Acts 4:23

The Followers of Jesus Pray for Boldness

4:23 When they were released, Peter and John ¹  went to their fellow believers ²  and reported everything the high priests and the elders had said to them.

Acts 4:27

4:27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against ³  your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, ⁴ 

Acts 5:26

5:26 Then the commander ⁵  of the temple guard ⁶  went with the officers ⁷  and brought the apostles ⁸  without the use of force ⁹  (for they were afraid of being stoned by the people). ¹⁰ 

Acts 15:1

The Jerusalem Council

15:1 Now some men came down from Judea ¹¹  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ¹²  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Acts 15:10

15:10 So now why are you putting God to the test ¹³  by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke ¹⁴  that neither our ancestors ¹⁵  nor we have been able to bear?

Acts 16:33

16:33 At ¹⁶  that hour of the night he took them ¹⁷  and washed their wounds; ¹⁸  then ¹⁹  he and all his family ²⁰  were baptized right away. ²¹ 

Acts 25:14

25:14 While ²²  they were staying there many days, Festus ²³  explained Paul’s case to the king to get his opinion, ²⁴  saying, “There is a man left here as a prisoner by Felix.

[4:23]  ¹ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity, since a new topic begins in v. 23 and the last specific reference to Peter and John in the Greek text is in 4:19.

[4:23]  ² tn Grk “to their own [people].” In context this phrase is most likely a reference to other believers rather than simply their own families and/or homes, since the group appears to act with one accord in the prayer that follows in v. 24. At the literary level, this phrase suggests how Jews were now splitting into two camps, pro-Jesus and anti-Jesus.

[4:27]  ³ sn The application of Ps 2:1-2 is that Jews and Gentiles are opposing Jesus. The surprise of the application is that Jews are now found among the enemies of God’s plan.

[4:27]  ⁴ sn A wordplay on “Christ,” v. 26, which means “one who has been anointed.”

[5:26]  ⁵ tn Or “captain.”

[5:26]  ⁶ tn Grk “the official [of the temple],” a title for the commander of the Jewish soldiers guarding the temple (thus the translation, “the commander of the temple guard”). See L&N 37.91.

[5:26]  ⁷ tn The Greek term ὑπηρέτης (Juphreth") generally means “servant,” but in the NT is used for many different types of servants. See the note on the word “officers” in v. 22.

[5:26]  ⁸ tn Grk “brought them”; the referent (the apostles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:26]  ⁹ tn Or “without violence.” It is clear, as well, that the apostles did not resist arrest.

[5:26]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “for they feared lest they be stoned by the people.” The translation uses a less awkward English equivalent. This is an explanatory note by the author.

[15:1]  ⁷ sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.

[15:1]  ⁸ tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.

[15:10]  ⁹ tn According to BDAG 793 s.v. πειράζω 2.c, “In Ac 15:10 the πειράζειν τὸν θεόν consists in the fact that after God’s will has been clearly made known through granting of the Spirit to the Gentiles (v. 8), some doubt and make trial to see whether God’s will really becomes operative.” All testing of God in Luke is negative: Luke 4:2; 11:16.

[15:10]  ¹⁰ sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restriction that some in the early church wanted to place on Gentile converts to Christianity of observing the law of Moses and having males circumcised. The yoke is a decidedly negative image: Matt 23:4, but cf. Matt 11:29-30.

[15:10]  ¹¹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[16:33]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And at.” 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.

[16:33]  ¹² tn Grk “taking them…he washed.” The participle παραλαβών (paralabwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:33]  ¹³ tn On this phrase BDAG 603 s.v. λούω 1 gives a literal translation as “by washing he freed them from the effects of the blows.”

[16:33]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[16:33]  ¹⁵ sn All his family. It was often the case in the ancient world that conversion of the father led to the conversion of all those in the household.

[16:33]  ¹⁶ tn Or “immediately.”

[25:14]  ¹³ tn BDAG 1105-6 s.v. ὡς 8.b states, “w. pres. or impf. while, when, as long as…Ac 1:10; 7:23; 9:23; 10:17; 13:25; 19:9; 21:27; 25:14.”

[25:14]  ¹⁴ sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[25:14]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Festus laid Paul’s case before the king for consideration.” BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατίθημι 2 states, “otherw. only mid. to lay someth. before someone for consideration, declare, communicate, refer w. the added idea that the pers. to whom a thing is ref. is asked for his opinion lay someth. before someone for consideration…Ac 25:14.”