Acts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
Acts 14:1
Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν Ἰκονίῳ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ εἰσελθεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν συναγωγὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ λαλῆσαι οὕτως ὥστε πιστεῦσαι Ἰουδαίων τε καὶ Ἑλλήνων πολὺ πλῆθος.
Acts 14:2
οἱ δὲ ἀπειθήσαντες Ἰουδαῖοι ἐπήγειραν καὶ ἐκάκωσαν τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἐθνῶν κατὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν.
Acts 14:3
ἱκανὸν μὲν οὖν χρόνον διέτριψαν παρρησιαζόμενοι ἐπὶ τῷ κυρίῳ τῷ μαρτυροῦντι τῷ λόγῳ τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ, διδόντι σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα γίνεσθαι διὰ τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῶν.
Acts 14:4
ἐσχίσθη δὲ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς πόλεως, καὶ οἱ μὲν ἦσαν σὺν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις οἱ δὲ σὺν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις.
Acts 14:5
ὡς δὲ ἐγένετο ὁρμὴ τῶν ἐθνῶν τε καὶ Ἰουδαίων σὺν τοῖς ἄρχουσιν αὐτῶν ὑβρίσαι καὶ λιθοβολῆσαι αὐτούς,
Acts 14:6
συνιδόντες κατέφυγον εἰς τὰς πόλεις τῆς Λυκαονίας Λύστραν καὶ Δέρβην καὶ τὴν περίχωρον,
Acts 14:7
κἀκεῖ εὐαγγελιζόμενοι ἦσαν.
Acts 14:8
Καί τις ἀνὴρ ἀδύνατος ἐν Λύστροις τοῖς ποσὶν ἐκάθητο, χωλὸς ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς αὐτοῦ, ὃς οὐδέποτε περιεπάτησεν.
And a certain man powerless in feet sat in Lystra, lame from his mother’s womb, who who had never walked.
Paraphrase: Now while Paul and Barnabas were ministering in the city of Lystra, something striking happened which almost resulted in Paul’s death. Here’s what happened. There was a man in this city who had been lame all his life. He sat in this city and lived off the charity which people extended to him being completely unable to take a single step.
Comments:
Acts 14:9
οὗτος ἤκουσεν τοῦ Παύλου λαλοῦντος· ὃς ἀτενίσας αὐτῷ καὶ ἰδὼν ὅτι ἔχει πίστιν τοῦ σωθῆναι
This man heard Paul speaking who stared at him and seeing that he has faith to be saved,
Paraphrase: Now this man had listened with interest to Paul’s preaching. After some time, Paul began to recognize this man as one who was often present when he preached and was always sitting in the front row and listening intently. Thus it was that the next time Paul saw this man, he stopped and gave him his full attention. (cf Acts 13:9; 1:10) It was clear to Paul that this man had something which was not present in the other bystanders. This man believed that what the apostles were teaching was true, and Paul recognized this.
Comments:
ὃς is nominative because it is the subject of the verb εἶπεν in the next verse. It is masculine, singular because it agrees with its antecedent, Παύλου. cf BBG 14.9,10
The infinitive τοῦ σωθῆναι is adjectival and modifies πίστιν.
Acts 14:10
εἶπεν μεγάλῃ φωνῇ· Ἀνάστηθι ἐπὶ τοὺς πόδας σου ὀρθός· καὶ ἥλατο καὶ περιεπάτει.
He said with a loud voice, “Rise up on your feet, straight!” and he sprang up and walked.
Paraphrase: “Stand up straight and tall on your own two feet!” commanded Paul. At this, the crowd drew back in astonishment and were even more shocked when the man sprang to his feet and walked about, perfectly normal and without the slightest hint that he had ever been lame.
Comments:
Acts 14:11
οἵ τε ὄχλοι ἰδόντες ὃ ἐποίησεν Παῦλος ἐπῆραν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτῶν Λυκαονιστὶ λέγοντες· Οἱ θεοὶ ὁμοιωθέντες ἀνθρώποις κατέβησαν πρὸς ἡμᾶς
Then the crowd, seeing what Paul did, raised their voice saying in Lycaonian, “The gods being made like to men have descended to us.
Paraphrase: Then the crowd went wild with delight and began to shout in their own language, “The gods have come down to earth in the appearance of human form.”
Comments:
ὃ ἐποίησεν Παῦλος = object of the verb ἰδόντες.
Acts 14:12
ἐκάλουν τε τὸν Βαρναβᾶν Δία, τὸν δὲ Παῦλον Ἑρμῆν, ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς ἦν ὁ ἡγούμενος τοῦ λόγου.
Then they were calling Barnabas, Zeus and Paul, Hermein because he was the lead of the word.
