Keluaran 15:20-21

15:20 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a hand-drum in her hand, and all the women went out after her with hand-drums and with dances. ¹  15:21 Miriam sang in response ²  to them, “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.” ³ 

Keluaran 15:2

15:2 The Lord ⁴  is my strength and my song, ⁵ 

and he has become my salvation.

This is my God, and I will praise him, ⁶ 

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Kisah Para Rasul 3:15

3:15 You killed ⁷  the Originator ⁸  of life, whom God raised ⁹  from the dead. To this fact we are witnesses! ¹⁰ 

Kisah Para Rasul 3:1

Peter and John Heal a Lame Man at the Temple

3:1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time ¹¹  for prayer, ¹²  at three o’clock in the afternoon. ¹³ 

Kisah Para Rasul 13:8

13:8 But the magician Elymas ¹⁴  (for that is the way his name is translated) ¹⁵  opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul ¹⁶  away from the faith.

Kisah Para Rasul 15:19-21

15:19 “Therefore I conclude ¹⁷  that we should not cause extra difficulty ¹⁸  for those among the Gentiles ¹⁹  who are turning to God, 15:20 but that we should write them a letter ²⁰  telling them to abstain ²¹  from things defiled ²²  by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled ²³  and from blood. 15:21 For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times, ²⁴  because he is read aloud ²⁵  in the synagogues ²⁶  every Sabbath.”

Kisah Para Rasul 15:27-28

15:27 Therefore we are sending ²⁷  Judas and Silas ²⁸  who will tell you these things themselves in person. ²⁹  15:28 For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us ³⁰  not to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules: ³¹ 

Kisah Para Rasul 16:5

16:5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were increasing in number every day. ³² 

Kisah Para Rasul 16:1

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16:1 He also came to Derbe ³³  and to Lystra. ³⁴  A disciple ³⁵  named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, ³⁶  but whose father was a Greek. ³⁷ 

Kisah Para Rasul 25:1-6

Paul Appeals to Caesar

25:1 Now ³⁸  three days after Festus ³⁹  arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem ⁴⁰  from Caesarea. ⁴¹  25:2 So the chief priests and the most prominent men ⁴²  of the Jews brought formal charges ⁴³  against Paul to him. 25:3 Requesting him to do them a favor against Paul, ⁴⁴  they urged Festus ⁴⁵  to summon him to Jerusalem, planning an ambush ⁴⁶  to kill him along the way. 25:4 Then Festus ⁴⁷  replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, ⁴⁸  and he himself intended to go there ⁴⁹  shortly. 25:5 “So,” he said, “let your leaders ⁵⁰  go down there ⁵¹  with me, and if this man has done anything wrong, ⁵²  they may bring charges ⁵³  against him.”

25:6 After Festus ⁵⁴  had stayed ⁵⁵  not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, ⁵⁶  and the next day he sat ⁵⁷  on the judgment seat ⁵⁸  and ordered Paul to be brought.

Kisah Para Rasul 25:2

25:2 So the chief priests and the most prominent men ⁵⁹  of the Jews brought formal charges ⁶⁰  against Paul to him.

Kisah Para Rasul 1:25

1:25 to assume the task ⁶¹  of this service ⁶²  and apostleship from which Judas turned aside ⁶³  to go to his own place.” ⁶⁴ 

Mazmur 49:4

49:4 I will learn a song that imparts wisdom;

I will then sing my insightful song to the accompaniment of a harp. ⁶⁵ 

Mazmur 150:3-6

150:3 Praise him with the blast of the horn!

Praise him with the lyre and the harp!

150:4 Praise him with the tambourine and with dancing!

Praise him with stringed instruments and the flute!

150:5 Praise him with loud cymbals!

Praise him with clanging cymbals!

150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

[15:20]  ¹ sn See J. N. Easton, “Dancing in the Old Testament,” ExpTim 86 (1975): 136-40.

[15:21]  ² tn The verb עָנָה (’ana) normally means “to answer,” but it can be used more technically to describe antiphonal singing in Hebrew and in Ugaritic.

