Acts 4:26-28

4:26 The kings of the earth stood together, ¹ 

and the rulers assembled together,

against the Lord and against his ²  Christ.’ ³ 

4:27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against ⁴  your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, ⁵  4:28 to do as much as your power ⁶  and your plan ⁷  had decided beforehand ⁸  would happen.

[4:26]  ¹ tn Traditionally, “The kings of the earth took their stand.”

[4:26]  ² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[4:26]  ³ sn A quotation from Ps 2:1-2.

[4:27]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ sn A wordplay on “Christ,” v. 26, which means “one who has been anointed.”

[4:28]  ⁶ tn Grk “hand,” here a metaphor for God’s strength or power or authority.

[4:28]  ⁷ tn Or “purpose,” “will.”

[4:28]  ⁸ tn Or “had predestined.” Since the term “predestine” is something of a technical theological term, not in wide usage in contemporary English, the translation “decide beforehand” was used instead (see L&N 30.84). God’s direction remains as the major theme.