Previous Next
Print PrintSettingsSettingsParallelParallel

Acts 12:20-22  New English Translation

20 Now Herod[a] was having an angry quarrel[b] with the people of Tyre[c] and Sidon.[d] So they joined together[e] and presented themselves before him. And after convincing[f] Blastus, the king’s personal assistant,[g] to help them,[h] they asked for peace,[i] because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country. 21 On a day determined in advance, Herod[j] put on his royal robes,[k] sat down on the judgment seat,[l] and made a speech[m] to them. 22 But the crowd[n] began to shout,[o] “The voice of a god,[p] and not of a man!”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Acts 12:20 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.sn Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).
  2. Acts 12:20 tn Or “was extremely angry.” L&N 33.453 gives the meaning “be angry and quarrel, quarrel angrily” here. However, in L&N 88.180 the alternative “to be violently angry, to be furious” is given. The term is used only once in the NT (BDAG 461 s.v. θυμομαχέω).
  3. Acts 12:20 sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.
  4. Acts 12:20 sn Sidon was an ancient Phoenician royal city on the coast between Berytus (Beirut) and Tyre (BDAG 923 s.v. Σιδών).
  5. Acts 12:20 tn Or “with one accord.”
  6. Acts 12:20 tn Or “persuading.”
  7. Acts 12:20 tn On the term translated “personal assistant” BDAG 554 s.v. κοιτῶν states, “used as part of a title: ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος the one in charge of the bed-chamber, the chamberlain.” This individual was not just a domestic servant or butler, but a highly respected person who had considerable responsibility for the king’s living quarters and personal affairs. The English word “chamberlain” corresponds very closely to this meaning but is not in common use today. The term “personal assistant,” while it might convey more business associations than management of personal affairs, nevertheless communicates the concept well in contemporary English.
  8. Acts 12:20 tn The words “to help them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
  9. Acts 12:20 tn Or “for a reconciliation.” There were grave political risks in having Herod angry at them. The detail shows the ruler’s power.
  10. Acts 12:21 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.sn Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).
  11. Acts 12:21 tn Or “apparel.” On Herod’s robes see Josephus, Ant. 19.8.2 (19.344), summarized in the note at the end of v. 23.
  12. Acts 12:21 tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “speaker’s platform” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“rostrum,” NASB; “platform,” NRSV), since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here.sn The judgment seat (βῆμα, bēma) was a raised platform mounted by steps and sometimes furnished with a seat, used by officials in addressing an assembly or making pronouncements, often on judicial matters. The judgment seat was a familiar item in Greco-Roman culture, often located in the agora, the public square or marketplace in the center of a city.
  13. Acts 12:21 tn Or “delivered a public address.”
  14. Acts 12:22 tn The translation “crowd” is given by BDAG 223 s.v. δῆμος; the word often means a gathering of citizens to conduct public business. Here it is simply the group of people gathered to hear the king’s speech.
  15. Acts 12:22 tn The imperfect verb ἐπεφώνει (epephōnei) is taken ingressively in the sequence of events. Presumably the king had started his speech when the crowd began shouting.
  16. Acts 12:22 sn The voice of a god. Contrast the response of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14:13-15.
Next
Acts 11
Acts 13
Next
dropdown
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.