Jeremiah 38:4

38:4 So these officials said to the king, “This man must be put to death. For he is demoralizing ¹  the soldiers who are left in the city as well as all the other people there by these things he is saying. ²  This ³  man is not seeking to help these people but is trying to harm them.” ⁴ 

Acts 6:11-14

6:11 Then they secretly instigated ⁵  some men to say, “We have heard this man ⁶  speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 6:12 They incited the people, the ⁷  elders, and the experts in the law; ⁸  then they approached Stephen, ⁹  seized him, and brought him before the council. ¹⁰  6:13 They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place ¹¹  and the law. ¹²  6:14 For we have heard him saying that Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs ¹³  that Moses handed down to us.”

[38:4]  ¹ tn Heb “weakening the hands of.” For this idiom see BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Pi. and compare the usage in Isa 13:7; Ezek 21:7 (21:12 HT).

[38:4]  ² tn Heb “by saying these things.”

[38:4]  ³ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) has not been rendered here because it is introducing a parallel causal clause to the preceding one. To render “For” might be misunderstood as a grounds for the preceding statement. To render “And” or “Moreover” sounds a little odd here. If it must be represented, “Moreover” is perhaps the best rendering.

[38:4]  ⁴ tn Or “is not looking out for these people’s best interests but is really trying to do them harm”; Heb “is not seeking the welfare [or “well-being”; Hebrew shalom] of this people but [their] harm [more literally, evil].”

[6:11]  ⁵ tn Another translation would be “they suborned” (but this term is not in common usage). “Instigate (secretly), suborn” is given by BDAG 1036 s.v. ὑποβάλλω.

[6:11]  ⁶ tn Grk “heard him”; but since this is direct discourse, it is more natural (and clearer) to specify the referent (Stephen) as “this man.”

[6:12]  ⁷ tn Grk “and the,” 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.

[6:12]  ⁸ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 4:5.

[6:12]  ⁹ tn Grk “approaching, they seized him”; the referent (Stephen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:12]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). Stephen suffers just as Peter and John did.

[6:13]  ¹¹ sn This holy place is a reference to the temple.

[6:13]  ¹² sn The law refers to the law of Moses. It elaborates the nature of the blasphemy in v. 11. To speak against God’s law in Torah was to blaspheme God (Deut 28:15-19). On the Jewish view of false witnesses, see Exod 19:16-18; 20:16; m. Sanhedrin 3.6; 5.1-5. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 may indicate why the temple was mentioned.

[6:14]  ¹³ tn Or “practices.”