Acts 4:29-35

4:29 And now, Lord, pay attention to ¹  their threats, and grant ²  to your servants ³  to speak your message ⁴  with great courage, ⁵  4:30 while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs ⁶  and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 4:31 When ⁷  they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, ⁸  and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak ⁹  the word of God ¹⁰  courageously. ¹¹ 

Conditions Among the Early Believers

4:32 The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, ¹²  and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common. ¹³  4:33 With ¹⁴  great power the apostles were giving testimony ¹⁵  to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all. 4:34 For there was no one needy ¹⁶  among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling ¹⁷  them ¹⁸  and bringing the proceeds from the sales 4:35 and placing them at the apostles’ feet. The proceeds ¹⁹  were distributed to each, as anyone had need.

[4:29]  ¹ tn Or “Lord, take notice of.”

[4:29]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18.

[4:29]  ⁴ tn Grk “word.”

[4:29]  ⁵ tn Or “with all boldness.”

[4:30]  ⁶ tn The miraculous nature of these signs is implied in the context.

[4:31]  ⁷ tn Grk “And when.” 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.

[4:31]  ⁸ sn The place where they were assembled…was shaken. This signifies that God is in their midst. See Acts 16:26; Exod 19:18; Ps 114:7; Isa 6:4.

[4:31]  ⁹ tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to speak”). Logical sequencing suggests that their speaking began after they were filled with the Spirit. The prayer was answered immediately.

[4:31]  ¹⁰ tn Or “speak God’s message.”

[4:31]  ¹¹ tn Or “with boldness.”

[4:32]  ¹² tn Grk “soul.”

[4:32]  ¹³ tn Grk “but all things were to them in common.”

[4:33]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “And with.” 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.

[4:33]  ¹⁵ tn Or “were witnessing.”

[4:34]  ¹⁶ tn Or “poor.”

[4:34]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “houses, selling them were bringing.” The participle πωλοῦντες (pwlounte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:34]  ¹⁸ tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[4:35]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “It” (or “They,” plural). The referent of the understood pronoun subject, the proceeds from the sales, of the verb διεδίδετο (diedideto) has been specified in the translation for clarity.