Acts 12:4

12:4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads ¹  of soldiers to guard him. Herod ²  planned ³  to bring him out for public trial ⁴  after the Passover.

Acts 12:6

12:6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial, ⁵  Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while ⁶  guards in front of the door were keeping watch ⁷  over the prison.

Matthew 28:11-15

The Guards’ Report

28:11 While ⁸  they were going, some ⁹  of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. 28:12 After ¹⁰  they had assembled with the elders and formed a plan, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 28:13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came at night and stole his body ¹¹  while we were asleep.’ 28:14 If ¹²  this matter is heard before the governor, ¹³  we will satisfy him ¹⁴  and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵  28:15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story is told among the Jews to this day. ¹⁶ 

[12:4]  ¹ sn Four squads of soldiers. Each squad was a detachment of four soldiers.

[12:4]  ² 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]  ³ tn Or “intended”; Grk “wanted.”

[12:4]  ⁴ 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.”

[12:6]  ⁵ tn Grk “was going to bring him out,” but the upcoming trial is implied. See Acts 12:4.

[12:6]  ⁶ tn Grk “two chains, and.” Logically it makes better sense to translate this as a temporal clause, although technically it is a coordinate clause in Greek.

[12:6]  ⁷ tn Or “were guarding.”

[28:11]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[28:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “behold, some of the guard.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[28:12]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[28:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “him.”

[28:14]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[28:14]  ¹³ tn Here ἐπί (epi) followed by the genitive = “before,” especially in the language of lawsuits (BDAG 363 s.v. 3).

[28:14]  ¹⁴ tc ‡ αὐτόν (auton, “him”) is found after πείσομεν (peisomen, “we will satisfy”) in the majority of witnesses, though it seems to be motivated by a need for clarification and cannot therefore easily explain the rise of the shorter reading (which is found in א B Θ 33 pc). Nevertheless, English style requires the pronoun. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[28:14]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and you will not have to be worried” = “we will keep you out of trouble.”

[28:15]  ¹⁶ tc ‡ The word ἡμέρας (Jhmeras, “day”) is found after σήμερον (shmeron, “today, this [day]”) in some early and important witnesses (B D L Θ lat), but may be a clarifying (or perhaps redundant) note. The shorter reading (found in א A W 0148^vid Ë^1,13 33 Ï) is thus preferred. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity.