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Luke 1:1-3
New English Translation

Explanatory Preface

1 Now[a] many have undertaken to compile an account[b] of the things[c] that have been fulfilled[d] among us, 2 like the accounts[e] passed on[f] to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word[g] from the beginning.[h] 3 So[i] it seemed good to me as well,[j] because I have followed[k] all things carefully from the beginning, to write an orderly account[l] for you, most excellent Theophilus,

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 1:1 tn Grk “Since” or “Because.” This begins a long sentence that extends through v. 4. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, the Greek sentence has been divided up into shorter English sentences in the translation.
  2. Luke 1:1 tn This is sometimes translated “narrative,” but the term itself can refer to an oral or written account. It is the verb “undertaken” which suggests a written account, since it literally is “to set one’s hand” to something (BDAG 386 s.v. ἐπιχειρέω). “Narrative” is too specific, denoting a particular genre of work for the accounts that existed in the earlier tradition. Not all of that material would have been narrative.
  3. Luke 1:1 tn Or “events.”
  4. Luke 1:1 tn Or “have been accomplished.” Given Luke’s emphasis on divine design (e.g., Luke 24:43-47) a stronger sense (“fulfilled”) is better than a mere reference to something having taken place (“accomplished”).
  5. Luke 1:2 tn Grk “even as”; this compares the recorded tradition of 1:1 with the original eyewitness tradition of 1:2.
  6. Luke 1:2 tn Or “delivered.”
  7. Luke 1:2 sn The phrase eyewitnesses and servants of the word refers to a single group of people who faithfully passed on the accounts about Jesus. The language about delivery (passed on) points to accounts faithfully passed on to the early church.
  8. Luke 1:2 tn Grk “like the accounts those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word passed on to us.” The location of “in the beginning” in the Greek shows that the tradition is rooted in those who were with Jesus from the start.
  9. Luke 1:3 tn The conjunction “so” is supplied here to bring out the force of the latter part of this Greek sentence, which the translation divides up because of English style. Luke, in compiling his account, is joining a tradition with good precedent.
  10. Luke 1:3 sn When Luke says it seemed good to me as well he is not being critical of the earlier accounts, but sees himself stepping into a tradition of reporting about Jesus to which he will add uniquely a second volume on the early church when he writes the Book of Acts.
  11. Luke 1:3 tn Grk “having followed”; the participle παρηκολουθηκότι (parēkolouthēkoti) has been translated causally.
  12. Luke 1:3 sn An orderly account does not necessarily mean that all events are recorded in the exact chronological sequence in which they occurred, but that the account produced is an orderly one. This could include, for example, thematic or topical order rather than strict chronological order.
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Mark 16
Luke 2
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Acts 1:1-3
New English Translation

Jesus Ascends to Heaven

1 I wrote[a] the former[b] account,[c] Theophilus,[d] about all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven,[e] after he had given orders[f] by[g] the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 To the same apostles[h] also, after his suffering,[i] he presented himself alive with many convincing proofs. He was seen by them over a forty-day period[j] and spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God.[k]

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 1:1 tn Or “produced,” Grk “made.”
  2. Acts 1:1 tn Or “first.” The translation “former” is preferred because “first” could imply to the modern English reader that the author means that his previous account was the first one to be written down. The Greek term πρῶτος (prōtos) does not necessarily mean “first” in an absolute sense, but can refer to the first in a set or series. That is what is intended here—the first account (known as the Gospel of Luke) as compared to the second one (known as Acts).
  3. Acts 1:1 tn The Greek word λόγος (logos) is sometimes translated “book” (NRSV, NIV) or “treatise” (KJV). A formal, systematic treatment of a subject is implied, but the word “book” may be too specific and slightly misleading to the modern reader, so “account” has been used.sn The former account refers to the Gospel of Luke, which was “volume one” of the two-volume work Luke-Acts.
  4. Acts 1:1 tn Grk “O Theophilus,” but the usage of the vocative in Acts with ὦ (ō) is unemphatic, following more the classical idiom (see ExSyn 69).
  5. Acts 1:2 tn The words “to heaven” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied from v. 11. Several modern translations (NIV, NRSV) supply the words “to heaven” after “taken up” to specify the destination explicitly mentioned later in 1:11.
  6. Acts 1:2 tn Or “commands.” Although some modern translations render ἐντειλάμενος (enteilamenos) as “instructions” (NIV, NRSV), the word implies authority or official sanction (G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:545), so that a word like “orders” conveys the idea more effectively. The action of the temporal participle is antecedent (prior) to the action of the verb it modifies (“taken up”).
  7. Acts 1:2 tn Or “through.”
  8. Acts 1:3 tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the apostles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  9. Acts 1:3 sn After his suffering is a reference to Jesus’ crucifixion and the abuse which preceded it.
  10. Acts 1:3 tn Grk “during forty days.” The phrase “over a forty-day period” is used rather than “during forty days” because (as the other NT accounts of Jesus’ appearances make clear) Jesus was not continually visible to the apostles during the forty days, but appeared to them on various occasions.
  11. Acts 1:3 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ teaching. The nature of the kingdom of God in the NT and in Jesus’ teaching has long been debated by interpreters and scholars, with discussion primarily centering around the nature of the kingdom (earthly, heavenly, or both) and the kingdom’s arrival (present, future, or both). An additional major issue concerns the relationship between the kingdom of God and the person and work of Jesus himself. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
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Acts 2
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