Discovery BoxActs 4:4 
Context4:4 But many of those who had listened to 1 the message 2 believed, and the number of the men 3 came to about five thousand.
Acts 15:12
Context15:12 The whole group kept quiet 4 and listened to Barnabas and Paul while they explained all the miraculous signs 5 and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
Acts 16:14
Context16:14 A 6 woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth 7 from the city of Thyatira, 8 a God-fearing woman, listened to us. 9 The Lord opened her heart to respond 10 to what Paul was saying.
Acts 27:21
Context27:21 Since many of them had no desire to eat, 11 Paul 12 stood up 13 among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me 14 and not put out to sea 15 from Crete, thus avoiding 16 this damage and loss.
1 tn Or “had heard.”
2 tn Or “word.”
3 tn In the historical setting it is likely that only men are referred to here. The Greek term ἀνήρ (anhr) usually refers to males or husbands rather than people in general. Thus to translate “of the people” would give a false impression of the number, since any women and children were apparently not included in the count.
4 tn BDAG 922 s.v. σιγάω 1.a lists this passage under the meaning “say nothing, keep still, keep silent.”
5 tn Here in connection with τέρατα (terata) the miraculous nature of these signs is indicated.
6 tn Grk “And a.” 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.
7 tn On the term translated “a dealer in purple cloth” see BDAG 855 s.v. πορφυρόπωλις.
8 sn Thyatira was a city in the province of Lydia in Asia Minor.
9 tn The words “to us” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
10 tn Although BDAG 880 s.v. προσέχω 2.b gives the meaning “pay attention to” here, this could be misunderstood by the modern English reader to mean merely listening intently. The following context, however, indicates that Lydia responded positively to Paul’s message, so the verb here was translated “to respond.”
sn Lydia is one of several significant women in Acts (see 17:4, 12, 34; 18:20).
11 tn Or “Since they had no desire to eat for a long time.” The genitive absolute construction with the participle ὑπαρχούσης (Juparcoush") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle. It could also be translated temporally (“When many of them had no desire to eat”). The translation of πολλῆς (pollhs) as a substantized adjective referring to the people on board the ship (“many of them”) rather than a period of time (“for a long time”; so most modern versions) follows BDAG 143 s.v. ἀσιτία, which has “πολλῆς ἀ. ὑπαρχούσης since almost nobody wanted to eat because of anxiety or seasickness…Ac 27:21.” This detail indicates how turbulent things were on board the ship.
12 tn Here τότε (tote) is redundant (pleonastic) according to BDAG 1012-13 s.v. τότε 2; thus it has not been translated.
13 tn Grk “standing up…said.” The participle σταθείς (staqeis) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
14 tn L&N 36.12 has “πειθαρχήσαντάς μοι μὴ ἀνάγεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς Κρήτης ‘you should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete’ Ac 27:21.”
sn By saying “you should have listened to me and not put out to sea from Crete” Paul was not “rubbing it in,” but was reasserting his credibility before giving his next recommendation.
15 tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”
16 tn The infinitive κερδῆσαι (kerdhsai) has been translated as resultative.
