Kisah Para Rasul 2:37-40

The Response to Peter’s Address

2:37 Now when they heard this, ¹  they were acutely distressed ²  and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?” 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized ³  in the name of Jesus Christ ⁴  for ⁵  the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ⁶  2:39 For the promise ⁷  is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” 2:40 With many other words he testified ⁸  and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse ⁹  generation!”

Kisah Para Rasul 7:51-54

7:51 “You stubborn ¹⁰  people, with uncircumcised ¹¹  hearts and ears! ¹²  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors ¹³  did! 7:52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors ¹⁴  not persecute? ¹⁵  They ¹⁶  killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, ¹⁷  whose betrayers and murderers you have now become! ¹⁸  7:53 You ¹⁹  received the law by decrees given by angels, ²⁰  but you did not obey ²¹  it.” ²² 

Stephen is Killed

7:54 When they heard these things, they became furious ²³  and ground their teeth ²⁴  at him.

Kisah Para Rasul 24:24-25

Paul Speaks Repeatedly to Felix

24:24 Some days later, when Felix ²⁵  arrived with his wife Drusilla, ²⁶  who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak ²⁷  about faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁸  24:25 While Paul ²⁹  was discussing ³⁰  righteousness, self-control, ³¹  and the coming judgment, Felix ³²  became ³³  frightened and said, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, ³⁴  I will send for you.”

[2:37]  ¹ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[2:37]  ² tn Grk “they were pierced to the heart” (an idiom for acute emotional distress).

[2:38]  ³ tn The verb is a third person imperative, but the common translation “let each of you be baptized” obscures the imperative force in English, since it sounds more like a permissive (“each of you may be baptized”) to the average English reader.

[2:38]  ⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:38]  sn In the name of Jesus Christ. Baptism in Messiah Jesus’ name shows how much authority he possesses.

[2:38]  ⁵ tn There is debate over the meaning of εἰς in the prepositional phrase εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν (eis afesin twn Jamartiwn Jumwn, “for/because of/with reference to the forgiveness of your sins”). Although a causal sense has been argued, it is difficult to maintain here. ExSyn 369-71 discusses at least four other ways of dealing with the passage: (1) The baptism referred to here is physical only, and εἰς has the meaning of “for” or “unto.” Such a view suggests that salvation is based on works – an idea that runs counter to the theology of Acts, namely: (a) repentance often precedes baptism (cf. Acts 3:19; 26:20), and (b) salvation is entirely a gift of God, not procured via water baptism (Acts 10:43 [cf. v. 47]; 13:38-39, 48; 15:11; 16:30-31; 20:21; 26:18); (2) The baptism referred to here is spiritual only. Although such a view fits well with the theology of Acts, it does not fit well with the obvious meaning of “baptism” in Acts – especially in this text (cf. 2:41); (3) The text should be repunctuated in light of the shift from second person plural to third person singular back to second person plural again. The idea then would be, “Repent for/with reference to your sins, and let each one of you be baptized…” Such a view is an acceptable way of handling εἰς, but its subtlety and awkwardness count against it; (4) Finally, it is possible that to a first-century Jewish audience (as well as to Peter), the idea of baptism might incorporate both the spiritual reality and the physical symbol. That Peter connects both closely in his thinking is clear from other passages such as Acts 10:47 and 11:15-16. If this interpretation is correct, then Acts 2:38 is saying very little about the specific theological relationship between the symbol and the reality, only that historically they were viewed together. One must look in other places for a theological analysis. For further discussion see R. N. Longenecker, “Acts,” EBC 9:283-85; B. Witherington, Acts, 154-55; F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 129-30; BDAG 290 s.v. εἰς 4.f.

[2:38]  ⁶ tn Here the genitive τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (tou Jagiou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the gift consists of the Holy Spirit.

