^11:19Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen⁴⁰ went as far as⁴¹ Phoenicia,⁴² Cyprus,⁴³ and Antioch,⁴⁴ speaking the message⁴⁵ to no one but Jews. ^11:20But there were some men from Cyprus⁴⁶ and Cyrene⁴⁷ among them who came⁴⁸ to Antioch⁴⁹ and began to speak to the Greeks⁵⁰ too, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. ^11:21The⁵¹ hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed⁵² turned⁵³ to the Lord. ^11:22A report⁵⁴ about them came to the attention⁵⁵ of the church in Jerusalem,⁵⁶ and they sent Barnabas⁵⁷ to Antioch.⁵⁸^11:23When⁵⁹ he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true⁶⁰ to the Lord with devoted hearts,⁶¹^11:24because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a significant number of people⁶² were brought to the Lord. ^11:25Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to look for Saul, ^11:26and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.⁶³ So⁶⁴ for a whole year Barnabas and Saul⁶⁵ met with the church and taught a significant number of people.⁶⁶ Now it was in Antioch⁶⁷ that the disciples were first called Christians.⁶⁸

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Footnotes

40 The phrase over Stephen means in connection with Stephen’s death. See Acts 8:1b–3.
41 Or “finally reached.” The translations “went as far as” and “finally reached” for διῆλθον (diēlthon) in this verse are given in L&N 15.17.
42 Phoenicia was an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine.
43 Grk “and Cyprus,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
44 Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). This was probably the third largest city in the Greco-Roman world (Alexandria in Egypt was the second largest, and Rome the largest) and was the seat of government in Syria. Five miles away was a major temple to Artemis, Apollo, and Astarte, major pagan deities. For location see ; ; ; .
45 Grk “word.”
46 Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
47 Cyrene was a city on the northern African coast west of Egypt.
48 Grk “among them, coming to Antioch began to speak.” The participle ἐλθόντες (elthontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
49 Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in .
50 The statement that some men from Cyprus and Cyrene … began to speak to the Greeks shows that Peter’s experience of reaching out to the Gentiles was not unique.
51 Grk “And the.” 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.
52 The participle πιστεύσας (pisteusas) is articular and thus cannot be adverbial. It is adjectival, modifying ἀριθμός (arithmos), but has been translated into English as a relative clause (“who believed”).
53 Again, the expression turned is a summary term for responding to the gospel.
54 Grk “Word.”
55 Grk “was heard in the ears,” an idiom. L&N 24.67 states that the idiom means “to hear in secret” (which it certainly does in Matt 10:27), but secrecy does not seem to be part of the context here, and there is no particular reason to suggest the report was made in secret.
56 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
57 Most read the infinitive “to travel” after “Barnabas.” διελθεῖν (dielthein) is found before ἕως (heōs) in D E Ψ 33 𝔐 and some versional . It is lacking in 𝔓74 א A B 81 1739 and some versional . Although the infinitive with ἕως fits Lukan style, it has the appearance of a scribal clarification. The infinitive has the earmarks of a Western expansion on the text and thus is unlikely to be original. has the infinitive in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.
58 Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in . Again the Jerusalem church exercised an oversight role.
59 Grk “Antioch, who when.” The relative pronoun was omitted and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
60 προσμένω 1.a.β has “remain true to the Lord” for προσμένειν (prosmenein) in this verse. He … encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord. The call to faithfulness is frequent in Acts (2:40; 14:22; 15:32; 16:39; 20:1–2).
61 Grk “with purpose of heart”; πρόθεσις 2.a translates this phrase “purpose of heart, i.e. devotion” here.
62 Grk “a significant crowd.”
63 Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in .
64 Grk “So it happened that” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
65 Grk “year they”; the referents (Barnabas and Saul) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
66 Grk “a significant crowd.”
67 Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in .
68 The term Christians appears only here, in Acts 26:28, and 1 Pet 4:16 in the NT.