Acts 1:7

1:7 He told them, “You are not permitted to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.

Acts 13:2

13:2 While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Acts 18:21

18:21 but said farewell to them and added, “I will come back to you again if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus,

Acts 21:4

21:4 After we located the disciples, we stayed there 10  seven days. They repeatedly told 11  Paul through the Spirit 12  not to set foot 13  in Jerusalem. 14 

tn Grk “It is not for you to know.”

tn This term is frequently used in the LXX of the service performed by priests and Levites in the tabernacle (Exod 28:35, 43; 29:30; 30:20; 35:19; 39:26; Num 1:50; 3:6, 31) and the temple (2 Chr 31:2; 35:3; Joel 1:9, 13; 2:17, and many more examples). According to BDAG 591 s.v. λειτουργέω 1.b it is used “of other expression of religious devotion.” Since the previous verse described the prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch, it is probable that the term here describes two of them (Barnabas and Saul) as they were serving in that capacity. Since they were not in Jerusalem where the temple was located, general religious service is referred to here.

tn Or “Appoint.”

tn Or “but took leave of.”

tn Grk “and saying”; the participle εἰπών (eipwn) has been translated as “added” rather than “said” to avoid redundancy with the previous “said farewell.” The participle εἰπών has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

tn Or “will return.”

tn The participle θέλοντος (qelontos), a genitive absolute construction, has been translated as a conditional adverbial participle. Again Paul acts in dependence on God.

tn A new sentence was begun here in the translation due to the length of the sentence in Greek and the requirements of contemporary English style, which generally uses shorter sentences.

tn BDAG 78 s.v. ἀνευρίσκω has “look/search for (w. finding presupposed) τινάτοὺς μαθητάς Ac 21:4.” The English verb “locate,” when used in reference to persons, has the implication of both looking for and finding someone. The participle ἀνευρόντες (aneuronte") has been taken temporally.

10 tn BDAG 154 s.v. αὐτοῦ states, “deictic adv. designating a position relatively near or far…thereAc 21:4.”

11 tn The imperfect verb ἔλεγον (elegon) has been taken iteratively.

12 sn Although they told this to Paul through the Spirit, it appears Paul had a choice here (see v. 14). Therefore this amounted to a warning: There was risk in going to Jerusalem, so he was urged not to go.

13 tn BDAG 367 s.v. ἐπιβαίνω places Ac 21:4 under 1, “go up/upon, mount, boardπλοίῳAc 27:2…Abs. go on board, embark21:1 D, 2. – So perh. also . εἰς ᾿Ιεροσόλυμα embark for Jerusalem (i.e. to the seaport of Caesarea) vs. 4.” BDAG notes, however, “But this pass. may also belong to 2. to move to an area and be there, set foot in.” Because the message from the disciples to Paul through the Holy Spirit has the character of a warning, the latter meaning has been adopted for this translation.

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