Yesaya 65:5

65:5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!

Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’

These people are like smoke in my nostrils,

like a fire that keeps burning all day long.

Matius 10:28

10:28 Do ¹  not be afraid of those who kill the body ²  but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ³ 

Matius 24:9

Persecution of Disciples

24:9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations ⁴  because of my name. ⁵ 

Kisah Para Rasul 5:33

5:33 Now when they heard this, they became furious ⁶  and wanted to execute them. ⁷ 

Kisah Para Rasul 6:13-14

6:13 They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place ⁸  and the law. ⁹  6:14 For we have heard him saying that Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs ¹⁰  that Moses handed down to us.”

Kisah Para Rasul 7:56--8:3

7:56 “Look!” he said. ¹¹  “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 7:57 But they covered their ears, ¹²  shouting out with a loud voice, and rushed at him with one intent. 7:58 When ¹³  they had driven him out of the city, they began to stone him, ¹⁴  and the witnesses laid their cloaks ¹⁵  at the feet of a young man named Saul. 7:59 They ¹⁶  continued to stone Stephen while he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 7:60 Then he fell ¹⁷  to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” ¹⁸  When ¹⁹  he had said this, he died. ²⁰  8:1 And Saul agreed completely with killing ²¹  him.

Saul Begins to Persecute the Church

Now on that day a great ²²  persecution began ²³  against the church in Jerusalem, ²⁴  and all ²⁵  except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions ²⁶  of Judea and Samaria. 8:2 Some ²⁷  devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation ²⁸  over him. ²⁹  8:3 But Saul was trying to destroy ³⁰  the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off ³¹  both men and women and put them in prison. ³² 

Kisah Para Rasul 9:1-2

The Conversion of Saul

9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats ³³  to murder ³⁴  the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest 9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ³⁵  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ³⁶  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ³⁷  to Jerusalem. ³⁸ 

Kisah Para Rasul 22:3-4

22:3 “I am a Jew, ³⁹  born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up ⁴⁰  in this city, educated with strictness ⁴¹  under ⁴²  Gamaliel ⁴³  according to the law of our ancestors, ⁴⁴  and was ⁴⁵  zealous ⁴⁶  for God just as all of you are today. 22:4 I ⁴⁷  persecuted this Way ⁴⁸  even to the point of death, ⁴⁹  tying up ⁵⁰  both men and women and putting ⁵¹  them in prison,

Kisah Para Rasul 22:19-23

22:19 I replied, ⁵²  ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues ⁵³  who believed in you. 22:20 And when the blood of your witness ⁵⁴  Stephen was shed, ⁵⁵  I myself was standing nearby, approving, ⁵⁶  and guarding the cloaks ⁵⁷  of those who were killing him.’ ⁵⁸  22:21 Then ⁵⁹  he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

The Roman Commander Questions Paul

22:22 The crowd ⁶⁰  was listening to him until he said this. ⁶¹  Then ⁶²  they raised their voices and shouted, ⁶³  “Away with this man ⁶⁴  from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!” ⁶⁵  22:23 While they were screaming ⁶⁶  and throwing off their cloaks ⁶⁷  and tossing dust ⁶⁸  in the air,

Kisah Para Rasul 26:9-11

26:9 Of course, ⁶⁹  I myself was convinced ⁷⁰  that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 26:10 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 ⁷¹  from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote ⁷²  against them when they were sentenced to death. ⁷³  26:11 I punished ⁷⁴  them often in all the synagogues ⁷⁵  and tried to force ⁷⁶  them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged ⁷⁷  at them, I went to persecute ⁷⁸  them even in foreign cities.

Roma 10:2-3

10:2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, ⁷⁹  but their zeal is not in line with the truth. ⁸⁰  10:3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

Galatia 1:13-14

1:13 For you have heard of my former way of life ⁸¹  in Judaism, how I was savagely persecuting the church of God and trying to destroy it. 1:14 I ⁸²  was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my nation, ⁸³  and was ⁸⁴  extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. ⁸⁵ 

Filipi 3:6

3:6 In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless.

