Acts 10:11

10:11 He ¹  saw heaven ²  opened ³  and an object something like a large sheet ⁴  descending, ⁵  being let down to earth ⁶  by its four corners.

Acts 12:4

12:4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads ⁷  of soldiers to guard him. Herod ⁸  planned ⁹  to bring him out for public trial ¹⁰  after the Passover.

Acts 11:5

11:5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, ¹¹  an object something like a large sheet descending, ¹²  being let down from heaven ¹³  by its four corners, and it came to me.

[10:11]  ¹ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[10:11]  ² tn Or “the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[10:11]  ³ tn On the heavens “opening,” see Matt 3:16; Luke 3:21; Rev 19:11 (cf. BDAG 84 s.v. ἀνοίγω 2). This is the language of a vision or a revelatory act of God.

[10:11]  ⁴ tn Or “a large linen cloth” (the term was used for the sail of a ship; BDAG 693 s.v. ὀθόνη).

[10:11]  ⁵ tn Or “coming down.”

[10:11]  ⁶ tn Or “to the ground.”

[12:4]  ⁷ sn Four squads of soldiers. Each squad was a detachment of four soldiers.

[12:4]  ⁸ 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”).

[12:4]  ⁹ tn Or “intended”; Grk “wanted.”

[12:4]  ¹⁰ 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.”

[11:5]  ¹³ tn This term describes a supernatural vision and reflects a clear distinction from something imagined (BDAG 718 s.v. ὅραμα 1). Peter repeated the story virtually word for word through v. 13. The repetition with this degree of detail shows the event’s importance.

[11:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “coming down.”

[11:5]  ¹⁵ tn Or “the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).