¹ tn Grk “they began to ask him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. The imperfect tense of the Greek verb ἠρώτων (hrwtwn) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

² tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

³ tn Grk “they were pierced to the heart” (an idiom for acute emotional distress).

⁴ sn Had them beaten. The punishment was the “forty lashes minus one,” see also Acts 22:19; 2 Cor 11:24; Mark 13:9. The apostles had disobeyed the religious authorities and took their punishment for their “disobedience” (Deut 25:2-3; m. Makkot 3:10-14). In Acts 4:18 they were warned. Now they are beaten. The hostility is rising as the narrative unfolds.

⁵ tn The word “Then” is supplied as the beginning of a new sentence in the translation. The construction in Greek has so many clauses (most of them made up of participles) that a continuous English sentence would be very awkward.

⁶ sn That is, considered worthy by God. They “gloried in their shame” of honoring Jesus with their testimony (Luke 6:22-23; 2 Macc 6:30).

⁷ sn The name refers to the name of Jesus (cf. 3 John 7).

⁸ tn Grk “and the,” 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 Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 4:5.

¹⁰ tn Grk “approaching, they seized him”; the referent (Stephen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). Stephen suffers just as Peter and John did.

¹² tn BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α states, “Oft. the emphasis is unmistakably laid upon that which follows the Divine Judge’s verdict, upon the condemnation or punishment: condemn, punish …Ac 7:7 (Gen 15:14).”

¹³ tn The words “of there” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

sn A quotation from Gen 15:14.

¹⁴ tn Or “and serve,” but with religious/cultic overtones (BDAG 587 s.v. λατρεύω).

¹⁵ sn An allusion to Exod 3:12.

¹⁶ tn The words “against him” are implied, as suggested by L&N 30.71.

¹⁷ tn Or “guarding.” This is a negative term in Luke-Acts (Luke 6:7; 14:1; 20:20).

¹⁸ 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.

¹⁹ tn Grk “It happened that in those days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

²⁰ tn Grk “becoming sick, she died.” The participle ἀσθενήσασαν (asqenhsasan) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

²¹ tn The participle λούσαντες (lousante") is taken temporally.

²² tn Grk “washed her,” but the reference is to her corpse.

²³ tn Grk “these things.”

²⁴ tn Or “became silent,” but this would create an apparent contradiction with the subsequent action of praising God. The point, in context, is that they ceased objecting to what Peter had done.

²⁵ tn Or “glorified.”

²⁶ sn Here the summary phrase for responding to the gospel is the repentance that leads to life. Note how the presence of life is tied to the presence of the Spirit (cf. John 4:7-42; 7:37-39).

²⁷ sn In the Greek text the phrase even to the Gentiles is in an emphatic position.

²⁸ sn “You’ve lost your mind!” Such a response to the miraculous is not unusual in Luke-Acts. See Luke 24:11; Acts 26:25. The term μαίνομαι (mainomai) can have the idea of being “raving mad” or “totally irrational” (BDAG 610 s.v.). It is a strong expression.

²⁹ tn Grk “she kept insisting that the situation was thus” (cf. BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 10.a). Most translations supply a less awkward English phrase like “it was so”; the force of her insistence, however, is that “it was Peter,” which was the point under dispute.

³⁰ tn The two imperfect tense verbs, διϊσχυρίζετο (diiscurizeto) and ἔλεγον (elegon), are both taken iteratively. The picture is thus virtually a shouting match between Rhoda and the rest of the believers.

³¹ sn The assumption made by those inside, “It is his angel,” seems to allude to the idea of an attending angel (cf. Gen 48:16 LXX; Matt 18:10; Test. Jacob 1:10).

³² tn Or “had passed through,” “had traveled through.”

³³ sn Paphos. A city on the southwestern coast of the island of Cyprus. It was the seat of the Roman proconsul.

³⁴ sn Named Bar-Jesus. “Jesus” is the Latin form of the name “Joshua.” The Aramaic “bar” means “son of,” so this man was surnamed “son of Joshua.” The scene depicts the conflict between Judaism and the emerging new faith at a cosmic level, much like the Simon Magus incident in Acts 8:9-24. Paul’s ministry looks like Philip’s and Peter’s here.

³⁵ tn Or “Passing by.”

³⁶ sn Perga was a city in Pamphylia near the southern coast of Asia Minor.

³⁷ tn Or “at Antioch in Pisidia.”

sn Pisidian Antioch was a city in Pisidia about 100 mi (160 km) north of Perga. It was both a Roman colony and the seat of military and civil authority in S. Galatia. One had to trek over the Taurus Mountains to get there, since the city was 3,600 ft (1,100 m) above sea level.

map For location see JP1 E2; JP2 E2; JP3 E2; JP4 E2.

³⁸ tn Grk “going into the synagogue they sat down.” The participle εἰσελθόντες (eiselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

³⁹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

⁴⁰ tn Or “carried out.”

⁴¹ sn That is, everything that was written in OT scripture.

⁴² tn Grk “taking him down from the cross, they placed him.” The participle καθελόντες (kaqelonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁴³ tn Grk “tree,” but frequently figurative for a cross. The allusion is to Deut 21:23. See Acts 5:30; 10:39.

⁴⁴ tn The word “him” 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.

⁴⁵ sn They were filled with jealousy. Their foolish response to the gospel is noted again (see Acts 5:17). The same verb is used in Acts 7:9; 17:5.

⁴⁶ tn The imperfect verb ἀντέλεγον (antelegon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect in the logical sequence of events: After they were filled with jealousy, the Jewish opponents began to contradict what Paul said.

⁴⁷ tn Grk “the things being said by Paul.” For smoothness and simplicity of English style, the passive construction has been converted to active voice in the translation.

