On the next day he got up and set out 10 with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa 11 accompanied him.
11:1 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted 12 the word of God. 13
15:1 Now some men came down from Judea 24 and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised 25 according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
15:22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided 29 to send men chosen from among them, Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, 30 leaders among the brothers, to Antioch 31 with Paul and Barnabas. 15:23 They sent this letter with them: 32
From the apostles 33 and elders, your brothers, 34 to the Gentile brothers and sisters 35 in Antioch, 36 Syria, 37 and Cilicia, greetings!
17:10 The brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea 52 at once, during the night. When they arrived, 53 they went to the Jewish synagogue. 54
1 tn Grk “And in those days.” 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.
2 tn Or “brethren” (but the term includes both male and female believers present in this gathering, as indicated by those named in vv. 13-14).
3 tn It is not clear from a historical standpoint (but it is unlikely) that women would have been involved in the selection process too. For this reason the translation “brothers” has been retained, rather than “brothers and sisters” (used in contexts where both male and female believers are clearly addressed).
4 sn Seven. Jewish town councils often had seven members (Josephus, Ant. 4.18.14 [4.214]).
5 tn Or “are of good reputation” (BDAG 618 s.v. μαρτυρέω 2.b).
6 tn The translation “put in charge” is given by BDAG 492 s.v. καθίστημι 2.
7 tn Grk “of this need”; translated “necessary work” or “needed task” by L&N 42.22.
8 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.
map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
9 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
sn When Peter entertained them as guests, he performed a culturally significant act denoting acceptance.
10 tn Or “went forth.”
11 sn Some of the brothers from Joppa. As v. 45 makes clear, there were Jewish Christians in this group of witnesses.
12 tn See BDAG 221 s.v. δέχομαι 5 for this translation of ἐδέξαντο (edexanto) here.
13 tn Here the phrase “word of God” is another way to describe the gospel (note the preceding verb ἐδέξαντο, edexanto, “accepted”). The phrase could also be translated “the word [message] from God.”
14 sn Six witnesses is three times more than what would normally be required. They could confirm the events were not misrepresented by Peter.
15 tn So BDAG 410 s.v. εὐπορέω.
16 tn Or “determined,” “resolved.”
17 tn Grk “to send [something] for a ministry,” but today it is common to speak of sending relief for victims of natural disasters.
sn The financial relief reflects the oneness of the church, meeting the needs of another (even racially distinct) community. Jerusalem, having ministered to them, now received ministry back. A later collection from Greece is noted in Rom 15:25-27, but it reflects the same spirit as this gift.
18 tn Or “He gave them a signal.” Grk “Giving them a signal…he related to them.” The participle κατασείσας (kataseisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
19 tc ‡ Most
20 tn Or “led.”
21 sn He…went to another place. This is Peter’s last appearance in Acts with the exception of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15.
22 tn Or “who would not believe.”
23 tn Or “embittered their minds” (Grk “their souls”). BDAG 502 s.v. κακόω 2 has “make angry, embitter τὰς ψυχάς τινων κατά τινος poison the minds of some persons against another Ac 14:2.”
24 sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.
25 tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.
sn Unless you are circumcised. These teachers from Judea were teaching that Gentiles could not be saved unless they kept the law of Moses in regard to circumcision. Thus according to them a Gentile had first to become a proselyte to Judaism, including circumcision, before one could become a Christian. This party is sometimes known (collectively) as Judaizers. They did not question that Gentiles could come into the community, but disagreed with Paul and Barnabas on what basis they could do so.
26 sn Phoenicia was an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine in ancient Syria.
27 tn L&N 33.201 indicates that ἐκδιηγέομαι (ekdihgeomai) means to provide detailed information in a systematic manner, “to inform, to relate, to tell fully.” “Relating at length” conveys this effectively in the present context.
28 tn For ἐποίουν (epoioun) in this verse BDAG 839 s.v. ποιέω 2.c has “they brought joy to the members.”
29 tn BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.b.β lists this verse under the meaning “it seems best to me, I decide, I resolve.”
30 sn Silas. See 2 Cor 1:19; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1 (= Silvanus).
31 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).
map For location see JP1 F2; JP2 F2; JP3 F2; JP4 F2.
32 tn Grk “writing by their hand” (an idiom for sending a letter).
33 tn Grk “The apostles.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
34 tn Grk “brothers,” but “your” is supplied to specify the relationship, since without it “brothers” could be understood as vocative in English.
35 tn Grk “to the brothers who are from the Gentiles.”
36 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).
37 tn Grk “and Syria,” 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.
38 tn Here λόγου (logou) is singular. BDAG 599-600 s.v. λόγος 1.a.β has “in a long speech” for this phrase.
39 tn Grk “And after.” 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.
40 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
41 tn Or “committed.” BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 2 gives “be commended by someone to the grace of the Lord” as the meaning for this phrase, although “give over” and “commit” are listed as alternatives for this category.
42 tn Grk “by the brothers.” Here it it is highly probable that the entire congregation is in view, not just men, so the translation “brothers and sisters” has been used for the plural ἀδελφῶν (adelfwn),.
43 sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 25 mi (40 km) south of Iconium.
44 sn Iconium was a city in Lycaonia about 110 mi (175 km) east of Pisidian Antioch.
45 tn For this sense of μαρτυρέω (marturew), see BDAG 618 s.v. 2.b.
46 tn Grk “who was well spoken of by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium.” Because of the awkwardness in English of having two relative clauses follow one another (“who was a believer…who was well spoken of”) and the awkwardness of the passive verb (“was well spoken of”), the relative pronoun at the beginning of 16:2 (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“him”) and the construction converted from passive to active at the same time a new sentence was started in the translation.
47 tn “Then” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to clarify the logical sequence in the translation.
48 tn See BDAG 977-78 s.v. σύρω on this verb. It was used in everyday speech of dragging in fish by a net, or dragging away someone’s (presumably) dead body (Paul in Acts 14:19).
49 tn L&N 37.93 defines πολιτάρχης (politarch") as “a public official responsible for administrative matters within a town or city and a member of the ruling council of such a political unit – ‘city official’” (see also BDAG 845 s.v.).
50 tn Or “rebellion.” BDAG 72 s.v. ἀναστατόω has “disturb, trouble, upset,” but in light of the references in the following verse to political insurrection, “stirred up rebellion” would also be appropriate.
51 tn Or “the empire.” This was a way of referring to the Roman empire (BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουμένη 2.b).
sn Throughout the world. Note how some of those present had knowledge of what had happened elsewhere. Word about Paul and his companions and their message was spreading.
52 sn Berea (alternate spelling in NRSV Beroea; Greek Beroia) was a very old city in Macedonia on the river Astraeus about 45 mi (75 km) west of Thessalonica.
map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.
53 tn Grk “who arriving there, went to.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (οἵτινες, Joitine") has been left untranslated and a new English sentence begun. The participle παραγενόμενοι (paragenomenoi) has been taken temporally.
54 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
55 tn Grk “to the sea.” Here ἕως ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν ({ew" epi thn qalassan) must mean “to the edge of the sea,” that is, “to the coast.” Since there is no mention of Paul taking a ship to Athens, he presumably traveled overland. The journey would have been about 340 mi (550 km).
56 tn Grk “remained there”; the referent (Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.