[10:28]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:28]  ² sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

[10:28]  ³ sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22.

[24:9]  ⁴ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).

[24:9]  ⁵ sn See Matt 5:10-12; 1 Cor 1:25-31.

[5:33]  ⁶ sn The only other use of this verb for anger (furious) is Acts 7:54 after Stephen’s speech.

[5:33]  ⁷ sn Wanted to execute them. The charge would surely be capital insubordination (Exod 22:28).

[6:13]  ⁸ sn This holy place is a reference to the temple.

[6:13]  ⁹ sn The law refers to the law of Moses. It elaborates the nature of the blasphemy in v. 11. To speak against God’s law in Torah was to blaspheme God (Deut 28:15-19). On the Jewish view of false witnesses, see Exod 19:16-18; 20:16; m. Sanhedrin 3.6; 5.1-5. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 may indicate why the temple was mentioned.

[6:14]  ¹⁰ tn Or “practices.”

[6:14]  sn Will destroy this place and change the customs. Stephen appears to view the temple as a less central place in light of Christ’s work, an important challenge to Jewish religion, since it was at this time a temple-centered state and religion. Unlike Acts 3-4, the issue here is more than Jesus and his resurrection. Now the impact of his resurrection and the temple’s centrality has also become an issue. The “falseness” of the charge may not be that the witnesses were lying, but that they falsely read the truth of Stephen’s remarks.

[7:56]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And he said, ‘Look!’” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here; a new sentence is begun instead.

[7:57]  ¹² sn They covered their ears to avoid hearing what they considered to be blasphemy.

[7:58]  ¹³ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here; a new sentence is begun instead.

[7:58]  ¹⁴ sn They began to stone him. The irony of the scene is that the people do exactly what the speech complains about in v. 52.

[7:58]  ¹⁵ tn Or “outer garments.”

[7:58]  sn Laid their cloaks. The outer garment, or cloak, was taken off and laid aside to leave the arms free (in this case for throwing stones).

[7:59]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here; a new sentence is begun instead.

[7:60]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Then falling to his knees he cried out.” The participle θείς (qeis) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[7:60]  ¹⁸ sn The remarks Lord Jesus, receive my spirit and Lord, do not hold this sin against them recall statements Jesus made on the cross (Luke 23:34, 46).

[7:60]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here; a new sentence is begun instead.

[7:60]  ²⁰ tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for the death of a believer.

[8:1]  ²¹ tn The term ἀναίρεσις (anairesi") can refer to murder (BDAG 64 s.v.; 2 Macc 5:13; Josephus, Ant. 5.2.12 [5.165]).

[8:1]  ²² tn Or “severe.”

[8:1]  ²³ tn Grk “Now there happened on that day a great persecution.” It is less awkward to say in English “Now on that day a great persecution began.”

[8:1]  ²⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:1]  ²⁵ sn All. Given that the Jerusalem church is still active after this and that the Hellenists are the focus of Acts 6-8, it is possible to argue that only the Hellenistic Christians were forced to scatter.

[8:1]  ²⁶ tn Or “countryside.”

[8:2]  ²⁷ tn “Some” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[8:2]  ²⁸ sn Made loud lamentation. For someone who was stoned to death, lamentation was normally not allowed (m. Sanhedrin 6:6). The remark points to an unjust death.

[8:2]  ²⁹ tn Or “mourned greatly for him.”

[8:3]  ³⁰ tn Or “began to harm [the church] severely.” If the nuance of this verb is “destroy,” then the imperfect verb ἐλυμαίνετο (elumaineto) is best translated as a conative imperfect as in the translation above. If instead the verb is taken to mean “injure severely” (as L&N 20.24), it should be translated in context as an ingressive imperfect (“began to harm the church severely”). Either option does not significantly alter the overall meaning, since it is clear from the stated actions of Saul in the second half of the verse that he intended to destroy or ravage the church.

