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.
Now it came to pass in Iconium that they entered together into the synagogue of the Jews and spoke so that a great multitude of both Jews and Greeks believed.
first here Jews Ἰουδαῖος Ioudaios
first here Greeks Ἕλλην Hellēn
2
οἱ δὲ ⸀ἀπειθήσαντες Ἰουδαῖοι ἐπήγειραν καὶ ἐκάκωσαν τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἐθνῶν κατὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν.
But the Jews who disobeyed stirred up and embittered the lives of the nations against the brothers.
Why this rendering
Acts.14.2 Observation
Syntactic observation
οἱ ἀπειθήσαντες Ἰουδαῖοι — the Jews who disobeyed. ἀπειθέω is the verb this edition fixed as disobey at John 3:36 (the one disobeying the Son), not disbelieve — it is the word John 3:36 sets against πιστεύω. The unbelieving Jews would lose the word the base text chose (hearing and not following). ἐκάκωσαν τὰς ψυχάς, embittered the lives — ψυχή, fixed as life, stands here where mind would sit: the same use as v.22, strengthening the lives (ψυχάς) of the disciples. V.4 ἐσχίσθη, was divided, is the σχίζω of Mark 1:10 (heavens) and 15:38 (curtain), torn — the city is torn. In this chapter Barnabas and Paul are first called ἀπόστολοι, apostles (vv.4, 14) — the only place in Acts where men outside the Twelve bear the title.
Rendering options · 1
Adopted “the Jews who disobeyed”
Basis As fixed at John 3:36 — ἀπειθέω is not ἀπιστέω, disbelieve.
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.
So they stayed a considerable time, speaking openly in reliance on the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to happen through their hands.
4
ἐσχίσθη δὲ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς πόλεως, καὶ οἱ μὲν ἦσαν σὺν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις οἱ δὲ σὺν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις.
And the multitude of the city was divided, and some were with the Jews and some with the apostles.
5
ὡς δὲ ἐγένετο ὁρμὴ τῶν ἐθνῶν τε καὶ Ἰουδαίων σὺν τοῖς ἄρχουσιν αὐτῶν ὑβρίσαι καὶ λιθοβολῆσαι αὐτούς,
And when there arose a movement of both the nations and the Jews with their rulers to insult and stone them,
6
συνιδόντες κατέφυγον εἰς τὰς πόλεις τῆς Λυκαονίας Λύστραν καὶ Δέρβην καὶ τὴν περίχωρον,
becoming aware of it they fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region,
7
κἀκεῖ ⸂εὐαγγελιζόμενοι ἦσαν⸃.
and there they were bringing the good news.
8
Καί τις ἀνὴρ ⸂ἀδύνατος ἐν Λύστροις⸃ τοῖς ποσὶν ἐκάθητο, χωλὸς ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς ⸀αὐτοῦ, ὃς οὐδέποτε ⸀περιεπάτησεν.
And a certain man in Lystra was sitting, powerless in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked.
9
οὗτος ⸀ἤκουσεν τοῦ Παύλου λαλοῦντος· ὃς ἀτενίσας αὐτῷ καὶ ἰδὼν ὅτι ⸂ἔχει πίστιν⸃ τοῦ σωθῆναι
This man heard Paul speaking, who, gazing fixedly at him and seeing that he had faith to be saved,
10
εἶπεν ⸀μεγάλῃ φωνῇ· Ἀνάστηθι ἐπὶ τοὺς πόδας σου ⸀ὀρθός· καὶ ⸀ἥλατο καὶ περιεπάτει.
said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leapt up and was walking.
Why this rendering
Acts.14.10 Observation
Syntactic observation
The lame man of Lystra is written with the words of the man at the Beautiful Gate in chapter 3 — χωλὸς ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός (lame from his mother's womb, 3:2 verbatim), ἀτενίσας (gazing fixedly, 3:4), ἥλατο καὶ περιεπάτει (leapt up and was walking — 3:8 leaping up … walking). Peter's first healing and Paul's first healing share one frame — one of the devices by which the author sets the two apostles side by side (Peter's shadow 5:15 against Paul's handkerchiefs 19:12; Peter's prison, chapter 12, against Paul's, chapter 16). What differs is faith — v.9, seeing that he had faith to be saved: in chapter 3 faith comes late (v.16), here it comes before the healing. Ἀνάστηθι … ὀρθός — stand upright: ὀρθός, upright, occurs only here and Heb 12:13.
