Acts 4:5-11

4:5 On the next day, ¹  their rulers, elders, and experts in the law ²  came together ³  in Jerusalem. ⁴  4:6 Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others who were members of the high priest’s family. ⁵  4:7 After ⁶  making Peter and John ⁷  stand in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power or by what name ⁸  did you do this?” 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁹  replied, ¹⁰  “Rulers of the people and elders, ¹¹  4:9 if ¹²  we are being examined ¹³  today for a good deed ¹⁴  done to a sick man – by what means this man was healed ¹⁵  – 4:10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ ¹⁶  the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy. 4:11 This Jesus ¹⁷  is the stone that was rejected by you, ¹⁸  the builders, that has become the cornerstone. ¹⁹ 

[4:5]  ¹ tn Grk “It happened that on the next day.” 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.

[4:5]  ² tn Or “and scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[4:5]  ³ tn Or “law assembled,” “law met together.”

[4:5]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:6]  ⁵ sn The high priest’s family. This family controlled the high priesthood as far back as a.d. 6. Annas, Caiaphas, and Alexander were all high priests at one time (though Alexander held that office after this event).

[4:7]  ⁶ tn Grk “And after.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new sentence is begun in the translation at the beginning of v. 7.

[4:7]  ⁷ tn Grk “making them”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:7]  ⁸ sn By what name. The issue of the “name” comes up again here. This question, meaning “by whose authority,” surfaces an old dispute (see Luke 20:1-8). Who speaks for God about the ancient faith?

[4:8]  ⁹ sn Filled with the Holy Spirit. The narrator’s remark about the Holy Spirit indicates that Peter speaks as directed by God and for God. This fulfills Luke 12:11-12 (1 Pet 3:15).

[4:8]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Spirit, said to them.”

[4:8]  ¹¹ tc The Western and Byzantine texts, as well as one or two Alexandrian witnesses, read τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (tou Israhl, “of Israel”) after πρεσβύτεροι (presbuteroi, “elders”; so D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï it), while most of the better witnesses, chiefly Alexandrian (Ì⁷⁴ א A B 0165 1175 vg sa bo), lack this modifier. The longer reading was most likely added by scribes to give literary balance to the addressees in that “Rulers” already had an adjunct while “elders” was left absolute.

[4:9]  ¹² tn This clause is a first class condition. It assumes for the sake of argument that this is what they were being questioned about.

[4:9]  ¹³ tn Or “questioned.” The Greek term ἀνακρίνω (anakrinw) points to an examination similar to a legal one.

[4:9]  ¹⁴ tn Or “for an act of kindness.”

[4:9]  ¹⁵ tn Or “delivered” (σέσωται [seswtai], from σώζω [swzw]). See 4:12.

[4:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[4:11]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “This one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:11]  ¹⁸ tn The word “you” is inserted into the quotation because Peter is making a direct application of Ps 118:22 to his hearers. Because it is not in the OT, it has been left as normal type (rather than bold italic). The remarks are like Acts 2:22-24 and 3:12-15.

[4:11]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 118:22 which combines the theme of rejection with the theme of God’s vindication/exaltation.