Acts 4:34

4:34 For there was no one needy ¹  among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling ²  them ³  and bringing the proceeds from the sales

Acts 19:19

19:19 Large numbers ⁴  of those who had practiced magic ⁵  collected their books ⁶  and burned them up in the presence of everyone. ⁷  When ⁸  the value of the books was added up, it was found to total fifty thousand silver coins. ⁹ 

[4:34]  ¹ tn Or “poor.”

[4:34]  ² 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]  ³ 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.

[19:19]  ⁴ tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 4.a has “many, quite a few” for ἱκανοί (Jikanoi) in this verse.

[19:19]  ⁵ tn On this term see BDAG 800 s.v. περίεργος 2.

[19:19]  ⁶ tn Or “scrolls.”

[19:19]  ⁷ tn Or “burned them up publicly.” L&N 14.66 has “‘they brought their books together and burned them up in the presence of everyone’ Ac 19:19.”

[19:19]  ⁸ tn Grk “and when.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[19:19]  ⁹ tn Or “fifty thousand silver drachmas” (about $10,000 US dollars). BDAG 128 s.v. ἀργύριον 2.c states, “ἀργυρίου μυριάδας πέντε 50,000 (Attic silver) drachmas Ac 19:19.” Another way to express the value would be in sheep: One drachma could buy one sheep. So this many drachmas could purchase a huge flock of sheep. A drachma also equals a denarius, or a day’s wage for the average worker. So this amount would be equal to 50,000 work days or in excess of 8,300 weeks of labor (the weeks are calculated at six working days because of the Jewish cultural context). The impact of Christianity on the Ephesian economy was considerable (note in regard to this the concerns expressed in 19:26-27).