Acts 5:26

5:26 Then the commander ¹  of the temple guard ²  went with the officers ³  and brought the apostles ⁴  without the use of force ⁵  (for they were afraid of being stoned by the people). ⁶ 

Acts 27:41

27:41 But they encountered a patch of crosscurrents ⁷  and ran the ship aground; the bow stuck fast and could not be moved, but the stern was being broken up by the force ⁸  of the waves.

[5:26]  ¹ tn Or “captain.”

[5:26]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Grk “brought them”; the referent (the apostles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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

[5:26]  ⁶ 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.

[27:41]  ⁷ tn Grk “fell upon a place of two seas.” The most common explanation for this term is that it refers to a reef or sandbar with the sea on both sides, as noted in BDAG 245 s.v. διθάλασσος: the “τόπος δ. Ac 27:41 is a semantic unit signifying a point (of land jutting out with water on both sides).” However, Greek had terms for a “sandbank” (θῖς [qis], ταινία [tainia]), a “reef” (ἑρμα [Jerma]), “strait” (στενόν [stenon]), “promontory” (ἀρωτήρον [arwthron]), and other nautical hazards, none of which are used by the author here. NEB here translates τόπον διθάλασσον (topon diqalasson) as “cross-currents,” a proposal close to that advanced by J. M. Gilchrist, “The Historicity of Paul’s Shipwreck,” JSNT 61 (1996): 29-51, who suggests the meaning is “a patch of cross-seas,” where the waves are set at an angle to the wind, a particular hazard for sailors. Thus the term most likely refers to some sort of adverse sea conditions rather than a topographical feature like a reef or sandbar.

[27:41]  ⁸ tn Or “violence” (BDAG 175 s.v. βία a).