Acts 3:10

3:10 and they recognized him as the man who used to sit and ask for donations ¹  at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with astonishment and amazement ²  at what had happened to him.

Acts 4:31

4:31 When ³  they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, ⁴  and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak ⁵  the word of God ⁶  courageously. ⁷ 

¹ tn Grk “alms,” but this term is not in common use today, so the closest modern equivalent, “donations,” is used instead. The idea is that of a donation to charity.

² sn Amazement is a frequent response to miracles of Jesus or the apostles. These took the ancients by as much surprise as they would people today. But in terms of response to what God is doing, amazement does not equal faith (Luke 4:36; 5:9, 26; 7:16).

³ tn Grk “And when.” 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.

⁴ sn The place where they were assembled…was shaken. This signifies that God is in their midst. See Acts 16:26; Exod 19:18; Ps 114:7; Isa 6:4.

⁵ tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to speak”). Logical sequencing suggests that their speaking began after they were filled with the Spirit. The prayer was answered immediately.

⁶ tn Or “speak God’s message.”

⁷ tn Or “with boldness.”