Kisah Para Rasul 7:2-5

7:2 So he replied, ¹  “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our forefather ²  Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, 7:3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your country and from your relatives, and come to the land I will show you.’ ³  7:4 Then he went out from the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God ⁴  made him move ⁵  to this country where you now live. 7:5 He ⁶  did not give any of it to him for an inheritance, ⁷  not even a foot of ground, ⁸  yet God ⁹  promised to give it to him as his possession, and to his descendants after him, ¹⁰  even though Abraham ¹¹  as yet had no child.

Kisah Para Rasul 7:8-36

7:8 Then God ¹²  gave Abraham ¹³  the covenant ¹⁴  of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him when he was eight days old, ¹⁵  and Isaac became the father of ¹⁶  Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. ¹⁷  7:9 The ¹⁸  patriarchs, because they were jealous of Joseph, sold ¹⁹  him into Egypt. But ²⁰  God was with him, 7:10 and rescued him from all his troubles, and granted him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made ²¹  him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 7:11 Then a famine occurred throughout ²²  Egypt and Canaan, causing ²³  great suffering, and our ²⁴  ancestors ²⁵  could not find food. 7:12 So when Jacob heard that there was grain ²⁶  in Egypt, he sent our ancestors ²⁷  there ²⁸  the first time. 7:13 On their second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers again, and Joseph’s family ²⁹  became known to Pharaoh. 7:14 So Joseph sent a message ³⁰  and invited ³¹  his father Jacob and all his relatives to come, seventy-five people ³²  in all. 7:15 So Jacob went down to Egypt and died there, ³³  along with our ancestors, ³⁴  7:16 and their bones ³⁵  were later moved to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a certain sum of money ³⁶  from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

7:17 “But as the time drew near for God to fulfill the promise he had declared to Abraham, ³⁷  the people increased greatly in number ³⁸  in Egypt, 7:18 until another king who did not know about ³⁹  Joseph ruled ⁴⁰  over Egypt. ⁴¹  7:19 This was the one who exploited ⁴²  our people ⁴³  and was cruel to our ancestors, ⁴⁴  forcing them to abandon ⁴⁵  their infants so they would die. ⁴⁶  7:20 At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful ⁴⁷  to God. For ⁴⁸  three months he was brought up in his father’s house, 7:21 and when he had been abandoned, ⁴⁹  Pharaoh’s daughter adopted ⁵⁰  him and brought him up ⁵¹  as her own son. 7:22 So Moses was trained ⁵²  in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful ⁵³  in his words and deeds. 7:23 But when he was about forty years old, it entered his mind ⁵⁴  to visit his fellow countrymen ⁵⁵  the Israelites. ⁵⁶  7:24 When ⁵⁷  he saw one of them being hurt unfairly, ⁵⁸  Moses ⁵⁹  came to his defense ⁶⁰  and avenged the person who was mistreated by striking down the Egyptian. 7:25 He thought his own people ⁶¹  would understand that God was delivering them ⁶²  through him, ⁶³  but they did not understand. ⁶⁴  7:26 The next day Moses ⁶⁵  saw two men ⁶⁶  fighting, and tried to make peace between ⁶⁷  them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why are you hurting one another?’ 7:27 But the man who was unfairly hurting his neighbor pushed ⁶⁸  Moses ⁶⁹  aside, saying, ‘Who made ⁷⁰  you a ruler and judge over us? 7:28 You don’t want to kill me the way you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’ ⁷¹  7:29 When the man said this, ⁷²  Moses fled and became a foreigner ⁷³  in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

7:30 “After ⁷⁴  forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert ⁷⁵  of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. ⁷⁶  7:31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and when he approached to investigate, there came the voice of the Lord, 7:32 ‘I am the God of your forefathers, ⁷⁷  the God of Abraham, Isaac, ⁷⁸  and Jacob.’ ⁷⁹  Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look more closely. ⁸⁰  7:33 But the Lord said to him, ‘Take the sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. ⁸¹  7:34 I have certainly seen the suffering ⁸²  of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. ⁸³  Now ⁸⁴  come, I will send you to Egypt.’ ⁸⁵  7:35 This same ⁸⁶  Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’ ⁸⁷  God sent as both ruler and deliverer ⁸⁸  through the hand of the angel ⁸⁹  who appeared to him in the bush. 7:36 This man led them out, performing wonders and miraculous signs ⁹⁰  in the land of Egypt, ⁹¹  at ⁹²  the Red Sea, and in the wilderness ⁹³  for forty years.