[8:3]  ³¹ tn The participle σύρων (surwn) has been translated as an finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:3]  ³² tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3.”

[9:1]  ³³ tn Or “Saul, making dire threats.”

[9:1]  ³⁴ tn The expression “breathing out threats and murder” is an idiomatic expression for “making threats to murder” (see L&N 33.293). Although the two terms “threats” and “murder” are syntactically coordinate, the second is semantically subordinate to the first. In other words, the content of the threats is to murder the disciples.

[9:2]  ³⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:2]  ³⁶ sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).

[9:2]  ³⁷ tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.

[9:2]  ³⁸ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

[9:2]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[22:3]  ³⁹ tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

[22:3]  ⁴⁰ tn BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατρέφω b has “of mental and spiritual nurture bring up, rear, train…ἀνατεθραμμένος ἐν τ. πόλει ταύτῃ 22:3.”

[22:3]  ⁴¹ tn Or “with precision.” Although often translated “strictly” this can be misunderstood for “solely” in English. BDAG 39 s.v. ἀκρίβεια gives the meaning as “exactness, precision.” To avoid the potential misunderstanding the translation “with strictness” is used, although it is slightly more awkward than “strictly.”

[22:3]  ⁴² tn Grk “strictly at the feet of” (an idiom).

[22:3]  ⁴³ tn Or “brought up in this city under Gamaliel, educated with strictness…” The phrase παρὰ τοὺς πόδας Γαμαλιὴλ (para tou" poda" Gamalihl) could be understood with what precedes or with what follows. The punctuation of NA²⁷ and UBS⁴, which place a comma after ταύτῃ (tauth), has been followed in the translation.

[22:3]  sn Gamaliel was a famous Jewish scholar and teacher mentioned here and in Acts 5:34. He had a grandson of the same name and is referred to as “Gamaliel the Elder” to avoid confusion. He is quoted a number of times in the Mishnah, was given the highest possible title for Jewish teachers, Rabba (cf. John 20:16), and was highly regarded in later rabbinic tradition.

[22:3]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “our forefathers.”

[22:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “ancestors, being.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:3]  ⁴⁶ tn BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.α has “of pers. …ζ. τοῦ θεοῦ one who is loyal to God Ac 22:3.”

[22:4]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the first person pronoun (“I”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[22:4]  ⁴⁸ sn That is, persecuted the Christian movement (Christianity). The Way is also used as a description of the Christian faith in Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22).

[22:4]  ⁴⁹ tn BDAG 442-43 s.v. θάνατος 1.a has “διώκειν ἄχρι θανάτου persecute even to death Ac 22:4.”

[22:4]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “binding.” See Acts 8:3.

[22:4]  ⁵¹ tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “W. local εἰς…εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3; cp. 22:4.”

[22:19]  ⁵² tn Grk “And I said.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai, in καγώ [kagw]) has not been translated here.

[22:19]  ⁵³ tn For the distributive sense of the expression κατὰ τὰς συναγωγάς (kata ta" sunagwga") BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.1.d has “of places viewed serially, distributive use w. acc.…κατ᾿ οἶκαν from house to house…Ac 2:46b; 5:42…Likew. the pl.…κ. τὰς συναγωγάς 22:19.” See also L&N 37.114.

[22:19]  sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[22:20]  ⁵⁴ sn Now Paul referred to Stephen as your witness, and he himself had also become a witness. The reversal was now complete; the opponent had now become a proponent.

[22:20]  ⁵⁵ sn When the blood of your witness Stephen was shed means “when your witness Stephen was murdered.”

[22:20]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “and approving.” 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.

[22:20]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “outer garments.”

[22:20]  sn The cloaks. The outer garment, or cloak, was taken off and laid aside to leave the arms free (in this case for throwing stones).

