6:1 Now in those 4 days, when the disciples were growing in number, 5 a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews 6 against the native Hebraic Jews, 7 because their widows 8 were being overlooked 9 in the daily distribution of food. 10
22:22 The crowd 73 was listening to him until he said this. 74 Then 75 they raised their voices and shouted, 76 “Away with this man 77 from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!” 78
1 sn With one mind. Compare Acts 1:14.
2 tn Or “Lord of all.”
sn The use of the title Master of all (δεσπότης, despoths) emphasizes that there is a sovereign God who is directing what is taking place.
3 tn Grk “and the earth, and the sea,” but καί (kai) has not been translated before “the earth” and “the sea” since contemporary English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
4 tn Grk “these.” The translation uses “those” for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Grk “were multiplying.”
6 tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.
sn The Greek-speaking Jews were the Hellenists, Jews who to a greater or lesser extent had adopted Greek thought, customs, and lifestyle, as well as the Greek language. The city of Alexandria in Egypt was a focal point for them, but they were scattered throughout the Roman Empire.
7 tn Grk “against the Hebrews,” but as with “Hellenists” this needs further explanation for the modern reader.
8 sn The care of widows is a major biblical theme: Deut 10:18; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 26:12-13; 27:19; Isa 1:17-23; Jer 7:6; Mal 3:5.
9 tn Or “neglected.”
10 tn Grk “in the daily serving.”
sn The daily distribution of food. The early church saw it as a responsibility to meet the basic needs of people in their group.
11 tn “and they.”
12 sn See Gen 49:29-32.
13 tn Or “mistreatment.”
14 tn Or “to set them free.”
15 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.
16 sn A quotation from Exod 3:7-8, 10.
17 tn Grk “And when.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here; a new sentence is begun instead.
18 sn They began to stone him. The irony of the scene is that the people do exactly what the speech complains about in v. 52.
19 tn Or “outer garments.”
sn Laid their cloaks. The outer garment, or cloak, was taken off and laid aside to leave the arms free (in this case for throwing stones).
20 tn Or “people of Israel.”
21 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
sn Note how Paul identifies with his audience by referring to our ancestors. He speaks as a Jew. God’s design in history is the theme of the speech. The speech is like Stephen’s, only here the focus is on a promised Son of David.
22 tn That is, in both numbers and in power. The implication of greatness in both numbers and in power is found in BDAG 1046 s.v. ὑψόω 2.
23 tn Or “as resident aliens.”
24 tn Or “land.”
25 sn Here uplifted arm is a metaphor for God’s power by which he delivered the Israelites from Egypt. See Exod 6:1, 6; 32:11; Deut 3:24; 4:34; Ps 136:11-12.
26 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
27 sn The expression raised up refers here to making someone king. There is a wordplay here: “raising up” refers to bringing someone onto the scene of history, but it echoes with the parallel to Jesus’ resurrection.
28 tn Grk “about whom.” The relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the pronoun “him” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek. The verb εἶπεν (eipen) has not been translated (literally “he said testifying”) because it is redundant when combined with the participle μαρτυρήσας (marturhsa", “testifying”). Instead the construction of verb plus participle has been translated as a single English verb (“testified”).
29 sn A quotation from Ps 89:20.
30 sn A quotation from 1 Sam 13:14.
31 tn Or “who will perform all my will,” “who will carry out all my wishes.”
32 tn BDAG 12-13 s.v. ἀγνοέω 1.b gives “not to know w. acc. of pers.” as the meaning here, but “recognize” is a better translation in this context because recognition of the true identity of the one they condemned is the issue. See Acts 2:22-24; 4:26-28.
33 tn Grk “this one.”
34 tn Usually φωνή (fwnh) means “voice,” but BDAG 1071-72 s.v. φωνή 2.c has “Also of sayings in scripture…Ac 13:27.”
sn They fulfilled the sayings. The people in Jerusalem and the Jewish rulers should have known better, because they had the story read to them weekly in the synagogue.
35 tn The participle κρίναντες (krinante") is instrumental here.
36 tn The word “him” 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.
37 tn Grk “that this”; the referent (the promise mentioned in the previous verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
sn This promise refers to the promise of a Savior through the seed (descendants) of David that is proclaimed as fulfilled (Rom 1:1-7).
38 tn Or “by resurrecting.” The participle ἀναστήσας (anasthsa") is taken as instrumental here.
sn By raising (i.e., by resurrection) tells how this promise came to be realized, though again the wordplay also points to his presence in history through this event (see the note on “raised up” in v. 22).
39 sn You are my Son. The key to how the quotation is used is the naming of Jesus as “Son” to the Father. The language is that of kingship, as Ps 2 indicates. Here is the promise about what the ultimate Davidic heir would be.
40 tn Grk “I have begotten you.” The traditional translation for γεγέννηκα (gegennhka, “begotten”) is misleading to the modern English reader because it is no longer in common use. Today one speaks of “fathering” a child in much the same way speakers of English formerly spoke of “begetting a child.”
sn A quotation from Ps 2:7.
41 tn For the translation of παρώτρυναν (parwtrunan) as “incited” see BDAG 780 s.v. παροτρύνω.
