2:17 ‘And in the last days 1 it will be,’ God says,
‘that I will pour out my Spirit on all people, 2
and your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
and your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
28:27 For the heart of this people has become dull, 26
and their ears are hard of hearing, 27
and they have closed their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, 28 and I would heal them.”’ 29
1 sn The phrase in the last days is not quoted from Joel, but represents Peter’s interpretive explanation of the current events as falling “in the last days.”
2 tn Grk “on all flesh.”
3 tn Grk “and placing his hands on Saul, he said.” The participle ἐπιθείς (epiqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. For the same reason καί (kai) has not been translated before the participle.
4 tn Grk “on him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Grk “on the road in which you came,” but the relative clause makes for awkward English style, so it was translated as a temporal clause (“as you came here”).
6 sn Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Here someone who is not an apostle (Ananias) commissions another person with the Spirit.
7 tn Grk “And now.” 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.
8 tn Grk “upon,” but in a negative sense.
9 sn The term translated mistiness here appears in the writings of the physician Galen as a medical technical description of a person who is blind. The picture of judgment to darkness is symbolic as well. Whatever power Elymas had, it represented darkness. Magic will again be an issue in Acts 19:18-19. This judgment is like that of Ananias and his wife in Acts 5:1-11.
10 tn Grk “fell on.”
11 tn The noun χειραγωγός (ceiragwgo") is plural, so “people” is used rather than singular “someone.”
12 tn Grk “persuading.” The participle πείσας (peisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
13 tn Or “misled.”
14 tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 3.a has “of pers. ὄχλος a large crowd…Ac 11:24, 26; 19:26.”
15 map For location see JP1-D2; JP2-D2; JP3-D2; JP4-D2.
16 tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 22.
17 tn The participle λέγων (legwn) has been regarded as indicating instrumentality.
18 tn The words “at all” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
sn Gods made by hands are not gods at all. Paul preached against paganism’s idolatry. Here is a one-line summary of a speech like that in Acts 17:22-31.
19 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
20 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
21 tn Probably best understood as rhetorical hyperbole. BDAG 825 s.v. πλῆθος 2.b.γ states, “people, populace, population…τὸ πλῆθος the populace…ἅπαν τὸ πλ. τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων Ac 25:24.” However, the actions of the leadership are seen by Luke as representing the actions of the entire nation, so the remark is not inaccurate.
22 tn Or “appealed to” (BDAG 341 s.v. ἐντυγχάνω 1.a).
23 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
24 sn Here means “here in Caesarea.”
25 tn Or “screaming.”
26 tn Or “insensitive.”
sn The heart of this people has become dull. The charge from Isaiah is like Stephen’s against the Jews of Jerusalem (Acts 7:51-53). They were a hard-hearted and disobedient people.
27 tn Grk “they hear heavily with their ears” (an idiom for slow comprehension).
28 sn Note how the failure to respond to the message of the gospel is seen as a failure to turn.
29 sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10.