⁴⁸ tn The participle βλασφημοῦντες (blasfhmounte") has been regarded as indicating the means of the action of the main verb. It could also be translated as a finite verb (“and reviled him”) in keeping with contemporary English style. The direct object (“him”) is implied rather than expressed and could be impersonal (“it,” referring to what Paul was saying rather than Paul himself), but the verb occurs more often in contexts involving defamation or slander against personal beings (not always God). For a very similar context to this one, compare Acts 18:6. The translation “blaspheme” is not used because in contemporary English its meaning is more narrowly defined and normally refers to blasphemy against God (not what Paul’s opponents were doing here). The modern term “slandering” comes close to what was being done to Paul here.

⁴⁹ sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) northwest of Derbe.

map For location see JP1 E2; JP2 E2; JP3 E2.

⁵⁰ sn Iconium was a city in Lycaonia about 18 mi (30 km) north of Lystra.

⁵¹ sn Antioch was a city in Pisidia about 90 mi (145 km) west northwest of Lystra.

map For location see JP1 E2; JP2 E2; JP3 E2; JP4 E2.

⁵² tn Grk “And after.” 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.

⁵³ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

⁵⁴ tn BDAG 511 s.v. κατά B.1.b has “to Mysia” here.

⁵⁵ sn Mysia was a province in northwest Asia Minor.

⁵⁶ sn Bithynia was a province in northern Asia Minor northeast of Mysia.

⁵⁷ tn Or “permit”; see BDAG 269 s.v. ἐάω 1.

⁵⁸ tn The words “do this” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons, since English handles ellipses differently than Greek.

⁵⁹ tn Grk “heard they”; the referents (Paul and Silas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶⁰ sn Roman citizens. This fact was disturbing to the officials because due process was a right for a Roman citizen, well established in Roman law. To flog a Roman citizen was considered an abomination. Such punishment was reserved for noncitizens.

⁶¹ sn Berea (alternate spelling in NRSV Beroea; Greek Beroia) was a very old city in Macedonia on the river Astraeus about 45 mi (75 km) west of Thessalonica.

map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

⁶² tn Grk “who arriving there, went to.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (οἵτινες, Joitine") has been left untranslated and a new English sentence begun. The participle παραγενόμενοι (paragenomenoi) has been taken temporally.

⁶³ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

⁶⁴ tn Grk “But recognizing.” The participle ἐπιγνόντες (epignonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁶⁵ tn Grk “[they shouted] with one voice from all of them” (an idiom).

⁶⁶ sn Artemis was a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus, 1.25 mi (2 km) northeast of the Grand Theater. Dimensions were 418 ft by 239 ft (125 m by 72 m) for the platform; the temple proper was 377 ft by 180 ft (113 m by 54 m). The roof was supported by 117 columns, each 60 ft (18 m) high by 6 ft (1.8 m) in diameter. The Emperor Justinian of Byzantium later took these columns for use in construction of the Hagia Sophia, where they still exist (in modern day Istanbul).

⁶⁷ sn They all shouted…for about two hours. The extent of the tumult shows the racial and social tensions of a cosmopolitan city like Ephesus, indicating what the Christians in such locations had to face.

⁶⁸ tn Or “pained.”

⁶⁹ tn Grk “by the word that he had said.”

⁷⁰ tn Grk “to see his face” (an idiom for seeing someone in person).

⁷¹ tn BDAG 873 s.v. προπέμπω 1 has “they accompanied him to the ship Ac 20:38.”

⁷² tn Grk “whom.”

⁷³ tn On the phrase “inner temple courts” see the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The note explains the cause of the charge and also notes that it was false.

⁷⁴ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated as a pronoun (“he”) and a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

⁷⁵ tn Grk “taking…ran down.” The participle κατέδραμεν (katedramen) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁷⁶ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

⁷⁷ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷⁸ tn Grk “seeing.” The participle ἰδόντες (idonte") has been taken temporally.

⁷⁹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

⁸⁰ sn The mob stopped beating Paul because they feared the Romans would arrest them for disturbing the peace and for mob violence. They would let the Roman officials take care of the matter from this point on.

⁸¹ tn Grk “fearing.” The participle φοβούμενοι (foboumenoi) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

⁸² tn Grk “against a rough [rocky] place.” L&N 79.84 has “φοβούμενοί τε μή που κατὰ τραχεῖς τόποις ἐκπέσωμεν ‘we were afraid that we would run aground on the rocky coast’ Ac 27:29.”

⁸³ tn Grk “throwing out…they.” The participle ῥίψαντες (rJiyante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁸⁴ tn BDAG 417 s.v. εὔχομαι 2 states, “wish…τὶ for someth.…Foll. by acc. and inf….Ac 27:29.” The other possible meaning for this term, “pray,” is given in BDAG 417 s.v. 1 and employed by a number of translations (NAB, NRSV, NIV). If this meaning is adopted here, then “prayed for day to come” must be understood metaphorically to mean “prayed that they would live to see the day,” or “prayed that it would soon be day.”

⁸⁵ tn Grk “and wished for day to come about.”

sn And wished for day to appear. The sailors were hoping to hold the ship in place until morning, when they could see what was happening and where they were.

⁸⁶ tn Grk “who when.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) has been replaced by the personal pronoun (“they”) and a new sentence begun at this point in the translation.

⁸⁷ tn Or “had questioned me”; or “had examined me.” BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω 2 states, “to conduct a judicial hearing, hear a case, question.”

⁸⁸ sn They wanted to release me. See Acts 25:23-27.

⁸⁹ tn Grk “no basis for death,” but in this context a sentence of death is clearly indicated.