Acts 5:21

5:21 When they heard this, they entered the temple courts ¹  at daybreak and began teaching. ² 

Now when the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they summoned the Sanhedrin ³  – that is, the whole high council ⁴  of the Israelites ⁵  – and sent to the jail to have the apostles ⁶  brought before them. ⁷ 

Acts 12:10

12:10 After they had passed the first and second guards, ⁸  they came to the iron ⁹  gate leading into the city. It ¹⁰  opened for them by itself, ¹¹  and they went outside and walked down one narrow street, ¹²  when at once the angel left him.

Acts 12:17

12:17 He motioned to them ¹³  with his hand to be quiet and then related ¹⁴  how the Lord had brought ¹⁵  him out of the prison. He said, “Tell James and the brothers these things,” and then he left and went to another place. ¹⁶ 

Acts 12:20

12:20 Now Herod ¹⁷  was having an angry quarrel ¹⁸  with the people of Tyre ¹⁹  and Sidon. ²⁰  So they joined together ²¹  and presented themselves before him. And after convincing ²²  Blastus, the king’s personal assistant, ²³  to help them, ²⁴  they asked for peace, ²⁵  because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country.

Acts 17:18

17:18 Also some of the Epicurean ²⁶  and Stoic ²⁷  philosophers were conversing ²⁸  with him, and some were asking, ²⁹  “What does this foolish babbler ³⁰  want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods.” ³¹  (They said this because he was proclaiming the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) ³² 

Acts 21:11

21:11 He came ³³  to us, took ³⁴  Paul’s belt, ³⁵  tied ³⁶  his own hands and feet with it, ³⁷  and said, “The Holy Spirit says this: ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will hand him over ³⁸  to the Gentiles.’”

Acts 22:24

22:24 the commanding officer ³⁹  ordered Paul ⁴⁰  to be brought back into the barracks. ⁴¹  He told them ⁴²  to interrogate Paul ⁴³  by beating him with a lash ⁴⁴  so that he could find out the reason the crowd ⁴⁵  was shouting at Paul ⁴⁶  in this way.

Acts 28:6

28:6 But they were expecting that he was going to swell up ⁴⁷  or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited ⁴⁸  a long time and had seen ⁴⁹  nothing unusual happen ⁵⁰  to him, they changed their minds ⁵¹  and said he was a god. ⁵² 

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¹ tn Grk “the temple.” See the note on the same phrase in the preceding verse.

² tn The imperfect verb ἐδίδασκον (edidaskon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

³ tn Or “the council” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

⁴ tn A hendiadys (two different terms referring to a single thing) is likely here (a reference to a single legislative body rather than two separate ones) because the term γερουσίαν (gerousian) is used in both 1 Macc 12:6 and Josephus, Ant. 13.5.8 (13.166) to refer to the Sanhedrin.

⁵ tn Grk “sons of Israel.”

⁶ tn Grk “have them”; the referent (the apostles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn The words “before them” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

⁸ tn Or perhaps, “guard posts.”

⁹ sn The iron gate shows how important security was here. This door was more secure than one made of wood (which would be usual).

¹⁰ tn Grk “which.” The relative pronoun (“which”) was replaced by the pronoun “it,” 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.

¹¹ tn The Greek term here, αὐτομάτη (automath), indicates something that happens without visible cause (BDAG 152 s.v. αὐτόματος).

¹² tn Or “lane,” “alley” (BDAG 907 s.v. ῥύμη).

¹³ tn Or “He gave them a signal.” Grk “Giving them a signal…he related to them.” The participle κατασείσας (kataseisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁴ tc ‡ Most mss, including some of the most important ones (B D E Ψ Ï sy), read αὐτοῖς (autoi", “to them”) here, while some excellent and early witnesses (Ì^45vid,74vid א A 33 81 945 1739 pc) lack the pronoun. Although it is possible that the pronoun was deleted because it was seen as superfluous, it is also possible that it was added as a natural expansion on the text, strengthening the connection between Peter and his listeners. Although a decision is difficult, the shorter reading is slightly preferred. NA²⁷ puts the pronoun in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

¹⁵ tn Or “led.”

¹⁶ sn He…went to another place. This is Peter’s last appearance in Acts with the exception of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15.

¹⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

sn Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).

¹⁸ tn Or “was extremely angry.” L&N 33.453 gives the meaning “be angry and quarrel, quarrel angrily” here. However, in L&N 88.180 the alternative “to be violently angry, to be furious” is given. The term is used only once in the NT (BDAG 461 s.v. θυμομαχέω).

¹⁹ sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.

map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

²⁰ sn Sidon was an ancient Phoenician royal city on the coast between Berytus (Beirut) and Tyre (BDAG 923 s.v. Σιδών).

map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

²¹ tn Or “with one accord.”

²² tn Or “persuading.”

