10:17 Now while Peter was puzzling over 1 what the vision he had seen could signify, the men sent by Cornelius had learned where Simon’s house was 2 and approached 3 the gate.
23:6 Then when Paul noticed 18 that part of them were Sadducees 19 and the others Pharisees, 20 he shouted out in the council, 21 “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection 22 of the dead!”
1 tn Or “was greatly confused over.” The term means to be perplexed or at a loss (BDAG 235 s.v. διαπορέω).
2 tn Grk “having learned.” The participle διερωτήσαντες (dierwthsante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
3 tn BDAG 418 s.v. ἐφίστημι 1 has “ἐπί τι approach or stand by someth. (Sir 41:24) Ac 10:17.”
sn As Peter puzzled over the meaning of the vision, the messengers from Cornelius approached the gate. God’s direction here had a sense of explanatory timing.
4 tn Grk “was going to bring him out,” but the upcoming trial is implied. See Acts 12:4.
5 tn Grk “two chains, and.” Logically it makes better sense to translate this as a temporal clause, although technically it is a coordinate clause in Greek.
6 tn Or “were guarding.”
7 tn Grk “And behold.” 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. The interjection ἰδού (idou), often difficult to translate into English, expresses the suddenness of the angel’s appearance.
8 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.
9 tn Grk “striking the side of Peter, he awoke him saying.” The term refers to a push or a light tap (BDAG 786 s.v. πατάσσω 1.a). The participle πατάξας (pataxa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
10 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Grk “the hands,” but the wrist was considered a part of the hand.
12 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
13 tn BDAG 607 s.v. λύω 3 has “λυθείσης τ. συναγωγῆς when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up Ac 13:43.”
14 tn Normally the phrase σεβόμενοι τὸν θεόν (sebomenoi ton qeon) refers to Gentiles (“God-fearers”) who believed in God, attended the synagogue, and followed the Mosaic law to some extent, but stopped short of undergoing circumcision. BDAG 918 s.v. σέβω 1.b lists in this category references in Acts 16:14; 18:7; with σεβόμενοι alone, Acts 13:50; 17:4, 17; the phrase is also found in Josephus, Ant. 14.7.2 (14.110). Unique to this particular verse is the combination σεβόμενοι προσηλύτων (sebomenoi proshlutwn). Later rabbinic discussion suggests that to be regarded as a proper proselyte, a Gentile male had to submit to circumcision. If that is the case here, these Gentiles in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch should be regarded as full proselytes who had converted completely to Judaism and undergone circumcision. It is probably more likely, however, that προσηλύτων is used here in a somewhat looser sense (note the use of σεβομένας [sebomena"] alone to refer to women in Acts 13:50) and that these Gentiles were still in the category commonly called “God-fearers” without being full, technical proselytes to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Regardless, the point is that many Gentiles, as well as Jews, came to faith.
15 tn This is the meaning given for ἔπειθον (epeiqon) in this verse by BDAG 791 s.v. πείθω 1.b.
16 tn Grk “who, as they were speaking with them, were persuading them.”
17 tn The verb προμένειν (promenein) is similar in force to the use of μένω (menw, “to reside/remain”) in the Gospel and Epistles of John.
18 tn BDAG 200 s.v. γινώσκω 4 has “to be aware of someth., perceive, notice, realize”; this is further clarified by section 4.c: “w. ὅτι foll….Ac 23:6.”
19 sn See the note on Sadducees in 4:1.
20 sn See the note on Pharisee in 5:34.
21 tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).
22 tn That is, concerning the hope that the dead will be resurrected. Grk “concerning the hope and resurrection.” BDAG 320 s.v. ἐλπίς 1.b.α states, “Of Israel’s messianic hope Ac 23:6 (ἐ. καὶ ἀνάστασις for ἐ. τῆς ἀν. [obj. gen] as 2 Macc 3:29 ἐ. καὶ σωτηρία).” With an objective genitive construction, the resurrection of the dead would be the “object” of the hope.
23 tn Grk “to which [promise] our twelve tribes…” The antecedent of the relative pronoun (the promise in v. 6) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 tn Or “earnestly worship.” The object of this service, God, is omitted but implied: BDAG 587 s.v. λατρεύω states, “Without the dat. of the one to whom service is given: ἐν ἐκτενείᾳ νύκτα κ. ἡμέραν λ. serve (God) earnestly night and day Ac 26:7.” Although clear from the context in Greek, “God” must be supplied as the recipient of the service for the modern English reader.
25 tn Grk “I am being accused by the Jews.” The passive construction was simplified by converting it to an active one in the translation.
26 tn Grk “O King!”