¹ 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.

² tn Grk “may come upon.”

³ tn Grk “his eyes being open,” a genitive absolute construction that has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

⁴ sn He could see nothing. This sign of blindness, which was temporary until v. 18, is like the sign of deafness experienced by Zechariah in Luke 1. It allowed some time for Saul (Paul) to reflect on what had happened without distractions.

⁵ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Saul’s companions) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn The imperfect verb ηὐκαίρουν (hukairoun) has been translated as a customary or habitual imperfect.

⁷ tn BDAG 406-7 s.v. εὐκαιρέω has “used to spend their time in nothing else than telling Ac 17:21.”

⁸ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The reference to newness may be pejorative.

⁹ sn He had done nothing that deserved death. Festus’ opinion of Paul’s guilt is like Pilate’s of Jesus (Luke 23:4, 14, 22).

¹⁰ tn The participle ἐπικαλεσαμένου (epikalesamenou) has been taken temporally. It could also be translated as causal: “and because he appealed…”

¹¹ tn A designation of the Roman emperor (in this case, Nero). BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός states, “ὁ Σεβαστός His Majesty the Emperor Ac 25:21, 25 (of Nero).”

¹² tn The word “him” 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.