42 tn BDAG 299 s.v. ἐκβάλλω 1 has “throw out.” Once again, many Jews reacted to the message (Acts 5:17, 33; 6:11; 13:45).
43 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
44 sn The Lord testified to the message by granting the signs described in the following clause.
45 tn Grk “word.”
46 tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned.
47 sn Phoenicia was an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine in ancient Syria.
48 tn L&N 33.201 indicates that ἐκδιηγέομαι (ekdihgeomai) means to provide detailed information in a systematic manner, “to inform, to relate, to tell fully.” “Relating at length” conveys this effectively in the present context.
49 tn For ἐποίουν (epoioun) in this verse BDAG 839 s.v. ποιέω 2.c has “they brought joy to the members.”
50 sn The one man refers to Adam (the word “man” is understood).
51 tn Or “mankind.” BDAG 276 s.v. ἔθνος 1 has “every nation of humankind Ac 17:26.”
52 tn Grk “to live over all the face of the earth.”
53 tn BDAG 884-85 s.v. προστάσσω has “(οἱ) προστεταγμένοι καιροί (the) fixed times Ac 17:26” here, but since the following phrase is also translated “fixed limits,” this would seem redundant in English, so the word “set” has been used instead.
54 tn Grk “the boundaries of their habitation.” L&N 80.5 has “fixed limits of the places where they would live” for this phrase.
55 tn Or “skin” (the outer surface of the body).
56 tn Or “were taken.” It might be that as word went out into the region that since the sick could not come to Paul, healing was brought to them this way. The “handkerchiefs” are probably face cloths for wiping perspiration (see BDAG 934 s.v. σουδάριον) while the “aprons” might be material worn by workmen (BDAG 923-24 s.v. σιμικίνθιον).
57 tn The words “of them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
58 tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 4.a has “many, quite a few” for ἱκανοί (Jikanoi) in this verse.
59 tn On this term see BDAG 800 s.v. περίεργος 2.
60 tn Or “scrolls.”
61 tn Or “burned them up publicly.” L&N 14.66 has “‘they brought their books together and burned them up in the presence of everyone’ Ac 19:19.”
62 tn Grk “and when.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
63 tn Or “fifty thousand silver drachmas” (about $10,000 US dollars). BDAG 128 s.v. ἀργύριον 2.c states, “ἀργυρίου μυριάδας πέντε 50,000 (Attic silver) drachmas Ac 19:19.” Another way to express the value would be in sheep: One drachma could buy one sheep. So this many drachmas could purchase a huge flock of sheep. A drachma also equals a denarius, or a day’s wage for the average worker. So this amount would be equal to 50,000 work days or in excess of 8,300 weeks of labor (the weeks are calculated at six working days because of the Jewish cultural context). The impact of Christianity on the Ephesian economy was considerable (note in regard to this the concerns expressed in 19:26-27).
64 tn Grk “It happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
65 tn Grk “When our days were over.” L&N 67.71 has “ὅτε δὲ ἐγένετο ἡμᾶς ἐξαρτίσαι τὰς ἡμέρας ‘when we brought that time to an end’ or ‘when our time with them was over’ Ac 21:5.”
66 tn Grk “accompanying.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation and the participle προπεμπόντων (propempontwn) translated as a finite verb.
67 tn Grk “city, and after.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
68 sn On praying in Acts, see 1:14, 24; 2:47; 4:23; 6:6; 10:2; 12:5, 12; 13:3; 16:25.
69 tn BDAG 511 s.v. κατά B.1.a has “τοὺς κ. τὰ ἔθνη ᾿Ιουδαίους the Judeans (dispersed) throughout the nations 21:21.” The Jews in view are not those in Palestine, but those who are scattered throughout the Gentile world.
70 tn Or “to forsake,” “to rebel against.” BDAG 120 s.v. ἀποστασία has “ἀποστασίαν διδάσκεις ἀπὸ Μωϋσέως you teach (Judeans) to abandon Moses Ac 21:21.”
sn The charge that Paul was teaching Jews in the Diaspora to abandon Moses was different from the issue faced in Acts 15, where the question was whether Gentiles needed to become like Jews first in order to become Christians. The issue also appears in Acts 24:5-6, 13-21; 25:8.
71 sn That is, not to circumcise their male children. Biblical references to circumcision always refer to male circumcision.
72 tn Grk “or walk.”
73 tn Grk “They were listening”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
74 tn Grk “until this word.”
sn Until he said this. Note it is the mention of Paul’s mission to the Gentiles with its implication of ethnic openness that is so disturbing to the audience.
75 tn Grk “And.” To indicate the logical sequence, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” here.
76 tn Grk “and said.”
77 tn Grk “this one.”
78 tn BDAG 491 s.v. καθήκω has “to be appropriate, come/reach to, be proper/fitting…Usu. impers. καθήκει it comes (to someone)…foll. by acc. and inf….οὐ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν he should not be allowed to live Ac 22:22.”
79 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.
80 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)
81 tn Or “and an inheritance.”
82 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
83 tn Or “wanting to rescue Paul.”
sn Thanks to the centurion who wanted to save Paul’s life, Paul was once more rescued from a potential human threat.
84 tn BDAG 347 s.v. I. ἔξειμι has “ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν get to land Ac 27:43.”