Acts 14:11-13

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Acts 14:11 tn Grk “they lifted up their voice” (an idiom).
2. Acts 14:11 tn Grk “in Lycaonian, saying.” The word “language” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
3. Acts 14:11 tn So BDAG 707 s.v. ὁμοιόω 1. However, L&N 64.4 takes the participle ὁμοιωθέντες (homoiōthentes) as an adjectival participle modifying θεοί (theoi): “the gods resembling men have come down to us.”sn The gods have come down to us in human form. Greek culture spoke of “divine men.” In this region there was a story of Zeus and Hermes visiting the area (Ovid, Metamorphoses 8.611-725). The locals failed to acknowledge them, so judgment followed. The present crowd was determined not to make the mistake a second time.
4. Acts 14:12 tn The imperfect verb ἐκάλουν (ekaloun) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
5. Acts 14:12 sn Zeus was the chief Greek deity, worshiped throughout the Greco-Roman world (known to the Romans as Jupiter).
6. Acts 14:12 sn Hermes was a Greek god who (according to Greek mythology) was the messenger of the gods and the god of oratory (equivalent to the Roman god Mercury).
7. Acts 14:13 tn The words “the temple of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. The translation “the priest of (the temple/shrine of) Zeus located before the city” is given for this phrase by BDAG 426 s.v. Ζεύς.
8. Acts 14:13 sn See the note on Zeus in the previous verse.
9. Acts 14:13 tn Or “oxen.”
10. Acts 14:13 tn Or “wreaths.”sn Garlands were commonly wreaths of wool with leaves and flowers woven in, worn on a person’s head or woven around a staff. They were an important part of many rituals used to worship pagan gods. Although it was an erroneous reaction, the priest’s reaction shows how all acknowledged their power and access to God.
11. Acts 14:13 tn The words “to them” are not in the Greek text, but are clearly implied by the response of Paul and Barnabas in the following verse.