¹ tn Grk “said.”

² tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”

³ tn Grk “Simon answered and said.”

sn Given that Simon does not follow Peter’s call for repentance, many interpreters read this reply as flippant rather than sincere. But the exact nature of Simon’s reply is not entirely clear.

⁴ tn Grk “may come upon.”

⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Grk “How am I able, unless…” The translation is based on the force of the conjunction γάρ (gar) in this context. The translation “How in the world can I?” is given in BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 1.f.

⁷ tn Grk “And the.” 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.

⁸ sn The Lord is directing all the events leading to the expansion of the gospel as he works on both sides of the meeting between Paul and Ananias. “The Lord” here refers to Jesus (see v. 17).

⁹ tn Grk “behold, I,” but this construction often means “here is/there is” (cf. BDAG 468 s.v. ἰδού 2).

¹⁰ sn Ananias replied. Past events might have suggested to Ananias that this was not good counsel, but like Peter in Acts 10, Ananias’ intuitions were wrong.

¹¹ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

¹² tn The participle πιστεύσαντες (pisteusante") is taken temporally.

¹³ tn Grk “they [said] to him” (the word “said” is implied in the Greek text).

¹⁴ tn This use of ἀλλά (alla) is ascensive and involves an ellipsis (BDAG 45 s.v. ἀλλά 3): “No, [not only did we not receive the Spirit,] but also we have not heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” However, this is lengthy and somewhat awkward in English, and the ascensive meaning can be much more easily represented by including the word “even” after the negation. Apparently these disciples were unaware of the provision of the Spirit that is represented in baptism. The language sounds like they did not know about a Holy Spirit, but this seems to be only linguistic shorthand for not knowing about the Spirit’s presence (Luke 3:15-18). The situation is parallel to that of Apollos. Apollos and these disciples represent those who “complete” their transition to messianic faith as Jews.

¹⁵ tn Grk “answered and said to them.” The expression, redundant in English, has been simplified to “replied.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “Jesus I know about.” Here ᾿Ιησοῦν (Ihsoun) is in emphatic position in Greek, but placing the object first is not normal in contemporary English style.

¹⁷ tn BDAG 380 s.v. ἐπίσταμαι 2 has “know, be acquainted with τινά…τὸν Παῦλον Ac 19:15.” Here the translation “be acquainted with” was used to differentiate from the previous phrase which has γινώσκω (ginwskw).

¹⁸ sn But who are you? This account shows how the power of Paul was so distinct that parallel claims to access that power were denied. In fact, such manipulation, by those who did not know Jesus, was judged (v. 16). The indirect way in which the exorcists made the appeal shows their distance from Jesus.

¹⁹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

²⁰ sn Sometimes Roman citizenship was purchased through a bribe (Dio Cassius, Roman History 60.17.4-9). That may well have been the case here.

²¹ tn BDAG 495-96 s.v. καί 2.b has “intensive: even…Ac 5:39; 22:28.”

²² tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

sn Paul’s reference to being born a citizen suggests he inherited his Roman citizenship from his family.

²³ tn Grk “Paul said.” This phrase has been placed at the end of the sentence in the translation for stylistic reasons.

²⁴ tn Grk “said.”

²⁵ tn Or “know.”

²⁶ sn A quotation from Exod 22:28. This text defines a form of blasphemy. Paul, aware of the fact that he came close to crossing the line, backed off out of respect for the law.

²⁷ tn Grk “He said.”

²⁸ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

²⁹ tn Grk “they said to him.”

³⁰ tn Or “arrived”; Grk “come” (“from there” is implied). Grk “coming.” The participle παραγενόμενος (paragenomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.