[2:39]  ⁷ sn The promise refers to the promise of the Holy Spirit that Jesus received from the Father in 2:33 and which he now pours out on others. The promise consists of the Holy Spirit (see note in 2:33). Jesus is the active mediator of God’s blessing.

[2:40]  ⁸ tn Or “warned.”

[2:40]  ⁹ tn Or “crooked” (in a moral or ethical sense). See Luke 3:5.

[7:51]  ¹⁰ sn Traditionally, “stiff-necked people.” Now the critique begins in earnest.

[7:51]  ¹¹ tn The term ἀπερίτμητοι (aperitmhtoi, “uncircumcised”) is a NT hapax legomenon (occurs only once). See BDAG 101-2 s.v. ἀπερίτμητος and Isa 52:1.

[7:51]  ¹² tn Or “You stubborn and obstinate people!” (The phrase “uncircumcised hearts and ears” is another figure for stubbornness.)

[7:51]  ¹³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ¹⁴ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ¹⁵ sn Which…persecute. The rhetorical question suggests they persecuted them all.

[7:52]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And they.” 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.

[7:52]  ¹⁷ sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ.

[7:52]  ¹⁸ sn Whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. The harsh critique has OT precedent (1 Kgs 19:10-14; Neh 9:26; 2 Chr 36:16).

[7:53]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, who received the law” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the pronoun “You” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.

[7:53]  ²⁰ tn Traditionally, “as ordained by angels,” but εἰς (eis) with the accusative here should be understood as instrumental (a substitute for ἐν [en]); so BDAG 291 s.v. εἰς 9, BDF §206. Thus the phrase literally means “received the law by the decrees [orders] of angels” with the genitive understood as a subjective genitive, that is, the angels gave the decrees.

[7:53]  sn Decrees given by angels. According to Jewish traditions in the first century, the law of Moses was mediated through angels. See also the note on “angel” in 7:35.

[7:53]  ²¹ tn The Greek word φυλάσσω (fulassw, traditionally translated “keep”) in this context connotes preservation of and devotion to an object as well as obedience.

[7:53]  ²² tn Or “did not obey it.”

[7:54]  ²³ tn This verb, which also occurs in Acts 5:33, means “cut to the quick” or “deeply infuriated” (BDAG 235 s.v. διαπρίω).

[7:54]  ²⁴ tn Or “they gnashed their teeth.” This idiom is a picture of violent rage (BDAG 184 s.v. βρύχω). See also Ps 35:16.

[24:24]  ²⁵ sn See the note on Antonius Felix in 23:24.

[24:24]  ²⁶ sn It is possible that Drusilla, being Jewish, was the source of Felix’s knowledge about the new movement called Christianity. The youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I and sister of Agrippa II, she would have been close to 20 years old at the time. She had married the king of a small region in Syria but divorced him at the age of 16 to marry Felix. This was her second marriage and Felix’s third (Josephus, Ant. 19.9.1 [19.354], 20.7.2 [20.141-144]). As a member of Herod’s family, she probably knew about the Way.

[24:24]  ²⁷ tn The word “speak” is implied; BDAG 32 s.v. ἀκούω 1.c has “ἤκουσεν αὐτοῦ περὶ τῆς…πίστεως he heard him speak about faith Ac 24:24.”

[24:24]  ²⁸ tn Or “Messiah Jesus”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:25]  ²⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:25]  ³⁰ tn Or “speaking about.”

[24:25]  ³¹ tn Grk “and self-control.” This 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.

[24:25]  sn The topic of self-control was appropriate in view of the personal history of both Felix and Drusilla (see the note on “Drusilla” in the previous verse), and might well account for Felix’s anxiety.

[24:25]  ³² sn See the note on Felix in 23:26.

[24:25]  ³³ tn Grk “becoming.” The participle γενόμενος (genomenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[24:25]  ³⁴ tn Or “when I find time.” BDAG 639 s.v. μεταλαμβάνω 2 has “καιρὸν μ. have an opportunity = find time…Ac 24:25.”