8:9 Now in that city was a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic 12 and amazing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great.
20:18 When they arrived, he said to them, “You yourselves know how I lived 33 the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot 34 in the province of Asia, 35
1 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated for stylistic reasons. It occurs as part of the formula καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto) which is often left untranslated in Luke-Acts because it is redundant in contemporary English. Here it is possible (and indeed necessary) to translate ἐγένετο as “came” so that the initial clause of the English translation contains a verb; nevertheless the translation of the conjunction καί is not necessary.
2 tn Or “a noise.”
3 tn While φέρω (ferw) generally refers to movement from one place to another with the possible implication of causing the movement of other objects, in Acts 2:2 φέρομαι (feromai) should probably be understood in a more idiomatic sense of “blowing” since it is combined with the noun for wind (πνοή, pnoh).
4 tn Or “from the sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven” depending on the context.
5 tn Or “this noise.”
6 tn Or “was bewildered.”
7 tn Or “poor.”
8 tn Grk “houses, selling them were bringing.” The participle πωλοῦντες (pwlounte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
9 tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
10 tn Grk “to what was being said by Philip,” a passive construction that has been changed to active voice in the translation.
11 tn Here the following context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned. This term appears 13 times in Acts, but only twice more after Acts 8:13 (i.e., 14:3; 15:12).
12 tn On the idiom προϋπῆρχεν μαγεύων (prouphrcen mageuwn) meaning “had been practicing magic” see BDAG 889 s.v. προϋπάρχω.
13 tn Grk “these things.”
14 tn Or “became silent,” but this would create an apparent contradiction with the subsequent action of praising God. The point, in context, is that they ceased objecting to what Peter had done.
15 tn Or “glorified.”
16 sn Here the summary phrase for responding to the gospel is the repentance that leads to life. Note how the presence of life is tied to the presence of the Spirit (cf. John 4:7-42; 7:37-39).
17 sn In the Greek text the phrase even to the Gentiles is in an emphatic position.
18 tn Grk “And after.” 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.
19 tn The participle καθελών (kaqelwn) is taken temporally.
20 sn Seven nations. See Deut 7:1.
21 tn Grk “he gave their land as an inheritance.” The words “his people” are supplied to complete an ellipsis specifying the recipients of the land.
22 tn Grk “Men brothers,” but this is both awkward and unnecessary in English.
23 tn Grk “sons”
24 tn Or “race.”
25 tn Grk “and those among you who fear God,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Note how Paul includes God-fearing Gentiles as recipients of this promise.
26 tn Grk “word.”
27 tn L&N 23.75 has “had awakened” here. It is more in keeping with contemporary English style, however, to keep the two verbal ideas parallel in terms of tense (“when the jailer woke up and saw”) although logically the second action is subsequent to the first.
28 tn The additional semantic component “standing” is supplied (“standing open”) to convey a stative nuance in English.
29 sn Was about to kill himself. The jailer’s penalty for failing to guard the prisoners would have been death, so he contemplated saving the leaders the trouble (see Acts 12:19; 27:42).
30 tn Or “thought.”
31 map For location see JP1-C2; JP2-C2; JP3-C2; JP4-C2.
32 sn They left. See 1 Thess 3:1-2, which shows they went from here to Thessalonica.
33 tn Grk “You yourselves know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time.” This could be understood to mean “how I stayed with you the whole time,” but the following verses make it clear that Paul’s lifestyle while with the Ephesians is in view here. Thus the translation “how I lived the whole time I was with you” makes this clear.
34 tn Or “I arrived.” BDAG 367 s.v. ἐπιβαίνω 2, “set foot in…εἰς τ. ᾿Ασίαν set foot in Asia Ac 20:18.” However, L&N 15.83 removes the idiom: “you know that since the first day that I came to Asia.”
35 tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 16.
36 tn Grk “Paul saying in his defense”; the participle ἀπολογουμένου (apologoumenou) could be taken temporally (“when Paul said…”), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle was translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun here in the translation. BDAG 116-17 s.v. ἀπολογέομαι has “W. ὅτι foll. τοῦ Παύλου ἀπολογουμένου, ὅτι when Paul said in his defense (direct quot. foll.) Ac 25:8.”
37 tn Grk “I have sinned…in nothing.”
38 tn Grk “against the law of the Jews.” Here τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων has been translated as an attributive genitive.
sn The Jewish law refers to the law of Moses.
39 tn Or “against the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
sn Paul’s threefold claim to be innocent with respect to the law…the temple and Caesar argues that he has not disturbed the peace at any level. This was the standard charge made against early Christians (Luke 23:2; Acts 17:6-7). The charges here are emphatically denied, with the Greek conjunction oute repeated before each charge.
40 tn Grk “regarding this sect it is known to us.” The passive construction “it is known to us” has been converted to an active one to simplify the translation.
41 tn Grk “that everywhere it is spoken against.” To simplify the translation the passive construction “it is spoken against” has been converted to an active one with the subject “people” supplied.
42 tn On the term translated “speak against,” see BDAG 89 s.v. ἀντιλέγω 1.