²³ tn On the term translated “personal assistant” BDAG 554 s.v. κοιτῶν states, “used as part of a title: ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος the one in charge of the bed-chamber, the chamberlain.” This individual was not just a domestic servant or butler, but a highly respected person who had considerable responsibility for the king’s living quarters and personal affairs. The English word “chamberlain” corresponds very closely to this meaning but is not in common use today. The term “personal assistant,” while it might convey more business associations than management of personal affairs, nevertheless communicates the concept well in contemporary English.

²⁴ tn The words “to help them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

²⁵ tn Or “for a reconciliation.” There were grave political risks in having Herod angry at them. The detail shows the ruler’s power.

²⁶ sn An Epicurean was a follower of the philosophy of Epicurus, who founded a school in Athens about 300 b.c. Although the Epicureans saw the aim of life as pleasure, they were not strictly hedonists, because they defined pleasure as the absence of pain. Along with this, they desired the avoidance of trouble and freedom from annoyances. They saw organized religion as evil, especially the belief that the gods punished evildoers in an afterlife. In keeping with this, they were unable to accept Paul’s teaching about the resurrection.

²⁷ sn A Stoic was a follower of the philosophy founded by Zeno (342-270 b.c.), a Phoenician who came to Athens and modified the philosophical system of the Cynics he found there. The Stoics rejected the Epicurean ideal of pleasure, stressing virtue instead. The Stoics emphasized responsibility for voluntary actions and believed risks were worth taking, but thought the actual attainment of virtue was difficult. They also believed in providence.

²⁸ tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβάλλω 1 has “converse, confer” here.

²⁹ tn Grk “saying.”

³⁰ tn Or “ignorant show-off.” The traditional English translation of σπερμολόγος (spermologo") is given in L&N 33.381 as “foolish babbler.” However, an alternate view is presented in L&N 27.19, “(a figurative extension of meaning of a term based on the practice of birds in picking up seeds) one who acquires bits and pieces of relatively extraneous information and proceeds to pass them off with pretense and show – ‘ignorant show-off, charlatan.’” A similar view is given in BDAG 937 s.v. σπερμολόγος: “in pejorative imagery of persons whose communication lacks sophistication and seems to pick up scraps of information here and there scrapmonger, scavenger…Engl. synonyms include ‘gossip’, ‘babbler’, chatterer’; but these terms miss the imagery of unsystematic gathering.”

³¹ tn The meaning of this phrase is not clear. Literally it reads “strange deities” (see BDAG 210 s.v. δαιμόνιον 1). The note of not being customary is important. In the ancient world what was new was suspicious. The plural δαιμονίων (daimoniwn, “deities”) shows the audience grappling with Paul’s teaching that God was working through Jesus.

³² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

³³ tn Grk “And coming.” 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. The participle ἐλθών (elqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

³⁴ tn Grk “and taking.” This 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. The participle ἄρας (aras) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

³⁵ sn The belt was a band or sash used to keep money as well as to gird up the tunic (BDAG 431 s.v. ζώνη).

³⁶ tn The participle δήσας (dhsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

³⁷ tn The words “with it” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

³⁸ tn Grk “and will deliver him over into the hands of” (a Semitic idiom).

sn The Jews…will tie up…and will hand him over. As later events will show, the Jews in Jerusalem did not personally tie Paul up and hand him over to the Gentiles, but their reaction to him was the cause of his arrest (Acts 21:27-36).

³⁹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος (ciliarco") literally described the “commander of a thousand,” but it was used as the standard translation for the Latin tribunus militum or tribunus militare, the military tribune who commanded a cohort of 600 men.

⁴⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴¹ tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”

⁴² tn Grk “into the barracks, saying.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek using the participle εἴπας (eipas), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence a new sentence was begun in the translation here. The direct object “them” has been supplied; it is understood in Greek.

⁴³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴⁴ sn To interrogate Paul by beating him with a lash. Under the Roman legal system it was customary to use physical torture to extract confessions or other information from prisoners who were not Roman citizens and who were charged with various crimes, especially treason or sedition. The lashing would be done with a whip of leather thongs with pieces of metal or bone attached to the ends.

⁴⁵ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴⁷ tn Or “going to burn with fever.” According to BDAG 814 s.v. πίμπρημι, either meaning (“swell up” or “burn with fever”) is possible for Acts 28:6.

⁴⁸ tn The participle προσδοκώντων (prosdokwntwn) has been taken temporally.

⁴⁹ tn The participle θεωρούντων (qewrountwn) has been taken temporally.

⁵⁰ tn Grk “happening.” The participle γινόμενον (ginomenon) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁵¹ tn Grk “changing their minds.” The participle μεταβαλόμενοι (metabalomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁵² sn And said he was a god. The reaction is like Acts 14:11-19 where the crowd wanted to make Paul and Barnabas into gods. The providence of God had protected Paul again.