2:20 The sun will be changed to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the great and glorious 3 day of the Lord comes.
8:9 Now in that city was a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic 4 and amazing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 8:10 All the people, 5 from the least to the greatest, paid close attention to him, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’” 6
26:24 As Paul 15 was saying these things in his defense, Festus 16 exclaimed loudly, “You have lost your mind, 17 Paul! Your great learning is driving you insane!”
1 sn Proselytes refers to Gentile (i.e., non-Jewish) converts to Judaism.
2 tn Or “God’s mighty works.” Here the genitive τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a subjective genitive.
3 tn Or “and wonderful.”
4 tn On the idiom προϋπῆρχεν μαγεύων (prouphrcen mageuwn) meaning “had been practicing magic” see BDAG 889 s.v. προϋπάρχω.
5 tn Grk “all of them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Or “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” The translation “what is called the Great Power of God” is given by BDAG 263 s.v. δύναμις 5, but the repetition of the article before καλουμένη μεγάλη (kaloumenh megalh) suggests the translation “the power of God that is called ‘Great.’”
7 tn BDAG 665 s.v. ναός 1.a states, “Specif. of temples: of replicas of the temple of Artemis at Ephesus 19:24…but here, near ἱερόν vs. 27…ναός can be understood in the more restricted sense shrine, where the image of the goddess stood.”
8 sn Artemis was the name of a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus.
9 tn Grk “brought not a little business” (an idiom).
10 sn A great deal of business. The charge that Christianity brought economic and/or social upheaval was made a number of times in Acts: 16:20-21; 17:6-7; 18:13.
11 tn Grk “But recognizing.” The participle ἐπιγνόντες (epignonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
12 tn Grk “[they shouted] with one voice from all of them” (an idiom).
13 sn Artemis was a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus, 1.25 mi (2 km) northeast of the Grand Theater. Dimensions were 418 ft by 239 ft (125 m by 72 m) for the platform; the temple proper was 377 ft by 180 ft (113 m by 54 m). The roof was supported by 117 columns, each 60 ft (18 m) high by 6 ft (1.8 m) in diameter. The Emperor Justinian of Byzantium later took these columns for use in construction of the Hagia Sophia, where they still exist (in modern day Istanbul).
14 sn They all shouted…for about two hours. The extent of the tumult shows the racial and social tensions of a cosmopolitan city like Ephesus, indicating what the Christians in such locations had to face.
15 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
17 tn On the term translated “lost your mind” see BDAG 610 s.v. μαίνομαι, which has “you’re out of your mind, you’re raving, said to one whose enthusiasm seems to have outrun better judgment 26:24.”
sn The expression “You have lost your mind” would be said to someone who speaks incredible things, in the opinion of the hearer. Paul’s mention of the resurrection (v. 23) was probably what prompted Festus to say this.
18 tn Grk “is going to be with disaster.”
19 tn Or “hardship,” “damage.” BDAG 1022 s.v. ὕβρις 3 states, “fig. hardship, disaster, damage caused by the elements…w. ζημία Ac 27:10.”
20 tn Grk “souls” (here, one’s physical life).