Daniel 3:8-12

3:8 Now ¹  at that time certain ²  Chaldeans came forward and brought malicious accusations against ³  the Jews. 3:9 They said ⁴  to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ⁵  3:10 You have issued an edict, O king, that everyone must bow down and pay homage to the golden statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music. 3:11 And whoever does not bow down and pay homage must be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. 3:12 But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – and these men ⁶  have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

Acts 16:19

16:19 But when her owners ⁷  saw their hope of profit ⁸  was gone, they seized ⁹  Paul and Silas and dragged ¹⁰  them into the marketplace before the authorities.

Acts 16:24

16:24 Receiving such orders, he threw them in the inner cell ¹¹  and fastened their feet in the stocks. ¹² 

Acts 24:2-9

24:2 When Paul ¹³  had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, ¹⁴  saying, “We have experienced a lengthy time ¹⁵  of peace through your rule, ¹⁶  and reforms ¹⁷  are being made in this nation ¹⁸  through your foresight. ¹⁹  24:3 Most excellent Felix, ²⁰  we acknowledge this everywhere and in every way ²¹  with all gratitude. ²²  24:4 But so that I may not delay ²³  you any further, I beg ²⁴  you to hear us briefly ²⁵  with your customary graciousness. ²⁶  24:5 For we have found ²⁷  this man to be a troublemaker, ²⁸  one who stirs up riots ²⁹  among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader ³⁰  of the sect of the Nazarenes. ³¹  24:6 He ³²  even tried to desecrate ³³  the temple, so we arrested ³⁴  him. 24:7 [[EMPTY]] ³⁵  24:8 When you examine ³⁶  him yourself, you will be able to learn from him ³⁷  about all these things we are accusing him of doing.” ³⁸  24:9 The Jews also joined in the verbal attack, ³⁹  claiming ⁴⁰  that these things were true.

[3:8]  ¹ tc This expression is absent in Theodotion.

[3:8]  ² tn Aram “men.”

[3:8]  ³ tn Aram “ate the pieces of.” This is a rather vivid idiom for slander.

[3:9]  ⁴ tn Aram “answered and said,” a common Aramaic idiom that occurs repeatedly in this chapter.

[3:9]  ⁵ sn O king, live forever! is a comment of typical court courtesy that is not necessarily indicative of the real sentiments of the speaker. Ancient oriental court protocol could sometimes require a certain amount of hypocrisy.

[3:12]  ⁶ sn Daniel’s absence from this scene has sparked the imagination of commentators, some of whom have suggested that perhaps he was unable to attend the dedication due to sickness or due to being away on business. Hippolytus supposed that Daniel may have been watching from a distance.

[16:19]  ⁷ tn Or “masters.”

[16:19]  ⁸ tn On this use of ἐργασία (ergasia), see BDAG 390 s.v. 4. It is often the case that destructive practices and commerce are closely tied together.

[16:19]  ⁹ tn Grk “was gone, seizing.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενοι (epilabomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:19]  ¹⁰ tn On the term ἕλκω ({elkw) see BDAG 318 s.v. 1.

[16:24]  ¹¹ tn Or “prison.”

[16:24]  ¹² tn L&N 6.21 has “stocks” for εἰς τὸ ξύλον (ei" to xulon) here, as does BDAG 685 s.v. ξύλον 2.b. However, it is also possible (as mentioned in L&N 18.12) that this does not mean “stocks” but a block of wood (a log or wooden column) in the prison to which prisoners’ feet were chained or tied. Such a possibility is suggested by v. 26, where the “bonds” (“chains”?) of the prisoners loosened.

[24:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “began to bring charges, saying.”

[24:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “experienced much peace.”

[24:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “through you” (“rule” is implied).

[24:2]  ¹⁷ tn This term is used only once in the NT (a hapax legomenon). It refers to improvements in internal administration (BDAG 251 s.v. διόρθωμα).

[24:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “being made for this people.”

[24:2]  ¹⁹ sn References to peaceful rule, reforms, and the governor’s foresight in the opening address by Tertullus represent an attempt to praise the governor and thus make him favorable to the case. Actual descriptions of his rule portray him as inept (Tacitus, Annals 12.54; Josephus, J. W. 2.13.2-7 [2.253-270]).

