Acts 4:20

4:20 for it is impossible ¹  for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”

Acts 2:4

2:4 All ²  of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages ³  as the Spirit enabled them. ⁴ 

Acts 4:17

4:17 But to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more ⁵  to anyone in this name.”

Acts 4:29

4:29 And now, Lord, pay attention to ⁶  their threats, and grant ⁷  to your servants ⁸  to speak your message ⁹  with great courage, ¹⁰ 

Acts 5:40

5:40 and they summoned the apostles and had them beaten. ¹¹  Then ¹²  they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.

Acts 11:15

11:15 Then as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on ¹³  them just as he did ¹⁴  on us at the beginning. ¹⁵ 

[4:20]  ¹ tn Grk “for we are not able not to speak about what we have seen and heard,” but the double negative, which cancels out in English, is emphatic in Greek. The force is captured somewhat by the English translation “it is impossible for us not to speak…” although this is slightly awkward.

[2:4]  ² tn Grk “And all.” 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.

[2:4]  ³ tn The Greek term is γλώσσαις (glwssai"), the same word used for the tongues of fire.

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “just as the spirit gave them to utter.” The verb ἀποφθέγγομαι (apofqengomai) was used of special utterances in Classical Greek (BDAG 125 s.v.).

[4:17]  ³ tn Or “speak no longer.”

[4:29]  ⁴ tn Or “Lord, take notice of.”

[4:29]  ⁵ sn Grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage. The request is not for a stop to persecution or revenge on the opponents, but for boldness (great courage) to carry out the mission of proclaiming the message of what God is doing through Jesus.

[4:29]  ⁶ tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18.

[4:29]  ⁷ tn Grk “word.”

[4:29]  ⁸ tn Or “with all boldness.”

[5:40]  ⁵ sn Had them beaten. The punishment was the “forty lashes minus one,” see also Acts 22:19; 2 Cor 11:24; Mark 13:9. The apostles had disobeyed the religious authorities and took their punishment for their “disobedience” (Deut 25:2-3; m. Makkot 3:10-14). In Acts 4:18 they were warned. Now they are beaten. The hostility is rising as the narrative unfolds.

[5:40]  ⁶ tn The word “Then” is supplied as the beginning of a new sentence in the translation. The construction in Greek has so many clauses (most of them made up of participles) that a continuous English sentence would be very awkward.

[11:15]  ⁶ tn Or “came down on.”

[11:15]  ⁷ tn The words “he did” are not in the Greek text but are implied. They form an ellipsis which must be supplied for the modern English reader. Some modern translations supply “it” rather than “he” because the gender of πνεῦμα (pneuma) in Greek is neuter, but there are sufficient NT contexts that use masculine pronouns to refer to the Spirit to justify the use of a masculine pronoun here in the translation.

[11:15]  ⁸ sn At the beginning is an allusion to Acts 2 and Pentecost. The beginning is a way to refer to the start of the period of the realization of Jesus’ promise in Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8. Peter was arguing that God gave Gentiles the same benefits he gave the Jews at the start of their mission.