Discovery BoxActs 14:27 
Context14:27 When they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported 1 all the things God 2 had done with them, and that he had opened a door 3 of faith for the Gentiles.
Acts 15:20
Context15:20 but that we should write them a letter 4 telling them to abstain 5 from things defiled 6 by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled 7 and from blood.
Acts 15:29
Context15:29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols 8 and from blood and from what has been strangled 9 and from sexual immorality. 10 If you keep yourselves from doing these things, 11 you will do well. Farewell. 12
Acts 17:11
Context17:11 These Jews 13 were more open-minded 14 than those in Thessalonica, 15 for they eagerly 16 received 17 the message, examining 18 the scriptures carefully every day 19 to see if these things were so.
Acts 18:17
Context18:17 So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue, 20 and began to beat 21 him in front of the judgment seat. 22 Yet none of these things were of any concern 23 to Gallio.
Acts 19:21
Context19:21 Now after all these things had taken place, 24 Paul resolved 25 to go to Jerusalem, 26 passing through Macedonia 27 and Achaia. 28 He said, 29 “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 30
Acts 20:35
Context20:35 By all these things, 31 I have shown you that by working in this way we must help 32 the weak, 33 and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” 34
1 tn Or “announced.”
2 sn Note that God is the subject of the activity. The outcome of this mission is seen as a confirmation of the mission to the Gentiles.
3 sn On the image of opening, or of the door, see 1 Cor 16:9; 2 Cor 2:12; Col 4:3.
4 tn The translation “to write a letter, to send a letter to” for ἐπιστέλλω (epistellw) is given in L&N 33.49.
5 tn Three of the four prohibitions deal with food (the first, third and fourth) while one prohibition deals with behavior (the second, refraining from sexual immorality). Since these occur in the order they do, the translation “abstain from” is used to cover both sorts of activity (eating food items, immoral behavior).
sn Telling them to abstain. These restrictions are not on matters of salvation, but are given as acts of sensitivity to their Jewish brethren, as v. 21 makes clear. Another example of such sensitivity is seen in 1 Cor 10:14-11:1.
6 tn Or “polluted.”
7 sn What has been strangled. That is, to refrain from eating animals that had been killed without having the blood drained from them. According to the Mosaic law (Lev 17:13-14), Jews were forbidden to eat flesh with the blood still in it (note the following provision in Acts 15:20, and from blood).
8 tn There is no specific semantic component in the Greek word εἰδωλόθυτος that means “meat” (see BDAG 280 s.v. εἰδωλόθυτος; L&N 5.15). The stem –θυτος means “sacrifice” (referring to an animal sacrificially killed) and thereby implies meat.
9 tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses lack the restriction “and from what has been strangled” (καὶ πνικτῶν, kai pniktwn), though the words are supported by a wide variety of early and important witnesses otherwise and should be considered authentic.
sn What has been strangled. That is, to refrain from eating animals that had been killed without having the blood drained from them. According to the Mosaic law (Lev 17:13-14), Jews were forbidden to eat flesh with the blood still in it (note the preceding provision in this verse, and from blood).
10 tc Codex Bezae (D) as well as 323 614 945 1739 1891 sa and other witnesses have after “sexual immorality” the following statement: “And whatever you do not want to happen to yourselves, do not do to another/others.” By adding this negative form of the Golden Rule, these witnesses effectively change the Apostolic Decree from what might be regarded as ceremonial restrictions into more ethical demands. The issues here are quite complicated, and beyond the scope of this brief note. Suffice it to say that D and its allies here are almost surely an expansion and alteration of the original text of Acts. For an excellent discussion of the exegetical and textual issues, see TCGNT 379-83.
11 tn Grk “from which things keeping yourselves.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (ὧν, |wn) has been replaced by a pronoun (“these things”) and a new English sentence begun. The participle διατηροῦντες (diathrounte") has been translated as a conditional adverbial participle (“if you keep yourselves”). See further L&N 13.153.
12 tn The phrase ἔρρωσθε (errwsqe) may be understood as a stock device indicating a letter is complete (“good-bye,” L&N 33.24) or as a sincere wish that the persons involved may fare well (“may you fare well,” L&N 23.133).
13 tn Grk “These”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue at Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Or “more willing to learn.” L&N 27.48 and BDAG 404 s.v. εὐγενής 2 both use the term “open-minded” here. The point is that they were more receptive to Paul’s message.
15 sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).
map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.
16 tn Or “willingly,” “readily”; Grk “with all eagerness.”
17 tn Grk “who received.” Here the relative pronoun (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“they”) preceded by a semicolon, which is less awkward in contemporary English than a relative clause at this point.
18 tn This verb (BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω 1) refers to careful examination.
19 tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.
20 tn That is, “the official in charge of the synagogue”; ἀρχισυνάγωγος (arcisunagwgo") refers to the “leader/president of a synagogue” (so BDAG 139 s.v. and L&N 53.93).
sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
21 tn The imperfect verb ἔτυπτον (etupton) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
22 sn See the note on the term judgment seat in 18:12.
23 tn L&N 25.223 has “‘none of these things were of any concern to Gallio’ Ac 18:17.”
sn Rome was officially indifferent to such disputes. Gallio understood how sensitive some Jews would be about his meddling in their affairs. This is similar to the way Pilate dealt with Jesus. In the end, he let the Jewish leadership and people make the judgment against Jesus.
24 tn Grk “all these things had been fulfilled.”
25 tn Grk “Paul purposed in [his] spirit” (an idiom). According to BDAG 1003 s.v. τίθημι 1.b.ε the entire idiom means “to resolve” (or “decide”): “ἔθετο ὁ Παῦλος ἐν τῷ πνεύματι w. inf. foll. Paul resolved 19:21.”
26 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
27 sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
28 sn Achaia was the Roman province of Achaia located across the Aegean Sea from Ephesus. Its principal city was Corinth.
29 tn Grk “Achaia, saying.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the awkwardness in English of having two participial clauses following one another (“passing through…saying”), the participle εἰπών (eipwn) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun here in the translation.
30 sn This is the first time Paul mentions Rome. He realized the message of Christianity could impact that society even at its heights.
map For location see JP4 A1.
31 sn The expression By all these things means “In everything I did.”
32 tn Or “must assist.”
33 tn Or “the sick.” See Eph 4:28.
34 sn The saying is similar to Matt 10:8. Service and generosity should be abundant. Interestingly, these exact words are not found in the gospels. Paul must have known of this saying from some other source.
