28:23 They set 21 a day to meet with him, 22 and they came to him where he was staying 23 in even greater numbers. 24 From morning until evening he explained things 25 to them, 26 testifying 27 about the kingdom of God 28 and trying to convince 29 them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets.
1 tn Grk “and placing his hands on Saul, he said.” The participle ἐπιθείς (epiqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. For the same reason καί (kai) has not been translated before the participle.
2 tn Grk “on him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Grk “on the road in which you came,” but the relative clause makes for awkward English style, so it was translated as a temporal clause (“as you came here”).
4 sn Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Here someone who is not an apostle (Ananias) commissions another person with the Spirit.
5 tn Grk “taking Saul, brought him.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενος (epilabomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
6 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Grk “and brought,” but 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.
8 tn Grk “and that,” but 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.
9 tn On this verb which is used 7 times in Acts, see BDAG 782 s.v. παρρησιάζομαι 1. See also v. 28.
10 tn Grk “becoming greatly annoyed.” The participle διαπονηθείς (diaponhqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. The aorist has been translated as an ingressive aorist (entry into a state or condition). See BDAG 235 s.v. διαπονέομαι.
11 tn Grk “and turning.” The participle ἐπιστρέψας (epistreya") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
12 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
13 tn BDAG 1102-3 s.v. ὥρα 2.c has “at that very time, at once, instantly” for the usage in this verse.
14 sn An Epicurean was a follower of the philosophy of Epicurus, who founded a school in Athens about 300
15 sn A Stoic was a follower of the philosophy founded by Zeno (342-270
16 tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβάλλω 1 has “converse, confer” here.
17 tn Grk “saying.”
18 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.”
19 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.
20 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
21 tn Grk “Having set.” The participle ταξάμενοι (taxamenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
22 tn Grk “Having set a day with him”; the words “to meet” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
23 tn Or “came to him in his rented quarters.”
24 tn BDAG 848 s.v. πολύς 1.b.β.ב states, “(even) more πλείονες in even greater numbers Ac 28:23.”
25 tn The word “things” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
26 tn Grk “to whom he explained.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun at this point in the translation.
27 tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 1 has “to make a solemn declaration about the truth of someth. testify of, bear witness to (orig. under oath)…God’s kingdom 28:23.”
28 sn Testifying about the kingdom of God. The topic is important. Paul’s preaching was about the rule of God and his promise in Jesus. Paul’s text was the Jewish scriptures.
29 tn Or “persuade.”