Acts 4:1-2

The Arrest and Trial of Peter and John

4:1 While Peter and John ¹  were speaking to the people, the priests and the commander ²  of the temple guard ³  and the Sadducees ⁴  came up ⁵  to them, 4:2 angry ⁶  because they were teaching the people and announcing ⁷  in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

Acts 4:6-10

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

Acts 5:28

5:28 saying, “We gave ²⁰  you strict orders ²¹  not to teach in this name. ²²  Look, ²³  you have filled Jerusalem ²⁴  with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood ²⁵  on us!”

¹ tn Grk “While they”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Or “captain.”

³ tn Grk “the official of the temple,” a title for the commander of the Jewish soldiers guarding the temple (thus the translation, “the commander of the temple guard”). See L&N 37.91.

⁴ sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 3:7; 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

⁵ tn Or “approached.” This verb often denotes a sudden appearing (BDAG 418 s.v. ἐφίστημι 1).

⁶ tn Or “greatly annoyed,” “provoked.”

⁷ tn Or “proclaiming.”

⁸ 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).

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ tn Grk “making them”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ 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?

¹² 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).

¹³ tn Grk “Spirit, said to them.”

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ tn This clause is a first class condition. It assumes for the sake of argument that this is what they were being questioned about.

¹⁶ tn Or “questioned.” The Greek term ἀνακρίνω (anakrinw) points to an examination similar to a legal one.

¹⁷ tn Or “for an act of kindness.”

¹⁸ tn Or “delivered” (σέσωται [seswtai], from σώζω [swzw]). See 4:12.

¹⁹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

²⁰ tc ‡ The majority of mss, including a few important witnesses (א² D E [Ψ] 1739 Ï sy sa), have the negative particle οὐ (ou) here, effectively turning the high priest’s words into a question: “Did we not give you strict orders not to teach in this name?” But the earliest and most important mss, along with some others (Ì⁷⁴ א* A B 1175 lat bo), lack the particle, making this a strong statement rather than a question. Scribes may have been tempted to omit the particle to strengthen the contrast between official Judaism and the new faith, but the fact that v. 27 introduces the quotation with ἐπηρώτησεν (ephrwthsen, “he questioned”) may well have prompted scribes to add οὐ to convert the rebuke into a question. Further, that excellent witnesses affirm the shorter reading is sufficient ground for accepting it as most probably authentic. NA²⁷ includes the particle in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

²¹ tn Grk “We commanded you with a commandment” (a Semitic idiom that is emphatic).

²² sn The name (i.e., person) of Jesus is the constant issue of debate.

²³ tn Grk “And behold.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

²⁴ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁵ sn To bring this man’s blood on us is an idiom meaning “you intend to make us guilty of this man’s death.”