Acts 17:7-9

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Acts 17:7 tn Grk “whom.” Because of the awkwardness in English of having two relative clauses follow one another (“who have stirred up trouble…whom Jason has welcomed”) the relative pronoun here (“whom”) has been replaced by the conjunction “and,” creating a clause that is grammatically coordinate but logically subordinate in the translation.
2. Acts 17:7 tn Grk “and they.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
3. Acts 17:7 tn Or “the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
4. Acts 17:7 tn The word “named” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity.
5. Acts 17:7 sn Acting…saying…Jesus. The charges are serious, involving sedition (Luke 23:2). If the political charges were true, Rome would have to react.
6. Acts 17:8 tn Grk “They troubled the crowd and the city officials,” but this could be understood to mean “they bothered” or “they annoyed.” In reality the Jewish instigators managed to instill doubt and confusion into both the mob and the officials by their false charges of treason. Verse 8 suggests the charges raised again Paul, Silas, Jason, and the others were false.
7. Acts 17:8 tn L&N 37.93 defines πολιτάρχης (politarchēs) as “a public official responsible for administrative matters within a town or city and a member of the ruling council of such a political unit—‘city official.’”
8. Acts 17:9 tn Grk “And after.” 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.
9. Acts 17:9 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the city officials) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10. Acts 17:9 tn That is, “a payment” or “a pledge of security” (BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 1) for which “bail” is the most common contemporary English equivalent.