17:22 So Paul stood 4 before the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious 5 in all respects. 6
1 tn Grk “left out of their midst”; the referent (the Areopagus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Or “to the council of the Areopagus.” See also the term in v. 22.
sn The Areopagus has been traditionally understood as reference to a rocky hill near the Acropolis in Athens, although this place may well have been located in the marketplace at the foot of the hill (L&N 93.412; BDAG 129 s.v. ῎Αρειος πάγος). This term does not refer so much to the place, however, as to the advisory council of Athens known as the Areopagus, which dealt with ethical, cultural, and religious matters, including the supervision of education and controlling the many visiting lecturers. Thus it could be translated the council of the Areopagus. See also the term in v. 22.
4 tn Grk “standing…said.” The participle ζηλώσαντες (zhlwsante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
5 tn The term δεισιδαιμονεστέρους (deisidaimonesterou") is difficult. On the one hand it can have the positive sense of “devout,” but on the other hand it can have the negative sense of “superstitious” (BDAG 216 s.v. δεισιδαίμων). As part of a laudatory introduction (the technical rhetorical term for this introduction was capatatio), the term is probably positive here. It may well be a “backhanded” compliment, playing on the ambiguity.
6 tn BDAG 513 s.v. κατά B.6 translates the phrase κατὰ πάντα (kata panta) as “in all respects.”
7 tn Although the Greek word here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which normally refers to males, husbands, etc., in this particular context it must have a generic force similar to that of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), since “a woman named Damaris” is mentioned specifically as being part of this group (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. ἀνήρ 1.a).
8 tn Grk “joining him, believed.” The participle κολληθέντες (kollhqente") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. On the use of this verb in Acts, see 5:13; 8:29; 9:26; 10:28.
9 tn Grk “among whom.” Due to the length of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been translated as a third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.
10 tn Grk “the Areopagite” (a member of the council of the Areopagus). The noun “Areopagite” is not in common usage today in English. It is clearer to use a descriptive phrase “a member of the Areopagus” (L&N 11.82). However, this phrase alone can be misleading in English: “Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris” could be understood to refer to three people (Dionysius, an unnamed member of the Areopagus, and Damaris) rather than only two. Converting the descriptive phrase to a relative clause in English (“who was a member of the Areopagus”) removes the ambiguity.
11 tn Grk “and a woman”; but this 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.