27:27 When the fourteenth night had come, while we were being driven 14 across the Adriatic Sea, 15 about midnight the sailors suspected they were approaching some land. 16
27:39 When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed 17 a bay 18 with a beach, 19 where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.
1 tn Or “poor.”
2 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.
3 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.
4 tn The words “the two of” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to indicate that the verb (ἀπέδοσθε, apedosqe) is plural and thus refers to both Ananias and Sapphira.
5 tn Grk “so much,” “as much as this.”
6 tn Grk “She”; the referent (Sapphira) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 sn A quotation from Gen 12:1.
8 tn Grk “At this word,” which could be translated either “when the man said this” or “when Moses heard this.” Since λόγος (logos) refers to the remark made by the Israelite, this translation has followed the first option.
9 tn Or “resident alien.” Traditionally πάροικος (paroiko") has been translated “stranger” or “alien,” but the level of specificity employed with “foreigner” or “resident alien” is now necessary in contemporary English because a “stranger” is a person not acquainted with someone, while an “alien” can suggest science fiction imagery.
10 tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned.
sn Performing wonders and miraculous signs. Again Moses acted like Jesus. The phrase appears 9 times in Acts (2:19, 22, 43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 7:36; 14:3; 15:12).
11 tn Or simply “in Egypt.” The phrase “the land of” could be omitted as unnecessary or redundant.
12 tn Grk “and at,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
13 tn Or “desert.”
14 tn Here “being driven” has been used to translate διαφέρω (diaferw) rather than “drifting,” because it is clear from the attempt to drop anchors in v. 29 that the ship is still being driven by the gale. “Drifting” implies lack of control, but not necessarily rapid movement.
15 sn The Adriatic Sea. They were now somewhere between Crete and Malta.
16 tn Grk “suspected that some land was approaching them.” BDAG 876 s.v. προσάγω 2.a states, “lit. ὑπενόουν προσάγειν τινά αὐτοῖς χώραν they suspected that land was near (lit. ‘approaching them’) Ac 27:27.” Current English idiom would speak of the ship approaching land rather than land approaching the ship.
17 tn Or “observed,” “saw.”
18 tn Or “gulf” (BDAG 557 s.v. κόλπος 3).
19 sn A beach would refer to a smooth sandy beach suitable for landing.
20 tn The words “were to follow” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. They must be supplied to clarify the sense in contemporary English.
21 tn Or “boards” according to BDAG 913 s.v. σανίς.
22 tn Grk “on pieces from the ship”; that is, pieces of wreckage from the ship.
sn Both the planks and pieces of the ship were for the weak or nonswimmers. The whole scene is a historical metaphor representing how listening to Paul and his message could save people.
23 tn Grk “And in this way it happened that.” 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.