Kisah Para Rasul 15:7

15:7 After there had been much debate, ¹  Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that some time ago ²  God chose ³  me to preach to the Gentiles so they would hear the message ⁴  of the gospel ⁵  and believe. ⁶ 

Kisah Para Rasul 16:37

16:37 But Paul said to the police officers, ⁷  “They had us beaten in public ⁸  without a proper trial ⁹  – even though we are Roman citizens ¹⁰  – and they threw us ¹¹  in prison. And now they want to send us away ¹²  secretly? Absolutely not! They ¹³  themselves must come and escort us out!” ¹⁴ 

Kisah Para Rasul 21:25

21:25 But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided ¹⁵  that they should avoid ¹⁶  meat that has been sacrificed to idols ¹⁷  and blood and what has been strangled ¹⁸  and sexual immorality.”

[15:7]  ¹ tn Or “discussion.” This term is repeated from v. 2.

[15:7]  ² tn Or “long ago” (an idiom, literally “from ancient days”). According to L&N 67.26, “this reference to Peter having been chosen by God sometime before to bring the gospel to the Gentiles can hardly be regarded as a reference to ancient times, though some persons understand this to mean that God’s decision was made at the beginning of time. The usage of ἀφ᾿ ἡμερῶν ἀρχαίων is probably designed to emphasize the established nature of God’s decision for Peter to take the gospel to the Gentiles beginning with the centurion Cornelius. The fact that this was relatively early in the development of the church may also serve to explain the use of the idiom.”

[15:7]  ³ sn God chose. The theme of God’s sovereign choice is an important point, because 1st century Jews believed Israel’s unique position and customs were a reflection of God’s choice.

[15:7]  ⁴ tn Or “word.”

[15:7]  ⁵ tn Or “of the good news.”

[15:7]  ⁶ tn Grk “God chose among you from my mouth the Gentiles to hear the message of the gospel and to believe.” The sense of this sentence in Greek is difficult to render in English. The Greek verb ἐκλέγομαι (eklegomai, “choose”) normally takes a person or thing as a direct object; in this verse the verb has neither clearly stated. The translation understands the phrase “from my mouth,” referring to Peter, as a description of both who God chose and the task to be done. This coupled with the following statement about Gentiles hearing the message of the gospel leads to the more dynamic rendering in the translation.

[16:37]  ⁷ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the police officers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:37]  ⁸ tn Grk “Having us beaten in public.” The participle δείραντες (deirante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:37]  ⁹ tn Or “in public, uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.

[16:37]  ¹⁰ tn The participle ὑπάρχοντας (Juparconta") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[16:37]  ¹¹ tn The word “us” 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.

[16:37]  ¹² tn L&N 28.71 has “send us away secretly” for this verse.

[16:37]  ¹³ tn Grk “But they.”

[16:37]  ¹⁴ sn They themselves must come and escort us out! Paul was asking for the injustice he and Silas suffered to be symbolically righted. It was a way of publicly taking their actions off the record and showing the apostles’ innocence, a major public statement. Note the apology given in v. 39.

[21:25]  ¹⁵ tn L&N 13.154 has “‘having decided that they must keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from an animal that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality’ Ac 21:25.”

[21:25]  sn Having decided refers here to the decision of the Jerusalem council (Acts 15:6-21). Mention of this previous decision reminds the reader that the issue here is somewhat different: It is not whether Gentiles must first become Jews before they can become Christians (as in Acts 15), but whether Jews who become Christians should retain their Jewish practices. Sensitivity to this issue would suggest that Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians might engage in different practices.

[21:25]  ¹⁶ tn This is a different Greek word than the one used in Acts 15:20, 29. BDAG 1068 s.v. φυλάσσω 3 has “to be on one’s guard against, look out for, avoid…w. acc. of pers. or thing avoided…Ac 21:25.” The Greek word used in Acts 15:20, 29 is ἀπέχω (apecw). The difference in meaning, although slight, has been maintained in the translation.

[21:25]  ¹⁷ tn There is no specific semantic component in the Greek word εἰδωλόθυτος that means “meat” (see BDAG 280 s.v. εἰδωλόθυτος; L&N 5.15). The stem –θυτος means “sacrifice” (referring to an animal sacrificially killed) and thereby implies meat.

[21:25]  ¹⁸ 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 preceding provision in this verse, and blood).