12:25 So Barnabas and Saul returned to 25 Jerusalem 26 when they had completed 27 their mission, 28 bringing along with them John Mark. 29
26:30 So the king got up, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them,
27:9 Since considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous 42 because the fast 43 was already over, 44 Paul advised them, 45
1 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.
2 tn Grk “and the lot fell on Matthias.”
3 tn Or “he was counted as one of the apostles along with the eleven.”
4 tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.
sn See the note on the phrase the temple courts in the previous verse.
5 tn Grk “alms.” See the note on the word “money” in the previous verse.
6 tn Or “nothing to say in opposition.”
7 tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).
8 tn Grk “It” (or “They,” plural). The referent of the understood pronoun subject, the proceeds from the sales, of the verb διεδίδετο (diedideto) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 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.
10 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.
11 tn Greek φυλακῆς (fulakh"), a different word from the one in v. 18 (τήρησις, thrhsi", “jail”).
12 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.
13 tn Grk “his brothers.”
14 tn Grk “was granting them deliverance.” The narrator explains that this act pictured what Moses could do for his people.
15 tn Grk “by his hand,” where the hand is a metaphor for the entire person.
16 sn They did not understand. Here is the theme of the speech. The people did not understand what God was doing through those he chose. They made the same mistake with Joseph at first. See Acts 3:17; 13:27. There is good precedent for this kind of challenging review of history in the ancient scriptures: Ps 106:6-46; Ezek 20; and Neh 9:6-38.
17 tn Grk “And the.” 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.
18 tn The participle πιστεύσας (pisteusa") is articular and thus cannot be adverbial. It is adjectival, modifying ἀριθμός (ariqmo"), but has been translated into English as a relative clause (“who believed”).
19 sn Again, the expression turned is a summary term for responding to the gospel.
20 tn Grk “Word.”
21 tn Grk “was heard in the ears,” an idiom. L&N 24.67 states that the idiom means “to hear in secret” (which it certainly does in Matt 10:27), but secrecy does not seem to be part of the context here, and there is no particular reason to suggest the report was made in secret.
22 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
23 tc ‡ Most
24 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19. Again the Jerusalem church exercised an oversight role.
25 tc There are a number of variants at this point in the text: εἰς (eis, “to”) in א B Ï sams syhmg; ἀπό (apo, “from”) in D E Ψ 36 323 453 614 1175 al; ἐξ (ex, “from”) in Ì74 A 33 945 1739 al; ἐξ ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ εἰς ᾿Αντιόχειαν (ex Ierousalhm ei" Antioceian, “from Jerusalem to Antioch”) in {a few later manuscripts and part of the Itala}. A decision on this problem is very difficult, but for several reasons εἰς can be preferred. It is the most difficult reading by far in light of the context, since Paul and Barnabas were going to Jerusalem in 11:30. It is found in better witnesses, א and B being very strong evidence. The other readings, ἐξ and ἀπό, are different from εἰς yet bear essentially the same meaning as each other; this seems to suggest that scribes had problems with εἰς and tried to choose an acceptable revision. If εἰς is the earliest reading, ἀπό may be a clarification of ἐξ, and ἐξ could have arisen through confusion of letters. Or ἐξ and ἀπό could both have independently arisen from εἰς as a more acceptable preposition. Despite such arguments, however, the case for εἰς is not airtight: either ἐξ or ἀπό could be preferred on other lines of reasoning. The reading ἐξ enjoys the earliest support, and εἰς could have arisen through the same confusion of letters mentioned above. The immediate and wider context seems to mitigate against εἰς as the original reading: The aorist participle πληρώσαντες (plhrwsante", “when they had completed”) seems to signal the end of the mission to Jerusalem with the famine relief, so it would make sense in the context for the team to be coming from Jerusalem (to Antioch) rather than to Jerusalem, and 13:1 certainly presents the scene at Antioch. The later addition εἰς ᾿Αντιόχειαν after ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ in some
26 sn That is, from Jerusalem to Antioch (see Acts 11:29-30).
map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
27 tn Grk “fulfilled.”
28 tn Grk “ministry” or “service.”
29 tn Grk “John who was also called Mark.”
30 tn The participle ἐκτιναξάμενοι (ektinaxamenoi) is taken temporally. It could also be translated as a participle of attendant circumstance (“So they shook…and went”).
31 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.
32 sn Iconium was a city in Lycaonia about 90 mi (145 km) east southeast of Pisidian Antioch. It was the easternmost city of Phrygia.
33 tn Or “prison.”
34 tn L&N 6.21 has “stocks” for εἰς τὸ ξύλον (ei" to xulon) here, as does BDAG 685 s.v. ξύλον 2.b. However, it is also possible (as mentioned in L&N 18.12) that this does not mean “stocks” but a block of wood (a log or wooden column) in the prison to which prisoners’ feet were chained or tied. Such a possibility is suggested by v. 26, where the “bonds” (“chains”?) of the prisoners loosened.
35 tn ἀκούσαντες (akousante") has been taken temporally.
36 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.”
37 tn Grk “in the Hebrew language.” See the note on “Aramaic” in 21:40.
38 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.”
39 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.
40 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.
41 tn BDAG 55 s.v. ἀμφότεροι 2 has “all, even when more than two are involved…Φαρισαῖοι ὁμολογοῦσιν τὰ ἀ. believe in them all 23:8.” On this belief see Josephus, J. W. 2.8.14 (2.163); Ant. 18.1.3 (18.14).
sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
42 tn Or “unsafe” (BDAG 383 s.v. ἐπισφαλής). The term is a NT hapax legomenon.
43 sn The fast refers to the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. It was now into October and the dangerous winter winds would soon occur (Suetonius, Life of Claudius 18; Josephus, J. W. 1.14.2-3 [1.279-281]).
44 tn The accusative articular infinitive παρεληλυθέναι (parelhluqenai) after the preposition διά (dia) is causal. BDAG 776 s.v. παρέρχομαι 2 has “διὰ τὸ τὴν νηστείαν ἤδη παρεληλυθέναι because the fast was already over Ac 27:9.”
45 tn Grk “Paul advised, saying to them.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated. On the term translated “advised,” see BDAG 764 s.v. παραινέω, which usually refers to recommendations.
sn Paul advised them. A literary theme surfaces here: Though Paul is under arrest, he will be the one to guide them all through the dangers of the storm and shipwreck, showing clearly God’s presence and protection of him. The story is told in great detail. This literary effect of slowing down the passage of time and narrating with many details serves to add a sense of drama to the events described.
46 sn The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners. The issue here was not cruelty, but that the soldiers would be legally responsible if any prisoners escaped and would suffer punishment themselves. So they were planning to do this as an act of self-preservation. See Acts 16:27 for a similar incident.
47 tn The participle ἐκκολυμβήσας (ekkolumbhsa") has been taken instrumentally.