Ezra 4:3

4:3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, “You have no right ¹  to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”

Mark 16:16

16:16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned.

Acts 8:20

8:20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, ²  because you thought you could acquire ³  God’s gift with money!

Acts 8:1

8:1 And Saul agreed completely with killing ⁴  him.

Saul Begins to Persecute the Church

Now on that day a great ⁵  persecution began ⁶  against the church in Jerusalem, ⁷  and all ⁸  except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions ⁹  of Judea and Samaria.

Acts 5:11-13

5:11 Great ¹⁰  fear gripped ¹¹  the whole church ¹²  and all who heard about these things.

The Apostles Perform Miraculous Signs and Wonders

5:12 Now many miraculous signs ¹³  and wonders came about among the people through the hands of the apostles. By ¹⁴  common consent ¹⁵  they were all meeting together in Solomon’s Portico. ¹⁶  5:13 None of the rest dared to join them, ¹⁷  but the people held them in high honor. ¹⁸ 

¹ tn Heb “not to you and to us.”

² tn Grk “May your silver together with you be sent into destruction.” This is a strong curse. The gifts of God are sovereignly bestowed and cannot be purchased.

³ tn Or “obtain.”

⁴ tn The term ἀναίρεσις (anairesi") can refer to murder (BDAG 64 s.v.; 2 Macc 5:13; Josephus, Ant. 5.2.12 [5.165]).

⁵ tn Or “severe.”

⁶ tn Grk “Now there happened on that day a great persecution.” It is less awkward to say in English “Now on that day a great persecution began.”

⁷ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁸ sn All. Given that the Jerusalem church is still active after this and that the Hellenists are the focus of Acts 6-8, it is possible to argue that only the Hellenistic Christians were forced to scatter.

⁹ tn Or “countryside.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “And great.” 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.

¹¹ tn Or “fear came on,” “fear seized”; Grk “fear happened to.”

¹² sn This is the first occurrence of the term church (ἐκκλησία, ekklhsia) in Acts. It refers to an assembly of people.

¹³ tn The miraculous nature of these signs is implied in the context.

¹⁴ tn Grk “And by.” 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.

¹⁵ tn Or “With one mind.”

¹⁶ tn Or “colonnade”; Grk “stoa.”

¹⁷ tn Or “to associate with them.” The group was beginning to have a controversial separate identity. People were cautious about joining them. The next verse suggests that the phrase “none of the rest” in this verse is rhetorical hyperbole.

¹⁸ tn Or “the people thought very highly of them.”