Acts 6:3

6:3 But carefully select from among you, brothers, ¹  seven ²  men who are well-attested, ³  full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge ⁴  of this necessary task. ⁵ 

Acts 13:46

13:46 Both Paul and Barnabas replied courageously, ⁶  “It was necessary to speak the word of God ⁷  to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy ⁸  of eternal life, we ⁹  are turning to the Gentiles. ¹⁰ 

Acts 15:5

15:5 But some from the religious party of the Pharisees ¹¹  who had believed stood up and said, “It is necessary ¹²  to circumcise the Gentiles ¹³  and to order them to observe ¹⁴  the law of Moses.”

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¹ tn It is not clear from a historical standpoint (but it is unlikely) that women would have been involved in the selection process too. For this reason the translation “brothers” has been retained, rather than “brothers and sisters” (used in contexts where both male and female believers are clearly addressed).

² sn Seven. Jewish town councils often had seven members (Josephus, Ant. 4.18.14 [4.214]).

³ tn Or “are of good reputation” (BDAG 618 s.v. μαρτυρέω 2.b).

⁴ tn The translation “put in charge” is given by BDAG 492 s.v. καθίστημι 2.

⁵ tn Grk “of this need”; translated “necessary work” or “needed task” by L&N 42.22.

⁶ tn Grk “Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out courageously and said.” The redundancy is removed in the translation and the verb “replied” is used in keeping with the logical sequence of events. The theme of boldness reappears: Acts 4:24-30; 9:27-28.

⁷ tn Grk “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken.” For smoothness and simplicity of English style, the passive construction has been converted to active voice in the translation.

⁸ tn Or “and consider yourselves unworthy.”

⁹ tn Grk “behold, we.” In this context ἰδού (idou) is not easily translated into English.

¹⁰ sn This turning to the Gentiles would be a shocking rebuke to 1st century Jews who thought they alone were the recipients of the promise.

¹¹ sn See the note on Pharisee in 5:34.

¹² sn The Greek word used here (δεῖ, dei) is a strong term that expresses divine necessity. The claim is that God commanded the circumcision of Gentiles.

¹³ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the Gentiles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ tn Or “keep.”