Kisah Para Rasul 7:44-47

7:44 Our ancestors ⁹⁴  had the tabernacle ⁹⁵  of testimony in the wilderness, ⁹⁶  just as God ⁹⁷  who spoke to Moses ordered him ⁹⁸  to make it according to the design he had seen. 7:45 Our ⁹⁹  ancestors ¹⁰⁰  received possession of it and brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors, ¹⁰¹  until the time ¹⁰²  of David. 7:46 He ¹⁰³  found favor ¹⁰⁴  with ¹⁰⁵  God and asked that he could ¹⁰⁶  find a dwelling place ¹⁰⁷  for the house ¹⁰⁸  of Jacob. 7:47 But Solomon built a house ¹⁰⁹  for him.

Kisah Para Rasul 7:51-53

7:51 “You stubborn ¹¹⁰  people, with uncircumcised ¹¹¹  hearts and ears! ¹¹²  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors ¹¹³  did! 7:52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors ¹¹⁴  not persecute? ¹¹⁵  They ¹¹⁶  killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, ¹¹⁷  whose betrayers and murderers you have now become! ¹¹⁸  7:53 You ¹¹⁹  received the law by decrees given by angels, ¹²⁰  but you did not obey ¹²¹  it.” ¹²² 

[7:2]  ¹ tn Grk “said.”

[7:2]  ² tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”

[7:3]  ³ sn A quotation from Gen 12:1.

[7:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:4]  ⁵ tn The translation “made him move” for the verb μετοικίζω (metoikizw) is given by L&N 85.83. The verb has the idea of “resettling” someone (BDAG 643 s.v.); see v. 43, where it reappears.

[7:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “And he.” 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.

[7:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “He did not give him an inheritance in it.” This could be understood to mean that God did not give something else to Abraham as an inheritance while he was living there. The point of the text is that God did not give any of the land to him as an inheritance, and the translation makes this clear.

[7:5]  ⁸ tn Grk “a step of a foot” (cf. Deut 2:5).

[7:5]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:5]  ¹⁰ sn An allusion to Gen 12:7; 13:15; 15:2, 18; 17:8; 24:7; 48:4. On the theological importance of the promise and to his descendants after him, see Rom 4 and Gal 3.

[7:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:8]  ¹² tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:8]  ¹³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:8]  ¹⁴ sn God gave…the covenant. Note how the covenant of promise came before Abraham’s entry into the land and before the building of the temple.

[7:8]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “circumcised him on the eighth day,” but many modern readers will not understand that this procedure was done on the eighth day after birth. The temporal clause “when he was eight days old” conveys this idea more clearly. See Gen 17:11-12.

[7:8]  ¹⁶ tn The words “became the father of” are not in the Greek text due to an ellipsis, but must be supplied for the English translation. The ellipsis picks up the verb from the previous clause describing how Abraham fathered Isaac.

[7:8]  ¹⁷ sn The twelve patriarchs refers to the twelve sons of Jacob, the famous ancestors of the Jewish race (see Gen 35:23-26).

[7:9]  ¹⁸ 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.

[7:9]  ¹⁹ tn The meaning “sell” for the middle voice of ἀποδίδωμι (apodidwmi) is given by BDAG 110 s.v. 5.a. See Gen 37:12-36, esp. v. 28.

[7:9]  ²⁰ tn Though the Greek term here is καί (kai), in context this remark is clearly contrastive: Despite the malicious act, God was present and protected Joseph.