[15:21]  ³ sn This song of the sea is, then, a great song of praise for Yahweh’s deliverance of Israel at the Sea, and his preparation to lead them to the promised land, much to the (anticipated) dread of the nations. The principle here, and elsewhere in Scripture, is that the people of God naturally respond to God in praise for his great acts of deliverance. Few will match the powerful acts that were exhibited in Egypt, but these nonetheless set the tone. The song is certainly typological of the song of the saints in heaven who praise God for delivering them from the bondage of this world by judging the world. The focus of the praise, though, still is on the person (attributes) and works of God.

[15:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “Yah.” Moses’ poem here uses a short form of the name Yahweh, traditionally rendered in English by “the LORD.”

[15:2]  ⁵ tn The word וְזִמְרָת (vÿzimrat) is problematic. It probably had a suffix yod (י) that was accidentally dropped because of the yod (י) on the divine name following. Most scholars posit another meaning for the word. A meaning of “power” fits the line fairly well, forming a hendiadys with strength – “strength and power” becoming “strong power.” Similar lines are in Isa 12:2 and Ps 118:14. Others suggest “protection” or “glory.” However, there is nothing substantially wrong with “my song” in the line – only that it would be a nicer match if it had something to do with strength.

[15:2]  ⁶ tn The word נָוָה (navah) occurs only here. It may mean “beautify, adorn” with praises (see BDB 627 s.v.). See also M. Dahood, “Exodus 15:2: ‘anwehu and Ugaritic snwt,” Bib 59 (1979): 260-61; and M. Klein, “The Targumic Tosefta to Exodus 15:2,” JJS 26 (1975): 61-67; and S. B. Parker, “Exodus 15:2 Again,” VT 21 (1971): 373-79.

[3:15]  ⁷ tn Or “You put to death.”

[3:15]  ⁸ tn Or “Founder,” “founding Leader.”

[3:15]  ⁹ sn Whom God raised. God is the main actor here, as he testifies to Jesus and vindicates him.

[3:15]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the words “to this fact” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.

[3:15]  sn We are witnesses. Note the two witnesses here, Peter and John (Acts 5:32; Heb 2:3-4).

[3:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “hour.”

[3:1]  ¹² sn Going up to the temple at the time for prayer. The earliest Christians, being of Jewish roots, were still participating in the institutions of Judaism at this point. Their faith in Christ did not make them non-Jewish in their practices.

[3:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “at the ninth hour.” This is calculated from sunrise (Josephus, Ant. 14.4.3 [14.65]; Dan 9:21).

[13:8]  ¹⁴ tn On the debate over what the name “Elymas” means, see BDAG 320 s.v. ᾿Ελύμας. The magician’s behavior is more directly opposed to the faith than Simon Magus’ was.

[13:8]  ¹⁵ sn A parenthetical note by the author.

[13:8]  ¹⁶ sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.

[15:19]  ¹⁷ tn Or “I have decided,” “I think.” The verb κρίνω (krinw) has a far broader range of meaning than the often-used English verb “judge.” BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 3 places this use in Acts 15:19 in the category “judge, think, consider, look upon” followed by double accusative of object and predicate. However, many modern translations give the impression that a binding decision is being handed down by James: “it is my judgment” (NASB, NIV); “I have reached the decision” (NRSV). L&N 22.25, on the other hand, translate the phrase here “I think that we should not cause extra difficulty for those among the Gentiles.” This gives more the impression of an opinion than a binding decision. The resolution of this lies not so much in the lexical data as in how one conceives James’ role in the leadership of the Jerusalem church, plus the dynamics of the specific situation where the issue of Gentile inclusion in the church was being discussed. The major possibilities are: (1) James is handing down a binding decision to the rest of the church as the one who has ultimate authority to decide this matter; (2) James is offering his own personal opinion in the matter, which is not binding on the church; (3) James is voicing a consensus opinion of all the apostles and elders, although phrasing it as if it were his own; (4) James is making a suggestion to the rest of the leadership as to what course they should follow. In light of the difficulty in reconstructing the historical situation in detail, it is best to use a translation which maintains as many of the various options as possible. For this reason the translation “Therefore I conclude” has been used, leaving open the question whether in reaching this conclusion James is speaking only for himself or for the rest of the leadership.

