1:1 I wrote 1 the former 2 account, 3 Theophilus, 4 about all that Jesus began to do and teach
1 tn Or “produced,” Grk “made.”
2 tn Or “first.” The translation “former” is preferred because “first” could imply to the modern English reader that the author means that his previous account was the first one to be written down. The Greek term πρῶτος (prwtos) does not necessarily mean “first” in an absolute sense, but can refer to the first in a set or series. That is what is intended here – the first account (known as the Gospel of Luke) as compared to the second one (known as Acts).
3 tn The Greek word λόγος (logos) is sometimes translated “book” (NRSV, NIV) or “treatise” (KJV). A formal, systematic treatment of a subject is implied, but the word “book” may be too specific and slightly misleading to the modern reader, so “account” has been used.
sn The former account refers to the Gospel of Luke, which was “volume one” of the two-volume work Luke-Acts.
4 tn Grk “O Theophilus,” but the usage of the vocative in Acts with ὦ (w) is unemphatic, following more the classical idiom (see ExSyn 69).
5 tn Grk “to bind.”
6 sn The expression “those who call on your name” is a frequent description of believers (Acts 2:21; 1 Cor 1:2; Rom 10:13).
7 tn Grk “And all.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
8 sn Lydda was a city northwest of Jerusalem on the way to Joppa.
9 sn Sharon refers to the plain of Sharon, a region along the coast of Palestine.
10 tn Repetition of the pronoun “they” as subject of ἐπέστρεψαν (epestreyan) is not strictly necessary in English, but emphasizes slightly the resultative nature of the final clause: They turned to the Lord as a result of seeing Aeneas after he was healed.
11 sn They turned. To “turn” is a good summary term for the response to the gospel.
12 tn Grk “John having already proclaimed before his coming a baptism…,” a genitive absolute construction which is awkward in English. A new sentence was begun in the translation at this point.
13 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the context for clarity, since God is mentioned in the preceding context and John the Baptist in the following clause.
14 sn John refers here to John the Baptist.
15 tn Grk “a baptism of repentance”; the genitive has been translated as a genitive of purpose.