Matthew 26:3-4

26:3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people met together in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. 26:4 They ¹  planned to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.

Matthew 27:1-2

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

27:1 When ²  it was early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to execute him. 27:2 They ³  tied him up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate ⁴  the governor. ⁵ 

Matthew 27:62-64

The Guard at the Tomb

27:62 The ⁶  next day (which is after the day of preparation) the chief priests and the Pharisees ⁷  assembled before Pilate 27:63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 27:64 So give orders to secure the tomb until the third day. Otherwise his disciples may come and steal his body ⁸  and say to the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”

Psalms 2:1-7

Psalm 2 ⁹ 

2:1 Why ¹⁰  do the nations rebel? ¹¹ 

Why ¹²  are the countries ¹³  devising ¹⁴  plots that will fail? ¹⁵ 

2:2 The kings of the earth ¹⁶  form a united front; ¹⁷ 

the rulers collaborate ¹⁸ 

against the Lord and his anointed king. ¹⁹ 

2:3 They say, ²⁰  “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us! ²¹ 

Let’s free ourselves from ²²  their ropes!”

2:4 The one enthroned ²³  in heaven laughs in disgust; ²⁴ 

the Lord taunts ²⁵  them.

2:5 Then he angrily speaks to them

and terrifies them in his rage, ²⁶  saying, ²⁷ 

2:6 “I myself ²⁸  have installed ²⁹  my king

on Zion, my holy hill.”

2:7 The king says, ³⁰  “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me: ³¹ 

‘You are my son! ³²  This very day I have become your father!

John 11:47

11:47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees ³³  called the council ³⁴  together and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs.

John 12:10-11

12:10 So the chief priests planned to kill Lazarus too, ³⁵  12:11 for on account of him many of the Jewish people from Jerusalem ³⁶  were going away and believing in Jesus.

Acts 4:5-22

4:5 On the next day, ³⁷  their rulers, elders, and experts in the law ³⁸  came together ³⁹  in Jerusalem. ⁴⁰  4:6 Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others who were members of the high priest’s family. ⁴¹  4:7 After ⁴²  making Peter and John ⁴³  stand in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power or by what name ⁴⁴  did you do this?” 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴⁵  replied, ⁴⁶  “Rulers of the people and elders, ⁴⁷  4:9 if ⁴⁸  we are being examined ⁴⁹  today for a good deed ⁵⁰  done to a sick man – by what means this man was healed ⁵¹  – 4:10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ ⁵²  the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy. 4:11 This Jesus ⁵³  is the stone that was rejected by you, ⁵⁴  the builders, that has become the cornerstone. ⁵⁵  4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people ⁵⁶  by which we must ⁵⁷  be saved.”

4:13 When they saw the boldness ⁵⁸  of Peter and John, and discovered ⁵⁹  that they were uneducated ⁶⁰  and ordinary ⁶¹  men, they were amazed and recognized these men had been with Jesus. 4:14 And because they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against this. ⁶²  4:15 But when they had ordered them to go outside the council, ⁶³  they began to confer with one another, 4:16 saying, “What should we do with these men? For it is plain ⁶⁴  to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable miraculous sign ⁶⁵  has come about through them, ⁶⁶  and we cannot deny it. 4:17 But to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more ⁶⁷  to anyone in this name.” 4:18 And they called them in and ordered ⁶⁸  them not to speak or teach at all in the name ⁶⁹  of Jesus. 4:19 But Peter and John replied, ⁷⁰  “Whether it is right before God to obey ⁷¹  you rather than God, you decide, 4:20 for it is impossible ⁷²  for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” 4:21 After threatening them further, they released them, for they could not find how to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising ⁷³  God for what had happened. 4:22 For the man, on whom this miraculous sign ⁷⁴  of healing had been performed, ⁷⁵  was over forty years old.

Acts 5:33-34

5:33 Now when they heard this, they became furious ⁷⁶  and wanted to execute them. ⁷⁷  5:34 But a Pharisee ⁷⁸  whose name was Gamaliel, ⁷⁹  a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up ⁸⁰  in the council ⁸¹  and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time.

Acts 5:40

5:40 and they summoned the apostles and had them beaten. ⁸²  Then ⁸³  they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.