[7:10]  ²¹ tn Or “appointed.” See Gen 41:41-43.

[7:11]  ²² tn Grk “came upon all Egypt.”

[7:11]  ²³ tn Grk “and,” but logically causal.

[7:11]  ²⁴ sn Our. Stephen spoke of “our” ancestors (Grk “fathers”) in an inclusive sense throughout the speech until his rebuke in v. 51, where the nation does what “your” ancestors did, at which point an exclusive pronoun is used. This serves to emphasize the rebuke.

[7:11]  ²⁵ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:12]  ²⁶ tn Or possibly “food,” since in a number of extrabiblical contexts the phrase σιτία καὶ ποτά (sitia kai pota) means “food and drink,” where solid food is contrasted with liquid nourishment (L&N 3.42).

[7:12]  ²⁷ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:12]  ²⁸ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[7:13]  ²⁹ tn BDAG 194 s.v. γένος 2. gives “family, relatives” here; another alternative is “race” (see v. 19).

[7:14]  ³⁰ tn The words “a message” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[7:14]  ³¹ tn Or “Joseph had his father summoned” (BDAG 121 s.v. ἀποστέλλω 2.b).

[7:14]  ³² tn Grk “souls” (here an idiom for the whole person).

[7:15]  ³³ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[7:15]  ³⁴ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:16]  ³⁵ tn “and they.”

[7:16]  ³⁶ sn See Gen 49:29-32.

[7:17]  ³⁷ 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.

[7:17]  ³⁸ tn Grk “the people increased and multiplied.”

[7:18]  ³⁹ tn Or simply “did not know.” However, in this context the point is that the new king knew nothing about Joseph, not whether he had known him personally (which is the way “did not know Joseph” could be understood).

[7:18]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “arose,” but in this context it clearly refers to a king assuming power.

[7:18]  ⁴¹ sn A quotation from Exod 1:8.

[7:19]  ⁴² tn According to L&N 88.147 it is also possible to translate κατασοφισάμενος (katasofisameno") as “took advantage by clever words” or “persuaded by sweet talk.”

[7:19]  ⁴³ tn Or “race.”

[7:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:19]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “expose” (BDAG 303 s.v. ἔκθετος).

[7:19]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “so that they could not be kept alive,” but in this context the phrase may be translated either “so that they would not continue to live,” or “so that they would die” (L&N 23.89).

[7:20]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “was well-formed before God,” or “was well-pleasing to God” (BDAG 145 s.v. ἀστεῖος suggests the meaning is more like “well-bred” as far as God was concerned; see Exod 2:2).

[7:20]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “who was brought up for three months.” The continuation of the sentence as a relative clause is awkward in English, so a new sentence was started in the translation by changing the relative pronoun to a regular pronoun (“he”).

[7:21]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “exposed” (see v. 19).

[7:21]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “Pharaoh’s daughter took him up for herself.” According to BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω, “The pap. exx. involve exposed children taken up and reared as slaves…The rendering ‘adopt’ lacks philological precision and can be used only in a loose sense (as NRSV), esp. when Gr-Rom. terminology relating to adoption procedures is taken into account.” In this instance both the immediate context and the OT account (Exod 2:3-10) do support the normal sense of the English word “adopt,” although it should not be understood to refer to a technical, legal event.

[7:21]  ⁵¹ tn Or “and reared him” (BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατρέφω b).

[7:22]  ⁵² tn Or “instructed.”

[7:22]  ⁵³ tn Or “was able” (BDAG 264 s.v. δυνατός 1.b.α).

[7:23]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “heart.”

[7:23]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” The translation “compatriot” is given by BDAG 18-19 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.b.

[7:23]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “the sons of Israel.”

[7:24]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “And when.” 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.

[7:24]  ⁵⁸ tn “Hurt unfairly” conveys a better sense of the seriousness of the offense against the Israelite than “treated unfairly,” which can sometimes refer to slight offenses, or “wronged,” which can refer to offenses that do not involve personal violence, as this one probably did.

