4:32 The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, 4 and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common. 5
7:17 “But as the time drew near for God to fulfill the promise he had declared to Abraham, 10 the people increased greatly in number 11 in Egypt,
9:26 When he arrived in Jerusalem, 12 he attempted to associate 13 with the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe 14 that he was a disciple.
9:31 Then 15 the church throughout Judea, Galilee, 16 and Samaria experienced 17 peace and thus was strengthened. 18 Living 19 in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church 20 increased in numbers.
1 tn The participles ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) and εἰδώς (eidw") are translated as causal adverbial participles.
2 tn Grk “one from the fruit of his loins.” “Loins” is the traditional translation of ὀσφῦς (osfu"), referring to the male genital organs. A literal rendering like “one who came from his genital organs” would be regarded as too specific and perhaps even vulgar by many contemporary readers. Most modern translations thus render the phrase “one of his descendants.”
3 sn An allusion to Ps 132:11 and 2 Sam 7:12-13, the promise in the Davidic covenant.
4 tn Grk “soul.”
5 tn Grk “but all things were to them in common.”
sn Everything was held in common. The remark is not a reflection of political philosophy, but of the extent of their spontaneous commitment to one another. Such a response does not have the function of a command, but is reflective of an attitude that Luke commends as evidence of their identification with one another.
6 tn This is a continuation of the preceding sentence in Greek, but because this would produce an awkward sentence in English, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.
7 tn Grk “that his”; the discourse switches from indirect to direct with the following verbs. For consistency the entire quotation is treated as second person direct discourse in the translation.
8 tn Or “will be strangers,” that is, one who lives as a noncitizen of a foreign country.
9 sn A quotation from Gen 15:13. Exod 12:40 specifies the sojourn as 430 years.
10 tn Grk “But as the time for the fulfillment of the promise drew near that God had declared to Abraham.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to improve English style. See vv. 6-7 above.
11 tn Grk “the people increased and multiplied.”
12 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
13 tn Or “join.”
14 tn The participle πιστεύοντες (pisteuonte") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
15 tn Or “Therefore.” This verse is another summary text in Acts (cf. 2:41-47; 4:32-37; 5:12-16; 6:7).
16 tn Grk “and Galilee,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
17 tn Grk “had.”
18 tn Or “Built up.” The participle οἰκοδομουμένη (oikodomoumenh) has been translated as a participle of result related to εἶχεν (eicen). It could also be understood as adverbial to ἐπληθύνετο (eplhquneto): “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced peace. Strengthened and living in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.” Although some scholars do not regard the participle of result as a legitimate category, it is actually fairly common (see ExSyn 637-39).
19 tn Grk “And living.” 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.
20 tn Grk “it”; the referent (the church) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn Grk “these things.”
22 tn Or “became silent,” but this would create an apparent contradiction with the subsequent action of praising God. The point, in context, is that they ceased objecting to what Peter had done.
23 tn Or “glorified.”
24 sn Here the summary phrase for responding to the gospel is the repentance that leads to life. Note how the presence of life is tied to the presence of the Spirit (cf. John 4:7-42; 7:37-39).
25 sn In the Greek text the phrase even to the Gentiles is in an emphatic position.
26 tn Grk “that this”; the referent (the promise mentioned in the previous verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
sn This promise refers to the promise of a Savior through the seed (descendants) of David that is proclaimed as fulfilled (Rom 1:1-7).
27 tn Or “by resurrecting.” The participle ἀναστήσας (anasthsa") is taken as instrumental here.
sn By raising (i.e., by resurrection) tells how this promise came to be realized, though again the wordplay also points to his presence in history through this event (see the note on “raised up” in v. 22).
28 sn You are my Son. The key to how the quotation is used is the naming of Jesus as “Son” to the Father. The language is that of kingship, as Ps 2 indicates. Here is the promise about what the ultimate Davidic heir would be.
29 tn Grk “I have begotten you.” The traditional translation for γεγέννηκα (gegennhka, “begotten”) is misleading to the modern English reader because it is no longer in common use. Today one speaks of “fathering” a child in much the same way speakers of English formerly spoke of “begetting a child.”
sn A quotation from Ps 2:7.
30 tn The imperfect verb ἔχαιρον (ecairon) and the following ἐδόξαζον (edoxazon) are translated as ingressive imperfects.
31 tn Or “glorify.” Although “honor” is given by BDAG 258 s.v. δοξάζω as a translation, it would be misleading here, because the meaning is “to honor in the sense of attributing worth to something,” while in contemporary English usage one speaks of “honoring” a contract in the sense of keeping its stipulations. It is not a synonym for “obey” in this context (“obey the word of the Lord”), but that is how many English readers would understand it.
32 sn Note the contrast to v. 46 in regard to eternal life.
33 tn According to BDAG 793 s.v. πειράζω 2.c, “In Ac 15:10 the πειράζειν τὸν θεόν consists in the fact that after God’s will has been clearly made known through granting of the Spirit to the Gentiles (v. 8), some doubt and make trial to see whether God’s will really becomes operative.” All testing of God in Luke is negative: Luke 4:2; 11:16.
34 sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restriction that some in the early church wanted to place on Gentile converts to Christianity of observing the law of Moses and having males circumcised. The yoke is a decidedly negative image: Matt 23:4, but cf. Matt 11:29-30.
35 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
36 sn Simeon is a form of the apostle Peter’s Aramaic name. James uses Peter’s “Jewish” name here.
37 tn Or “reported,” “described.”
38 tn BDAG 378 s.v. ἐπισκέπτομαι 3 translates this phrase in Acts 15:14, “God concerned himself about winning a people fr. among the nations.”
39 tn Grk “to take,” but in the sense of selecting or choosing (accompanied by the preposition ἐκ [ek] plus a genitive specifying the group selected from) see Heb 5:1; also BDAG 584 s.v. λαμβάνω 6.
40 sn In the Greek text the expression “from among the Gentiles” is in emphatic position.
41 tn The participle πιστεύσαντες (pisteusante") is taken temporally.
42 tn Grk “they [said] to him” (the word “said” is implied in the Greek text).
43 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.
44 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.
45 tn L&N 39.43 has “‘the uproar spread throughout the whole city’ (literally ‘the city was filled with uproar’) Ac 19:29.” BDAG 954 s.v. σύγχυσις has “confusion, tumult.”
46 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
47 sn To the theater. This location made the event a public spectacle. The Grand Theater in Ephesus (still standing today) stood facing down the main thoroughfare of the city toward the docks. It had a seating capacity of 25,000.
48 tn Grk “to the theater with one accord.”
49 tn Or “had assembled.”