Discovery BoxActs 7:42 
Context7:42 But God turned away from them and gave them over 1 to worship the host 2 of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘It was not to me that you offered slain animals and sacrifices 3 forty years in the wilderness, was it, 4 house of Israel?
Acts 16:37
Context16:37 But Paul said to the police officers, 5 “They had us beaten in public 6 without a proper trial 7 – even though we are Roman citizens 8 – and they threw us 9 in prison. And now they want to send us away 10 secretly? Absolutely not! They 11 themselves must come and escort us out!” 12
Acts 19:27
Context19:27 There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, 13 but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis 14 will be regarded as nothing, 15 and she whom all the province of Asia 16 and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.” 17
Acts 19:35
Context19:35 After the city secretary 18 quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, what person 19 is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper 20 of the temple of the great Artemis 21 and of her image that fell from heaven? 22
Acts 25:24
Context25:24 Then Festus 23 said, “King Agrippa, 24 and all you who are present here with us, you see this man about whom the entire Jewish populace 25 petitioned 26 me both in Jerusalem 27 and here, 28 shouting loudly 29 that he ought not to live any longer.
Acts 26:10
Context26:10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received 30 from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote 31 against them when they were sentenced to death. 32
Acts 27:12
Context27:12 Because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided 33 to put out to sea 34 from there. They hoped that 35 somehow they could reach 36 Phoenix, 37 a harbor of Crete facing 38 southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.
Acts 28:27
Context28:27 For the heart of this people has become dull, 39
and their ears are hard of hearing, 40
and they have closed their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
1 sn The expression and gave them over suggests similarities to the judgment on the nations described by Paul in Rom 1:18-32.
2 tn Or “stars.”
sn To worship the hosts of heaven. Their action violated Deut 4:19; 17:2-5. See Ps 106:36-43.
3 tn The two terms for sacrifices “semantically reinforce one another and are here combined essentially for emphasis” (L&N 53.20).
4 tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ question, “was it?”
5 tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the police officers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Grk “Having us beaten in public.” The participle δείραντες (deirante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
7 tn Or “in public, uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.
8 tn The participle ὑπάρχοντας (Juparconta") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.
9 tn The word “us” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
10 tn L&N 28.71 has “send us away secretly” for this verse.
11 tn Grk “But they.”
12 sn They themselves must come and escort us out! Paul was asking for the injustice he and Silas suffered to be symbolically righted. It was a way of publicly taking their actions off the record and showing the apostles’ innocence, a major public statement. Note the apology given in v. 39.
13 tn Or “come under public criticism.” BDAG 101 s.v. ἀπελεγμός has “come into disrepute Ac 19:27.”
14 sn Artemis was the name of a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus.
15 tn BDAG 597 s.v. λογίζομαι 1.b has “εἰς οὐθὲν λογισθῆναι be looked upon as nothing…Ac 19:27.”
16 tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 22.
17 tn Or “her magnificence.” BDAG 488 s.v. καθαιρέω 2.b has “καθαιρεῖσθαι τῆς μεγαλειότητος αὐτῆς suffer the loss of her magnificence Ac 19:27”; L&N 13.38 has “‘and to have her greatness done away with’ Ac 19:27.”
sn Suffer the loss of her greatness. It is important to appreciate that money alone was not the issue, even for the pagan Ephesians. The issue was ultimately the dishonor of their goddess to whom they were devoted in worship. The battle was a “cosmic” one between deities.
18 tn Or “clerk.” The “scribe” (γραμματεύς, grammateu") was the keeper of the city’s records.
19 tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo").
20 tn See BDAG 670 s.v. νεωκόρος. The city is described as the “warden” or “guardian” of the goddess and her temple.
21 sn Artemis was a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus.
22 tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
sn The expression fell from heaven adds a note of apologetic about the heavenly origin of the goddess. The city’s identity and well-being was wrapped up with this connection, in their view. Many interpreters view her image that fell from heaven as a stone meteorite regarded as a sacred object.
23 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
24 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
25 tn Probably best understood as rhetorical hyperbole. BDAG 825 s.v. πλῆθος 2.b.γ states, “people, populace, population…τὸ πλῆθος the populace…ἅπαν τὸ πλ. τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων Ac 25:24.” However, the actions of the leadership are seen by Luke as representing the actions of the entire nation, so the remark is not inaccurate.
26 tn Or “appealed to” (BDAG 341 s.v. ἐντυγχάνω 1.a).
27 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
28 sn Here means “here in Caesarea.”
29 tn Or “screaming.”
30 tn Grk “by receiving authority.” The participle λαβών (labwn) has been taken instrumentally.
31 tn Grk “cast down a pebble against them.” L&N 30.103 states, “(an idiom, Grk ‘to bring a pebble against someone,’ a reference to a white or black pebble used in voting for or against someone) to make known one’s choice against someone – ‘to vote against.’ …‘when they were sentenced to death, I also voted against them’ Ac 26:10.”
32 tn Grk “when they were being executed”; but the context supports the sentencing rather than the execution itself (cf. L&N 30.103).
33 tn BDAG 181-82 s.v. βουλή 2.a, “β. τίθεσθαι (Judg 19:30; Ps 12:3) decide 27:12 (w. inf. foll.).”
34 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.”
35 tn Grk “from there, if somehow” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun here in the translation and the introductory phrase “They hoped that” supplied (with the subject, “they,” repeated from the previous clause) to make a complete English sentence.
36 tn Grk “if somehow, reaching Phoenix, they could…” The participle καταντήσαντες (katanthsante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
37 sn Phoenix was a seaport on the southern coast of the island of Crete. This was about 30 mi (48 km) further west.
38 tn Or “a harbor of Crete open to the southwest and northwest.”
39 tn Or “insensitive.”
sn The heart of this people has become dull. The charge from Isaiah is like Stephen’s against the Jews of Jerusalem (Acts 7:51-53). They were a hard-hearted and disobedient people.
40 tn Grk “they hear heavily with their ears” (an idiom for slow comprehension).
41 sn Note how the failure to respond to the message of the gospel is seen as a failure to turn.
42 sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10.