[22:20]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “who were putting him to death.” For the translation of ἀναιρούντων (anairountwn) as “putting to death” see BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω 2.

[22:21]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to Paul’s reply in v. 19, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[22:22]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “They were listening”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:22]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “until this word.”

[22:22]  sn Until he said this. Note it is the mention of Paul’s mission to the Gentiles with its implication of ethnic openness that is so disturbing to the audience.

[22:22]  ⁶² tn Grk “And.” To indicate the logical sequence, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” here.

[22:22]  ⁶³ tn Grk “and said.”

[22:22]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “this one.”

[22:22]  ⁶⁵ tn BDAG 491 s.v. καθήκω has “to be appropriate, come/reach to, be proper/fitting…Usu. impers. καθήκει it comes (to someone)…foll. by acc. and inf….οὐ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν he should not be allowed to live Ac 22:22.”

[22:23]  ⁶⁶ tn The participle κραυγαζόντων (kraugazontwn) has been translated temporally.

[22:23]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “outer garments.”

[22:23]  sn Their cloaks. The outer garment, or cloak, was taken off and laid aside to leave the arms free (perhaps in this case as preparation for throwing stones).

[22:23]  ⁶⁸ sn The crowd’s act of tossing dust in the air indicated they had heard something disturbing and offensive. This may have been a symbolic gesture, indicating Paul’s words deserved to be thrown to the wind, or it may have simply resulted from the fact they had nothing else to throw at him at the moment.

[26:9]  ⁶⁹ tn BDAG 737 s.v. οὖν 3 states, “It has been proposed that some traces of older Gk. usage in which οὖν is emphatic, = certainly, really, to be sure etc. (s. L-S-J-M s.v. 1) remain in the pap…and in the NT…indeed, of course Ac 26:9.”

[26:9]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “I thought to myself.” BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.a has “ἔδοξα ἐμαυτῷ δεῖν πρᾶξαι = Lat. mihi videbar I was convinced that it was necessary to do Ac 26:9.”

[26:10]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “by receiving authority.” The participle λαβών (labwn) has been taken instrumentally.

[26:10]  ⁷² 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.”

[26:10]  ⁷³ tn Grk “when they were being executed”; but the context supports the sentencing rather than the execution itself (cf. L&N 30.103).

[26:11]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “and punishing…I tried.” The participle τιμωρῶν (timwrwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. 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.

[26:11]  ⁷⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[26:11]  ⁷⁶ tn The imperfect verb ἠνάγκαζον (hnankazon) has been translated as a conative imperfect (so BDAG 60 s.v. ἀναγκάζω 1, which has “ἠνάγκαζον βλασφημεῖν I tried to force them to blaspheme Ac 26:11”).

[26:11]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “was so insanely angry with them.” BDAG 322 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι states, “to be filled with such anger that one appears to be mad, be enraged…περισσῶς ἐμμαινόμενος αὐτοῖς being furiously enraged at them Ac 26:11”; L&N 88.182 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι, “to be so furiously angry with someone as to be almost out of one’s mind – ‘to be enraged, to be infuriated, to be insanely angry’ …‘I was so infuriated with them that I even went to foreign cities to persecute them’ Ac 26:11.”

[26:11]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “I pursued them even as far as foreign cities.”

[10:2]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “they have a zeal for God.”

[10:2]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “in accord with knowledge.”

[10:2]  sn Their zeal is not in line with the truth means that the Jews’ passion for God was strong, but it ignored the true righteousness of God (v. 3; cf. also 3:21).

[1:13]  ⁸¹ tn Or “lifestyle,” “behavior.”

[1:14]  ⁸² tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:14]  ⁸³ tn Or “among my race.”

[1:14]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “was advancing beyond…nation, being.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) was translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[1:14]  ⁸⁵ sn The traditions of my ancestors refers to both Pharisaic and popular teachings of this time which eventually were codified in Jewish literature such as the Mishnah, Midrashim, and Targums.