Paraphrase: To the apostles surprise, they started calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes. Apparently, they thought that since Paul was the main speaker, he was Hermes.
Comments:
Acts 14:13
ὅ τε ἱερεὺς τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ ὄντος πρὸ τῆς πόλεως ταύρους καὶ στέμματα ἐπὶ τοὺς πυλῶνας ἐνέγκας σὺν τοῖς ὄχλοις ἤθελεν θύειν.
Then the priest of Zeus, who being before the city, bringing bulls and garlands to the city gates with the crowd desired to sacrifice.
Paraphrase: This was followed by a priest directing a procession of bulls adorned with garlands of flowers to the city gates. Now you should know that just outside the city of Lystra there was a temple dedicated to Zeus, and it quickly became apparent to Paul and Barnabas that this priest was headed in that direction intending to make a sacrifice to these “gods” who were paying them a visit!
Comments:
Acts 14:14
ἀκούσαντες δὲ οἱ ἀπόστολοι Βαρναβᾶς καὶ Παῦλος, διαρρήξαντες τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτῶν ἐξεπήδησαν εἰς τὸν ὄχλον κράζοντες
Then when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard, tearing their garments, they rushed into the crowd crying out
Paraphrase: Upon seeing this, the apostles were filled with consternation. Tearing their clothes, they rushed into the middle of the gathering crowd yelling…
Comments:
Acts 14:15
καὶ λέγοντες· Ἄνδρες, τί ταῦτα ποιεῖτε; καὶ ἡμεῖς ὁμοιοπαθεῖς ἐσμεν ὑμῖν ἄνθρωποι, εὐαγγελιζόμενοι ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ τούτων τῶν ματαίων ἐπιστρέφειν ἐπὶ θεὸν ζῶντα ὃς ἐποίησεν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς·
and saying, “Men what are these things you are doing? even we are the same nature as you, humans, gospelizing you from these useless things to turn to the living God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things which are in them.
Paraphrase: and trying to get everyone’s attention. “What are you doing?” they cried out. “We’re not gods! We are human persons no different than any of you. Our purpose is to bring you the good news about the great Savior, Jesus Christ. All this commotion, these bulls and garlands and all this fuss is just useless nonsense. Who do you think brought the heavens and the earth into their present existence? This is the God you should be worshipping. The religion you practice is silly and empty. All these gods are just silly and worthless figments of your own imagination and the laughingstock of the world. Come to the one, true, and living God who created the entire universe and continues to govern it by His all-powerful, sovereign will.
Comments:
In reading the Acts of the Apostles we may have often occasion to remark that in preaching the Gospel they [the apostles] carefully considered the different circumstances of the Jews and the Gentiles, and suited their address accordingly.
- When speaking to the former, of the necessity of crediting the Gospel, because without it they could not be saved, they took care to support all their assertions by passages drawn from the LAW and the PROPHETS, as every Jew considered those books to be of su_spoilerine authority, and from their decision there was no appeal.
- But, in addressing the Gentiles, who had no revelation, they drew the proof of their doctrine from the visible creation and demonstrated, by plain reasoning, the absurdity of their idolatrous worship, and called them off from those vanities to the worship of the living and true God, who made and governs all things, and who gave them such proofs of his being, wisdom, and goodness, in the provision made for their comfort and support, that they had only to reflect on the subject in order to be convinced of its truth. And while, in consequence, they saw the absurdity of their own system, they would at once discover the reasonableness of that religion which was now offered to them, in the name and on the authority of that God who had fed and preserved them all their life long, and girded them when they knew him not.
The Gentiles felt the force of these reasonings, yielded to the truth, and became steady followers of Christ crucified while the Jews, with all their light and advantages, hardened their hearts against it, though they had no other arguments than what contradiction and blasphemy could provide! Publicans and harlots enter into the kingdom of heaven before them. Do not many, even in the present day, copy their example, revile the truth, take up with the shadow instead of the substance, and rest just as much in the letter of Christianity, as ever the Jews did in the letter of the law? This is a deplorable fact which cannot be successfully controverted. source
Acts 14:16
ὃς ἐν ταῖς παρῳχημέναις γενεαῖς εἴασεν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη πορεύεσθαι ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν·
who in the bygone generations permitted all the nations to go their own ways.
Paraphrase: But why, you might ask, did God not destroy the idolaters of past ages? Why did He tolerate them if He is the only living and true God? The truth is that God allowed previous generations to go their own way in order that they might have time to consider the truth and to repent of their wickedness.
