27:39 When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed 28 a bay 29 with a beach, 30 where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.
1 tn Or “captain.”
2 tn Grk “the official of the temple,” a title for the commander of the Jewish soldiers guarding the temple (thus the translation, “the commander of the temple guard”). See L&N 37.91.
3 tn Grk “heard these words.”
4 tn Grk “concerning them,” agreeing with the plural antecedent “these words.” Since the phrase “these words” was translated as the singular “this report,” the singular “concerning it” is used here.
5 tn The optative verb here expresses confused uncertainty.
6 tn Grk “May your silver together with you be sent into destruction.” This is a strong curse. The gifts of God are sovereignly bestowed and cannot be purchased.
7 tn Or “obtain.”
8 tn Grk “his eyes being open,” a genitive absolute construction that has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.
9 sn He could see nothing. This sign of blindness, which was temporary until v. 18, is like the sign of deafness experienced by Zechariah in Luke 1. It allowed some time for Saul (Paul) to reflect on what had happened without distractions.
10 tn Grk “they”; the referents (Saul’s companions) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn The words “against him” are implied, as suggested by L&N 30.71.
12 tn Or “guarding.” This is a negative term in Luke-Acts (Luke 6:7; 14:1; 20:20).
13 tn The word πύλη (pulh) may refer to a house door or gate, or to the large gates used in a palace, temple, or city wall. Here the context clearly indicates a reference to the latter, so the translation “city gates” is used.
14 sn This one refers here to Jesus.
15 tn Or “is freed.” The translation of δικαιωθῆναι (dikaiwqhnai) and δικαιοῦται (dikaioutai) in Acts 13:38-39 is difficult. BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 3 categorizes δικαιωθῆναι in 13:38 (Greek text) under the meaning “make free/pure” but categorizes δικαιοῦται in Acts 13:39 as “be found in the right, be free of charges” (BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 2.b.β). In the interest of consistency both verbs are rendered as “justified” in this translation.
16 tn Or “could not free.”
17 tn Grk “from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation, with “by the law of Moses” becoming the subject of the final clause. The words “from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify you” are part of v. 38 in the Greek text, but due to English style and word order must be placed in v. 39 in the translation.
18 tn BDAG 106 s.v. ἀπό 5.a has “οὐκ ἐνέβλεπον ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τοῦ φωτός I could not see because of the brilliance of the light Ac 22:11.”
19 tn Or “brightness”; Grk “glory.”
20 tn Grk “by” (ὑπό, Jupo), but this would be too awkward in English following the previous “by.”
21 tn Grk “thinking.” The participle δόξαντες (doxante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
22 tn Or “accomplish.” L&N 68.29, for κρατέω, has “to be able to complete or finish, presumably despite difficulties – ‘to accomplish, to do successfully, to carry out.’ …‘thinking that they could carry out their purpose’ Ac 27:13.”
23 tn Or “departed.”
24 tn L&N 54.8, “παραλέγομαι: (a technical, nautical term) to sail along beside some object – ‘to sail along the coast, to sail along the shore.’…‘they sailed along the coast of Crete’ Ac 27:13.” With the addition of the adverb ἆσσον (asson) this becomes “sailed close along the coast of Crete.”
25 tn Or “was forced off course.” Grk “The ship being caught in it.” The genitive absolute construction with the participle συναρπασθέντος (sunarpasqento") has been taken temporally; it could also be translated as causal (“Because the ship was caught in it”).
26 tn BDAG 91 s.v. ἀντοφθαλμέω states, “Metaph. of a ship τοῦ πλοίου μὴ δυναμένοι ἀ. τῷ ἀνέμῳ since the ship was not able to face the wind, i.e. with its bow headed against the forces of the waves Ac 27:15.”
27 sn Caught in the violent wind, the ship was driven along. They were now out of control, at the mercy of the wind and sea.
28 tn Or “observed,” “saw.”
29 tn Or “gulf” (BDAG 557 s.v. κόλπος 3).
30 sn A beach would refer to a smooth sandy beach suitable for landing.