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. 4:3 So 8 they seized 9 them and put them in jail 10 until the next day (for it was already evening). 4:4 But many of those who had listened to 11 the message 12 believed, and the number of the men 13 came to about five thousand.
4:5 On the next day, 14 their rulers, elders, and experts in the law 15 came together 16 in Jerusalem. 17 4:6 Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others who were members of the high priest’s family. 18 4:7 After 19 making Peter and John 20 stand in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power or by what name 21 did you do this?”
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 tn Grk “And” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the logical sequence of events.
9 tn Or “they arrested”; Grk “they laid hands on.”
10 tn Or “prison,” “custody.”
11 tn Or “had heard.”
12 tn Or “word.”
13 tn In the historical setting it is likely that only men are referred to here. The Greek term ἀνήρ (anhr) usually refers to males or husbands rather than people in general. Thus to translate “of the people” would give a false impression of the number, since any women and children were apparently not included in the count.
14 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.
15 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.
16 tn Or “law assembled,” “law met together.”
17 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
18 sn The high priest’s family. This family controlled the high priesthood as far back as
19 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.
20 tn Grk “making them”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 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?