Comments:
Acts 14:17
καίτοι οὐκ ἀμάρτυρον αὑτὸν ἀφῆκεν ἀγαθουργῶν, οὐρανόθεν ὑμῖν ὑετοὺς διδοὺς καὶ καιροὺς καρποφόρους, ἐμπιπλῶν τροφῆς καὶ εὐφροσύνης τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν.
although not without witness, He left Himself, doing good, from heaven on you giving rains and fruitful times, satisfying your hearts with food and rejoicing.
Paraphrase: God did not leave these nations completely in the dark. He gave them a revelation of Himself. Granted, it was not a written revelation such as He gave to His people Israel, but for all that it was still a revelation. God gives to all people everywhere sufficient rain and sunshine (Matthew 5:45) so that at harvest time, food can be gathered from the fields and people can sit down and eat with joy and gratitude to the God who gave it. These gifts, which God freely gives to all, are meant to lead us back to the su_spoilerine Giver and to lead us to repentance. (Acts 17:30; Romans 2:4)
Comments:
αὑτὸν is a shortened form of the usual reflexive pronoun as is clear from the breathing mark. The third person, pronoun never has a rough breathing mark.
Acts 14:18
καὶ ταῦτα λέγοντες μόλις κατέπαυσαν τοὺς ὄχλους τοῦ μὴ θύειν αὐτοῖς.
and saying these things, they with difficulty restrained the crowds not to sacrifice to them.
Paraphrase: After repeatedly insisting on these truths, Paul and Barnabas finally succeeded in quieting down the crowd and persuading them not to make any kind of sacrifice to them.
Comments:
θύειν = complementary
Acts 14:19
Ἐπῆλθαν δὲ ἀπὸ Ἀντιοχείας καὶ Ἰκονίου Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ πείσαντες τοὺς ὄχλους καὶ λιθάσαντες τὸν Παῦλον ἔσυρον ἔξω τῆς πόλεως, νομίζοντες αὐτὸν τεθνηκέναι.
Acts 14:20
κυκλωσάντων δὲ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτὸν ἀναστὰς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν. καὶ τῇ ἐπαύριον ἐξῆλθεν σὺν τῷ Βαρναβᾷ εἰς Δέρβην.
Acts 14:21
Εὐαγγελισάμενοί τε τὴν πόλιν ἐκείνην καὶ μαθητεύσαντες ἱκανοὺς ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς τὴν Λύστραν καὶ εἰς Ἰκόνιον καὶ εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν,
Then gospelizing that city and making many disciples, they returned to Lystra and Iconium and to Antioch…
Paraphrase: Finally, Paul and Barnabas made an end of their evangelistic work in the city of Derbe. God had abundantly blessed their work, and they left behind many devoted disciples. Together they decided that it would be a good idea to return to each of the previous cities and to see how they were getting on. So they got back on the road to Lystra and returned to each of the cities they had visited before.
Comments:
Acts 14:22
ἐπιστηρίζοντες τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν μαθητῶν, παρακαλοῦντες ἐμμένειν τῇ πίστει καὶ ὅτι διὰ πολλῶν θλίψεων δεῖ ἡμᾶς εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ.
…strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging to remain in the faith and that through many afflictions we must enter into the kingdom of God.
Paraphrase: At each stop, they gathered the believers together and encouraged them to stay vigilant. “There will be many temptations to compromise the truths which we taught you,” said Paul and Barnabas. “Believers are always subject to spiritual entropy, so do not let your guard down. (1 Timothy 4:16) Afflictions and persecutions are sure to come, but remember what our Savior taught us! He told us to expect persecutions from the people of this world but that we should also take courage because He had overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Comments:
I take “faith” here as being the truths of the Christian faith (fides quae creditur) not the act of believing (fides qua creditur). For this distinction, see Watson.
“If there is one consideration more humbling than another to a spiritually minded believer, it is that after all God has done for him, after all the rich displays of His grace, the patience and tenderness of His instructions, the repeated discipline of His covenant, the tokens of love received, and the lessons of experience learned, there should still exist in the heart a principle the tendency of which is to secret, perpetual, and alarming departure from God. Truly there is in this solemn fact that which might well lead to the deepest self-abasement before Him.” source
Acts 14:23
χειροτονήσαντες δὲ αὐτοῖς κατ’ ἐκκλησίαν πρεσβυτέρους προσευξάμενοι μετὰ νηστειῶν παρέθεντο αὐτοὺς τῷ κυρίῳ εἰς ὃν πεπιστεύκεισαν.
Now appointing over them for each church elders, praying with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Paraphrase: Now Paul and Barnabas also set up a church order for the church in each of these cities. Each church was placed under the authority of a body of elders. These elders were men who had, in a special degree, received the gift of the Holy Spirit and were anointed and empowered by Him to serve the church in this capacity. After considerable prayer and fasting, Paul and Barnabas recognized the Spirit of God on these men and appointed them to lead. Finally, Paul and Barnabas committed the entire church into the hands of the God in whom they had come to trust, gave a tearful farewell (Acts 20:19, 31) and proceeded on their way.