Rendering options · 1
Adopted the words of chapter 3 kept — “lame from his mother's womb” · “gazing fixedly” · “leapt up and was walking”
Basis The author paired the two healings with the same words; the renderings must match for the pairing to show.
11
οἵ ⸀τε ὄχλοι ἰδόντες ὃ ⸀ἐποίησεν Παῦλος ἐπῆραν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτῶν Λυκαονιστὶ λέγοντες· Οἱ θεοὶ ὁμοιωθέντες ἀνθρώποις κατέβησαν πρὸς ἡμᾶς
And the crowds, seeing what Paul had done, lifted up their voice in Lycaonian, saying, “The gods have become like men and come down to us.”
12
ἐκάλουν τε ⸀τὸν Βαρναβᾶν Δία, τὸν δὲ Παῦλον Ἑρμῆν, ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς ἦν ὁ ἡγούμενος τοῦ λόγου.
And they were calling Barnabas Zeus, and Paul Hermes, since he was the leader of the speaking.
13
ὅ ⸀τε ἱερεὺς τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ ὄντος πρὸ τῆς ⸀πόλεως ταύρους καὶ στέμματα ἐπὶ τοὺς πυλῶνας ἐνέγκας σὺν τοῖς ὄχλοις ἤθελεν θύειν.
And the priest of the Zeus whose temple was before the city, bringing bulls and garlands to the gateways, wanted to sacrifice with the crowds.
14
ἀκούσαντες δὲ οἱ ἀπόστολοι Βαρναβᾶς καὶ Παῦλος, διαρρήξαντες τὰ ἱμάτια ⸀αὐτῶν ⸀ἐξεπήδησαν εἰς τὸν ὄχλον κράζοντες
But the apostles Barnabas and Paul, hearing it, tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out
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, why are you doing these things? We too are men of like nature with you, bringing you good news to turn from these futile things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them;
Why this rendering
Acts.14.15 Observation
Syntactic observation
ὁμοιοπαθεῖς ἐσμεν ὑμῖν ἄνθρωποι — we are men of like nature with you. A word found only here and at James 5:17 (Elijah was a man of like nature with us). A man called a god calling himself a man — the place sits between Peter at 10:26 (I myself am also a man) and Herod at 12:22-23 (accepting the voice of a god and eaten by worms). The first Gentile sermon in Acts (vv.15-17) contains no scripture citation — the opposite of the synagogue sermon of chapter 13. Instead: the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them (the phrase of 4:24 — Ex 20:11), and rains and seasons and food. ματαίων, futile things, is the Septuagint's word for idols. This edition keeps ζῶν, living, set against the futile.
Rendering options · 1
Adopted “men of like nature with you”
Basis One word with James 5:17, which will take this fixing when it comes.
16
ὃς ἐν ταῖς παρῳχημέναις γενεαῖς εἴασεν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη πορεύεσθαι ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν·
who in the generations gone by allowed all the nations to go their own ways.
17
⸀καίτοι οὐκ ἀμάρτυρον ⸀αὑτὸν ἀφῆκεν ⸀ἀγαθουργῶν, οὐρανόθεν ὑμῖν ὑετοὺς διδοὺς καὶ καιροὺς καρποφόρους, ἐμπιπλῶν τροφῆς καὶ εὐφροσύνης τὰς καρδίας ⸀ὑμῶν.
Yet he did not leave himself without witness, doing good, giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”
18
καὶ ταῦτα λέγοντες μόλις κατέπαυσαν τοὺς ὄχλους τοῦ μὴ θύειν αὐτοῖς.
And saying these things, they barely restrained the crowds from sacrificing to them.
19
Ἐπῆλθαν δὲ ἀπὸ Ἀντιοχείας καὶ Ἰκονίου Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ πείσαντες τοὺς ὄχλους καὶ λιθάσαντες τὸν Παῦλον ἔσυρον ἔξω τῆς πόλεως, ⸀νομίζοντες αὐτὸν τεθνηκέναι.
But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds and stoned Paul, they dragged him outside the city, supposing him to be dead.
