁ Παῦλος ἐν τῷ πνεύματι w. inf. foll. Paul resolved 19:21.”

[19:21]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[19:21]  ¹⁶ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[19:21]  ¹⁷ sn Achaia was the Roman province of Achaia located across the Aegean Sea from Ephesus. Its principal city was Corinth.

[19:21]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Achaia, saying.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the awkwardness in English of having two participial clauses following one another (“passing through…saying”), the participle εἰπών (eipwn) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun here in the translation.

[19:21]  ¹⁹ sn This is the first time Paul mentions Rome. He realized the message of Christianity could impact that society even at its heights.