Daniel 3:15

3:15 Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must bow down and pay homage to the statue that I had made. If you don’t pay homage to it, you will immediately be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. Now, who is that god who can rescue you from my power?” ¹ 

Acts 12:4-5

12:4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads ²  of soldiers to guard him. Herod ³  planned ⁴  to bring him out for public trial ⁵  after the Passover. 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly ⁶  praying to God for him. ⁷ 

Acts 16:23

16:23 After they had beaten them severely, ⁸  they threw them into prison and commanded ⁹  the jailer to guard them securely.

Acts 16:25

16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying ¹⁰  and singing hymns to God, ¹¹  and the rest of ¹²  the prisoners were listening to them.

¹ tn Aram “hand.” So also in v. 17.

² sn Four squads of soldiers. Each squad was a detachment of four soldiers.

³ tn Grk “guard him, planning to bring him out.” The Greek construction continues with a participle (βουλόμενος, boulomeno") and an infinitive (ἀναγαγεῖν, anagagein), but this creates an awkward and lengthy sentence in English. Thus a reference to Herod was introduced as subject and the participle translated as a finite verb (“Herod planned”).

⁴ tn Or “intended”; Grk “wanted.”

⁵ tn Grk “to bring him out to the people,” but in this context a public trial (with certain condemnation as the result) is doubtless what Herod planned. L&N 15.176 translates this phrase “planning to bring him up for a public trial after the Passover.”

⁶ tn Or “constantly.” This term also appears in Luke 22:14 and Acts 26:7.

⁷ tn Grk “but earnest prayer was being made by the church to God for him.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to follow English style, and the somewhat awkward passive “prayer was being made” has been changed to the simpler active verb “were praying.” Luke portrays what follows as an answer to prayer.

⁸ tn Grk “Having inflicted many blows on them.” The participle ἐπιθέντες (epiqente") has been taken temporally. BDAG 384 s.v. ἐπιτίθημι 1.a.β has “inflict blows upon someone” for this expression, but in this context it is simpler to translate in English as “they had beaten them severely.”

⁹ tn Grk “commanding.” The participle παραγγείλαντες (parangeilante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁰ tn Grk “praying, were singing.” The participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹¹ sn Praying and singing hymns to God. Tertullian said, “The legs feel nothing in the stocks when the heart is in heaven” (To the Martyrs 2; cf. Rom 5:3; Jas 1:2; 1 Pet 5:6). The presence of God means the potential to be free (cf. v. 26).

¹² tn The words “the rest of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.