8:34 Then the eunuch said 8 to Philip, “Please tell me, 9 who is the prophet saying this about – himself or someone else?” 10
“Men of Israel, 16 and you Gentiles who fear God, 17 listen:
1 tn Grk “And in those days.” 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.
2 tn Or “brethren” (but the term includes both male and female believers present in this gathering, as indicated by those named in vv. 13-14).
3 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” Linguistically, “angel of the Lord” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of the Lord” or “the angel of the Lord” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.
4 tn Grk “opening the doors of the prison.” The participle ἀνοίξας (anoixa") has been translated as a finite verb due to the requirements of contemporary English style.
5 tn Greek φυλακῆς (fulakh"), a different word from the one in v. 18 (τήρησις, thrhsi", “jail”).
6 tn Or “brought them out.” Grk “and leading them out, said.” The participle ἐξαγαγών (exagagwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
sn Led them out. The action by God served to vindicate the apostles. It showed that whatever court the Jewish leaders represented, they did not represent God.
7 tn Grk “And he said, ‘Look!’” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here; a new sentence is begun instead.
8 tn Grk “answered and said.” The redundant participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqei") has not been translated.
9 tn Grk “I beg you,” “I ask you.”
10 sn About himself, or about someone else? It is likely in 1st century Judaism this would have been understood as either Israel or Isaiah.
11 tn Or “your gifts to the needy.”
12 sn This statement is a paraphrase rather than an exact quotation of Acts 10:4.
13 tn Possibly there is a subtle distinction in meaning between κοινός (koinos) and ἀκάθαρτος (akaqartos) here, but according to L&N 53.39 it is difficult to determine precise differences in meaning based on existing contexts. The sentiment Peter expressed is like Ezek 4:14.
14 tn This participle, ἀναστάς (anasta"), and the following one, κατασείσας (kataseisa"), are both translated as adverbial participles of attendant circumstance.
15 tn Or “motioned.”
16 tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context involving an address to a synagogue gathering, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage, although it can also be argued that Paul’s remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.
17 tn Grk “and those who fear God,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44.
18 tn BDAG 722 s.v. ὀρθός 1.a has “stand upright on your feet.”
19 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn This verb is imperfect tense in contrast to the previous verb, which is aorist. It has been translated ingressively, since the start of a sequence is in view here.
21 tn BDAG 98 s.v. ἀπασπάζομαι has “take leave of, say farewell to τινά someone…ἀπησπασάμεθα ἀλλήλους we said farewell to one another Ac 21:6.”
22 sn These words are part of v. 5 in the standard critical Greek text.
23 tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.
24 tn Grk “to their own”; the word “homes” is implied.
25 tn The participle πειθομένου (peiqomenou) in this genitive absolute construction has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
26 tn Grk “we became silent, saying.”
27 sn “The Lord’s will be done.” Since no one knew exactly what would happen, the matter was left in the Lord’s hands.
28 tn ἀκούσαντες (akousante") has been taken temporally.
29 tn Or “spoke out to.” L&N 33.27 has “to address an audience, with possible emphasis upon loudness – ‘to address, to speak out to.’ πολλῆς δέ σιγῆς γενομένης προσεφώνησεν τῇ ᾿Εβραίδι διαλέκτῳ ‘when they were quiet, he addressed them in Hebrew’ Ac 21:40.”
30 tn Grk “in the Hebrew language.” See the note on “Aramaic” in 21:40.
31 tn BDAG 613-14 s.v. μᾶλλον 1 “Abs. μ. can mean to a greater degree (than before), even more, now more than ever Lk 5:15; Jn 5:18; 19:8; Ac 5:14; 22:2; 2 Cor 7:7.”
32 tn BDAG 440 s.v. ἡσυχία 2 has “παρέχειν ἡσυχίαν quiet down, give a hearing…Ac 22:2.”
sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author.
33 tn Grk “and.” Since this represents a continuation of the speech begun in v. 1, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.
34 tn The participle εἰπόντος (eiponto") has been translated temporally.
35 tn Or “a dispute” (BDAG 940 s.v. στάσις 3).
36 tn Grk “there came about an argument.” This has been simplified to “an argument began”
37 tn Grk “said.”
38 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
39 tn Or “In a short time you will make me a Christian.” On the difficulty of the precise nuances of Agrippa’s reply in this passage, see BDAG 791 s.v. πείθω 1.b. The idiom is like 1 Kgs 21:7 LXX. The point is that Paul was trying to persuade Agrippa to accept his message. If Agrippa had let Paul persuade him, he would have converted to Christianity.
sn The question “In such a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?” was probably a ploy on Agrippa’s part to deflect Paul from his call for a decision. Note also how the tables have turned: Agrippa was brought in to hear Paul’s defense, and now ends up defending himself. The questioner is now being questioned.
40 tn Grk “they spoke to one another saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
41 tn BDAG 93 s.v. ἄξιος 1.b has “θανάτου ἢ δεσμῶν ἄ. nothing deserving death or imprisonment 23:29; 26:31.”
sn Not doing anything deserving death… Here is yet another declaration of Paul’s innocence, but still no release. The portrayal shows how unjust Paul’s confinement was.
42 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
43 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
44 tn Or “set free.”
45 tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
sn If he had not appealed to Caesar. Ultimately Agrippa and Festus blamed what Paul himself had done in appealing to Caesar for his own continued custody. In terms of Luke’s narrative, this still appears unjust and a denial of responsibility.
46 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
47 tn Or “persuaded.”
48 tn BDAG 456 s.v. κυβερνήτης 1 has “one who is responsible for the management of a ship, shipmaster…W. ναύκληρος, the ‘shipowner’…Ac 27:11” See further L. Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World, 316-18.
49 tn Grk “than by what was said by Paul.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one to simplify the translation.
sn More convinced by the captain and the ship’s owner than by what Paul said. The position taken by the centurion was logical, since he was following “professional” advice. But this was not a normal voyage.
50 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
51 sn The pronoun you is plural in Greek.