Exodus 2:14

2:14 The man ¹  replied, “Who made you a ruler ²  and a judge over us? Are you planning ³  to kill me like you killed that ⁴  Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, thinking, ⁵  “Surely what I did ⁶  has become known.”

John 2:18

2:18 So then the Jewish leaders ⁷  responded, ⁸  “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” ⁹ 

John 5:22-27

5:22 Furthermore, the Father does not judge ¹⁰  anyone, but has assigned ¹¹  all judgment to the Son, 5:23 so that all people ¹²  will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

5:24 “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹³  the one who hears ¹⁴  my message ¹⁵  and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, ¹⁶  but has crossed over from death to life. 5:25 I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁷  a time ¹⁸  is coming – and is now here – when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 5:26 For just as the Father has life in himself, thus he has granted the Son to have life in himself, 5:27 and he has granted the Son ¹⁹  authority to execute judgment, ²⁰  because he is the Son of Man.

Acts 4:7-10

4:7 After ²¹  making Peter and John ²²  stand in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power or by what name ²³  did you do this?” 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, ²⁴  replied, ²⁵  “Rulers of the people and elders, ²⁶  4:9 if ²⁷  we are being examined ²⁸  today for a good deed ²⁹  done to a sick man – by what means this man was healed ³⁰  – 4:10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ ³¹  the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy.

Acts 7:27

7:27 But the man who was unfairly hurting his neighbor pushed ³²  Moses ³³  aside, saying, ‘Who made ³⁴  you a ruler and judge over us?

Acts 7:35-39

7:35 This same ³⁵  Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’ ³⁶  God sent as both ruler and deliverer ³⁷  through the hand of the angel ³⁸  who appeared to him in the bush. 7:36 This man led them out, performing wonders and miraculous signs ³⁹  in the land of Egypt, ⁴⁰  at ⁴¹  the Red Sea, and in the wilderness ⁴²  for forty years. 7:37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ⁴³  ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’ ⁴⁴  7:38 This is the man who was in the congregation ⁴⁵  in the wilderness ⁴⁶  with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors, ⁴⁷  and he ⁴⁸  received living oracles ⁴⁹  to give to you. ⁵⁰  7:39 Our ⁵¹  ancestors ⁵²  were unwilling to obey ⁵³  him, but pushed him aside ⁵⁴  and turned back to Egypt in their hearts,

Acts 7:51

7:51 “You stubborn ⁵⁵  people, with uncircumcised ⁵⁶  hearts and ears! ⁵⁷  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors ⁵⁸  did!

[2:14]  ¹ tn Heb “And he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:14]  ² tn Heb “Who placed you for a man, a ruler and a judge over us?” The pleonasm does not need to be translated. For similar constructions see Lev 21:9; Judg 6:8; 2 Sam 1:13; Esth 7:6.

[2:14]  ³ tn The line reads “[is it] to kill me you are planning?” The form אֹמֵר (’omer) is the active participle used verbally; it would literally be “[are you] saying,” but in this context it conveys the meaning of “thinking, planning.” The Qal infinitive then serves as the object of this verbal form – are you planning to kill me?

[2:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Egyptian.” Here the Hebrew article functions in an anaphoric sense, referring back to the individual Moses killed.

[2:14]  ⁵ tn The verb form is “and he said.” But the intent of the form is that he said this within himself, and so it means “he thought, realized, said to himself.” The form, having the vav consecutive, is subordinated to the main idea of the verse, that he was afraid.

[2:14]  ⁶ tn The term הַדָּבָר (haddavar, “the word [thing, matter, incident]”) functions here like a pronoun to refer in brief to what Moses had done. For clarity this has been specified in the translation with the phrase “what I did.”

[2:18]  ⁷ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. Here the author refers to the authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.)

[2:18]  ⁸ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[2:18]  ⁹ sn The request “What sign can you show us” by Jesus’ adversaries was a request for a defense of his actions – a mark of divine authentication. Whether this was a request for a miracle is not entirely clear. Jesus never obliged such a request. Yet, ironically, the only sign the Jewish leadership will get is that predicted by Jesus in 2:19 – his crucifixion and resurrection. Cf. the “sign of Jonah” in the synoptics (Matt 12:39, 40; Luke 11:29-32).

[5:22]  ¹⁰ tn Or “condemn.”

[5:22]  ¹¹ tn Or “given,” or “handed over.”

[5:23]  ¹² tn Grk “all.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for stylistic reasons and for clarity (cf. KJV “all men”).

[5:24]  ¹³ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[5:24]  ¹⁴ tn Or “obeys.”

[5:24]  ¹⁵ tn Or “word.”

[5:24]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and does not come into judgment.”

[5:25]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[5:25]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “an hour.”

[5:27]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “him.”

[5:27]  ²⁰ tn Grk “authority to judge.”

[4:7]  ²¹ tn Grk “And after.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new sentence is begun in the translation at the beginning of v. 7.

[4:7]  ²² tn Grk “making them”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:7]  ²³ sn By what name. The issue of the “name” comes up again here. This question, meaning “by whose authority,” surfaces an old dispute (see Luke 20:1-8). Who speaks for God about the ancient faith?

