Acts 5:27-29

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Acts 5:27 tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).
2. Acts 5:27 tn Or “interrogated,” “asked.”
3. Acts 5:28 tc ‡ The majority of mss, including a few significant witnesses (א² D E [Ψ] 1739 M 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 significant mss, along with some others (P⁷⁴ 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 (epērōtēsen, “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. NA²⁸ includes the particle in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.
4. Acts 5:28 tn Grk “We commanded you with a commandment” (a Semitic idiom that is emphatic).
5. Acts 5:28 sn The name (i.e., person) of Jesus is the constant issue of debate.
6. Acts 5:28 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.
7. Acts 5:28 sn To bring this man’s blood on us is an idiom meaning “you intend to make us guilty of this man’s death.”
8. Acts 5:29 tn Grk “apostles answered and said.”
9. Acts 5:29 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]).
10. Acts 5:29 tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).