Comments:
Strong says that Paul and Barnabas announced the men who had been previously chosen by the church members much as a college president announces the names of those who will receive degrees as previously conferred by the Board of Trustees. Ridgeley suggests the translation: When they had chosen elders in every church by the lifting up of the hand. Owen argues at length that the word χειροτονήσαντες implies a vote by the congregation; Watson disagrees. Lightfoot points out that there could not possibly have been any qualified men in these churches to be elders having been but newly planted; and therefore, no vote for choosing them either. Clearly, the Spirit of God must have come down on these men with a special anointing and power which qualified them to serve as elders. These were the men which Paul and Barnabas appointed to the office. The Didache tells churches to appoint for themselves bishops and deacons. (see chp15 here) Calvin also addresses the question.
Acts 14:24
καὶ διελθόντες τὴν Πισιδίαν ἦλθον εἰς τὴν Παμφυλίαν,
and passing through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.
Paraphrase: Having visited each of the cities of Pisidia, they turned south and began their trip to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. After many days of travel, they arrived in Pamphylia.
Comments:
Acts 14:25
καὶ λαλήσαντες ἐν Πέργῃ τὸν λόγον κατέβησαν εἰς Ἀττάλειαν,
and speaking the word in Perga, they descended to Attalia.
Paraphrase: Upon reaching the region of Pamphyia, they made their way back to Perga where they reflected with regret on the way John Mark had left them earlier. (Acts 13:13; 15:39; Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11) They preached several times in this city and then decided to move west and visit the believers in Attalia. When they had arrived at Attalia, they had also reached the coast where they could book their passage back to Seleucia.
Comments:
An interesting book about John Mark.
Acts 14:26
κἀκεῖθεν ἀπέπλευσαν εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν, ὅθεν ἦσαν παραδεδομένοι τῇ χάριτι τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς τὸ ἔργον ὃ ἐπλήρωσαν.
From there, they sailed to Antioch where they had been given over to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled.
Paraphrase: Arriving at Seleucia, they made their way back to Antioch where they were received with great joy. What a moment it was for Paul and Barnabas to stand in the very place where two years earlier, the Spirit of God had first announced that it was time for them to go and preach to the nations. (Acts 13:2) This was the very spot where the church had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them before sending them off. (Acts 13:3) Never would Paul forget those first steps as he had set out on his first mission trip. If only he had known then, what he knew now. His mind went back to all the miles he had walked, all the afflictions and suffering which he had endured, all the conversations with Barnabas, the painful separation with John Mark, all the encounters with hostile Jews, the miracles he had performed, the countless worship services and baptisms, all the tearful farewells they had given to the churches on their return trip; it all came flooding back to His mind. (2 Corinthians 11:23) With many tears, he and Barnabas could point to only one thing that had held them up; the grace of God as manifested in the saving work of Jesus Christ. They had given themselves over to the preaching of Christ Jesus and Him crucified, and nothing else mattered to them. (Acts 20:24)
Comments:
Acts 14:27
παραγενόμενοι δὲ καὶ συναγαγόντες τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἀνήγγελλον ὅσα ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς μετ’ αὐτῶν καὶ ὅτι ἤνοιξεν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν θύραν πίστεως.
and arriving and gathering the church, they reported what God had done with them and that he opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
Paraphrase: As soon as the church was gathered, Paul and Barnabas began at the beginning and related all that they could remember of what God had done through their ministry. They especially rejoiced that God had announced to Gentile pagans that they were welcome to come and to find salvation in Jesus. God had set Christ before them (Romans 3:25) and made them a sincere offer of salvation. They said it was like God had set before them a door of salvation and had thrown it wide open for them to enter. To step through that door, they only needed to put their full trust in Jesus Christ as the only Savior from sin, and they too would receive the gift of eternal life. This many of them had done; and now, there were churches in all these cities worshipping God and carrying on the work of His kingdom.
Comments:
To open a door is to welcome someone. See Keener on this verse. Gloag says that ἤνοιξεν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν θύραν πίστεως refers to God’s effectual and internal call, not the free offer of the gospel as I translated it.
Acts 14:28
διέτριβον δὲ χρόνον οὐκ ὀλίγον σὺν τοῖς μαθηταῖς.
Then, they spend not a little time with the disciples.
Paraphrase: The apostles then settled in for a time of rest and ministry amongst the disciples at Antioch. All told, they spent the better part of five years in Antioch waiting for God to call them up once again for service in His kingdom.
Comments:
Hackett speculates on just how long this time would have been.