Why this rendering
Acts.14.19 Observation
Syntactic observation
λιθάσαντες τὸν Παῦλον — having stoned Paul. λιθάζω is the stone of John 10:31 (took up stones to stone him) — a different verb from Stephen's λιθοβολέω at 7:58, though English has stone for both (a recorded loss — French divides lapider / assommer de pierres). At v.5 Iconium moved to stone (λιθοβολέω); here at Lystra they actually stone (λιθάζω) — the base text used two verbs. Saul, who stood by Stephen's stones, is now stoned. νομίζοντες αὐτὸν τεθνηκέναι — supposing him to be dead: the base text does not say he died. V.20 κυκλωσάντων … ἀναστάς — when the disciples surrounded him, he rose: the verb of resurrection (ἀνίστημι) is used, but the author does not call it a miracle; neither does this edition. Paul himself remembers this at 2 Cor 11:25, once I was stoned.
Rendering options · 1
Adopted “supposing him to be dead” · “he rose”
Basis What the base text has as supposition stays supposition; miraculously revived is outside the text.
Lost in translation
That λιθάζω (14:19) and λιθοβολέω (7:58; 14:5) are different verbs — English has stone for both.
this edition — none of the nine carries it (measured)
20
κυκλωσάντων δὲ ⸂τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτὸν⸃ ἀναστὰς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν. καὶ τῇ ἐπαύριον ἐξῆλθεν σὺν τῷ Βαρναβᾷ εἰς Δέρβην.
But when the disciples surrounded him, he rose and entered the city. And on the next day he went out with Barnabas to Derbe.
21
Εὐαγγελισάμενοί τε τὴν πόλιν ἐκείνην καὶ μαθητεύσαντες ἱκανοὺς ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς τὴν Λύστραν καὶ ⸀εἰς Ἰκόνιον καὶ ⸁εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν,
And having brought the good news to that city and made a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,
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 lives of the disciples, exhorting them to remain in the faith, and that through many afflictions we must enter the kingdom of God.
23
χειροτονήσαντες δὲ αὐτοῖς ⸂κατ’ ἐκκλησίαν πρεσβυτέρους⸃ προσευξάμενοι μετὰ νηστειῶν παρέθεντο αὐτοὺς τῷ κυρίῳ εἰς ὃν πεπιστεύκεισαν.
And having appointed elders for them in every assembly, having prayed with fastings, they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Why this rendering
Acts.14.23 Observation
Syntactic observation
χειροτονήσαντες δὲ αὐτοῖς κατ’ ἐκκλησίαν πρεσβυτέρους — having appointed elders for them in every assembly. χειροτονέω (to choose by raising the hand · to appoint) occurs only here and 2 Cor 8:19 — its root is stretching out the hand (voting), but by New Testament times it already meant appoint, so this edition renders appoint and records the hand as a loss. κατ’ ἐκκλησίαν, in every assembly, distributive — the fixed assembly here stands as a countable word: Lystra, Iconium, Antioch are each one ἐκκλησία. The base text brackets the phrase ⸂⸃. V.22 διὰ πολλῶν θλίψεων δεῖ ἡμᾶς εἰσελθεῖν — through many afflictions we must enter: a we stands in the middle of narration — the author slides into the apostles' words without opening a quotation (the pattern of 1:4). V.27 θύραν πίστεως, a door of faith — the first metaphorical door (θύρα) in Acts.
Rendering options · 1
Adopted “having appointed elders”
Basis Chose by show of hands would revive the etymology as sense; the picture of the hand is recorded as a loss.
Lost in translation
The hand (χείρ) inside χειροτονέω — appoint has no hand in it.
this edition — none of the nine carries it (measured)
24
καὶ διελθόντες τὴν Πισιδίαν ἦλθον εἰς ⸀τὴν Παμφυλίαν,
And passing through Pisidia they came to Pamphylia,
25
καὶ λαλήσαντες ἐν Πέργῃ τὸν λόγον κατέβησαν εἰς Ἀττάλειαν,
and having spoken the word in Perga they went down to Attalia,
26
κἀκεῖθεν ἀπέπλευσαν εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν, ὅθεν ἦσαν παραδεδομένοι τῇ χάριτι τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς τὸ ἔργον ὃ ἐπλήρωσαν.
and from there they sailed to Antioch, from where they had been handed over to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled.
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 assembly together, they reported all that God had done with them and that he had opened to the nations a door of faith.
28
διέτριβον ⸀δὲ χρόνον οὐκ ὀλίγον σὺν τοῖς μαθηταῖς.
And they stayed no little time with the disciples.