[26:4]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:1]  ² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:2]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:2]  ⁴ tc Most mss (A C W Θ 0250 Ë^1,13 Ï latt) have Ποντίῳ (Pontiw, “Pontius”) before Πιλάτῳ (Pilatw, “Pilate”), but there seems to be no reason for omitting the tribal name, either intentionally or unintentionally. Adding “Pontius,” however, is a natural expansion on the text, and is in keeping with several other NT and patristic references to the Roman governor (cf. Luke 3:1; Acts 4:27; 1 Tim 6:13; Ign. Magn. 11.1; Ign. Trall. 9.1; Ign. Smyrn. 1.2; Justin Martyr, passim). The shorter reading, supported by א B L 0281 33 pc co, is thus strongly preferred.

[27:2]  ⁵ sn The Jews most assuredly wanted to put Jesus to death, but they lacked the authority to do so. For this reason they handed him over to Pilate in hopes of securing a death sentence. The Romans kept close control of the death penalty in conquered territories to prevent it from being used to execute Roman sympathizers.

[27:62]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:62]  ⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[27:64]  ⁸ tn Grk “him.”

[2:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 2. In this royal psalm the author asserts the special status of the divinely chosen Davidic king and warns the nations and their rulers to submit to the authority of God and his chosen vice-regent.

[2:1]  ¹⁰ tn The question is rhetorical. Rather than seeking information, the psalmist expresses his outrage that the nations would have the audacity to rebel against God and his chosen king.

[2:1]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew verb רָגַשׁ (ragash) occurs only here. In Dan 6:6, 11, 15 the Aramaic cognate verb describes several officials acting as a group. A Hebrew nominal derivative is used in Ps 55:14 of a crowd of people in the temple.

[2:1]  ¹² tn The interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[2:1]  ¹³ tn Or “peoples” (so many English versions).

[2:1]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew imperfect form describes the rebellion as underway. The verb הָגָה (hagah), which means “to recite quietly, meditate,” here has the metonymic nuance “devise, plan, plot” (see Ps 38:12; Prov 24:2).

[2:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “devising emptiness.” The noun רִיק (riq, “emptiness”) may characterize their behavior as “worthless, morally bankrupt” but more likely refers to the outcome of their plots (i.e., failure). As the rest of the psalm emphasizes, their rebellion will fail.

[2:2]  ¹⁶ sn The expression kings of the earth refers somewhat hyperbolically to the kings who had been conquered by and were subject to the Davidic king.

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “take their stand.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes their action as underway.

[2:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “conspire together.” The verbal form is a Niphal from יָסַד (yasad). BDB 413-14 s.v. יָסַד defines the verb as “establish, found,” but HALOT 417 s.v. II יסד proposes a homonym meaning “get together, conspire” (an alternate form of סוּד, sud).

[2:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and against his anointed one.” The Davidic king is the referent (see vv. 6-7).

[2:3]  ²⁰ tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The quotation represents the words of the rebellious kings.

[2:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “their (i.e., the Lord’s and the king’s) shackles.” The kings compare the rule of the Lord and his vice-regent to being imprisoned.

[2:3]  ²² tn Heb “throw off from us.”

[2:4]  ²³ tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12; 123:1).

[2:4]  ²⁴ tn As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter. The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in vv. 4-5 describe the action from the perspective of an eyewitness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.

[2:4]  ²⁵ tn Or “scoffs at”; “derides”; “mocks.”

[2:5]  ²⁶ sn And terrifies them in his rage. This line focuses on the effect that God’s angry response (see previous line) has on the rebellious kings.

[2:5]  ²⁷ tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification to indicate that the speaker is the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV).

[2:6]  ²⁸ tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”

[2:6]  ²⁹ tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”

[2:7]  ³⁰ tn The words “the king says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The speaker is the Lord’s chosen king.

[2:7]  ³¹ tn Or “I will relate the decree. The Lord said to me” (in accordance with the Masoretic accentuation).

[2:7]  ³² sn ‘You are my son!’ The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 89:26-27). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.

[11:47]  ³³ tn The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.

[11:47]  ³⁴ tn Or “Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). The συνέδριον (sunedrion) which they gathered was probably an informal meeting rather than the official Sanhedrin. This is the only occurrence of the word συνέδριον in the Gospel of John, and the only anarthrous singular use in the NT. There are other plural anarthrous uses which have the general meaning “councils.” The fact that Caiaphas in 11:49 is referred to as “one of them” supports the unofficial nature of the meeting; in the official Sanhedrin he, being high priest that year, would have presided over the assembly. Thus it appears that an informal council was called to discuss what to do about Jesus and his activities.