[15:19]  ¹⁸ tn Or “trouble.” This term is a NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 775 s.v. παρενοχλέω).

[15:19]  ¹⁹ tn Or “among the nations” (in Greek the word for “nation” and “Gentile” is the same).

[15:20]  ²⁰ tn The translation “to write a letter, to send a letter to” for ἐπιστέλλω (epistellw) is given in L&N 33.49.

[15:20]  ²¹ tn Three of the four prohibitions deal with food (the first, third and fourth) while one prohibition deals with behavior (the second, refraining from sexual immorality). Since these occur in the order they do, the translation “abstain from” is used to cover both sorts of activity (eating food items, immoral behavior).

[15:20]  sn Telling them to abstain. These restrictions are not on matters of salvation, but are given as acts of sensitivity to their Jewish brethren, as v. 21 makes clear. Another example of such sensitivity is seen in 1 Cor 10:14-11:1.

[15:20]  ²² tn Or “polluted.”

[15:20]  ²³ sn What has been strangled. That is, to refrain from eating animals that had been killed without having the blood drained from them. According to the Mosaic law (Lev 17:13-14), Jews were forbidden to eat flesh with the blood still in it (note the following provision in Acts 15:20, and from blood).

[15:21]  ²⁴ tn Grk “from generations of old”; the translation “fr. ancient times” is given by BDAG 192 s.v. γενεά 3.b.

[15:21]  ²⁵ tn The translation “read aloud” is used to indicate the actual practice; translating as “read” could be misunderstood to mean private, silent reading.

[15:21]  ²⁶ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[15:27]  ²⁷ tn This verb has been translated as an epistolary aorist.

[15:27]  ²⁸ sn Judas and Silas were the “two witnesses” who would vouch for the truth of the recommendation.

[15:27]  ²⁹ tn Grk “by means of word” (an idiom for a verbal report).

[15:28]  ³⁰ tn This is the same expression translated “decided” in Acts 15:22, 25. BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.b.β lists “decide” as a possible gloss for this verse, and this translation would be consistent with the translation of the same expression in Acts 15:22, 25. However, the unusually awkward “the Holy Spirit and we have decided” would result. Given this approach, it would be more natural in English to say “We and the Holy Spirit have decided,” but changing the order removes the emphasis the Greek text gives to the Holy Spirit. Thus, although the similarity to the phrases in 15:22, 25 is obscured, it is better to use the alternate translation “it seems best to me” (also given by BDAG): “it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us.” Again the scope of agreement is highlighted.

[15:28]  ³¹ tn L&N 71.39 translates “indispensable (rules)” while BDAG 358 s.v. ἐπάναγκες has “the necessary things.”

[16:5]  ³² tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

[16:1]  ³³ sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra. It was about 90 mi (145 km) from Tarsus.

[16:1]  map For location see JP1 E2; JP2 E2; JP3 E2.

[16:1]  ³⁴ sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 25 mi (40 km) south of Iconium.

[16:1]  map For location see JP1 E2; JP2 E2; JP3 E2.

[16:1]  ³⁵ tn Grk “And behold, a disciple.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.

[16:1]  ³⁶ tn L&N 31.103 translates this phrase “the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer.”

[16:1]  ³⁷ sn His father was a Greek. Timothy was the offspring of a mixed marriage between a Jewish woman (see 2 Tim 1:5) and a Gentile man. On mixed marriages in Judaism, see Neh 13:23-27; Ezra 9:1-10:44; Mal 2:10-16; Jub. 30:7-17; m. Qiddushin 3.12; m. Yevamot 7.5.

[25:1]  ³⁸ tn BDAG 736-37 s.v. οὖν 2.b states, “οὖν serves to indicate a transition to someth. new…now, then, well…Ac 25:1.”

[25:1]  ³⁹ sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[25:1]  ⁴⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[25:1]  ⁴¹ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. This was a journey of 65 mi (just over 100 km).

[25:1]  map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[25:2]  ⁴² tn BDAG 893-94 s.v. πρῶτος 2.a.β has “οἱ πρῶτοι the most prominent men, the leading men w. gen. of the place…or of a group…οἱ πρ. τοῦ λαοῦ…Lk 19:47; cp. Ac 25:2; 28:17.”

