^16:1He also came to Derbe¹ and to Lystra.² A disciple³ named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer,⁴ but whose father was a Greek.⁵^16:2The brothers in Lystra⁶ and Iconium⁷ spoke well⁸ of him.⁹^16:3Paul wanted Timothy¹⁰ to accompany him, and he took¹¹ him and circumcised¹² him because of the Jews who were in those places,¹³ for they all knew that his father was Greek.¹⁴^16:4As they went through the towns,¹⁵ they passed on¹⁶ the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem¹⁷ for the Gentile believers¹⁸ to obey.¹⁹^16:5So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were increasing in number every day.²⁰

Paul’s Vision of the Macedonian Man

^16:6They went through the region of Phrygia²¹ and Galatia,²² having been prevented²³ by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message²⁴ in the province of Asia.²⁵^16:7When they came to²⁶ Mysia,²⁷ they attempted to go into Bithynia,²⁸ but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow²⁹ them to do this,³⁰^16:8so they passed through³¹ Mysia³² and went down to Troas.³³^16:9A³⁴ vision appeared to Paul during the night: A Macedonian man was standing there³⁵ urging him,³⁶ “Come over³⁷ to Macedonia³⁸ and help us!” ^16:10After Paul³⁹ saw the vision, we attempted⁴⁰ immediately to go over to Macedonia,⁴¹ concluding that God had called⁴² us to proclaim the good news to them.

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Footnotes

1 Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra. It was about 90 mi (145 km) from Tarsus. For location see ; ; .
2 Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 25 mi (40 km) south of Iconium. For location see ; ; .
3 Grk “And behold, a disciple.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.
4 L&N 31.103 translates this phrase “the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer.”
5 His father was a Greek. Timothy was the offspring of a mixed marriage between a Jewish woman (see 2 Tim 1:5) and a Gentile man. On mixed marriages in Judaism, see Neh 13:23–27; Ezra 9:1–10:44; Mal 2:10–16; . 30:7–17; Qiddushin 3.12; Yevamot 7.5.
6 Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 25 mi (40 km) south of Iconium.
7 Iconium was a city in Lycaonia about 110 mi (175 km) east of Pisidian Antioch.
8 For this sense of μαρτυρέω (martureō), see 2.b.
9 Grk “who was well spoken of by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium.” Because of the awkwardness in English of having two relative clauses follow one another (“who was a believer … who was well spoken of”) and the awkwardness of the passive verb (“was well spoken of”), the relative pronoun at the beginning of 16:2 (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“him”) and the construction converted from passive to active at the same time a new sentence was started in the translation.
10 Grk “this one”; the referent (Timothy) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 Grk “and taking him he circumcised him.” The participle λαβών (labōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Paul’s cultural sensitivity showed in his action here. He did not want Timothy’s lack of circumcision to become an issue (1 Cor 9:15–23).
12 The verb περιέτεμεν (perietemen) here may be understood as causative (cf. ) if Paul did not personally perform the circumcision.
13 Or “who lived in the area.”
14 The anarthrous predicate nominative has been translated as qualitative (“Greek”) rather than indefinite (“a Greek”). His father was Greek. Under Jewish law at least as early as the 2nd century, a person was considered Jewish if his or her mother was Jewish. It is not certain whether such a law was in effect in the 1st century, but even if it was, Timothy would not have been accepted as fully Jewish because he was not circumcised.
15 Or “cities.”
16 παραδίδωμι 3 has “they handed down to them the decisions to observe Ac 16:4.”
17 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
18 Grk “for them”; the referent (Gentile believers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 Or “observe” or “follow.”
20 ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.
21 Phrygia was a district in central Asia Minor west of Pisidia.
22 Galatia refers to either (1) the region of the old kingdom of Galatia in the central part of Asia Minor (North Galatia), or (2) the Roman province of Galatia, whose principal cities in the 1st century were Ancyra and Pisidian Antioch (South Galatia). The exact extent and meaning of this area has been a subject of considerable controversy in modern NT studies.
23 Or “forbidden.”
24 Or “word.”
25 Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.
26 κατά B.1.b has “to Mysia” here.
27 Mysia was a province in northwest Asia Minor.
28 Bithynia was a province in northern Asia Minor northeast of Mysia.
29 Or “permit”; see ἐάω 1.
30 The words “do this” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons, since English handles ellipses differently than Greek.
31 Although the normal meaning for παρέρχομαι (parerchomai) is “pass by, go by,” it would be difficult to get to Troas from where Paul and his companions were without going through rather than around Mysia. παρέρχομαι 6as list some nonbiblical examples of the meaning “go through, pass through,” and give that meaning for the usage here.
32 Mysia was a province in northwest Asia Minor.
33 Troas was a port city (and surrounding region) on the northwest coast of Asia Minor, near ancient Troy.
34 Grk “And a.” 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.
35 The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
36 The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has not been translated.
37 Grk “Coming over.” The participle διαβάς (diabas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
38 Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
39 Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
40 Grk “sought.”
41 Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
42 Or “summoned.”