[12:10]  ³⁵ sn According to John 11:53 the Jewish leadership had already planned to kill Jesus. This plot against Lazarus apparently never got beyond the planning stage, however, since no further mention is made of it by the author.

[12:11]  ³⁶ tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem who had heard about the resurrection of Lazarus and as a result were embracing Jesus as Messiah. See also the note on the phrase “Judeans” in v. 9.

[4:5]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Or “law assembled,” “law met together.”

[4:5]  ⁴⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:6]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ tn Grk “making them”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:7]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ 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]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “Spirit, said to them.”

[4:8]  ⁴⁷ 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]  ⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “questioned.” The Greek term ἀνακρίνω (anakrinw) points to an examination similar to a legal one.

[4:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “for an act of kindness.”

[4:9]  ⁵¹ tn Or “delivered” (σέσωται [seswtai], from σώζω [swzw]). See 4:12.

[4:10]  ⁵² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[4:11]  ⁵³ tn Grk “This one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:11]  ⁵⁴ 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]  ⁵⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 118:22 which combines the theme of rejection with the theme of God’s vindication/exaltation.

[4:12]  ⁵⁶ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[4:12]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “courage.”

[4:13]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “and found out.”

[4:13]  ⁶⁰ 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]  ⁶¹ tn For the translation of ἰδιῶται (idiwtai) as “ordinary men” see L&N 27.26.

[4:14]  ⁶² tn Or “nothing to say in opposition.”

[4:15]  ⁶³ tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[4:16]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “evident.”

[4:16]  ⁶⁵ tn Here σημεῖον (shmeion) has been translated as “miraculous sign” rather than simply “sign” or “miracle” since both components appear to be present in the context. It is clear that the healing of the lame man was a miracle, but for the Sanhedrin it was the value of the miraculous healing as a sign that concerned them because it gave attestation to the message of Peter and John. The sign “speaks” as Peter claimed in 3:11-16.

[4:16]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “has been done by them.”

[4:17]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “speak no longer.”

[4:18]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “commanded.”

[4:18]  ⁶⁹ sn In the name of Jesus. Once again, the “name” reflects the person. The person of Jesus and his authority is the “troubling” topic that, as far as the Jewish leadership is concerned, needs controlling.

[4:19]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[4:19]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “hear,” but the idea of “hear and obey” or simply “obey” is frequently contained in the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw; see L&N 36.14).

[4:20]  ⁷² tn Grk “for we are not able not to speak about what we have seen and heard,” but the double negative, which cancels out in English, is emphatic in Greek. The force is captured somewhat by the English translation “it is impossible for us not to speak…” although this is slightly awkward.

[4:21]  ⁷³ tn Or “glorifying.”

[4:22]  ⁷⁴ tn Here σημεῖον (shmeion) has been translated as “miraculous sign” rather than simply “sign” or “miracle” since both components appear to be present in the context. See also the note on this word in v. 16.

[4:22]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “had been done.”

[5:33]  ⁷⁶ sn The only other use of this verb for anger (furious) is Acts 7:54 after Stephen’s speech.

[5:33]  ⁷⁷ sn Wanted to execute them. The charge would surely be capital insubordination (Exod 22:28).

[5:34]  ⁷⁸ sn A Pharisee was a member of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[5:34]  ⁷⁹ sn Gamaliel was a famous Jewish scholar and teacher mentioned here in v. 34 and in Acts 22:3. He had a grandson of the same name and is referred to as “Gamaliel the Elder” to avoid confusion. He is quoted a number of times in the Mishnah, was given the highest possible title for Jewish teachers, Rabba (cf. John 20:16), and was highly regarded in later rabbinic tradition.

[5:34]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “standing up in the council, ordered.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[5:34]  ⁸¹ tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[5:40]  ⁸² sn Had them beaten. The punishment was the “forty lashes minus one,” see also Acts 22:19; 2 Cor 11:24; Mark 13:9. The apostles had disobeyed the religious authorities and took their punishment for their “disobedience” (Deut 25:2-3; m. Makkot 3:10-14). In Acts 4:18 they were warned. Now they are beaten. The hostility is rising as the narrative unfolds.

[5:40]  ⁸³ tn The word “Then” is supplied as the beginning of a new sentence in the translation. The construction in Greek has so many clauses (most of them made up of participles) that a continuous English sentence would be very awkward.