[7:24]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:24]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “he defended,” “he retaliated” (BDAG 55 s.v. ἀμύνομαι).

[7:25]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “his brothers.”

[7:25]  ⁶² tn Grk “was granting them deliverance.” The narrator explains that this act pictured what Moses could do for his people.

[7:25]  ⁶³ tn Grk “by his hand,” where the hand is a metaphor for the entire person.

[7:25]  ⁶⁴ sn They did not understand. Here is the theme of the speech. The people did not understand what God was doing through those he chose. They made the same mistake with Joseph at first. See Acts 3:17; 13:27. There is good precedent for this kind of challenging review of history in the ancient scriptures: Ps 106:6-46; Ezek 20; and Neh 9:6-38.

[7:26]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:26]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “saw them”; the context makes clear that two individuals were involved (v. 27).

[7:26]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “tried to reconcile” (BDAG 964-65 s.v. συναλλάσσω).

[7:27]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “repudiated Moses,” “rejected Moses” (BDAG 126-27 s.v. ἀπωθέω 2).

[7:27]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:27]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “appointed.”

[7:28]  ⁷¹ tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ at the end, “do you?”

[7:28]  sn A quotation from Exod 2:14. Even though a negative reply was expected, the question still frightened Moses enough to flee, because he knew his deed had become known. This understanding is based on the Greek text, not the Hebrew of the original setting. Yet the negative here expresses the fact that Moses did not want to kill the other man. Once again the people have badly misunderstood the situation.

[7:29]  ⁷² tn Grk “At this word,” which could be translated either “when the man said this” or “when Moses heard this.” Since λόγος (logos) refers to the remark made by the Israelite, this translation has followed the first option.

[7:29]  ⁷³ tn Or “resident alien.” Traditionally πάροικος (paroiko") has been translated “stranger” or “alien,” but the level of specificity employed with “foreigner” or “resident alien” is now necessary in contemporary English because a “stranger” is a person not acquainted with someone, while an “alien” can suggest science fiction imagery.

[7:30]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “And after.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and contemporary English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[7:30]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “wilderness.”

[7:30]  ⁷⁶ sn An allusion to Exod 3:2.

[7:32]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:32]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “and Isaac,” 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.

[7:32]  ⁷⁹ sn A quotation from Exod 3:6. The phrase suggests the God of promise, the God of the nation.

[7:32]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “to investigate,” “to contemplate” (BDAG 522 s.v. κατανοέω 2).

[7:33]  ⁸¹ sn A quotation from Exod 3:5. The phrase holy ground points to the fact that God is not limited to a particular locale. The place where he is active in revealing himself is a holy place.

[7:34]  ⁸² tn Or “mistreatment.”

[7:34]  ⁸³ tn Or “to set them free.”

[7:34]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “And now.” 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.

[7:34]  ⁸⁵ sn A quotation from Exod 3:7-8, 10.

[7:35]  ⁸⁶ sn This same. The reference to “this one” occurs five times in this speech. It is the way the other speeches in Acts refer to Jesus (e.g., Acts 2:23).

[7:35]  ⁸⁷ sn A quotation from Exod 2:14 (see Acts 7:27). God saw Moses very differently than the people of the nation did. The reference to a ruler and a judge suggests that Stephen set up a comparison between Moses and Jesus, but he never finished his speech to make the point. The reader of Acts, however, knowing the other sermons in the book, recognizes that the rejection of Jesus is the counterpoint.

[7:35]  ⁸⁸ tn Or “liberator.” The meaning “liberator” for λυτρωτήν (lutrwthn) is given in L&N 37.129: “a person who liberates or releases others.”

[7:35]  ⁸⁹ tn Or simply “through the angel.” Here the “hand” could be understood as a figure for the person or the power of the angel himself. The remark about the angel appearing fits the first century Jewish view that God appears to no one (John 1:14-18; Gal 3:19; Deut 33:2 LXX).

