Acts 7:42

7:42 But God turned away from them and gave them over ¹  to worship the host ²  of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘It was not to me that you offered slain animals and sacrifices ³  forty years in the wilderness, was it, ⁴  house of Israel?

Acts 16:37

16:37 But Paul said to the police officers, ⁵  “They had us beaten in public ⁶  without a proper trial ⁷  – even though we are Roman citizens ⁸  – and they threw us ⁹  in prison. And now they want to send us away ¹⁰  secretly? Absolutely not! They ¹¹  themselves must come and escort us out!” ¹² 

Acts 19:26

19:26 And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded ¹³  and turned away ¹⁴  a large crowd, ¹⁵  not only in Ephesus ¹⁶  but in practically all of the province of Asia, ¹⁷  by saying ¹⁸  that gods made by hands are not gods at all. ¹⁹ 

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¹ sn The expression and gave them over suggests similarities to the judgment on the nations described by Paul in Rom 1:18-32.

² tn Or “stars.”

sn To worship the hosts of heaven. Their action violated Deut 4:19; 17:2-5. See Ps 106:36-43.

³ tn The two terms for sacrifices “semantically reinforce one another and are here combined essentially for emphasis” (L&N 53.20).

⁴ tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ question, “was it?”

⁵ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the police officers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Grk “Having us beaten in public.” The participle δείραντες (deirante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁷ tn Or “in public, uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.

⁸ tn The participle ὑπάρχοντας (Juparconta") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

⁹ tn The word “us” 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.

¹⁰ tn L&N 28.71 has “send us away secretly” for this verse.

¹¹ tn Grk “But they.”

¹² sn They themselves must come and escort us out! Paul was asking for the injustice he and Silas suffered to be symbolically righted. It was a way of publicly taking their actions off the record and showing the apostles’ innocence, a major public statement. Note the apology given in v. 39.

¹³ tn Grk “persuading.” The participle πείσας (peisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁴ tn Or “misled.”

¹⁵ tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 3.a has “of pers. ὄχλος a large crowd…Ac 11:24, 26; 19:26.”

¹⁶ map For location see JP1-D2; JP2-D2; JP3-D2; JP4-D2.

¹⁷ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 22.

¹⁸ tn The participle λέγων (legwn) has been regarded as indicating instrumentality.

¹⁹ tn The words “at all” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

sn Gods made by hands are not gods at all. Paul preached against paganism’s idolatry. Here is a one-line summary of a speech like that in Acts 17:22-31.