Discovery BoxActs 3:22 
Context3:22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must obey 1 him in everything he tells you. 2
Acts 17:11
Context17:11 These Jews 3 were more open-minded 4 than those in Thessalonica, 5 for they eagerly 6 received 7 the message, examining 8 the scriptures carefully every day 9 to see if these things were so.
Acts 19:21
Context19:21 Now after all these things had taken place, 10 Paul resolved 11 to go to Jerusalem, 12 passing through Macedonia 13 and Achaia. 14 He said, 15 “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 16
Acts 21:25
Context21:25 But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided 17 that they should avoid 18 meat that has been sacrificed to idols 19 and blood and what has been strangled 20 and sexual immorality.”
1 tn Grk “hear,” but the idea of “hear and obey” or simply “obey” is frequently contained in the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw; see L&N 36.14) and the following context (v. 23) makes it clear that failure to “obey” the words of this “prophet like Moses” will result in complete destruction.
2 sn A quotation from Deut 18:15. By quoting Deut 18:15 Peter declared that Jesus was the eschatological “prophet like [Moses]” mentioned in that passage, who reveals the plan of God and the way of God.
3 tn Grk “These”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue at Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 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.
5 sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).
map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.
6 tn Or “willingly,” “readily”; Grk “with all eagerness.”
7 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.
8 tn This verb (BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω 1) refers to careful examination.
9 tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.
10 tn Grk “all these things had been fulfilled.”
11 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.”
12 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
13 sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
14 sn Achaia was the Roman province of Achaia located across the Aegean Sea from Ephesus. Its principal city was Corinth.
15 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.
16 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.
17 tn L&N 13.154 has “‘having decided that they must keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from an animal that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality’ Ac 21:25.”
sn Having decided refers here to the decision of the Jerusalem council (Acts 15:6-21). Mention of this previous decision reminds the reader that the issue here is somewhat different: It is not whether Gentiles must first become Jews before they can become Christians (as in Acts 15), but whether Jews who become Christians should retain their Jewish practices. Sensitivity to this issue would suggest that Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians might engage in different practices.
18 tn This is a different Greek word than the one used in Acts 15:20, 29. BDAG 1068 s.v. φυλάσσω 3 has “to be on one’s guard against, look out for, avoid…w. acc. of pers. or thing avoided…Ac 21:25.” The Greek word used in Acts 15:20, 29 is ἀπέχω (apecw). The difference in meaning, although slight, has been maintained in the translation.
19 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.
20 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 blood).
