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 6:12

6:12 They incited the people, the ³  elders, and the experts in the law; ⁴  then they approached Stephen, ⁵  seized him, and brought him before the council. ⁶ 

Acts 15:4

15:4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received ⁷  by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported ⁸  all the things God had done with them. ⁹ 

Acts 15:23

15:23 They sent this letter with them: ¹⁰ 

From the apostles ¹¹  and elders, your brothers, ¹²  to the Gentile brothers and sisters ¹³  in Antioch, ¹⁴  Syria, ¹⁵  and Cilicia, greetings!

Acts 16:4

16:4 As they went through the towns, ¹⁶  they passed on ¹⁷  the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem ¹⁸  for the Gentile believers ¹⁹  to obey. ²⁰ 

Acts 23:14

23:14 They ²¹  went ²²  to the chief priests ²³  and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath ²⁴  not to partake ²⁵  of anything until we have killed Paul.

Acts 24:1

The Accusations Against Paul

24:1 After five days the high priest Ananias ²⁶  came down with some elders and an attorney ²⁷  named ²⁸  Tertullus, and they ²⁹  brought formal charges ³⁰  against Paul to the governor.

Acts 25:15

25:15 When I was in Jerusalem, ³¹  the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed ³²  me about him, ³³  asking for a sentence of condemnation ³⁴  against him.

[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.

[6:12]  ³ tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[6:12]  ⁴ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 4:5.

[6:12]  ⁵ tn Grk “approaching, they seized him”; the referent (Stephen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:12]  ⁶ tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). Stephen suffers just as Peter and John did.

[15:4]  ⁵ tn BDAG 761 s.v. παραδέχομαι 2 has “receive, accept” for the meaning here.

[15:4]  ⁶ tn Or “announced.”

[15:4]  ⁷ tn “They reported all the things God had done with them” – an identical phrase occurs in Acts 14:27. God is always the agent.

[15:23]  ⁷ tn Grk “writing by their hand” (an idiom for sending a letter).

[15:23]  ⁸ tn Grk “The apostles.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[15:23]  ⁹ tn Grk “brothers,” but “your” is supplied to specify the relationship, since without it “brothers” could be understood as vocative in English.

[15:23]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “to the brothers who are from the Gentiles.”

[15:23]  ¹¹ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).

[15:23]  ¹² tn Grk “and Syria,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[16:4]  ⁹ tn Or “cities.”

[16:4]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 762-63 s.v. παραδίδωμι 3 has “they handed down to them the decisions to observe Ac 16:4.”

[16:4]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[16:4]  ¹² tn Grk “for them”; the referent (Gentile believers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:4]  ¹³ tn Or “observe” or “follow.”

[23:14]  ¹¹ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[23:14]  ¹² tn Grk “going.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:14]  ¹³ sn They went to the chief priests. The fact that the high priest knew of this plot and did nothing shows the Jewish leadership would even become accomplices to murder to stop Paul. They would not allow Roman justice to take its course. Paul’s charge in v. 3 of superficially following the law is thus shown to be true.

[23:14]  ¹⁴ tn Or “bound ourselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” The pleonastic use ἀναθέματι ἀνεθεματίσαμεν (literally “we have cursed ourselves with a curse”) probably serves as an intensifier following Semitic usage, and is represented in the translation by the word “solemn.” On such oaths see m. Nedarim 3:1, 3.

[23:14]  ¹⁵ tn This included both food and drink (γεύομαι [geuomai] is used of water turned to wine in John 2:9).

[24:1]  ¹³ sn Ananias was in office from a.d. 47-59.

[24:1]  ¹⁴ tn The term refers to a professional advocate (BDAG 905 s.v. ῥήτωρ).

[24:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “an attorney, a certain Tertullus.”

[24:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “who” (plural). Because in English the relative pronoun “who” could be understood to refer only to the attorney Tertullus and not to the entire group, it has been replaced with the third person plural pronoun “they.” “And” has been supplied to provide the connection to the preceding clause.

[24:1]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 326 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 3 has “ἐ. τινὶ κατά τινος bring formal charges against someone…Ac 24:1; 25:2.”

[25:15]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[25:15]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 326 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 3 has “to convey a formal report about a judicial matter, present evidence, bring charges…ἐ. περί τινος concerning someone 25:15.”

[25:15]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “about whom.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced with a personal pronoun (“him”) and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 15 (where the phrase περὶ οὗ [peri Jou] occurs in the Greek text).

[25:15]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 516 s.v. καταδίκη states, “condemnation, sentence of condemnation, conviction, guilty verdict…αἰτεῖσθαι κατά τινος κ. ask for a conviction of someone Ac 25:15.”