Proverbs 11:25

11:25 A generous person ¹  will be enriched, ² 

and the one who provides water ³  for others ⁴  will himself be satisfied. ⁵ 

Acts 18:24

Apollos Begins His Ministry

18:24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. ⁶  He was an eloquent speaker, ⁷  well-versed ⁸  in the scriptures.

Acts 18:26-27

18:26 He began to speak out fearlessly ⁹  in the synagogue, ¹⁰  but when Priscilla and Aquila ¹¹  heard him, they took him aside ¹²  and explained the way of God to him more accurately. 18:27 When Apollos ¹³  wanted to cross over to Achaia, ¹⁴  the brothers encouraged ¹⁵  him ¹⁶  and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he ¹⁷  assisted greatly those who had believed by grace,

Acts 19:1

Disciples of John the Baptist at Ephesus

19:1 While ¹⁸  Apollos was in Corinth, ¹⁹  Paul went through the inland ²⁰  regions ²¹  and came to Ephesus. ²²  He ²³  found some disciples there ²⁴ 

[11:25]  ¹ tn Heb “the soul of blessing.” The genitive functions attributively. “Blessing” refers to a gift (Gen 33:11) or a special favor (Josh 15:19). The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole (= person); see BDB 660 s.v. 4.

[11:25]  ² tn Heb “will grow fat.” Drawing on the standard comparison of fatness and abundance (Deut 32:15), the term means “become rich, prosperous.”

[11:25]  ³ tn The verb מַרְוֶה (marveh, “to be saturated; to drink one’s fill”) draws a comparison between providing water for others with providing for those in need (e.g., Jer 31:25; Lam 3:15). The kind act will be reciprocated.

[11:25]  ⁴ tn The phrase “for others” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the causative Hiphil verb which normally takes a direct object; it is elided in the Hebrew for the sake of emphasis. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[11:25]  ⁵ tn This verb also means “to pour water,” and so continues the theme of the preceding participle: The one who gives refreshment to others will be refreshed. BDB 924 s.v. רָוָה lists the form יוֹרֶא (yore’) as a Hophal imperfect of רָוָה (ravah, the only occurrence) and translates it “will himself also be watered” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). But the verb looks very much like a Hiphil of the root יָרָא (yara’, “to shoot; to pour”). So the editors of BHS suggest יוּאָר (yu’ar).

[18:24]  ⁶ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[18:24]  ⁷ tn Or “was a learned man.” In this verse λόγιος (logios) can refer to someone who was an attractive and convincing speaker, a rhetorician (L&N 33.32), or it can refer to the person who has acquired a large part of the intellectual heritage of a given culture (“learned” or “cultured,” L&N 27.20, see also BDAG 598 s.v. λόγιος which lists both meanings as possible here). The description of Apollos’ fervent speaking in the following verses, as well as implications from 1 Cor 1-4, where Paul apparently compares his style and speaking ability with that of Apollos, suggests that eloquent speaking ability or formal rhetorical skill are in view here. This clause has been moved from its order in the Greek text (Grk “a certain Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus, who was powerful in the scriptures”) and paired with the last element (“powerful in the scriptures”) due to the demands of clarity and contemporary English style.

[18:24]  ⁸ tn Grk “powerful.” BDAG 264 s.v. δυνατός 1.b has “in the Scriptures = well-versed 18:24.”

[18:26]  ⁹ tn Or “boldly.” This is a frequent term in Acts (9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 19:8; 26:26).

[18:26]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:26]  ¹¹ sn Priscilla and Aquila. This key couple, of which Priscilla was an important enough figure to be mentioned by name, instructed Apollos about the most recent work of God. See also the note on Aquila in 18:2.

[18:26]  ¹² tn BDAG 883 s.v. προσλαμβάνω 3 has “take aside, mid. τινά someone…So prob. also Ac 18:26: Priscilla and Aquila take Apollos aside to teach him undisturbed.”

[18:27]  ¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Apollos) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:27]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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.

[19:1]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

[19:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “interior.”

[19:1]  ²¹ tn BDAG 92 s.v. ἀνωτερικός has “upper τὰ ἀ. μέρη the upper (i.e. inland) country, the interior Ac 19:1.”

[19:1]  ²² map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[19:1]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.