Acts 26:11-13
New English Translation
11 I punished[a] them often in all the synagogues[b] and tried to force[c] them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged[d] at them, I went to persecute[e] them even in foreign cities.
12 “While doing this very thing,[f] as I was going[g] to Damascus with authority and complete power[h] from the chief priests, 13 about noon along the road, Your Majesty,[i] I saw a light from heaven,[j] brighter than the sun, shining everywhere around[k] me and those traveling with me.
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- Acts 26:11 tn Grk “and punishing…I tried.” The participle τιμωρῶν (timōrōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. 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.
- Acts 26:11 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
- Acts 26:11 tn The imperfect verb ἠνάγκαζον (ēnankazon) has been translated as a conative imperfect (so BDAG 60 s.v. ἀναγκάζω 1, which has “ἠνάγκαζον βλασφημεῖν I tried to force them to blaspheme Ac 26:11”).
- Acts 26:11 tn Or “was so insanely angry with them.” BDAG 322 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι states, “to be filled with such anger that one appears to be mad, be enraged…περισσῶς ἐμμαινόμενος αὐτοῖς being furiously enraged at them Ac 26:11”; L&N 88.182 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι, “to be so furiously angry with someone as to be almost out of one’s mind—‘to be enraged, to be infuriated, to be insanely angry’…‘I was so infuriated with them that I even went to foreign cities to persecute them’ Ac 26:11.”
- Acts 26:11 tn Or “I pursued them even as far as foreign cities.”
- Acts 26:12 tn Grk “in which [activity].” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 in the translation. The referent of the relative pronoun (“which”) was specified as “this very thing” for clarity.
- Acts 26:12 tn Grk “going.” The participle πορευόμενος (poreuomenos) has been taken temporally.
- Acts 26:12 tn L&N 37.40 s.v. ἐπιτροπή states, “the full authority to carry out an assignment or commission—‘authority, complete power.’ πορευόμενος εἰς τὴν Δαμασκὸν μετ᾿ ἐξουσίας καὶ ἐπιτροπῆς τῶν ἀρχιερέων ‘going to Damascus with authority and complete power from the high priests’ Ac 26:12. In Ac 26:12 the combination of ἐξουσία and ἐπιτροπή serves to reinforce the sense of complete authority.”
- Acts 26:13 tn Grk “O King.”
- Acts 26:13 tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
- Acts 26:13 tn The word “everywhere” has been supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning of περιλάμψαν (perilampsan). Otherwise the modern reader might think that each of the individuals were encircled by lights or halos. See also Acts 9:7; 22:6, 9.
Acts 26:11-13
New International Version
11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished,(A) and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.
12 “On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions.
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