Luke 21:12-14

21:12 But before all this, ¹  they will seize ²  you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues ³  and prisons. You ⁴  will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 21:13 This will be a time for you to serve as witnesses. ⁵  21:14 Therefore be resolved ⁶  not to rehearse ⁷  ahead of time how to make your defense.

Matthew 10:17-20

10:17 Beware ⁸  of people, because they will hand you over to councils ⁹  and flog ¹⁰  you in their synagogues. ¹¹  10:18 And you will be brought before governors and kings ¹²  because of me, as a witness to them and the Gentiles. 10:19 Whenever ¹³  they hand you over for trial, do not worry about how to speak or what to say, ¹⁴  for what you should say will be given to you at that time. ¹⁵  10:20 For it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Matthew 23:34

23:34 “For this reason I ¹⁶  am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, ¹⁷  some of whom you will kill and crucify, ¹⁸  and some you will flog ¹⁹  in your synagogues ²⁰  and pursue from town to town,

Mark 13:9-11

Persecution of Disciples

13:9 “You must watch out for yourselves. You will be handed over ²¹  to councils ²²  and beaten in the synagogues. ²³  You will stand before governors and kings ²⁴  because of me, as a witness to them. 13:10 First the gospel must be preached to all nations. 13:11 When they arrest you and hand you over for trial, do not worry about what to speak. But say whatever is given you at that time, ²⁵  for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

Acts 4:5-7

4:5 On the next day, ²⁶  their rulers, elders, and experts in the law ²⁷  came together ²⁸  in Jerusalem. ²⁹  4:6 Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others who were members of the high priest’s family. ³⁰  4:7 After ³¹  making Peter and John ³²  stand in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power or by what name ³³  did you do this?”

Acts 5:27-32

5:27 When they had brought them, they stood them before the council, ³⁴  and the high priest questioned ³⁵  them, 5:28 saying, “We gave ³⁶  you strict orders ³⁷  not to teach in this name. ³⁸  Look, ³⁹  you have filled Jerusalem ⁴⁰  with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood ⁴¹  on us!” 5:29 But Peter and the apostles replied, ⁴²  “We must obey ⁴³  God rather than people. ⁴⁴  5:30 The God of our forefathers ⁴⁵  raised up Jesus, whom you seized and killed by hanging him on a tree. ⁴⁶  5:31 God exalted him ⁴⁷  to his right hand as Leader ⁴⁸  and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ⁴⁹  5:32 And we are witnesses of these events, ⁵⁰  and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey ⁵¹  him.”

Acts 6:9-15

6:9 But some men from the Synagogue ⁵²  of the Freedmen (as it was called), ⁵³  both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, as well as some from Cilicia and the province of Asia, ⁵⁴  stood up and argued with Stephen. 6:10 Yet ⁵⁵  they were not able to resist ⁵⁶  the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. 6:11 Then they secretly instigated ⁵⁷  some men to say, “We have heard this man ⁵⁸  speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 6:12 They incited the people, the ⁵⁹  elders, and the experts in the law; ⁶⁰  then they approached Stephen, ⁶¹  seized him, and brought him before the council. ⁶²  6:13 They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place ⁶³  and the law. ⁶⁴  6:14 For we have heard him saying that Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs ⁶⁵  that Moses handed down to us.” 6:15 All ⁶⁶  who were sitting in the council ⁶⁷  looked intently at Stephen ⁶⁸  and saw his face was like the face of an angel. ⁶⁹ 

[21:12]  ¹ sn But before all this. Another note of timing is present, this one especially important in understanding the sequence in the discourse. Before the things noted in vv. 8-11 are the events of vv. 12-19.

[21:12]  ² tn Grk “will lay their hands on you.”

[21:12]  ³ sn Some of the persecution is of Jewish origin (the synagogues). Some fulfillment of this can be seen in Acts. See the note on synagogues in 4:15.

[21:12]  ⁴ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[21:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “This will turn out to you for [a] testimony.”

[21:14]  ⁶ tn Grk “determine in your hearts.”

[21:14]  ⁷ tn This term could refer to rehearsing a speech or a dance. On its syntax, see BDF §392.2.

[10:17]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:17]  ⁹ sn Councils in this context refers to local judicial bodies attached to the Jewish synagogue. This group would be responsible for meting out justice and discipline within the Jewish community.

[10:17]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”

[10:17]  ¹¹ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[10:18]  ¹² sn These statements look at persecution both from a Jewish context as the mention of courts and synagogues suggests, and from a Gentile one as the reference to governors and kings suggests. Some fulfillment of Jewish persecution can be seen in Acts.

