6:8 Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and miraculous signs 8 among the people.
8:4 Now those who had been forced to scatter went around proclaiming the good news of the word.
10:1 Now there was a man in Caesarea 12 named Cornelius, a centurion 13 of what was known as the Italian Cohort. 14
10:34 Then Peter started speaking: 15 “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people, 16
18:12 Now while Gallio 23 was proconsul 24 of Achaia, 25 the Jews attacked Paul together 26 and brought him before the judgment seat, 27
20:25 “And now 32 I know that none 33 of you among whom I went around proclaiming the kingdom 34 will see me 35 again.
27:9 Since considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous 38 because the fast 39 was already over, 40 Paul advised them, 41
1 tn In the Greek text v. 5 is a continuation of the previous sentence, which is long and complicated. In keeping with the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
2 tn The pronoun is plural in Greek.
3 tn Or “Lord, take notice of.”
4 sn Grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage. The request is not for a stop to persecution or revenge on the opponents, but for boldness (great courage) to carry out the mission of proclaiming the message of what God is doing through Jesus.
5 tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18.
6 tn Grk “word.”
7 tn Or “with all boldness.”
8 tn The miraculous nature of these signs is implied in the context. Here the work of miracles extends beyond the Twelve for the first time.
9 tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which is used only rarely in a generic sense of both men and women. In the historical setting here, Paul’s traveling companions were almost certainly all males.
10 tn That is, unable to speak because of fear or amazement. See BDAG 335 s.v. ἐνεός.
11 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Acts 22:9 appears to indicate that they saw the light but did not hear a voice. They were “witnesses” that something happened.
12 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). It was known as “Caesarea by the sea” (BDAG 499 s.v. Καισάρεια 2). Largely Gentile, it was a center of Roman administration and the location of many of Herod the Great’s building projects (Josephus, Ant. 15.9.6 [15.331-341]).
map For location see Map2-C1; Map4-B3; Map5-F2; Map7-A1; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
13 sn A centurion was a noncommissioned officer in the Roman army or one of the auxiliary territorial armies, commanding a centuria of (nominally) 100 men. The responsibilities of centurions were broadly similar to modern junior officers, but there was a wide gap in social status between them and officers, and relatively few were promoted beyond the rank of senior centurion. The Roman troops stationed in Judea were auxiliaries, who would normally be rewarded with Roman citizenship after 25 years of service. Some of the centurions may have served originally in the Roman legions (regular army) and thus gained their citizenship at enlistment. Others may have inherited it, like Paul.
14 sn A cohort was a Roman military unit of about 600 soldiers, one-tenth of a legion (BDAG 936 s.v. σπεῖρα). The Italian Cohort has been identified as cohors II Italica which is known to have been stationed in Syria in
15 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.
16 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.
17 tn The words “the door” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (see Acts 12:13).
18 sn That they were greatly astonished is a common response in Luke-Acts to God’s work (Luke 8:56; Acts 2:7, 12; 8:13; 9:21; 10:45).
19 tn Or “has deliberately paid no attention to.”
20 tn Or “times when people did not know.”
21 tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).
22 sn He now commands all people everywhere to repent. God was now asking all mankind to turn to him. No nation or race was excluded.
23 sn Gallio was proconsul of Achaia from
24 sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.
25 sn Achaia was a Roman province created in 146
26 tn Grk “with one accord.”
27 tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), there is no need for an alternative translation here since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time.
sn The judgment seat (βῆμα, bhma) was a raised platform mounted by steps and sometimes furnished with a seat, used by officials in addressing an assembly or making pronouncements, often on judicial matters. The judgment seat was a familiar item in Greco-Roman culture, often located in the agora, the public square or marketplace in the center of a city. So this was a very public event.
28 tn Grk “And now, behold.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.
29 tn Grk “bound.”
30 sn This journey to Jerusalem suggests a parallel between Paul and Jesus, since the “Jerusalem journey” motif figures so prominently in Luke’s Gospel (9:51-19:44).
31 tn BDAG 965 s.v. συναντάω 2 has τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ συναντήσοντα ἐμοὶ μὴ εἰδώς without knowing what will happen to me there Ac 20:22.”
32 tn Grk “And now, behold.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.
33 tn Grk “all of you…will not see.” Greek handles its negation somewhat differently from English, and the translation follows English grammatical conventions.
34 sn Note how Paul’s usage of the expression proclaiming the kingdom is associated with (and intertwined with) his testifying to the good news of God’s grace in v. 24. For Paul the two concepts were interrelated.
35 tn Grk “will see my face” (an idiom for seeing someone in person).
36 tn BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.a.α has “κρίνεσθαι ἐπί τινι be on trial because of a thing Ac 26:6.”
37 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
38 tn Or “unsafe” (BDAG 383 s.v. ἐπισφαλής). The term is a NT hapax legomenon.
39 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]).
40 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.”
41 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.
42 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.
43 tn The participle ἐκκολυμβήσας (ekkolumbhsa") has been taken instrumentally.