[24:3]  ²⁰ sn Most excellent Felix. See the note on Felix in 23:24.

[24:3]  ²¹ tn Grk “in every way and everywhere.”

[24:3]  ²² tn Or “with complete thankfulness.” BDAG 416 s.v. εὐχαριστία 1 has “μετὰ πάσης εὐ.…with all gratitude Ac 24:3.” L&N 31.26 has “‘we acknowledge this anywhere and everywhere with complete thankfulness’ Ac 24:3.”

[24:4]  ²³ tn Or “may not weary.” BDAG 274 s.v. ἐγκόπτω states, “ἵνα μὴ ἐπὶ πλεῖόν σε ἐγκόπτω Ac 24:4 is understood by Syr. and Armen. versions to mean in order not to weary you any further; cp. ἔγκοπος weary Diog. L. 4, 50; LXX; and ἔγκοπον ποιεῖν to weary Job 19:2; Is 43:23. But impose on is also prob.; detain NRSV.”

[24:4]  ²⁴ tn Or “request.”

[24:4]  ²⁵ tn This term is another NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 976 s.v. συντόμως 2). Tertullus was asking for a brief hearing, and implying to the governor that he would speak briefly and to the point.

[24:4]  ²⁶ tn BDAG 371 s.v. ἐπιείκεια has “τῇ σῇ ἐ. with your (customary) indulgence Ac 24:4.”

[24:5]  ²⁷ tn Grk “For having found.” The participle εὑρόντες (Jeurontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[24:5]  ²⁸ tn L&N 22.6 has “(a figurative extension of meaning of λοιμός ‘plague,’ 23.158) one who causes all sorts of trouble – ‘troublemaker, pest.’ … ‘for we have found this man to be a troublemaker” Ac 24:5.”

[24:5]  ²⁹ tn Or “dissensions.” While BDAG 940 s.v. στάσις 3 translates this phrase “κινεῖν στάσεις (v.l. στάσιν) τισί create dissension among certain people Ac 24:5,” it is better on the basis of the actual results of Paul’s ministry to categorize this usage under section 2, “uprising, riot, revolt, rebellion” (cf. the use in Acts 19:40).

[24:5]  ³⁰ tn This term is yet another NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 894 s.v. πρωτοστάτης).

[24:5]  ³¹ sn The sect of the Nazarenes is a designation for followers of Jesus the Nazarene, that is, Christians.

[24:6]  ³² tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was replaced by the third person singular pronoun (“he”) and a new sentence begun here in the translation.

[24:6]  ³³ tn Or “profane” (BDAG 173 s.v. βεβηλόω). The term was also used of profaning the Sabbath.

[24:6]  ³⁴ tn Or “seized.” Grk “whom also we arrested.” Because of the awkwardness of a relative clause in English at this point, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the pronoun “him” as object of the verb.

[24:7]  ³⁵ tc Some later mss include some material at the end of v. 6, all of 24:7, and some material at the beginning of v. 8: “and we wanted to judge him according to our law. 24:7 But Lysias the commanding officer came and took him out of our hands with a great deal of violence, 24:8 ordering those who accused him to come before you.” Acts 24:6b, 7, and 8a are lacking in Ì⁷⁴ א A B H L P 049 81 1175 1241 pm and a few versional witnesses. They are included (with a few minor variations) in E Ψ 33 323 614 945 1505 1739 pm and a few versional witnesses. This verse (and parts of verses) is most likely not a part of the original text of Acts, for not only is it lacking from the better witnesses, there is no easy explanation as to how such could be missing from them. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

[24:8]  ³⁶ tn Or “question.”

[24:8]  ³⁷ tn Grk “From whom when you examine him yourself, you will be able to learn…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the third person singular pronoun (“him”) and a new sentence begun at the beginning of v. 8 in the translation.

[24:8]  ³⁸ tn Grk “about all these things of which we are accusing him.” This has been simplified to eliminate the relative pronoun (“of which”) in the translation.

[24:9]  ³⁹ tn Grk “joined in the attack,” but the adjective “verbal” has been supplied to clarify that this was not another physical assault on Paul. The verb is another NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 969 s.v. συνεπιτίθημι).

[24:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “asserting” (BDAG 1050 s.v. φάσκω).