Acts 3:13-15

3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ¹  the God of our forefathers, ²  has glorified ³  his servant ⁴  Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected ⁵  in the presence of Pilate after he had decided ⁶  to release him. 3:14 But you rejected ⁷  the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released to you. 3:15 You killed ⁸  the Originator ⁹  of life, whom God raised ¹⁰  from the dead. To this fact we are witnesses! ¹¹ 

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¹ tc ‡ The repetition of ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) before the names of Isaac and Jacob is found in Ì⁷⁴ א C (A D without article) 36 104 1175 pc lat. The omission of the second and third ὁ θεός is supported by B E Ψ 33 1739 Ï pc. The other time that Exod 3:6 is quoted in Acts (7:32) the best witnesses also lack the repeated ὁ θεός, but the three other times this OT passage is quoted in the NT the full form, with the thrice-mentioned θεός, is used (Matt 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Scribes would be prone to conform the wording here to the LXX; the longer reading is thus most likely not authentic. NA²⁷ has the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

² tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

sn The reference to the God of the patriarchs is a reminder that God is the God of the nation and of promises. The phrase God of our forefathers is from the Hebrew scriptures (Exod 3:6, 15-16; 4:5; see also the Jewish prayer known as “The Eighteen Benedictions”). Once again, event has led to explanation, or what is called the “sign and speech” pattern.

³ sn Has glorified. Jesus is alive, raised and active, as the healing illustrates so dramatically how God honors him.

⁴ sn His servant. The term servant has messianic connotations given the context of the promise, the note of suffering, and the titles and functions noted in vv. 14-15.

⁵ tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”

⁶ tn This genitive absolute construction could be understood as temporal (“when he had decided”) or concessive (“although he had decided”).

⁷ tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”

⁸ tn Or “You put to death.”

⁹ tn Or “Founder,” “founding Leader.”

¹⁰ sn Whom God raised. God is the main actor here, as he testifies to Jesus and vindicates him.

¹¹ tn Grk “whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the words “to this fact” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.

sn We are witnesses. Note the two witnesses here, Peter and John (Acts 5:32; Heb 2:3-4).