[7:36]  ⁹⁰ tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned.

[7:36]  sn Performing wonders and miraculous signs. Again Moses acted like Jesus. The phrase appears 9 times in Acts (2:19, 22, 43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 7:36; 14:3; 15:12).

[7:36]  ⁹¹ tn Or simply “in Egypt.” The phrase “the land of” could be omitted as unnecessary or redundant.

[7:36]  ⁹² tn Grk “and at,” 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.

[7:36]  ⁹³ tn Or “desert.”

[7:44]  ⁹⁴ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:44]  ⁹⁵ tn Or “tent.”

[7:44]  sn The tabernacle was the tent used to house the ark of the covenant before the construction of Solomon’s temple. This is where God was believed to reside, yet the people were still unfaithful.

[7:44]  ⁹⁶ tn Or “desert.”

[7:44]  ⁹⁷ tn Grk “the one”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:44]  ⁹⁸ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[7:45]  ⁹⁹ tn Grk “And.” 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.

[7:45]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:45]  ¹⁰¹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:45]  sn Before our ancestors. Stephen has backtracked here to point out how faithful God had been before the constant move to idolatry just noted.

[7:45]  ¹⁰² tn Grk “In those days.”

[7:46]  ¹⁰³ tn Grk “David, who” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.

[7:46]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Or “grace.”

[7:46]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Grk “before,” “in the presence of.”

[7:46]  ¹⁰⁶ tn The words “that he could” are not in the Greek text, but are implied as the (understood) subject of the infinitive εὑρεῖν (Jeurein). This understands David’s request as asking that he might find the dwelling place. The other possibility would be to supply “that God” as the subject of the infinitive: “and asked that God find a dwelling place.” Unfortunately this problem is complicated by the extremely difficult problem with the Greek text in the following phrase (“house of Jacob” vs. “God of Jacob”).

[7:46]  ¹⁰⁷ tn On this term see BDAG 929 s.v. σκήνωμα a (Ps 132:5).

[7:46]  ¹⁰⁸ tc Some mss read θεῷ (qew, “God”) here, a variant much easier to understand in the context. The reading “God” is supported by א² A C E Ψ 33 1739 Ï lat sy co. The more difficult οἴκῳ (oikw, “house”) is supported by Ì⁷⁴ א* B D H 049 pc. Thus the second reading is preferred both externally because of better ms evidence and internally because it is hard to see how a copyist finding the reading “God” would change it to “house,” while it is easy to see how (given the LXX of Ps 132:5) a copyist might assimilate the reading and change “house” to “God.” However, some scholars think the reading “house” is so difficult as to be unacceptable. Others (like Lachmann and Hort) resorted to conjectural emendation at this point. Others (Ropes) sought an answer in an underlying Aramaic expression. Not everyone thinks the reading “house” is too difficult to be accepted as original (see Lake and Cadbury). A. F. J. Klijn, “Stephen’s Speech – Acts vii.2-53,” NTS 4 (1957): 25-31, compared the idea of a “house within the house of Israel” with the Manual of Discipline from Qumran, a possible parallel that seems to support the reading “house” as authentic. (For the more detailed discussion from which this note was derived, see TCGNT 308-9.)

[7:47]  ¹⁰⁹ sn See 1 Kgs 8:1-21.

[7:51]  ¹¹⁰ sn Traditionally, “stiff-necked people.” Now the critique begins in earnest.

[7:51]  ¹¹¹ 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]  ¹¹² tn Or “You stubborn and obstinate people!” (The phrase “uncircumcised hearts and ears” is another figure for stubbornness.)

[7:51]  ¹¹³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ¹¹⁴ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ¹¹⁵ sn Which…persecute. The rhetorical question suggests they persecuted them all.

[7:52]  ¹¹⁶ 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]  ¹¹⁷ sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ.

[7:52]  ¹¹⁸ 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]  ¹¹⁹ 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]  ¹²⁰ 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]  ¹²¹ 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]  ¹²² tn Or “did not obey it.”