Acts 3:12-15

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Acts 3:12 tn Or perhaps “People of Israel,” since this was taking place in Solomon’s Portico and women may have been present. The Greek ἄνδρες ᾿Ισραηλῖται (andres Israēlitai) used in the plural would normally mean “men, gentlemen” (BDAG 79 s.v. ἀνήρ 1.a).
2. Acts 3:12 tn Grk “or why.”
3. Acts 3:12 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4. Acts 3:13 tc ‡ The repetition of ὁ θεός (ho theos, “God”) before the names of Isaac and Jacob is found in P⁷⁴ א C (A D without article) 36 104 1175 lat. The omission of the second and third ὁ θεός is supported by B E Ψ 33 1739 M. The other time that Exod 3:6 is quoted in Acts (7:32) the best witnesses also lack the repeated ὁ θεός, but the three other times this OT passage is quoted in the NT the full form, with the thrice-mentioned θεός, is used (Matt 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Scribes would be prone to conform the wording here to the LXX; the longer reading is thus most likely not authentic. NA²⁸ has the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.
5. Acts 3:13 tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”sn The reference to the God of the patriarchs is a reminder that God is the God of the nation and of promises. The phrase God of our forefathers is from the Hebrew scriptures (Exod 3:6, 15-16; 4:5; see also the Jewish prayer known as “The Eighteen Benedictions”). Once again, event has led to explanation, or what is called the “sign and speech” pattern.
6. Acts 3:13 sn Has glorified. Jesus is alive, raised and active, as the healing illustrates so dramatically how God honors him.
7. Acts 3:13 sn His servant. The term servant has messianic connotations given the context of the promise, the note of suffering, and the titles and functions noted in vv. 14-15.
8. Acts 3:13 tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”
9. Acts 3:13 tn This genitive absolute construction could be understood as temporal (“when he had decided”) or concessive (“although he had decided”).
10. Acts 3:14 tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”
11. Acts 3:15 tn Or “You put to death.”
12. Acts 3:15 tn Or “Founder,” “founding Leader.”
13. Acts 3:15 sn Whom God raised. God is the main actor here, as he testifies to Jesus and vindicates him.
14. Acts 3:15 tn Grk “whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the words “to this fact” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.sn We are witnesses. Note the two witnesses here, Peter and John (Acts 5:32; Heb 2:3-4).