Nehemiah 5:13

5:13 I also shook out my garment, ¹  and I said, “In this way may God shake out from his house and his property every person who does not carry out ²  this matter. In this way may he be shaken out and emptied!” All the assembly replied, “So be it!” and they praised the LORD. Then the people did as they had promised. ³ 

Matthew 10:14

10:14 And if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your message, shake the dust off ⁴  your feet as you leave that house or that town.

Luke 9:5

9:5 Wherever ⁵  they do not receive you, ⁶  as you leave that town, ⁷  shake the dust off ⁸  your feet as a testimony against them.”

Luke 10:10-11

10:10 But whenever ⁹  you enter a town ¹⁰  and the people ¹¹  do not welcome ¹²  you, go into its streets ¹³  and say, 10:11 ‘Even the dust of your town ¹⁴  that clings to our feet we wipe off ¹⁵  against you. ¹⁶  Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.’ ¹⁷ 

Acts 13:50-51

13:50 But the Jews incited ¹⁸  the God-fearing women of high social standing and the prominent men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out ¹⁹  of their region. 13:51 So after they shook ²⁰  the dust off their feet ²¹  in protest against them, they went to Iconium. ²² 

Acts 18:6

18:6 When they opposed him ²³  and reviled him, ²⁴  he protested by shaking out his clothes ²⁵  and said to them, “Your blood ²⁶  be on your own heads! I am guiltless! ²⁷  From now on I will go to the Gentiles!”

[5:13]  ¹ tn Heb “my bosom.”

[5:13]  ² tn Heb “cause to stand.”

[5:13]  ³ tn Heb “according to this word.”

[10:14]  ⁴ sn To shake the dust off represented shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51; 18:6. It was a sign of rejection.

[9:5]  ⁵ tn Grk “And wherever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “all those who do not receive you.”

[9:5]  ⁷ tn Or “city.”

[9:5]  ⁸ sn To shake the dust off represented shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51; 18:6. It was a sign of rejection.

[10:10]  ⁹ tn Grk “whatever town you enter,” but this is more often expressed in English as “whenever you enter a town.”

[10:10]  ¹⁰ tn Or “city.”

[10:10]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people who live in the town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:10]  ¹² sn More discussion takes place concerning rejection (the people do not welcome you), as these verses lead into the condemnation of certain towns for their rejection of God’s kingdom.

[10:10]  ¹³ tn The term πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to the “broad street,” so this refers to the main roads of the town.

[10:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “city.”

[10:11]  ¹⁵ sn See Luke 9:5, where the verb is different but the meaning is the same. This was a sign of rejection.

[10:11]  ¹⁶ tn Here ὑμῖν (Jumin) has been translated as a dative of disadvantage.

[10:11]  ¹⁷ tn Or “has come near.” As in v. 9 (see above), the combination of ἐγγίζω (engizw) with the preposition ἐπί (epi) is decisive in showing that the sense is “has come” (see BDAG 270 s.v. ἐγγίζω 2, and W. R. Hutton, “The Kingdom of God Has Come,” ExpTim 64 [Dec 1952]: 89-91).

[13:50]  ¹⁸ tn For the translation of παρώτρυναν (parwtrunan) as “incited” see BDAG 780 s.v. παροτρύνω.

[13:50]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 299 s.v. ἐκβάλλω 1 has “throw out.” Once again, many Jews reacted to the message (Acts 5:17, 33; 6:11; 13:45).

[13:51]  ²⁰ tn The participle ἐκτιναξάμενοι (ektinaxamenoi) is taken temporally. It could also be translated as a participle of attendant circumstance (“So they shook…and went”).

[13:51]  ²¹ sn Shaking the dust off their feet was a symbolic gesture commanded by Jesus to his disciples, Matt 10:14; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5. It shows a group of people as culpable before God.

[13:51]  ²² sn Iconium was a city in Lycaonia about 90 mi (145 km) east southeast of Pisidian Antioch. It was the easternmost city of Phrygia.

[18:6]  ²³ 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.

[18:6]  ²⁴ tn The participle βλασφημούντων (blasfhmountwn) has been taken temporally. The direct object (“him”) is implied rather than expressed and could be impersonal (“it,” referring to what Paul was saying rather than Paul himself), but the verb occurs more often in contexts involving defamation or slander against personal beings (not always God). For a very similar context to this one, compare Acts 13:45. The translation “blaspheme” is not used because in contemporary English its meaning is more narrowly defined and normally refers to blasphemy against God (not what Paul’s opponents were doing here). What they were doing was more like slander or defamation of character.

[18:6]  ²⁵ tn Grk “shaking out his clothes, he said to them.” L&N 16:8 translates Acts 18:6 “when they opposed him and said evil things about him, he protested by shaking the dust from his clothes.” The addition of the verb “protested by” in the translation is necessary to clarify for the modern reader that this is a symbolic action. It is similar but not identical to the phrase in Acts 13:51, where the dust from the feet is shaken off. The participle ἐκτιναξάμενος (ektinaxameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[18:6]  ²⁶ sn Your blood be on your own heads! By invoking this epithet Paul declared himself not responsible for their actions in rejecting Jesus whom Paul preached (cf. Ezek 33:4; 3:6-21; Matt 23:35; 27:25).

[18:6]  ²⁷ tn Or “innocent.” BDAG 489 s.v. καθαρός 3.a has “guiltless Ac 18:6.”