Acts 1:4

1:4 While he was with them, he declared, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait there for what my Father promised, which you heard about from me.

Acts 3:21

3:21 This one heaven must receive until the time all things are restored, 10  which God declared 11  from times long ago 12  through his holy prophets.

Acts 7:17

7:17 “But as the time drew near for God to fulfill the promise he had declared to Abraham, 13  the people increased greatly in number 14  in Egypt,


tn Or “While he was assembling with them,” or “while he was sharing a meal with them.” There are three basic options for translating the verb συναλίζω (sunalizw): (1) “Eat (salt) with, share a meal with”; (2) “bring together, assemble”; (3) “spend the night with, stay with” (see BDAG 964 s.v.). The difficulty with the first option is that it does not fit the context, and this meaning is not found elsewhere. The second option is difficult because of the singular number and the present tense. The third option is based on a spelling variation of συναυλιζόμενος (sunaulizomeno"), which some minuscules actually read here. The difference in meaning between (2) and (3) is not great, but (3) seems to fit the context somewhat better here.

tn Grk “ordered them”; the command “Do not leave” is not in Greek but is an indirect quotation in the original (see note at end of the verse for explanation).

map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text (direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context).

tn Grk “the,” with the article used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

tn Grk “for the promise of the Father.” Jesus is referring to the promised gift of the Holy Spirit (see the following verse).

tn Grk “While he was with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for ‘what my Father promised, which you heard about from me.’” This verse moves from indirect to direct discourse. This abrupt change is very awkward, so the entire quotation has been rendered as direct discourse in the translation.

tn Grk “whom,” continuing the sentence from v. 20.

sn The term must used here (δεῖ, dei, “it is necessary”) is a key Lukan term to point to the plan of God and what must occur.

10 tn Grk “until the times of the restoration of all things.” Because of the awkward English style of the extended genitive construction, and because the following relative clause has as its referent the “time of restoration” rather than “all things,” the phrase was translated “until the time all things are restored.”

sn The time all things are restored. What that restoration involves is already recorded in the scriptures of the nation of Israel.

11 tn Or “spoke.”

12 tn Or “from all ages past.”

sn From times long ago. Once again, God’s plan is emphasized.

13 tn Grk “But as the time for the fulfillment of the promise drew near that God had declared to Abraham.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to improve English style. See vv. 6-7 above.

14 tn Grk “the people increased and multiplied.”