[25:2]  ⁴³ tn BDAG 326 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 3 has “ἐ. τινὶ κατά τινος bring formal charges against someone…Ac 24:1; 25:2.”

[25:2]  sn Note how quickly the Jewish leadership went after Paul: They brought formal charges against him within three days of Festus’ arrival in the province.

[25:3]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “Requesting a favor against him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation, the understood direct object of “requesting” has been supplied, and the phrase “to do them” supplied for clarity.

[25:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The words “they urged him” are in v. 2 in the Greek text.

[25:3]  ⁴⁶ sn Planning an ambush. The Jewish leadership had not forgotten the original plan of several years ago (see 23:16). They did not trust the Roman legal process, but preferred to take matters into their own hands.

[25:4]  ⁴⁷ sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[25:4]  ⁴⁸ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.

[25:4]  ⁴⁹ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[25:5]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “let those who are influential among you” (i.e., the powerful).

[25:5]  ⁵¹ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[25:5]  ⁵² tn Grk “and if there is anything wrong with this man,” but this could be misunderstood in English to mean a moral or physical defect, while the issue in context is the commission of some crime, something legally improper (BDAG 149 s.v. ἄτοπος 2).

[25:5]  ⁵³ tn BDAG 533 s.v. κατηγορέω 1 states, “nearly always as legal t.t.: bring charges in court.” L&N 33.427 states for κατηγορέω, “to bring serious charges or accusations against someone, with the possible connotation of a legal or court context – ‘to accuse, to bring charges.”

[25:6]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:6]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “Having stayed.” The participle διατρίψας (diatriya") has been taken temporally.

[25:6]  ⁵⁶ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.

[25:6]  map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[25:6]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “sitting down…he ordered.” The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[25:6]  ⁵⁸ tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), since the bhma was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here.

[25:6]  sn The judgment seat (βῆμα, bhma) was a raised platform mounted by steps and sometimes furnished with a seat, used by officials in addressing an assembly or making pronouncements, often on judicial matters. The judgment seat was a familiar item in Greco-Roman culture, often located in the agora, the public square or marketplace in the center of a city.

[25:2]  ⁵⁹ tn BDAG 893-94 s.v. πρῶτος 2.a.β has “οἱ πρῶτοι the most prominent men, the leading men w. gen. of the place…or of a group…οἱ πρ. τοῦ λαοῦ…Lk 19:47; cp. Ac 25:2; 28:17.”

[25:2]  ⁶⁰ tn BDAG 326 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 3 has “ἐ. τινὶ κατά τινος bring formal charges against someone…Ac 24:1; 25:2.”

[25:2]  sn Note how quickly the Jewish leadership went after Paul: They brought formal charges against him within three days of Festus’ arrival in the province.

[1:25]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “to take the place.”

[1:25]  ⁶² tn Or “of this ministry.”

[1:25]  ⁶³ tn Or “the task of this service and apostleship which Judas ceased to perform.”

[1:25]  ⁶⁴ sn To go to his own place. This may well be a euphemism for Judas’ judged fate. He separated himself from them, and thus separated he would remain.

[49:4]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “I will turn my ear to a wise saying, I will open [i.e., “reveal; explain”] my insightful saying with a harp.” In the first line the psalmist speaks as a pupil who learns a song of wisdom from a sage. This suggests that the resulting insightful song derives from another source, perhaps God himself. Elsewhere the Hebrew word pair חִידָה/מָשָׁל (mashal/khidah) refers to a taunt song (Hab 2:6), a parable (Ezek 17:2), lessons from history (Ps 78:2), and proverbial sayings (Prov 1:6). Here it appears to refer to the insightful song that follows, which reflects on the mortality of humankind and the ultimate inability of riches to prevent the inevitable – death. Another option is that the word pair refers more specifically to the closely related proverbial sayings of vv. 12, 20 (note the use of the verb מָשָׁל, mashal, “to be like” in both verses). In this case the psalmist first hears the sayings and then explains (Heb “opens”) their significance (see vv. 5-11, 13-19).