[10:19]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:19]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “how or what you might speak.”

[10:19]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “in that hour.”

[23:34]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “behold I am sending.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[23:34]  ¹⁷ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:34]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[23:34]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”

[23:34]  ²⁰ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[13:9]  ²¹ tn Grk “They will hand you over.” “They” is an indefinite plural, referring to people in general. The parallel in Matt 10:17 makes this explicit.

[13:9]  ²² sn Councils in this context refers to local judicial bodies attached to the Jewish synagogue. This group would be responsible for meting out justice and discipline within the Jewish community.

[13:9]  ²³ sn See the note on synagogue in 1:21.

[13:9]  ²⁴ sn These statements look at persecution both from a Jewish context as the mention of councils and synagogues suggests, and from a Gentile one as the reference to governors and kings suggests. Some fulfillment of Jewish persecution can be seen in Acts.

[13:11]  ²⁵ tn Grk “in that hour.”

[4:5]  ²⁶ tn Grk “It happened that on the next day.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[4:5]  ²⁷ tn Or “and scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[4:5]  ²⁸ tn Or “law assembled,” “law met together.”

[4:5]  ²⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:6]  ³⁰ sn The high priest’s family. This family controlled the high priesthood as far back as a.d. 6. Annas, Caiaphas, and Alexander were all high priests at one time (though Alexander held that office after this event).

[4:7]  ³¹ 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]  ³² tn Grk “making them”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:7]  ³³ 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?

[5:27]  ³⁴ tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[5:27]  ³⁵ tn Or “interrogated,” “asked.”

[5:28]  ³⁶ tc ‡ The majority of mss, including a few important witnesses (א² D E [Ψ] 1739 Ï sy sa), have the negative particle οὐ (ou) here, effectively turning the high priest’s words into a question: “Did we not give you strict orders not to teach in this name?” But the earliest and most important mss, along with some others (Ì⁷⁴ א* A B 1175 lat bo), lack the particle, making this a strong statement rather than a question. Scribes may have been tempted to omit the particle to strengthen the contrast between official Judaism and the new faith, but the fact that v. 27 introduces the quotation with ἐπηρώτησεν (ephrwthsen, “he questioned”) may well have prompted scribes to add οὐ to convert the rebuke into a question. Further, that excellent witnesses affirm the shorter reading is sufficient ground for accepting it as most probably authentic. NA²⁷ includes the particle in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[5:28]  ³⁷ tn Grk “We commanded you with a commandment” (a Semitic idiom that is emphatic).

[5:28]  ³⁸ sn The name (i.e., person) of Jesus is the constant issue of debate.

[5:28]  ³⁹ tn Grk “And behold.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[5:28]  ⁴⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:28]  ⁴¹ sn To bring this man’s blood on us is an idiom meaning “you intend to make us guilty of this man’s death.”

[5:29]  ⁴² tn Grk “apostles answered and said.”

[5:29]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[5:30]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

[5:30]  ⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “This one God exalted” (emphatic).

[5:31]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “Founder” (of a movement).

[5:31]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”

[5:32]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “things.” They are preaching these things even to the hostile leadership.

[5:32]  ⁵¹ sn Those who obey. The implication, of course, is that the leadership is disobeying God.

[6:9]  ⁵² sn A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).

[6:9]  ⁵³ tn Grk “the so-called Synagogue of the Freedmen.” The translation of the participle λεγομένης (legomenh") by the phrase “as it was called” is given by L&N 87.86. “Freedmen” would be slaves who had gained their freedom, or the descendants of such people (BDAG 594-95 s.v. Λιβερτῖνος).

[6:9]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[6:10]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “and.” The context, however, indicates that the conjunction carries an adversative force.

[6:10]  ⁵⁶ sn They were not able to resist. This represents another fulfillment of Luke 12:11-12; 21:15.

[6:11]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ 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]  ⁵⁹ 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]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 4:5.

[6:12]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “approaching, they seized him”; the referent (Stephen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:12]  ⁶² tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). Stephen suffers just as Peter and John did.

[6:13]  ⁶³ sn This holy place is a reference to the temple.

[6:13]  ⁶⁴ 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]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “practices.”

[6:15]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “And all.” 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.

[6:15]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[6:15]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “at him”; the referent (Stephen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:15]  ⁶⁹ sn His face was like the face of an angel. This narrative description of Stephen’s face adds to the mood of the passage. He had the appearance of a supernatural, heavenly messenger.