Discovery BoxActs 15:5 
Context15:5 But some from the religious party of the Pharisees 1 who had believed stood up and said, “It is necessary 2 to circumcise the Gentiles 3 and to order them to observe 4 the law of Moses.”
Acts 17:15
Context17:15 Those who accompanied Paul escorted him as far as Athens, 5 and after receiving an order for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left. 6
Acts 23:3
Context23:3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! 7 Do 8 you sit there judging me according to the law, 9 and in violation of the law 10 you order me to be struck?”
Acts 25:23
Context25:23 So the next day Agrippa 11 and Bernice came with great pomp 12 and entered the audience hall, 13 along with the senior military officers 14 and the prominent men of the city. When Festus 15 gave the order, 16 Paul was brought in.
1 sn See the note on Pharisee in 5:34.
2 sn The Greek word used here (δεῖ, dei) is a strong term that expresses divine necessity. The claim is that God commanded the circumcision of Gentiles.
3 tn Grk “them”; the referent (the Gentiles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Or “keep.”
5 map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.
6 sn They left. See 1 Thess 3:1-2, which shows they went from here to Thessalonica.
7 sn You whitewashed wall. This was an idiom for hypocrisy – just as the wall was painted on the outside but something different on the inside, so this person was not what he appeared or pretended to be (L&N 88.234; see also BDAG 1010 s.v. τοῖχος). Paul was claiming that the man’s response was two-faced (Ezek 13:10-16; Matt 23:27-28). See also Deut 28:22.
8 tn Grk “And do.” 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.
9 tn The law refers to the law of Moses.
10 tn BDAG 769 s.v. παρανομέω has “παρανομῶν κελεύεις in violation of the law you order Ac 23:3.”
sn In violation of the law. Paul was claiming that punishment was given before the examination was complete (m. Sanhedrin 3:6-8). Luke’s noting of this detail shows how quickly the leadership moved to react against Paul.
11 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
12 tn Or “great pageantry” (BDAG 1049 s.v. φαντασία; the term is a NT hapax legomenon).
sn Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp. The “royals” were getting their look at Paul. Everyone who was anyone would have been there.
13 tn Or “auditorium.” “Auditorium” may suggest to the modern English reader a theater where performances are held. Here it is the large hall where a king or governor would hold audiences. Paul once spoke of himself as a “spectacle” to the world (1 Cor 4:8-13).
14 tn Grk “the chiliarchs” (officers in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος (ciliarco") literally described the “commander of a thousand,” but it was used as the standard translation for the Latin tribunus militum or tribunus militare, the military tribune who commanded a cohort of 600 men.
15 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
16 tn Grk “and Festus ordering, Paul was brought in.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has not been translated. The participle κελεύσαντος (keleusanto") has been taken temporally.
