Jeremiah 1:18-19

1:18 I, the Lord, ¹  hereby promise to make you ²  as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in ³  the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land. 1:19 They will attack you but they will not be able to overcome you, for I will be with you to rescue you,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 6:27

6:27 The Lord said to me, ⁴ 

“I have made you like a metal assayer

to test my people like ore. ⁵ 

You are to observe them

and evaluate how they behave.” ⁶ 

Ezekiel 3:9

3:9 I have made your forehead harder than flint – like diamond! ⁷  Do not fear them or be terrified of the looks they give you, ⁸  for they are a rebellious house.”

Acts 4:8-13

4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁹  replied, ¹⁰  “Rulers of the people and elders, ¹¹  4:9 if ¹²  we are being examined ¹³  today for a good deed ¹⁴  done to a sick man – by what means this man was healed ¹⁵  – 4:10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ ¹⁶  the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy. 4:11 This Jesus ¹⁷  is the stone that was rejected by you, ¹⁸  the builders, that has become the cornerstone. ¹⁹  4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people ²⁰  by which we must ²¹  be saved.”

4:13 When they saw the boldness ²²  of Peter and John, and discovered ²³  that they were uneducated ²⁴  and ordinary ²⁵  men, they were amazed and recognized these men had been with Jesus.

Acts 4:29-31

4:29 And now, Lord, pay attention to ²⁶  their threats, and grant ²⁷  to your servants ²⁸  to speak your message ²⁹  with great courage, ³⁰  4:30 while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs ³¹  and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 4:31 When ³²  they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, ³³  and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak ³⁴  the word of God ³⁵  courageously. ³⁶ 

Acts 5:29-32

5:29 But Peter and the apostles replied, ³⁷  “We must obey ³⁸  God rather than people. ³⁹  5:30 The God of our forefathers ⁴⁰  raised up Jesus, whom you seized and killed by hanging him on a tree. ⁴¹  5:31 God exalted him ⁴²  to his right hand as Leader ⁴³  and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ⁴⁴  5:32 And we are witnesses of these events, ⁴⁵  and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey ⁴⁶  him.”

[1:18]  ¹ tn See the note on “Jeremiah” at the beginning of v. 17.

[1:18]  ² tn Heb “today I have made you.” The Hebrew verb form here emphasizes the certainty of a yet future act; the Lord is promising to protect Jeremiah from any future attacks which may result from his faithfully carrying out his commission. See a similar use of the same Hebrew verb tense in v. 9, and see the translator’s note there.

[1:18]  ³ tn Heb “I make you a fortified city…against all the land….” The words “as strong as” and “so you will be able to stand against all the people of…” are given to clarify the meaning of the metaphor.

[6:27]  ⁴ tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity. Note “I have appointed you.” Compare Jer 1:18.

[6:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “I have made you an assayer of my people, a tester [?].” The meaning of the words translated “assayer” (בָּחוֹן, bakhon) and “tester” (מִבְצָר, mivtsar) is uncertain. The word בָּחוֹן (bakhon) can mean “tower” (cf. BDB 103 s.v. בָּחוֹן; cf. Isa 23:13 for the only other use) or “assayer” (cf. BDB 103 s.v. בָּחוֹן). The latter would be the more expected nuance because of the other uses of nouns and verbs from this root. The word מִבְצָר (mivtsar) normally means “fortress” (cf. BDB 131 s.v. מִבְצָר), but most modern commentaries and lexicons deem that nuance inappropriate here. HALOT follows a proposal that the word is to be repointed to מְבַצֵּר (mÿvatser) and derived from a root בָּצַר (batsar) meaning “to test” (cf. HALOT 143 s.v. IV בָּצַר). That proposal makes the most sense in the context, but the root appears nowhere else in the OT.

[6:27]  ⁶ tn Heb “test their way.”

[3:9]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “diamond” is parallel to “iron” in Jer 17:1. The Hebrew uses two terms which are both translated at times as “flint,” but here one is clearly harder than the other. The translation “diamond” attempts to reflect this distinction in English.

[3:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “of their faces.”

[4:8]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Spirit, said to them.”

[4:8]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Or “questioned.” The Greek term ἀνακρίνω (anakrinw) points to an examination similar to a legal one.

[4:9]  ¹⁴ tn Or “for an act of kindness.”

[4:9]  ¹⁵ tn Or “delivered” (σέσωται [seswtai], from σώζω [swzw]). See 4:12.

[4:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[4:11]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “This one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:11]  ¹⁸ tn The word “you” is inserted into the quotation because Peter is making a direct application of Ps 118:22 to his hearers. Because it is not in the OT, it has been left as normal type (rather than bold italic). The remarks are like Acts 2:22-24 and 3:12-15.

[4:11]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 118:22 which combines the theme of rejection with the theme of God’s vindication/exaltation.

[4:12]  ²⁰ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[4:12]  ²¹ sn Must be saved. The term used here (δεῖ, dei, “it is necessary”) reflects the necessity set up by God’s directive plan.

[4:13]  ²² tn Or “courage.”

[4:13]  ²³ tn Or “and found out.”

[4:13]  ²⁴ sn Uneducated does not mean “illiterate,” that is, unable to read or write. Among Jews in NT times there was almost universal literacy, especially as the result of widespread synagogue schools. The term refers to the fact that Peter and John had no formal rabbinic training and thus, in the view of their accusers, were not qualified to expound the law or teach publicly. The objection is like Acts 2:7.

[4:13]  ²⁵ tn For the translation of ἰδιῶται (idiwtai) as “ordinary men” see L&N 27.26.

[4:29]  ²⁶ tn Or “Lord, take notice of.”

[4:29]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18.

[4:29]  ²⁹ tn Grk “word.”

[4:29]  ³⁰ tn Or “with all boldness.”

[4:30]  ³¹ tn The miraculous nature of these signs is implied in the context.

[4:31]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ tn Or “speak God’s message.”

[4:31]  ³⁶ tn Or “with boldness.”

[5:29]  ³⁷ tn Grk “apostles answered and said.”

[5:29]  ³⁸ sn Obey. See 4:19. This response has Jewish roots (Dan 3:16-18; 2 Macc 7:2; Josephus, Ant. 17.6.3 [17.159].

[5:29]  ³⁹ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[5:30]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

[5:30]  ⁴¹ tn Or “by crucifying him” (“hang on a tree” is by the time of the first century an idiom for crucifixion). The allusion is to the judgment against Jesus as a rebellious figure, appealing to the language of Deut 21:23. The Jewish leadership has badly “misjudged” Jesus.

[5:31]  ⁴² tn Grk “This one God exalted” (emphatic).

[5:31]  ⁴³ tn Or “Founder” (of a movement).

[5:31]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”

[5:32]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “things.” They are preaching these things even to the hostile leadership.

[5:32]  ⁴⁶ sn Those who obey. The implication, of course, is that the leadership is disobeying God.