Acts 10:36-38
Context10:36 You know 1 the message 2 he sent to the people 3 of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace 4 through 5 Jesus Christ 6 (he is Lord 7 of all) – 10:37 you know what happened throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 8 10:38 with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, 9 that 10 God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He 11 went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, 12 because God was with him. 13
1 tn The subject and verb (“you know”) do not actually occur until the following verse, but have been repeated here because of the requirements of English word order.
2 tn Grk “the word.”
3 tn Grk “to the sons.”
4 sn Peace is a key OT concept: Isa 52:7; Nah 1:15; also for Luke: Luke 1:79; 2:14; Acts 9:31. See also the similar phrase in Eph 2:17.
5 tn Or “by.”
6 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
7 sn He is Lord of all. Though a parenthetical remark, this is the theological key to the speech. Jesus is Lord of all, so the gospel can go to all. The rest of the speech proclaims Jesus’ authority.
8 tn Or “proclaimed.”
9 sn The somewhat awkward naming of Jesus as from Nazareth here is actually emphatic. He is the key subject of these key events.
10 tn Or “how.” The use of ὡς (Jws) as an equivalent to ὅτι (Joti) to introduce indirect or even direct discourse is well documented. BDAG 1105 s.v. ὡς 5 lists Acts 10:28 in this category.
11 tn Grk “power, who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
12 tn The translation “healing all who were oppressed by the devil” is given in L&N 22.22.
sn All who were oppressed by the devil. Note how healing is tied to the cosmic battle present in creation. Christ’s power overcomes the devil and his forces, which seek to destroy humanity.