Acts 1:24

1:24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know the hearts of all. Show us which one of these two you have chosen

Acts 1:26

1:26 Then they cast lots for them, and the one chosen was Matthias; so he was counted with the eleven apostles.

Acts 6:11

6:11 Then they secretly instigated some men to say, “We have heard this man speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.”

Acts 7:11

7:11 Then a famine occurred throughout Egypt and Canaan, causing great suffering, and our ancestors 10  could not find food.

Acts 8:34

8:34 Then the eunuch said 11  to Philip, “Please tell me, 12  who is the prophet saying this about – himself or someone else?” 13 

Acts 10:34

10:34 Then Peter started speaking: 14  “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people, 15 

Acts 13:3

13:3 Then, after they had fasted 16  and 17  prayed and placed their hands 18  on them, they sent them off.

Acts 16:32

16:32 Then 19  they spoke the word of the Lord 20  to him, along with all those who were in his house.

Acts 17:14

17:14 Then the brothers sent Paul away to the coast 21  at once, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea. 22 

Acts 21:6

21:6 we said farewell 23  to one another. 24  Then 25  we went aboard the ship, and they returned to their own homes. 26 

Acts 22:2

22:2 (When they heard 27  that he was addressing 28  them in Aramaic, 29  they became even 30  quieter.) 31  Then 32  Paul said,

Acts 22:7

22:7 Then I 33  fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

Acts 25:4

25:4 Then Festus 34  replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, 35  and he himself intended to go there 36  shortly.

Acts 25:12

25:12 Then, after conferring with his council, 37  Festus 38  replied, “You have appealed to Caesar; 39  to Caesar 40  you will go!” 41 

Acts 27:32

27:32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes 42  of the ship’s boat and let it drift away. 43 


tn Grk “And praying, they said.” 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.

tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the continuity with the preceding verse. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style does not.

tn Grk “and the lot fell on Matthias.”

tn Or “he was counted as one of the apostles along with the eleven.”

tn Another translation would be “they suborned” (but this term is not in common usage). “Instigate (secretly), suborn” is given by BDAG 1036 s.v. ὑποβάλλω.

tn Grk “heard him”; but since this is direct discourse, it is more natural (and clearer) to specify the referent (Stephen) as “this man.”

tn Grk “came upon all Egypt.”

tn Grk “and,” but logically causal.

sn Our. Stephen spoke of “our” ancestors (Grk “fathers”) in an inclusive sense throughout the speech until his rebuke in v. 51, where the nation does what “your” ancestors did, at which point an exclusive pronoun is used. This serves to emphasize the rebuke.

10 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

11 tn Grk “answered and said.” The redundant participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqei") has not been translated.

12 tn Grk “I beg you,” “I ask you.”

13 sn About himself, or about someone else? It is likely in 1st century Judaism this would have been understood as either Israel or Isaiah.

14 tn Grk “Opening his mouth Peter said” (a Semitic idiom for beginning to speak in a somewhat formal manner). The participle ἀνοίξας (anoixa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

15 tn Grk “God is not one who is a respecter of persons,” that is, “God is not one to show partiality” (cf. BDAG 887 s.v. προσωπολήμπτης). L&N 88.239 translates this verse “I realize that God does not show favoritism (in dealing with people).” The underlying Hebrew idiom includes the personal element (“respecter of persons”) so the phrase “in dealing with people” is included in the present translation. It fits very well with the following context and serves to emphasize the relational component of God’s lack of partiality. The latter is a major theme in the NT: Rom 2:11; Eph 2:11-22; Col 3:25; Jas 2:1; 1 Pet 1:17. This was the lesson of Peter’s vision.

16 tn The three aorist participles νηστεύσαντες (nhsteusante"), προσευξάμενοι (proseuxamenoi), and ἐπιθέντες (epiqente") are translated as temporal participles. Although they could indicate contemporaneous time when used with an aorist main verb, logically here they are antecedent. On fasting and prayer, see Matt 6:5, 16; Luke 2:37; 5:33; Acts 14:23.

17 tn Normally English style, which uses a coordinating conjunction between only the last two elements of a series of three or more, would call for omission of “and” here. However, since the terms “fasting and prayer” are something of a unit, often linked together, the conjunction has been retained here.

18 sn The placing of hands on Barnabas and Saul (traditionally known as “the laying on of hands”) refers to an act picturing the commission of God and the church for the task at hand.

19 tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the continuity with the preceding verse. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style does not.

20 sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.

21 tn Grk “to the sea.” Here ἕως ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν ({ew" epi thn qalassan) must mean “to the edge of the sea,” that is, “to the coast.” Since there is no mention of Paul taking a ship to Athens, he presumably traveled overland. The journey would have been about 340 mi (550 km).

22 tn Grk “remained there”; the referent (Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

23 tn BDAG 98 s.v. ἀπασπάζομαι has “take leave of, say farewell to τινά someoneἀπησπασάμεθα ἀλλήλους we said farewell to one another Ac 21:6.”

24 sn These words are part of v. 5 in the standard critical Greek text.

25 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.

26 tn Grk “to their own”; the word “homes” is implied.

27 tn ἀκούσαντες (akousante") has been taken temporally.

28 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.”

29 tn Grk “in the Hebrew language.” See the note on “Aramaic” in 21:40.

30 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.”

31 tn BDAG 440 s.v. ἡσυχία 2 has “παρέχειν ἡσυχίαν quiet down, give a hearingAc 22:2.”

sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author.

32 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.

33 tn This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek using the connective τέ (te), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence a new sentence was begun in the translation here. To indicate the logical sequence for the modern English reader, τέ was translated as “then.”

34 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

35 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.

36 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

37 tn That is, with his advisers.

38 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

39 tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

40 tn Or “to the emperor.”

41 sn “To Caesar you will go!” In all probability Festus was pleased to send Paul on to Rome and get this political problem out of his court.

42 sn The soldiers cut the ropes. The centurion and the soldiers were now following Paul’s advice by cutting the ropes to prevent the sailors from escaping.

43 tn Or “let it fall away.” According to BDAG 308 s.v. ἐκπίπτω 1 and 2 the meaning of the verb in this verse could be either “fall away” or “drift away.” Either meaning is acceptable, and the choice between them depends almost entirely on how one reconstructs the scene. Since cutting the boat loose would in any case result in it drifting away (whether capsized or not), the meaning “drift away” as a nautical technical term has been used here.