1:6 So when they had gathered together, they began to ask him, 1 “Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
3:1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time 2 for prayer, 3 at three o’clock in the afternoon. 4
7:17 “But as the time drew near for God to fulfill the promise he had declared to Abraham, 10 the people increased greatly in number 11 in Egypt,
1 tn Grk “they began to ask him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. The imperfect tense of the Greek verb ἠρώτων (hrwtwn) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
2 tn Grk “hour.”
3 sn Going up to the temple at the time for prayer. The earliest Christians, being of Jewish roots, were still participating in the institutions of Judaism at this point. Their faith in Christ did not make them non-Jewish in their practices.
4 tn Grk “at the ninth hour.” This is calculated from sunrise (Josephus, Ant. 14.4.3 [14.65]; Dan 9:21).
5 tn Grk “whom,” continuing the sentence from v. 20.
6 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.
7 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.
8 tn Or “spoke.”
9 tn Or “from all ages past.”
sn From times long ago. Once again, God’s plan is emphasized.
10 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.
11 tn Grk “the people increased and multiplied.”
12 tn Or “was well-formed before God,” or “was well-pleasing to God” (BDAG 145 s.v. ἀστεῖος suggests the meaning is more like “well-bred” as far as God was concerned; see Exod 2:2).
13 tn Grk “who was brought up for three months.” The continuation of the sentence as a relative clause is awkward in English, so a new sentence was started in the translation by changing the relative pronoun to a regular pronoun (“he”).
14 tn Grk “And.” 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.
15 tn Grk “In those days.”
16 tn Or “a bull calf” (see Exod 32:4-6). The term μοσχοποιέω (moscopoiew) occurs only in Christian writings according to BDAG 660 s.v.
17 tn Grk “and brought,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
18 tn The imperfect verb εὐφραίνοντο (eufrainonto) has been translated ingressively. See BDAG 414-15 s.v. εὐφραίνω 2.
19 tn Or “in what they had done.”
20 tn Grk “It happened that in those days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
21 tn Grk “becoming sick, she died.” The participle ἀσθενήσασαν (asqenhsasan) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
22 tn The participle λούσαντες (lousante") is taken temporally.
23 tn Grk “washed her,” but the reference is to her corpse.
24 tn The words “all this took” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to make a complete statement in English. There is debate over where this period of 450 years fits and what it includes: (1) It could include the years in Egypt, the conquest of Canaan, and the distribution of the land; (2) some connect it with the following period of the judges. This latter approach seems to conflict with 1 Kgs 6:1; see also Josephus, Ant. 8.3.1 (8.61).
25 tn Grk “And after these things.” 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.
26 tn The words “the time of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
27 tn Grk “And after.” 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.
28 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
29 tn The imperfect verb ηὐκαίρουν (hukairoun) has been translated as a customary or habitual imperfect.
30 tn BDAG 406-7 s.v. εὐκαιρέω has “used to spend their time in nothing else than telling Ac 17:21.”
31 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The reference to newness may be pejorative.
32 tn Grk “Having spent”; the participle ποιήσας (poihsas) is taken temporally.
33 sn Galatia refers to either (1) the region of the old kingdom of Galatia in the central part of Asia Minor, or (2) the Roman province of Galatia, whose principal cities in the 1st century were Ancyra and Pisidian Antioch. The exact extent and meaning of this area has been a subject of considerable controversy in modern NT studies.
34 sn Phrygia was a district in central Asia Minor west of Pisidia. See Acts 16:6.
35 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
36 tn Grk “going back upstairs.” The participle ἀναβάς (anabas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
37 tn Grk “talking with them.” The participle ὁμιλήσας (Jomilhsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
38 tn L&N 39.41 has “οὐκ ἄρα σὺ εἶ ὁ Αἰγύπτιος ὁ πρὸ τούτων τῶν ἡμερῶν ἀναστατώσας ‘then you are not that Egyptian who some time ago started a rebellion’ Ac 21:38.”
39 tn Grk “of the Sicarii.”
sn The term ‘Assassins’ is found several times in the writings of Josephus (J. W. 2.13.3 [2.254-257]; Ant. 20.8.10 [20.186]). It was the name of the most fanatical group among the Jewish nationalists, very hostile to Rome, who did not hesitate to assassinate their political opponents. They were named Sicarii in Latin after their weapon of choice, the short dagger or sicarius which could be easily hidden under one’s clothing. In effect, the officer who arrested Paul had thought he was dealing with a terrorist.
40 tn Or “desert.”
41 tn Grk “before these days.”