Acts 3:1-10

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Acts 3:1 tn Grk “hour.”
2. Acts 3:1 sn Going up to the temple at the time for prayer. The earliest Christians, being of Jewish roots, were still participating in the institutions of Judaism at this point. Their faith in Christ did not make them non-Jewish in their practices.
3. Acts 3:1 tn Grk “at the ninth hour.” This is calculated from sunrise (Josephus, Ant. 14.4.3 [14.65]; Dan 9:21).
4. Acts 3:2 tn Or “crippled.”
5. Acts 3:2 tn Grk “from his mother’s womb.”
6. Acts 3:2 tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.
7. Acts 3:2 tn Grk “alms.” The term “alms” is not in common use today, so what the man expected, “money,” is used in the translation instead. The idea is that of money given as a gift to someone who was poor. Giving alms was viewed as honorable in Judaism (Tob 1:3, 16; 12:8-9; m. Pe’ah 1:1). See also Luke 11:41; 12:33; Acts 9:36; 10:2, 4, 31; 24:17.
8. Acts 3:2 tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.sn Into the temple courts. The exact location of this incident is debated. The ‘Beautiful Gate’ referred either to the Nicanor Gate (which led from the Court of the Gentiles into the Court of Women) or the Shushan Gate at the eastern wall.
9. Acts 3:3 tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.sn See the note on the phrase the temple courts in the previous verse.
10. Acts 3:3 tn Grk “alms.” See the note on the word “money” in the previous verse.
11. Acts 3:4 tn Grk “Peter, looking directly at him, as did John, said.” The participle ἀτενίσας (atenisas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
12. Acts 3:5 tn Grk “So he”; the referent (the lame man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13. Acts 3:6 tn Or “I have no money.” L&N 6.69 classifies the expression ἀργύριον καὶ χρυσίον (argurion kai chrusion) as an idiom that is a generic expression for currency, thus “money.”
14. Acts 3:6 sn In the name. Note the authority in the name of Jesus the Messiah. His presence and power are at work for the man. The reference to “the name” is not like a magical incantation, but is designed to indicate the agent who performs the healing. The theme is quite frequent in Acts (2:38 plus 21 other times).
15. Acts 3:6 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
16. Acts 3:6 tc The words “stand up and” (ἔγειρε καί, egeire kai) are not in a few mss (א B D sa), but are included in A C E Ψ 095 33 1739 M lat sy mae bo. The external testimony is thus fairly evenly divided, with few but signficant representatives of the Alexandrian and Western textual clusters supporting the shorter reading. Internally, the words look like a standard scribal emendation, and may have been motivated by other healing passages where Jesus gave a similar double command (cf. Matt 9:5; Mark 2:9, [11]; Luke 5:23; [6:8]; John 5:8). On the other hand, there is some motivation for deleting ἔγειρε καί here, namely, unlike Jesus’ healing miracles, Peter raises (ἤγειρεν, ēgeiren) the man to his feet (v. 7) rather than the man rising on his own. In light of the scribal tendency to harmonize, especially in immediate context, the longer reading is slightly preferred.
17. Acts 3:7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to reflect the sequence of events.
18. Acts 3:7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19. Acts 3:7 tn Grk “Peter taking hold of him…raised him up.” The participle πιάσας (piasas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
20. Acts 3:7 tn Grk “his”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21. Acts 3:7 sn At once the man’s feet and ankles were made strong. Note that despite the past lameness, the man is immediately able to walk. The restoration of his ability to walk pictures the presence of a renewed walk, a fresh start at life; this was far more than money would have given him.
22. Acts 3:8 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
23. Acts 3:8 tn Grk “Jumping up, he stood.” The participle ἐξαλλόμενος (exallomenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. It is possible that the paralyzed man actually jumped off the ground, but more probably this term simply refers to the speed with which he stood up. See L&N 15.240.
24. Acts 3:8 tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.
25. Acts 3:9 tn Grk “And all.” 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. Acts 3:10 tn Grk “alms,” but this term is not in common use today, so the closest modern equivalent, “donations,” is used instead. The idea is that of a donation to charity.
27. Acts 3:10 sn Amazement is a frequent response to miracles of Jesus or the apostles. These took the ancients by as much surprise as they would people today. But in terms of response to what God is doing, amazement does not equal faith (Luke 4:36; 5:9, 26; 7:16).