[4:8]  ²⁴ sn Filled with the Holy Spirit. The narrator’s remark about the Holy Spirit indicates that Peter speaks as directed by God and for God. This fulfills Luke 12:11-12 (1 Pet 3:15).

[4:8]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Spirit, said to them.”

[4:8]  ²⁶ tc The Western and Byzantine texts, as well as one or two Alexandrian witnesses, read τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (tou Israhl, “of Israel”) after πρεσβύτεροι (presbuteroi, “elders”; so D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï it), while most of the better witnesses, chiefly Alexandrian (Ì⁷⁴ א A B 0165 1175 vg sa bo), lack this modifier. The longer reading was most likely added by scribes to give literary balance to the addressees in that “Rulers” already had an adjunct while “elders” was left absolute.

[4:9]  ²⁷ tn This clause is a first class condition. It assumes for the sake of argument that this is what they were being questioned about.

[4:9]  ²⁸ tn Or “questioned.” The Greek term ἀνακρίνω (anakrinw) points to an examination similar to a legal one.

[4:9]  ²⁹ tn Or “for an act of kindness.”

[4:9]  ³⁰ tn Or “delivered” (σέσωται [seswtai], from σώζω [swzw]). See 4:12.

[4:10]  ³¹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[7:27]  ³² tn Or “repudiated Moses,” “rejected Moses” (BDAG 126-27 s.v. ἀπωθέω 2).

[7:27]  ³³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:27]  ³⁴ tn Or “appointed.”

[7:35]  ³⁵ sn This same. The reference to “this one” occurs five times in this speech. It is the way the other speeches in Acts refer to Jesus (e.g., Acts 2:23).

[7:35]  ³⁶ sn A quotation from Exod 2:14 (see Acts 7:27). God saw Moses very differently than the people of the nation did. The reference to a ruler and a judge suggests that Stephen set up a comparison between Moses and Jesus, but he never finished his speech to make the point. The reader of Acts, however, knowing the other sermons in the book, recognizes that the rejection of Jesus is the counterpoint.

[7:35]  ³⁷ tn Or “liberator.” The meaning “liberator” for λυτρωτήν (lutrwthn) is given in L&N 37.129: “a person who liberates or releases others.”

[7:35]  ³⁸ tn Or simply “through the angel.” Here the “hand” could be understood as a figure for the person or the power of the angel himself. The remark about the angel appearing fits the first century Jewish view that God appears to no one (John 1:14-18; Gal 3:19; Deut 33:2 LXX).

[7:36]  ³⁹ tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned.

[7:36]  ⁴⁰ tn Or simply “in Egypt.” The phrase “the land of” could be omitted as unnecessary or redundant.

[7:36]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “and at,” 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.

[7:36]  ⁴² tn Or “desert.”

[7:37]  ⁴³ tn Grk “to the sons of Israel.”

[7:37]  ⁴⁴ sn A quotation from Deut 18:15. This quotation sets up Jesus as the “leader-prophet” like Moses (Acts 3:22; Luke 9:35).

[7:38]  ⁴⁵ tn This term, ἐκκλησία (ekklhsia), is a secular use of the term that came to mean “church” in the epistles. Here a reference to an assembly is all that is intended.

[7:38]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “desert.”

[7:38]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:38]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “fathers, who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he” and a new clause introduced by “and” was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.

[7:38]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “messages.” This is an allusion to the law given to Moses.

[7:38]  ⁵⁰ tc ‡ The first person pronoun ἡμῖν (Jhmin, “to us”) is read by A C D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï lat sy, while the second person pronoun ὑμῖν (Jumin, “to you”) is read by Ì⁷⁴ א B 36 453 al co. The second person pronoun thus has significantly better external support. As well, ὑμῖν is a harder reading in this context, both because it is surrounded by first person pronouns and because Stephen perhaps “does not wish to disassociate himself from those who received God’s revelation in the past, but only from those who misinterpreted and disobeyed that revelation” (TCGNT 307). At the same time, Stephen does associate himself to some degree with his disobedient ancestors in v. 39, suggesting that the decisive break does not really come until v. 51 (where both his present audience and their ancestors are viewed as rebellious). Thus, both externally and internally ὑμῖν is the preferred reading.

[7:39]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “whom our.” The continuation of the sentence as a relative clause is awkward in English, so a new sentence was started in the translation at this point.

[7:39]  ⁵² tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:39]  ⁵³ sn To obey. Again the theme of the speech is noted. The nation disobeyed the way of God and opted for Egypt over the promised land.

[7:39]  ⁵⁴ sn Pushed him aside. This is the second time Moses is “pushed aside” in Stephen’s account (see v. 27).

[7:51]  ⁵⁵ sn Traditionally, “stiff-necked people.” Now the critique begins in earnest.

[7:51]  ⁵⁶ tn The term ἀπερίτμητοι (aperitmhtoi, “uncircumcised”) is a NT hapax legomenon (occurs only once). See BDAG 101-2 s.v. ἀπερίτμητος and Isa 52:1.

[7:51]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “You stubborn and obstinate people!” (The phrase “uncircumcised hearts and ears” is another figure for stubbornness.)

[7:51]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”