Acts 26:16-20

26:16 But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason, to designate you in advance ¹  as a servant and witness ²  to the things ³  you have seen ⁴  and to the things in which I will appear to you. 26:17 I will rescue ⁵  you from your own people ⁶  and from the Gentiles, to whom ⁷  I am sending you 26:18 to open their eyes so that they turn ⁸  from darkness to light and from the power ⁹  of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share ¹⁰  among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

26:19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, ¹¹  I was not disobedient ¹²  to the heavenly ¹³  vision, 26:20 but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, ¹⁴  and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, ¹⁵  performing deeds consistent with ¹⁶  repentance.

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¹ tn L&N 30.89 has “‘to choose in advance, to select beforehand, to designate in advance.’”

² sn As a servant and witness. The commission is similar to Acts 1:8 and Luke 1:2. Paul was now an “eyewitness” of the Lord.

³ tn BDAG 719 s.v. ὁράω A.1.b states, “W. attraction of the relative ὧν = τούτων ἅ Lk 9:36; Ac 22:15. The attraction may be due to colloq. breviloquence in μάρτυρα ὧν τε εἶδες με ὧν τε ὀφθήσομαί σοι a witness to the things in which you saw me and to those in which I shall appear to you Ac 26:16b.”

⁴ tc ‡ Some mss read “of the things in which you have seen me.” The accusative object με (me, “me”) is found after εἶδές (eide") in B C*^vid 614 945 1175 1505 1739 1891 2464 pc sy sa; it is lacking in Ì⁷⁴ א A C² E Ψ 096 Ï latt bo. The external evidence is relatively evenly divided, though there is a slight preference for the omission. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

⁵ tn Grk “rescuing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle ἐξαιρούμενος (exairoumeno") has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 17.

⁶ tn That is, from the Jewish people. Grk “the people”; the words “your own” have been supplied to clarify the meaning.

⁷ tn The antecedent of the relative pronoun is probably both the Jews (“your own people”) and the Gentiles, indicating the comprehensive commission Paul received.

⁸ sn To open their eyes so that they turn… Here is Luke’s most comprehensive report of Paul’s divine calling. His role was to call humanity to change their position before God and experience God’s forgiveness as a part of God’s family. The image of turning is a key one in the NT: Luke 1:79; Rom 2:19; 13:12; 2 Cor 4:6; 6:14; Eph 5:8; Col 1:12; 1 Thess 5:5. See also Luke 1:77-79; 3:3; 24:47.

⁹ tn BDAG 352-53 s.v. ἐξουσία 2 states, “Also of Satan’s power Ac 26:18.” It is also possible to translate this “the domain of Satan” (cf. BDAG 353 s.v. 6)

¹⁰ tn Or “and an inheritance.”

¹¹ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

¹² sn I was not disobedient. Paul’s defense is that he merely obeyed the risen Jesus. He was arrested for obeying heavenly direction and preaching the opportunity to turn to God.

¹³ tn According to L&N 1.5, “In Ac 26:19 the adjective οὐράνιος could be interpreted as being related simply to the meaning of οὐρανός^a ‘sky,’ but it seems preferable to regard οὐράνιος in this context as meaning simply ‘from heaven’ or ‘heavenly.’”

¹⁴ tn BDAG 1093-94 s.v. χώρα 2.b states, “of the provincial name (1 Macc 8:3) ἡ χώρα τῆς ᾿Ιουδαίας Ac 26:20.”

¹⁵ sn That they should repent and turn to God. This is the shortest summary of Paul’s message that he preached.

¹⁶ tn BDAG 93 s.v. ἄξιος 1.b, “καρποὶ ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας fruits in keeping with your repentance…Lk 3:8; Mt 3:8. For this ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας ἔργα Ac 26:20.” Note how Paul preached the gospel offer and the issue of response together, side by side.