22:22 The crowd 10 was listening to him until he said this. 11 Then 12 they raised their voices and shouted, 13 “Away with this man 14 from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!” 15
1 tn Grk “And.” 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.
2 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
3 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
sn Before our ancestors. Stephen has backtracked here to point out how faithful God had been before the constant move to idolatry just noted.
4 tn Grk “In those days.”
5 sn On the first day. This is the first mention of a Sunday gathering (1 Cor 16:2).
6 tn Or “assembled.”
7 tn The verb διαλέγομαι (dialegomai) is frequently used of Paul addressing Jews in the synagogue. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21. In the context of a Christian gathering, it is preferable to translate διελέγετο (dielegeto) simply as “speak” here. The imperfect verb διελέγετο has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
8 tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”
9 tn Or “prolonged.”
10 tn Grk “They were listening”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Grk “until this word.”
sn Until he said this. Note it is the mention of Paul’s mission to the Gentiles with its implication of ethnic openness that is so disturbing to the audience.
12 tn Grk “And.” To indicate the logical sequence, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” here.
13 tn Grk “and said.”
14 tn Grk “this one.”
15 tn BDAG 491 s.v. καθήκω has “to be appropriate, come/reach to, be proper/fitting…Usu. impers. καθήκει it comes (to someone)…foll. by acc. and inf….οὐ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν he should not be allowed to live Ac 22:22.”
16 tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.
17 tn Grk “going.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
18 sn They went to the chief priests. The fact that the high priest knew of this plot and did nothing shows the Jewish leadership would even become accomplices to murder to stop Paul. They would not allow Roman justice to take its course. Paul’s charge in v. 3 of superficially following the law is thus shown to be true.
19 tn Or “bound ourselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” The pleonastic use ἀναθέματι ἀνεθεματίσαμεν (literally “we have cursed ourselves with a curse”) probably serves as an intensifier following Semitic usage, and is represented in the translation by the word “solemn.” On such oaths see m. Nedarim 3:1, 3.
20 tn This included both food and drink (γεύομαι [geuomai] is used of water turned to wine in John 2:9).
21 tn A designation of the Roman emperor (in this case, Nero). BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός states, “ὁ Σεβαστός His Majesty the Emperor Ac 25:21, 25 (of Nero).” It was a translation into Greek of the Latin “Augustus.”
22 tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).